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Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring David Raum to the Premier League this summer.

What’s the word?

That’s according to Jonathan Shrager, with the journalist revealing in a recent post on Twitter that Fabio Paratici has now made contact with the Bundesliga side to express his interest in a move for the 24-year-old in the coming weeks.

The journalist went on to reveal that the likes of Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United have also been in contact with Hoffenheim concerning a €35m (£30m) deal for the Germany international, with the latter of the trio said to have already held initial discussions regarding the defender’s transfer.

In his tweet, Shrager said: “Spurs, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United are among the numerous clubs to express an interest in David Raum at various points. MUFC recently made an enquiry, but my impression is that it was only an initial conversation and certainly no offer has been made.”

The new David Alaba

Considering just how impressive Raum was for Hoffenheim last season, it is not difficult to understand why Paratici would be interested in a move to bring the left-back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

Indeed, over his 32 Bundesliga appearances in 2021/22, the £26m-rated full-back was in imperious form, scoring three goals, registering 13 assists and creating 19 big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 2.7 key passes, taking 0.8 shots and completing 1.0 dribble per game.

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The £6.4k-per-week defender also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, helping his side keep four clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.6 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 1.1 clearances and winning 4.5 duels – at a success rate of 51% – per fixture.

These returns saw the 24-year-old average a rather breathtaking SofaScore match rating of 7.29, not only ranking him as Andre Breitenreiter’s best performer in the league but also as the 12th-best player in the division as a whole.

Furthermore, according to FBref data, Raum also ranks in the top 1% of full-backs in Europe’s big five leagues for assists per 90, in addition to the top 1% for xA, the top 1% for shot-creating actions, the top 16% for non-penalty goals, the top 14% for progressive passes and the top 16% for touches in the opposition penalty area over the last 365 days.

As such, it is easy to see why the left-footer – who can also play at centre-back, central midfield and on the left-wing – has been compared to the former Bayern Munich and current Real Madrid defender David Alaba, nor it is hard to understand why Hoffenheim sporting director, Alexander Rosen, took the time to praise the full-back’s remarkable rise earlier this season.

Speaking about Raum’s sensational campaign last time out, Rosen said: “David is a highly talented and extremely fast player with a strong left foot who has developed into one of the most sought-after full-backs in Germany thanks to his outstanding performance this season.”

As such, while competition for his signature will undoubtedly be extremely high, it would appear highly advisable for Paratici to do everything he can to get a deal over the line for the Hoffenheim star this summer, as Raum could very well go on to become Antonio Conte’s very own Alaba at Tottenham.

AND in other news: “Understand…”: Gold now reveals big Spurs transfer twist, supporters will be gutted

A huge Newcastle United claim has emerged on their interest in Christian Eriksen heading into the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

Reporter Jacque Talbot has teased that the Magpies are going to hold discussions with the Denmark international later this month.

He Tweeted: “Some further details on the Christian Eriksen and Newcastle story. Heard a whisper Howe and the player set for talks next week.”

The former Tottenham midfielder joined Brentford on a short-term deal in January and is now a free agent ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Supporters will be excited

Toon supporters will be excited by this claim as Eriksen would be a fantastic addition to Eddie Howe’s midfield options.

The 30-year-old made a stunning comeback to Premier League football after suffering a cardiac arrest at the European Championships last year to lead Brentford to survival this term.

In 11 appearances in the top-flight, he averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.54 as he chipped in with one goal and four assists. The gem produced consistently brilliant performances whilst proving that he can still have a big impact in the final third, particularly when it came to helping his teammates.

He was at his creative best as he provided 2.8 key passes and created five ‘big chances’ in total for the Bees, ending the campaign with 3.73 Expected Assists.

This shows that he is capable of teeing up teammates with opportunities to score on a regular basis. The likes of Chris Wood, Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin, and any other forward the club may sign will now be salivating at the prospect of being on the end of his passes and crosses.

Meanwhile, Matt Ritchie topped the charts for the Magpies with 1.6 key passes per game – with Saint-Maximin in second with 1.4 – and this suggests that Eriksen would be a huge improvement on Newcastle’s current levels of creativity.

Bringing him in on a free transfer would also be an astute piece of business by Dan Ashworth. Whilst they will still need to afford the wages that he will demand, the club will not have to pay a transfer fee for his services and this can free up funds to be used elsewhere.

Supporters will now be hoping that the ex-Brighton chief and Howe can wrap up a deal for the 30-year-old as they will be excited by the thought of him delivering teasing deliveries into the box at St. James’ Park next season.

