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Former Pakistan head coach will also double up Director Cricket for the PSL franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2017Former Pakistan fast bowler and two-time head coach of the Pakistan team, Waqar Younis, has been appointed bowling coach and director cricket by Pakistan Super League franchise Islamabad United. The director’s role was previously held by Wasim Akram. Waqar and Akram had earlier been touted for a reunion on the Multan Sultans coaching staff, but it hadn’t materialised.The announcement was made by Islamabad United team owner Ali Naqvi and captain Misbah-ul-Haq.”For any captain who is a batsman it is advantageous to have a coach who is a great bowler, someone he can trust and who commands respect both with the local players and the foreign players,” Misbah said. “Having worked with Waqar before, I think his appointment is a great one for Islamabad United, and one that will benefit our bowlers and our dressing room greatly.”Waqar, also present at the press conference, echoed Misbah’s thoughts.”Misbah and I relied on and helped each other out in the lowest of times for Pakistan cricket,” the new bowling coach said. “Having been through the experience we had from 2010 to 2012 is something that will always be with me, so it feels great to be reunited with someone I have worked with so much over the past seven years.”When I used to see PSL from the outside, Islamabad United seemed like a family to me and I am thrilled to be a part of it. We all want the PSL to come back to Pakistan and we are on the right track.”Waqar had two stints as head coach of Pakistan, which followed two stints as bowling coach after his international retirement. This will be his first foray as a coach in the PSL, but he has experience in franchise cricket from his time as bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad during the Indian Premier League in 2013. Sunrisers had finished with the best economy rate that year.Naqvi said there were “no issues” between Akram and the franchise: “Wasim Akram was a great teacher for our bowlers. There were no issues with him. We are thankful for his services. Wasim worked with Rumman Raees and taught him swing. Now we have Waqar Younis who will teach him toe-crushers.”I think in Waqar we have found the ideal man for this role. Not only does he have years of coaching experience with the national team – both as a bowling coach and a head coach – but a lot of his success has been with many of our current players, especially Misbah.”Furthermore, as a team that believes in numbers, the fact that along with his great numbers with the national team, in his lone IPL season, with the Hyderabad team, his team finished with the best bowling numbers in the tournament provided enough evidence for us to go after him.”Islamabad United had begun the last edition of the PSL as defending champions and were eliminated in the second qualifying playoff by Karachi Kings.

A ready reckoner ahead of the media rights auction on September 4, where 24 companies could be in the fray as bidders

