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Government funding of £35m over five years can make “massive difference” to game’s accessibility

Matt Roller05-Apr-20240:42

UK Prime Minister Sunak gets bowled by young cricketer

James Anderson believes that the British government’s £35 million investment in grassroots cricket will “make a massive difference” to the sport’s profile and accessibility over the next five years.Rishi Sunak, the UK’s Prime Minister, announced a funding package at The Oval on Friday morning which Richard Thompson, ECB chair, described as a “seminal” step towards his ambition to make cricket “the most inclusive team sport in the country”. The ECB plans to build 16 “all-weather cricket domes” in cities across England by 2030.”Cricket [in England] has never had an investment of this size before from government,” Thompson said. “A million children that would never have had the chance to play cricket will now get that chance… that is frankly outstanding. [We] hope that will really develop into something bigger and make schools even more committed to cricket because we’re going to be providing the coaching, the facilities and the equipment.”Related

• Government funds £1.5million all-weather domes in Luton and Lancashire

• ECB to train teachers as coaches to boost cricket in secondary schools

• Ebony Rainford-Brent targets 2030 in ACE's long road to representation

The ECB has already funded a prototype dome in Bradford, which opened last year, and plans to launch two more in Walsall and Luton before the end of this summer. “When the government invests this amount of money, they need to invest in something they know works – and this works,” Thompson said.The funding package also includes investment into the ECB’s partnerships with charities Chance to Shine, the Lord’s Taverners and the ACE Programme, which have an emphasis on engaging children from lower socio-economic groups, those with special educational needs and disabilities, and the black community respectively.”If we can get a bat and ball in people’s hands early enough, and you’ve got the facilities there, then you hope they enter a pathway,” Thompson said. “We’ll work into a hub-spoke model so you’ve got a school, a dome, local clubs – everything will be linked back into local clubs as well – so it’s a bit more joined-up, more coordination.”Things aren’t happening in isolation… my ambition for cricket is to become the most inclusive team sport in the country: you can’t do that if you’ve not been playing at state schools. Take Jimmy, as the best example: if Jimmy’s dad hadn’t played cricket, he probably wouldn’t have played. That shouldn’t be the case.”Anderson, who is part of the ECB’s state-school taskforce, said: “Being in a dressing room of very few state-school players, this could just make a huge difference. I would have loved the chance to play more at school. I know my mates who showed an interest in it would have liked access to the equipment and to have played more – but we just didn’t.”UK prime minister Rishi Sunak plays indoor cricket at The Oval•PA Photos/Getty Images

Only around 6% of schoolchildren in the UK attend fee-paying schools, but more than half of the contracted England men’s players for 2023-24 did so at some stage in their education – some after winning cricket scholarships. Anderson attended his local state school in Burnley, and started playing the sport thanks to his father Mick’s passion for it.”My experience of getting into cricket was basically through my dad,” he said. “Getting into the county set-up was a bit of my mate’s mum telling the coach to have a look at me, and stuff like that. So it was a lot of luck involved to get where I’ve got to. I think anything we can do to make those steps easier is important.”Anderson said that cricket facilities at his school were “non-existent” with “no access” to the sport. “I actually had to ask my dad to ask our cricket club to cut a pitch on the outfield to help us play one or two games a year, because we just didn’t have the facilities at all. We had a shale-type athletics track, then a couple of grass football pitches – but that was literally it.”There’s always been a big number of privately-educated players in the [England] changing room. We talk a lot about trying to make the game inclusive and diverse and if you don’t give kids a chance to play at school, then it’s not making it inclusive or diverse. That is what this is going to help; it’s going to make a massive difference.”But also, I love playing the game – and this isn’t all about getting the next generation of England cricketers. It’s also just about getting people to experience this sport, which teaches you so much as a person: teamwork, communication, and so many other skills that will benefit you in life.”The funding is linked to England’s hosting of the women’s and men’s T20 World Cups in 2026 and 2030 respectively, events which Thompson hopes can help cricket to further grow its profile. “Football suffocates everything,” he said. “We have to double down on the fact that cricket is England’s summer sport and do everything we can to enable that to be the case.

