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Sunderland are renewing their efforts to sign Nathan Broadhead from Everton, according to The Northern Echo’s Scott Wilson. 

The lowdown

The Black Cats have made four additions to their squad so far this summer ahead of their return to the Championship.

They have signed centre-backs Daniel Ballard and Ali Ajese from Arsenal and West Ham respectively, along with winger Jack Clarke from Spurs and forward Leon Dajaku from Union Berlin, who were both on loan at the Stadium of Light last term.

Broadhead also spent the 2021/22 season on loan with the Black Cats, making 27 appearances in all competitions.

Sunderland officials made clear their desire to re-sign the 24-year-old in talks with their Everton counterparts earlier in the summer, but Frank Lampard wanted to run the rule over the striker in pre-season. Also, the £2,900-per-week man himself was keen to try and force a way into the Toffees’ senior set-up for 2022/23.

The latest

Wilson tweeted that Sunderland are “making new push for Nathan Broadhead after striker’s hopes of breaking through at Everton recede. Broadhead has always been SAFC’s number one striker target – and he wasn’t one of 22 players used by Lampard at the weekend…”.

In his corresponding article for The Northern Echo, the reporter noted that the 24-year-old was missing from the Everton squad which lost 2-0 to Arsenal in a friendly in Baltimore at the weekend, despite seemingly being fit to play. It would seem, then, that his prospects of playing regularly next season are ‘slight’.

Sunderland have duly seen this as an opportunity to land their primary centre-forward target.

The verdict

It’s no surprise that Sunderland are so eager to have Broadhead back.

Even though his 2021/22 season was heavily disrupted by hamstring problems which effectively ruled him out from late December until April, he managed to score 13 goals in all competitions. That was enough to finish as the team’s second-highest scorer behind 26-goal Ross Stewart, who incidentally has been linked with a move to Rangers.

Alex Neil believes that Broadhead has formed a ‘really good partnership’ with Stewart and dubbed him a ‘constant threat’ who is able to score different types of goals.

Right now, this looks like a move which should suit all parties.

Leeds United are closing in on a deal which will see Joe Gelhardt extend his stay at Elland Road.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claimed that, after highly impressing in his breakthrough season in the Whites’ first team, Victor Orta is now in advanced negotiations with the 20-year-old and his representatives regarding a new contract.

The report added that the England under-21 international is not only set to see his deal extended beyond its current June 2024 expiry, but he will also receive a huge pay rise on his current £16.5k-per-week salary.

Supporters will love it

Considering just how exciting a prospect Gelhardt more than proved himself to be last season, the news that the Whites appear to be closing in on a deal which will see the centre-forward remain at Elland Road for the long-term is sure to be an update that supporters will love.

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Indeed, despite starting just five of his 20 Premier League appearances last season, the £5.4m-rated talent still managed to catch the eye, scoring two goals and registering four assists for Jesse Marsch’s side and averaging a direct goal involvement for every 122 minutes of top-flight football played in 2021/22.

Furthermore, according to FBRef, the 20-year-old – who CBS Sports’ Jake Winderman dubbed a “special talent” – also ranks in the top 1% of forwards in Europe’s big five leagues and European competitions for pressures per 90 minutes, along with the top 4% for tackles, the top 9% for dribbles completed, the top 15% for assists, the top 16% for progressive carries and the top 24% for progressive passes over the last 365 days.

As such, it is clear to see just how promising an attacker Gelhardt undoubtedly is. We believe that, should Orta manage to get a new deal over the line for the former Wigan Athletic starlet this summer, it could well be one of the Spaniard’s signings of the summer at Elland Road.

AND in other news: Orta now plotting Leeds bid for “superb” £15m “playmaker”, he’s the “king of assists”

West Ham United boss David Moyes has made a bold decision regarding the future of defender Arthur Masuaku…

What’s the word?

In Roshane Thomas’ recent report for The Athletic, the DR Congo international will be ‘handed an opportunity to impress’ the Hammers boss during pre-season, despite having failed to secure a regular starting berth in recent seasons.

