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Southampton are set to demand "£50m plus" for midfielder Romeo Lavia this summer amid heavy interest from Premier League clubs in his services, according to Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth.

How much will Romeo Lavia cost interested suitors?

£50 million is the figure that Southampton are 'holding out' for before considering sanctioning a departure for Lavia from St Mary's Stadium this summer amid interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona in his services, according to Football Insider.

The outlet claim that Liverpool are frontrunners to bring in the Belgium international and indicate that a move to Anfield would be his preference ahead of other options on the table.

Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle United are asking to be kept informed on Lavia's situation as speculation surrounding the 19-year-old's future ramps up, according to 90min.

Earlier this year, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano took to Twitter to confirm that Lavia's former club Manchester City have a buyback clause for the youngster at the £40 million mark that activates in 2024, stating: "Romeo Lavia will be one to watch in the summer. Man City £40m buy back clause, valid in 2024. Chelsea [wanted him last summer] and Arsenal [still keen on Caicedo too] among clubs interested – Southampton hope to keep him."

Contractually, Lavia is tied to Southampton until the summer of 2027 and earns £25,000 per week on the South Coast, as per Capology.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Sky Sports journalist Sheth has belief that Southampton will hold out for a minimum of £50 million for midfield talent Lavia.

Sheth said: “Southampton, even though they’ve gone down to the Championship they know what they’ve got in Romeo Lavia and all the noises are suggesting that it’s going to be £50m plus to prise him away from St Mary's.

"So maybe one that goes later in the window once a number of clubs have got all of their positions sorted, and then they’ll have a look whether they can actually realistically do a deal for someone like Lavia. I think that might happen later in the window.”

Will Romeo Lavia leave Southampton?

It's looking very likely that Lavia will leave Southampton at this point due to their relegation to the Sky Bet Championship; however, they should be very well compensated for the Belgium international if he finalises a move elsewhere between now and the close of play.

The former Manchester City star had a promising campaign last term, registering one goal and a solitary assist in 34 appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

Lavia also showed his penchant for getting stuck into tackles last season and won an average of 2.1 challenges per match in the Premier League, according to WhoScored.

Driving forward from the middle of the park, the 19-year-old also successfully conjured up 41 shot-creating actions, demonstrating that he can also help to fashion chances for his side, as per FBRef.

Now, it looks like the question on everyone's lips is where will Lavia end up come the end of the transfer window, with several elite sides keen to take him on board due to his potential.

Southampton won't care about the destination too much as their sole focus will be accumulating a hefty financial reward before letting him depart St Mary's.

South Africa ‘A’ sauntered to their second win in the tri-series, downing Afghanistan ‘A’ by 164 runs in Pretoria

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2017Reeza Hendricks carried his bat through•Getty ImagesReeza Hendricks smashed an unbeaten 173, his ninth List A century, as South Africa ‘A’ crushed Afghanistan ‘A’ by 164 runs in Pretoria to secure their second win of the tri-series.Hendricks, who carried his bat through the innings, struck 14 fours and five sixes in his 145-ball knock as the hosts posted 336 for 5 after being put in to bat. Afghanistan ‘A’ had as many as six batsman crossing double digits, with the highest being Rahmat Shah’s 55 at No. 3. They were bowled out for 172 in 32.2 overs with Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wristspinner, taking 4 for 19.Afghanistan ‘A’ were up against it right from the outset as Hendricks and Henry Davids put on 79 for the opening wicket in 13 overs to set the platform. Mangaliso Mosehle was out for 17 but each of the other batsmen got among the runs. The middle-order lift was provided by Khaya Zondo, the captain, who made a 55-ball 62 during the course of a 135-run stand with Hendricks. The last 15 overs fetched them 144.Afghanistan ‘A’ were rocked early when Dwaine Pretorius struck in the second over to remove Javed Ahmadi. He made it a double-strike by dismissing Usman Ghani in the sixth over. Rahmat hit five fours and a six to raise a half-century, but was trapped lbw by Shamsi to trigger a middle-order slide.Najibullah Zadran (26), Afsar Zazai (24) and Shafiqullah (16) got off to starts but fell to expose the lower order. The innings was wrapped up when Dane Paterson bowled last man Fareed Ahmad to finish with three wickets.Afghanistan ‘A’ have now lost both their matches in the tri-series. They take on India ‘A’ in their next outing on August 1 at the same venue – the LC de Villiers Oval.