The allrounder has had a taste of international cricket and on his current form more may not be far away

Alex Malcolm25-Oct-2023Moving house can be a pain. But for Matthew Short it was one of the best life decisions he ever made.The most in-form batter in Australian domestic cricket right now, who made his international T20I and ODI debut recently, and was one negative Travis Head scan result away from being drafted into Australia’s World Cup squad, admits that just 18 months ago he was nearing a cricketing abyss.In the winter of 2022, Short had been a professional cricketer for Victoria for eight years. Aged 26, he had played 62 first-class innings and scored just one hundred. It was against England in a tour game for a Cricket Australia XI in 2017 against an attack featuring Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali, but it was the fourth day of a tame draw where only 24 wickets had fallen in a true warm-up game in Townsville ahead of an Ashes series.Related

• Marsh, Short, Abbott sparkle as Australia seal series

• Sizzling Short century helps Victoria beat Queensland

• Jhye Richardson sidelined after another shoulder dislocation

• New South Wales drop Kurtis Patterson after heavy Sheffield Shield loss

He had zero Sheffield Shield centuries and was averaging just 30.38 in 55 innings. He had zero List A hundreds in 46 innings and zero T20 hundreds and just five fifties in 50 innings.But in 2023, he has scored six centuries across all formats: one in the BBL, two in the Marsh Cup and three in Sheffield Shield cricket. He was the BBL player of the tournament, played in the IPL, the Hundred and for Australia in white-ball cricket, all since moving closer to Victoria’s training facility at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.”I suppose probably 12-18 months ago, I was a little bit nowhere in terms of not putting as much effort into training,” Short said. “So I moved in closer to training and made a few sacrifices over the last few months. Really putting some emphasis on training and doing the extra stuff.”There was a bit more to it than that. But it is incredible that Short, now just shy of turning 28, after being a talented Australia Under-19, playing a youth World Cup, being selected in Cricket Australia development teams and consistently for Victoria, had not had that epiphany sooner.As a tall, powerful ball striker, with wonderful hand-eye coordination, a gifted catcher and very skillful offspin bowler, Short is almost the perfect package for the modern game. It is easy to see why he had so many games invested in him as a younger player without the pressure of having to perform for his place.But natural talent can only take you so far. His Victoria coach Chris Rogers has been a big proponent of asking his talented young players to “take the stairs and not the elevator” to get to the top echelon of Australian cricket. Short has done that through putting in more hours at training, but also coupling that with some better decision-making and mental skills out in the middle with the backing of both Rogers and his Adelaide Strikers coach Jason Gillespie.”Probably a lot of volume [training],” Short said. “Really trying to nail down on my game plan. But it’s more spending the extra time around recovery and stuff in the gym. Just really to get my body okay to play as much as I have over the last six to 12 months.”It’s [also] probably more the mental side of things. Both here at Victoria and the Strikers in Adelaide I’ve been given a lot of freedom from Bucky Rogers and Dizzy Gillespie. Just being able to bat my natural way. It’s pretty aggressive and I seem to be getting away with a bit now.”Extra responsibility has also helped. He has gone from an inconsistent rank-and-file member of both Victoria and Strikers to a senior player who is relied upon in both sides. At Strikers, his runscoring at the top of the order became vital in the absence of Alex Carey and Travis Head while he also had to bowl powerplay overs upfront.For Victoria last summer, Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb’s absence due to Test duties and Nic Maddinson’s injury meant added responsibility. Short thrived with that on his shoulders. He then experienced the new challenge of being an overseas player at the top of the order for Punjab Kings in the IPL and Northern Superchargers in the Hundred.Matthew Short has been around the Australia camp in the last few months•Associated Press

