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According to Tottenham insider John Wenham, Japhet Tanganga will stay with the Premier League club this summer.

The Lowdown: Tanganga’s injury setback

The 23-year-old had been enjoying life under Antonio Conte, making 11 appearances for the boss after his arrival in north London back in November last year.

Despite the positive start though, the defender suffered a major setback after he sustained a serious knee injury in March which required surgery, something that saw him ruled out for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign.

As a result of not being involved in the action, some Lilywhites fans have recently been calling for the academy graduate to be sold, but after a fresh update, a club ‘insider’ seems to think quite the opposite.

The Latest: ‘He will be staying’

Speaking to Football Insider, Wenham says ‘a lot of people’ want the player sold and he’s ‘surprised’ by the negative noises around the player.

“A lot of people have been saying ‘sell Tanganga, sell Tanganga’. I’m sorry, no, you need a certain number of club-trained and homegrown players and he ticks every single box.

“Conte obviously likes him. People forget he made 19 appearances last season before getting injured against Chelsea.

“That game was 23 January so there weren’t that many games before then, he featured heavily.

“He picked up the man of the match award on the opening day of the season against Man City, shepherding both Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling.

“He is certainly a player for the future. He seems to have been condemned for one red card against Palace.

“I didn’t realise young players were exempt from being able to make any mistakes. In the three games before that, we kept three clean sheets.

“He played every minute of them and he was outstanding. It seems people want to hold a grudge against him.

“He cost us nothing, came through the academy and has never really let us down. I’m a bit surprised that people are suggesting Rodon should be in front of him for some reason.

“Conte trusts him and likes him. He will be staying at the club.”

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The Verdict: Keep

Tanganga will have been disappointed not to have been able to play more often last season, but Conte will no doubt now take the time to make a proper decision over his future during pre-season, and the manager should definitely keep hold of him.

When the centre-back was part of the Spurs backline, he showed just how much of a rock he can be at the heart of the defence, averaging 2.7 clearances and 1.3 tackles per top-flight match, via WhoScored.

The Hackney-born talent, who was once hailed a “really special” player by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, has all the attributes to play as a right sided centre-back in a three and would be an ideal low-cost backup to Cristian Romero moving forward.

Celtic are reportedly on the verge of finalising the signing of Bayern Munich youngster Christopher Scott, according to GhanaSoccerNet. 

The lowdown: Rising star

A product of Bayer Leverkusen’s youth system, the youngster was snapped up by the Bundesliga champions in 2020 and has since graduated through the academy setup at the Allianz Arena.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder boasts a glowing record across youth and reserve team levels, scoring 44 times and providing 17 assists in 114 appearances.

Despite already making two senior outings for Bayern, it appears as though the Hoops could be set to land the talented teenager…

The latest: Celtic ‘closing in’ on Scott

As per GhanaSoccerNet, Celtic are ‘closing in’ on the capture of Scott as Ange Postecoglou attempts to strengthen the Lennoxtown ranks once again.

It is claimed that the Parkhead hierarchy must meet a £250,000 asking price for compensation in order to seal a deal for the Germany under-20 starlet, who has been stylistically compared to Chelsea star Kai Havertz.

The report added that the Hoops ‘remain favourites’ to sign the prospect described as possessing ‘good speed’ by Hansi Flick amidst reported interest from Brentford.

The verdict: Exciting times

Having already shown his outstanding eye for talent in the transfer market, the prospect of Postecoglou potentially bringing in a Germany youth international from Bayern Munich is enough to whet the appetite for what could be to come at Parkhead next season.

During the 2021/22 season, Scott lit up the German fourth tier and displayed a penchant for influencing matches from deep with seven goals and six assists in 24 appearances, playing across a plethora of positions to highlight a wide-ranging versatility in the process.

Following the departure of prolific midfielder Tom Rogic from Parkhead, signing the £1.08m-rated Scott would be a superb piece of business, especially for the mooted compensation fee.

In other news: Ex-BBC man makes ‘unbelievable’ Celtic claim, read more here

Newcastle United have a realistic chance of signing Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin this summer, claims talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook.

The Lowdown: DCL linked with Everton exit

According to 90min, Everton could be forced into selling one of Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison this summer, as the club face financial difficulties amid the beginning of a much needed rebuild.

It is believed that the Toffees are more willing to part ways with the England international.

