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A former team-mate of the late Billy Vigar has revealed that Chichester City have been left "traumatised" by the fatal accident that killed the former Arsenal youth player. Vigar suffered a horrific head injury during an Isthmian League Premier Division game against Wingate and Finchley, which tragically took the footballer's life.

Vigar tragically killed in horror accident

Vigar was in action for Chichester City in an Isthmian League Premier Division clash against Wingate and Finchley on September 20, when he crashed into a concrete wall. The tragedy happened just 13 minutes into the match as Vigar tried to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line. Multiple ambulances and an air ambulance arrived at the venue and he was immediately taken to a hospital. The 21-year-old was placed into an induced coma and underwent surgery but unfortunately, his life could not be saved as he passed away.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesVigar's accident has left Chicchester 'traumatised'

Speaking to the , Vigar's team-mate and goalkeeper Kieran Magee described the incident, saying: "It’s still very raw as to what we saw. An absolute freak accident, he’s collided with the concrete wall around the perimeter of the pitch. It was past the goal-line so at the end of the pitch. For the whole team that were playing at the time, not just us but the Wingate and Finchley players as well, it’s a traumatic memory for us. 

"There were a few guys that stayed with him, and the physios from both clubs. There were a couple members of the crowd who were medically trained and came over, too. The paramedics turned up extremely quickly and took over from there. ‘We were with him until we couldn’t be. We knew it was serious very quickly. ‘It’s going to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind for a long, long time going forward."

The stopper added: "The kind of character he was, it felt like he had been here forever. His old team-mates feel exactly the same wherever he has been before. He was a really humble young lad. He’s had a lot of knockbacks in his career, he was really coming out of his shell and bonding with everyone. He was the most kind, normal bloke you could meet. He was just enjoying his football. He was a full-blooded player. He gave everything to every ball, never stopped running. You could see he was enjoying it."

Chichester set up fundraiser

The non-league club have set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to support Vigar's grief-stricken family. The GoFundMe campaign statement read: "Please give what you can and show the strength of the football community when we come together for one of our own. Rest in peace, Billy. You will never be forgotten."

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Getty Images SportArsenal paid tribute to Vigar

Arsenal paid tribute to their former academy players as Gunners stars wore a black armband as a mark of respect during their Premier League clash against Newcastle United on Sunday at St James' Park.

MatériaMais Notícias

A noite da última quarta-feira (3), no duelo entre Sport e Ceará, pela final da Copa do Nordeste, marcou o primeiro momento especial do atacante Luvannor no Vozão. Na conquista do tricampeonato regional, o atacante entrou no segundo tempo e foi um dos escolhidos para a decisão por pênaltis. Com uma cobrança firme, no canto esquerdo, não deu chances para o goleiro Renan.

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Além da participação na decisão, o jogador também teve participação importante no duelo contra o Sergipe, válido pelas quartas de final do torneio. Aos 45 minutos do segundo tempo da partida, o jogador pedalou em frente ao goleiro Dida com estilo, o driblou e marcou um golaço para fechar o placar e classificar o Ceará para a semifinal do torneio.

Na ocasião, o tento do atleta foi comparado com o gol marcado por Ronaldo Fenômeno, na Copa do Mundo de 2006. Luva, aliás, foi um dos reforços trazidos na gestão Ronaldo e fez gols importantes no primeiro ano da SAF no Cruzeiro.

Aos 32 anos de idade e com larga trajetória fora do país, Luvannor chegou ao seu segundo título no futebol brasileiro. Algo bastante importante se considerado o fato de que, quando decidiu por voltar ao Brasil, a condição imposta era de que aceitaria apenas desafios com possibilidade iminente de ser campeão.

Luva também fez uma relação com a conquista do Nordestão servindo como uma dose de ânimo extra para o Alvinegro de Porangabussu ser bem sucedido no maior objetivo estabelecido para a temporada: retornar para a primeira divisão do futebol nacional.

– Eu vim para o Brasil para ganhar títulos. O Ceará é um clube enorme e tem uma torcida apaixonada. Merece estar sempre no topo em todas as competições que disputa. Vamos comemorar esse tricampeonato, que veio pela dedicação de todo elenco, mas precisamos virar a chave e focar na Série B, pois temos uma importante e longa temporada pela frente – destacou.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Santos completa 111 anos de existência nesta sexta-feira (14). O clube tem conquistas impressionantes no futebol mundial e possui muitos ídolos marcantes. Obviamente, Pelé é o maior de todos, mas outros craques da bola deixaram suas marcas com o manto alvinegro e terão lugar reservado para sempre na história da equipe.

Campeões do mundo com o Brasil em 1970 e multicampeões pelo Peixe durante suas passagens, Edu e Clodoaldo conversaram com o LANCE! e contaram seus sentimentos pelo clube da Baixada Santista.

