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Ben Jacobs has dropped an update on the future of reported Leeds United transfer target Arnaud Kalimuendo.

What’s the word?

In a recent post on Twitter, the CBS journalist revealed that, despite previous reports claiming that Paris Saint-Germain would be willing to part with the centre-forward for a figure in the region of €25m (£21m) this summer, he has now been informed that the 20-year-old’s exit is no longer a given, as the France U21 international has highly impressed Christophe Galtier in pre-season.

Jacobs goes on to state that, while the Ligue 1 champions have recently secured the signing of Stade de Reims forward Hugo Ekitike on a season-long loan with an option to buy, Kalimuendo is doing all he can to convince the PSG manager that he is worthy of a place in the Les Parisiens first team squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

In his tweet, the journalist said: “Leeds remain very interested in Arnaud Kalimuendo but a deal is not a given even with Hugo Ekitike’s arrival in Paris. Told Kalimuendo has impressed Galtier. He’s in the squad for the Japan pre-season tour and doing all he can to stay in Paris.”

Orta will be fuming

Considering the fact it was previously reported that Victor Orta had all but been given the green light to seal a deal for Kalimuendo this summer, Jacobs’ latest update is sure to be news that will have left the Whites’ director of football fuming.

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Indeed, it is not difficult to understand why the Spaniard is keen on a deal to bring the 20-year-old to Elland Road ahead of the upcoming Premier League campaign, as Kalimuendo is quite clearly an extremely exciting prospect.

Over the course of his £16.2m-rated forward highly impressed, scoring 19 goals, registering five assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.5 shots, making 0.6 key passes and completing 0.85 dribbles per game.

These returns played a huge role in Les Sang et Or securing back-to-back seventh place finishes in the Ligue 1 table, a quite extraordinary feat for a club who were only promoted to the top tier of French football after finishing second in Ligue 2 back in 2019/20.

As such, when taking into account his age, prolific nature in the final third and extremely reasonable asking price, it would very much appear as if Kalimuendo would make something of a perfect addition to Jesse Marsch’s attacking options this summer – leading us to believe that the latest twist in Orta’s pursuit of the 20-year-old is sure to have come as a gutting blow to all involved with the Whites.

AND in other news: In talks: Orta closing in on deal for “special talent”, Leeds supporters will love it

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has been reacting to the signing of Richarlison, which was confirmed by the club on Friday morning.

The Lowdown: Spurs unveil Richarlison

The Brazilian’s Everton exit always seemed inevitable, with the Toffees only just narrowly managing to escape Premier League relegation last season.

There were several top-flight clubs interested in securing the forward’s services, predominantly Chelsea and Arsenal, but it was the Lilywhites who ended up beating their London rivals to win the race for his signature after it was officially announced on Friday that the 25-year-old had put pen to paper on a five-year deal with Spurs.

The Latest: Gold reacts

Taking to Twitter, Gold shared his excitement about Richarlison’s move and is looking forward to seeing what other transfer business Spurs complete this window.

Quoting a tweet directly from the club unveiling the former Goodison Park man, the reporter wrote:

“That’s number four done, it’s July 1 and there’s more to come. What has happened to Tottenham Hotspur?”

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The Verdict: A fresh creative outlet

Richarlison now becomes Tottenham’s fourth summer signing, following in the footsteps of Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma as Antonio Conte continues to create his new-look squad ahead of next season.

The striker was the standout performer in a struggling Everton side under Frank Lampard, muserting 16 goal contributions in 33 appearances across all competitions last term, as per Transfermarkt, highlighting how prolific he can be in the final third.

Spurs do have plenty of attacking prowess in Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, but Richarlison has the versatility to play either on the flank or down the middle, so his arrival will create a fresh new outlet for the Italian up top, who will need all the numbers he can get with the extra fixtures once the Champions League campaign begins.

Celtic are reportedly closing in on securing a deal for Bayern Munich midfielder Christopher Scott ahead of the upcoming summer window.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Ghana Soccernet (via Scottish Sun), the Hoops are favourites to sign the 19-year-old and will secure the signing if they pay Bayern’s asking price of £250k.

After making 61 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen’s youth sides in which he scored 32 goals and provided two assists, the midfielder joined Bayern’s U19 side back in the 2020 January transfer window.

Since then, the teenager, who turns 20 tomorrow, has gone on to make 53 appearances for the youth teams, finding the net 12 times and delivering 15 assists in the process.