AND in other news, Ashworth “looking” at Newcastle deal for “clever” £75m gem, he can be Howe’s own Salah…

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has personally set his sights on signing an ‘absolute beast’ this summer, according to a reliable source.

The Lowdown: Striker on the cards?

The Saints have been tipped to add a new striker to their ranks for 2022/2023 amid claims they may find it difficult to seal a permanent deal for Chelsea loanee Armando Broja.

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Links to Union Berlin striker Taiwo Awoniyi have emerged in just one example as transfer chief Martin Semmens looks at alternatives to the Albania international going forward.

New targets are seemingly coming to light at a consistent rate as the transfer window looms with reliable reporter Jack Rosser, formerly of The Evening Standard, sharing what he knows.

The Latest: Southampton weigh Delap…

According to the journalist, Southampton are now ‘considering’ a loan deal for Man City’s young striking starlet Liam Delap.

This comes after the successful signings of promising young talents like Broja and Tino Livramento with Rosser claiming Hasenhuttl now personally has another ‘in his sights’.

Indeed, Southampton’s head coach has allegedly ‘moved to target some of the best young players in the Premier League’ with Delap now becoming one of them.

The Verdict: Get it done…

The 19-year-old is a serious talent and we believe landing him on loan is a real no-brainer.

A low-risk move financially, Delap is already turning heads – even drawing comparisons to City’s major new signing Erling Braut Haaland in the past (Goal).

His lack of opportunities under Pep Guardiola this season is down to injury issues if anything with the Spaniard even raving over his incredible development last year and promising him a place in the first team (The Sun).

This came after what was a truly astounding 2020/2021 season for City’s elite development squad where he scored 24 goals and assisted five others in 20 games – prompting renowned football talent scout Jacek Kulig to call him an ‘absolute beast’ (Twitter).

Rated highly by critics and one of the best coaches in world football, a move for Delap should seriously be entertained by Southampton.

In other news: Southampton also eyeing summer signing in 6 foot 3 powerhouse as club concede defeat! Find out more here.

He only plays sporadically, but his team have won seven out of seven when he’s featured, a testament to the super-specialisation of skills in T20 cricket

Sidharth Monga in Delhi04-Apr-20192:20

I try and think like a batsman when I bowl – Nabi

In the euphoria around his more illustrious compatriot Rashid Khan and the prevalent trend of mystery spin, Mohammad Nabi is a mostly forgotten Afghan plying the forgotten art of fingerspin. Not at Sunrisers Hyderabad. They use him sparingly, but know exactly when to do so. This is his third season in the IPL, but Nabi has played only seven matches. Sunrisers have won all seven of them.Since his arrival in the IPL, Nabi holds the best economy rate among fingerspinners who have bowled 100 or more balls in the IPL – 5.7 – and the second-best average – 15.22. The man ahead of him in average is another sparingly used bowler: Pawan Negi, who has played only 14 matches in two seasons. These spinners have the advantage of playing only when the conditions and match-ups suit them, but Nabi has shown he is ready every time.”We have played with each other for three years now,” Nabi said after Sunrisers’ five-wicket win. “We understand the team combination, and understand we will not play every match. I am always ready to give my 100% whenever I get the chance.”Nabi’s experience came to the fore on a turning pitch. Asked how he goes about his bowling in a wristspin- and mystery-spin-dominated world order, Nabi said: “I read batsmen. I try to do the last thing the batsmen want me to do. Read what the batsman is trying to do, read what the conditions are doing, and then bowl accordingly. Here the ball was turning so I tried to turn it less.”Nabi is an old-fashioned cricketer’s cricketer. The deviation between his good days and bad is not big. He is always there when you look around for solidity. He is a safe fielder and a calm batsman, but it is when he bowls that his old-school values are best seen. Properly side-on, proper pivot, a complete follow-through. Consequently, he gets the ball to drift and dip, which has unfortunately not been enough for fingerspinners in limited-overs cricket of late, with hitting skills breaking too far away from bowlers.How far can Mohammad Nabi extend his run as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s lucky charm?•ESPNcricinfo LtdThe left-arm spinner and Nabi’s Sunrisers team-mate Shakib Al Hasan – basically the mirror image of everything Nabi is – still has the advantage of taking the ball away from the majority of batsmen. It is a difficult time for offspinners who don’t bowl mystery balls, but Sunrisers have still used Nabi perfectly. They are the best example of using their resources tactically and in a super-specialised manner. The 2016 IPL final is a great example of that, when the left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma came out of nowhere, played the match, got AB de Villiers, and then didn’t even need to bowl out.ALSO READ – Why T20 franchises make room for impact playersThis year, Kane Williamson’s absence has given Nabi room to go from super-specialist to specialist. The ploy seems clear: if a pitch is going to grip and if the opposition has a decent number of left-hand batsmen, Nabi gets a go. Otherwise Shakib plays. Nabi’s stats say as much. In all T20 cricket this year, he averages 9.37 against left-hand batsmen and 36 against right-hand batsmen. There is a big difference in economy rate too: 5.62 to 7.04.In Delhi, on a slow pitch with some grip, and against a line-up reliant on three left-hand batsmen, Nabi was going to be a shoo-in. He nearly got Shikhar Dhawan lbw first ball. The next ball dipped on Prithvi Shaw, who still shaped up for a big hit despite not being close to it, but the turn in the pitch told him he couldn’t. Nabi now know he didn’t need to do anything fancy. That if he beat the batsmen in the air, the pitch would also help him. He became an equal threat to right-hand batsmen.Three of Nabi’s overs were bowled inside the Powerplay, never an easy time for a spinner. His third came in what is traditionally the most difficult over of a Powerplay: the sixth. In this over he benefited from the pressure that his tight bowling in the earlier overs had created. The dip and turn undid Dhawan with the last ball of the Powerplay, and on his return he again beat Rishabh Pant in the air to get him to offer a catch at long-off.This wicket summed up how difficult it is for fingerspinners. Nabi bowled this slow, got some dip on the ball, beat Pant in the air, and yet it nearly went for six. Even as Nabi put a finishing touch on a match-winning spell, there was a reminder why fingerspinners – especially right-arm – are specialists now, used sparingly, based on conditions and match-ups.

