Chris Mpofu replaces injured Richard Ngarava for Bangladesh Tests

The left-arm seamer was sidelined from the Test series against Bangladesh after sustaining a groin injury during the third ODI

Liam Brickhill28-Oct-2018Left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava has been ruled out of Zimbabwe’s two-Test series against Bangladesh after he sustained a groin injury during the third one-day international on Friday. Ngarava, 20, was in line to make his Test debut, but his injury means that Chris Mpofu has been called up as a replacement.Zimbabwe Test squad

Hamilton Masakadza (capt), Brian Chari, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Peter Moor, Regis Chakabva, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Brandon Mavuta, John Nyumbu, Wellington Masakadza, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu

“Ngarava sustained a groin injury and also complained of pain in the gluteal region after our last ODI,” said Zimbabwe national team physiotherapist Anesu Mupotaringa. “Even with aggressive treatment, he will not recover in time for the Test series.””Ngarava is part of our plan to deliberately inject youth into the team and he has worked hard on this tour, on the sidelines, readying himself for an opportunity to play,” said Zimbabwe convener of selectors, Walter Chawaguta.”We had plans to possibly rotate our seamers and rest those who have played all matches since the tour of South Africa and this would have presented an opportunity for Ngarava.”As part of their preparations for the Test series, the Zimbabweans will take on Bangladesh A in a three-day practice match starting on Monday at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. The first Test begins on 3 November in Sylhet, while the second starts on 11 November in Dhaka.Chawaguta is confident Mpofu’s experience will prove useful in the series. The 32-year-old seamer has played 15 Test matches since making his debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2005. He has been on three further tours to Bangladesh since then.”Mpofu was with the team in the build-up to South Africa and, having toured Bangladesh before, he would know how to quickly adjust to conditions here,” said Chawaguta. “He is very experienced and would give us an opportunity to continue with our set plan of rotating our pace bowling department.”Zimbabwe suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series against Bangladesh, and Chawaguta said that they would look to make amends in the Tests with the senior players expected to lead the way.”The team was obviously saddened by our performance in the ODI series and we are looking to make amends during the Test matches,” he said.”It’s a different ball game demanding a specific set of skills. We have decent Test experience in the squad and are calling on our experienced players to carry the team and show the younger players how to play Test cricket.”

Deal done: Sheffield United reach agreement to sign "electric" £3.5m forward

Sheffield United are now on the verge of signing an “electric” £3.5 million attacker who Ruben Selles already knows well.

Like every other team up and down the country, the Blades are currently in the midst of their pre-season preparations as the return of domestic action gets closer and closer. United got another pre-season game under their belt on Tuesday night, as they faced non-league side York City and won 6-2.

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However, the Blades were without a few key players for the fixture, with midfielder Tom Davies one noticeable absentee. Selles has revealed that Davies has picked up a groin injury during their time in Girona, and he could now miss the start of the Championship season.

“With Tom Davies, it is a little bit different. He got an injury in Girona, and so we expect him to be out for some weeks. He will be back in approximately a month.

“He’s unlucky. The way we do things and the way we try to perform demand a lot from the players. And with Tom, the most important thing is that he recovers well, and when he comes back, he stays healthy for the rest of the season.”

Sydie Peck was another United player that missed out on Tuesday night, but Selles has revealed that Peck’s injury isn’t as serious: “Sydie picked up a late injury, so he has not been able to start pre-season with us.He has been training, but it was more about building him up, and hopefully, he will be involved in the next game.”

Sheffield United now close to signing Louie Barry on loan

As the Blades continue their pre-season preparations, they are now closing in on their third signing of the summer. According to Sky Sports, Louie Barry is now expected to join Sheffield United on a season-long loan from Aston Villa.

The report states that both clubs have agreed the deal, while Barry has also agreed to the switch, and he is now expected to join up with the Blades next week. This comes after Hull City agreed a deal worth £3.5 million with Villa to sign Barry, only for the deal to then fall through as the Tigers were hit with a three-transfer-window embargo.

This transfer will see Barry link up with Selles once again, as the pair worked together in the second half of last season, as Barry joined the Tigers after a successful first half of the campaign on loan at Stockport County.

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6

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Barry, who has been dubbed “electric” by reporter Sam Byrne, struggled to make an impact at Hull as he picked up a serious injury. But during his time at Stockport, the versatile forward scored 25 goals in 46 games across two separate loan spells, and Selles will be hoping he can get that productivity out of the youngster at Bramall Lane.