The youngster also has two senior appearances for the German giants under his belt.

On the international stage, the player has made appearances for Germany across their U15, U16, U17, U19 and U20 sides.

Celtic fans will be buzzing

The above shows the attacking and creative talent he has and why the Bhoys are reportedly close to signing him. However, it also underlines why supporters will be buzzing to see him sign.

According to Celtic Analytics on Twitter, Scott’s strengths are “offensive and on the ball as a strong passer and ball carrier,” as well as being a player who “generates a lot of threat from finishing and creativity.”

Thus, taking into account how Ange Postecoglou has shown that he is not against signing young players from abroad and giving them the chance to shine in his side such, notably Liel Abada, Scott could well be the next one in line to become a household name at Celtic.

With the likes of Nir Bitton, Tom Rogic and now Luca Connell waving goodbye to Parkhead, this could give the Bayern prospect an easier shot of making it into the first team at Celtic should he end up joining.

With all of this in mind, it’s safe to say that should the Hoops secure the German youth star’s signature in the coming days or weeks, it would definitely be an exciting signing for the club. He is capable of scoring goals and creating them for his teammates, something that makes him a real nuisance for defenders.

Given the talent he has at such a young age, the potential he has to grow into a senior star at Parkhead is a mouth-watering prospect for everyone connected to the club.

In other news: Ange can land his own Denayer as Celtic eye £7k-p/w gem who has “fire in his belly”

Tottenham Hotspur are facing stiff competition in their attempts to bring Christian Eriksen back to the club this summer…

What’s the word?

According to the Mirror, Premier League rivals Manchester United have entered the race to sign the Denmark playmaker, with new manager Erik ten Hag joining the north Londoners and Everton in the fight.

The 30-year-old spent seven years at Spurs before moving to Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan for £17m and now could be available on a free transfer this off-season as his contract is set to expire at Brentford, who are thought to have offered him a long-term extension.

Bargain swoop

Conte and co must ensure a sensational return for Eriksen as interest starts to mount heading into next season.

The Lilywhites have suffered for creativity ever since his departure in January 2020, with club-record flops Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso, as well as Dele Alli and many more failing to step up to the mark.

None of those three players remained at the club past the recent winter transfer window, leaving the Italian head coach with very few options in the no.10 role.

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Now, Conte’s current system does not cater for an out-and-out playmaker behind Harry Kane but that doesn’t mean it’s never an option.

And deeper in the engine room, he could do with some further creativity as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Rodrigo Bentancur are all more defensively sound choices instead.

Eriksen still remains one of the best attacking midfielders across Europe – as per FBRef, he ranks amongst the top 1% of his positional peers for assists (0.38 per 90), expected assists (0.35 per 90), and shot-creating actions (5.08 per 90).

None of the aforementioned trio can match these returns, with Dejan Kulusevski and Kane the nearest with an xA of 0.25, also via FBRef.

“He is so special and we always call him Golazo, because he is capable of scoring unbelievable goals. The recognition from us is massive. It is true he is so quiet, so calm. He is a very relaxed person but he loves football,” once claimed his former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Meanwhile, also lauded as a “wizard” by journalist Josh Wright and “dangerous” by Conte himself after the two teams played out a draw earlier this season.

Considering the £13.5m-rated dynamo wouldn’t cost a penny to chairman Daniel Levy, the north Londoners should be going all out for Eriksen’s signature. He could be a huge addition heading into a Champions League campaign next term.

AND in other news, Conte’s wish list: Gold drops “big” Spurs transfer claim, supporters will be buzzing…

Manchester United are close to a deal for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong in a major update shared on Thursday.

The Lowdown: Contact made

Erik ten Hag previously worked with the 25-year-old at Ajax and has made a head start on an Old Trafford rebuild by terminating his deal with the Dutch giants six weeks early.

The Red Devils made contact over a deal for De Jong earlier this month, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.

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Romano stated earlier this week that Champions League football was a priority for De Jong, something United can’t offer at this moment in time, however, it looks as if there has now been a big breakthrough in talks.

The Latest: Move close

The Faithful MUFC translated an update from well-known news outlet Corriere dello Sport on Thursday regarding De Jong.

They state that De Jong is next to pack his bags at the Nou Camp after Philippe Coutinho’s permanent move to Aston Villa and won’t be the last due to Barcelona’s financial situation, adding that a transfer to United is now close.