Brendon McCullum’s book has the story of his career but also far too much bile and score-settling

Paul Ford06-Nov-2016Like Public Enemy’s , Brendon McCullum’s new book is a ferocious follow-up, with many and varied foes in the firing line. (It is only a sequel of sorts, of course, following on from Dylan Cleaver’s short-format focused , published in 2011.)Unfortunately, unlike Public Enemy’s effort, is no masterpiece. There’s a dearth of dressing-room details, an unexpectedly high quotient of bile, and too many de facto match reports (“Trent comes back to do his stuff – he takes another four wickets to make 10 for the match – and the game is ours”).But I guess it was all part of the plan. The inside cover threatens: “…as the light fades on his astonishing career, Brendon McCullum has unleashed one final time”. The picture on the jacket is one of a half-silhouetted, unsmiling McCullum.The timing of the book’s release, in the midst of a torrid India v New Zealand series, was also eyebrow-raising. It felt opportunistic – with Mike Hesson, Ross Taylor and new captain Kane Williamson in a colossal battle for the one-day series, and needing a McCullum tome sideshow like they might a frontal lobotomy.I expected to be taken behind the scenes for a warts-cigarettes-and-all look at one of our most successful teams. I wanted back stories and observations and anecdotes and idiosyncrasies of a New Zealand team that we fell back in love with. There are glimpses of great yarns but they are scarce – one of the best comes early on when McCullum talks about borrowing his Dad’s company car, aged 14: “So the light turns green and I plant hoof…”There seemed to be so much to celebrate about his phenomenal career, so many memorable moments. McCullum won most people over with his efforts in playing a bazillion consecutive matches for New Zealand, leading the team into the World Cup final in a glory run of epic proportions, transcending even Martin Crowe en route to scoring the country’s inaugural Test triple-century, and outblasting the Master Blaster with the fastest Test hundred in history.But best of all, he played the lead role in transforming a team of underperforming prima donnas into a team with character, guts and humility. All these glorious episodes are in , but the passages that are most prominent are about legal battles or backroom antagonism.Upstart Press LtdMcCullum is a man of the people – he is revered by most. He didn’t need to write a book to get the public onside by explaining the details of the respective Taylor and Cairns fiascos. Both are given extensive coverage, blow by bitter blow, in the book and are mentioned before page 30.Don’t misunderstand me, I love that McCullum was prepared to put his thoughts down on the page – hallelujah to the end of platitudes and boringness in New Zealand cricket books. But I was taken aback at the proportion of anger and splenetic frustration in the 272 pages.The motivation for the book appears to be “putting the story straight” on a few fronts, and although some of the targets are predictable (such as John Parker, Chris Cairns and Glenn Turner) there are subtle and spiky barbs reserved for others too, including Stephen Fleming, Dave Currie, Ross Taylor, John Wright, Daniel Vettori, Kerry Schwalger, Martin Guptill, Mark Greatbatch, and Nigel Llong.McCullum reserves a special focus for the many scathing words penned about him by Fairfax newspaper columnist Mark Reason. I think McCullum’s riposte about Reason writing from “an elevated position, looking down on the rest of us, or maybe just me” is a mistake – his target is an agent provocateur and being enticed into a back and forth is a hopeless cause.Predictably, Reason has already returned fire: “Don’t you think your readers might have been more interested in the beauty of Virat Kohli’s game, why Steve Smith constantly fidgets with his box and if Mitchell Johnson ever terrified you?”