Stepping back into Victoria colours last week after being away with Australia, including clubbing 66 off 30 balls in just his second T20I against South Africa, with his state side struggling early in the season, he was able to stand tall with back-to-back hundreds in Mackay against Queensland.”I think being an international player, albeit they were replacement player gigs, but to be that kind of player that teams rely on for scores or wickets or whatever it is, to have that kind of extra pressure on you, I think that’s been good to bring back to Victoria,” Short said. “I think the last few years we’ve relied heavily on one or two players, whether it be Marcus Harris or Pete Handscomb, Scotty Boland. It’s nice to be able to think of myself as someone that the team relies on to score runs and help set up some victories.”His bowling too has developed with the help of Victoria spin coach Craig Howard, who has been a vital part of Todd Murphy’s development into becoming a Test offspinner. Short suddenly looms as a triple-threat in all three forms.With Australia’s white-ball teams about to hit a transition phase, he is well aware his purple patch could not have come at a better time. But looking beyond that there are subcontinental Test tours that loom for Australia in Sri Lanka in early 2025 and India in early 2027 where Short’s skillset would make him an asset.”You never know,” Short said. “Based off my last six months I think anything can happen. If you keep putting performances on the board at the right time, this sort of time in Australian cricket, there might be a few changes coming up. I think it’s just all about timing. I’m not really thinking about it too much, whether it’s white-ball or red-ball, but if I can keep performing and trying to win games for Victoria then who knows what’ll happen.”His immediate task is to get past New South Wales and a returning Nathan Lyon at the MCG starting on Thursday as Victoria try to rebound after consecutive innings defeats in the Sheffield Shield to start the year. They look set to welcome back Will Pucovski who rested the trip to Queensland.”He seems in good spirits,” Short said. “I’m looking forward to playing with him.”

Kaverappa, Sarfaraz also part of the squad that’s set to take on Saurashtra beginning October 1 in Rajkot

Shashank Kishore28-Sep-2023Hanuma Vihari has been named captain of Rest of India for the Irani Cup against Ranji champions Saurashtra beginning October 1 in Rajkot.Vihari, who led South Zone to the Duleep Trophy title in July, has three of his team-mates from that squad – batters Mayank Agarwal, B Sai Sudharsan and fast bowler Vidwath Kaverappa – for company. KS Bharat is likely to be the first-choice wicketkeeper, with Dhruv Jurel as a back-up.Abhimanyu Easwaran, who made 798 runs in the Ranji season, misses out as he’s recovering from typhoid. The other surprise miss is Kerala allrounder Jalaj Saxena, who topped the wickets chart with 50 scalps.With several India A players away with the national team at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, the selectors have rewarded young batters Yash Dhull and Rohan Kunnummal with berths purely on potential, despite them having endured poor Ranji seasons.Dhull managed just 270 runs in 10 innings at the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy while Kunnummal managed 203 runs in nine innings. Vihari himself had a patchy season, scoring 490 runs in 14 innings for Andhra, but the captaincy is possibly a further sign of him still being in the mix as far as back-ups go for the national team.Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan, who scored 0, 6, 0 and 48 at the season-opening Duleep Trophy, will also potentially have an opportunity to make amends. He’s expected to occupy one of the middle-order berths.Where Sarfaraz bats in the XI could be a sign of the kind of role the senior selectors see him playing in the near future. At Mumbai, he’s been prolific at No. 5 over the past three seasons. Sai Sudharsan, meanwhile, is set to link up with the squad straight off a maiden county stint with Surrey.ROI’s bowling department will be spearheaded by Navdeep Saini, while Karnataka’s Vidwath Kaverappa, who had an impressive Duleep Trophy to back up his 30 wickets in the Ranji season, is expected share the new ball. Uttar Pradesh’s Saurabh Kumar and Shams Mulani, the second-highest wicket-taker at Ranji Trophy 2022-23 (46 scalps), are the two frontline spinners, with Delhi’s Pulkit Narang also making the cut. Yash Dayal brings in the left-arm pace variety, and could play as the third pacer.Bengal pace spearhead Akash Deep has been listed in the squad, but won’t feature in the match as he’s with the Indian squad at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Initially not picked there, he was named as a late replacement for the injured Shivam Mavi.Hosts Saurashtra too have named a strong squad boasting of all their regulars. Cheteshwar Pujara and Jaydev Unadkat, the captain, are coming off a regular diet of red-ball cricket at the county championship in England. At 37, Sheldon Jackson continues to be a pillar in the middle order alongside Pujara, Arpit Vasavada, the previous Ranji season’s second-highest run-getter.Saurashtra earned the right to play this game after beating Bengal to clinch their second Ranji Trophy crown in Kolkata earlier this year.Rest of India: Hanuma Vihari (captain), K S Bharat, Mayank Agarwal, Yash Dhull, Shams Mulani, Sai Sudarshan, Sarfaraz Khan, Pulkit Narang, Saurabh Kumar, Yash Dayal, Navdeep Saini, Vidwath Kaverappa, Akash Deep, Rohan Kunnummal, Dhruv Jurel.Saurashtra: Jaydev Unadkat (captain), Cheteshwar Pujara, Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, Harvik Desai, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Prerak Mankad, Chirag Jani, Jay Gohil, Parth Bhut, Vishvarajsinh Jadeja, Samarth Vyas, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Kushang Patel, Snell Patel, Devang Karamta.