A group of Roma fans have been arrested after causing unrest on a flight to London ahead of their Europa League tie against Brighton on Thursday.

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Roma fans arrested after flightSuspects accused of disruptionSet to face Brighton in Europa LeagueWHAT HAPPENED?

Five or six Giallorossi supporters were met by police when they landed in England after causing disruptions on the flight from the Italian capital, reports. Police cars were ready on the landing strip at Stansted airport to detain the suspects.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The arrest of the Roma fans is just the latest controversy surrounding the tie. Two Brighton fans were stabbed in Rome ahead of the first leg of the Europa League last-16 tie, while the Italian fans threw bottles, lighters and coins at the away support during the game.

DID YOU KNOW?

Roma ran out 4-0 winners in the first leg of the European tie last week, with Paulo Dybala, Romelu Lukaku, Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante all getting on the scoresheet to give Daniele De Rossi's team a significant advantage.

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Getty WHAT NEXT?

Roberto De Zerbi's team will aim to get back into the Europa League tie as best they can when they host the Serie A side on Thursday. The Seagulls will then have two weeks off ahead of the international break.

The teenager has the talent and commercial appeal to become the face of the Catalan club but can he succeed where past prodigies failed?

In 2006, a young player out of the Barcelona academy signed a deal with adidas. The agreement, reportedly worth around $500,000 per year, felt like a hefty investment for a 19-year-old. After all, the player hadn't yet played a full season of professional football. By the end of the previous season, he had scored six goals and added three assists. He only had 11 top-flight starts to his name.

That deal, for that player, Lionel Messi, proved to be a bargain for Adidas. Now, 18 years later, another La Masia graduate has done the same thing. Lamine Yamal, another right-winger out of the Barcelona academy, penned a long-term agreement to be one of the faces of adidas' global football brand. He will be the only other player in the world to wear Messi's exact boots – adding a visual link to a spiritual connection that has been drawn between the two for some time.

And though it will lead to immense pressure on the teenager, it is an ideal arrangement for the Balugrana. Since Messi left, the Catalan club have lacked a central marketable star – a world class presence who can not only change a game but also sell shirts in spades. Yamal, the newly minted face of adidas, can be that player.

adidas partnership with Lamine Yamaladidas partnership with Lamine YamalThe adidas deal

Yamal's deal was announced in a very modern way. A brief video showed Yamal, sitting on his childhood bed, clad in all-adidas gear, smiling at the camera. The alarm clock next to him beeps, and shows the time "3:04" – a reference to the area code he grew up in. Yamal laces up Messi's boots, and is then shown running onto a football pitch. He throws up his signature celebration, before breaking out a series of tricks and flicks.

It's comparable to the ad Jude Bellingham, another young star, recently featured in for the famous brand. This was a well-thought-out thing, something meant not only to curate an image but also highlight a burgeoning talent.

The company explained their choice, too.

"Adidas is proud to confirm Lamine Yamal joining the adidas family as of today, wearing the X Crazyfast; perfectly suited to his agile and explosive style of play on the wing. Lamine grew up in Rocafonda, 40 minutes from his club’s training ground, and remains proud of his roots in the area," it said in a statement.

"The partnership announcement film that has been posted on adidasFootball channels in collaboration with Lamine celebrates his football journey and connection to the 304, Rocafonda’s area code," it added.

The exact terms of the deal have not been made public. But the video alone shows that this is a serious commitment to an exciting talent. And Yamal deserves it, too.

Advertisement(C)GettyImagesThe search for Messi's successor

There is a prevailing sense that the Blaugrana have been searching for a player like Yamal for some time. The idea of a 'new Messi' has long haunted the halls of La Masia, Barcelona's famed youth academy. At times, it seems like an obsession.

He comes from a long-line of supposed Messi successors – most of which have been unequivocal failures. Bojan, Messi's contemporary at the club, burned out fast – and later admitted that the comparisons to the world's best left a serious mark on his mental health. Giovani Dos Santos and Riqui Puig received much the same treatment – and never delivered on the promise.