As per the report, however, the east Londoners are ‘in the market’ for a new left-back this summer, with the 28-year-old – and teammate Aaron Cresswell – not set to be the ‘long-term options’ in the role.

This follows recent speculation that the London Stadium outfit are interested in Hoffenheim ace David Raum, while Juventus’s Luca Pellegrini is another full-back who has been named as a possible target of late.

Supporters fuming

While it may be an encouraging sign that the club are still chasing a new left-back acquisition, supporters will seemingly be fuming that Moyes could hand yet another chance to the aforementioned Masuaku, with the Lille-born man having never truly managed to perform on a consistent basis for the Irons.

There will be those wondering what the former Manchester United manager can learn about the £4.5m-rated dud that he doesn’t already know, with the former Olympiacos man having now been at the club for six years, with Moyes in charge for much of that time across his two spells at the helm.

The most recent campaign seemingly appeared to be the end of the road for the £43k-per-week flop as he made just six Premier League starts in total, with a rare, notable high point having been his fluky winner against Chelsea in the 3-2 thriller back in December.

Even with the club enjoying a lengthy run to the last four of the Europa League, the versatile defender was still rarely used in the competition, making just four appearances in total during that continental voyage – only two of which came as starts.

With academy graduate Ben Johnson proving himself comfortable on either side of the defence, Masuaku’s role has been inhibited even further, with it hard to understand just why Moyes would need the one-time Valenciennes man as part of his squad.

Having joined in 2016 from Greece on a £6m deal, the attacking full-back has had more than enough chances to impress in his 127 outings in all competitions – in which he has scored just twice and provided only ten assists – with the Hammers boss seemingly needing to be ruthless to finally wield the axe.

As it is, it looks as if Masuaku could remain something of a wage burner for at least another season, albeit with the player’s contract set to run until June 2024, with the option of a two-year extension after that.

AND in other news, Moyes plotting move for “special” £45m “baller”, he’d be a “superstar” for West Ham

Frank Lampard has endured what can only be described as a tough spell in charge of Everton so far, narrowly avoiding relegation from the Premier League and generally struggling to get his team to play the kind of football and achieve the kind of results that the Goodison Park faithful might expect.

The 43-year-old faces a crucial transfer window this summer and it looks to have gotten off to a solid start. With a deal to sign former Burnley defender James Tarkowski imminent, it remains to be seen who arrives next.

One player who has been linked with the Toffees is Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen, whose contract at Brentford expires at the end of the month.

The 30-year-old has impressed during his short spell with the Bees, having joined in January following a successful recovery from his cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland just over a year ago.

He scored once and registered four assists in the Premier League for Thomas Frank’s side, and Everton are crying out for a player of his quality to improve their team.

According to FBRef’s similar player model, Eriksen is comparable to Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne. If the Toffees could land the Danish maestro, he could certainly inspire them to enjoy a better season than the one they have just had.

Although De Bruyne played nearly three times as many league games as Eriksen last term, their stats are quite similar. The latter generated 5.08 shot-creating actions throughout the campaign, compared to the Belgian’s 5.68, while both averaged more than two shots per match (2.11 for the Dane, 3.15 for De Bruyne).

These figures demonstrate that Eriksen can still consider himself one of the elite, and these returns would have been much higher had he had played for a full season.

In terms of passing, Eriksen (74.4%) and De Bruyne (75.5%) both had a high success rate, which contributed to their respective teams’ performances.

There isn’t much difference between the two players, and with the Belgian superstar being one of the finest players in the world, the aforementioned comparisons would hint that Eriksen is still up there despite his unfortunate absence from the professional game.

With Brentford manager Frank describing the 30-year-old as “world class” when he signed for the club in January, Lampard needs to act quickly to pull off this move, as otherwise it could be a major regret for the Toffees.

AND in other news, “Full agreement”: Fabrizio Romano drops Everton transfer claim that’ll delight Lampard

Journalist Craig Vickers has hailed current Hearts and incoming Rangers defender John Souttar for his display in the Scottish Cup final.

The Lowdown: Rangers vs Hearts

Rangers took to Hampden Park to face off against Hearts in the Scottish Cup final, just three days after their agonising loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final, having missed out on penalties.