Shaheen Afridi suffers as Pakistan spill five chances

Pakistan had a terrible time in the field against Afghanistan, dropping five chances in Abu Dhabi. Remarkably, Pakistan’s 18-year old debutant Shaheen Afridi was involved in all of the lapses. He was the unlucky bowler three times, but he also dropped two himself. Here are the excerpts from ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary:

VIDEO: The USMNT equalize at the death in CONCACAF Nations League semifinals vs Jamaica as Miles Robinson forces heartbreaking own goal for Reggae Boyz

The USMNT salvaged their CONCACAF Nations League title hopes with a last-ditch equalizer vs Jamaica to send the match to extra-time via an own-goal.

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Jamaica were leading 1-0 heading into 95th minuteUSMNT leveled match in the final momentsUSA win 3-1 after extra-timeWHAT HAPPENED?

A corner kick in the 96th minute, after five-minutes of stoppage-time were issued, saw Miles Robinson flick the ball on, only for Jamaica's Corey Burke to deflect it into his own net. The forward had no idea the ball was coming, with the fluke goal bringing the USMNT level.

The goal sent the match to extra-time, where the USA took advantage of the momentum, netting two more times to claim victory.

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It was nearly a disaster for Gregg Berhalter's squad, who played a disastrous 95 minutes of soccer. It was a shambolic performance across the regulation period, and the last-ditch effort saved their hopes of making it to the CONCACAF Nations League finals.

With a bit of luck, and some perseverance, they scored with what was the final touch of the regulation period to send the match to extra-time.

Then, super-subs Gio Reyna and Haji Wright found their footing, with the Nottingham Forest midfielder assisting the Coventry City forward on two different occasions for a 3-1 victory across 120 minutes.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT?

The USMNT will play Mexico, who defeated Panama 3-0 in their semifinal, in the CONCACAF Nations League championship game Sunday. With a win, it will be three straight titles in the competition for the USA.

Mumbai overcome their death-overs nerves

They kept losing close games at the start of the tournament, but on Sunday they made sure they didn’t lose their way in the pressure moments

Vishal Dikshit at the Wankhede06-May-2018Mumbai Indians lost a number of close matches early in the season, largely because of their end-overs struggles while defending totals after losing the toss. Sunday evening was unfolding in similar fashion when Dinesh Karthik asked Mumbai to bat again, and the death overs played a vital role once more. This time, however, Mumbai won the clutch moments and kept their playoff hopes alive. What did they do differently?Bumrah and Hardik keep KKR quietEarlier in the tournament, Rohit Sharma had the cushion of two specialist death bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman to defend totals. Now that Mumbai have dropped Mustafizur for Ben Cutting, the onus has fallen almost solely on Bumrah.KKR needed 54 off the last four overs with Karthik and Andre Russell at the crease. Bumrah had two overs in the bank. Rohit decided to give him the 17th and 19th overs and push the equation beyond KKR by the time the final over began.Bumrah gave his captain the perfect 17th over. To Karthik, he mostly bowled wide outside off, making him reach for the ball and denying him his favourite scoop over short fine leg. Against Russell, Bumrah avoided the full length he so relishes and cramped him with his angle into the body. The first three balls produced only singles, and with the pressure mounting, Russell top-edged another short ball from Bumrah, and Krunal Pandya pouched a spectacular catch running from short fine leg towards the square leg boundary.The baton passed on to Hardik, who had figures of 2 for 13 with one over remaining. KKR needed 43 from 18 balls, and Hardik bowled a succession of slower balls and cutters to Sunil Narine and Karthik. Apart from one wide ball that Karthik cut for four, there was hardly any pace onto the bat, and Karthik kept swinging hard and failing to connect cleanly.Only six came off that over, and even a 14-run 19th over from Bumrah – compounded by a drop from JP Duminy on the leg-side boundary – wasn’t enough to swing the momentum back in KKR’s favour.The short-ball planThe Wankhede pitch has plenty of bounce in it, but you need to know how to use it. Where KKR’s fast bowlers conceded 8.40 per over while pitching short or short of a good length, Mumbai’s quicks only went at 7.75.They bowled 29 of those short or shortish balls in the Powerplay, with Mitchell McClenaghan leading the way. In the third over, he kept bowling short despite having only one fielder back on the leg side – deep backward square leg – for Chris Lynn. Lynn pulled one short ball to the midwicket boundary, and another just wide of the man at short fine leg, but McClenaghan didn’t change either his length or his field. Off the fifth ball of the over, Lynn pulled again but straight into the hands of short fine leg.When Hardik returned for his second spell in the 14th over, KKR needed a gettable 69 from 42 balls with seven wickets in hand. He kept bowling back of a length and conceded only five in the over. The third ball was banged in short at Nitish Rana, angling across the left-hander. Looking to pull from outside off stump, he failed to get on top of the bounce and skied a top-edge to deep square leg.A batting-order rejigEver since his 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai have maintained that Rohit Sharma will continue to bat at No. 4. On Sunday, though, he came out at No. 3, a position that has traditionally worked better for him. Mumbai also batted Hardik above Krunal, which hadn’t been the case early in the tournament. The opening stand had lasted nearly 10 overs, and when the second wicket fell, only 50 balls were left in the innings. When Hardik came in, Mumbai were losing some momentum, with Rohit falling for a run-a-ball 11 and a fatigued Suryakumar Yadav slowing down after a brisk start.Hardik got going quickly, lofting a one-handed six off his third ball, and failed to score off only three balls in a 20-ball innings. Even as the batsmen at the other end struggled to score quickly – JP Duminy finished on 13 off 11 – he went at a strike rate of 175, which proved crucial to Mumbai getting past 180.

