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GOAL reviews key takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including Austin's start, Pulisic's goal-scoring return for Milan

There was a moment of American-on-American crime during AC Milan's clash with Juventus. Weston McKennie, playing in his new left-back spot, received the ball with Christian Pulisic closing down on him. McKennie flicked the ball over his longtime friend and fired a pass across the field.

You know they'll be laughing about it at some point.

Pulisic, though, got the last laugh. Pulisic and Yunus Musah, that is. In a massive clash of U.S. men's national team stars, Milan emerged victorious over Juventus Friday, largely thanks to their two Americans.

It was Pulisic who scored the first of Milan's goals. Musah directly created the second. As a result, Milan won 2-1 to advance to the Supercoppa Italiana final on Monday. A good day for Pulisic and Musah, a tough one for McKennie, despite his bit of skill.

In England, there was a feel-good moment for a player who has long been outside of the USMNT pool. Brandon Austin, a former youth international, got his long-awaited chance for Tottenham, stepping in for the club at a time of need. Spurs didn't get their win amid their debilitating injury crisis, but Austin certainly kept them in it throughout.

There were plenty of storylines, from the top of the USMNT chain to those not even in the pool. GOAL looks at key takeaways from Americans Abroad.

Getty/GOALPulisic, Musah huge in Italy's USMNT derby

Friday's Supercoppa Italiana semifinal seemed a must-win for both Juventus and Milan. Yes, it's a random midseason tournament. Yes, it was being played in Saudi Arabia. And, no, winning this would have no real bearing on the Serie A season. But in terms of vibes, both teams really needed something positive.

Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah provided that positivity, contributing to both late goals in Milan's 2-1 win. Pulisic scored his from the penalty spot. Musah banked his off Federico Gatti and into the back of the net. Neither was particularly pretty, but both were very effective as Milan escaped with a come-from-behind win that books their spot in the finale.

For Milan, it was a perfect start under new coach Sergio Conceicao. There were certainly questions about both Pulisic and Musah entering his tenure, but both showed plenty in the new boss' first game. They face an uphill battle to get back in Serie A's top four, but they'll hope this win over Juve, and a potential trophy lift against rivals Inter, could turn their season around.

And for Juve? They too find themselves in a odd place. They're still unbeaten in the league but staring up at the top four, due to all of their Serie A draws. It's unlikely they'll collect a trophy this season as McKennie and team look to salvage the season. It didn't come this weekend. Back to the drawing board for Juve, as Milan push on for a chance at a trophy.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportBittersweet weekend for Robinson

It was a special weekend for Antonee Robinson. The Fulham star was surprised with U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year honors, recognizing his spectacular 2024. He earned it, too. Robinson has long been one of the USMNT's most consistent stars, and now he has hardware to show for that consistency.

Unfortunately, the good feelings didn't fully carry over into Sunday's game against struggling Ipswich as Fulham had to come from behind in a 2-2 draw.

Robinson played his usual sort of game, getting up and down the line often. He had plenty of touches, plenty of passes and numerous crosses in the attacking third. He also had a few good defensive moments, too. The endless energy was there, as it always is, even if Fulham never quite got it together against a team they should have beaten.

Given the circumstances, they'll take a point, though. Two Raul Jimenez penalties, including one in stoppage time, were just enough. Three would have been great as they push for Europe, but sometimes you take what you can get.

As for Robinson, there isn't much time to celebrate his USMNT honor. Fulham are back at it on Thursday against Watford in the FA Cup. Everything is moving quickly now, even for the Player of the Year.

Getty Images SportAustin's long-awaited moment in the spotlight

Brandon Austin has had a wild journey, to put it mildly. The former U.S. youth international was in the spotlight, though, as he finally got his moment at his boyhood club.

Faced with a goalkeeping crisis, Tottenham turned to Austin the club's third-string goalkeeper. At 25, Austin made his first appearance for Tottenham, making two saves in a 2-1 loss to Newcastle. It was a loss for Tottenham but, when taking into account his path to this moment, it had to seem a win for Austin.

A Spurs academy product, Austin never actually played for Tottenham. In fact, despite his age, he'd played just 19 professional games – 14 came at Viborg in 2019-20, and five with Orlando City in 2021.