is an easy read, and there is plenty of protein to digest here. But part of me felt sad at the end of it.Maybe it was the kind of manuscript that needed to be left on the shelf for a while, so the trials and tribulations were less raw. I suspect a longer period of reflection could have enabled a more measured assessment of his career. The result may have been less headline-grabbing but allowed more of McCullum’s love of the game, his cricket philosophies, his wry or kneejerk observations, and pride in his team’s collective achievements to shine through.Or perhaps he could have just left the superb words of his Cowdrey Lecture untouched as the final, kinder words on his stellar career: “I have retired from first-class and international cricket without memories of aggregates, runs, wickets, catches or matches won. Rather, I treasure the memories of playing with and against so many wonderful people – as my father did before me.”Declaredby Brendon McCullum with Greg McGee
Upstart Press, 2016
NZ$49.99

Stats highlights from the fourth day’s play in Dubai, where Younis Khan hit yet another Test hundred

Shiva Jayaraman25-Oct-201512 Second-innings centuries by Younis Khan in Tests; only three batsmen – Kumar Sangakkara (14), Alastair Cook (13), and Sachin Tendulkar (13) – have hit more. Younis has taken only 83 innings to hit these 12 hundreds at a frequency of one every 6.9 innings. Among batsmen with at least ten second-innings hundreds, only Don Bradman (one every 3.0 innings) and Hashim Amla (5.90) are ahead in terms of frequency.12 Number of fifty-plus scores by Joe Root in Tests this year – the most by any England batsman in a calendar year. The previous highest was 11, by Keith Fletcher in 1973. Alastair Cook has made 10 such scores this year, which equals the third-highest by any England batsman; Kevin Pietersen also made 10 such scores in 2006.189 Runs made by Misbah-ul-Haq in this Test – the second highest by him in a Test. Misbah followed up his century in the first innings with 87 runs in the second. His highest had come last year, when he made two centuries – one of which equalled the record for the fastest known hundred in Tests – in Abu Dhabi against Australia. This is also the second-highest aggregate by a Pakistan captain in Tests against England. Inzamam-ul-Haq made two centuries in the Faisalabad Test in 2005.11 Test hundreds by Younis after turning 35 – only three other batsmen had hit more centuries after the age of 35. Rahul Dravid, Graham Gooch and Tendulkar each hit 12 Test centuries after 35. Younis has, however, hit a century in every 4.18 innings after turning 35, which is the third-highest frequency among batsmen with at least five hundreds after that age. Only Australia’s Charles Macartney (2.60, 5 hundreds in 13 innings) and Bradman (2.88, 8 hundreds in 23 innings) have better record than Younis.31 Test hundreds by Younis including the one in this innings. He has pulled ahead of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Matthew Hayden, who have 30 each. Younis now has the most hundreds among active Test cricketers. Only nine other batsmen have hit more hundreds than Younis.78.10 Average stand between Misbah and Younis for the fourth wicket in the last ten innings when they have come together with Pakistan losing their third wicket for fewer than 100 runs. Their partnership in this innings, which began with Pakistan at 83 for 3, added 141 runs. Their last ten such stands have been 141, 66, 51, 58, 2, 8, 100, 129, 218, and 8.7 Number of Pakistan batsman who had made at least 1000 runs in Tests against England before Younis who achieved that milestone during his innings of 118. Younis now has 1041 runs against them at an average of 47.31 with three hundreds and four fifties.408 The highest target set by Pakistan in Tests for England to chase before this match, which was in the Lord’s Test in 1996. Pakistan won that Test by 164 runs. The 491-run target for England in this Test is the fifth-highest Pakistan have set any team in Tests.275 Runs by Asad Shafiq in this series including his 79 in this innings – already the third-highest by a Pakistan No. 6 in any Test series. He needs 56 more runs from the next Test to go past Shahid Afridi’s 330 runs at No. 6 against India in the three-match home series in 2005-06. Shafiq averages 68.75 in four innings in this series with one hundred and two fifties.5 Number of instances of Pakistan batsmen making 1000-plus runs at any venue in Tests before Younis who completed 1000 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium during this match. Javed Miandad did it at three different venues – in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. Mohammad Yousuf and Zaheer Abbas did so at Lahore. Younis’ century in this innings was his fifth at this venue making him only the fourth Pakistan batsman to hit as many at any venue. He has made 1024 runs in Dubai at an average of 73.14.5 Number of century stands in the fourth innings of a Test in the UAE before the one between Root and Ian Bell. This is the third such stand in Dubai. The previous one had come between Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva in 2013-14.

