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Newcastle United journalist Mark Douglas has expressed his surprise after Matty Longstaff joined Colchester United on loan. 

The lowdown

Longstaff sealed a Deadline Day-move to the League Two outfit, joining on a loan deal that runs until January.

It’s his third temporary move in the space of the year after he had spells with Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen and another fourth-tier outfit in Mansfield Town last season.

Longstaff will be looking to build upon the success he enjoyed at Mansfield, having scored six goals in 18 matches for the Stags.

Isaac Hayden, Jeff Hendrick, Martin Dubravka, Ciaran Clark and Kell Watts have also been sent out on loan by Newcastle.

The latest

Douglas, a northern football correspondent at The I Paper, offered his one-word reaction to Colchester’s announcement tweet.

“Blimey,” he wrote, indicating that he was left somewhat stunned by the development.

The verdict

You could certainly make the case that Longstaff will be indirectly playing for his Newcastle future at Colchester.

The midfielder is into the final year of his contract at St James’ Park, and needs to prove that he’s worthy of a new deal. If he can replicate what he did at Mansfield, then he’ll surely be pretty well-placed.

Now that he’s 22 years old, it’s probably time for the Englishman to kick on and go to the next level. After all, he’s only three years away from the theoretical peak of a player in his position (via The Athletic).

Having played 20 times already for the Newcastle senior team, Longstaff might not have envisaged being in this position at this stage.

Clearly, though, Eddie Howe still needs some convincing.

ESPNcricinfo looks back at batters whose careers flourished after a promotion to the top