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Sep-2017Is the Indian Premier League the most lucrative property in global cricket?The answer will be revealed on September 4 when the BCCI conducts the auction for the IPL media rights. The bidding will take place in Mumbai, with some of the biggest names in global business set to vie for various rights of a tournament that has already realigned the boundaries of cricket in unpredictable ways during its ten years of existence.Here is a ready reckoner to the bidding process, the bidders and the different rights being auctioned.How many bidders are there?A total of 24 bidders bought the bid document, including Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Yahoo, Reliance Jio, Star India, Sony Pictures, Discovery, Sky, British Telecom and ESPN Digital Media.The growth of the league can be measured through the diversity of the bidders as well as the number of companies that have shown interest. In 2008, when the IPL was conceived, about six companies bought the bid document for the first rights cycle. All were television entities and, eventually, only two qualified for the bid – the Sony-World Sports Group alliance and Nimbus.How many categories of rights will be auctioned on Monday?Previously, the BCCI, which owns the IPL, had sold the rights only for three categories: India television rights, India digital rights and rest of the world. However, on Monday, a set of seven rights will be open for bidding. For the Indian market, bids are divided into television and digital; then there will be separate bids for the USA, Europe, Middle East, Africa regions and the rest of the world. For these five markets, the bids include both television and digital rights.How will the bidding process work?The rights will be awarded to the highest bidder in each category. An interested party or a consortium can even make a global bid (for all seven categories) – if their bid is the highest, they will earn the rights.The winner in each category will be determined by matching the bids which will be presented in a sealed envelope. In May, the BCCI had decided to retain the tender process which it said was the most transparent way to award the rights as opposed to e-auction. Recently the Supreme Court, too, struck down a petition favoring the e-auction. The BCCI was against the e-auction mainly because of the danger of bidders walking out once they realised they had reached their limit with the bid figures being publicly displayed. In a tender process, the bidder just gets one chance and has to commit to a figure they can put in the envelope.What is the duration of the rights?All rights have a five-year span: 2018-2022.Why a five-year cycle, considering the previous television rights were for 10 years?According to Rahul Johri, the BCCI’s chief executive officer, 10 years is “too long” a period to commit in an industry that is dynamic. Previously, when the BCCI sold the television rights for 10 years, the IPL had not yet established itself. “It was a new property and it needed a long-term commitment,” Johri said. “But now the world is changing so fast, so from both the rights seller’s point of view and rights buyer’s point of view, five years is a good term. A lot of companies do a five-year plan. So it is a more realistic way to go.”ESPNcricinfo LtdWhich category could attract the most competition?In the Indian market, television rights will remain the prime target as it is the “most valuable” property. In 2008, WSG bagged the television rights for the Indian market for a 10-year cycle (2008-2017) for $918 million. A year later, Sony bought those rights for $1.63 billion.What is the likely worth of television rights in the Indian subcontinent?
Johri will not speculate, but is optimistic the number could be quite high considering the BCCI recently sold the India team sponsorship rights and the IPL title sponsorship for large sums. Smartphone manufacturer OPPO Mobiles India bought the team sponsorship rights for a five-year period, beginning April 2017, for about $166 million, edging out Vivo, another mobile phone manufacturer. Vivo, however, trumped Oppo by retaining the IPL title sponsorship rights (2018-22) for approximately $341 million, a 454% increase over the price paid for the same rights in 2012. “The IPL is one of the most viewed properties in the world. The IPL is a disruptive property. When the IPL is on, the world watches only IPL,” Johri said.How fierce is the competition for digital rights likely to be?
An increasing number of viewers are turning to digital platforms for sports coverage. With Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Discovery Sports, Yahoo and BAMTech (an American internet video provider) aiming to leverage this audience, there could be fierce bidding among them and local providers like Reliance Jio, Star India and Sony. Star India was the previous rights holders for digital rights globally, having paid close to INR 303 crore for a three-year period of 2015-17. These digital behemoths are challenging traditional broadcasters by venturing into sports broadcasting. Amazon recently won the UK rights for showcasing all the major Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournaments while BAMTech has been streaming Major League Baseball for a few years now.

Everton are in desperate need of another new attacker, and time is running out to find one before they begin their Premier League campaign at home to Fulham in two-and-a-half weeks' time.

Who are Everton's current forwards?

The Toffees already have a hugely talented forward in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but the England international's fitness problems were once again a major issue last season as he was restricted to just 15 Premier League starts.

Neal Maupay, a £15m signing from Brighton & Hove Albion last summer, was tasked with filling in for Calvert-Lewin but ended the campaign with one goal and no assists in 27 league appearances.

Dwight McNeil offered some much-needed quality out wide during the run-in, which ultimately ended with the Toffees avoiding the drop, while Arnaut Danjuma has recently joined on loan from Villarreal to provide further competition to Demarai Gray.

It is clear to see why Sean Dyche is eager to bring in another forward, and with a move for Almeria's El Bilal Toure now looking bleak, it may well be that Salernitana's Boulaye Dia is the Merseyside outfit's priority target.

According to reports from La Citta di Salerno this week, Everton are ready to offer €25m (£21m) and Maupay for the Senegal international in a player-plus-cash offer, which could be enough to tempt the Serie A side to cash in.

How many goals has Boulaye Dia scored?

Dia has played – and scored – in three of Europe's top five leagues, having netted 24 times in Ligue 1 for Reims, five times for Villarreal in LaLiga and 16 times in 33 Serie A games for Salernitana last season.

It was during his time at Reims that Dia first caught the attention of many, with Senegal team-mate Sadio Mane stating two years ago that he had been "really impressed" by his compatriot and did not expect him to stay with the French club for long.

So that proved, and after a short spell in Spain, Dia is now doing his thing in Italy. The 26-year-old scored 16 goals in 33 Serie A games last season, seeing him ranked among the top 16% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues for non-penalty goals scored in 2022-23, as per FBref.

Dia also set up six goals, ranking him in the top 14% for assists, showing that he is more than just a goalscorer – something that could see him form a solid partnership with Calvert-Lewin, assuming the latter can stay fit.

Interestingly, the one area Dia lacks is where Calvert-Lewin thrives, meaning they could easily feed off each other. The Salernitana star was among the bottom 14% of forwards in terms of aerial duels won last term (0.71 per 90); Calvert-Lewin was in the top 8% (5.10 per 90).