Both sides went into half-time goalless, having each failed to capitalise on respective excellent chances. Ellis Simms hit the post for Hearts, whilst Amad Diallo headed over from six yards for Rangers.

Whilst coming close numerous times in the second half, including Scott Wright hitting the bar in the third minute of extra time, Rangers were held to a stalemate within the 90 minutes.

However, Rangers came out all guns blazing for extra time, and in the 93rd minute, Ryan Jack smashed home to give the Gers the lead.

Just four minutes later, Wright emphatically doubled the score, sending Rangers to their first Scottish Cup victory in 13 years.

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The Latest: Vickers lauds Souttar

During the January window, Rangers announced the signing of Hearts defender John Souttar on a pre-contract agreement.

Taking to the field for the cup final, Souttar set about playing his last game in a Jambos shirt.

Freelance journalist Craig Vickers was very complimentary of the soon-to-be Rangers man, clearly impressed with the Glasgow club’s free signing. Taking to Twitter, he was stunned by the player’s ability on the ball.

“Souttar is so good stepping into midfield with the ball. Going to be interesting to see how GvB uses that next season because it’s something Goldson lacks despite his quality passing range.”

The Verdict: Good addition

Described by Hearts ace Josh Ginnelly as a “world-class player”, Souttar’s arrival at Ibrox will prove to be a massive addition to van Bronckhorst’s squad.

According to SofaScore, the 25-year-old has been rated Hearts’ best player this season, having averaged a sensational 7.30 rating.

Therefore, if the Scotland international can maintain this form going into next season, the free transfer will prove to be a massive piece of business for Rangers.

In other news: Rangers: Paddy Kenny issues summer transfer warning

Newcastle United have been hit with a setback as early Arsenal team news has emerged…

What’s the latest?

According to The Guardian, Ben White is expected to start for the Gunners tonight after he was not deemed fit enough to come off the bench in their clash with Tottenham last time out.

Rob Holding is suspended for Mikel Arteta after he was sent off in the derby clash and Gabriel came off with a knock, although he may be available to face the Magpies.

Eddie Howe will be fuming

The Toon head coach will be fuming with this update as he may have been watching the carnage unfold on Thursday night and licking his lips at the prospect of facing a makeshift backline.

Full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu and central midfielder Granit Xhaka ended up playing at the heart of the defence, with Cedric Soares and Nuno Tavares in the full-back roles.

The Magpies boss would surely love to watch his Newcastle team in action against a backline consisting of two unnatural centre-backs, particularly as he now has Callum Wilson available for selection.

In the 5-0 loss to Manchester City, the ex-Bournemouth striker made his return off the bench and he may now be ready to come back into the starting XI. He has scored 18 Premier League goals in 37 starts for the Magpies as he has shown that he is a clinical goalscorer when fit.

Therefore, Howe would have been excited by the prospect of unleashing him from the start against a far from steady Arsenal defence. Wilson could have exploited their lack of centre-back options by causing constant problems for Xhaka with his movement in behind, which is why this positive injury update for Arsenal is a seismic blow for the Toon as they will not have that advantage.

Instead, he will be up against White – who has caught the eye this season. The England international has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 6.94 across 31 outings in the division, winning 59% of his duels and helping his side to keep 13 clean sheets as he has made 2.8 tackles and interceptions per game.

He has proven that he can consistently deliver quality displays in the top-flight at the heart of the defence. Arteta knows that he can rely upon him and that is why Howe will be fuming with the news that he will be in the starting line-up against his side tonight.