Sruthi Ravindranath and Ankur Dhawan30-Sep-2019 • Updated on 16-Jan-2024ESPNcricinfo LtdVirender SehwagIn a bid to address India’s top-order troubles, then captain Sourav Ganguly persuaded the five-Test old Virender Sehwag – already an ODI opener – to move up the order. Sehwag, who was a middle-order batter even in domestic cricket, agreed and adapted to the role quickly.Much like his century on Test debut, Sehwag made an early impression in his new role, with a 96-ball 84 at Lord’s. And, as if to banish any stray demons, from his own mind as much as the public’s, he followed it up with a hundred in Nottingham. He moved from strength to strength, notching up 147 against West Indies in Mumbai, before making a brutal 195 on day one at the MCG. He went on to become India’s first Test triple centurion too, in Multan, and laid the foundation for the historic series win in Pakistan in 2004.That famous 309 was part of a streak that saw him convert 11 successive centuries into scores of over 150, which included three double-hundreds, and quite remarkably, another triple – joining a list with only Don Bradman, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle – against South Africa in Chennai. A few more big innings later, came another rampaging knock that threatened to break Don Bradman’s record 309 in a single day, as he flayed the Sri Lanka attack to all corners of the Brabourne Stadium. He finished with 284 for the day in an innings of 293. Furthermore, he forged India’s most successful opening partnership, with Gautam Gambhir, as the side climbed to No. 1 in the Test rankings for the first time in 2009.ALSO READ – Krishnaswamy: Rohit Sharma in new avatar against old nemesisESPNcricinfo LtdSimon KatichKatich made his Test debut in the 2001 Ashes at Headingley and his career as a middle-order batter see-sawed until he was dropped in 2005 after a string of low scores. He eventually lost his national contract in 2007, which would turn out to be a watershed year in his career. In the domestic Pura Cup later that year, he piled on 1506 runs for New South Wales, breaking Michael Bevan’s record for most runs in a single season. That culminated in a recall to the Australia side for the tour of the Caribbean, where he was asked to play out of his position and open the batting with Phil Jacques.In what was a career-defining transformation, Katich 2.0 amassed 2928 runs at an average of over 50 at the top of the order. With that came some of his best performances, including a resolute 131 against New Zealand in Brisbane in 2008, when he carried his bat, and career-best 157 against West Indies in the same year.ESPNcricinfo LtdRavi ShastriMost tailenders aspire to score a fifty over a long career, something Glenn McGrath waited 102 Tests to achieve. Fair to say, India’s current head coach Ravi Shastri was not cut from the same cloth. Having started at No. 10 in the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington in 1981, Shastri began building a reputation as a stubborn batter. He was elevated to No. 7 in the first innings of the third Test in Auckland, before dropping two places to No. 9 in the second. His ability with the bat properly came into focus when he was promoted to No. 6 in a home Test against England in Mumbai, where he faced 134 balls for 33 runs to help India to victory.Two Tests later, he fell seven short of a maiden Test century in Delhi. His ascent up the order was rapid thereafter, as he was asked to open in the second Test in Manchester against England in 1982. He wasn’t immediately successful as he bagged ducks in his first and third outings, but sandwiched between those was a promising 66 at The Oval.Yet, he wasn’t a permanent fixture at the top, shuffling up and down the order throughout his career. Some of his best innings, however, came when he opened the batting, including a career-best 206 against Australia in Sydney, where he shared a 196-run fifth wicket stand with a young Sachin Tendulkar, before becoming Shane Warne’s first Test victim. As an opener, Shastri averaged 44.04, a difference of 12.31 from when he batted in other positions, averaging 31.73.ESPNcricinfo LtdWilfred RhodesWilfred Rhodes was the original lower-order left-arm spinner who became an opening batter. Thirteen years after he made his Test debut as a No. 10 batter in 1889, Rhodes entered the record books for his batting, as he and Jack Hobbs put on a record 323-run opening stand against Australia in Melbourne, a mark which stood for 36 years.His career spanned more than 30 years – the longest Test career – during the course of which he occupied every position in the batting order, enjoying most success as an opener. He first opened for England against Australia in 1904 in Melbourne and played his last innings as an opener against the same opposition in Sydney in 1921. Nine of his 11 fifties and both his hundreds came when he opened, including the career-best 179 in the famous partnership with Hobbs. Curiously, he finished his Test career where it had started, back at No. 10, against West Indies in 1930.ESPNcricinfo LtdSanath JayasuriyaInitially perceived as a bowler who could also bat, Jayasuriya evolved into a destructive opener. He first opened for Sri Lanka during the Hero Cup in India in 1993 and almost immediately adapted to the new role, scoring three half-centuries in as many games in the ODIs against Pakistan in 1994. This prompted his captain Arjuna Ranatunga to bump him up to the top in Test cricket as well. Opening with Roshan Mahanama at the P Sara Oval, Jayasuriya managed just 9 and 1, in a match that Sri Lanka would lose.After missing from the Test squad for a year, he came back in 1996 to reinforce his image as a dashing Test batter. Having found success in ODIs in his new role, he transferred that method to the longer format, making 48 and 112 against Australia in Adelaide. He then cracked 340 in Sri Lanka’s 952 for 6 against India in 1997. Jayasuriya finished his Test career with an average of 41.48 as an opener.ESPNcricinfo LtdTillakaratne DilshanTen years into his Test career, at a time when he was getting stick for his inconsistent performances in the Sri Lankan middle order, came a move that would transform Dilshan into an all-format star.In his 56th Test, against New Zealand in Galle, he opened the batting and raced to 92 off 72 balls in the first innings and followed it up with a century in the second. He went on to hit six hundreds in that year and scored more than 1327 runs at an average of 64.52 from the top of the order.Overall, in the 29 Tests he opened in, he finished with 2170 runs. His career-best 193, against England in Cardiff, also came in that position. He signed off with an average of 42.54 at the top of the order.ESPNcricinfo LtdRohit SharmaPlaying his first Test series in November 2013, Rohit Sharma made an impression that was both belated – a last-minute injury had cost him a Test debut three-and-a-half years earlier – and instant: centuries in his first two Tests against West Indies. That beginning promised a long and fulfilling career in the middle order, but that didn’t quite materialise. Rohit spent the next six years in and out of the Test XI, squeezed out by intense competition for a limited number of slots, with India often preferring to play five bowlers.By the time South Africa toured India in 2019-20, Rohit was 32 and left with what seemed like one last chance to stake a long-term claim on a Test spot, a spot that had opened up at the top of the order. Rohit was, by now, one of the world’s premier openers in white-ball cricket, but he had only played the role three times before in first-class matches. Could he do it in Tests?You bet he could. He started with three centuries, including a double, in four innings against South Africa, and has continued since then to pile on important runs against the new ball, his highlights including a tone-setting 161 on a Chennai turner against England in 2021, a match-turning third-innings 127 – his first century away from home – at The Oval later that year, and an authoritative 120 on a tricky Nagpur pitch against Australia in February 2023.Rohit’s middle-order average of 39.62 is far from shabby, but he has definitely reached another level as opener, scoring 2151 runs at 51.23, with seven hundreds in 45 innings.This feature was updated on January 16, 2024.

Moeen completes a raft of records, and there’s an unwelcome statistic for Alastair Cook, as England complete a record-breaking victory at Lord’s

Bharath Seervi09-Jul-20171980 The last instance of an England player making a 50-plus score and a 10-wicket haul in a Test match was Ian Botham against India at Wankhede. Moeen Ali is the first England player to do so at Lord’s, and overall the sixth for his country.1974 Prior to Moeen’s feat, the last time an England spinner took a 10-wicket haul in a Lord’s Test was Derek Underwood (13 for 71) against Pakistan. Overall, Moeen is the fifth England spinner to do so. This is also Moeen Ali’s maiden ten-for in Tests.211 Margin of defeat for South Africa in this match – their biggest in a Test in England in terms of runs. Their previous largest such defeat was by 174 runs at Headingley way back in 1912. Overall, this is only the sixth time South Africa have lost an away Test by 200-plus runs.1910 The last time South Africa were all out in fewer overs in the fourth innings than the 36.4 overs in this match. Overall, this was their fifth-shortest completed fourth innings.2 Players to achieve the double of a fifty-plus score and 10 or more wickets in a Lord’s Test – Dion Nash (56 & 11 for 169) in 1994 and Moeen (87 & 10 for 112) in this match.1972 The last instance of England spinners picking up 14 or more wickets in a home Test. Underwood (10) and Ray Illingworth (4) claimed 14 between them at Headingley against Australia. Moeen took 10 and Liam Dawson picked up four in this match.246 for 16 England’s score in the first sessions of this Test. They made 82 for loss of 4 wickets in the first session of first day, 101 for 5 on the second day and 63 for 7 on the fourth day. In the other sessions of the day they lost only two wickets and piled up 394 runs.9 The number of times Morkel has dismissed Alastair Cook – the most times he has removed any batsman in his Test career. His next most frequent victims, with eight dismissals each, were Andrew Strauss and Mike Hussey. Also for Cook, it is the joint-most he has got out to any bowler, along with Mitchell Johnson. No other South Africa bowler has sent back Cook more than four times; Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander have each managed that many dismissals. Cook has averaged 24.22 against Morkel.

