Even though Chelsea have a squad full of incredible players like Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella, they’ve made more than their fair share of poor signings in recent years.

For example, the likes of Axel Disasi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, João Félix and Mykhailo Mudryk are just some of the club’s worst pickups since the ownership took over.

However, when it comes to the most prominent example of a signing gone wrong at Stamford Bridge, a lot of fans and pundits alike will pick out Raheem Sterling.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, one of Enzo Maresca’s more recent signings looks set to go down a similar path to the Englishman.

Sterling's Chelsea career

When Chelsea initially signed Sterling for around £50m in the summer of 2022, there was a fair amount of understandable excitement from fans and pundits alike.

After all, here was a four-time Premier League winner who, during his time with Manchester City, racked up a brilliant haul of 131 goals and 86 assists in 339 games.

That positive feeling around the deal lasted quite a while as well, as even though he wasn’t electric, the Englishman started life in the capital fairly well.

For example, he scored three goals and provided one assist in his first five league games and by the time the new year rolled around, he had produced eight goal involvements in 19 games.

He would end that first season with a reasonable enough haul of nine goals and four assists in 38 games.

Interestingly, in terms of raw output, the following campaign was even better, as he ended it with 21 goal involvements in 43 games.

However, the club then appointed Maresca in the summer, and the Italian manager decided he no longer wanted to use the former City star and a loan move to Arsenal was agreed.

The winger’s time in North London was nothing short of a disaster.

Described as a “passenger” by Arsenal writer Charles Watts, the Kingston-born ace appeared to lose all of his dynamism and ended the season with a paltry tally of one goal and five assists in 28 games.

Sterling’s Arsenal record

Competition

EPL

UCL

FA Cup

EFL Cup

Appearances

12

6

1

4

Minutes

307′

297′

80′

270′

Goals

0

0

0

1

Assists

1

2

0

1

Goal Involvements per Match

0.08

0.33

0.00

0.50

Minutes per Goal Involvement

307′

148.5′

N/A

135′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Since his return to West London, the former England international has been relegated to the club’s ‘bomb squad’ and is unlikely to ever make another appearance for Chelsea again.

In all, while there were moments of quality here and there, it would be hard to describe Sterling’s move to Chelsea as anything other than a dud, and the bad news is, a player in the current squad could end up being an even bigger flop in time.

The Chelsea dud who could be a bigger flop than Sterling

Unfortunately, a few of Chelsea’s summer signings have been underwhelming so far, including Liam Delap and Jorrel Hato.

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However, when it comes to someone who could end up being a bigger flop than Sterling, it’s impossible to look past Jamie Gittens.

Like his compatriot, the dynamic winger’s signing was met with quite a bit of excitement and, once again, justifiably so.

For example, across 49 games for Borussia Dortmund last season, the Reading-born dynamo recorded 17 goal involvements.

The 21-year-old gem even scored away to Bayern Munich in the league and Real Madrid in the Champions League, which led Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley to describe him as “England’s best left winger” at one point.

So, there were certain expectations that, even if he wasn’t going to be a bona fide star to start with, he would be a seriously useful option off the left for Maresca and Co.

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Unfortunately, that just hasn’t happened.

Instead, the summer signing has looked miles off the pace and struggled in practically every competition he’s played in.

For example, he had to be hooked against League One side Cardiff City in the League Cup, with his replacement, Alejandro Garnacho, going on to score a brace.

In all, the Englishman has scored one goal and provided five assists in 20 appearances for the Blues, with three of those goal involvements coming in the League Cup and the other three in the league against relegation-threatened sides.

Considering this poor return, the poor performances and the fact that he could fall even further down the pecking order now that the club are interested in Antoine Semenyo, it’s hard to disagree with one analyst’s opinion that the winger has been a “pointless signing.”

Gittens’ recent league form

Season

24/25

25/26

Appearances

32

12

Minutes

1784′

426′

Goals

8

0

Assists

4

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.37

0.16

Minutes per Goal Involvement

148.66′

213′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Moreover, it’s easy to see a world in which he becomes another Sterling-like figure in the squad, and perhaps the only reason he isn’t already viewed as such is the fact that he’s a new signing and not earning anywhere near as much.