AND in other news, “Keeping a close eye on..”: Downie delivers big NUFC claim that’ll excite supporters…

Nine teams will contest a total of 27 bilateral series in the inaugural World Test Championship between 2019 to 2021

Nagraj Gollapudi17-May-2018What is this World Test Championship all about?Essentially, it is a league, like the zillions of T20 leagues out there, but this one is for Test cricket. It will be contested over two-year cycles, the first of which starts on August 1 with the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston. The group phase officially began on July 16, 2019 and will run until March 31, 2021 after which the top two teams will contest a final.How many teams will participate?Nine of the 12 Full Member countries will contest in 27 series during the window. The nine teams are: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhy has the WTC been brought in?For a long time, there have been attempts to bring additional context to Test cricket beyond the result of individual series. There are the Test rankings where the top team is anointed on April 1 each year, but that is just based a rolling table. The idea of the WTC is to have a Test ‘winner’ every two years – like the World Cups in other formats – creating something else to play for outside of the series result. It is also hoped that it will increase interest in all series within the WTC, regardless of who is playing, because it can have a knock-on effect on other team’s chances of reaching the final.How many series will each team play and do all series count?The teams will play three series each at home and away. Each series will comprise a minimum of two and maximum of five Test matches. Therefore, all the teams do not play each other in the WTC in the two-year cycle. There can also be series played outside the WTC – an example being the New Zealand v England in November which is part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) but not the Championship.India go into the inaugural Test Championship as the world’s No. 1 team•Getty ImagesWho decided on which series will be played under the WTC?The competing countries. Some of the series already committed in the previous FTP will now be played as part of the WTC with each team playing against some higher-ranked opposition and some lower-ranked opposition.How are points allocated?This is where things get a little complicated because, well, cricket can be complicated. For every series under the WTC, there are 120 points available, distributed evenly over the number of Tests in the series. So, for example, in the Ashes, which is a five-match series, there will be 24 points for each win. In a two-Test series (such as Sri Lanka v New Zealand and West Indies v India which also start in August) there will be 60 points for a win. A draw is worth one-third of the points for a win: so eight in the Ashes scenario above and 20 in a two-Test series. A tie, just in case we need to know, is worth half the points for a win.Ishita Mazumder/ESPNcricinfo LtdAnything else about the points we need to know?Recently the ICC had announced that teams will be docked points in the WTC for slow over-rates. Two points will be deducted for every over a team is behind at the end of a match.How will the finalists be determined and when will it be played?The top two teams on the points table at the end of the league phase will play the final which is scheduled in 2021.ALSO READ: ‘We want every game in the Test championship to count,’ says Geoff Allardice, ICC general manager of cricketWhat will happen if the final ends in a draw or is tied?If the final ends in a tie or a draw, the two teams will be joint champions. Although the playing conditions allow for a reserve day, it can only be used if net playing time is lost during the scheduled five days of the final. Net playing time for every Test amounts to 30 hours of play (six hours per day).The reserve day kicks in only if the time lost during regulation play on each day is not made up on the same day. For example, if you lose an hour of play due to rain and then make it up by the end of the same day, then that is zero net time lost. But if you lose an entire day’s play due to rain and then make up, say, only three hours over the remaining four days, then you are short of net playing time for the match. That is when the reserve day kicks in.What about the other three Test-playing nations?Zimbabwe and the two latest Test nations, Afghanistan and Ireland, are the three who will not be part of the inaugural WTC. Zimbabwe are currently suspended by the ICC till October for government interference into cricket affairs. However, Afghanistan and Ireland will play Test series as part of the FTP, points from which will be considered for the Test rankings, but not the Championship.

Dale Steyn believes that for his team to win a third successive Test series in Australia, they have to take down captain Steven Smith