After winning back-to-back games, Kings have managed just one more win in four – and they are set to be without the experience of Kagiso Rabada once again

Hemant Brar21-Apr-20234:37

Tait backs Arjun Tendulkar to deliver at the death

Big picture: Two teams on different trajectories

There’s a popular meme template: how it started and how it’s going. Mumbai Indians’ journey so far in IPL 2023 fits that perfectly. They began the season with two crushing defeats before bouncing back with three wins on the trot.Even before those two defeats, their batting had looked solid on paper. But the lack of runs from Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav threw a spanner in the works. With both coming into their own over the last two games, Mumbai look a much stronger unit.For Punjab Kings, Mumbai’s opponents on Saturday, things have gone the other way round. After winning back-to-back games – something they failed to do last year – they managed just one more win in their next four outings.Kings’ plan with bat was that their captain Shikhar Dhawan plays the anchor’s role and others hit around him. But Dhawan’s shoulder injury caught them without a back-up plan.And now they have the added worry of Kagiso Rabada having picked up a niggle – he missed their last game due to this, and ESPNcricinfo understands he will sit out the game against Mumbai too.*Injury issues aside, Kings need to figure out their best combination of overseas players. Sikandar Raza was the Player of the Match against Lucknow Super Giants but was left out for the RCB game. Kings may have to revisit that decision.

Form guide

Mumbai Indians WWWLL
Punjab Kings LWLLW

Team news: Archer-watch

Kings will once again be without Dhawan and Rabada. On Thursday, their fielding coach Trevor Gonsalves said Dhawan would take “at least another two to three days” to be fully fit. Mumbai will be optimistic about Jofra Archer as he has shown vast improvement since he felt the discomfort in his right elbow post the first match. He even bowled full tilt during the practice session on Thursday, and Jason Behrendorff, too, said on Friday that Archer was “not too far away”.

Impact Player strategy

Mumbai Indians: If Archer is available, he could come in for Riley Meredith. Else Mumbai could field an unchanged side with Tilak Varma and Meredith as their Impact Player pair.Probable XII: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Cameron Green, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 , 6 Tim David, 7 Nehal Wadhera, 8 Jofra Archer/, 9 Arjun Tendulkar, 10 Hrithik Shokeen, 11 Piyush Chawla, 12 Jason BehrendorffPunjab Kings have lost three of their previous four games•Associated Press

Punjab Kings: Nathan Ellis will continue in Rabada’s stead. Prabhsimran Singh and Rahul Chahar could once again be their Impact pair.Probable XII: 1 Atharva Taide, 2 , 3 Liam Livingstone, 4 Harpreet Singh, 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 M Shahrukh Khan, 8 Sam Curran (capt), 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12

Stats that matter

• Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have given Mumbai flying starts in IPL 2023. Among those pairs who have opened at least three times this season, Rohit and Kishan’s scoring rate of 9.61 is second only to Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 9.75.
• So far in this season, Kings have lost three or more wickets inside the powerplay on three occasions, the joint-most for a team along with Kolkata Knight Riders.