Character of comeback can't mask England failings

Moeen Ali demonstrated that he had learned from his experience at Chittagong, but England were lucky to be let back into the game

George Dobell in Mirpur28-Oct-2016There have been many memorable comebacks in cricket. Headingley 1981, for example. Or Koltata 2001. Or the remarkable tale of Middlesex’s Harry Lee, who, at the Battle of Fromelles in 1915, was captured by the Germans after spending three days bleeding and broken in no-man’s land. He defied the doctors, and even a memorial service held by his nearest and dearest, and went on to play one Test during an injury crisis on the South Africa tour of 1930-31.By comparison, England’s comeback on day one in Dhaka seems pretty tame. But, after a wretched first three hours when it appeared they might be facing a vast first-innings score, they could feel pretty satisfied in restricting Bangladesh to a first-innings total of 220. Certainly when they were 171 for 1 and England’s bowlers were struggling to hit the cut strip, it seemed as if things would be much, much worse. To take the final nine wickets for the addition of just 49 runs did, at least, show some character.But impressive though the comeback was, encouraging though the bowling of Ben Stokes, in particular, continues to be, this was a performance that will not have left them quaking in India.If England bowl like this in India, they will be thrashed. They will not be able to afford a session as bad as the first one here and they will not be let back into the game as easily as Bangladesh allowed them back here. The India batting is too strong, too ruthless and too motivated to allow England to get away with such loose cricket.For England got away with it here. From the moment Imrul Kayes thrashed a Chris Woakes long-hop to point in the day’s third over, England benefited from loose Bangladesh batting. While Tamim Iqbal batted beautifully, the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Shuvagata Hom will reflect on their dismissals – wafting outside off stump – with little joy. Bangladesh may still have provided the defining innings of this game, but they will know they have risked letting England back into this game when they should have closed them out completely.There was some progress discernable for England. Moeen Ali, in particular, demonstrated that he had learned from his experience at Chittagong to claim the second five-wicket haul of his Test career. His Test bowling average dipped below 40 as a consequence.We already knew that, on such surfaces, he presented a terrific challenge to left-handed batsman. But none of his five victims in Chittagong was a right-hander and, given the India top-order is packed with them, that was a concern.Moeen Ali claimed the big wicket of Tamim Iqbal for 104•Associated PressHere, by bowling round the wicket, he maximised the benefit of any natural variation. He aimed at leg stump, brought the leg slip and short leg into play if the ball turned and the keeper and slip into play if it did not. And, most of all, he knew that, if the batsmen missed, he was in with a good chance of gaining an lbw decision.Moeen modestly admitted afterwards that he had not bowled an intentional arm-ball but, reasoning that if he didn’t know which ones were going to spin and which ones were going to drift away, the batsmen had even less chance. In all, he claimed the wicket of three right-handers, though the wickets of the left-handers Tamim and Mominul Haque with deliveries that skidded on were perhaps the most satisfying.”It was just natural variation,” he said. “I don’t feel I bowled great. I just tried to bowl tight, which I don’t really do normally. I said to Cooky ‘If I’m not bowling maidens, just take me off.’ It’s something I need to do better.””I did all right. I don’t really have much success as a spinner, but I think the pace I bowl helps and I’m trying to be more consistent. I’m nowhere near where I want to be as a spinner, but I’m trying to be accurate and the 30 games I’ve played have helped me a bit.”Moeen also admitted that Stokes had been England’s “main man”. And it is true that Stokes had, once again, defied the slow surface to hurry batsmen with his strength and pace and defeat them with his control of reverse swing. To have hit Mushfiqur Rahim with a bouncer on such a surface was remarkable. Both Moeen and Tamim described him as “brilliant” and he now has a Test bowling average of 16.33 since January 10. He is no batsman who bowls; he is the real thing as an allrounder. India will have taken note, but perhaps also taken note of England’s over-reliance upon him.Perhaps they will not be so reliant in India. The last time England looked as hapless in the field as they did in the first session here was the Edgbaston Test of 2012 when Stuart Broad and James Anderson were rested. It might be optimistic to expect Anderson to play much of a part in India, but Broad’s absence was felt keenly here. There is no way he would have bowled with so little control.Moeen also revealed that the coach, Trevor Bayliss, urged the team to refocus when they came in at lunch.”He just said that we’re going to have sessions like this in the winter and we’re going to have to get better at recognising it and understanding how to change it,” Moeen said. “He wasn’t really angry. He was just a bit disappointed but he never shows when he’s angry. He just made us focus a bit more on what we needed to do.”And what they needed to do was bowl maidens. Or at least apply some control. Not until the 27th over bowled by spin, did any of England’s trio manage a maiden. It is no coincidence that, with both Stokes (who conceded only 13 from 11 admirably controlled overs) and Moeen bowling with impressive control, the wickets started to fall. It won’t be so easy in India, but it did at least show the direction of travel they must take.None of that disguises the faults. It doesn’t disguise the struggles of Zafar Ansari, who might be excused on the grounds of nerves, or Adil Rashid. And, most of all, it doesn’t disguise the continuing struggles of the top order. So far this series, England’s third wicket has fallen on a score of 21, 28 and 42. They might get away with that in Bangladesh; they are most unlikely to do so in India. But, for now, it did just about keep them in this game.