A look at the best and the worst buys from the auction based on players’ performance in IPL 2014

Shiva Jayaraman03-Jun-2014Yuvraj Singh made news during the auction for being the most expensive purchase of the IPL, at INR 14 crore, while Pravin Tambe – one of the leading wicket-takers in this IPL – received no bids from other teams before being retained by Rajasthan Royals with a right-to-match card that depleted their purse by only INR 10 lakh. How did these buys fare for the teams? Who ended up being the most profitable purchase of the IPL? Which team spent their purse money most productively? This piece makes an attempt at answering such questions.Performance on the cricket field is not easily quantifiable: it cannot be measured purely by the runs scored by a batsman or the wickets taken by a bowler. A quickfire 30 in a crunch situation of a chase may turn out to be of greater value than a 60 earlier in the innings. A wicket of an in-form opposition batsman might carry more value than the wicket of a tail-ender. And there is the question of how to value wicketkeepers’ contributions, fielding efforts, catches taken etc. Surely, the catches taken by Kieron Pollard and Chris Lynn would be worth a few crores, if not more?This piece aims to give the readers a reasonable idea about who were the top buys and the worst punts in this IPL season. To this end, only the runs scored, strike rates, wickets taken, and the economy rates have been taken into account to come up with a return on investment value for each player and thereby, for each team. The context in which the batsmen scored their runs and bowlers took their wickets have not been taken into account, and neither have been their fielding contributions.An aggregate of 17922 runs were scored from the bat in this IPL and 606 wickets were taken by the bowlers – an average of 29.57 for each wicket. Roughly translated, each wicket that a bowler took in this IPL was worth 29.57 runs. A total of INR 468.1 crore was spent on buying players in this IPL, which means that every run scored was worth INR 1,30,594 and every wicket taken was worth INR 38,62,211. Each batsman earned value (or generated returns) based on how many runs he scored and at what strike rate. If his strike rate was less than the overall tournament strike rate, the number of runs scored by him were weighted down to a value lower than the actual runs he scored and vice versa. Similarly for bowlers, the number of wickets were weighted up or down based on the economy rate.For example, Shakib Al Hasan scored 227 runs at a strike rate of 149.3. His strike rate was a good 20% better than the tournament’s average strike rate of 129.0, so he is credited with more runs than he actually scored, which works out to 256. This multiplied by the value of each run – INR1,30,594 – means he generated a batting value of INR 3.34 crore. Similarly, Shakib took 11 wickets at an economy of 6.68, which was much better than the tournament economy rate of 8.01 runs per over. So his 11 wickets are weighted up for his better economy and get him returns equivalent to 12.8 wickets. The bowling value he generates is 12.8 multiplied by the value of each wicket, i.e. INR 38,62,611, which works out to INR 4.95 crore. The total notional money he generates for his team is the sum of his batting and bowling values – INR 8.30 crore. This minus the price at which Shakib was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders will give the gains made by the team by investing on him. This figure works out to INR 5.50 crore.Kings XI Punjab’s Akshar Patel leads – by some distance – the list of players who generated the maximum gains for their respective teams. He took 17 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.14, which boosted the total value he generated for his team to INR 8.97 crore. Kings XI bought him for a sum of INR 75 lakh and made a profit of INR 8.22 crore – the most any team profited from a single player. Six bowlers make it to the top ten of this list. Lendl Simmons – cost to the team assumed at his base price of INR 50 lakh – and Glenn Maxwell are the only players who make the top ten based purely on their batting performance. Shakib and JP Duminy take the remaining two places in the top ten on the back of their all-round show.