Ultimately, Gittens is a talented player, and there is time for him to come good, but as things stand, he is looking like another flop signing for Chelsea.

Related Chelsea line up £47m move to sign their new Moises Caicedo in January

The incredible prospect could develop into another Caicedo for Chelsea and Maresca.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes

Sunderland have now reportedly opened talks to sign a La Liga forward, who has green-lit a move to the Premier League in the January transfer window.

Sunderland open talks to sign La Liga forward

Sunderland are in absolute dreamland. Fresh from their promotion and subsequent spending spree in the summer, the Black Cats are set to sit as high as sixth on Christmas Day. Not even the most optimistic fans could have predicted that at the start of the season, but those at the Stadium of Light aren’t done there.

Manager Regis Le Bris told reporters after drawing 0-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday: “We won 26 points before AFCON, which is important and a big achievement, and now it’s really clear that we will be a bit less composed because we have less players.

“And the players who didn’t play so far will need time to step up. We trust their quality, their mindset but you’re can’t switch on and be at the level (straight away), so they will need time.”

What’s more, with AFCON underway and as many as six Sunderland players taking part in the tournament, the Black Cats could turn towards the January transfer window.

To that end, rumours are already arriving. According to recent reports, those in Wearside have already set their sights on signing the likes of Jhon Lucumi, who has been a target since the summer and could finally be on his way to the club.

Alas, he’s not the only one on their radar. According to TeamTalk, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Sunderland are now in talks to sign Ruben Vargas, who has green-lit a move from Sevilla to the Premier League in the January transfer window.

Intermediaries have reportedly contacted Sunderland, Leeds United and Bournemouth over a move for the winger, sparking a Premier League race for his signature ahead of next month.

Ruben Vargas could ease Talbi blow

It makes perfect sense that Sunderland have reportedly opened talks to sign Vargas. As long as AFCON continues and they’re without Chemsdine Talbi, they’ll be without a crucial attacking spark that Vargas could reignite that month.

Valued at around €10m (£9m) by Sevilla, the Swiss winger is certainly in Sunderland’s spending range, so is may well come down to whether they can fend off any competition from Premier League rivals.

Related Sunderland "warrior" looks like a new Dan Ballard in the making

Regis Le Bris has a new Daniel Ballard on his hands at Sunderland in this determined warrior.

Posts ByKelan Sarson

Manage that and then they can turn their attention towards Vargas’ salary demands. As things stand, he earns around £53,000-a-week at Sevilla, which would put him in Sunderland’s top 10 earners. Whether they regard his quality high enough to grant those demands is the big question.

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In terms of goals, it’s difficult to see how the 27-year-old would significantly add to Le Bris’ side, with just three strikes to his name all season to go alongside his four assists.

In the short-term, Vargas would provide added depth whilst AFCON continues to stretch Sunderland’s squad. In the long-term, however, the Black Cats may struggle to find a place for the Sevilla star.

With the demise of Rangers, Celtic have quietly gone about their business dominating Scotland’s top flight.

They failed to return to the ‘big time’ last season, which means Celtic are favourites once again for a domestic clean sweep of silverware this season.

Most football fans would like to see Rangers back in the top flight, contrary to the feelings of most Celtic fans. The Old Firm derby has always been the highlight of Scottish football, so the quicker they return to the Premiership, the better.

But while Rangers continue to struggle to get out of Scotland’s second tier, what do the Celtic faithful expect to see under Ronny Deila this season?

We asked the experts for their season predictions and stuck them all in one place for you to enjoy.

Here’s what Celtic fans expect from their club this season…

The Celtic Blog – James Forrest

What the fans expect: Goals. Guts. Passion. And trophies. Last season, once the team started to motor, most of us thought the treble dream might be alive. But domestic trebles are incredibly tough to win, even in Scotland, and it takes an exceptional side, having an exceptional season, to actually scale that particular height. Whilst we dreamed about it, I don’t know that many Celtic fans actually expected to see us triumph and win it.