Some may suggest Dia and Calvert-Lewin simply cannot be shoehorned into the same side, but it would be a similar dynamic that fierce rivals Liverpool used so well for many years with Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Mane in attack.

Indeed, Dia is very alike Mane in a number of areas, not least their ability to score regularly. For example, Mane bagged 16 goals in 34 league games in his final season with Liverpool – the same number that his compatriot scored in one game less for Salernitana last time out.

As Dean Jones told GIVEMESPORT last year, Dia is a "handful" for defenders and a forward with "real goal potential", which has earned him strong comparisons with Mane.

Having shown he can score in France, Spain and Italy, Dia may now be given the chance to follow further in Mane's steps by doing so in the Premier League.

Glasgow Rangers have agreed on a fee with Feyenoord for striker and long-term target Danilo, Sky Sports report.

Are Rangers signing Danilo?

A number of new players have been signed by Michael Beale ahead of his first full season in charge of the club, and it looks as if Danilo could be the next through the door.

Jack Butland, Leon Balogun, Kieran Dowell and Dujon Sterling have all made the move to Glasgow on free transfers.

Meanwhile, money has been spent on attackers Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers, whereas Brighton forward Abdallah Sima has arrived on a season-long loan.

Despite three new additions in the final third the club have lost three attackers from last season in Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Antonio Colak, with Rangers receiving money for the latter after he signed for Parma.

Danilo has been a key target in Glasgow, with Beale personally thought to be an admirer of the forward. An opening offer was turned down by the Eredivisie side, who have been wanting more than £5m for the striker, and it looks as if they will get their wish after a new bid was submitted, with all parties involved on course to get what they want.

Sky Sports shared an update out of Ibrox regarding their pursuit of Danilo on Tuesday. They stated that there has been a breakthrough, with an agreement reached between the two clubs which could be worth a total of £6m.

“Some breaking news from Rangers. They’ve had a deal worth £6m accepted by Feyenoord for striker Danilo. The 24-year-old scored 12 times last season and has been the subject of several offers.

“The initial fee being £5.2m before potential add-ons. Personal terms not expected to be a problem, the Brazilian is keen on a move to Ibrox.”

Further reports have claimed that the forward is poised to travel to Scotland early next week to finalise a transfer by undergoing a medical and signing the relative paperwork, with a five-year deal on the cards.

Who is Danilo?

Danilo actually the same agency as Rangers players Connor Goldson, Fashion Sakala, John Lundstram and Rabbi Matondo, so now a fee has been agreed, you’d like to think a move will go smoothly.

The 24-year-old appears to be at the peak of his powers with a career-high €6.5m Transfermarkt valuation and joined Feyenoord on a free transfer last year. Since then, the forward has found the back of the net on 14 occasions in 48 appearances, helping the club to the Dutch top-flight title in the process.

Prior to his stint with his current employers, Danilo was on the books with Ajax and enjoyed a productive loan spell with FC Twente, scoring 17 Eredivisie goals in 33 appearances during the 2020/21 season.

In total, Danilo has scored 87 goals in 175 appearances at youth and senior level, but with a first taste of senior football outside the Netherlands on the cards, it will be interesting to see if he can find the back of the net regularly in Scotland.

Liam Norwell and David Payne produced an inspired new-ball spell as Gloucestershire roared back into the game at Wantage Road