Ever since, he's been waiting.

Austin is a former U.S. U18 goalkeeper, having represented the U.S. back in 2017. Given his lack of activity, he obviously fell out of the player pool, and one start against Newcastle won't bring him back. It is, however, a feel-good story for a player who fought and fought for this moment and, when it came, he rose to give his team a chance.

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Getty Images SportTrusty scores big goal for Celtic

Auston Trusty doesn't score many goals, so Sunday's finish will be meaningful for the USMNT centerback. The defender headed home his first Celtic goal, finishing from a corner to give his side a 2-0 lead in a straight-forward win over St. Mirren.

The goal was just the ninth of his career, although it is his second of the season, having scored a cup goal for Sheffield United before making his move to Scotland during the summer transfer window.

Trusty's finish comes after a run of four games out of the Celtic XI. On Sunday, he was slotted alongside fellow American Cameron Carter-Vickers. The two have shown plenty of chemistry when paired together, although the talent difference between Celtic and the rest of the Scottish league has to be taken into account when assessing them.

It was was a big moment for Trusty, who showed his new club what he can do on both sides of the field as he continues to adjust to life in Glasgow.

No holds likely to be barred once again as unfettered teams seek the series at Old Trafford

Andrew Miller19-Jul-2021Big pictureHappy Freedom Day one and all! Yes, the time has come for the UK to throw off its shackles, fling caution to the wind, dive headlong into the moshpit of civil society and rejoice in the restoration of liberty to its people. (Give or take a chorus of pings from the NHS Test-and-Trace app, of course…)For England’s cricketers, however, Freedom Day came one day early. Honestly, has there ever been a more on-brand performance than the one rustled up by their batters at Headingley on Sunday? Bowled out for 200 in 19.5 overs, including a riotous denouement of seven wickets in as many overs – the promiscuity of their short-lived strokeplay making the humble mayfly seem a model of celibacy.It was rollickingly good fun, and as gloriously effective as their hell-for-leather chase at Trent Bridge had been gloriously futile. Pakistan responded by climbing into the threshing machine with admirable purpose, but they were all thrashed out by the 13th over, thanks largely to England’s own trio of players with Pakistan heritage – Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, whose Player-of-the-Match-winning haul of 36 runs at 225.00 and two wickets in three overs was CSK-esque in its effectiveness.And so to the decider, a day-night affair at Old Trafford, where England can be expected once again to spread the opportunities across their squad, as they take the field for the final time before that preliminary squad needs to be submitted to the ICC ahead of the T20 World Cup this winter.And even if they cannot get over the line in this contest, to claim their ninth series win in their last 11 T20I campaigns, the gains made by the white-ball squad, both in this leg and in the makeshift ODI campaign before it, have been immeasurable. Most of all, the sense of collective buy-in is absolute – that every player in the frame for selection recognises and embraces the free-spirited ethos that Eoin Morgan has espoused in the past six years. Full-throttle cricket might not win them every game, but it’ll lose them far fewer than the safety-first reticence of yore.As for Pakistan, their response to those indignities in the ODIs has been admirable. At Headingley, they were unable to replicate the landslide of runs that carried them to a hugely cathartic victory at Trent Bridge, but in Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, they have an opening pairing that can carry any fight, while Shaheen Shah Afridi’s pace and incision from his left-arm line provides an air of menace every time he gets thrown the ball. They are one of only two teams not to have lost a series to England’s T20I team in the last three years – their 1-1 draw in 2020 was followed by India’s 3-2 win in March – and there’s every reason to believe they’ve got a few haymakers left in them in this campaign.Form guideEngland WLWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Pakistan LWWLWIn the spotlightIs it fair to point out that Dawid Malan needs an urgent uptick in his form? Every time he gets written about in a white-ball context, it feels as though there’s an air of persecution in the analysis. But suffice to say, Malan’s methods are different to those of his England peers – not least Moeen, who is as likely to carve his first delivery straight to deep cover as he is to ping it clean over the ropes for six. That’s not Malan’s way. He builds his head of steam with relative early caution, then lets the ends justify the means as he stares back down the track with another half-century at a 150-plus strike-rate. Or at least, that’s how it’s meant to be. Instead in this series, he’s made consecutive scores of 1 (6) and 1 (5) … two runs in 11 all told, and 2 in 17 in his past four innings, after back-to-back ducks in the ODIs. Prior to that, of course, he made a match-sealing 68 not out to guide Ben’s Babes home in that extraordinary opening victory at Cardiff, so the runs are still in there somewhere. And so too, no doubt, is the bloody-mindedness. Malan has finished each of his last three T20I series with a half-century – against Sri Lanka, India, and South Africa, where he cracked a remarkable 99 not out from 47 balls. And such are the reasons another swift rebuttal cannot be discounted.Related