With Sunrisers Hyderabad successfully defending 162 and only an AB de Villiers special preventing Gujarat Lions from defending 158, the playoffs have bucked the early-season pattern of near-invincible chasing teams

Sidharth Monga26-May-2016After Sunrisers Hyderabad successfully defended 162 in the Eliminator – a total they thought was below par, a total their opponents Kolkata Knight Riders felt they should have chased without much trouble – captain David Warner revealed he had contemplated what no other captain will admit to. He was actually torn between batting and bowling first had he won the toss. This in an evening game, when pitches usually get better to bat on during the chase, with dew playing a part too. In the league stage, the team batting first only won 11 of 44 evening games.This has been a chasing tournament: before the final day of league matches – a day of high-pressure games – totals were defended only 16 times in 54 matches. Yet, starting with that final day of league matches, things have been different. Sunrisers themselves failed to chase 172 against Knight Riders, a result that forced them to play the Eliminator. It took an innings “a million times better than any hundred” AB de Villiers to prevent Gujarat Lions from defending 158 in Qualifier 1. That too in Bangalore where you might as well not bother with the ball if you’ve only scored 158. Then, on Wednesday, Sunrisers went ahead and inflicted a 22-run defeat – the same margin as their previous meeting – on Knight Riders while defending 162.What has changed? Have the pitches finally become tired or is it the pressure of the big matches? The latter shouldn’t be an issue – four of the six World T20 finals have been won by sides chasing – but Warner is a bit of a traditionalist. “I am a believer of runs on the board,” he said. “In these kind of games. In these pressure situations runs are a lot handier. When you see a total of 160, you can be in two minds as a batting unit. You can either get off to a good start and have positive intent or you can try to get through the first six and set a platform to the end.”There is always going to be pressure in every situation but with runs on the board you can always feel a little bit ahead of the game. Always chasing on a wicket like this, it is hard to start. You saw when they lost wickets in clumps and we didn’t let them have a partnership going, it was hard for the new batter to come in and play shots. The pressure was on the other guy at the other end. That’s what happens in this format. If you get two new batters in, it is very hard when you are chasing.”The Delhi pitch, where Warner played a lot as a Delhi Daredevil, played a big part in his assessment, never mind that England won the World T20 semi-final here at a canter while chasing. “I have played here in the past where it has been pretty low and slow where there is no grass on the square,” Warner said. “I feel they have done a very good job. It’s a wicket that suits – you look at Jason Holder and Morne Morkel – the length they bowled was very hard to hit. You know, tall bounce, hitting the wicket, sort of skidding on bail-high. Very hard to get going and trying to hit and have release shots.”Early on in the tournament, when winning the toss and electing to field was almost half the job done, quite a few players said they expected the trend to change in the later stages. It seems to have happened, listening to Warner talk, seeing how they have defended, seeing how Lions made a game of a paltry total. Earlier if sides were batting first and lost early wickets, the instructions during the timeouts were to keep on swinging. Better to lose in 15 overs when going for a challenging total than to lose in 18 after rebuilding towards a middling total. While chasing still retains the advantage, especially with the final in Bangalore, you are likelier to see sides rebuild and make a match out of similar situations. Who knows, Warner might even bat first if he wins the toss against Lions in Qualifier 2.

Every time India beat Pakistan at the World Cup it cuts into the ego and bluster that had characterised Pakistani cricket for years

