All posts by n8rngtd.top

India’s captain also hinted that Rahul could edge Pant as wicketkeeper for the England ODIs

Karthik Krishnaswamy05-Feb-20250:52

What will India’s playing XI for the first ODI be?

Are India giving serious thought to adding Varun Chakravarthy to their Champions Trophy squad? For now, the answer to that question is… possibly.Varun’s inclusion in India’s squad for the three-match ODI series against England is one of the most intriguing eleventh-hour selections in recent times. He is yet to make his ODI debut, but his recent T20I performances have made him hard to ignore: since his comeback to India’s squad last year, he’s taken 31 wickets at 11.25.”Yeah, look, he has certainly shown something different,” Rohit Sharma said of Varun on the eve of the first ODI against England in Nagpur. “I understand that it is the T20 format, but he’s clearly got something different about him, so we just wanted to have an option and see what we can do with him. Clearly during this series, it presents us an opportunity to play him at some stage and see what he’s capable of.Related

• Rohit and Kohli's form in focus; Rahul or Pant as wicketkeeper?

• The India of Rohit and Kohli vs the England of Buttler and Root

“Right now, we are not thinking about whether we’re going to take him [to the Champions Trophy] or not, but definitely he will be in contention. If things pan out really well for us and he does what is required, then definitely there is something that we need to think about.”Varun has always been known for being hard to hit through the middle overs of T20 matches, but the work he has put into becoming less of a pure mystery spinner and more of a conventional wristspinner with a high degree of overspin has turned him into a serial wicket-taker. He has two five-fors in 12 T20I innings since his comeback, and has only once failed to take at least two wickets.While Varun has only played 23 List A games, he has shown the same wicket-taking ability across the last two editions of the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy, finishing as the tournament’s joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2023-24 edition and as the joint-second-highest wicket-taker in 2024-25.While all eight teams have already named their Champions Trophy squads, they still have until February 12 to make changes if needed. India have made such changes ahead of previous ICC tournaments, replacing Axar Patel with Shardul Thakur ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup and Axar once again with R Ashwin ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup.At present, India’s Champions Trophy squad includes four spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Axar, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, with Kuldeep having just returned to action after undergoing a hernia operation.Rahul vs Pant – ‘A good headache’
Ahead of the England ODIs and the Champions Trophy, one of the biggest selection debates India face is over their wicketkeeper. KL Rahul has been their first-choice ODI keeper in recent times, and contributed significantly in that role and with runs at No. 5 during the 2023 World Cup. But Rishabh Pant, who missed that tournament while recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash, has since returned to action, and presents an explosive option whose left-handedness is an asset in an otherwise exclusively right-handed top order.Rohit didn’t reveal who India would go with to start the England series, but highlighted the importance of “continuity”, hinting that it could well be Rahul.1:20

India selection questions: Gill or Jaiswal? Rahul or Pant?

“Obviously, KL has been keeping wickets for us in the ODI format for a number of years now, and he’s done pretty well,” Rohit said. “If you look at the last 10-15 ODIs, he’s done exactly what the team required him to do. Rishabh as well, he’s there, we’ve got the option of playing either one of them.”Both are quite capable of winning games on their own, so it’s a good headache to have whether to play KL or Rishabh, but obviously, looking at what we’ve done in the past, having that continuity is also very important for us, so that is where we stand as a team, with KL and Rishabh.”No clarity yet on Bumrah’s availability
Jasprit Bumrah, who is recovering from a back issue, is part of India’s Champions Trophy squad, and was also included in the squad for the third ODI against England. The BCCI release that announced the addition of Varun to the ODI squad, however, made no mention of Bumrah, raising the question of whether or not he was still part of India’s plans for the third ODI.Rohit said the selectors and team management were waiting on results of a scan that Bumrah would undergo “in the next few days”.”Look, Jasprit, obviously we’re waiting on some update about his scan and stuff, which was due to happen in the next few days,” Rohit said. “Once we get that scan, we’ll be able to give you more clarity on where he stands right now.”