Jon Culley at Wantage Road07-Aug-2017An impressive performance by a patched-up attack to secure a first-innings lead of 78 for Northamptonshire was severely undermined when they lost their first five second-innings wickets for 19.In a terrific display of new-ball bowling – in complete contrast to the first innings – Gloucestershire’s Liam Norwell and left-armer David Payne left Northamptonshire’s outside chance of promotion to Division One looking decidedly fragile in a match they probably need to win.They were backed up by some fine catching, too, as George Hankins dived to his right at third slip to snap up an edge as Payne removed Rob Newton for a single, before Will Tavare moved sharply to snare Ben Duckett at second slip and give Norwell his first success.Payne then came up with a beautiful delivery to uproot left-hander Max Holden’s off stump, before Norwell pinned Rob Keogh in his crease and produced another cracker four balls later to clip the top of off as Richard Levi groped helplessly.It had taken only six overs to wreck what had been shaping up as an excellent day for the perennial over-achievers, who are nicely placed to advance to the knockout stage again in the NatWest Blast, in which they are looking to become Twenty20 champions for the third time in five seasons, and had put themselves in contention to return to the top division by winning three of their last four red-ball matches.They recovered a little to 50 for 5 at the close but will need a big innings from captain Alex Wakely if they are to construct a lead substantial enough to have a chance of defending.A maiden five-wicket haul for Richard Gleeson had been the key factor in dismissing Gloucestershire for 265, despite the absence of their leading wicket-takers, Ben Sanderson and Nathan Buck, as well as spinner Graeme White, whose injuries have left them seriously short of bowling resources.In addition to Gleeson, the late starter whose success so far has been mainly in T20 and who had played only one first-class match in 2017 before this one, their attack included left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan, who has arrived on a month’s loan after falling down the pecking order with Lancashire, and Atif Sheikh – remember him? – who had played only one first-class match in more than two years.Each of them claimed a wicket, although neither seized his chance anywhere near as impressively as Gleeson. The 29-year-old right-arm seamer from Blackpool had not played any county cricket until two years ago and did not have a contract until this year.A huge success already in T20, in which he took 14 wickets last season despite missing Finals Day through injury and has another 10 this summer, Gleeson demonstrated transferable skills by removing both Gloucestershire openers with the new ball, backing that up with a fine spell in the afternoon that saw Jack Taylor and Craig Miles dismissed off consecutive deliveries and, after Kieran Noema-Barnett had defied his hat-trick attempt, completing the quintet with the wicket of academy offspinner George Drissell, who was making his debut.Late movement accounted for Gareth Roderick and Tavare, who edged to wicketkeeper and second slip respectively, while it was a brute of a ball that did for Taylor, who could only fend to the one slip. The yorker that he has used so effectively in T20 then did its job against Miles and Drissell.Gleeson was understandably chuffed with 5 for 46 against his name, although it would have been better still had Adam Rossington been able to bring the ball safely under his control as Hankins, who went on to make 73, edged one on 33 just before lunch.Kerrigan, who has never been the same since that horrible Test debut in 2013, has made only two Championship appearances this season for Lancashire, where Stephen Parry, Matt Parkinson and perhaps even Arron Lilley are seen to have moved above him in the spin-bowling hierarchy.He showed the skills were still intact when he lured Phil Mustard down the track and spun the ball on to the stumps past the inside edge, although Keogh’s offspin did more damage overall, removing Hankins and Ian Cockbain in the space of seven balls after a fourth-wicket stand of 69. Keogh later dismissed Noema-Barnett, lbw slog-sweeping for a feisty 59.Sheikh, who played for Derbyshire in 2010 and for Leicestershire from 2014 to 2016, does have a hat-trick against Gloucestershire to his name, in 2014, albeit one of limited impact given the opposition total was 591 at the time. He has been playing 2nd XI cricket for Northamptonshire in the hope of rebuilding his career.He took a while to find his rhythm but was eventually rewarded when he took out Payne’s middle stump.The weather forecast for the final two days is not encouraging, although the action thus far has unfolded swiftly enough to suggest a positive result is still likely.

Middlesex sneaked a one-wicket win at Edgbaston and that leaves Warwickshire with a yawning gap of 48 points to safety in Division One of the Specsavers Championship