We came mighty close. The semi-final against Inverness, which ultimately ended the run, was one of those games we ought to have put out of sight before the wheels came off and things started to go wrong. We were also denied a stonewall penalty, in a travesty of a decision which haunted Scottish football for weeks and ought to have seen heads roll.

(I blogged extensively on the bizarre aftermath of that decision, and the ensuing mess the governing bodies got into in relation to it.)

Since then the team has really clicked under Ronny and the fans will be expecting us to go one better this year and seal the deal, making everyone involved part of something special.

In European terms the troops will be expecting qualification to the Group stages of the Champions League. It might be a big ask to go much further than that though.

What they’ll actually get: I’m going to be brazen and say that we’ll do the clean sweep in Scotland this year. The team is hungry for this, and with Gary Mackay Steven, Nadir Cifcti and Stuart Armstrong complimenting what was already a damned good side (GMS and Stuart were ineligible for the latter stages of the cup competitions last year and Nadir is a new signing) we’re in good shape domestically.

Europe is a tougher call. I think we’ll make the Groups but doing anything major in them is going to be a Herculian task. At best we can hope for a third place finish, giving us a Europa League berth, which in itself would be nice. Qualifying outright? Man oh man … if wishing made it so … I just don’t see it this time around. A year too early maybe, and we still lack that one qualify finisher who can take chances at that level and propel you onward.

One to Watch: Oh that’s easy. We have some extremely strong players in the midfield, guys who could go and play anywhere. (No joke, I really think they’re special.) Aside from our captain, Scott Brown, the others are really coming into their own. Nir Biton has blossomed into the kind of guy who was attracting Man City a few years ago, and he will be hugely important. Stefan Johansen is one of my favourite players at Celtic Park, a consummate passer of the ball, who gets forward but can do a defensive job as well. He is going to be a huge star.

But it’s Stuart Armstrong who excites me the most. He’s 23, he’s got a tremendous work ethic and he is classy. He can pass a ball, shoot from distance, he moves across the pitch almost effortlessly. His signing, late last year, was the one a lot of the bloggers had lobbied for on and off for a few years and we were delighted that the club made its move.

He is well worth keeping an eye on.

Predictions: A domestic treble, the Group stages of the Champions League … ending up in the Europa League quarter finals. That’ll be a success story beyond what most Celtic fans hope for … but I think it’s achievable, especially depending on what happens in January. If we get to the Groups and find a way to stay in Europe with the current squad there’s no excuse for not breaking out the cheque book.

Visit: The Celtic Blog

Video Celts – @VideoCelts

What the fans expect: Winning the treble and reaching the group stage of the Champions League

What they’ll actually get: Win the Premiership and Scottish Cup, reach group stage of Champions League

One to Watch: On loan Luke Donnelly

Predictions: Donnelly will be Championship Player of the Year

Visit VideoCelts.com

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On Fields Of Green – @LaytonBhoy

What the fans expect: Last season the club’s supporters had no great expectations; we were watching a team in transition and we knew that. As the season wore on we started to dream about a domestic treble though and that, I think, is what the supporters will be expecting this year.

We also failed to progress in the Champions League, suffering those two calamitous knockouts, one after being reinstated in the competition. The supporters expect progress on that front too, provided we get through tomorrow night in Azerbaijan.

What will they actually get?: Odd as it may seem, this season they actually stand a chance of hitting those targets. It’s no longer a team in transition for one, and the manager appears to have learned from the mistakes me made last season. In spite of all the changes at the club in the 2014-15 campaign, we actually did come exceedingly close to doing the clean sweep in Scotland; losing in the cup semi-final to Inverness prevented us going all the way.

Europe will be the tougher campaign, but even there I see signs of progress.