Now worth more than Mudryk: Boehly will regret selling Chelsea ace for £3m

Chelsea’s academy has been up there with one of the very best in the country over the last few years, helping the club win nine FA Youth Cup trophies – the most in the competition’s history.

Endless players have made the jump from Cobham into the first-team setup, having a huge impact on the club and cementing their place as a regular under various different managers.

Enzo Maresca’s current side possesses multiple academy graduates, including the likes of Reece James, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah as the trio look to fire the Blues back to Premier League success.

Chelsea manager EnzoMarescalooks dejected after the match

Numerous others have been sacrificed to raise funds for the managers to make their own stamp on the squad, including Mason Mount who moved to Manchester United for £60m last summer – a great deal considering his tally of 33 games in the last 18 months.

Such a move undoubtedly softens the blow of the big money spent by owner Todd Boehly, with the American forking out huge money to secure the services of one star back in January 2023.

Mykhailo Mudyrk’s time at Chelsea so far

After a bidding war with London rivals Arsenal, Chelsea secured a huge £88.5m move for Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk in January 2023, joining the Blues from Shakhtar Donetsk.

His first appearance came as a substitute against Liverpool at Anfield, making an immediate impression with his pace and direct nature with the ball at his feet.

However, it would be an audition that sold the supporters a dream, with the 24-year-old unable to sustain such a level of performance, only registering 10 goals in his 73 appearances to date.

The winger hasn’t featured since the end of November due to a provisional suspension after he tested positive for a banned substance, with his return date or outcome of the decision yet to be announced.

Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk

His lack of form, coupled with his current absence, has seen a drastic decrease in market value, with one former first-team star massively overtaking him in value after his form away from Stamford Bridge.

The former Chelsea player now worth more than Mudryk

English attacker Callum Hudson-Odoi emerged out of the club’s academy as a teenager, looking to be the next big thing to make his mark on the first team in West London.

The now 24-year-old first showcased his talents on a consistent basis in 2018/19, making 24 appearances, scoring five times and registering five assists – looking way beyond his tender age.

Such a run of form would see interest from European giants Bayern Munich, but the Blues would stand firm, rejecting a loan with an option to buy for £70m – highlighting his importance to the club, with the hierarchy showing faith in his development.