* Lendl Simmons’ auction price has been assumed at his base price of INR0.5CrKnight Riders’ skipper Gautam Gambhir was the most unattractive buy of this season, given the high price at which he was retained for by the team. His 335 runs in the tournament came at a strike rate of 114.33, well below the average for the tournament, and generated only INR 3.78 crore. India internationals Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan went for INR 12.5 crore each, but couldn’t generate enough value for their teams, thus ending up at the bottom of the table. Chris Gayle – who was retained for INR 9.5 crore and failed to come good for his team – rounds off the bottom five. Yuvraj, the most expensive player of this IPL, just escaped being in the bottom five. His performances created notional money worth INR 6.84 Crores for his team, but his high auction price meant that he ran a deficit of INR 7.16 Crores, ending up at the seventh place from the bottom.

While the above two tables give us a sense of who the most profitable and unprofitable purchases in the auction were, these may not be the best and the worst players this year. The players can control their base price, but can’t control the upper limit, which depends on the dynamics of the auction. So, it makes sense to see who generated the most value (made the most money for their teams) without penalising them for their auction prices.This list is led by Glenn Maxwell. His 552 runs at a strike rate of 187.7 – almost 59 more than the tournament average – meant that he was one of two players to cross the INR 10.0 crore mark. Sunil Narine, with his 21 wickets at an economy rate of 6.36, was the only other player whose performance was worth more than INR 10.0 crore. This year’s top runscorer Robin Uthappa slots in at No.5 in this list and is one of the three players – along with Maxwell and Dwayne Smith – to weigh in purely on his batting performance.

And finally, a look at how the teams themselves fared in terms of the returns they got from the purse money they invested in building their teams. Not surprisingly, Kings XI Punjab made the most profitable buys, getting a whopping 52% return on investment (ROI). The other finalists, Knight Riders were a distant second in this list with an ROI of 12.9%, followed by Chennai Super Kings at 11.8%. Mumbai Indians got to the playoffs despite their negative ROI of 6.3% and, in line with their shocking exit from the tournament, Rajasthan Royals failed to make the playoffs in spite of an ROI of 4.6%. The other three teams returned negative ROIs, with Delhi Daredevils being the most unprofitable of the lot, at a ROI of – 28.1%.

* Auction costs might vary slightly from the actuals owing to replacements during the tournament

Having drifted into the cricketing wilderness, Monty Panesar looked to Neil Burns to help transform his career and return his focus to being his own bowler

George Dobell02-Dec-2012If England do go on to secure a series win in India, they may have a largely unsung hero to thank for their success.Two of the players involved in England’s resounding victory in Mumbai credit Neil Burns, the former wicketkeeper-batsman with Essex, Somerset and Leicestershire, for helping them turn around careers that seemed destined to end in disappointment.Burns runs the London County Cricket Club. Founded by WG Grace in 1899 with the aim of providing “invaluable first-class match experience to many cricketers who could not otherwise get it”, the club lay dormant for a century before Burns revived it in 2004. He first ran a talent identification scheme – the first beneficiary of which was Surrey’s Tim Linley – and then developed his ideas to provide a mentoring service designed, among other things, to enable high-class sportsmen to realise their potential.Nick Compton and Monty Panesar both credit the work they have undertaken with Burns as the key turning point in their careers. Compton, of whom so much was expected at Middlesex, had to move to Somerset to start to fulfil his potential, while Panesar endured two-and-a-half years out of the Test team before claiming four five-wicket hauls in his last four games. Indeed, those four Tests have earned him 27 wickets at an average of just 22.70 apiece. The previous four earned him just six wickets at 64.16. Darren Stevens, who turned around his career at Kent with the help of Burns, was another beneficiary, while Burns has recently started working with Billy Godleman, who recently joined Derbyshire having been released by Essex.The key for Panesar was to understand what made him such a valuable cricketer. By the time he was dropped by England in 2009, his mind had become clouded with doubt, confusion and fear. He was questioning who he was and what he did and the result was a lack of confidence and performance. The skill that had originally won him selection and success – his pace, consistency, turn and bounce – were increasingly being denounced for its lack of variation and subtlety with Shane Warne famously mocking his lack of development by stating that Panesar had “played the same Test 37 times”.”I remember at that time that I was out of the team, you guys, the media, were saying I needed to have lots of different variations,” Panesar said as he reflected on the performance in Mumbai that brought 11 wickets. “That was a period I needed to reflect on. That’s when I went to Neil Burns. I felt I needed to know which direction to take my game. I needed to go back to my strengths and bowl good stock deliveries which relates to becoming a quality bowler at Test level.”I’m aware that some people think I’m a bit of a luxury player. I know I’m not the world’s best batter or fielder, despite all the effort and improvements I’ve made since my Test career began. So I’ve done some work with Neil, who has helped build my emotional resilience and mental focus. I believe to take 20 wickets you need to have quality bowlers so, a couple of years ago, I went back to working on my strengths. Rather than trying to be a bowler I cannot be – to do this or do that – I went back to building my own strengths. It’s nice to have that professional guidance and emotional support than Neil has given me.”