+ Confira uma lista de produtos do Santos com descontos de até 70% OFF na Centauro

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasSantosSantos, 111 anos: Falcão abre o coração sobre trabalhar no clube e lembra da relação com PeléSantos14/04/2023SantosRueda diz qual legado sua gestão deixará para o Santos e valoriza presença do clube na LIBRASantos13/04/2023SantosPresidente Andres Rueda confirma renovação de Deivid Washington com o SantosSantos13/04/2023

+Brasileirão 2023 vai começar! Veja quais são os elencos mais valiosos da competição

Com um currículo invejável, o volante Clodoaldo dedicou praticamente toda a carreira para o Santos. Usando a camisa do Peixe foi pentacampeão do Paulistão, campeão do Brasileiro e conquistou a Recopa Intercontinental de 1968. Questionado sobre o simbolismo do Alvinegro Praiano na sua vida, o ex-jogador não poupou elogios ao clube que fez história.

– Eu me sinto honrado, gratificado por ter feito história dentro do Santos Futebol Clube. Foram 14 anos vestindo essa camisa. Me sinto grato de ter jogado em um dos maiores clubes da história do Brasil e do Mundo. Além de jogar ao lado de tantos e tantos craques. Jogadores fabulosos que eu tive a honra e o prazer de juntos construirmos essa linda história que o Santos conquistou no país e mundialmente – declarou o histórico atleta do Peixe.

Jonas Eduardo Américo, ou simplesmente Edu, foi outro que alcançou grandes façanhas e marcou época no Santos. Sem pestanejar, o atacante parabenizou o time e relacionou suas conquistas na vida com a projeção que o clube concedeu para ele.

-Para mim, ter vestido a camisa do Santos foi uma honra e um sonho realizado porque era o time que eu torcia quando garoto e depois ter tido a felicidade de fazer parte daquele grande time, de fazer parte desse clube e hoje ser considerado um dos grandes ponteiros da história desse clube. Então para mim é um motivo de muito orgulho. É o clube que me deu tudo, então tudo que eu tenho devo para o Santos Futebol Clube, como as minhas convocações que conquistei com o meu trabalho no time. Sou muito grato ao Santos que, para mim, é a minha segunda casa. Parabéns ao Santos por esses 111 anos de glórias. Que venham muito mais – contou Edu.

continua após a publicidade

O aniversário deste dia 14 de abril de 2023 possui um tom mais melancólico, pois é a primeira comemoração desde a morte do Rei Pelé. Ainda incrédulo com a partida de Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Edu contou que o ídolo do Peixe merece um tributo digno.

-Não vai ser fácil essa comemoração do aniversário do Santos de 111 anos sem nós termos entre nós o nosso grande ídolo, nosso pai, o nosso rei. Para mim, a ficha ainda não caiu que estamos sem ele, mas temos que seguir em frente e espero que a gente possa realmente homenagear ele da maneira que merece, então temos que cantar os parabéns, mas com aquela tristeza por não termos mais o nosso mestre maior – concluiu o ex-jogador.

Clodoaldo, além de relembrar o jogador extraordinário que era Pelé, lembrou da parceria com o camisa 10 fora dos gramados.

– Ele fazia a diferença dentro de campo e fora de campo também como um grande amigo, grande companheiro. A história do Pelé será eterna dentro do Santos e ao longo dos anos. Claro que o Rei se eternizou e nunca será esquecido em momento algum – finalizou o volante.

The facility, housed in a 40-acre campus comprises three grounds, an indoor facility and an expansive outdoor nets area featuring 45 pitches

Shashank Kishore29-Sep-2024Sixteen years after acquiring land from the Karnataka government to expand their cricketing infrastructure, the BCCI on Friday inaugurated its new state-of-the-art National Cricket Academy, which will be known as the ‘Centre of Excellence’, on the outskirts of Bengaluru.BCCI president Roger Binny and secretary Jay Shah unveiled the facility to the officer bearers, which when fully functional from early 2025, will take over as board’s primary centre for training, sports science, rehabilitation and injury management. The operations from the existing NCA premises at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium are expected to be shifted out in a phased manner.The facility, housed in a 40-acre campus, comprises three grounds, built as per ICC’s regulations to host first-class cricket, an indoor facility comprising surfaces imported from the UK and Australia apart from local surfaces – both red and black soil – and a vast expansive outdoor nets area featuring 45 pitches. There is also a separate area designated to house BCCI’s Sports Science and Medicine Block and lodging facilities.Related

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VVS Laxman to continue as head of the National Cricket Academy