The Verdict: Ten Hag set to get his way

Should this report prove accurate, then it looks as if United are edging closer to a first major transfer under Ten Hag. The United manager wanted to change De Jong’s mind over a reunion in England and is keen on his services for his ‘tactical ideas’.

It appears like he may now get his way, and you’d like to think that De Jong may not be the only midfielder to arrive, especially as Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are out of contract, while Nemanja Matic is also set to leave over the coming months.

De Jong could be the club’s only out and out central midfielder, joining holding midfielders Scott McTominay and Fred and attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes, which just shows that more is required.

In other news: Man Utd source: Sensational transfer twist as Erik ten Hag now hijacking move for ‘golden boy’. 

The senior opener’s good form has coincided with Delhi Capitals’ upward move on the points table

Srinath Sripath28-Apr-2019They made the playoffs thrice in the first five seasons. In the first two of them, they had Shikhar Dhawan in their roster. He was released, as were many others, players who have since gone on to hurt Delhi – then Daredevils, now Capitals – along the IPL journey. Now, under a new management and very different personnel in the ranks, they returned with smart buys at the auction, giving new leader Shreyas Iyer an opportunity to carve a niche. And Dhawan back where he began. And they have broken a six-year itch.For an idea of the scale of the turnaround, since 2012 – when they were last in the playoffs – they have never finished above sixth place, taking the wooden spoon thrice in six seasons along the wayESPNcricinfo LtdDhawan continues stunning resurgenceDhawan has been a consistent performer in the IPL – six times he has crossed the 400-run mark in a career where he has represented multiple teams, returning to Delhi with Capitals this season after turning out for Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, the now-defunct Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad over the years.Even by those high standards, he’s having arguably his best season as an IPL opener this time: his strike rate of 137 is currently his highest ever.ESPNcricinfo LtdOn Sunday, Dhawan cracked another fifty, his fourth in the last six games, to keep alive the purple patch and recover from a poor start to the season. So well has he gone that Dhawan has surpassed the likes of Chris Gayle and David Warner in this period, topping the Powerplay strike-rates chart at 173 runs per 100 balls.Dhawan’s run has coincided with a run of form that has seen Capitals win five of their last six games, despite opening partner Prithvi Shaw struggling to find his range after an epic debut season in 2018.Late surge makes the difference for CapitalsThe pitches at Feroz Shah Kotla have been tricky ones, some of them have come into a fair bit of criticism too. On Sunday, however, it was a good one to score runs on, at least at the start and, thanks to some poor death-overs bowling, at the end too.Capitals put up the biggest total of the season at the ground, their 187 for 5 marginally higher than the 185 both Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders put up back on April 12. Could it have been more, even 200-plus? Perhaps.At the toss, Capitals captain Iyer opted to bat and explained that he was “assuming it will play well in the first half”. It did, and Shikhar Dhawan and Iyer put together 68 runs for the second wicket, both batsmen going on to score half-centuries.But, after Capitals had reached 102 by the end of the 12th over, they added just 12 runs in the next two. Capitals started the 17th over with just 141 on the board. It took some big hitting from Sherfane Rutherford and Axar Patel to take them to 187, perhaps slightly lower than where they could have been.ESPNcricinfo LtdAnother chart-topper Royal Challengers could have done withoutStill, the finish was spectacular. Rutherford and Colin Ingram in the middle and there were only three overs left. Navdeep Saini had the ball. He went for 10 runs, even if he saw the back of Ingram, and the next three overs were smacked around for 10, 16 and 20 as Rutherford and Axar got stuck into the bowling.Capitals added 56 runs in the final four – death – overs, and the last three had all of the don’t-bowl lengths: full toss outside off – check. Short on leg – check. Full outside off – check. The last ball, an attempted yorker that became a full toss outside off, was dispatched for a one-handed six over backward point by Rutherford.The Powerplay starOff-hand, what would your picks be if we asked you: who are the quickest-scoring batsmen in the Powerplay in IPL 2019?Will Parthiv Patel make your list? Unlikely, but he should.Here, look at the batsmen with the best strike rates in the Powerplay this season…ESPNcricinfo LtdThere are many things Royal Challengers haven’t done right this season – sticking with Parthiv at the top of the order is one they have.