Players may sometimes be reluctant to open up to county coaches in case it has repercussions to their subsequent selection or employment prospects.Neil Burns’ unique support has transformed the likes of Panesar

A “luxury” player is probably the wrong description of Panesar. “One dimensional” may be a more appropriate description. But, while Panesar has accepted that he will never possess the all-round skills of Graeme Swann or the variety of Saeed Ajmal, he has learned to trust his own special strengths. They are, in his words, “getting the ball to turn and bounce with pace.”Certainly it was that skill that proved so decisive in Mumbai. Panesar simply concentrated on “his processes” and allowed the results to take care of themselves. As he tells it, when he bowled Sachin Tendulkar in the first innings with a peach of a ball that drifted in, pitched on leg and spun to hit the top of off, he was thinking purely of ensuring his action was right, not of bowling the perfect delivery.”The previous ball had been short,” Panesar said. “So I was thinking to myself: ‘What are my processes here; focus on that; get that right.’ That’s what I was thinking about when I was walking back – ‘get my mind right; how is my breathing’ – these are the things I have been working on. All of them are on the checklist in my mind. It was like I was doing a service on myself. It was probably one of my best balls. It even caught me by surprise. The conditions helped because it was a used wicket and when you’re bowling at that pace there’s a slight chance for it to grip. But if it was a flatter deck it probably would have skidded on.”It is true that the Mumbai surface helped Panesar. Not only did the bounce help him take the edge of the bat, the skiddy nature of the pitch resulted in some natural variation which negated Panesar’s lack of variety and saw some ball turn and others go straight on. The question must be, then, whether he can replicate such success in Kolkata or Nagpur.But Panesar is no longer letting such issues concern him. While he believes he now has a better understanding of “the optimum pace for maximum turn” on different types of wickets, he knows that, however well he bowls, he will not always enjoy such success.”I’ve developed a mindset where I don’t take anything for granted,” Panesar said. “I don’t take things for granted but I commit to my processes, which help me to succeed, and I don’t go beyond that.”On the face of things, it might appear that Burns’ services should be unnecessary. After all, the counties and cricket boards are well funded and should be able to provide all the coaching and support a player requires. But as Burns puts it “it is not a perfect world” and players may sometimes be reluctant to open up to county coaches in quite the same way in case it has repercussions to their subsequent selection or employment prospects. Burns, by contrast, offers a confidential, non-judgemental service which is funded, in this case, by the concerned players who sought his services in an effort to realise their untapped potential.

“When I came into international cricket I wouldn’t speak to anyone. Now I’m confident in speaking to the captain, the coaches and the support staff.”Monty Panesar on his newly discovered self-belief