The closest thus far has been Ansu Fati. He seemed an ideal replacement. Fifteen years younger than Messi, but a similarly exciting player, he was given the No.10 shirt when the Argentine reluctantly left for PSG in 2021. But that, too, proved to be too much for the teenager, who, four knee surgeries later, is struggling to make the grade at Brighton.

GettyYamal up to the task?

Yamal, it would seem, is the closest thing the Blaugrana have developed to a viable replacement.

The positional similarities are here: Yamal is a left-footed right winger. The skills are, too. Yamal can beat a player with his dribbling prowess and find the bottom corner with an angled shot.

He also has just enough swagger about his game to wow the Barcelona faithful without overplaying in key areas.

The stats – five goals and four assists in all competitions – don't jump off the page. But superstardom stretches beyond numbers. It's about the intangible qualities. Yamal has them.

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GettyA godsend for boring Barcelona

It's something that the current Barca squad is missing all over the pitch. A cursory glance at the starting XI shows a number of very talented and likeable footballers – but no global megastars. The word 'Galactico' is only used in a different major sporting city in Spain.

Still, players of that same stratospheric talent are hard to come by. The Blaugrana have always had at least one. Messi and Neymar were there at the same time. Before them were Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff.

This iteration of Barca – outside of burgeoning star Yamal – doesn't really have one. Robert Lewandowski will go down as a legend of the game. But his fame doesn't stretch beyond football; and he isn't one for massive ad campaigns, either. Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong are all midfield artists, but share the same issue.

Ronald Araujo, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Jules Kounde and Ilkay Gundogan all have social media presences – almost all footballers do these days. Still, none of them are impactful enough to make waves beyond football fan communities. You'd struggle to find a kid on the streets of Catalonia aspiring to be a tidy French full-back.

It is ironic that this all comes just nine months removed from a season of immense success. Barca coasted their way to a first Spanish top flight title since 2019 last season, claiming La Liga by 10 points. But the manner in which they won didn't catch the eye. This was an excellent defensive team that only let in 20 goals all season. They scored 15 fewer than in the 2020-21 campaign, a season in which the Blaugrana finished third. Put more simply: this version of Barcelona is boring.

The Committee of Administrators has ruled that the BCCI can press criminal charges against players found to be indulging in age fraud

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2018The Committee of Administrators (CoA) has ruled that players submitting false and tampered-with birth certificates as part of the age-verification processes for BCCI tournaments will now be banned for two years and could also face criminal action from the BCCI.At a meeting in Delhi in May, the CoA deliberated on the existing penalties for such an offence and decided that with a due mechanism to identify such fraud, the ban period should be doubled from the existing one-year period. Age-fudging is a prominent feature in India’s domestic system, particularly in age-group cricket, where parents and even coaches encourage the practice despite the risks of being found out. The loss of two years of top-level cricket, along with the danger of legal charges, the CoA hopes, will serve as a deterrent to any such attempts by players.Under the Indian legal system, it is a criminal offence to provide false birth certificates. The BCCI has now decided to adopt the same penalty wherever applicable. “Players who are found [after a proper enquiry] to have submitted false/tampered birth certificates will be banned from all BCCI tournaments for two seasons,” the CoA said as per the minutes of the May 18 meeting. “BCCI may also initiate criminal action against the concerned player and/or any other person responsible for submitting false/tampered birth certificates.”The decision comes almost three years after the current coach of the India Under-19s and A teams, Rahul Dravid, had called for a regulation at the state and academy levels to stop the “scourge of overage players” in his MAK Pataudi lecture, adding that age-fudging was just as bad as fixing.”The truth is that the player who has faked his age might make it at the junior level not necessarily because he is better or more talented, but because he is stronger and bigger. We all know how much of a difference a couple of years can make at that age. That incident will have another ripple effect: an honest player, deprived of his place by an overage player, is disillusioned. We run the risk of losing him forever,” Dravid had said during the lecture.At the time, bone-density tests were the only measure of determining a player’s age. A centralised database of birth certificates, Dravid had said, would be the way to tackle the issue.