As a result, a number of clubs have been linked with the Toffees man; the most prominent of which has been Arsenal, who are desperate to sign a striker this summer.

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The Latest: DCL could be open to it…

Football Insider recently reported that Newcastle have held preliminary talks with Calvert-Lewin ahead of a proposed summer switch.

TalkSPORT journalist Crook has weighed in on the situation, claiming that he can ‘see the attraction’ of signing for Newcastle.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, he claimed:

“Yeah, I can see the attraction because I think they are a more upwardly mobile club than Everton at this stage.

“Obviously, it’s a World Cup year as well, so he needs to be playing at the best level he can. So, I could see that happening.”

The Verdict: Great signing

Valued at £37.8m by Transfermarkt, Calvert-Lewin apparently has a £60m price tag, but would be a great signing for an emerging Newcastle side if they can get that fee down closer to the neutral valuation.

Hailed by former Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti as a “top striker”, it is easy to see why a number of Premier League teams are interested in securing his services – according to FB Ref, the 25-year-old ranks in the 95th percentile for aerial duels won across positional peers in the whole of Europe’s top five leagues.

This suggests that the Englishman would fit the Magpies’ current system, with Eddie Howe utilising Chris Wood as a singular centre-forward, while Wood has not exactly set the world alight.

With constant questions over the fitness of Callum Wilson, having Calvert-Lewin to call upon alongside Sunday’s match-winner would be superb for Howe.

In other news: Newcastle United: Magpies are already ‘looking’ at three ‘quality’ signings, claims pundit

According to transfer insider Dean Jones, it would ‘change everything’ at Manchester United if the club were able to secure the signing of West Ham star Declan Rice this summer.

The Lowdown: United changes imminent

The Red Devils will now miss out on a top-four finish and a place in the Champions League next season following a number of disappointing results under both former manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer and his temporary replacement Ralf Rangnick.

With the arrival of new permanent boss Erik ten Hag imminent though, it appears that plenty of changes are expected to take place at Old Trafford as the Dutchman looks to build his own squad ahead of the start of the 2022/23 campaign.

In a report by ESPN, it’s claimed that a new central midfielder has been identified as a key area for improvement by the hierarchy, and after being consistently linked with Rice in recent weeks, United could well be tempted to make a move for the maestro.

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The Latest: Jones backs Rice move

Despite being wary of financial demands, Jones has admitted that he thinks the 23-year-old could be the perfect candidate to transform the club’s current problems. He told GiveMeSport:

“They’ve got to be careful about the budget because they don’t have hundreds of millions to just go and spend.

“Declan Rice, for me, is the one that would change everything. I think that he wants to move, he’s ambitious, he’s young, and he would be a leader.”

The Verdict: Standout performer

The 29-cap international is a huge fan favourite at the London Stadium and it’s no surprise to see why, considering he’s made 193 senior club appearances in all competitions so far, scoring ten goals and registering nine assists during that time, as per Transfermarkt.

Rice, who was once hailed as a “superb” player by Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard, currently averages 2.1 tackles per Premier League game and has a pass success rate of 91.6%, via WhoScored, displaying both fighting spirit and an ability to control a game from the middle of the park.

The Kingston-born talent is clearly admired by David Moyes, who is said to have valued his star man at more than a staggering £150m, but whether this is a fee that United would be willing to pay or not, his services on the field are something that would definitely be seen as an upgrade, should ten Hag pursuit his highly sought-after transfer target.

In other news… a BBC Radio 5 Live pundit has dropped a huge transfer claim surrounding the future of one of United’s stars.

Virat Kohli smashed records on reaching 10,000 ODI runs. Here’s how the cricketing fraternity reacted on social media

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2018.

The intensity and consistency with which you bat is just amazing. @imVkohli, congratulations on achieving 10,000 runs in ODIs. Keep the runs flowing. pic.twitter.com/tQUhY8bHna

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 24, 2018

Virat Kohli stands alone, no one now or ever is close to his genius! #ODI #INDvWI

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) October 24, 2018

Software update all the time. Virat Kohli has redefined what consistency means. Got his 9000th odi run just 11 innings ago and got his 10000 th today, to go with his 37th century. Enjoy the phenomena #KingKohli pic.twitter.com/OPhvIsBRDJ

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 24, 2018

One of the finest reaching 10k in a hurry @imVkohli take a bow..congratulations an all the best.#stayblessed

— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) October 24, 2018

Switch on the TV, @imVkohli is batting on 144 having crossed the collosal 10k run mark. Double it up now as they would be calling for it in the dressing room. #battingartist #INDvWIN

— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) October 24, 2018

ODI runs and in no time!! Congratulations on the record @imVkohli #Virat10k

— Jasprit bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) October 24, 2018

Congratulations to @imVkohli to achieve milestone of 10000 runs in ODI cricket , Great player & Humble human , u entertaining all fans of cricket with ur Skills , Passion & determination , stay blessed

— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) October 24, 2018

View this post on Instagram

Take a bow the greatest limited over cricketer EVER!! I bet you'd get 20,000 ODI runs. Congratulations. Here's to 10,000 more!! @virat.kohli @indiancricketteam @icc #GOAT #10000runs

A post shared by Robin Uthappa (@robinaiyudauthappa) on Oct 24, 2018 at 5:19am PDT

And the insanity continues with an undying intensity. Congratulations #KingKohli on 10,000 ODI runs and 37th century. The hunger, consistency and intensity is simply incredible pic.twitter.com/DGoP1GlZ01

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) October 24, 2018

Well done @imVkohli on becoming he fastest man to 10,000 runsWhat is next on your list to off? #INDvWIN

— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 24, 2018

Exactly why he is the!! #Fact https://t.co/oE1vhsZtAq

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 24, 2018

Congratulations #KingKohli on becoming the fastest to 10000 ODI runs. What a player ! pic.twitter.com/fUkMgldTEx

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) October 24, 2018

Fastest 10k odi runs.Legendary stuff from #ViratKohli

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 24, 2018

“Century pe century baar baar, run hue pure dus hazaar!”
Heartiest congratulations brother @imVkohli
Fastest player ever to complete 10,000 ODI runs! What a remarkable journey it’s been so far!#ViratKohli #Virat10K pic.twitter.com/HRzLEGaxzN

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) October 24, 2018

You are not just a run machine but also a ton machine, @imVkohli
Congratulations on your amazing achievement of becoming the fastest player to reach 10K runs#KingKohli #INDvWI

— surya77 (@surya_14kumar) October 24, 2018

Ravindra Jadeja was relentless in his attack of England’s weaknesses, but he was just doing what he does

Sidharth Monga20-Dec-20162:39

Ganguly: Jadeja has grown as a cricketer in this series

Try running with your head tilted up towards the sky, your wide-brim hat on top, and the head parallel to the ground. Hang on. Focus on the ball that is already ahead of you and is coming down fast. Go full pelt while you are at it; if you go slowly you won’t make it by the time the ball lands. Careful. Don’t move your head or you will lose sight of the ball. Then, after 12 full strides, not straight but at an angle and back from midwicket towards the boundary, as the ball falls over your shoulder, stick your hands out at the exact right time even as you make the final two strides. Fourteen strides of magic. The stable head. The strong legs propelling him towards the ball. No need to dive.The leading edge from Jonny Bairstow wasn’t a skier but seemed to be travelling far enough from fielders. The bowler Ishant Sharma didn’t seem to be too hopeful of a wicket. Ravindra Jadeja didn’t have even half a second to decide which direction to run in and how fast he needed to go. He judged the direction perfectly, and put his head up and charged towards the ball. About 30-35 metres of smooth gliding run without any time to judge the catch because this was not a skier. No TV cameras can do justice to this bit of magic.Magic it was that India needed in the final two sessions of the day if they were to stretch their 3-0 series lead. Seventeen wickets had fallen in 13 sessions before that. The pitch had been flat. Moeen Ali had scored a century, England’s Nos. 8 and 9 had scored fifties without ever looking out, KL Rahul gifted his wicket on 199 and Karun Nair scored a triple-century in only his third Test. You needed some magic to bring this Test to life.’Jadeja perfect in any conditions’ – Kohli

Is he out of Ashwin’s shadow?
Kohli: We as a team don’t think of these things at all that everyone is playing in Ashwin’s shadow. Jadeja takes a lot of pride in his performance. Obviously as a bowler he wants to pick up as many wickets as he can. But if you see, every time Ashwin has picked up wickets, the economy rate from the other end is not more than two. Ashwin will himself tell you that Jadeja has played a massive role in him making those breakthroughs because there is literally no runs from both ends.
Is he no longer just a bad-pitch bowler?
Kohli: We don’t rely on Jadeja as a bad-wicket bowler. He is a perfect bowler in any conditions in Test cricket. He is accurate, and that’s what you need in Test cricket. You don’t necessarily need to have too many variations at your disposal. His strength is bowling at nice pace, not giving too much air to the ball and making the batsman think about how long they can defend. That’s his strength. On any wicket in the world, if you are bowling that accurately for a long time, invariably the batsman will make a mistake.