Pitch and conditions: Win toss, bowl first

The Wankhede is a chasing ground. Since the start of 2021, the teams batting second have won 22 out of the 32 night T20s played at this venue. Spinners have been more successful here this IPL; they have 13 wickets at an economy of 7.64, while fast bowlers have nine at 10.17.*

Former India Under-19 World Cup-winning captain now in a bid to qualify for USA

Shashank Kishore23-Nov-2022After becoming the first Indian to play in the BBL, India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand is set to add another chapter to his journeyman career when he lines up for Chattogram Challengers in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) early next year.Chand, now 29, was picked up at the draft in Dhaka on Wednesday, with the franchise keen on having an Indian player to tap into the fan base in the country, according to franchise owner Rifatuzzaman.Chand’s eligibility comes from having retired from all forms of cricket under the BCCI’s ambit in September last year. He currently plays league cricket in the USA in a bid to qualify for the national team, which could happen at some stage in 2024. Chand lives in San Francisco, and has also signed a multi-year deal with the USA’s Major League Cricket that is set to kick off next year.Related

• Unmukt Chand joins Melbourne Renegades for BBL 2021-22

• Chand: 'I still get emotional imagining I'll never play for India again'

• Memories from 2012: Chand on India's last U-19 World Cup triumph

His maiden BBL stint last year was far from memorable: he managed to feature in just two matches, scoring 35 runs with a best of 29. As things stand, Chand won’t be returning to Melbourne Renegades this year after making his BBL debut during the 2021-22 season.Chand’s USA eligibility pathway rests on him being in the country for ten months in a year for three years, and featuring in the BPL is unlikely to jeopardise his chances of qualifying to play for USA in 2024, as the tournament is set to run only for six weeks from January 5 to February 15. However, taking on a subsequent T20 gigs outside the USA could prove challenging.After his heroics at the Under-19 level – he scored 111 not out in the 2012 final against Australia to win the Player-of-the-Match award – Chand was marked for success at the higher level too, but couldn’t make the grade, never getting selected for India’s senior side.Chand, who represented Delhi in India’s domestic circuit, played 67 first-class games while scoring 3379 runs at an average of 31.57. He fared better in List A cricket, where he scored 4505 runs at an average of 41.33 in 120 matches. And before leaving Indian cricket, he had 1565 runs at an average of 22.35 and a strike rate of 116.09 in 77 T20s.In the IPL, he represented the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils – now Delhi Capitals – before also playing for Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians. He featured in 21 matches in all, scoring 300 runs in 20 innings with a highest of 58.