Firdose Moonda in Perth30-Oct-20162:19

Attacking the captain key to tripping up Australia – Steyn

Whether Dale Steyn sees the Australian team as a snake or a ship, his intention is to stop them simply by stopping Steven Smith.”If you can cut off the head of the snake, the rest of the body tends to fall,” Steyn said at the series launch in Perth. “We’ve done that in the past. We’ve tried to attack the captain because he is the leader and if we can cause a bit of chaos there, sometimes it does affect the rest of the guys.”Targeting the opposition captain has long been an Australian trick. Mitchell Johnson did it to Graeme Smith. Shane Warne did it to Hansie Cronje and Shaun Pollock. But Steyn has already begun to turn the tables. The batsman he has dismissed the most in world cricket is Michael Clarke – nine times in 14 matches although not all of them when Clarke was captain – and now he has Smith in the firing line as South Africa seek a third successive series win down under.”Aussie captains lead the attack. From history, you look at guys that are great players like Steve Waugh, he stands out. I don’t think many people can name a team underneath him but you remember Steve Waugh,” Steyn said, forgetting Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath and Warne.”You can remember Ricky Ponting, and Michael Clarke and then Steven Smith falls into that bracket. The moment you can get hold of your captain, the rest of the players rely heavily on him. He leads the ship so when you pull the plug on that kind of ship, and he’s holding it, you can sink it. It’s not very easy but there’s a way to sink it.”In 2012, South Africa felled Australia by frustrating Ponting. He was limited to 32 runs in three Tests, his waning powers picked at by everyone. Ponting was dismissed twice by the short ball, twice by the swinging one and finally by Robin Peterson, whom he flattered by playing for turn that was never going to be there.’They are probably a little bit hurt’ – Dale Steyn on Australia after they lost 0-5 to South Africa after losing 0-3 to Sri Lanka•AFPSmith, who has enjoyed some of the best form in world cricket in the last two years, is unlikely to prove as soft. But there are weaknesses in his captaincy as a Test whitewash in Sri Lanka and an ODI whitewash in South Africa might suggest. South Africa are looking to exploit that.”They are probably a little bit hurt after Sri Lanka and especially after coming to South Africa and losing 5-nil,” Steyn said.Although he did not go as far as to say South Africa have a clear edge over Australia, Steyn was comforted by the team’s record at the WACA – unbeaten after three matches – and their extensive preparation.”When it comes to being on top of the Australians, you never quite feel like that. Even if you’ve beaten them for 365 days in a row, come the 1st of January the next year, they are up for it,” he said. “But the mood in the camp is really good. The guys are comfortable, we’ve been here for almost two weeks.”That much preparation is unheard of considering how packed the cricket calendar is. Some might even think Australia have been particularly generous to their opposition, providing two practice matches before the start of the series on November 3. But one of them was to allow South Africa to learn about the pink ball ahead of the day-night Test in Adelaide on November 24. And the other was against an under-strength opposition with most of Australia’s Test specialists playing the first round of the Sheffield Shield.Having spent two weeks, in which time they played two practice matches, ahead of the Tests, South Africa are feeling confident•Getty ImagesNevertheless, it gave South Africa enough time to acclimatise. Batsmen Stephen Cook, Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, both spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada are on their first Test tour of Australia. But Steyn thinks at least one of them is more than ready.Rabada, who debuted against Australia in a T20 series two years ago, is the man Steyn thinks could be the difference between the two sides.”It doesn’t feel like KG has been in this team for a long time but it’s actually almost three years now so he’s learned a lot and he’s an incredible talent,” Steyn said. “He’s always looking to learn and his record is pretty amazing for such a young guy, especially a bowler. You only see bowlers tend to come into their stripes at maybe 26 or 27, especially fast bowlers. I think he’s got about 10 years of experience in three years which is really great. I’m excited to see what he can do because in Adelaide the other night he was bowling really quick and he was landing the ball exactly where he wanted to.”Rabada led South Africa’s attack in Steyn and Vernon Philander’s absence last summer and was one of very few positives in an otherwise disappointing season. But South Africa do not see themselves as a team that has tumbled to No.1 to No.7 (and who have now crawled back up to No.5). They see themselves as a team that has had success in Australia and are using that to spur their youngsters on.”The guys who have never played any cricket here in Australia, who are on their first Test tour, are coming here with a good feeling because the other guys that have been here have done well. Its not that feeling that in the past where we feel like we’ve been donnered (beaten up) and have our tails between our legs. We come here with some good history.”Australia have better history overall though, and Smith will be well aware of that. He will know that successful Australian teams have been successful because their leader was strong and that if he can counter South Africa, his men may be able to do the same.”I think they are going to come hard in terms of cricket. Their bowlers are going to be hitting hard lengths, coming past the nose, their batters are going to be in our face, they are going to be on the front foot, try and show their dominance,” Steyn said. “If we go fist to fist, let’s just see who can fight the longest and then you will find your winner.”