Outgoing captain says they also did not start well with the ball, which allowed Sri Lanka to take a big lead

Mohammad Isam28-Jun-2025Bangladesh’s inability to bring their Galle confidence to Colombo cost them the Test series, according to outgoing captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. He said that the 1-0 loss was set in motion when the top order failed to cash in on their decision to bat first.Shanto believed that batting first would give his team the best use of the SSC pitch. Instead, Bangladesh were bowled out for 247, before Sri Lanka piled on the pressure by scoring 458. The visitors then folded for 133 on the fourth morning, with only one batter crossing 25.”It was very disappointing [the way we played in Colombo], especially after the outstanding way we played in Galle,” Shanto said on Saturday. “We didn’t perform well in this Test as a team. We didn’t bat well in the first innings. It is a major reason we lost the Test. We were confident coming into the Colombo Test. We faced new conditions. Our first innings batting wasn’t up to the mark. Our first four batters got out in the 30s or 40s. It becomes difficult for the new batter to play a long innings. We need to improve in that area.Related

• Jayasuriya five-for ties the bow around Sri Lanka's victory

• Shanto steps down as Bangladesh Test captain after series loss against Sri Lanka

“We didn’t take a wrong decision at the toss. We batted poorly in the first innings. If you look at the conditions today, the ball is spinning more. The wicket was little bit slower in the first innings, but four or five batters couldn’t make a big score after getting good starts. We made 247, but if they scored big, then we would have made 400-450. It would have been a different game.”This was in stark contrast to Galle, where Bangladesh had scored 495 batting first. Sri Lanka replied with 485, but Shanto struck his second century in the match to put Bangladesh in another commanding position. Sri Lanka, set 296 to win, lost four wickets in the fourth innings before the game was drawn, leaving Bangladesh as the more confident of the two teams coming into Colombo.Shanto said that Bangladesh’s bowling was also not up to the mark at SSC, especially with the new ball. It allowed Sri Lanka to get away to a good start, and although Bangladesh fought back to take eight wickets on the third day, the hosts had already piled up a 400-plus total.”We didn’t start well with the ball. We gave away runs at almost five runs an over. It made life hard for the rest of the bowlers as the batters had the momentum. They batted freely. We took eight wickets in a short time yesterday so if we had done it from the start, Sri Lanka wouldn’t have batted for such a long time,” he said.Shanto said that Nayeem Hasan was one of the positives from the Test series, particularly because he has been getting such few opportunities since his 2018 debut.”I think we can take Nayeem’s bowling as a positive from this Test series. I think he got the opportunity to play seven Tests in the last seven years. To come in and perform like this isn’t easy – especially coming back strongly after not starting well in this Test. Taijul [Islam] — we know how important he is for the team, bowling 40-45 overs in a row in the same area, it’s a very difficult job. Mushfiq played a long innings after a long time, which was good to see.”Shanto also defended the selection of Anamul Haque, who scored just 23 runs in the two Tests. Anamul looked out of place against fast bowling, although Shanto said that they had very few options after the previous set of openers Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Zakir Hasan couldn’t quite cement their top-order places over the last 12 months.”Bijoy has 9,000 runs in first-class cricket,” Shanto said. “He has 24 centuries and 49 fifties. Why won’t we take an experienced player? Our openers have been struggling for the last 12 months. They didn’t contribute regularly. We wanted an experienced player who made a lot of runs. It is unfortunate that he couldn’t contribute for the team. I believe that he can do better in future opportunities. We can’t blame him alone. We didn’t do well as a team.”