Baroness Rachael Heyhoe-Flint was a larger-than-life personality who was never afraid to take on cricket’s male establishment, and who made it her mission to ‘get things done’

Jarrod Kimber18-Jan-20171:03

Women’s pioneer Heyhoe-Flint dies aged 77

In the 1930s they played the first-ever Women’s Test. English women – only single women because married women were not allowed to be away from their families – travelled to Australia and won by nine wickets. That should have been the biggest thing to happen in Women’s cricket, that decade, but it wasn’t. In 1939 Rachel Heyhoe-Flint was born.Heyhoe-Flint, purely as a player, was a legend. She hit the first six in a Test. She batted for 521 minutes in making 179 against Australia at The Oval to force a draw, a world record at the time. She averaged 45 in Tests. She made three hundreds. When she retired, she’d made 33% more runs than any other woman. She was the cricketer of her time. And up until recently, of all time.The first World Cup started after a conversation with an England captain over a bottle of brandy. That captain was Rachael Heyhoe-Flint. In 1973, two years before the men, the women played the first World Cup. The teams were Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, England, Young England and an International XI. Women’s cricket has had great players, and even of recent times, some great teams, but it has always lacked depth. At this stage, it lacked teams, and coverage.Rachael Heyhoe-Flint receives the World Cup from Princess Anne•The Cricketer InternationalHeyhoe-Flint and the other players went around town putting up banners to promote it. She also tried to ring up as much media attention as she could. It was tough. The first game was between New Zealand and Jamaica. It rained, and no one turned up to watch it. But regardless Heyhoe-Flint kept fighting for her tournament, and she forced others to talk about it. She went out on street corners taking donations. She found some of the first sponsors for the game. She wrote about it as a journalist, often writing match reports of games she was in just to make sure someone covered them. That isn’t the work of a cricketer – as great as she was as a player, she was so much more than that.She captained the first Women’s team at Lord’s. She was in the first group of Women MCC members. She is a life member of the MCC. She is on the board of Wolverhampton Wanderers. She was one of the first-ever women sport’s commentators. The first woman inducted into the ICC’s Hall of Fame and one of the two first women appointed to the board of the ECB. She became a House of Lord’s peer, a baroness. MCC should be ashamed that, while they have elected rebel players to be president, they never found a place for one of the club’s shining lights.There is a part of the women’s cricket fraternity that hates when women cricketers are compared to male ones. Don’t call Mithali Raj the Sachin Tendulkar of the women’s game; she is Mithali Raj, a great in her own right, she doesn’t need to be compared, even favourably, to a man.Audrey Collins and Diana Rait Kerr, two of the original female MCC members, beneath a portrait of WG Grace in the Long Room at Lord’s•PA PhotosThe problem with Heyhoe-Flint is she towers over women’s cricket, and all of cricket. There is no person to compare her to, other than WG Grace. It was Grace who built modern cricket, and also a fair bit of modern sport. He was modern sport’s first global star, in a day when things didn’t go global. And he did it all by being a great cricketer.Heyhoe-Flint did just as much for cricket as Grace, and she didn’t do it for herself, she did it for the sport itself. Grace wasn’t out on street corners grabbing people’s spare change or writing up a solid 150 words on matches he played in. That is not what great male cricketers have to do, but that is what Heyhoe-Flint did. And she did more, and more, and more. She didn’t change cricket just because she was a great cricketer; she changed it because she was great. She and Grace aren’t cricket legends; they are cricket’s founders.There will be better cricketers, better administrators, there might even be better promoters in the women’s game, but there will never be someone like Rachael Heyhoe-Flint again. She promoted a game that no one wanted. She forced it into newspapers’ coverage despite living in a world where Len Hutton had just said: “A woman playing cricket? That’s just like a man trying to knit!”.Now Heyhoe-Flint has passed away in the middle of the Women’s Big Bash in Australia, in what is truly a special time for cricket. When women’s cricketers are being paid as professionals in a domestic competition with players from New Zealand, South Africa, India, England and West Indies in Australia that has been broadcast on TV. When Heyhoe-Flint was a child, she wouldn’t have dreamed of such a thing. Now young girls can grow up and dream of playing cricket for a living.When Rachael Heyhoe-Flint played, the cricket world didn’t have an interest in women playing cricket. They barely had an interest in this woman. This cricket pioneer. This one woman cricket industry. This legend. But, because of her, and everything that she was, the next legend of women’s cricket will be supported, watched, and paid.Those little girls who dream of cricket, they don’t know it, but their dreams stand on the shoulders of Heyhoe-Flint. A great, an icon, a founder, and a woman who wasn’t just someone who played cricket, wrote about cricket, or ran cricket, but someone who was cricket. The best of cricket. The young girls aren’t the only ones standing on Heyhoe-Flint’s shoulders, cricket stands on them too.