A hat-trick for the South African pace bowler Kyle Abbott as evening sunshine flooded across Worcester all but settled the battle of the bottom two

David Hopps at New Road05-Sep-20181:45

Drama at Taunton as Somerset and Lancashire tie

ScorecardA hat-trick for the South African pace bowler Kyle Abbott as evening sunshine flooded across Worcester all but settled the battle of the bottom two in Hampshire’s favour and gave them renewed hopes of salvaging their Division One status, as well as perhaps consigning Worcestershire to yet another relegation in their perpetual up-and-down existence.Abbott admitted last week that he had been struggling for inspiration in his second season at Hampshire after abandoning international cricket to play out his days in county cricket. A tweak to his contract, a few wickets last week at Chelmsford in a match where Hampshire were trounced by an innings, and the uplifting sight of an uneven, seaming Worcester pitch on which 24 wickets tumbled on the second day was all he needed to put the struggles behind him.Abbott returned the first hat-trick for Hampshire since Billy Taylor in 2006: Joe Clarke, the only batsman in the top six to make double figures, fell for 33 as he edged one that kept low; Josh Tongue, advanced in the order in a desperate attempt to keep Ed Barnard until the morning, was yorked; and Barnard then fell lbw to one that cut back markedly, completing a pair in the day. Abbott finished with 5 for 35 with the chance of the last two wickets on the morrow; Worcestershire need a further 128.Years fell from Hampshire’s experienced international attack as the ball seamed past the outside edge, as it has for two days. They scented a victim with every ball. Abbott, a domineering and robust figure again, felt his cares depart, his fellow South African Dale Steyn could imagine a Test career with stories still to tell, and Fidel Edwards made 36 seem no age at all.”I was pretty stoked up” – Abbott

Kyle Abbott (on his hat-trick): “It is the first of my professional career so I was pretty stoked up by it. It was quite surreal really, three different dismissals, which kind of sums up the pitch. Every ball I felt I was going to get a nick through to the keeper or slips, or bowl someone, or have an lbw.
Alan Richardson (Worcestershire bowling coach): “They’ve got a very good attack, three international quick bowlers on a wicket that has probably assisted them the whole way through so it has made it really challenging for our guys. They have been around a long time, highly skilled bowlers, potentially you would say that has been the difference, just that experience.”

It took one ball for Worcestershire’s second-innings task to appear forlorn, Daryl Mitchell, the one batsman to offer concerted resistance first time around, jabbing Abbott to first slip. A hush fell upon New Road; a vital component removed. Steyn picked off Tom Fell and Alex Milton with ease. Brett D’Oliveira was gated by Abbott, Ben Cox edged Edwards’ outswinger to the wicketkeeper and, although he waited for the decision, the umpires were right to send him packing. Hampshire took the extra half-hour only to be thwarted by desperate ninth-wicket resistance and, ultimately, bad light shortly after seven o’clock.Barring third-morning miracles, it suddenly looks dismal for Worcestershire. Elsewhere, Lancashire have salvaged a tie at Taunton and Yorkshire are putting up stubborn resistance at Trent Bridge. Surrey, champions elect, are next in line. Worcestershire’s young side has many admirable qualities, but top-order resilience is not one of them and the retention of Clarke, their prize batting asset, will be much harder if they go down.Worcestershire were slightly off the pace at the start of the day – 68 for 4 in reply to 191 – and to be dismissed for 120 in a further 16.2 overs served to deepen their predicament. Steyn breaking the innings with two wickets in four balls, D’Oliveira and Barnard both edging balls that snaked away.Hampshire’s lead was 71 and, on such a surface, they only needed to stretch it to 200 to feel in charge. To fall to 25 for 4 was not ideal, a reminder of the promise of Worcestershire’s young attack. But the make-up of struggling sides can be curious in late season, the residue of decisions taken to challenge players not at their best, which explains the decisive presence of Tom Alsop at No. 6 and Liam Dawson eye-catchingly low at No. 8, as they compiled 77 in 19 overs. Wayne Parnell’s intervention as he removed both just before tea helped him to 4 for 23 on his home Championship debut but it came too late.Kyle Abbott bowls for Hampshire•Getty ImagesDawson, of course, has pedigree at eight. He made 66 against India in Chennai there in his first Test innings in 2016, the highest debut score ever made by a batsman in that position. But only three Tests followed, plus a sprinkling of limited-over matches. At 28, further England opportunities might follow, but if they don’t, his challenge to achieve personal fulfilment is not dissimilar to that of Abbott.About the time Alsop and Dawson turned this match Hampshire’s way, a ripple of applause for Alsop’s fifty could be heard in the Ladies Pavilion where tea and cake was being dispensed with military efficiency.”Is that a wicket?” a Worcestershire member asked hopefully.”No, it’s a cheese scone, dear,” came the reply.Alan Bennett would have a field day here. But the confused response was understandable considering the surreal conversation that had just taken place. The previous customer had looked at a line of almond slices with slightly different pastry edges and said: “We used to call them strikers, centre backs and midfielders when I was at school.”The realisation that almond slices in at least one Worcester school were named after football, not cricket, perhaps goes some way to explaining Worcestershire’s never-ending challenge in maintaining life in Division One. Time evidently for Worcestershire’s cake bakers to descend upon the public schools and put a stop to it.