“Monty and Nick Compton both share some similarities,” Burns, who coincidentally was Panesar’s maiden first-class wicket, said. “They both want to be the best they can be and they’ve both, after a period of early promise, experienced a period of underperformance followed by a period of confusion and doubt.”Monty was finding things tough. Things that had worked for him in the past were not working anymore and he had become a bit constricted by fear. He was a high-quality individual who just lost his way. He needed some emotional resilience and some confidence. He needed to go through a period of experimentation to realise what his strengths were. He has grown as an individual and as a player.”Confidence is a key theme in the new Panesar. The Panesar that first appeared in international cricket was too timid to ask the captain to change a field or ask a coach for advice but, thanks to the confidence instilled in him by Burns, he now feels happy to make suggestions.”When I first came into the international arena I’d defer to coaches, captains and players,” Panesar said. “Put a ball in my hand and I’d be happy to bowl line and length, but Neil and the sports psychologist, Dr Ken Jennings, have given me more idea of who I am as a person and what I can bring to a cricket team.”I feel a better cricketer. I’m a lot more confident in many contexts. When I came into international cricket I wouldn’t speak to anyone. I wouldn’t speak to the coaches or anyone. Now I’m confident in speaking to the captain, the coaches and the support staff. That’s the kind of area they helped me develop.”It was a similar story with Compton. Burns did not try and reinvent him; he helped him to realise what his skills were and develop those rather than trying to be something he was not.”I was disillusioned when he got hold of me,” Compton said. “I had played a bit of first-team cricket and I was impatient for more. I remember him saying to me, ‘What have you actually done?’ It brought me back down to earth when I realised I hadn’t actually done anything. So we spent six months just working on my defence. It was the most uncomfortable six months of my life but we really built a new package, all based on the understanding that it doesn’t matter how good your cover drive or your pull is if you can’t stay out there. I wanted to play the one ball I faced with as much quality as I could to make sure I could play another ball. I scored 1,300 runs that season.”Whatever happens in the rest of the series in India, Compton and Panesar can take immense satisfaction at turning their careers around and earning themselves a place in the Test team. It may well be that England cricket could learn a few lessons from Burns, too.

New Zealand believed that if they stuck to their task long enough, the Indian batsmen would eventually crack

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2010″Cricket is a funny game. If you compete with a team for long enough, something cracks,” Mark Greatbatch said on the eve of the Test. “That’s the challenge for us – to compete with India for a long period of time. Into the fourth day, fifth day, if we are still with them, they are human; they make mistakes like anyone else.” India got a taste of that spirit today, and New Zealand got those mistakes they were hunting.India had strolled to 383 for 4, without any alarms, when Sachin Tendulkar fell. It’s tempting to add, ‘against the run of play’ to that sentence. Were India, Sachin Tendulkar in particular, and a touch too cautious? The bowling was steady, but by no means disciplined enough to be suffocating. Jeetan Patel was a touch short at times, and offered width on a few occasions as well. You felt for Daniel Vettori at that point, and wondered whether India were going to pile up an obscenely big total. Just yesterday, Rahul Dravid recovered from a very slow start to push India to a good position. So the fact that they were batting slowly didn’t seem like end of the world. The reason for the mini-collapse was, as Greatbatch said, they made mistakes.Three of them came in the first session. Sachin Tendulkar went down the track, but the mind seemed elsewhere: It was a weak push. If you are an ardent fan, you might say the ball stopped. If you are from Patel’s family, you might say it dipped on Tendulkar. It didn’t look like it did either. It was just a push-drive gone awry.The second mistake came just before the lunch break, when Laxman played outside the line to a regular offbreak. Most times, simple things done well and consistently bring results in sport. It was just an off break; it didn’t jump, it didn’t skid alarmingly, it didn’t turn too much, and it didn’t keep low. Laxman just pushed outside the line.The third was a mistake that wasn’t entirely surprising. Suresh Raina likes to play on the up; he reaches forward and knives through the line. This wasn’t the pitch for such extravagance. That particular delivery, from Kane Williamson, stopped, and Raina ended up punching lamely to short extra cover.There was a fourth mistake too, from MS Dhoni, but he can perhaps be excused. Dhoni was shivering with fever during the lunch break and needed blankets to protect himself. “It was good to see him to go out to bat,” Harbhajan Singh said. “It was a good sign from a captain; [if] he had wanted, he could have not gone out to bat. It was nice of him to bat and he also kept. He is feeling much better now.”Harbhajan ensured India’s mistakes won’t prove too costly by taking them to 489 with his highest Test score. Advantage India? Harbhajan was very wary. “It’s very slow. There is no bounce, no turn and it’s hard for the bowlers. We need a special effort to beat them.”With Jesse and Vettori yet to come, we can’t relax at any stage. We have to work really hard on this wicket. We need to bowl to our fields and work to our plans.”Not that New Zealand are too upbeat. It was just about survival at this moment. Patel knew New Zealand have to bat long and hard. What did he make out of the pitch? “It’s starting to keep a little bit lower now,” Patel said. “Tim McIntosh was off a short-of-length ball. That’s Test cricket in the subcontinent. You expect the ball to go up and down, so we have to deal with it.”India’s bowler says it’s going to be very hard to take wickets. New Zealand’s bowler says it won’t be easy to bat on. Neither team appears to be playing mind games. Only time will tell what will happen in this Test. See you tomorrow.