Visitors trail by just 38 runs with five wickets in hand in first innings

ECB Reporters Network20-May-2019Gloucestershire head into day two of their County Championship match against Durham just 38 runs behind the hosts after 15 wickets fell on day one at Chester-Le-Street.David Payne was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 for 40 as Durham were dismissed for just 158 in two sessions – Matt Taylor, Ryan Higgins and Josh Shaw taking two wickets apiece. Jack Burnham scored 43 and Ben Raine 42 in the only noteworthy impacts with the bat for Durham.Durham restricted Gloucestershire to 120 for 5 at the close of play, Matt Salisbury taking 3 for 18 with James Bracey the top scorer for the visitors so far with 35.In an opening spell of 8-3-11-3, Payne dismissed Durham captain Cameron Bancroft, Alex Lees and Gareth Harte in quick succession, after Ryan Higgins had trapped Ryan Pringle – making his first Championship appearance since 2017 – lbw for nine as Durham collapsed to 17 for 4.Liam Trevaskis and Jack Burnham began re-building the Durham innings before the former lofted a simple catch to Higgins at cover off the bowling of Matt Taylor at 31 for 5. Burnham and Ned Eckersely steadied things ahead of the lunch interval.Burnham and Eckersley resumed on 54 for 5 after lunch, but the latter fell soon after the interval as he misjudged a delivery by Ryan Higgins and was out lbw for 12.Burnham and Ben Raine picked up the scoring rate as the hosts passed 100. A partnership of 46 came to an end when Burnham edged Matt Taylor behind for 43. Brydon Carse came and went for a golden duck, tickling a Josh Shaw ball to Bracey with the score at 109 for 8.Raine picked up the scoring rate in tandem with Matt Salisbury, finally falling to Shaw for 42 – caught behind by Bracey. Salisbury advanced the score on to 158 before he was bowled by the returning Payne, who improved his figures to 4 for 40 from 19.4 overs.Chris Dent and Miles Hammond opened for Gloucestershire with a very watchful stand of 27, Hammond dropped by Pringle off the bowling of Ben Raine when on nine. He added just four more before Carse produced an in-swinging yorker to the left-handed Hammond – catching the back pad in front of leg stump.The introduction of Salisbury from the Finchale End proved fruitful as he produced a wonderful eight-over spell which saw the dismissals of Dent, Hankins and Roderick seaming and swinging the ball in both directions as Durham clawed themselves back into proceedings.But a partnership of 35 between Bracey and Benny Howell wrestled the initiative back for the visitors before the returning Chris Rushworth dismissed the former, caught behind by Eckersley for 35 – the score 102/5.Howell and night-watchmen Shaw dutifully saw out the remaining overs to leave the visitors well placed with Howell not out 27 and Shaw on eight.

The pair added 121 on the fourth day as England were dismissed for 255 ensuring a 0-0 draw in the series

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile Photo – George Bartlett scored a steady 76•Getty Images

England Under-19s, led by contributions from George Bartlett and Delray Rawlins, played out a draw on the final day of the second Youth Test against India Under-19s in Nagpur.England resumed on their overnight score of 34 for 2, with David Houghton having retired hurt on the third evening. Bartlett and Rawlins came out and added 121 runs for the third wicket, setting the base for England’s effort on the day.Bartlett pressed on to bat for over three hours on the fourth day for his second fifty of the series, which took his series tally to 323, the best for batsmen from both sides. His partner at the other end, Rawlins, who ended as the second-highest run-getter in the series with 274, and was dismissed for 49.Once both batsmen fell, with the score still under 200, Aaron Beard’s unbeaten 34 saw the side through to the draw as the side were bowled out for 255.Left-arm spinner Harsh Tyagi returned best overall figures for India with 5 for 127, including a four-for in the second innings.England began the first day of the match on the back foot, finding themselves at 3 for 1 in the third over after opting to bat. The new-ball pair of Rishab Bhagat and Kanishk Seth took the three wickets, with Bhagat striking off successive balls in the second over.Rawlins, who was the second-highest run-getter in the preceding ODI series, spearheaded England’s restoration, scoring 140 runs, including 19 fours and two sixes. He strung a sixth-wicket stand of 161 runs – the highest in the match – with Will Jacks, who made 77 off 190 balls. Batting at No. 10, Henry Brookes contributed a crucial 60, hanging on to add 51 runs with Beard for the ninth wicket, to take England past 300.India’s response to England’s total of 375 was steered by Saurabh Singh’s 109, while Daryl Ferrario, Siddharth Akre and opener Abhishek Goswami chipped in with half-centuries each. The highest partnership of their innings was worth 97 runs for the fifth wicket between Saurabh and Ferrario, which helped take their total to 388 for 9 on the third day, giving them a slender lead of 13.

A selection of Everton fans have been responding to a post on the Toffees’ Fan Services Twitter account, after the Goodison Park natives announced that all tickets for Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to Merseyside next month have sold out.

Spurs travel to Goodison Park at the start of November for a Sunday evening showdown under the lights, but some of the fans responding to the post announcing all 40,000 tickets being sold are unsure of whether Everton deserve to have that many supporters in attendance.