Essex lose again as Matt Henry four-for confirms crushing win for South Group leaders

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2025Tom Kohler-Cadmore smashed a brilliant half-century to propel Somerset to a convincing 95-run victory over Essex Eagles at the Cooper Associates Ground and guarantee the runaway South Group leaders a place in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast.In scintillating form beneath the Taunton floodlights, Kohler-Cadmore staged a breathtaking innings of 90 from just 39 balls, striking eight fours and seven sixes and dominating stands of 88 and 55 with Will Smeed and Tom Abell for the second and third wickets respectively as Somerset ran up an imposing 225 for 6 after Essex had won the toss. Smeed scored 32, Sean Dickson weighed in with 28 not out and, amid the carnage, Mohammad Amir emerged as the only Essex bowler to escape punishment, the Pakistan international returning stand-out figures of 3 for 22 from four overs.Undermined by overseas bowlers Matt Henry and Riley Meredith, who claimed 4 for 21 and 2 for 22 respectively, the Essex chase came up well short as the visitors were dismissed for 130 in 14.1 overs, Noah Thain top-scoring with 38. This latest victory moves Somerset 12 points clear of nearest rivals Surrey, while Essex remain rooted to the foot of the South Group after suffering a ninth defeat in 11 games.Tom Banton looked as though he meant business, plundering three boundaries at the expense of debutant Charlie Bennett to move to 15 in quick time, only to then chip Amir to mid-on in the third over as Somerset lost their first wicket with 21 on the board. There was no loss of momentum though, Kohler-Cadmore and Smeed taking 16 off the next over, sent down by Thain, while Bennett again proved expensive when switching to the River End and Paul Walter conceded 19 off the sixth as Somerset raced to 67 for 1 by the end of the powerplay.Essex turned to spin in an attempt to stem the flow, but Kohler-Cadmore continued to trade in boundaries, smiting a brace of sixes off successive deliveries from Matt Critchley and then straight hitting Luc Benkenstein for another to raise a blistering 24-ball half century in the grand manner.The visitors did little to help themselves, Bennett dropping Smeed on 20 at deep midwicket off the bowling of Critchley as the eighth over haemorrhaged 20 runs. Smeed had contributed 32 to a stand of 88 from 44 balls when he hit Benkenstein to long-off as the home side reached halfway on 114 for 2.There was no let-up in the scoring rate, Kohler-Cadmore applying further pressure by hoisting Benkenstein for a towering six over long-off as the Essex bowling wilted in the face of heavy firepower. Kohler-Cadmore was within 10 runs of what would have been a magnificent hundred when a loss of concentration saw him hit Simon Harmer high to long-off to afford Essex overdue relief.Critchley removed Abell for 20, but there was precious little breathing space for the visitors, Dickson and Lewis Gregory picking up the cudgels in a stand of 28 from 12 balls. Dickson was still there at the end, unbeaten on 28 made from 17 balls.Required to score at 12.5 an over, Essex made a decent enough start, Walter taking Craig Overton for a six and a brace of fours in a first over that yielded 15 runs. But Meredith redressed the balance, clean bowling the swinging Michael Pepper with 28 on the board in the third.Somerset struck another blow in the next over, Ben Green taking a startling diving catch at long-on to send back Jordan Cox and give Henry a wicket on his final appearance before returning to New Zealand, while Meredith accounted for Charlie Allison. Henry then struck twice in three balls, removing Walter for 24 and Benkenstein without scoring to reduce Essex to 48 for 5, their prospects of pulling off an unlikely victory in tatters before the powerplay had even ended.Critchley was then run out by Abell’s direct hit and Lewis Goldsworthy had Robin Das held on the deep midwicket boundary with the score 81 for 7 as the home side exerted a vice-like grip on proceedings. Only Thain attempted to carry the fight to Somerset, the former England Under-19 international crashing a four and four sixes in a defiant innings of 38 off 17 balls. His dismissal – caught by Henry at long-on off the bowling of Overton – signaled the end of meaningful Essex resistance.

“Just getting the call-up to come back into the squad is fantastic,” he said

Firdose Moonda18-Jul-2025Devon Conway has described being back in New Zealand’s T20I side as “great” after last playing for them at the T20 World Cup more than a year ago. Conway has since turned down a central contract and was initially omitted from the touring group to Zimbabwe but Finn Allen’s foot injury opened the door for his return and he is relishing the chance to represent the country again.”It’s great to be back in this environment. It’s been a while, so just getting the call-up to come back into the squad is fantastic,” he said at the post-match press conference. “Obviously Finn Allen’s injury is unfortunate but for me it’s nice to get that opportunity to be with the squad again and see a couple of faces who I haven’t seen in a long period of time. And it was nice to contribute today to the win.”Conway’s 59 not out and the half-century stands he shared in with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell helped New Zealand cruise to an eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe and to the top of the tri-series points table. Though he top-scored, it was not until the latter part of his innings that he looked comfortable after several top-edges off short balls from Zimbabwe’s seamers. Conway was dropped on 1 when he edged a back-of-a-length delivery from Richard Ngavara to Blessing Muzarabani at short third and then miscued two pull shots, which fell safely.Related