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2015He was bowled for 43 by an arm-ball from Zulfiqar Babar•Getty ImagesPakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, was delighted with the breakthrough•Getty ImagesHowever, Samit Patel counter-attacked gamely as England took a first-innings lead•Getty ImagesAdil Rashid hung on for 52 balls in a 40-run stand for the seventh wicket•Getty ImagesShortly after lunch, Patel was bowled for 42 by a perfect legbreak from Yasir Shah•Getty ImagesThe initial assumption was that Ben Stokes would not bat after his fielding injury•Getty ImagesHowever, after a gentle warm-up during the lunch-break …•Getty Images… Stokes came out to bat with heavy strapping on his damaged collarbone•Getty ImagesHe added 10 runs for the tenth wicket with Stuart Broad to hand England a lead of 72•Getty ImagesHowever, England struggled to exert control in Pakistan’s second innings•Getty Images… with Mohammad Hafeez leading the fightback with a well-earned half-century•Getty ImagesMoeen Ali struggled to exert control as Pakistan’s openers erased the deficit•Getty Images… but a terrible mix-up led to Azhar Ali’s run-out and a glimmer for England•Getty ImagesJames Anderson removed Shoaib Malik first ball and Pakistan also lost Younis Khan before the close•Getty ImagesBut Hafeez remained unbeaten on 97 as Pakistan finished the day with a lead of 74•Getty Images

Also, highest run-getters in England-India Tests, and memorable South African debuts

Steven Lynch19-Aug-2014Rangana Herath took nine wickets in Pakistan’s first innings at the SSC. How many other left-armers have done this in a Test? asked Mahindra Perera from Sri Lanka

The short answer is none: Rangana Herath’s 9 for 127 in the second Test against Pakistan in Colombo was the first Test nine-for by any left-arm bowler. The previous-best was 8 for 11, by the Lancashire and England spinner Johnny Briggs against South Africa in Cape Town in 1888-89. Briggs had taken 7 for 17 in the first innings, so had record match-figures for a left-armer of 15 for 28. Next on the innings list is Hedley Verity’s 8 for 34 in 1934, which set up England’s only victory against Australia at Lord’s in the 20th century.I noticed that 29 of the wickets in the second Test in Colombo were taken by left-arm bowlers. What’s the Test record? asked Chris Morrison from Australia

The Test record is … 29, in the match which has just finished in Colombo. Fourteen of them went to Rangana Herath, six to Wahab Riaz, five to Junaid Khan, three to Abdur Rehman and one to Chanaka Welegedara. The previous record was 28, set more than 125 years ago in the second Test between South Africa and England in Cape Town 1888-89, in the match mentioned above in which Johnny Briggs took 15 wickets. There were 26 dismissals by left-arm bowlers in the final Test between India and Pakistan in Bangalore in 1986-87 (Sunil Gavaskar’s final Test), including ten from Maninder Singh and nine by Iqbal Qasim.How many people have captained, kept wicket and opened the batting in the same Test? asked Dhanushka Edussuriya from Sri Lanka

This arduous treble has been performed by only three people in Test cricket. Between 1907 and 1911 South Africa’s Percy Sherwell did it in seven Tests, scoring 115 in one of them, against England at Lord’s in 1907. West Indies’ Gerry Alexander did it in two Tests in Pakistan in 1958-59 (he didn’t open in both innings of either game), and Pakistan’s Imtiaz Ahmed followed suit, opening in five innings in four Tests in which he captained and kept wicket. He scored 54 against Australia in Lahore in 1959-60. Imtiaz opened and kept wicket in the match in Dacca in 1959-60 when Alexander opened, but wasn’t captain in that one.Gary Ballance scored 503 runs in the series against India. Was this a record for England? asked Scott McCallum from England