Jon Culley at Edgbaston06-Jul-2017
ScorecardA match that might have finished in an historic tie just went the way of Middlesex after a tense and absorbing conclusion, providing the defending champions with only a second win of the season and the hope that they might yet claw back more of the space that opened up between them and leaders Essex with last week’s thumping defeat at Chelmsford.None of the ties in first-class cricket has featured identical totals in both innings, yet that prospect was on the cards here as Middlesex, who had looked as though they would reach their target comfortably while Nick Compton and John Simpson were together, began to lose wickets with disconcerting regularity in the post-lunch session.Warwickshire fought as you would expect from a side desperate for a win and stand-in captain Jonathan Trott was never without an idea that might make something happen, but they are now 48 points adrift from safety,They gave themselves a substantial shot of hope and adrenalin before lunch when Jeetan Patel managed, seemingly against all probability, to draw Compton out of his crease and had him stumped.Until that moment, Middlesex looked in command, needing 112 with six wickets in hand. Yet Warwickshire, who have not enjoyed too many good moments in a largely dismal season, used that wicket as a motivational factor and had a fresh determination as they emerged for the afternoon session.Ryan Higgins at first maintained Middlesex’s momentum but Warwickshire somehow kept themselves in it. A fine catch by William Porterfield, diving forward from gully, removed Simpson off Rikki Clarke. And from 170-6, needing 64, Middlesex stumbled three more times.James Harris was unable to get out of the way of a super ball from Boyd Rankin – among a mixed bag of a performance, it has to be said – and gave a catch behind at 193-7, Higgins popped up a bat-pad short-leg catch off Patel at 210-8 and, tantalising Warwickshire fans even more, Ollie Rayner stepped across one from Rankin to be leg before, leaving his side nine down with seven still required.Tim Murtagh and Tom Helm kept their nerve admirably, however, taking four singles off Clarke before Murtagh found a gap on the offside against Rankin and took three runs to the longer boundary.Dawid Malan, Middlesex’s acting captain, believed the key phase of the match had been the last session on day three, when Tom Helm dismissed Trott for 99 and rapidly cleaned up the tail, leaving Warwickshire at least 20 or 30 runs short of where they had hoped to be.”I think the way Tom plus Tim Murtagh and Ryan Higgins bowled at the end of day three – their spell set it up for us because at tea they had been in the driving seat and we probably bowled them out for a lot less than they should have got,” Malan said.”We desperately needed that win. We haven’t been playing our best cricket so far and have not been able to string four good days together.”We have won two and lost two of our last four which is disappointing on the loss side because we pride ourselves on being hard to beat, but positive on the winning side.”To get a win moving forward with guys due to come back from injury and England duty when the Championship starts again we are in a good position to get a few wins in a row and be pushing for the top.”The concern for Warwickshire, of course, is about finding a way somehow to get away from the bottom, although with only six matches left time is running out.Yet coach Jim Troughton still believes his team’s character remains intact, even though results suggest that time is catching up with some of the senior members of their dressing room.”Yes, we probably need to win at least half our remaining games but in 2010 we needed to win four out of five and if there is one thing you can always say this team has been good at, over the years of winning trophies and getting to finals and bringing this club a lot of success, it is being up for it in the big games that matter.”We always knew that we were hitting a period of transition and that this season was going to be tough and we’ve had some performances this season we have not been proud of, where we have crumbled under pressure or drifted through sessions.”But this is a league in which anyone can beat anyone. Somerset have shown that up at Scarborough. And in this game we have gone toe to toe with a good side so we have to take positives from that.”We need to keep asking questions of the older players. We need to compete over all four days of games and to walk off at the end of the game knowing we have given everything and (on this occasion) I don’t need to question that.”He could not question the passion of some of those players, either, as was evident in the scenes on the third evening, before and after Stevie Eskinazi was dismissed for a duck – the score at which Warwickshire had been convinced he was out in the first innings before going on to score the match-winning individual score.The umpires had to intervene, asking Rikki Clarke and Keith Barker in particular to calm down, giving Trott another challenge as captain he might not have bargained for. Troughton admitted the incident had been a cause for concern.”We had a chat with the umpires and recognised that the passion probably bubbled over a little bit,” he said.”Our members maybe sometimes ask where’s the fight, where’s the passion in our team. They definitely saw it there but to people watching without knowing the context it does not look great. So we talked about being competitive and hitting them hard but not stepping over the line.”

Arsenal are now ready to hijack Tottenham Hotspur's move for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, according to a recent report from The Sun.

What's the latest Arsenal transfer news?

Despite having already signed Declan Rice in a deal worth £105m, Arsenal remain in the market for a new central midfielder this summer, with a move for Southampton's Romeo Lavia still on the cards after the 19-year-old gave the green light.

Lavia was viewed as a potential replacement for Thomas Partey, although Mikel Arteta has recently indicated that the Ghanaian will remain at the Emirates Stadium this summer.

When asked whether he expects the 30-year-old to stay, Arteta said: "Yes, Thomas is a super important player for us. Every time I had a conversation with him, he says he wants to stay with us. There is nothing there at all."

Edu has personally been in talks to seal a move for Gremio midfielder Bitello this week, with the 23-year-old now emerging as a major target, and Arsenal could now be closing in on a move.

But according to a report from The Sun, the Gunners also remain interested in signing Luiz and are now ready to hijack Tottenham's move for the Aston Villa midfielder, with Ange Postecoglou currently considering him as a potential replacement for Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg.

Arsenal tried to sign the Brazilian last summer before he opted to put pen to paper on a new £75k-per-week contract at Villa Park, which is not due to expire until the summer of 2026.