Brighton and Hove Albion have been dealt another injury blow to a first-team favourite alongside Solly March, according to an update from Roberto De Zerbi.

What's the latest injury news at Brighton?

The Amex Stadium outfit have Pervis Estupinan, Tariq Lamptey, Julio Enciso and Jakub Moder all out on the sidelines with their own respective injuries, and over the weekend, they were joined in the treatment room by another regular feature on the south coast.

During Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League away defeat to Manchester City, Solly March left the pitch on a stretcher after a knee injury resulted in him experiencing severe pain and being unable to walk, but unfortunately for the boss, he wasn’t the only player to be forced off the field earlier than expected.

At the Etihad, Danny Welbeck also had to depart the grass after sustaining a muscle injury so was replaced by Evan Ferguson after just 16 minutes, which wasn’t great news for the manager, who had to watch his striker walk away from the action prematurely.

So far this season, England’s former international has started seven out of the opening nine fixtures in the top-flight (WhoScored – Welbeck statistics), which highlights how much of an integral member of the squad he is, but if the following update is to be believed, the 32-year-old may face a wait to stage his comeback.

Danny Welbeck injury update

Speaking during his post-match interview following the weekend's loss to Man City, De Zerbi delivered an injury update on Welbeck and March. As quoted by BBC Sport, he confirmed Welbeck will at the very least miss the Ajax match: "The worst thing today is I think we are losing March for a long time. I'm frustrated, we lost two important players.

"We need more players. We are not used to playing in European competition. We have to find a solution to play and compete in every competition."

How much does Danny Welbeck earn per week?

With the Seagulls, Welbeck currently pockets £55k-per-week (Brighton salaries) which he has more than earned during his time at the club, therefore, it will end up being a huge blow for De Zerbi should he lose the services of his centre-forward for the foreseeable future.

The Longsight-born talent has posted 30 contributions, 20 goals and ten assists, in 99 outings since putting pen to paper (Transfermarkt – Welbeck statistics), form which has previously seen him hailed an “important” first-team player by journalist Josh Bunting.

Furthermore, Welbeck, who is sponsored by Nike, is a versatile operator having been deployed in five different positions over the pitch since the start of his career, including everywhere across the frontline and even as an attacking midfielder, though this is another quality that the head coach will have to cope without having at his disposal should his star be facing a spell on the sidelines.

India’s chief selector MSK Prasad had earlier stated that Dhoni would appear for Jharkhand in the quarter-finals, much like Rohit Sharma for Mumbai