Magic came through getting little things right. The way Jadeja does. Like in that catch. It wasn’t a spectacular dive. There was no juggling involved at the boundary. It was the coming together of little things: the judgement, the head position, the legs, the extension of the hands. He hardly broke stride. He hardly bowled magic deliveries, but the little things he did right on that pitch came together to become magic.Bairstow’s was the fourth wicket to fall. The first three had fallen to Jadeja. One of them was Cook, for the sixth time in the series. A man whose career Jadeja gave a new lease of life back in 2014 when he dropped him in Southampton. A better tribute to Jadeja can’t come than from Cook. Jadeja is not a spectacular bowler. He doesn’t dip it or drift it alarmingly. So it is not always easy to spot what it is that Jadeja does to get all those wickets. It is a good idea to ask Cook what was special about Jadeja. After all he was averaging 98 against left-arm spin before he came to India: 1372 runs at 3.14 an over for just 14 dismissals.Cook started off by saying, “You can see why he was getting me out. I was missing straight balls or getting caught.”Yet another voice dismissing Jadeja, you thought, but then Cook went deeper. He said it was strange to struggle against left-arm spin for the first time in his career. Then he summed Jadeja up. Nothing like a little grudging respect. “I found him hard work,” Cook said. “It has been a strange thing for me. Credit to him, he found a bit of a weakness there. And he was relentless at it. I wasn’t good enough to cope with it.”Find a weakness. Keep attacking it relentlessly. And with Jadeja’s fitness you never find a release. The weakness here was that Cook was getting a touch too far across when he played left-arm spin. Jadeja kept bowling in an area from where he would repeatedly threaten the inside edge or beat him. He would keep dragging Cook further and further to the left, and then slip one straight in. The accuracy meant you had to take risks lest you be sitting ducks to the one that misbehaves.Through the series, Virat Kohli acknowledged, Jadeja’s pressure helped Ashwin get wickets. On the final day of the series, though, Jadeja kept them all for himself. England will be rightly criticised for getting out to attacking shots – none of their first eight fell defending – but Cook could see why they were doing so. Stuart Broad eventually got one from Jadeja that he could do nothing about. The batsmen were mindful they didn’t want a similar end, and they knew Jadeja had found his rough and was going to keep hitting it relentlessly. They just didn’t back themselves to be good enough for so long that Jadeja starts making mistakes.Eventually Jadeja ended just two wickets behind Ashwin in this series, at five runs apiece cheaper and in 17 overs fewer. In that final dance of victory – when every ball is accompanied by an appeal from the stands – Jadeja was everywhere. Seven wickets, three catches, creating magic, but without tricks.

Also, most wickets in a three-Test series, keepers’ records, and most centuries in a losing cause