Arteta and Postecoglou are now poised to tussle it out for the central midfielder, but it is as yet unclear how much Villa would be willing to sell him for. It should be noted that considering Steven Gerrard, who held onto the midfielder's services last term, is no longer in charge in the West Midlands, Unai Emery may yet be talked into a deal this year.

How good is Douglas Luiz?

The 25-year-old has been hailed as "incredible" by sports reporter Gregg Evans, while Villa boss Emery has in fact underlined just how essential he is for his current team, saying: "He’s very important and he has big potential. He can progress more.

"I’m trying every day to support him and to push him to do one more step ahead as a player. He’s doing it and he’s working very well."

The Rio de Janeiro-born maestro poses an attacking threat, having averaged 0.18 non-penalty goals per 90 in the past year, which places him in the 86th percentile compared to his positional peers, and he also ranks in the 85th percentile for assists.

Not only that, but the Aston Villa star is also competent defensively, averaging 2 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game in the Premier League last season, with those statistics ranking him among the highest in the squad.

Having averaged a WhoScored match rating of 6.93, the midfielder was the Villans' second-best performer in the league last season. However, there are doubts over whether he is a necessary signing for Arsenal.

Given that Arteta has now claimed that Partey is likely to stay, the Gunners are well-stocked in midfield, and they have no real need to spend big on another player in that area of the pitch.

A round-up of the DPL matches on June 6, 2017 as Gazi Group Cricketers won their first DPL title

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2017Gazi Group Cricketers were crowned Dhaka Premier League champions in 2017 despite losing to Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in their last Super League game by six wickets at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar. With both these teams and Abahani Limited on 24 points each, the winner was decided through head-to-head matches between the three sides. Gazi Group had won three of those matches while Doleshwar had won two and Abahani one.Top performers of DPL 2017

Highest scorer: Liton Das (Abahani) – 752 runs

Highest score: Raqibul Hasan (Mohammedan) – 190 off 138 v Abahani

Highest wicket-taker: Abu Hider (Gazi Group) – 35 wickets

Best bowling figures: Tanvir Islam (Khelaghar) – 6 for 18 v Partex

This was Gazi Groups’ maiden Dhaka Premier League title while Doleshwar ended runners-up for the third consecutive season. The Gazi Group players had started celebrating their triumph on Monday after Abahani had defeated Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at the adjacent BKSP-4 Ground.The Gazi-Doleshwar match had originally started on Monday but incessant rain left the outfield wet, so it was continued on Tuesday with Gazi Group on 142 for 5 in 33 overs. They were eventually bowled out for 222 in 49.1 overs with Jahurul Islam top-scoring with a run-a-ball 87 that included seven fours and two sixes. Farhad Reza took three wickets while there was two each for Delwar Hossain, Arafat Sunny and Sharifullah.Later, Puneet Bisht’s unbeaten 89 helped Doleshwar cruise to their target. He struck 11 fours in his 91-ball innings, and added 59 for the fourth wicket with Marshall Ayub and 119 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket with Sharifullah who made 51 off 78 balls. Bisht was later declared the Player of the Match.Prime Bank Cricket Club signed off their campaign with a six-wicket win over Mohammedan Sporting Club in Fatullah.Batting first, Mohammedan were bowled out for 215 in 49.4 overs after resuming the reserve day on 187 for 6 in 43.3 overs. Nazmul Hossain Milon struck a run-a-ball 53 with two sixes and as many fours. Al-Amin Hossain wiped out the tail and finished with 4 for 35.Prime Bank lose two early wickets in the chase, being 24 for 2, before Mehedi Maruf and Rafatullah Mohmand added 78 runs, but Maruf walked off with an injury. He scored 57 off 65 balls with four fours and three sixes. Rafatullah continued, scoring 88 off 129 balls, adding 64 runs for the fourth wicket with Asif Ahmed who finished the chase off with 37 balls to spare.

Tottenham Hotspur are now targeting Brentford striker Ivan Toney as a potential replacement for Harry Kane, should the 29-year-old leave the club this summer, according to a report from Football Transfers.

What's the latest on Harry Kane's future?

Kane has been attracting the attention of some European giants this summer, with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain both making their interest clear, however he reportedly has no interest in moving to the French club.

It is detailed that the striker would turn down an approach from PSG, but he may be more open to a move to Bayern, who have already had two bids turned down this summer, with Daniel Levy still insisting on a £100m fee.