England showcase strength in depth

Liam Livingstone credits work with Paul Collingwood, Marcus Trescothick for record-breaking ton

Buttler, Moeen star as spinners help England to win

England spinners get to grips with parched Headingley pitch

It’s been a quietly significant series for the under-fire Shadab Khan. Pakistan’s vice-captain came into the series with a burdensome recent record after a fallow tour of New Zealand, and with his allround credentials under some scrutiny. He’s answered those charges emphatically in the first two games, with three vital wickets in the Trent Bridge victory, swiftly followed by a bold bout of biffing in a lost cause at Headingley. In between whiles, he has been a livewire in the outfield, with a series of outstanding catches and intercepts to lift his team’s morale when the heavy artillery has been raining down. He has a chance to finish a morale-boosting campaign on a high.Team newsMoeen and Liam Livingstone appear to be locked into England’s middle-order for the moment, with Eoin Morgan indicating that both men would get a full run of games to make their cases – emphatically so, as things have turned out. Morgan himself dipped out of game two to share the opportunities around and to give Buttler a turn at the wheel, so if he is to return, then Jason Roy or Jonny Bairstow might be the obvious absentees, given their integral statuses in that first-choice XI. Tom Banton, his development arrested for various reasons in this white-ball campaign, might struggle to get a look-in now. England already have a selection headache looming when Stokes returns to overload their batting options. There seems little point in inflicting a migraine on themselves. Though it’s not impossible that Lewis Gregory gets another outing to provide a modicum of balance in the short term.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy/Jonny Bairstow, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Eoin Morgan (capt), 7 Lewis Gregory/Tom Curran, 8 David Willey, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Adil Rashid/Matt Parkinson, 11 Saqib MahmoodAfter their struggles in the ODIs, Pakistan have found a formula that can keep them competitive in T20Is. Wholesale changes seem improbable.Pakistan: (probable): 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Sohaib Maqsood, 5 Mohammad Hafeez, 6 Azam Khan, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Haris Rauf, 10 Mohammad Hasnain, 11 Shaheen Shah AfridiPitch and conditionsAnother sweltering day in prospect as summer’s late arrival continues to kick in, so it’s conceivable that the pitch may break up a touch as the match progresses. Scores in this season’s Vitality Blast haven’t been astronomical – only one game has seen scores higher than the 172 that Lancashire and Notts both made in their tie in June, so the range-hitting may be dialled down a notch compared to the first two games.Stats and trivia England have won four of their seven completed T20Is at Old Trafford, dating back to a nine-wicket win over New Zealand in 2008. However, two of their three losses at the venue both came against Pakistan, by nine wickets in 2016 and by five runs in their most recent encounter last summer, when the series was squared 1-1. Mohammad Rizwan needs 57 runs to reach 1000 in T20Is. Should he achieve it in his next innings, his 31st, he will be the second-fastest Pakistani to the landmark, behind Babar Azam (26). England’s Dawid Malan holds the record with 24 innings.Quotes”He claims he’s hit two bigger – that was his chat last night. He has hit me for a couple of similar ones in training but it’s the biggest I’ve seen in a game. Some of the lads didn’t actually believe it had gone out the ground.”

A high-profile Chelsea star is now battling for his long-term future at Stamford Bridge, despite head coach Enzo Maresca admitting his “love” for the player.

Chelsea players who could be sold or loaned in January

The Premier League side have offloaded a host of players over the last few months, including some pretty big names.