• Henry's three wickets set up the win as NZ cruise past Zimbabwe

• Glenn Phillips ruled out of Zimbabwe tour with groin injury

• Conway replaces injured Allen for T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe

“There was a lot of steep bounce in the surface, which was a little bit unexpected, but we adjusted and thankfully we only had to chase 121 and managed to get across the line,” he said. “With the new ball, especially their left-armer [Ngarava] was a massive challenge for us as batters. They bashed that wicket really hard and got a lot of steep bounce out of it, so it made it pretty hard for us batters early.”This match was being played on a fresh pitch after two previous fixtures earlier in the week, where the ball seemed to stick in the wicket. There are still four more round-robin games to be played before the final, which New Zealand will be confident of appearing in after winning their first two matches. They will next play South Africa on Tuesday, where Conway will be wary of Kwena Maphaka, also left-arm, against whom he top-edged in New Zealand’s opening match on Thursday.This is Conway’s first experience of working under new coach Rob Walter, who gave up the white-ball job with South Africa to take on the all-format role for New Zealand. Walter will be in charge of New Zealand for three years, which includes the next T20 and ODI World Cups. While Conway has not indicated if he would like to be considered for those tournaments, he has enjoyed working with Walter so far.”It’s just been a couple of days we’ve been with him but his positive mindset around T20 cricket has been nice and clear for us batters,” Conway said. “He’s brought positive energy and a slightly new way of thinking so it’s nice to have him on board and experimenting as to how he operates as the head coach.”

He feels it’s “going to be a constant challenge” for a modern-day player to maintain the same levels of fitness all year

Ashish Pant07-Sep-2025Fast bowler Shardul Thakur believes players are being “taken for granted” with respect to workload, and that it is “going to be a constant challenge” for a modern-day cricketer to maintain the same levels of fitness all year long with the amount of cricket being played.”A lot of times we are taken for granted and the management is not to the highest level,” Thakur said on the final day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Bengaluru. “No one actually comes and asks us how our body feels after playing for so many months. But yes, I have been managing my body with physios, S&Cs [Strength & Conditioning coach], doing constant work.”And it’s about playing cricket. I’m not saying that you keep pulling yourself out from playing the games. But frequent breaks here and there are good for the body.”It’s been over 11 months of non-stop cricket for Thakur. It started with the Irani Trophy in October last year. He then played the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Initially going unsold, he joined Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025 as an injury replacement, following which he played two tour games for India A against England Lions and was part of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.Related

• Duleep semi-finals: Gaikwad the standout as India's international stars struggle for form

• After difficult Test debut, Kamboj returns with a display of quiet control

• Sindhu spins, bats and dreams on in marathon Duleep shift

• Dubey's 'positive mindset' helps Central Zone secure first-innings lead

Players’ workload management has been in focus in the last few years. Recently, Jasprit Bumrah played only in three of the five Tests in the tour of England to manage his workload. Thakur believes it should be up to the players on how they manage their fitness and workloads, but said it shouldn’t be on their minds during a game.”Once you enter the game, you can’t be talking about workload management because then the game situation also takes over,” he said. “When you go into the game, you’re expected to give your best. Whatever you have in your tank, you have to give it all.”And I believe you shouldn’t be shying away from coming in and hitting the deck hard in the game, keep doing those efforts. Yes, when you go out of the ground and when you’re resting back home or you have those breaks in between the game, that’s where you try to manage your bodies and try to manage your load.”If you’re not having too much load in the game, then of course you can push yourself in the nets also. But if you’re having a big amount of load in the game, then you can take it a little bit easy in the nets.”