Manchester United are now seemingly out of the race, which leaves Tottenham in a straight fight with Bayern, which may sound like good news, however it also means his price will not be driven up significantly as a result of a bidding war.

Spurs have been making contingency plans in case Kane does move to the Bundesliga this summer, with it recently being reported they are eyeing a high-profile move for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic.

Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo-Muani has been touted as a potential replacement for the England captain, however the Lilywhites also have their eye on an option from much closer to home.

That is according to a report from Football Transfers, which states that Tottenham have now turned their attention to Toney, in the event that Kane departs this summer.

Spurs are willing to wait until the January transfer window to pursue a move for the Brentford striker, as he is currently serving a football ban which ends on January 16th, due to an eight-month suspension for breaching gambling rules.

The Englishman has previously been recommended to Levy by former Tottenham boss David Pleat, who believed he had the potential to eventually take over the reins from the striker.

There is still a chance Spurs sign the 27-year-old this summer, but that would depend on Kane leaving the club.

How many goals has Ivan Toney scored?

The England international has scored a total of 32 goals in 68 Premier League appearances, and he found the back of the net 21 times in all competitions last season, in what was a fantastic campaign.

Of course, the £21k-per-week Brentford star will be disappointed he will not have the chance to build on such a promising season in the opening stages of the upcoming campaign, as a result of his ban, but it would still be wise for Tottenham to pursue a deal.

Hailed as "sensational" by BBC Sport reporter Simon Stone, the former Northampton Town man has done things the hard way, starting in League Two and eventually establishing himself as one of the most prolific players in the Premier League.

Toney working his way up from the bottom of the EFL system is a sure-fire sign he has the right attitude to make it to the very top, and while the football ban is a setback, he has all the right traits to be back to his best by January.

Nottingham Forest should pursue a move for Leicester City forward Patson Daka over his teammate Kelechi Iheanacho this summer, according to Daily Express reporter Ryan Taylor.

How well has Patson Daka fared at Leicester City?

Despite the excitement when Daka was brought to Leicester City from RB Salzburg back in 2021 for £23 million, the Zambia international has failed to set the heather alight in his time at the King Power Stadium.

In total, the £75k-a-week earner has registered 15 goals and eight assists in 74 appearances across all competitions for Leicester City and couldn't prevent his side from dropping into the Sky Bet Championship last term, as per Transfermarkt.

Interestingly, the attacker even said himself prior to his move to Leicester that he can "be like" fellow African star Mohamed Salah.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport via The Express, Jose Mourinho's Roma were believed to be keen on raiding Leicester City in a double swoop to try and entice both Daka and Iheanacho to the Stadio Olimpico this window.

Nevertheless, the Portuguese manager will likely need to divert his attention away from Iheanacho, who has opened talks with Nottingham Forest over a potential move to the City Ground, according to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna.

Iheanacho has produced a decent goal return for Leicester City since moving to the Foxes from Manchester City in 2017 for £25 million, netting 55 times and laying on 33 assists, as shown on Transfermarkt.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Daily Express reporter Taylor thinks that Daka would actually be a better fit for Nottingham Forest than Iheanacho.

Taylor stated: "I'd be going for Patson Daka if I was Forest, I think he's the better one. I think he's young. I don't think he was quite the right fit for Leicester, but I still think he's a great striker.

"But it's probably depending on the system Steve Cooper wants to play. I think he does need someone to build around and Daka's not really that player as we've seen at Leicester."

Who else could Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper add this summer?

Steve Cooper will be keen to add some quality additions this summer as he targets keeping Nottingham Forest in the Premier League for a second successive season.

According to 90min, Nottingham Forest are 'monitoring' Manchester United forgotten man Donny van de Beek and could offer him a new environment to get his career back on track.

Manchester City youngster Carlos Borges has also been linked with a move to the Reds and features on a list of potential arrivals; however, there are currently no negotiations taking place between either party, according to The Athletic.

L'Equipe report that Nottingham Forest are frontrunners to bring in free agent defender Alexander Djiku, who is available for no cost after recently leaving Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg.

Nottingham Forest have made an approach to Atletico Madrid to try and re-sign defender Renan Lodi, who spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan at the club, helping to secure their survival in the English top-flight, as per FootballTransfers.

Lodi is keen to return to his former club on a permanent basis, though it is unclear at present whether they will firm up their approach with a formal bid to sign the Brazil international.