Gary Ballance was the eighth batsman to reach 500 runs in a Test series for England against India; he was soon joined (and just surpassed) by Joe Root, who finished with 518 in the 2014 series. The list is headed by Graham Gooch, with 752 runs in just three Tests in 1990 – a series he started with 333 and 123 at Lord’s. Next comes Michael Vaughan, with 615 runs in four Tests in 2002. England’s other 500-run men are Ken Barrington (594 in India in 1961-62), Mike Gatting (575 in 1984-85), Alastair Cook (562 in 2012-13), Kevin Pietersen (533 in 2011) and Ian Bell (504 in 2011). The Indian record-holder in a series against England is Rahul Dravid, with 602 runs in four Tests in 2002. Vijay Manjrekar (586 in 1961-62), Sunil Gavaskar (542 in 1979 and 500 in 1981-82) and Budhi Kunderan (525 in 1963-64) also reached 500 runs in a series against England. For the full list, click here.Was Dane Piedt the first South African to take eight wickets on Test debut? asked Daan Koorneef from Austria

Offspinner Dane Piedt, who took 8 for 152 against Zimbabwe in Harare last week, was the seventh South African to take eight wickets on his Test debut (among the others are Vernon Philander, Marchant de Lange and Lance Klusener). Five men have bettered this: James “Bonnor” Middleton took 9 for 130 against England in Port Elizabeth in 1895-96, Peter Pollock 9 for 99 against New Zealand in Durban in 1961-62, Kyle Abbott 9 for 68 against Pakistan in Centurion in 2012-13, Syd Burke 11 for 196 against New Zealand in Cape Town in 1961-62, and Alf Hall 11 for 112 against England in Cape Town in 1922-23. Piedt took a wicket (Mark Vermeulen) with his first ball in Test cricket: the only other South African to do this was Ernie Vogler, who dismissed England’s Ernie Hayes with his first ball at the old Wanderers ground in Johannesburg in 1905-06. In a unique double, later in the same game Vogler himself fell to Jack Crawford’s first delivery in a Test. For the full list, click here.How do I find a list of the people who have scored the most double-centuries in Tests? asked Amit Kumar from India

That is one of the tables on ESPNCricinfo’s records pages: to see it, click here. Don Bradman, with 12 double-centuries from just 52 Tests, still leads the way – but Kumar Sangakkara is closing in. He currently has ten, although he has needed almost two- and-a-half times as many Tests as the Don to get that close. Brian Lara comes next, with nine scores of 200 or more, ahead of Wally Hammond and Mahela Jayawardene with seven, then five batsmen on six: Marvan Atapattu, Javed Miandad, Ricky Ponting, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.

From Doug Perrins, United Kingdom
I write regarding the state of English cricket and what, in my opinion, should be done before Australia arrive next summer

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Doug Perrins, United Kingdom
I write regarding the state of English cricket and what, in my opinion, should be done before Australia arrive next summer. Firstly, the announcement of Michael Vaughan stepping down from the captaincy was premature by one match. He should have seen the series through at The Oval before blooding the next captain. Alastair Cook (former Under-21 captain!) should be the next Test captain and he would have learnt a great deal having Michael Vaughan on the field next to him giving instructions at The Oval, he won’t even be there let alone advise.Have a look at how Michael Clarke is being prepared by Ricky Ponting in the Australian set up, always listening and being included in the decision making with the other senior players. Kevin Pietersen is not a captain, a talent but not a captain. His decisions in certain situations in this series have let England down badly, not to mention his captain. There has been suggestions that he should be either dropped or made captain, both of these are wrong, keep him at four and teach him how to play “team cricket”.The another strong candidate is Andrew Strauss, he has won a series, has respect and is playing very good cricket. He must be slightly confused as to how he is not on top of the pecking order, considering he was covering Vaughan in the last test at certain times.The selectors have mis-managed this team with some daft selections. Dropping Collingwood for a game due to form was sensible, so he went back to his county, played a couple of limited over matches and failed. So there was no basis for him to be re-instated to the test team, not a very good message being sent out to players in waiting (Bopra, Shah etc.). The selectors got lucky with his second innings hundred, very lucky. Stuart Broad was told he was tired and that he needed a break (he wasn’t, he was dropped), so he goes back to his county and was bowling quick, getting wickets with no signs of fatigue.If you’re good enough, you’re old enough. Ryan Sidebottom is injured, so why play him? England cannot continue to carry Monty Panesar, a good bowler but terrible batsman and fielder. On a wicket that was supposed to of “aided” him as the match progressed, he returned with the match figures of 40-3-116-2 (ave 58 rpw!), scored 1 run and dropped catches. Sorry but he should be “rested” and Rashid from Yorkshire given a go at The Oval for the experience. My Oval test team should be: Cook (C), Strauss, Bell, Pietersen, Bopra, Collingwood, Flintoff, Foster (WK), Rashid, Broad, Anderson.