Shardul Thakur ‘open’ to captain Mumbai

Thakur began the 2025-26 domestic season as West Zone captain in the Duleep Trophy semi-final, the first time he was leading a team in first-class cricket. It was a tough initiation as West Zone failed to progress to the final, with Central Zone going through after a first-innings lead.But the experience of leading the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad has given him enough confidence to be a leader, particularly with the Mumbai captaincy up for grabs after Ajinkya Rahane stepped down from the role earlier this year.”Yes, I am open for the [Mumbai] captaincy,” Thakur said. “And of course, this was one of the steps where I get that experience of captaincy. It was just my first game and there were a lot of learnings. I wouldn’t say that captaincy is difficult, but there are a lot of things which you learn only when you step into the captain’s shoes.”With the Ranji Trophy season starting from October 15, Thakur has urged curators to produce “sporting pitches” where the fast bowlers can also come into play, unlike the one in the semi-final. Thakur bowled just 11 of the 164.3 overs in the West Zone innings. Arzan Nagwaswalla bowled 14.3 and Tushar Deshpande 17. The rest of the 122 overs were shared between the spinners.”The spinners were in the play all the time. There was not much for fast bowlers [in the pitch],” Thakur said. “And it’s always going to be a sort of complaint when we play domestic cricket across the country that we don’t get enough pitches where fast bowlers could come and bowl 40 overs in a game.”Being a fast bowler, I expect that there should be more pitches where the game is even for fast bowlers, for batters and spinners.”

Mohindru was recently disbarred over allegations that he had lied on his CV

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2025Essex chair, Anu Mohindru, has stepped down from his position in the wake of allegations that he lied on his professional CV.Mohindru, who was appointed chair in 2023, was disbarred by the Barristers’ Tribunal Service last week after a five-day hearing, at which he was ordered to pay £55,000 in costs. Claims that he “deliberately exaggerated his academic achievements and qualifications” when applying for work dated back to 2012-13.Essex announced that Jason Gallian, the former England batter who currently chairs the club’s cricket committee, would step up as interim chair of the board, with Vicky Ford acting as his deputy.Related

• Essex hit with £100,000 fine after being found guilty of systemic racism

• Essex fined £50,000 after accepting historic racism charges

“Essex County Cricket Club can confirm that club chair Anu Mohindru has stood down as a board member with immediate effect,” the club said in a statement. “He informed the board of his decision at a meeting on Sunday.”Following the meeting the board has decided that Jason Gallian will act as interim chair whilst Vicky Ford will assume the position of interim deputy chair.”Essex County Cricket Club would like to place on record its thanks to Anu for his leadership and significant contribution during his time as chair of the club.”Mohindru’s appointment came in the wake of John Faragher being forced to step down as chair in 2021 over allegations that he had made a racist comment during a board meeting – for which the club was fined £50,000 by the ECB.

“Every game we play now is a big lead up opportunity. It’s about filling in the gaps with guys who have left.”

Firdose Moonda02-Dec-2025Temba Bavuma will be back to lead South Africa’s ODI side as they seek to square the series in India but has not confirmed where he will bat while the team continues to tinker with top-order combinations.Bavuma missed the opening match with illness, where South Africa stuck to their new(ish) combination of Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton, with Quinton de Kock at No.3. With the series on the line, they may look to return to the more successful and experienced combination of de Kock and Bavuma at the top, especially given their record. While Markram and Rickelton have opened together in just seven innings, and scored 306 runs at 43.71, de Kock and Bavuma have been South Africa’s second-most prolific opening pair since 2016 with over 1,000 runs together from 19 innings at 56.42, and would appear the better choice.On the eve of match two, Bavuma was non-committal about where he stood in the line-up. “Where I fit in, generally being in that top three, I’m easy whichever way is best for the team, as long as I’m still contributing,” Bavuma said in Raipur, where he also had a long net session, confirming his return to health. “At the moment, it’s about creating depth. There is versatility in that guys who generally bat at the top of their order have used in the middle. In this team, a guy like Matthew Breetzke, who generally sees himself at the top in one-day cricket, but he’s doing that job more than well now at No.4 A guy like Tony (de Zorzi) – he’s getting that opportunity to bat at five.”Related