Osman Samiuddin13-Feb-2015I’ll admit I snickered when I first watched the Star Sports promo for the India-Pakistan game on Sunday. Google it now if you’ve missed it, and if you can’t be bothered, here’s a brief recap:Pakistani boy, on day of first ever World Cup match with India, in Sydney in 1992, gets ready to celebrate a win with fireworks. Pakistan loses, boy despondent, stashes unused fireworks away. Repeat for every World Cup meeting since, with boy growing into man, into husband and father and the fireworks remaining unlit. It ends with Mohali in 2011, the protagonist asking , a smart catchphrase with dual intent: when will we set off our firecrackers, when will we blow India away?I was in Pakistan when it first appeared and was taken with its ability to both needle and empathise with the Pakistani fan. It had precisely the effect I imagine was the intention. It riled people up to respond: Pakistan have more ODI wins against India overall, so the ad was misrepresentative. It was pointed out that there was disingenuousness – in an ad! Shocking! – at play: the boy would have used the fireworks in celebrating Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup win, or even reaching the final in 1999, or maybe even when India lost the final in 2003.I’m no Don Draper, but if an ad heightens anticipation for a product and is lauded for being well-made, then its work is done. Given the general excellence of Indian advertising, be sure they have versions ready as updates after the game, for both results. Pakistani advertisers and brands probably have something ready as well. One channel took the bait, though the response is full of such predictable bluster you don’t even need to Google it to know Javed Miandad’s six begins it or that it is narrated by a man trying to sound martial (“Do you remember Miandad’s last-ball six…” it begins, ending with some Nasir Jamshed shots even Nasir Jamshed doesn’t remember).Most likeable, though, is that the promo gives the rivalry a lightness it has rarely had. It has made a deeply complex, often troubling contest less fraught, even if only fleetingly. Here, laugh about it, and if you’re a little offended, then that’s bearable collateral. It’s much better on the health of nations, after all, to poke fun at each other rather than launch missiles.Some cricketing education can be gleaned as well, though. The brief match clips the boy is shown watching are as follows: Javed Miandad bowled by Javagal Srinath in Sydney; Aamer Sohail bowled by Venkatesh Prasad in Bangalore; Wasim Akram caught by Anil Kumble off Prasad at Old Trafford; finally, Indian fielders walking off Mohali in the triumphant glow of as egalitarian a bowling performance as there can be (five bowlers, ten wickets, equally shared).Read through and recall those games again, because from them emerges one significant and contrary truth. It isn’t that India have won every single World Cup encounter in defiance or support of prevailing form or permanent class. It is that all but one of India’s wins has emerged from an inverted logic, reversing the traditional strengths that have defined them. The separate stories of India and Pakistan, and the shared one of matches between them, is of the former’s batting and the latter’s bowling. That is how it is decided. Yet, except Centurion and maybe Bangalore, India have won because of their bowling. To most Pakistanis, at some subconscious plane below the overarching level at which any defeat to India is galling, that must be the most galling thing ever.One day a Pakistani advertiser will make a witty ad about the condescension with which Pakistan looks at Indian pace bowling. (Shoaib Akhtar, for one, is never more a comedian than when he’s talking about Indian pace). Maybe it will involve thin men, vegetables and bad taste. Or digs at the MRF Pace Academy. But until then, it is the salt on a fresh wound that at World Cups it is Indian bowling which has undone Pakistan. And to have Venkatesh Prasad taking all these wickets, Venkatesh Prasad who is the the punchline to all generic Pakistani jokes about Indian fast bowling, Venkatesh Prasad, the exact antithesis of all Pakistani fast bowling? That’s some burn.Those clips tell a bigger story too. When Miandad was bowled, or Sohail, they felt like little hurtful pricks to the great big balloon of ego and bluster on which Pakistan cricket – and indeed Pakistan – had ridden high for years and years over India. Pakistan may have always had wonky governance, but the country was once seen, not least in its own eyes, as more vibrant than the slower behemoth that was India, which was still an idea waiting for its time to come.

By the time Mohali came round, the existing order was overturned. Now it is India riding high over Pakistan – its economy, democracy, the IPL, Bollywood, its cricketers

Pakistan’s cricketers of that time held a peculiar fascination for many Indians – their bravado and chutzpah, their abrasiveness and establishment-overturning ways and outrageous skill. Moreover they were ahead of the curve. Mushtaq Mohammad gave Pakistan their own Sourav Ganguly moment over two decades before India did.Eventually those little pricks began not only to deflate Pakistan but to inflate India. By the time Mohali came round, the existing order was overturned. Now it is India riding high over Pakistan – its economy, democracy, the IPL, Bollywood, its cricketers. Sometimes you look at Virat Kohli and wonder whether all the bluster that hissed out of Pakistan didn’t blow into his wiry body alone. Look also at the others: R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja, in whom there can often be glimpsed the impudence of that eternal (loosely translated as “rascal”), Ijaz Ahmed. Look at recent vintage: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh or Yuvraj Singh, all types Pakistan can probably identify with – angsty spinners, abrasive openers, gutsy and persistent middle-order men, outrageously gifted but frustrating batters, rascals the lot of them but rascals who brought them so much glory.Leading them is MS Dhoni, who lives in his own little world, aloof and unknowable, as Imran Khan once did, yet with the connectedness of Miandad. In his delicate calculations about the ends of chases, Dhoni is more Miandad than any Pakistani batsman. The only consolation for Pakistanis – and boy, don’t they make sure Indians know it – is that India have yet to taste the true and exquisite poison of the crazy-diamond fast bowler.Star Sports may not have knowingly communicated these greater meanings, but it is what it is. Pakistan are the ones trying to prick the great Indian bubble, a Pakistan not weakened as much as “meekened”. It probably riles them more than anything that in all its glitter and grime, this new India is not dissimilar to old Pakistan.This article was first published in the