Free transfer: Chelsea in race to sign £48,000-p/w star over Bayern Munich

The Blues could land a bargain deal…

1 ByTom Cunningham Sep 22, 2024

Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher, Lewis Hall, Romelu Lukaku, Omari Hutchinson, Angelo Gabriel, Diego Moreira, Hakim Ziyech, Malang Sarr, Tino Anjorin, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, Lesley Ugochukwu, Armando Broja, Djordje Petrovic, Trevoh Chalobah, Kepa Arrizabalaga, David Datro Fofana, Aflie Gilchrist and Basir Humphreys all sealed moves away from west London within the last few months, either on loan or permanently, but there are other players who could follow them out of the exit door.

Maresca is poised to hand left-back Ben Chilwell his first appearance of the season soon, when Chelsea play League Two frontrunners Barrow in the EFL Cup tonight, and the tactician admitted in his pre-match press conference that they’ve been actively looking to sell the Englishman.

Brighton (home)

September 28

Nottingham Forest (home)

October 6

Liverpool (away)

October 20

Newcastle (home)

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Man United (away)

November 3

“I think so. Hopefully we can give him some minutes tomorrow,” said Maresca on Chilwell when asked if the 27-year-old would feature this evening.

“The idea for him was to leave. In the moment that he’s here, he’s one of the squad, he’s training. He will be in the squad tomorrow, and hopefully we can give him some minutes.”

Chelsea are also prepared to sell winger Mykahilo Mudryk, with the Ukrainian not exactly living up to his £89 million price tag (including add-ons) since arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023.

Todd Boehly and Blue Co, according to other reports, have other squad members in mind for the transfer list on top of Mudryk. Indeed, Chelsea are considering an exit for Axel Disasi, and fellow defender Benoit Badiashile could be allowed to leave as well.

It is unclear yet whether these transfers would be loans or permanent deals, as the winter window can often be tricky to navigate for most sides financially.

Christopher Nkunku battling for his future at Chelsea

According to The Boot Room, a more surprising name who could be shown the door at Cobham is winger Christopher Nkunku.

The £195,000-per-week forward, signed from RB Leipzig last summer, spent the whole of 2023/2024 out through injury but has returned to the fold under Maresca – scoring three goals in seven appearances across all competitions.

Due to their abundance of wide players, the club’s hierarchy feel having this many wingers could be unsustainable in the long run, meaning a few are set to battle for their long-term futures in the next few months.

It is believed Nkunku is among the Chelsea forwards fighting for his career at the club, despite his promising start to 24/25 and Maresca’s praise.

“I knew Nkunku before I joined and I love him,” said Maresca on Nkunku.

“He can play in the pocket, as a nine and winger. He’s a very good fit for this system.”

Glasgow Rangers finally clicked into gear during their Europa League victory on Thursday evening.

The 2-0 win over Malmö could arguably have been by a higher margin, but several easy chances were missed. Nevertheless, a win is a win and securing all three points ensures Philippe Clement begins life positively in Europe’s second-tier event.

The Belgian saw several of his summer signings produce excellent displays in Sweden, as Nedim Bajrami scored after just 55 seconds, while Neraysho Kasanwirjo was solid on his European debut for the Ibrox side.

It finally looks like the team is clicking on the pitch. Momentum now needs to be carried into the Premiership clash against Hibernian on Sunday.

Connor Barron was arguably the standout on the pitch for the Gers, performing way above his tender age, dominating the midfield battle.

Touches

53

Tackles

2

Interceptions

4

Clearances

2

Ground duels (won)

3 (2)

Possession lost

9

Via Sofascore

Hopefully, he can continue to develop over the next few years, as there is no doubt the Light Blues have a special talent on their hands.

It wouldn’t be the first time the club had a youngster who looked like the next best thing, however, and failed to deliver on their potential, as Mark Warburton signed a midfielder who had made a name for himself at Liverpool.

Mark Warburton’s Rangers signings

The former Brentford manager took charge of the Gers ahead of the 2015/16 campaign, using that summer to beef up his squad for a promotion tilt.

Indeed, he signed players such as Danny Wilson, James Tavernier, Jason Holt and Andy Halliday, along with securing a few loan signings in the process.