Steven Lynch08-Sep-2015There were 118 wickets in the Sri Lanka-India Tests. Is that a record for a three-match series? asked Puneet Shah from India
The 118 wickets in India’s just finished series in Sri Lanka equals the record for a three-Test rubber: there were also 118 wickets (out of a possible 120) when Australia toured Sri Lanka in 2003-04, and when Sri Lanka went to Pakistan in 1999-2000. There is one longer series with a higher proportion of total wickets: in the five Tests of the 1907-08 Ashes, 197 of the possible 200 wickets went down (Tests in Australia then were all played to a finish, which probably helped). There have been four two-Test series in which the maximum 80 wickets fell: Australia v England in 1886-87, South Africa v England in 1898-99, India v Pakistan in 1998-99, and West Indies v Pakistan in 2005.In India’s third Test in Sri Lanka, both wicketkeepers were making their Test debuts. How often has this happened ? asked Prakash Vakashpati from Singapore
In that recent match in Colombo, Kusal Perera and Naman Ojha became the 14th pair of wicketkeepers to make their debut in the same Test – but it was only the fourth instance since 1933-34, when Dilawar Hussain and Hopper Levett won their first caps in the second Test between India and England in Calcutta. In Delhi in 1951-52, Nana Joshi (India) and Dick Spooner (England) made their debuts together, and then it didn’t happen for 40 years, until South Africa’s first match back after readmission, in Bridgetown in 1991-92, when Dave Richardson was joined as a new cap by David Williams of West Indies. The most recent instance came in Bangladesh’s inaugural Test, in Dhaka in 2000-01: Khaled Mashud was winning his first cap for the home side, while Saba Karim was making his debut for India.Kusal Perera made two fifties on his Test debut. How many other wicketkeepers have done this? asked Chandra de Silva from Sri Lanka
Kusal Perera, who made 55 and 70 in the third Test in Colombo, was the third wicketkeeper to make two half-centuries on his debut – and one of the others was also on his side in this match! Dinesh Chandimal kept wicket on his debut for Sri Lanka, against South Africa in Durban in 2011-12, and scored 58 and 54. The only previous instance was by Dilawar Hussain, with 59 and 57 for India against England in Calcutta in 1933-34. Only three wicketkeepers have made more runs than Perera’s 125 on debut, and two of them are also Sri Lankans: Brendon Kuruppu tops the list with 201 not out against New Zealand in Colombo in 1986-87, while Romesh Kaluwitharana scored 136 runs (132 not out and 4) against Australia in Colombo in 1992. Matt Prior made 147 runs (126 not out and 21) for England against West Indies at Lord’s in 2007.The player with the dubious record of the most run-outs in ODIs is not Inzamam but Marvan Atapattu•AFPWho has been run out most often in ODIs? And Tests? My money’s on Inzamam-ul-Haq… asked James Wright from England
Well, Inzamam-ul-Haq was run out on 40 occasions in one-day internationals, as was Rahul Dravid – but they have to give pride of place to Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu, who was run out 41 times. Mahela Jayawardene fell that way 39 times, and the Pakistan pair of Mohammad Yousuf and Wasim Akram 38. The most ODI innings without ever being run out is 59, by Kenya’s Maurice Odumbe; Quinton de Kock of South Africa has currently had 47 innings without being out this way yet. In Test matches, Ricky Ponting was run out on 15 occasions, Dravid 13, and Allan Border and Matthew Hayden 12. Dravid was thus run out 53 times in all international cricket, while Jayawardene (51), Atapattu (48), Ponting (47) and Inzamam (46) come next.Axar Patel took four for none in the recent unofficial Test against South Africa A. Has anyone ever taken more wickets without conceding a run in a first-class match? asked Hemant Kher from the United States
Slow left-armer Axar Patel’s second-innings figures of 6-6-0-4 in the recent second unofficial Test in Wayanad in Kerala set up an innings victory for India A, as their opponents were rolled for 76. This was the ninth time a bowler had taken 4 for 0 in a first-class innings, the most recent one being by Barbados’ Jonathan Carter against Jamaica in Bridgetown in February 2013. The last 4 for 0 by an Indian bowler was achieved by 47-year-old Lala Amarnath after opening the bowling in Railways’ Ranji Trophy match in Patiala in 1958-59. But there have been four instances of a bowler taking 5 for 0 – three of them, rather oddly, in English county cricket in the 1920s. The most recent 5 for 0 was by the Gloucestershire medium-pacer Percy Mills against Somerset in Bristol in 1928; it was also achieved by Dick Tyldesley for Lancashire v Leicestershire at Old Trafford in 1924, George Cox for Sussex v Somerset in Weston-super-Mare in 1921, and Dick Pougher for MCC as the Australians were bowled out for 18 at Lord’s in 1896.Who has scored the most Test centuries and taken the most Test five-fors in a losing cause? asked Gerry Cotter from England
I enlisted the aid of Statsguru for this one. Leading the way for the batsmen, with 14 Test centuries in vain, is Brian Lara with 14; next comes Sachin Tendulkar, with 11. Shivnarine Chanderpaul had nine, Mohammad Yousuf eight, and Mohammad Azharuddin and Andy Flower seven. Chanderpaul (whose Test career appears to be over) played in a record 77 defeats, ahead of Lara (63), Tendulkar (56), Alec Stewart (54) and Mohammad Ashraful (50). Turning to the bowlers, Muttiah Muralitharan took 15 five-fors in matches Sri Lanka lost, Richard Hadlee 11, and Kapil Dev 10. Wasim Akram three times took ten or more wickets in Tests that Pakistan ended up losing.