Saurabh Somani13-Oct-2018MS Dhoni will not take part in Jharkhand’s knockout matches for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018-19.Jharkhand will play their quarter-final against Maharashtra at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday, and Dhoni wasn’t present at the first nets the team had, at the adjoining NCA ground, on Saturday. Team members that ESPNcricinfo spoke to on Saturday said they weren’t expecting Dhoni to join the squad.Jharkhand coach Rajiv Kumar said that he had not received any official word about Dhoni joining, but in his opinion, Dhoni wouldn’t have wanted to disturb the team’s combination, especially since he would have been able to play only one match.”He has to go to Hyderabad on October 16 to report for the ODI series,” Kumar said. “Maybe he will come for a day, I don’t know yet what his plan is, but so far, he is not coming. But it may be possible. You know he takes his own decisions. He is saying the boys are doing well, so there is no point coming for just one game and taking somebody’s place.”Jharkhand topped Group C with 32 points from nine matches, to qualify.The semi-finals are scheduled for October 17 and 18, meaning Dhoni would not have been able to take part even if Jharkhand win their match against Maharashtra.It is understood that Dhoni linking up with the Jharkhand team in Chennai was spoken of before he left for the Asia Cup. The Asia Cup concluded on September 28, with India beating Bangladesh in the final. Jharkhand had four league games remaining in Group C after that, with the first one on October 1. They won three of the games, with one abandoned without a ball bowled. Dhoni, however, eventually didn’t join the team.At the press conference after the Indian ODI side had been announced, chief selector MSK Prasad had said that Dhoni would be playing in the Vijay Hazare quarter-final.Dhoni’s decision is rendered more curious given his recent struggles in limited-overs cricket, and questions beginning to be asked about whether he is the right man to be the first-choice wicketkeeper in the 2019 World Cup. In the Asia Cup, he batted four times, scoring 77 runs with an average of 19.25 and a strike rate of 62.09. Overall in 2018, he has batted 10 times in 15 matches, for an average of 28.12 and a strike rate of 67.36. Dhoni’s last first-class match was in the Irani Trophy over a decade ago, while his last List-A game for Jharkhand was in the 2017-18 Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final against Bengal.However, while Dhoni has decided to stay away, Rohit Sharma will be part of the Mumbai XI that takes on Bihar in the first quarter-final on Sunday. Rohit, who also didn’t join the Mumbai squad during the league stages, has flown down to be part of the first knockout match. A Mumbai team spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that if the Indian ODI team had asked players to report by October 16, Rohit would also miss any subsequent knockout matches.

Ed Barnard claimed four wickets as Worcestershire held their nerve on the final day to secure a first Championship win of the season

Jon Culley at New Road23-Jun-20182:01

Kent squash Warwickshire’s hopes of record chase

ScorecardIn reality, the chances of Lancashire reaching their monumental target of 602 to win here were always extremely remote. The fact that no one in the history of first-class cricket has scored more than 541 to win a match in the fourth innings is because, even when the best part of two days are at a team’s disposal, scoring so many runs before the opposition takes 10 wickets is extraordinarily difficult.Yet Glenn Chapple, who has no doubt seen a few potential records fail to materialise over his career, confessed that even he, for a short time at least, while Keaton Jennings and Dane Vilas were making relatively untroubled progress on the final morning, and six wickets were still in hand, allowed himself to contemplate the possibility that history might be made.”There is no point at the start in saying you are going to score 602, it is a ridiculous thing to contemplate,” he said.”Faced with a run chase like that it is just a case of concentrate on your performance, assess what your best chance is of staying in and scoring runs, and ultimately see where that can lead. And I think everyone realised that had Keaton and Dane been able to sustain their partnership into the afternoon it might eventually have become a reality.”But the truth is that we lost the match not because they could not do that but because of two passages of play on the first day.”After having Worcester 81 for 5, we let them score nigh-on 250, which was too many on that pitch. Then after being 77 for 0 ourselves with six or seven overs to go, we ended up five down.”And though we played very well to score nearly 400 in the last innings, when Keaton Jennings set such a fine example of discipline and professional approach, we should not have been four down overnight. So there are things we need to look at.”This is not a story, though, about a Lancashire failure, but about a Worcestershire victory, their first of a frustrating season, achieved moreover with their two leading wicket-takers sidelined, but whose stand-ins – the latest of whom, 19-year-old Pat Brown, is still a student at Worcester University – showed character and resilience on a durable pitch to make sure the winning chance was not wasted.Seeing Brown claim the prized scalp of Jennings, for 177, and Ed Barnard add four more wickets to his first-innings five, gave Brett D’Oliveira, making a successful debut as stand-in captain for the injured Joe Leach, as much pleasure as Daryl Mitchell’s two hundreds and Martin Guptill’s century on debut.”The conditions got better to bat on,” D’Oliveira said. “It did start to get a bit lower towards the end and we got a couple of lbws but overall it was a good wicket and they have some very good players, so it took everything to get those 11 wickets.”Pat Brown getting Keaton Jennings out was crucial, a moment that stands out among several outstanding performances. And Ed – it was a real challenge for him in that second innings and he really did work hard and deserved the rewards he got.”I’m proud of the players. We have been in good positions in a couple of games and haven’t quite done it so it feels good to have rammed home our advantage this time.”They have shown resilience and fight. A couple of years ago at 81 for 5 we might have crumbled but this time we showed we could fight back.”Vilas and Jennings both fell before lunch, Vilas bowled off an inside edge by Barnard, Jennings by one from Brown that kept a shade low and came with added zip too. Jordan Clark and Danny Lamb, whose historic appearance here as a concussion substitute is a footnote not to be forgotten, hinted at grinding out a draw but a double bowling change changed the dynamic in a flash.Ross Whiteley, whose left-arm seamers are only occasionally required, claimed his first Championship wicket for three years when Ben Cox, standing up, took a sharp catch to remove Clark, opening up the tail for Barnard to see off, the last four wickets falling for one run in four overs.