• South Africa hope to cross the line in Raipur after Ranchi thriller

• South Africa find reason for ODI optimism despite top-order tangles

In the absence of Heinrich Klaasen (retired), Tristan Stubbs (dropped) and David Miller (not in this ODI squad), South Africa have effectively created a top five out of five different opening batters with Dewald Brevis in at six. The only reserve batter is Rubin Hermann (also a top three batter for the bulk of his List A career) and Bavuma explained their reasoning for stacking the squad with top-order players.”Going back to South Africa, there’s always that element of batsmanship that you need. I know there’s a big craze about guys hitting sixes in the middle order, but you need a little bit of batsmanship. A guy like Tony, he has the characteristics.,” Bavuma said. “I guess now it’s just to keep putting on the performances to justify why he should do that.”De Zorzi has played 21 ODIs for South Africa, scored 688 runs and averages 36.21. He has a strike-rate below 100 and though he is strong against spin, is seen more as someone who can build an innings and rotate strike rather than a big-hitter. It’s that type of player South Africa think they will need, not only in the subcontinent but as they build their resources for the home ODI World Cup in 2027.The tournament is just less than two years away but South Africa will only play, according to the FTP, nine ODIs after this series, all at home. That could change especially as the FTP only runs to April 2027 and the World Cup will be held in October but the time to experiment is now, which is exactly what South Africa are doing.”Every game we play now is a big lead up opportunity. It’s about filling in the gaps with guys who have left,” Bavuma said. “Especially from a resource point of view, we want to make sure if we do have a situation where one of our main bowlers is out that we do have young guys to step in. We’re seeing guys like Nandre Burger, they are putting up their hands. So creating depth and then seeing where guys can be filling in those roles.”Bavuma feels Matthew Breetzke is pulling his weight and more at No.4•BCCI

With Kagiso Rabada out of the series. Burger led the attack in the first match with support from three other seamers: Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen. South Africa also have Lungi Ngidi, who is certain to play a role at some stage, in the squad, but for now, seem to be leaning more towards allrounders. Bosch and Jansen were both crucial in South Africa’s attempt to chase 350 in Ranchi and could keep their places as the series goes on. Jansen, in particular, has had a coming of age tour of India, and has made himself central to South Africa’s XI in all formats. Expect to see much more of him in this series.”I don’t know where the rankings sit but I’m sure Marco Jansen in any one of those formats will definitely be in the top 10. His contributions with the bat, with the ball, sometimes even both, have been immense to our success. Marco is still a young guy but he’s had a lot of international cricket that is under his belt and he’s only growing into his own and he’s becoming a lot more comfortable in his skin.”Currently, Jansen, who scored 93 and took seven wickets in the Guwahati Test, is sixth on the ICC’s Test allrounder rankings but 35th on the ODI list. His returns in Ranchi, where he scored a 39-ball 70 and took 2 for 76, could be the start of his climb up the charts.

[ad_pod ]

There was a recent all-too-brief trend on Twitter that saw fans compile their perfect Premier League table and this is brought up now, after the event, because presently the Championship is topped by Leeds United and Norwich City, two clubs who featured prominently in these fantasy top flights and duked out a thrilling clash on Saturday.

Three more popular choices – Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, and QPR – are also currently in contention to return to the promised land which means that come August we might be three closer to having our dream twenty, a list that varies from person to person but really not to any great extent.

We pretty much all want Leeds back for example and this despite the club retaining a hated status across rival fan-bases even in extended exile. Forest too was included virtually across the board on Twitter and they are hardly the darlings of the over-forties nor a ‘big club’ in 2019.

Breaking down the reasoning behind these selections reveals four overriding factors shared by one and all. Firstly there is a club’s fan-base to consider; the bigger the better. Then its stature is important with history playing a big part too. Lastly – and perhaps most obviously – the popularity or unpopularity of the club in question is key and interestingly either extreme works. Clubs that prompt mild apathy have no place here. This is a dream Premier League remember.