Plays of the day from the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils

Abhishek Purohit21-Apr-2014The early blow
Delhi Daredevils were hampered as early as the first over of the match. They opened with JP Duminy’s offspin but ended up losing a fast bowler. Nathan Coulter-Nile dived at square leg to stop a clip from Brendon McCullum and immediately felt his hamstring. It was so bad that he immediately hobbled off the field, leaving Dinesh Karthik to ponder over how he would fill in the fast bowler’s quota of four overs.The rebuffed reprieve
Sitters are being dropped regularly this season. McCullum popped one straight and slow to Duminy at short extra cover in the fourth over. It came in around chest height, Duminy reverse-cupped his wrists and put it down. McCullum is not one to get even remotely careful after a reprieve. He promptly jumped out and had a heave at the next ball. The outside edge went straight and slow to a very short third man, who held on.The stunners
The first three Daredevils wickets were down to the brilliance of Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina. Batsman after batsman tried to clear the off-side infield, and their mishits were snapped up by the sharp duo. Raina started the slide when he made ground and tumbled at cover to send back Mayank Agarwal. Vijay and Manoj Tiwary probably managed to put more distance between the ball and the closest fielder, but to their misfortune that man was du Plessis. The South Africa T20 captain ran back from mid-off both times, never letting the ball out of his sight, and dived to pull off two stunners.The footwork
MS Dhoni’s wicketkeeping is anything but conventional. He often has no follow-through when he collects, especially against spin. He also puts uses his legs to good use, bringing his pads together to avoid letting the ball through when it bounces before him. In the 12th over of the chase, Karthik shaped up early to play a reverse paddle against Ravindra Jadeja. Dhoni had plenty of time to react. While many keepers would have shuffled to the off side, Dhoni just stood where he was and stuck out his right leg. Sure enough, the ball came off Karthik’s bat, found Dhoni’s leg in the way, and rolled away towards short third man.The first timer
M Vijay is known for his trademark pick-up shot over midwicket in the IPL. He was known for being a familiar figure in Chennai Super Kings yellow, till he went to Daredevils this season. His new franchise, and his Tamil Nadu team-mate Karthik, made him do what Super Kings had never asked for in so many seasons. With Coulter-Nile unavailable, Karthik handed the ball to Vijay in the 12th over. So for the first time in the IPL, Vijay sent down his offbreaks, which cost his side three fours in four balls.

Umpiring errors have come at crucial times in this tournament, and they have not been made by the men most suited for the job