They all played their part as the Light Blues secured a return to the top flight, while winning the Challenge Cup and reaching the final of the Scottish Cup.

Back in the Premiership after four years, it was clear Warburton would have to add some quality to his first-team squad. This saw players such as Niko Kranjcar, Philippe Senderos and Joey Barton added, three names that had a wealth of Premier League experience behind them.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

It didn’t exactly do the club much good, finishing third in the top division while failing to win either of the domestic cups. Warburton would be gone before the end of the season, departing in February 2017, and it looked like the club were stuck in a rut.

The Englishman also signed Jordan Rossiter, a young midfielder who had made a name for himself at Anfield a couple of years prior.

Jordan Rossiter’s record at Liverpool

The Englishman played 35 times for the U21, U18 and Youth League teams as he was beginning to show plenty of promise on Merseyside.

He was given his debut by Brendan Rodgers in a League Cup clash against Middlesbrough in September 2014, going on to make an immediate impression for the Reds, scoring the only goal for the club during the game, adding yet more hype to his talents.

While that was his only appearance for the senior side that season, he did go on to feature four times the following season, yet as the end of the 2015/16 campaign was drawing to a close, it was evident Jürgen Klopp didn’t see much of a future for the midfielder in his team.

He was heavily praised, with former Anfield centre-forward Robbie Fowler hailing Rossiter as “potentially a young Stevie G” way back in 2013, yet he failed to really make the grade at Anfield.

Liverpool’s loss was looking like it could be Rangers’ gain, as the club announced in May 2016 that Warburton had snapped him up on a pre-contract agreement, having to pay just £250k in the process.

Jordan Rossiter’s Rangers stats

After making six appearances for his new club during the opening weeks of the season, he suffered a serious calf injury which ended up ruling him out for the remainder of the campaign.

He featured in both legs of the Europa League qualifying defeat to Porgres Niederkorn at the start of the following season, while also playing 90 minutes against Dunfermline in the League Cup and a brief cameo in the top flight, but he suffered yet another calf injury, returning to score in a 5-5 draw during the final game of the season.

With Steven Gerrard taking over in May 2018, it looked like Rossiter might finally become a key part of the squad if he could remain injury free, yet he made just five appearances during the first half of the season.

It was evident his time was up at Rangers, as he spent time on loan at Bury and Fleetwood Town between January 2019 and May 2020, joining the latter permanently in the summer of 2020.

Rossiter’s injuries clearly hampered any progress he was looking to make at the Light Blues and his career is currently fizzling out in League One.

Jordan Rossiter’s current market value

According to Transfermarkt, the former Liverpool starlet is now worth just €150k (£125k) at the time of writing.

The good news for the player is that he has finally gotten over his serious injury issues, being able to play on a regular basis in the third tier now.

After a spell at Bristol Rovers, Rossiter moved to Shrewsbury Town in the summer, making two appearances this season already for the club.

It once looked like the player had the world at his feet. Scoring on his Liverpool debut perhaps generated more pressure on him to succeed, and he couldn’t break into the first-team squad under Klopp.

Warburton looked like he was getting a bargain by snapping up the youngster eight years ago, and if he remained fit, there was no doubt about how important he could have been for the club.

Alas, it simply wasn’t to be for Rossiter. Aged only 27, he still has a few years left in the game, but is League One his level? It certainly appears so.

As well as Bajrami: Rangers star put in his best performance of the season

The Light Blues central midfielder enjoyed an impressive evening against Malmo.

ByDan Emery Sep 27, 2024

Chelsea, Manchester City and the rest of the Premier League have discovered their PSR fate for 2023-24 after seeing the latest deadline pass.

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Clubs must adhere to Profit and Sustainability RulesForest & Everton stung with penalties last seasonNo punishments handed out this time aroundFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

A number of clubs have fallen foul of Profit and Sustainability Rules in recent times, but the Premier League will not be bringing charges against any teams this time around. Leicester City remain at risk of facing future punishments as they are locked in a legal battle with the English top-flight.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The Foxes won a case relating to spending in the 2022-23 campaign back in September, claiming that the Premier League had no jurisdiction over them as they tumbled into the Championship. An appeal against that ruling was lodged.