One to Watch: Easy one. Stuart Armstrong. A fantastic signing, with all the talent in the world. He compliments what was already a very strong Celtic midfield. I’m really excited about this guy and can’t wait to see him when he’s fully up to speed with the demands of the club.

Predictions: The treble will be wrapped up nicely. We’ll still be in Europe by Xmas… and we’ll still be waiting on the club spending more than £3 million on a player when this season is over. Forgive me for that cynicism, but I’ve been here too often before to doubt it.

Visit: onfieldsofgreen.com

According to Il Tempo (via talkSPORT), West Ham are on the verge of sealing a deal for Lazio attacker Felipe Anderson. The 25-year-old has been repeatedly linked with a move to the London Stadium in the last few weeks, and with a deal seemingly close for the Brazilian ace, manager Manuel Pellegrini must seek to complete his summer business by luring Alassane Plea to East London.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the new Hammers chief has been busy moulding his squad since taking over back in May, with goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, right back Ryan Fredericks, and centre back Issa Diop all joining the club, thus strengthening three positions on the pitch that desperately needed attention ahead of the 2018/19 season.

And with 25-year-old Anderson, a likely replacement for the injured Manuel Lanzini, seemingly on his way to the London Stadium, Pellegrini must now turn his attentions towards a striker, as the Hammers somewhat struggled in the final third last term.

Marko Arnautovic was the only West Ham star to reach double figures last season, and with Andre Ayew, who left the club for Swansea City in January, ending up as their third highest goal-scorer last time round, it’s clear that work needs doing in the striking ranks.

And with the futures of Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez uncertain, Pellegrini must seek to seal a deal for reported target Plea, who has been in outstanding goal-scoring form for Nice in the last few years.

The 25-year-old made the move to the Ligue 1 outfit back in 2014, and he has since proven his credentials with 44 goals in just 134 games for the French side, 21 of which coming last term to help the club finish eighth in the top-flight.

Who do you think will win the World Cup? Let us know here

Add in the 14 he bagged in Nice’s run to third place in Ligue 1 the season before, and the former France youth international has been one of the most prolific stars in European football in the last few years, and could well provide the missing piece of the West Ham jigsaw.

The addition of Fabianski, Fredericks, and Diop have gone some way to solve their defensive frailties, while Anderson will provide more flair and creativity to the Hammers attacking ranks which already consists of the hugely influential duo of Arnautovic and Lanzini – they now just need someone to put the ball in the net on a regular basis.

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And that is why, with Anderson seemingly on the verge of moving to the London Stadium, Pellegrini must seek to complete West Ham’s summer business by luring £16.2 million-rated Plea (as per Transfermarkt) to East London.