Twenty-two essays delve into the legacy of one of Indian cricket’s most significant figures

Soumya Bhattacharya12-May-2013Trust Mike Brearley to come up with the . A distinguished former England captain and one of the most respected and original thinkers on the game, Brearley had this to say in his speech (reprinted in this anthology) about Tiger Pataudi at Lord’s in 2012: “Tiger was… the first cricketing superstar in India whose appeal involved so heady a mix of brilliance, charm and charisma.”If one were to search for a coda for this book, to look for an encapsulation of what Pataudi meant to his fans, to Indian cricket and, indeed, India, one needn’t go any further.Brearley’s is one of several perceptive, well-enunciated contributions that make up this handsomely produced book. In the day of the ebook, this collection – with its beautiful, well-chosen photographs, pages with generous margins, and arresting front cover – reminds us again that there are few things as gorgeous as the book as an object, as an artefact.Sharmila Tagore’s moving foreword – shorn of self-pity at her loss, underlit by a plangent dignity and love – sets the tone for the anthology. Abbas Ali Baig recalls his escapades with Pataudi at Oxford. Bishan Bedi, part of the formidable quartet of spinners that Pataudi used as an unprecedented spin-only attacking force, pays a glowing tribute to his first Test captain. Sunil Gavaskar recounts his struggle about how to address the Nawab (a question that seems to have preoccupied other cricketers as well).Mike Coward’s interview with Pataudi (from the archives of the Bradman International Cricket Hall of Fame) is illuminating. The veteran Australian cricket writer asked Pataudi what it took him to play cricket at the top level after the accident in which his vision was impaired. “Determination. And, perhaps, an ability to not get completely frustrated; to get over the fact that I could never be what I would have liked to be. To accept that I was, say, 30 or 40% below what I would have liked to have been. That took a while; took a bit of doing.”What kind of a player Pataudi might have been had he not met with that accident as an Oxford undergraduate is one of the most popular counterfactual discussions among Indian cricket fans of a certain generation. Pataudi himself never chose to dwell on it. But that remark in the interview to Coward offers a key to the staggering mental strength and resolve it must have taken him to become the player he did. This dwindled brilliance that was on show, shadowed by the speculation of what the undiminished genius might have been like, is at the heart of the legend that was Pataudi.But is no hagiography. Suresh Menon, the editor, has been clever in including in the book an essay by Vijay Merchant, the man whose casting vote stripped Pataudi of the India captaincy in favour of Ajit Wadekar. Then we have journalist Mudar Patherya’s essay, “The Many Pataudis”, which realises two aims: it makes an enterprising attempt to cut through the myths and received wisdom and objectively assess Pataudi’s achievements and legacy; and it shows how, had Pataudi been less withdrawn than he was, he could have made a far bigger contribution to the game.The pieces by Pataudi’s daughters, Saba and Soha Ali Khan, while shining with the love they had for their father, clearly throw up the angularities he had as a person.Certain common themes about Pataudi emerge in the 22 essays in this book: his wicked sense of humour, his love for repartee, his unquestionable qualities as a leader, and the fact that he would walk out to the middle with whichever bat was closest to the dressing-room door.For cricket fans who never saw Pataudi play, this book offers a glimpse of why those who did were entranced by him.Pataudi: Nawab of Cricket
edited by Suresh Menon
Harper Collins India
186 pages, Rs 399
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In the last two-and-a-half years the India captain has played almost non-stop, and the sure weight of work is finally showing in his performances

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston09-Aug-2011There are management gurus and researchers waiting to map MS Dhoni’s brain so they can understand how India’s most successful captain’s mind works – how he manages to synchronise his thoughts into ideas and then into deeds. One of India’s leading business schools wants to use the research as part of a neuromanagement course they plan to introduce. They might also try and find out, for research purposes, just how tired that brain is after the rigours and grind it has gone through since Dhoni became the leader of the Indian cricket team in all forms.From 2009 till date Dhoni has played more top-level cricket (see sidebar) than any other cricketer, if you put the IPL and Champions League Twenty20 in that bracket. He has played 24 Tests, 61 ODIs, 16 Twenty20 internationals and 49 matches for Chennai Super Kings over three IPLs and a Champions League Twenty20. His closest contender in terms of workload is Kumar Sangakkara, who stepped down as Sri Lanka captain after the World Cup, and has logged 20 Tests, 61 ODIs, 24 Twenty20 internationals and 40 IPL games since 2009. Matt Prior might have played more international cricket than those two players – 33 Tests, 35 ODIs and five T20 internationals – but does not have the rigours of marquee Twenty20 tournaments to worry about.If you further dissect Dhoni’s schedule you wonder how the man has been able to continue walking, let alone squat, heave bats, keep a smile on his face while leading India to the No.1 position in Tests, lift gongs like the World Cup, the IPL title (twice) and the Champions League Twenty20.Dhoni’s packed schedule