That means Leicester could still fall foul of PSR regulations, but all teams in the top tier have been declared compliant – with official accounts having to be submitted prior to the December 31 deadline.

WHAT THE PREMIER LEAGUE SAID

The Premier League has said in a statement: “Issues as to the jurisdiction of the Premier League over Leicester City Football Club in relation to PSR compliance are currently the subject of confidential arbitration proceedings.

“Accordingly, neither the league nor the club will make any further comment at this stage about any aspect of the club’s compliance or otherwise with any of the PSR or related rules, save to say that no complaint has been brought against Leicester by the league for any breach of the PSRs for the period ending Season 2023-24.”

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GettyDID YOU KNOW?

Nottingham Forest and Everton were stung with points penalties last season for PSR breaches. Clubs in the Premier League are only allowed to post losses of up to £105 million ($128m) over a three-year period. It was reported that several sides were close to that limit.

Wristspinner picked as a wildcard is now Southern Brave’s leading wicket-taker

Matt Roller17-Aug-2021The consensus after the Hundred’s initial draft in October 2019 was clear: Southern Brave were the favourites. They had signed a strong local core supplemented by some star overseas players, and more than anything had a world-class pace attack comprising Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills and Andre Russell.Jake Lintott, the bald, stocky, Somerset-born left-arm wristspinner, had not even registered for the draft. The last of his four professional T20 appearances had come more than a year previously and while he was coming off the back of a good season for Warwickshire’s seconds, Wiltshire and Clevedon CC, that was never going to be enough to see him picked in a Hundred squad.Nearly two years later, Lintott is Brave’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament’s first season, with 10 in seven games – only Adil Rashid and Rashid Khan have more across the men’s competition. Russell withdrew, Archer was ruled out through injury, and while Mills and Jordan have both been exceptional at the death, it has been Lintott who has led the way, setting up their five-match winning streak and qualification for the knockout stages with his skill through the middle of an innings.Lintott’s late rise after years of hard graft has led his Warwickshire team-mate Carlos Brathwaite to dub him “cricket’s Jamie Vardy” and his success lends hope to all late developers. He was 27 and a veteran of hundreds of second-team fixtures across several different counties when Warwickshire offered him a contract for last summer’s Blast in the days before the tournament; he took 10 wickets with an economy rate of 6.30 across his nine games.That success led to a full-time deal signed earlier this year, which he has juggled with his role as head of cricket at Queen’s College, Taunton. “I’ve had no days off since April,” he laughed in mid-June, and his 15 wickets this season – with another miserly economy rate of 6.97 – backed up his previous performances.It meant that when Southern Brave were looking for a wristspinner in the wildcard draft to fill the gap left in their squad by Shadab Khan’s unavailability, Lintott’s name was front and centre. “We looked at local wristspinners and went through the domestic season to look at guys who had come through in the last couple of years,” Mahela Jayawardene, their head coach, explained.”We wanted to know about his character as well,” he said. “Obviously it’s a big stepping stone for him, handling the pressure of playing in front of big crowds.” Following a character reference from Graeme Welch – Warwickshire’s bowling coach, and one of Brave’s assistants – they decided to take a punt on him. They lacked variety in their opening game when they picked two slow left-armers in Danny Briggs and Liam Dawson, so Lintott came in for game two.Since then he has racked up an impressive list of victims: Tom Banton (twice), Finn Allen, Moeen Ali, Colin Ackermann, Harry Brook and Ian Cockbain, before adding Sam Billings, Laurie Evans and Tom Curran in the qualification decider against Oval Invincibles on Monday night, when his 20 balls cost only 14 runs. Those figures stood in stark contrast to Invincibles’ overseas players Sunil Narine and Tabraiz Shamsi, who returned 0 for 61 across 40 balls between them.”I was really chuffed to contribute to a win,” Lintott said afterwards. “I felt like our spinners did a decent job and focused on doing a job with our lengths. Previously [at the Ageas Bowl] I’ve been a little full at times which has meant getting hit, so I tried to be really clinical with lengths and bowled a lot of googlies – probably about 80% tonight – to try and go across them as much as possible.”I’m pretty meticulous in planning. Me and Graeme Welch are tightly knit and do a lot of work together looking at batters’ strengths. I found, looking at the Oval guys, that they were very much leg-side dominant and liked to hit towards midwicket a lot, so I was trying to get the ball going across them as much as possible and be real clinical with my lengths.”Heading into the knockout stages, Lintott has a chance to reinforce his status as one of the unlikely stars of the Hundred’s first season, and he credits the relaxed atmosphere that Jayawardene has cultivated as a key factor in his success. Brave have a simple enough formula, Lintott bowling in tandem with his Warwickshire team-mate Briggs through the middle of the innings to tie teams down before Jordan and Mills take over at the death, but it has served them well so far.”I wasn’t in the draft for the initial competition, so that shows you how surreal the last 18 months have been,” Lintott said. “I have to pinch myself, really. It’s been an amazing year and a half for me, and moments like tonight are pretty special.”I knew that I’d done well in the T20 [Blast] and my plan was always to give myself the best opportunity [in the wildcard draft]. Luckily, Southern Brave were looking for a wristspinner and that opportunity arose. To play in front of full houses – I’ve not done that before because of Covid – is a pretty special feeling.”The best thing to take from this is just the players that you’re playing with and the learning that goes on when you’re training with them. The most impressive thing for me is that everyone in this group is so supportive and has backed me 100%. The reason I’ve done well with Warwickshire is that I’ve felt backed for the first time in my life, and I feel exactly the same here. It’s been really good – a privilege to be part of.