West Ham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Queensland’s first real blemish of the match – a missed catch at slip in late afternoon – threatens to undo most of its good work over the first three days of the Pura Cup clash with Western Australia at the WACA ground in Perth. Martin Love’s uncharacteristic error has allowed Damien Martyn (70*) and Simon Katich (39*) to add an unbroken century stand and reduce the Warriors’ overall deficit in the match to ninety-nine runs (with seven second innings wickets in hand) by stumps.Prior to the advent of the grassed chance, the Queenslanders had continued to dominate until almost the point of tea on another fine, sunny day. Indeed, the tale of woe that could have been recounted on the back of Western Australia’s batting performance yesterday soon needed extra paragraphs added to it when play resumed this morning. Following the two best individual performances amid the wreckage of an innings of 195, Adam Gilchrist (59) and Mike Hussey (41) both lost concentration and forced away from their bodies at deliveries cutting off the pitch. Soon, Jo Angel (5) was driving uppishly at a reasonably full outswinger from the ever-accurate Adam Dale (5/41) and lofting a catch straight into the hands of Jimmy Maher at a shortish cover position. And then, on the other side of lunch, Dale continued to capitalise on a similarly excellent effort behind the stumps from Wade Seccombe (who held six catches for the innings) by attaining the opening five-wicket haul at first-class level for the season. The right arm paceman had snared the final two scalps, and allowed captain Stuart Law to enforce the follow-on, when he induced Matthew Nicholson (35) into a top edged cut and then trapped Gavin Swan (0) lbw with an inswinger from the very next delivery.A mere nineteen minutes into the new innings, Hussey (5) suffered the ignominy of being dismissed twice in the one day as he made the mistake of pulling to mid on a delivery far too full in length to encourage such a shot. As if that was not bad enough, Australian number three Justin Langer (0) then encountered the rare horror of being dismissed for a pair as he drove loosely at, and outside edged, a ball swinging away two deliveries into the next Andy Bichel (2/32) over. Ryan Campbell (25) fought bravely for a time but was the next to head back in the direction of the pavilion as he tried to cover drive an Ashley Noffke (1/34) outswinger, only to mistime the shot and watch as Maher completed a fine catch high to his left at backward point.In between some scorching strokes to the boundary from the former, matters were initially no easier for either Martyn or Katich. Both played and missed repeatedly at Noffke and the right hander dodged a large bullet at 12 when Umpire Woolridge ruled in the batsman’s favour upon being subjected to a beseeching lbw appeal from Dale (0/24).But this was all before Love, normally as reliable as slips fieldsmen come, snatched at the opportunity to bring Martyn’s hand to a close in the same general manner as in the first innings – with an interception at first slip following an ill-advised slash at a leg cutter. At the time, the Test aspirant had just 25 alongside his name and the Western Australians were deep in trouble at a mark of 3/61, a scoreline which still left them as many as 186 runs in arrears.Batting has never been the almost impossible task that the Warriors had made it look in their first innings and the early stages of a second that eventually billowed to an overnight mark of 3/148. And, offered the reprieve on the still placid pitch, Martyn joined with Katich to prove the point as they took the sort of toll of a tiring attack that should have been exacted far earlier. The former hit some delightful shots behind point and through the covers, while the latter – playing his first match since returning home from a productive season of county cricket with Durham – concentrated his energies on executing some magnificent drives through the arc between mid on and mid off. Having weathered the series of early scares and been forced to bat against attacking fields for much of the afternoon, both truly earned their runs.Difficulties still loom for the Western Australians tomorrow if they do not show an equivalent level of application. But the extent of the resolve displayed by both Martyn and Katich must surely have served up something in the way of a general morale-boost among their teammates in the dressing room. Together with the accompanying sight of some uncharacteristically wayward bowling and sloppy fielding from the Bulls – one piece of it in particular – the generation of the best Western Australian stand of the match would certainly imply that the connection between Queensland and a eleventh outright victory from its last fourteen first-class encounters is not necessarily automatic.

The Lodha committee was tasked with fixing the sanctions on Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Here’s the case made to the committee for a reduced punishment by Raj Kundra‘s advocate Kavin Gulati, and the committee’s responses.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Eight arguments by Raj Kundra’s lawyers for reduced punishment

No.	Arguments	Counter arguements by the Lodha Panel
1	He has been accused or found guilty of misconduct under BCCI Rules/Regulations/Code for the first time	It is the first time but his very first misconduct has affected the image of the BCCI, IPL and the game of cricket and brought disrepute to each one of them
2	The only misconduct against him is of betting and there is no allegation relating to match fixing or influencing the outcome of games	It is not true that there was no allegation of match fixing. In the Mudgal Committee’s first report dated 9 February 2014 observations of betting and match fixing were made against Raj Kundra and his wife which required further investigation
3	The alleged offence is an individual action and not in any manner concerned with his status as a co-owner	When a part owner (team official) indulges in corrupt practices, unsavoury individuals and bad elements become bold enough to involve vulnerable elements including players in all sorts of corruption. It is no secret that some of the players of Rajasthan Royals, of which he was a team official, were found enmeshed in a web of match fixing
4	He has cooperated with the Mudgal Committee as well as the police investigation team	This fact is not borne out of the record. In fact, the Rajasthan police’s investigation against him was stopped abruptly after receiving case papers from the Delhi police with no discernible reason as to why investigation into such a serious crime was not taken to it logical conclusion
5	He being a UK citizen believed betting to be legal in India and he was only placing petty bets – worth around 1 lakh rupees – with friends	Being a UK citizen, he had heavy responsibility on him to ensure that his actions were not in conflict with the laws of a foreign country. With so much information available online it is difficult to accept that as a UK citizen he believed betting to be legal in India
6	The Mudgal Committee recorded that the ‘known punter’ with whom he allegedly placed bets were his friends	The Mudgal Committee found that Raj Kundra had been placing bets through a known punter and also introduced that punter to another bookie. He was constantly in touch with bookies and not reporting his contacts with them
7	He is of relatively young age – still only in his late 30s. At the time of the alleged betting, he was in his mid 30s	He is a middle-aged man who is well educated and well informed. If he had true love for the game, he would not have indulged in the corrupt practice of betting
8	He has already undergone two years of suspension	The period of suspension already undergone is hardly a mitigating factor