2009: Five ODIs + one T20 in Sri Lanka; full New Zealand tour (two T20s, five ODIs and three Tests, of which Dhoni played two); IPL in South Africa. World Twenty20 in England; Five ODIs in the West Indies. After a two-month break, three-match Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka; Champions Trophy in South Africa; seven ODIs at home against Australia; home series against Sri Lanka (three Tests, two T20s and five ODIs)

2010: Tri-series + one Test in Bangladesh; home series against South Africa (two Tests, three ODIs); IPL, with Chennai winning; World Twenty20 in the Caribbean; Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup, back in Sri Lanka for three Tests followed by a tri-series including New Zealand; Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa (which Chennai won); two home Tests against Australia; three-Test home series against New Zealand; full tour of South Africa (three Tests, a Twenty20 and five ODIs)

2011: World Cup (nine matches); IPL (16 matches); three-Test series in the Caribbean; two Tests and counting in England

Dhoni has the onerous task of leading four teams, which include so many players from different places, in three different formats, in addition to carrying out his wicketkeeping duties. A captain, a man-manager, a strategist, a wicketkeeper, a brand ambassador, a husband, a friend, an idol; Dhoni has to play all those roles convincingly, and at times, all at one go. Now you know the reason behind his increasing grey-hair count.The trend is set to continue. India’s schedule for the 12 months from May 2011 contains 125 days of work: 17 Tests, 36 ODIs and four Twenty20 internationals. In contrast, England play 12 Tests, 20 ODIs and eight Twenty20 internationals. With the BCCI reluctant to bench their most-marketable brand, Dhoni could either hope for a miracle or will be forced to call it quits in one of the formats.It does not take an analyst to tell you that quantity can impact quality. This year, Dhoni has played in 21 international matches across all formats, and scored 472 runs with a top score of 91 not out, achieved in the World Cup final. In England so far his scores in the Tests read 28, 16, 5 and 0. In the tour match in Northampton he made just two runs before walking back in the face of taunts such as “Dhoni, what was that”, having edged a half-hearted stroke to the wicketkeeper. Those figures seem ridiculous for someone who was once an impact player.But India need Dhoni to stand strong and govern the lower order, which has been pathetic in comparison to England’s. Dhoni feels the problem is more mental than technical. Men like Paddy Upton, India’s mental conditioning coach during the years Gary Kirsten was coach, are confident about Dhoni’s ability to bounce back.”His workload is unbelievable and the level of performance he has delivered despite that is unbelievable” Upton says. “Dhoni is a warrior. Warriors don’t complain. I certainly know there were times where he was fatigued but he soldiered on. He accepted what his responsibility was and also he probably realised the impact on other people. Dhoni would drop dead before he said he couldn’t go on anymore.”It is easy to see that Dhoni is a bit distracted by the pressures of the ever-increasing-never-ending-workload. You can see him fluffing easy picks behind the wicket, which has also had an impact on the slip fielders. “I would imagine it is,” Upton said about Dhoni being affected by the multiple roles he needs to perform efficiently. “But by the same token he will deliver. If anybody else had gone through what he has gone through their slump would have started a long time earlier and lasted a lot longer.”As for the mind-mapping gurus, they can only guess the vastness of the project they aim to undertake.