Gudakesh Motie and Odean Smith kept the Tallawahs batting line-up tied down in the 170-run chase

Peter Della Penna12-Sep-2021In a must-win encounter to control their own playoff destiny, Guyana Amazon Warriors got a crucial innings from captain Nicholas Pooran, who lifted his side with an unbeaten 75 off 39 balls that included four fours and seven sixes to set an easily defendable total in a 46-run win over Jamaica Tallawahs on Saturday in St Kitts. Pooran arrived in the ninth over at 63 for 3 and scored the lion’s share of the runs the rest of the way to get his side to 169 for 6 before impressive spells from Gudakesh Motie and Odean Smith kept the Tallawahs batting line-up tied down in the chase.After smothering two balls defensively from Chris Green upon his arrival to the crease, Pooran went into attack mode against Veerasammy Permaul in the following over, heaving him over the leg side rope to get off the mark and then followed it up with another swat over cow corner for six two balls later. The biggest fireworks though came in the final two overs as Pooran started the 19th against Andre Russell by carving out a wide yorker in elegant fashion over short third man for a boundary to bring up a 30-ball fifty. Another attempted wide yorker on the next ball disappeared over extra cover for six.Tallawahs ended the 19th and started the 20th missing consecutive chances to dismiss Pooran. A lofted drive off Russell was heading straight for Haider Ali on the cover boundary but he lost the ball in the sun only for it to land just to his right and bounce over the rope. Carlos Brathwaite then misfired on a point blank runout chance fielding off his own bowling to begin the next over and Pooran made him pay by clobbering two of the next three balls over midwicket and long-on for the final two of his seven sixes to put an exclamation mark on the Warriors innings.Tallawahs looked in a very good position at 63 for 1 in the ninth over before Smith disrupted the chase with his medium pace. Haider Ali tried to heave Smith over the leg side but could only top edge a swirler taken by Shoaib Malik tracking back from short third man. Chandrapaul Hemraj then took a tremendous low catch at short extra cover off a scorching drive from Kirk McKenzie next ball to remove both set batters following a 41-run stand.But Smith’s signature moment came in the 15th when he bowled a wicket maiden that included the scalp of Russell mistiming a heave to long-on. Motie got the ball to grip and turn sharply in the following over to claim Shamarh Brooks and Brathwaite with a stumping and a leading edge to extra cover, completing a collapse of 4 for 3 that began when Motie had Rovman Powell punching to Smith at mid-off at the end of the 14th. From 98 for 3 to 101 for 7, Tallawahs had little fight left and eventually subsided for 123 with five balls left unused.