Sam Curran will be England’s third seamer, with Dawid Malan to bat in the middle order while India will confirm their XI on Wednesday

Preview by Andrew Miller31-Jul-2018Big PictureSeven years ago, at the start of another Indian Test tour of England, another notable Test landmark was reached. It will be England’s 1000th Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday; at Lord’s in the first Test of the 2011 series, it was the 2000th Test all told.Such landmarks can be trite, but every now and then they can have a galvanising effect too. That 2011 Test proved to be an epic, life-affirming affair, lit up by queues all down the Wellington Road on the final morning, as fans piled in for the chance to witness a grandstand finish, and maybe even (or not, as it transpired) a 100th hundred for the inimitable Sachin Tendulkar.The ECB, and Edgbaston, can but pray that this week’s Test will be amplified by its additional layer of history. Ticket sales for the much of the series have been sluggish, undermined no doubt by an England team that may include three players – Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Stuart Broad – who have contributed to more than a tenth of that English Test history, but which is currently performing at a similar fraction of its potential.In theory, everything this summer ought to have been building towards this climax. The logic of the India itinerary certainly implied that the Tests would be the biggest deal – with the T20Is and ODIs loaded into the top half of the tour before clearing the calendar for a full five-Test showdown. And yet, India chose to reduce their solitary warm-up at Chelmsford from four days to three, while England’s non-white-ball players have been hampered by a lack of Championship cricket in which to fine-tune their own preparations.In particular, the new-ball veterans, Anderson and Broad, are about to be asked to go from 0 to 100 in double-quick time. Having both played a solitary county fixture in the whole of July, they are now embarking on an itinerary of five Tests in six weeks, an ask that even an arch-combatant such as Broad has admitted he may struggle to complete without factoring in rest and rotation.It’s a state of affairs that will surely alarm the ECB, who have been banking on the windfalls from this bumper summer to replenish their coffers, and who must be wondering, if not India, then who can keep the crowds coming through the turnstiles for Test cricket?That’s not to say, however, that the status of the series has been diminished before it has begun. The era of the Big Three was consigned to the ICC’s official history books some time ago, but the sentiments that drove that agenda continue to hold sway in on-field engagements. England v India has taken its time to catch up with India v Australia as one of Test cricket’s blue riband battles, and it hasn’t yet produced the sort of see-sawing contest that would lift it alongside the Ashes in the public’s affections. But in terms of spice and animosity, there’s history aplenty between these teams, and scope in the coming weeks for so many additional plotlines.Virat Kohli himself gave short shrift to the notion that his team are favourites, but either way this is looking like India’s best-drilled squad for a tour of England since 2007, when Rahul Dravid’s team emerged as 1-0 victors in a three-Test series, having shed their previous reticence in a gripping tussle under Sourav Ganguly five years earlier.The more recent trips in 2011 and 2014 showed promise in the early exchanges, not least at Lord’s four years ago when Ishant Sharma pushed Cook to the brink of resignation by sealing a remarkable win. But by the end of both series, the captain MS Dhoni had the air of a man who no longer needed the hassle as India’s shortcomings against the moving ball pushed him into reverse.One thing you can be pretty sure of in 2018 – there will be no retreat under Kohli, a man on a mission to cement his own place as one of the sport’s all-time great cricketers. He has no material need to push himself any more than he already does, but like Tendulkar and Dravid before him, he recognises that Test cricket, even in its habitual state of flux, remains the format by which you book your place in the pantheon. If he can inspire a few of England’s own flatlining stars to match his resolve, we could yet be in for the classic that the format so desperately needs.Graphic: Adil Rashid will play his first Test for England since December 2016•ESPNcricinfo LtdForm guideEngland WLDLL