Eleven things to keep in mind when fielding in Twenty20

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi28-May-2008

‘It’s not just about how quickly you release the ball but how quickly you can get into position’© AFP
Keep the warm-ups short
With so many games in a tournament like the IPL, there’s a lot more intensity and energy. One way to retain the momentum is to keep the warm-ups shorter. The intensity can be maximised by making the fielding drills competitive. On match days get there an hour or two prior to the game and then loosen up for 40-odd minutes doing a little bit of fielding along with the bowling and batting to get the tempo right.Anticipate
Jonty Rhodes and Ricky Ponting are the best infielders of my generation. For them, anticipation was the absolute key. Setting up goals individually is a good way to learn anticipation. For example, for a backward-point fielder, you get someone throwing hard at a batsman on a wicket, and the batsman cutting the ball into the ground – so you have to find a way to not only protect the boundary but also to prevent the single.During a recent IPL match I was watching Herschelle Gibbs, who was at deep mid-on, against Shaun Marsh, who hit the ball as hard as possible. Gibbs was moving even before the ball was hit. What a lot of other fielders would do is wait for the ball to be hit. What happens here is, the body tightens up, sensing how hard the ball has been hit. This is followed by the fielder rushing too much, which does not give him too much time to pick the ball up. So, more often than not he is going to fumble, or once he does pick it up, he is off balance, so he doesn’t achieve much. If you read it from the start you are more relaxed and confident and that gives you a split second extra to slow down on the pick-up, and then you can prepare nicely for the throw.Cut the angles
You have to read from the bowler’s hand what shot the batsman might play. I quite liked what Rhodes used to do: he would start pretty close to the batsman and cut the angle down. The outfields in India are lightning fast, so if you are standing back on the ring thinking of saving a boundary, by the time the ball gets to you the angle is even wider, so you are not even going to get close to it. I like to adopt the Rhodes approach, particularly when the batsman is new to the crease.Study the batsman
A batsman can definitely be studied. Everybody seems to know and talk about it but it’s only a handful of great fielders who have really succeeded. It is just those little things you do, like walking in at a slightly different angle or starting a bit further back so the batsman might think there’s a gap there, but you’re actually walking in from a different angle that will cut short his scoring option. As a fielder you should be thinking well ahead about what the batsman is going to do and for 20 overs you should have a game with him. Not once should he beat you, not once should he a get a single, and not once should he get it past you. That’s the difference between a real, real good fielder and the average.Don’t stand on the perimeter
When a new batsman comes in, at least two of your fielders should be right in on him. Even a good batsman, who normally looks for a boundary instantly, will drop his bat to pick up a single. So you as a fielder have to think, “If he hits over my head I can’t do anything, but if he does drop the ball I can get to it.” If you are sitting on the ring they are going to get their fours and they are going to get their singles. That’s totally negative.Work on throwing
A lot of players still throw with incorrect technique. There needs to be a quick release and a lot of that needs to be practised and coached. But it’s not just about how quickly you release but how quickly you can get into position, get your arm up and high and then throw the ball. That’s one way to develop accuracy. With many fielders they have this tendency to let the ball go, but I try to calm people down and tell them, “You are in control. Get your technique right, then the throw is going to come up right and more accurate.”Learn to hit the stumps
This can be perfected in practice, where players hit short stumps that are a foot high. The smaller stumps help the fielder get his length right. What happens often with fielders is, they just want to release the ball quickly and often the throws land short of the target. If you throw two or three metres short, it could land in the footholds and deviate. But when he throws short at the foot-high stumps, the ball bounces over each time, so that gets him to throw fuller and eventually he starts aiming at the base of the stump. Length is absolutely crucial. You’ve got to get your length right almost before you get your line right. Once you get the length right and are hitting the stumps all the time, you can hit from any side of the wicket.As a fielder you should be thinking well ahead about what the batsman is going to do and for 20 overs you should have a game with him. Not once should he beat you, not once should he a get a single, and not once should he get it past you You should throw at the stumps more often than not. If there is any chance, it’s a good thing to throw. Which also means the back-up fielder needs to be around.Stay low to dive well
The outfields here are like ice rinks. If the ball is within your range, dive. Staying low to the ground is very important rather than standing tall, which makes it difficult to dive.An area where many shots are hit is through point, so the backward point can attempt a full-length dive, but the cover point fielder needs to back him up.Build your core stability
This is the most important aspect for a good fielder. A real good fielder is like a panther – he will move in fast and yet be low to the ground, not upright. Sports like squash and hockey make your thigh and stomach muscles stronger in that low position. So cross training is very good exercise to increase core stability.Put your good fielders on the fence
In the outfield I tell the fielders to start from outside the boundary ropes (since the boundaries are very short in Twenty20) and advance three or four yards and maintain a level of intensity that is as good as that of the fielder at point. You need your good fielders protecting the boundaries because even after the Powerplay overs batsmen are looking for gaps to get fours or steal twos, so you need someone who is ever active. That’s a real change that has come about because of Twenty20.Practise taking skiers under lights
For catching, the best way is to simulate the match situation, so you have the player walking in from a specific position in the deep without and under lights. This way he gets to adjust his vision, understand his movements, so that he can get it right when a high catch comes his way in a live match. The key is moving as fast as you can to where you think the ball is going to land, which gives you a much better chance of catching it. A lot of dropped catches are due to improper technique, where the fielder has tried to catch it by his chest and not above or in front of his eyeline.

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min's future is in doubt but Spurs are willing to let him go as long as one key condition is met.

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• Son heading into final year of contract
• Tottenham willing to let him go
• But won't sanction exit on the cheap

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Son is about to enter the final year of his contact at Tottenham, meaning he could be sold this summer to avoid losing him on a free next year. According to The Independent, Tottenham are only willing to sell Son if they receive a "significant transfer fee" for the 32-year-old forward.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Saudi Pro League clubs have been credited with interest in Son but it remains to be seen if any team will follow that up with a firm offer for the Spurs skipper. Son is not the only key Spurs figure with an uncertain future. Manager Ange Postecoglou's position remains at risk despite ending the club's long wait for a trophy last season by delivering the Europa League.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Son managed 11 goals for Tottenham last season during an injury-interrupted campaign. It's his lowest tally since his first season in north London.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR TOTTENHAM?

  An intriguing summer awaits at Spurs as the club continue to consider how to proceed after last season which brought a trophy but a disastrous Premier League campaign. Spurs are due to head to Asia for pre-season to play friendlies against Arsenal and Bayern Munich and will then face PSG in the UEFA Super Cup.

GOAL breaks down the winners and losers of the transfer window for USMNT players, with an eye on the 2026 World Cup

And with that, the summer transfer window has come to a close. It was an eventful one for the U.S. men's national team. Right up until deadline day, Americans were on the move, with some of the biggest names in American soccer switching teams less than 12 months before the start of the World Cup.