The Toffees are without a win in their last four Premier League games, with their last top-flight victory coming against Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 1.

Who is your club’s best player? Thogden picks his from all 20 Premier League teams in the video below…

Since then, Marco Silva’s men have conceded nine goals in the league, while achieving their only win during that run against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.

Recent results have left the Blues lingering low down the league standings, and pressure is thought to be mounting on Marco Silva’s position, although the Portuguese is expected to be given a chance to turn things around, per Sky Sports.

His first chance to do so will come against West Ham United this weekend, before facing Brighton & Hove Albion in their last league fixture before the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs in November.

Winning against the Irons or Seagulls would go a long way in Silva getting the supporters back on side, as many appear to be growing disillusioned.

Here are some of the reactions shared…

يرى جناح نادي برشلونة الأسبق، لودوفيك جولي، أن الثنائي البرازيلي المميز، رونالدينيو ونيمار، يمتلكان كل المهارات الفنية الممكنة في لاعب كرة القدم لكنهما لا يعتنيان بأنفسهما.

ويرى جولي أن هناك تشابه كبير بين مسيرة رونالدينيو ونيمار مع منتخب البرازيل وبرشلونة وهذا ما كشف عنه في حواره مع شبكة “Telefoot” الفرنسية.

اقرأ أيضًا.. نيمار ما زال يفكر في برشلونة وقد يرحل مجانًا عن باريس سان جيرمان

وقال: “أعتقد أننا من الممكن أن نقارنهما ببعضهما البعض، يمتلكان كل شيء، لكنهما لا يمنحان أنفسهما ما يكفي للوصول إلى أعلى مستوى لهما”.

وتابع: “نيمار ورونالدينيو يمتلكان نفس الطبيعة، لكنهما كانوا قادرين على أن يكونا الأفضل لمدة 10 سنوات وليس سنتين فقط”.

الجدير بالذكر أن جولي قد لعب مع رونالدينيو في برشلونة لمدة 3 سنوات في الفترة من 2004 وحتى 2007، وفاز الثنائي معًا ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا عام 2006.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

At least Blues fans are finally starting to see a return on their investment.

Ivan Sunjic didn’t get off to the best of starts when he arrived in the summer.

Having had a lot of expectations placed on him by members of the press, it’s taken a while before we started seeing some tangible results from the Croatian, like his goal against Derby County the other week.

What’s he said?

Speaking to the club website, Blues boss Pep Clotet spoke about how he has been keeping a track of the Croatian for a long time, and how impressed he has been with his ability to adapt to life in England:

“In the summer the club’s scouting department was working on options for different midfielders. Ivan was flagged as one option. I knew the club from many years ago. When I was at Espanyol under-17s we went to play a tournament at Zagreb. I was impressed, very impressed. That was in 2007 and I have always followed the work they do and their players, and I have tracked Ivan’s progress.”

“He has established himself very well in that position. And I think he is a player who understands this league and has managed to perform from his first day. That is not easy. He is a player who puts the team before himself and that is something very difficult to find in young players. And I think you will see a better player as the season goes on.”

Let’s keep it that way

However, it is now up to Clotet to try and coax as much out of him as he can.

Whilst it’s acceptable to allow a little bit of a ‘bedding in period’, that mantra can’t go on forever.

As we covered in our ‘chalkboard’ series recently, Sunjic is someone that Birmingham need to be building a team around, and not just because you have to justify the hefty price tag that brought him to St Andrew’s.

Given the Financial Fair Play burden that Birmingham City find themselves in after their punishment last year, it was a pretty big risk for the club to fork out in the region of £7m for the midfielder.

Therefore, the Blues need to make sure that this money doesn’t end up going straight down the drain by letting him rot as a result of bad management.

It bodes well that he’s already been able to establish himself but while Clotet may be a big fan of the midfielder, he needs to make sure that the levels of production from the Croat don’t drop, or he could find himself not managing him at all.