You may have noticed that only three reasons have so far been given. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the fourth very soon but before we do let’s stay with Leeds United and compare them to, say, Huddersfield Town to illustrate how the other factors come to the fore.

The Terriers are undoubtedly a popular club, with a large number of us admiring how they’ve managed to established themselves among the elite in recent seasons. Alas, in this instance unpopularity trumps popularity and their Yorkshire rivals massively win out. This can best be explained by the posing of a simple question: Who would you rather your club face this weekend? Huddersfield or Leeds? Which fixture would elicit the most enthusiasm?

Most would surely plump for the Elland Road giants and not only for the passionate antagonism implied. Stature comes into it also, with Leeds possessing a greater standing than Huddersfield even if the latter boasts an illustrious and proud history of its own.

Rightly or wrongly, Leeds are regarded as being a ‘proper’ club with ‘proper’ fans. Huddersfield are too, only less so. So a fan-base scores highly and history does too but pales in importance to stature. Being widely disliked meanwhile only helps a club’s cause.

Yet all of this is nothing to nostalgia, the fourth and most meaningful criterion when compiling a perfect Premier League. Let’s be honest, that’s why Norwich are so prominent and I really do mean prominent: having ploughed through so many of these lists I can safely say that the Canaries featured in every single one.

Is their widespread inclusion due to their fan-base? Of course not: Norwich have a mainly localised set of supporters who are perfectly harmless and keep themselves to themselves when not barracking Ipswich. Is it their stature then? Again, that’s a definitive no. With all due respect the East Anglia club cede to most in this regard and the same goes for their historic achievements that amount to two League Cups.

What Norwich does have going for it however, crucially, is that they were one of the founding members of the new, shiny Premier League and what’s more they have yo-yoed up and down since 1992. This means they were likely involved at the highest echelon when the person who compiled each list was a child; when they would stay up to watch Match of the Day in their pyjamas and it would be a magical world. When, in short, football was so very special.

A vote for Norwich City then is a vote for pure nostalgia.

That certainly explains their presence below, in my own personal top twenty; an assortment of clubs so utopian I would happily scrap relegation and see them fight among themselves forever more.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham

The top six is sacrosanct and rightly so, with their huge supporter base and inherent grudges. Take away any of this sextet and the Premier League would be a little more rational and reasonable. Who wants that?

Everton 

Unlucky not to be grouped with the automatic six, the Toffees are top flight mainstays with a fan-base as chippy as they are loyal. A credit to the division.

Newcastle United

Never less than a soap opera Newcastle’s bestowment of entertainment doesn’t begin and end with their off-the-pitch travails. On it few clubs have given more classic games and unforgettable moments. Throw in their legion of fans too and it’s a no-brainer.

Portsmouth

A toss-up between Pompey and Southampton as sadly there’s no room for them both. The inhabitants of Fratton Park win out because – in the best possible sense – they are tremendously mad.

Aston Villa

The Holte End. Three or four captivating – and at times underachieving – sides since the early nineties. A central location that makes it manageable to get to no matter where you live. Villa are wasted in the Championship.

Norwich City

Third place finishers in the inaugural Premier League campaign the Canaries soon after mined the leagues below, only surfacing a handful of occasions since. Who can’t be enamoured however by their unerring ability to get thrashed out of sight by the big guns only to then show resilience the following week. Then there’s the kits which oscillate between gorgeous and minging.

In fact the only consistent thing about them is a stoic insistence on playing decent football regardless of manager. That will do for me.

Fulham

One of the most beautiful grounds in the world and a strong contender for the most likeable London club.

West Ham United

Entrenched in local pride the Hammers are the very definition of a ‘proper’ club. Also score bonus points for so often taking great delight in bloodying the nose of the establishment.

Brighton and Hove Albion

You can’t have a vibrant and absorbing Premier League without a south coast derby and once again the Saints narrowly miss out. This time it’s by virtue of location, with an away day – or more accurately an away weekend – to Brighton always a highlight on the calendar.