Transfers, of course, come with risk. Staying does, too. Every player in contention for the World Cup spent this summer mulling over that balancing act. Several took massive swings while others stayed put. Decisions were made, and they'll have ramifications.

These things all be judged in hindsight, of course. But it is fair to look at the potential ramifications, both short and long-term, from a wild summer season in which a substantial number USMNT players switched addresses.

GOAL breaks down the USMNT's winners and losers from the summer transfer window.

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  WINNER: The Championship

  If you're a fan of a Championship team, there's a pretty good chance you have an American player on your team these days. And f you're a striker battling for a World Cup spot, you're likely going into that fight via England's second division.

  The Championship's two top American scorers, Josh Sargent and Haji Wright, both ended up staying, and both look determined to put up big numbers this season. In a World Cup year, every player needs to bet on themselves somehow, and Sargent and Wright placed their bets on Championship dominance.

  Rather than risking it all with a move elsewhere in Europe, that duo will now push for a Championship Golden Boot. It's a safer option, but one that leaves no room for error. Their performances so far this season have certainly made statements.

  Patrick Agyemang and Damion Downs, meanwhile, went the opposite directions, leaving the comforts of their former clubs for new opportunities in England. Agyemang could have banged in goals for Charlotte FC over the next year; instead, he went to Derby County, putting him in direct competition with the duo above.

  Same for Downs, who helped Koln to promotion only to head to Southampton to aid their push back towards the Premier League. Both moves are huge risks, at least in the short term. Over time, they could very well help Agyemang and Downs improve their games.

  The Championship was one of the central hubs of American soccer's transfer window. Now, it's a league to keep an eye on on the road to a World Cup.

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  LOSER: Lyon

  Transfer windows are so often meticulously planned. Moves are planned out months in advance. Back-channeling starts the wheels spinning long before bids are officially submitted. In the end, the best clubs are the ones that are prepared, stay true to a vision and execute it to ensure they maximize their opportunity to improve their teams.

  And then there's what Lyon did, specifically with Matt Turner. There was clearly no plan or, at best, a very shoddy one. It's how the club ended up looking totally careless, even if they found a way to escape the situation in the end.

  If you need a catch-up, Lyon signed Turner from Crystal Palace this summer. After some rule-mandated changes in leadership due to co-ownership with Crystal Palace, the new regime decided they no longer actually wanted Turner. Paperwork had been signed, though. He was their player, and they were in an awkward spot.

  They were able to extricate themselves thanks to a lifeline from the New England Revolution, who were more than happy to offer Lyon a temporary, but potentially permanent, reprieve to bring Turner back to MLS. That doesn't change the fact that Lyon came out of this looking messy, which is never how a club of their stature should look during a transfer window.

  The Turner situation is one that few outside of the American sphere will know about it, but it certainly was one of the most convoluted situations of the summer. In the end, it worked out, but not in a way that flattered the French giants.

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  WINNER: MLS

  League-wide, this was a big summer for MLS. Teams spent a combined $336 million on player signings, showing just how far the league has come in both ambition and finances. Heung-min Son, Rodrigo De Paul, and Thomas Muller – those big names have been added to the MLS ecosystem, and that's saying nothing of those that aren't very good players without that global reputation.

  This, though, is about the Americans, and the stars of the USMNT took centerstage as part of MLS' transfer window, too.

  Paxten Aaronson came back, showing the allure of MLS even for young Americans in Europe. It was a big decision, one that will have lasting ramifications, but Aaronson's choice to join the Colorado Rapids was a big win for the league and a big win for the Rapids after they sold Djordje Mihailovic to Toronto FC.

  Turner, too, came home in search of playing time, making it a near certainty that the USMNT's starting goalkeeper next summer will play in MLS.

  Manager Mauricio Pochettino has made it clear that playing in MLS won't be a detriment to a player's USMNT status. That's why it's a reasonable outcome that players like Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman and Diego Luna stayed at home. There are opportunities for players in MLS, perhaps more so than ever, and that's a win for the league.

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  LOSER: Gold Cup left backs

  Going back to Arfsten, there seemed to be interest. Middlesbrough were reportedly interested, and it's easy to see why that move would have worked for Arfsten. His stock is up after the Gold Cup, and Boro would give him a good platform to both grow his game and get into that big European shop window. There were links to France, too, and that move would have made sense, too.

  Instead, he's staying in MLS. That will likely be OK. Move or no move, Arfsten wasn't going to surpass Antonee Robinson on the pecking order any time soon. Could he have closed the gap with a move abroad? Sure. Would it be better long-term? Potentially. Instead, it didn't happen, and reports indicate it was more so because the Crew weren't willing to sell, not because Arfsten didn't understand those facts.

  John Tolkin, too, was at the Gold Cup, and he, too, didn't move this summer. After impressing with Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga, he's off to a very hot start in the 2. Bundesliga following their relegation. It may be a good thing that Tolkin takes a year to be a big fish in a small German pond, but he may also be too good for that level, even if Europe is still relatively new to him.

  A big move for either, and ensuing success, could have solidified their place on a World Cup roster. Instead, their push will come at their current clubs.