India WWLLDIn the spotlightJames Anderson v Virat Kohli is England v India in microcosm. Two giants of the game, drawn together once more to add another chapter to a storied rivalry. It would be grossly simplistic to say that the winner of this duel will decide the fate of this Test, and ultimately the series, but no two men are more fundamental to the fortunes of their teams.Kohli’s performance in England in 2014 – 134 runs in five Tests – remains a stain on his otherwise spotless world-class record, but his desire for retribution could not be more plain. Had it not been for an injury sustained at the IPL, he would have warmed up for this tour with a county stint with Surrey, but he’s had ample sighters in the course of India’s month-long build-up, including the limited-overs series, and no Indian captain since Ganguly has been more expressive in his desire for victory. His massive haul of 655 runs 109.16 on home soil paved the way for India’s 4-0 win in their last encounter with England in 2016-17.Anderson turned 36 on Monday, and while age is but a number, it’s still a pretty large one for a fast bowler who has been around the block for his 540 wickets over the course of a 15-year career. The economy of his run-up, allied to the magic in his wrist, means that there are no questions about his enduring quality – in many respects he is better now than ever before – but the challenge of five Tests in six weeks will require careful management, especially given his recent history of shoulder trouble. Anderson defied injury to rush himself back for the latter stages of that 2016-17 tour – to no great avail, he claimed four wickets at 53.5 in the last three Tests. But that willingness to put himself back in the frame showed how fiercely his fires still burn, as did his rather churlish end-of-series comments about Kohli’s record in England. The subtext was clear, but whether he’ll find his usual prodigious swing in the midst of England’s heatwave is another matter.Team newsAdil Rashid’s recall to the Test squad spawned a chapter of Yorkshire in-fighting not seen since Geoff Boycott was in his pomp – and Boycott himself hasn’t been shy on the subject either – but he will now be making his first Test appearance since December 2016. A grassy deck and a slight easing in the Saharan heat of this most atypical of English summers dissuaded England from fielding two spinners at Edgbaston for the first time since 1993, although Moeen Ali might have been considered ahead of Dawid Malan as a batsman. After playing his part in the series leveller against Pakistan, Sam Curran’s left-arm line complements the veteran pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Sam Curran, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.Kuldeep Yadav’s potential inclusion persuaded England to recruit a trio of club left-armers to replicate his unusual angles in the nets this week. But with R Ashwin a shoo-in, Ravi Jadeja’s established qualities are the likelier second-spin option if India decide to stick to their strengths rather than lean on the extra seamer in Mohammad Shami. Shikhar Dhawan’s place at the top of the order is under pressure following his pair at Essex last week. KL Rahul is itching for an opening, and might well open alongside Murali Vijay.India 1 Shikhar Dhawan/KL Rahul, 2 Murali Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Hardik Pandya, 9 Ravindra Jadeja/Mohammed Shami, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh YadavPitch and conditionsIt has taken some diligent input from the Edgbaston groundstaff – and several million litres of water – to keep their wicket from turning to a dustbowl in the midst of an improbable English heatwave. And they have succeeded against the odds, but presumably in keeping with their brief from the ECB, in producing a wicket that looks markedly similar to those from the 2015 Ashes and 2016 Pakistan series. And seamers dominated in both of those games.Stats and Trivia After playing each of his first ten Tests overseas, Rashid is set to make his home Test debut, and play for the first time as a solitary spinner. Jos Buttler has been promoted to England’s vice-captain after just two matches of his Test comeback. He takes over from James Anderson, who in turn stepped up after Ben Stokes missed the Ashes. India’s last visit to Edgbaston was one that they’d rather forget. Alastair Cook’s highest Test score of 294 was more than the visitors made in either innings, as they slumped to defeat by an innings and 242 runs.Quotes”Looking at the surface, we’ve decided we only want to go with one spinner, and that’s going to be Adil. With the amount of right-handers in what we think is going to be India’s team, he gives us a very attacking option.” Joe Root explains the thinking as Rashid’s Test recall is confirmed.“You need professionalism more than feeling like an underdog or starting as a favourite. That is something we want to do as a team: we want to be consistent and professional.” Virat Kohli is focussed only on on-field matters