Soumya Sarkar’s run-out and his exquisite shots among plays of the day from the first ODI between Bangladesh and India

Mohammad Isam and Alagappan Muthu18-Jun-2015The collision
In the 25th over of the chase, MS Dhoni came into contact with the bowler Mustafizur Rahman while running between the wickets. It was not the first time in the game that the Bangladesh debutant had got in the way of an Indian batsman. Rohit had to run around the bowler as well earlier in the innings. Dhoni, however, held his line and thudded his left arm into Mustafizur who then had to leave the field for a bit. In this case, the bigger person did not fall harder.The three-peat
When Soumya Sarkar was going great, the last thing one would have expected to see was a run-out. But that’s what exactly happened in the 14th over when he and Tamim Iqbal had a fatal miscommunication. Tamim dug out the yorker but his tumble over was taken as a start for a run by Soumya who went ahead too far. Suresh Raina’s direct hit ended his promising innings. This was the third time the two were involved in a run-out, with Sarkar falling victim each time.The mimic
A free-flowing left-hand batsman. A dibbly-dobbly right-arm seamer. Launched his cricket career with a century at Eden Gardens playing for Bangladesh U-17s. That’s Soumya Sarkar’s Sourav Ganguly connection. His batting in Mirpur teased other comparisons as well. He stood tall to a back of length delivery, with the bat hoisted over his shoulder. Then it came down like the gentlest of hammers. The front-foot pull a la Yuvraj Singh, merging timing and power. When he got a proper short ball, Sarkar stayed beside it, waited until it passed him and opened the face to propel the ball to the third-man boundary and reach his fifty, off 38 balls. A Virender Sehwag shot helping him maintain a Virender Sehwag pace.Double duty
India’s quicks were leaking again. With R Ashwin and Suresh Raina bowing well, MS Dhoni felt taking pace off the ball was the best option. So he tossed the ball to Virat Kohli and packed the leg side. Two overs for 12 didn’t quite bring out the squeeze India wanted. Kohli was taken off, but he wasn’t found at any of his usual fielding posts. He was behind the stumps with Dhoni’s gloves and no pads. Like in Johannesburg when the India captain fancied a bowl late on the fourth day. This time though Dhoni was simply visiting the dressing room for an over. To add to the strangeness of that short period of play, a relatively assured Shakib Al Hasan found a way to get caught off a short ball.The set-up?
It pays to be a good sweeper. Very little can frustrate a spinner as much for you are getting runs and throwing him off his length as well. Sabbir Rahman enhances that strategy with his power. Ravindra Jadeja complicates it by bowling quick and flat. Cue a good contest. The batsman missed his first attempt and the off stump was left standing by the smallest margin. The second one, as a result of the ball being wider and tossed up a tad more, skimmed away to the midwicket boundary. By now Jadeja’s begun glaring at Sabbir. The angry full, fast delivery came, slipped through that trusty sweep and toppled the off stump.The premature decision
Umpire Rod Tucker raised his finger as soon as Mashrafe Mortaza turned to appeal, once Shikhar Dhawan, on 15, edged the ball to the wicketkeeper in the tenth over. The trouble was, Mushfiqur Rahim dropped a second successive catch in as many overs. After he had dropped a regulation chance of the same batsman off Rubel Hossain, Mushfiqur leapt to his right but could not hold on to the edge.There was confusion as Tucker had presumptuously given Dhawan out without seeing if Mushfiqur took the catch cleanly or not. Just as Mushfiqur went to his right and landed on the ground, the ball popped out of his gloves, but Tucker had not waited until then. Nasir Hossain then tried to run the batsman out who had walked out of his crease, on his way to the dressing room, but play was dead by then. Bangladesh had missed Dhawan twice in two overs.