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai11-Feb-2013In a crucial Super Six match of the Women’s World Cup that New Zealand captain Suzie Bates had called “almost a semi-final”, her side was at the receiving end of four leg-before decisions. Sophie Devine got a thick inside edge onto the pad, Frances Mackay and Kate Broadmore got deliveries that, according to the ball-tracker, were headed down the leg side while Nicola Browne was struck just outside the line of off stump. New Zealand may or may not have lost the match to West Indies even if the correct calls had been made, but there is no escaping that the decisions influenced the game heavily.Shahul Hameed from Indonesia, who made three of those decisions, is from the ICC’s Associate and Affiliate international panel of umpires. He has officiated in 10 men’s ODIs, the last of which was in 2007. He also did duty during the 2009 Women’s World Cup. Although Hameed has stood in lesser ICC matches since then, 2009 was his last international before this World Cup. You won’t see an umpire in a men’s World Cup whose last international came in the previous edition. Vineet Kulkarni, from India, who gave Browne out, is from the international panel. The tournament does not have a single umpire from the elite panel.Tony Hill, who is on the elite panel, is a common sight at men’s international games, but he is at this tournament only in a mentoring role for the 13 officiating umpires, seven of whom are from the international panel and five from the Associate and Affiliate international panel. New Zealand’s Kathy Cross is the only female umpire at the event.Had umpires from the elite panel, such as Hill and, say, Billy Bowden stood in the middle in place of Hameed and Kulkarni, they might have made worse or better or the same decisions, but at least the players in question could have had the satisfaction of knowing that the best umpires the ICC has to offer had decided their fate, and possibly, the fate of a match that will have a bearing on who meets Australia in the final of a World Cup.Bates’ side was not the only one that has had to suffer in an important game. After England lost by two runs to Australia in their opening Super Six match, their captain Charlotte Edwards went a step ahead of Bates in drawing attention to two umpiring calls that had gone against her team. Edwards and Laura Marsh had been given out lbw, with replays showing both deliveries would have missed the leg stump. “Two poor decisions definitely doesn’t help,” Edwards said. Ruchira Palliyaguruge from Sri Lanka of the international panel and Sarika Prasad from Singapore of the Associate and Affiliate international panel stood in that match.Women’s cricket is not high on priority lists, and even the biggest tournament in their game operates on a tight budget. That, along with just 10 of 25 matches being televised, may rule out an expensive tool like the DRS, though Bates said “there might have been a few decisions we might have referred today”.DRS, however, is a step that in an ideal world should follow the deployment of the best umpires available. The ICC feels it has done enough on the latter front. “These officials include some of the best up-and-coming umpires who will push for promotion to be the next generation of elite panel umpires,” an ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo. “This is the first time that ICC has appointed umpires from their official panels to the ICC Women’s World Cup, and this was in recognition of the growing importance of the event. In the majority of matches these umpires have produced a very high level of officiating.”Steve Davis, from the elite panel, stood in three matches in the 2009 Women’s World Cup: the final and two Super Six games. While the players may or may not agree with what the ICC has to say, the presence of elite-panel umpires here would have limited the reaction to incorrect decisions to questions on the absence of DRS, as it happens often in the men’s game. It is doubtful if their availability was an issue. West Indies, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa were the only men’s sides playing in series parallel to this tournament, where some of the 12 elite umpires were required. It is understood that the elite umpires come at a considerable cost placing greater burden on the budget, but the last thing anyone wants is for the Women’s World Cup final to turn on the basis of a shocker made by an umpire who is not considered good enough for a match in the men’s World Cup.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the first day of the first Test between England and India at Lord’s

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's21-Jul-2011Surprising failure of the day
Alastair Cook has been so prolific over the last nine months that it almost needed a second take to realise he was the first batsman dismissed in this series. It was tough up front for the openers and he’d worked hard to reach 12 when he fell across a delivery from Zaheer Khan and was given lbw by Asad Rauf. There is no DRS for lbws in this series but replays showed that it was taking leg stump in any case. It was Cook’s lowest Test score since Lord’s against Pakistan last August, the first time he had failed to reach 50 since Perth in December and the first time he had fallen before Andrew Strauss since Melbourne – and even then he had 82 to Strauss’s 69.Drop of the day
Rahul Dravid is the most prolific slip fielder in the game but that doesn’t mean he’s infallible. Shortly before lunch MS Dhoni showed his imagination by introducing Harbhajan Singh when many captains, Strauss included, would happily have let the seamers continue until the break. With his first ball Harbhajan found Jonathan Trott’s outside edge and it travelled low to Dravid’s right; he dived, got his fingers to the ball but couldn’t hold on.Miss of the day
India didn’t even get a hand on the second catch Trott offered them. Zaheer was in the middle of another outstanding spell and was coming around the wicket to Trott. He found the outside edge but Dhoni, having started to move to his right, then pulled out of the chance and left it to Dravid. By then, though, it was too late for first slip to adjust and Dravid was taken by surprise as the ball shot past him. They were the first runs Zaheer had conceded in 34 balls and it’s never wise to give a man averaging over 60 two lives.Bunny of the day
Dhoni’s decision to bowl first meant there was no hanging around before Strauss and Zaheer went head-to-head. The contest didn’t really get going at Taunton, but here Zaheer was far more like the bowler we had expected to see. Having probed around off stump during the first session, and failed to extract Strauss in his first seven-over spell, he changed tack after the break. It worked perfectly as the shortest ball he bowled induced Strauss into hooking from well wide of off stump and he top-edged to long leg where Ishant Sharma lurked. It was the sixth time Zaheer had scalped Strauss in Tests and made it 1-0 for the series.Injury-scare of the day
Yet the battle may not resume. It was the sight no-one, except perhaps the most one-eyed England fan, will have wanted to see: Zaheer limping off the field. So much of this series has been built up around Zaheer and his contests with England’s top order, not just Strauss. Midway through his 14th over, having had the ball on a string throughout, he gripped his right hamstring and didn’t even bother trying to finish the over. The series needs a fit Zaheer.