 

1. Gurunath Meiyappan

Having rejected all the arguments presented by Raj Kundra’s lawyers, the Lodha Panel imposed the following sanctions on Kundra:(i) He is declared ineligible from participation in the sport of cricket as explained in the Anti Corruption Code for the maximum period of 5 years under Article 2.2.1.(ii) He is suspended for life from the activities as explained in Article 7.5 under Level 4 (first offence) of Article 2.4 of the Code of conduct.(iii) He is suspended for life from being involved with the BCCI in any type of cricket matches under Section 6, rule 4.2(b) read with (j) of the Operational Rules.The above sanctions shall run concurrently and commence from the date of this order.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNamibia’s left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz bowled 16 dot balls in four overs•ICC/Sportsfile

A power-packed half-century from 23-year old Stephan Baard was followed up by a triple-wicket maiden from Bernard Scholtz as Namibia outplayed Papua New Guinea by 49 runs in Malahide.Often times there is nothing quite like scoreboard pressure. It’s doubly useful on a tired pitch where the slower you bowl the harder it is to hit. Before the game, Namibia had decided that if the ball was too full or too short, their batsmen would go after it. Come game day, they amassed 181 for 5 in their 20 overs. As with such big scores, one of the top order goes on to score big.Baard typified Namibia’s pre-game attack plan. When the ball was overpitched, he drove viciously through cover and mid-off. Three fours and two sixes came from that part of the ground. Then when PNG were forced to bowl flatter and shorter, he used the sweep and the pull liberally. Meanwhile, Namibia got past 60 runs in the Powerplay for a third time in the tournament and he eased to a fifty off 27 balls.He did slow down thereafter, but consequently stayed at the crease until the penultimate over to ensure the early platform amounted to a sizeable total. Baard, with 233 runs at an average of 77.66 is the top-scorer of this year’s World T20 Qualifier, so Namibia’s middle order simply had to bat around him. Sarel Burget, at No. 5, made 38 runs off 20 balls in a fourth-wicket partnership that yielded 74 runs in 42 balls.That he didn’t pick up the Man-of-the-Match award indicates the value of Scholtz’s effort with the ball. He offered no pace for the batsman and profited when they tried to make some of their own. That can be a difficult plan for a spinner to trust, considering this was slam-bang T20 cricket. But in Malahide, the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat and it was a pretty large ground too.So Scholtz kept bowling slow and broke PNG’s chase in the 13th over. Charles Amini mistimed a loft because of the lack of pace and was caught at long-on. Next ball, Scholtz slowed it up further and Mahuru Dai swept across the line straight to deep midwicket. The hat-trick ball was looped up above the eyeline as well, got loads of turn to hit new batsman John Reva on the pads, but it had pitched outside leg stump. He would finish the over trapping Reva plumb in front for the score to dip from 90 for 4 to 90 for 7. Scholtz bowled 16 dot balls in his four overs, Papua New Guinea’s priorities shifted from hunting down the runs to lasting the 20 overs.Things had looked very different at the start of the chase. Tony Ura helped ransack 68 runs in the first six overs to keep Papua New Guinea well ahead of the rate. He had five fours and a six in his 21-ball 34 and was looking especially good while driving the ball. But Namibia found a way past him through a run-out and thereafter did not find much resistance to their progress to the top of the Group A table thereafter. If they remain on top until the end of the league stage, they will claim direct qualification into the World T20 in India next year.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s Illegal Bowling Action Committee (IBAC), headed by former double international Ishak Sahabdeen, has taken several steps to eradicate suspect actions with the immediate aim of ensuring their players are not pulled up during the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh next year.”At the last Under-19 World Cup held in UAE in 2014, three of our bowlers were reported for suspect actions, this is not a good sign for us as a cricketing playing nation,” said Sahabdeen, who represented Sri Lanka at cricket and hockey. “We want to make sure that we are clean at the next World Cup.”As a first step, Sahabdeen said seven bowlers would be sent to the ICC-accredited testing centre for suspected bowling actions in Chennai to be assessed ahead of the Under-19 World Cup.To curb this problem the IBAC will also come down firmly on school coaches, who after a period of time could have their coaching license suspended or cancelled if they fail to report or correct bowlers with suspect actions.”With the under-13 and under-19 seasons commencing in the first week of September, we have requested the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association to register each certificate number of the respective coaches, like they register the players,” Sahabdeen said.Sahabdeen said the IBAC had also decided to ban school cricketers from wearing long sleeves, elbow guards, skins and tubing while bowling so that their elbows are exposed. This rule will be implemented from September.According to Sahabdeen, 80% of the 170 bowlers reported in domestic cricket this year, from under-13 age group to the Premier League, were offspinners. “These bowlers try to bowl the doosra and the faster ball and eventually end up being reported for throwing because they exceed the 15-degree limit.” Only 41 of those 170 bowlers have been cleared by the IBAC, and Sahabdeen fears the other 129 will have their careers curtailed because nothing can be done about their actions.Sahabdeen held the coaches responsible. “There are two sides to it. In most instances it is their ignorance of what constitutes an illegal delivery and the other is that they don’t want to correct the bowler’s action or report him as it would reduce his effectiveness and the team’s performances would suffer eventually.”In order to educate and create awareness among school and club coaches, the IBAC printed posters in three languages – Sinhala, English and Tamil – which are to be displayed at all school and club grounds and on notice boards of schools and clubs. The IBAC also brought Richard Dunne, the ICC human resources manager, to educate the coaches on suspect bowling actions – workshops were conducted in Colombo, Galle, Dambulla and Kandy with a total of 160 coaches attending.Apart from Sahabdeen, the IBAC comprises former Sri Lanka fast bowlers Graeme Labrooy and Eric Upashantha, along with umpires’ educator Tyron Wijewardene and Head of Coaching Unit Jerome Jayaratne. Sahabdeen said the drive to eradicate illegal bowling gathered momentum after Sri Lanka offspinner Sachitra Senanayake was reported for a suspect action during the tour of England in 2014.