However, an achilles injury in April 2019 would halt his progress at his boyhood side, sidelining him for an extended period and dropping him down the pecking order as a result.

Hudson-Odoi would move on loan to Bayer Leverkusen in 2022/23 to try and resurrect his promising career, before ending his spell with the Blues and joining Nottingham Forest for just £3m two years ago.

The move would allow the winger to thrive in the Premier League once again, registering eight goals and two assists in his debut campaign in the East Midlands – leading to talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbing him as “superb”.

He’s once again continued his stellar form during this campaign, scoring the only goal in the Reds’ victory against Liverpool at Anfield, remaining as the only side to defeat Arne Slot’s side in the league.

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As a result of his displays, Forest have valued the forward at £40m, an increase of 1235% from the fee the Blues sold him for less than two years ago, subsequently seeing him worth more than Mudryk, who’s now valued at just £25m by Transfermarkt.

Given the re-emergence of Hudson-Odoi, the decision to allow him to leave for such a minimal fee is now one that looks to be a huge mistake, potentially offloading a player who could have played a vital role under Maresca.

Mudyrk has ultimately failed to match the expectations of his big-money transfer fee, with the hierarchy now facing a similar situation in taking the risk of offloading the Ukrainian and suffering a repeat of Hudson-Odoi.

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Liverpool now ahead of Man City and Real Madrid in race to sign £50m star

Liverpool are believed to be ahead of the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid in the race to sign a £50m-rated international ace this summer, according to a new report.

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The Reds reached the EFL Cup final on Thursday evening, following an emphatic 4-0 victory at home to Tottenham at Anfield, as their incredible first season under Arne Slot continues. Goals from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk saw Liverpool book a place in next month’s final against Newcastle United at Wembley, in what promises to be a thrilling game.

Cody Gakpo celebrates for Liverpool

In terms of transfers, it ended up being a quiet January window at Anfield, with no new signings made and the only business of note seeing youngsters such as Jayden Danns and Kaide Gordon sealing loan moves to Sunderland and Portsmouth, respectively.

Once the summer arrives, however, supporters will rightly be demanding to see a host of new additions come in, allowing Slot to further strengthen his squad, and Liverpool have now been linked with an exciting player with a big future in the game.

Liverpool in talks to sign £50m player

According to Caught Offside, Liverpool are in talks to sign £50m-rated Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Hugo Larsson this summer, with discussions underway with his representatives. Along with Arsenal and Manchester United, the Reds’ talks are said to be the “most advanced”, putting the trio ahead of City and Madrid in the race to snap him up.

At just 20 years of age, Larsson is a young player with so much potential, already proving to be an important figure in the middle of the park for club and country.

This season, he has made 15 starts in the Bundesliga for Frankfurt, scoring twice in the process, and he also has eight caps for his name for Sweden at international level. Meanwhile, Ben Mattinson has compared him to Jude Bellingham.

“When giving the eye test on Larsson he’s very similar to Bellingham stylistically and was initially my pick to replace Jude at Dortmund but he suits Frankfurt very well and they’re building a top team. Excited to see how he settles in.”

While Liverpool’s midfield is already well-stocked, the chance to sign such a talented player should not be passed up, and he could become a fulcrum of the team over time.

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Competition for places is always healthy for the Reds, keeping top-quality figures on their toes moving forward, and given Larsson’s age, he could be viewed as a long-term replacement for others in midfield.

'We're getting there!' – Man City goal-machine Erling Haaland already back jogging after ankle injury that ruled him out for 'weeks'

Manchester City star Erling Haaland has already started jogging as he eyes comeback from his ankle injury.

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  • Haaland has started jogging
  • Continues to recover from ankle injury
  • Man City face Everton on Saturday
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Haaland shared an update on his injury as he shared a video on his Instagram story where he can be seen jogging inside the Manchester City gym. At the end of the video, the striker can be heard saying, "We're getting there!"

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    The Norwegian goal-machine was forced off during City's FA Cup quarter-final win over Bournemouth last weekend, with the 24-year-old later spotted in a protective boot. The club later confirmed that the player had injured his left ankle, and manager Pep Guardiola revealed that the club doctors had ruled the striker out of action for between five and seven weeks. The champions are now hoping that Haaland returns to action towards the end of the 2024-25 campaign and fully recovers before the FIFA Club World Cup in the US.

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    Despite the injury setback, Haaland remains the club's highest scorer this season with 30 goals to his name in 40 matches across all competitions. He has also contributed four assists.