In their win against Pakistan, Sri Lanka truly knew the boundaries of their ability and rarely sought to exceed them

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dubai12-Jan-2014″I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing,” goes a common misappropriation of a Socratic quote. It was originally intended to reveal something of the nature of knowledge itself, but has lately been used to advance the thought that awareness of personal limitation is wisdom.The world of sport often charges in the opposite direction to this sentiment. Self-belief is deemed a pre-requisite for any elite sportsman – the ability to achieve in the face of great odds, and to overcome where many have tried and foundered. The idea that nothing is impossible is propagated even beyond athletic pursuit. Such notions may have their uses in cricket, but in Sri Lanka’s second away-victory in almost five years, they have truly known the boundaries of their ability, and rarely sought to exceed them.Asking the opposition to bat first, particularly in Asia, is sometimes construed as weakness. Many perceived greentops often have little in them for fast bowlers beyond the first session, and countless touring captains have unwittingly surrendered prime batting days to the opposition.Angelo Mathews’ preference to field first had of course been vindicated when Pakistan had been dismantled for 165, but not only had it been an unprecedented choice at this venue, Mathews had watched on for hours as Pakistan’s experienced batsmen blunted his quick men’s movement in Abu Dhabi. Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal had undoubtedly bowled well in the first Test, but there had been little in their Test history to suggest they were capable of skittling Pakistan as they did, much less that Nuwan Pradeep would be the key man to sparking the opposition’s collapse. His team’s feeble first-innings returns in the previous game, and the consequent hankering for safety-first were the more likely forces to driving Mathew’s decision. Perhaps somewhat to his own surprise, Sri Lanka’s own first innings could hardly have begun at a more advantageous time – just as the pitch had begun to slow and flatten.”Apart from the first day, this was a regular Dubai wicket,” Mathews said. “The spinners weren’t able to be that successful on this wicket, because it was very helpful for the fast bowlers on the first day. After that it became a bit slow, but still good for the batsmen, as usual.”Sri Lanka’s longest innings was more evidence of self-awareness coming good. Mahela Jayawardene sizes up situations better than any Sri Lanka player, and though that usually means he reads conditions well, on this occasion, he also knew the limitations an injury would impose on his own game. The favoured cover-drive and well-loved sweep were largely shelved, and even when Pakistan’s bowlers strung together admirable spells, Jayawardene and Kaushal Silva did not venture a counterattack.Control defined the bowling too, as Pakistan kept Sri Lanka in the field for 137.3 overs in the second innings. No wickets fell for almost two sessions on day three, but on a pitch that did not favour Rangana Herath’s spin, Sri Lanka did not devise tricks for Misbah-ul-Haq or Younis Khan, they simply waited. At times it seemed Sri Lanka lacked flair and imagination, persisting with an in-out field that did not challenge batsmen, but as the fast bowlers had already made giant leaps in the series, Mathews may understandably have been wary of asking too much. In the end, the visitors waited Younis and Misbah out – both fell to balls that gleaned unexpected venom from the surface.”The toss was a bit crucial but I thought you need to bowl in the right areas to get them out,” Mathews said. “The bowlers did exactly that. I thought they were brilliant in the first innings as well as the second innings. Given the conditions, they had to put it on the right spot, which they did.”As the threat of rain loomed in their run chase, Sri Lanka veered towards conservatism again, small though their target was. In 16 overs before lunch, only 35 runs had been gathered. Such steady progress might have appeared foolish if the rains had actually come, but instead, Sri Lanka secured the last of their many moral victories in the match – their first century-stand for the first wicket since June 2011.”We actually thought it might rain as well, but thankfully it didn’t rain,” Mathews said. “Sarfraz Ahmed was batting well and we wanted to stop him scoring runs, and to bowl to the new batsman. We couldn’t let them off the hook by giving them too many runs. We had to be a bit cautious about the runs as well.”Six of Sri Lanka’s XI have fewer than 17 Tests’ experience, so perhaps Mathews will tread with caution in the near future as well. As Mathews exulted at the close, the inexperienced cricketers had all shown Test-match fortitude. Few would have imagined Sri Lanka could have an unassailable lead in the series without a big haul for Herath or a hundred for Kumar Sangakkara.In the past, Sri Lanka’s most prosperous periods have also featured their most attacking cricket, and while one win is not enough to prove that they are suddenly better suited to the reverse, they have shown that ambition need not breed every success.