ScorecardMoeen Ali collected three wickets against Pakistan A to boost his confidence ahead of what will be a vital role he has to play in the Test series, but England were given a taste of what could loom over the next month as they toiled during a wicketless afternoon session in Sharjah and were reminded of how crucial it will be to take every chance that comes to hand.A productive morning for England, in which Moeen struck twice to add to Mark Wood’s opening wicket, gave way to a more sobering middle session after Alastair Cook had spilled Iftikhar Ahmed on 11 at a wide slip off Stuart Broad’s first ball of his second spell. Iftikhar went on to finish unbeaten on 92 as Pakistan A reached 216 for 5.It took England 44 overs to break the second-wicket stand of 112 between Iftikhar and Fawad Alam, who is part of Pakistan’s Test squad. Moeen added his third by having Fawad, who had offered a caught-and-bowled chance to the same bowler on 50, taken at mid-on.However, the purpose of these matches are to acclimatise to the testing conditions, so while missed chances were certainly not the order of the day a lengthy stint in the field, with miles in the legs, could serve England well.England’s quicks were all managed in short spells on another energy-sapping day where cold towels were frequently used to bring some relief and James Anderson’s opening five overs with the new ball was the longest stint for any of the seamers. It was first-change Wood, the pick of England’s pacemen throughout the day, who made the initial incision when Sami Aslam pulled to square leg where Broad pulled off a brilliant, one-handed catch.By then, Moeen was already into his first spell and was soon among the wickets. Khurram Manzoor edged gently to slip and Ali Asad was trapped on the back foot by a quicker delivery as Moeen ended his first stint with 7-2-9-2.His likely Test partner, Adil Rashid, had also settled into an economical pre-lunch spell and though managing just one maiden he maintained an economy rate of under three during the day, which will have been encouraging for Cook although a line-up of Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq will pose far greater challenges. Misbah, who appeared for this match on the first day having not been in the original squad, opted not to have a bat.After Iftikhar received his let-off, he and Fawad made steady progress through the afternoon as Cook used seven bowlers including Joe Root. Iftikhar struck the two sixes of the innings, both off Moeen, and passed fifty from 125 balls while Fawad took 132 deliveries to reach his.Late in the day, Anderson struck in the first over with the second new ball when Usman Salahuddin tickled a catch down the leg side but another chance went begging when Adnan Akmal edged between Jos Buttler and Cook at slip, neither of who moved. Akmal finished on a lively 26 off 27 balls.The second of the two-day matches begins on Thursday and is likely to be a chance for Alex Hales and James Taylor to stake a claim for batting spots, although after Jonny Bairstow’s runs in this game and Moeen’s all-round capabilities are taken into account it is looking increasingly likely that the Test top order will be those that played here.

Sarah Taylor, the England women’s wicket-keeper batsman, has broken into what was previously a jealously-guarded male preserve by becoming the first woman to play Australian first grade cricket. She gatecrashed what reputedly has been one of the last bastions of the macho Australian male by making her debut for Northern Districts in the South Australian Premier Competition on Saturday.Not all statisticians seem entirely happy to let a Pom to take the accolade, with references also made to a T20 match in Victoria once played by Cathryn Fitzpatrick, who stepped down as coach of the Australian women’s team in May, but Taylor’s achievement in being selected for a two-day game will gain universal recognition.SACA Premier Cricket is a two-day competition and represents the highest level of cricket played in South Australia outside first-class cricket.Taylor took on keeping duties and was scheduled to bat at No 8 for Northern Districts – aka the Jets – in the first match of the 2015-2016 season against Port Adelaide Magpies at the Salisbury Oval, alongside players such as South Australia and Leicestershire’s Mark Cosgrove and the former Hampshire batsman Joe Gatting – nephew of ex-England captain Mike Gatting.She joined a list of players that includes former Australian Test cricketers Darren Lehman and Ryan Harris to have represented Northern Districts CC in this competition.Taylor went to Brighton College, the same school as the former England wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, who said her catching talents were immediately apparent. She is particularly talented standing up to the stumps and has been advocated at times as worthy of a match in English county cricket. Mike Selvey, cricket correspondent of has championed her as unique: the only women’s cricketer he has ever seen with all the attributes to play at first-class level.”I’m really excited about this opportunity – it’s completely unexpected and offers another new challenge and environment for me to test my skills against some very strong cricketers. I had no idea that I would be the first woman to play at this level in Australia, but I am sure that I won’t be the last. I have grown up playing boys cricket at Brighton College and more recently in the ECB men’s premier league for Walmley CC, so I am used to playing with the guys.”Taylor will also feature in the Women’s Big Bash for Adelaide Strikers and is also currently playing 50-over state cricket for the Breezair SA Scorpions in the Women’s National Cricket League.The sight of women playing in what was traditionally men-only cricket has gradually become more common in England over the past 20 years. Earlier this year England women’s fast bowler Kate Cross became the first woman to play in the Central Lancashire League, one of the country’s most reputable and traditional leagues.