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    WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY?

    The Cityzens will be back in action in the Premier League on Saturday as they take on Everton at Goodison Park.

Captains' pairs, and centuries with No. 11s

Plus: the father and son who carried their bats, and the most stumpings in internationals

Steven Lynch02-Feb-2016AB de Villiers bagged a pair in the final Test against England – but South Africa still won. How many times has a captain got a pair but won anyway? asked Edward Howard from England

Against England in Centurion, AB de Villiers became only the 21st man to bag a pair in a Test match in which he was captain, the second from South Africa after Louis Tancred against England at The Oval in 1912. There have been four instances by Australia and West Indies captains, three by Pakistan, two by England, New Zealand and India, and one by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Of those, de Villiers was only the fourth to end up on the winning side, after Joe Darling (Australia v England in Sheffield in 1902), Nasser Hussain (England v West Indies at The Oval in 2000) and Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka v Pakistan in Faisalabad in 2004-05).Who scored two Test centuries, completing both of them with the No. 11 at the other end? asked Marcus Porter from England

This cool-headed batsman was Peter Willey, who made two hundreds in his 26 Tests for England between 1976 and 1986. Both centuries came against West Indies, the champion team of the time. The first came at The Oval in 1980: Willey had only 24 when last man Bob Willis joined him at the crease at 92 for 9, but they more than doubled the score in adding 117 – and Ian Botham delayed his declaration until Willey reached 100, from 203 balls in nearly four hours. Eight months later, in the first Test ever played in Antigua, Willey had 69 when No. 11 Graham Dilley came in. Dilley made only 2, but survived for more than an hour, in which time Willey moved to 102 not out, his highest Test score.Does Mahendra Singh Dhoni now hold the record for the most stumpings in international cricket? asked Melissa Gomes from Denmark

When MS Dhoni stumped James Faulkner in the second T20 against Australia in Melbourne last week, it was his 140th such dismissal in all internationals (38 in Tests, 89 in ODIs and 13 in T20Is). That put him one in front of Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara: Dhoni had equalled the old record with his 139th stumping, Glenn Maxwell, earlier in that same innings in Melbourne. Another Sri Lankan, Romesh Kaluwitharana, is the only other wicketkeeper with more than 100 international stumpings – he made 101. Moin Khan is next with 93, while Adam Gilchrist had 92.Mudassar Nazar followed his father in carrying his bat for a century in a Test for Pakistan•PA PhotosThere are only two instances of a team total exceeding 1000 runs in a first-class match. Is it true that Don Bradman figured in both those innings? asked Alex Nweke from Zimbabwe

The two four-figure totals in first-class cricket were both amassed by Victoria in the 1920s: they made 1059 against Tasmania in Melbourne in 1922-23, then trumped that with 1107 against New South Wales at the MCG in 1926-27.
Don Bradman didn’t actually play in either match – he didn’t make his debut for New South Wales until 1927-28 – but one man did: Bill Ponsford made 429 for Victoria in the first game, the record first-class score at the time, and added 352 in the second one. The prolific Ponsford improved his record to 437 against Queensland in Melbourne in 1927-28. That stood as the highest first-class score for two seasons, until Bradman punished the long-suffering Queenslanders for 452 not out for NSW in Sydney in 1929-30.Is Ashish Nehra the oldest Indian player to figure in a T20 international? asked Sunit Kumar from the UAE

Ashish Nehra was 36 years 267 days old when he played against Australia in Sydney last weekend – which makes him the second-oldest Indian to appear in a T20I. Nehra will have to keep going for another couple of years to take the record, which is currently held by Rahul Dravid. He was 38 years 232 days old when he made his one and only appearance in a T20I – having already announced his retirement from the format – against England at Old Trafford in 2011. Dravid is only 16th on the overall list, which is headed by the UAE’s 43-year-old captain Mohammad Tauqir, against Netherlands in Edinburgh in 2015.Is there any case of a father and son carrying their bat in Tests? asked David Ferrier from Norway

There’s only one instance of this. Playing in what was only Pakistan’s second official Test match, against India in Lucknow in 1952-53, Nazar Mohammad scored an undefeated 124 of the total of 331, to set up a decisive lead: Pakistan, who had lost the first Test badly, went on to the victory that levelled their inaugural series. Just over 30 years later, his son Mudassar Nazar carried his bat for 152 in Pakistan’s innings of 323 against India in Lahore in 1982-83.Send in your questions using our feedback form.

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