Leeds United

On spying *cough* my rival colours a supporter outside Elland Road recently drenched me in expletives despite being old enough to be my great-great-granddad. Never change Leeds, and hurry back. We’ve missed you.

Coventry City

Residents of the top division for 35 consecutive years the Sky Blues deserve to be here on merit. That’s before we get to the fans and the despicable treatment they’ve endured courtesy of owners you wouldn’t wish on a worst enemy. The Coventry faithful warrant inclusion. They’ve earned it the hard way.

Nottingham Forest

The traditionalists’ choice and let’s face it there is always room for sentiment when it involves a two-time European Cup winner.

Bristol City

Admittedly a left-field pick but why waste the unique opportunity of creating a brand new Premier league model without finally giving the south-west the big club it justifies?

QPR

A compact, electrifying ground that evokes an elaborate Subbuteo set-up plus a compendium of flawed but occasionally brilliant sides. That equals full membership. Additionally, any side supported by Nick Cave and Pete Doherty is hard to omit.

Sheffield Wednesday

Ace fans who turn up en masse no matter the division. The Owls have also graced us with some fantastic ballers, particularly in the Chris Waddle era. A welcome addition.

Arsenal’s season has been an up and down one as has been the usual in the last few years.

Some big wins have been overshadowed by the same sort of problems we have become accustomed to seeing, much of which was evidenced during last weekend’s loss to Manchester City, where the Gunners were simply too easy to sweep aside.

However, there is cause for some optimism for manager Unai Emery, who will be pleased with some of his work and will no doubt be looking forward to the summer where he will be hoping to have some cash to spend on the first team squad.

And one man we feel the club and Emery would be wise to make a move for is 25-year-old France and Lyon winger, Nabil Fekir.

The former Liverpool target has once again been in fine form over in Ligue 1, and looks all set and ready to made to make an impact in the Premier League if given the chance.

Fekir possesses brilliant skill on the ball, and his ability to beat defenders with ease and at pace makes him a dangerous and welcome addition to any squad.

A regular in the French national squad, Fekir would add an element to Arsenal which they currently lack in wide areas, and would allow the likes of Aubameyang to operate in favoured roles in the middle of the attacking third.

Gunners fans, what do you think? Would this be a good signing? Let us know in the comments!

[ad_pod ]

Leeds put in a vintage Marcelo Bielsa performance to return to the summit of the Championship on Wednesday, and a couple of unique stats show exactly how they did it.

Leeds have lost five times in all competitions since the seven-game winning spree that catapulted them clear at the top of the table, but they returned to top spot on Wednesday night.

The Whites beat Swansea 2-1 courtesy of goals from Pontus Jansson and Jack Harrison, and Norwich’s 3-1 defeat at Preston leaves Bielsa’s side one point clear at the top.

While some of the play with the ball on Wednesday night was stunning, the team’s work off the ball was what really made the difference, and the stats show that Swansea will be having nightmares about this trip for quite some time.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

On the chalkboard

Much has been made of Bielsa’s “pressing”, and there have even been suggestions that the Argentine’s rigorous training methods are responsible for the club’s injury woes, but Wednesday night showed exactly what happens when the system works.

According to LUFCDATA, Swansea boast the highest pass accuracy in the league this season at 82.2 per cent, but managed to complete just 77 per cent of their passes at Elland Road.

The Swans have only recorded a lower passing percentage than this on four other occasions this season, and only once in a defeat (76 per cent vs Derby).

According to Whoscored, Bielsa’s side won 21 tackles in the match, nearly double the total (12) recorded by Graham Potter’s side, while the Swans were also dispossessed a whopping 16 times compared to just six for Leeds.

When considering that Leeds also had 61 per cent of the possession, the fact that they caused so many turnovers is remarkable, and a testament to Bielsa’s attention to detail.

Only the very best tacticians can achieve such an utterly dominant pressing performance, and if Leeds are fit enough to put in a shift like this 32 games into the season, it bodes very well for the rest of the campaign.