The main venue comprises modern floodlights, a sub-air drainage system, broadcast facilities and 13 red-soil surfaces brought in from Mumbai, which VVS Laxman, the NCA head, hopes can host ‘A’ tour games as soon as it is operational.Grounds B and C will serve as dedicated practice grounds, comprising black soil surfaces brought in locally from southern Karnataka and Odisha. The facility also has an indoor and outdoor athletics track, apart from pool and recovery facilities, which will also be made available to athletes from other disciplines. Seven acres of land has been set aside for future expansion.”I think the beneficiaries will be not only the future generation of cricketers but also the current generation of cricketers,” Laxman said during a media interaction on Saturday. ” Since the time I joined the NCA in December 2021, all the cricketers, they come here, not only for rehab. Obviously, there is a misconception that the cricketers come only for rehab. But they come to the NCA to upskill, get ready for the challenges during the various series they are going to participate in.”I am sure that all the players who come to this facility, all the players who will be part of this programme will strive to achieve excellence, will strive to become the best they can. And in the process, the Indian cricket team in all the formats will probably be the best in the world.”VVS Laxman at BCCI’s newly inaugurated Centre of Excellence•PTI For the longest time, the BCCI has envisioned a centre of excellence similar to ECB’s facility in Loughborough or Cricket Australia’s facility in Brisbane. The land on which it has been built had to pass several litigation hurdles, which at one point had the BCCI mulling over the possibility of moving it outside the city. The project finally received clearance in late 2020, with work starting in early 2022 after a forced delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”The target for completion was 15 months,” Laxman said. “I was a bit skeptical, but the way work has progressed right from the time construction began has been remarkable. I have been to some of the best academies in the world, not only limited to cricket, but other sports also. But I have not seen this kind of a facility.With the upscaling of the NCA, Laxman underlined a number of aspects of their functioning that could be enhanced once the facility is fully functional. “The programmes we run, because the way the programmes run, all the best performers right from your under-15 for women and under-16 for boys are selected by the national selectors and from April, during the off-season, until September, we have various programmes,” he said.”We conducted close to 32 camps during this period for both boys and girls, but usually these happen in different parts of the country. And with the KSCA, we get the ground to have some of these camps. Whereas here with three grounds, I think we can have a lot more programmes. Also these grounds can be used to have some India A series, which can be played on these surfaces here.”The most important thing is, there are three different kinds of soils. What we want is the players to know how to adapt to different conditions. So in one place, instead of them travelling from one city to other city, they can have the experience and exposure of playing in different soils and different kinds of pitches, you know, which will enhance their performance.”

Abhishek Sharma is set to open with Gill; India likely to hand a number of debuts in this series

Alagappan Muthu05-Jul-20242:07

Gill: ‘Difficult for me to try and achieve what Rohit and Kohli have’

Big picture – Opportunities galoreThe new T20 World Cup champions were given a rousing welcome on their return home but even as the country celebrates their history-makers, one eye turns towards the future.Fifteen of India’s promising colts – captained by Shubman Gill – are in Zimbabwe now laying the groundwork for the time that they too may one day experience: the high of an open-top bus parade with fans as far as the eye can see serenading them.Related

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There are spots up for grabs. Two of them, in particular, which Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad will be trying to make their own. Rinku Singh was there in Barbados but only as reserve. He’ll want to fix that. Riyan Parag is starting to make good on his promise. Washington Sundar is 24 and injury-free with India potentially needing a new spin-bowling allrounder in their first-choice XI.Zimbabwe will see opportunity too, not least in upsetting the newly-minted champions after being unable to make the World Cup. Hosting an India series brings an influx of money and no shortage of eyeballs, some of whom might be on the lookout for skills that can translate to success in the various franchise tournaments happening around the world. These days, a cricket match is not just a chance to bring glory to the team.Form guideZimbabwe WLLLL (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
India WWWWWIn the spotlight – Shubman Gill and Sikandar RazaShubman Gill is in the middle of a bit of a blip. His first real brush with captaincy, through April and May, didn’t go as planned with Gujarat Titans finishing eighth out of ten teams in IPL 2024. His time with India at the T20 World Cup in June was very brief but now in July he finds himself with the power to do what he likes, at least for the course of these five matches. Will he bat like India want their players to, with aggression from the first ball, or will he do something different?Sikandar Raza will look to find form•AFP/Getty ImagesZimbabwe tripped up, badly, in the Africa T20 World Cup qualifiers in November 2023. Sikandar Raza was captain. They hosted Ireland in December, but after an excellent all-round contribution in a one-wicket victory, he was suspended from the rest of the series due to an on-field altercation. Then Raza lost his form, with four single-digit scores in six T20I innings, but his last one was a match-winning half-century against Bangladesh. He’s also produced good showings for Northamptonshire in the Vitality Blast (206 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 153). Raza’s back on the up and he wants his team to be as well.Team news – Count the debutsThis India squad is very much a work in progress so the XIs that come out of it might not have all their bases covered. The batting, for example, might only go down as far as No. 7 which certainly does not encourage the hit-every-ball-out-of-the-park philosophy they are trying to perfect. Also, the players themselves haven’t proven themselves at this level. Then again, they haven’t been exposed to it all that often either. Look out for debuts. There could be four or five. Gill confirmed Abhishek Sharma will open the batting alongside him.India (probable): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Dhruv Jurel/Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Khaleel AhmedZimbabwe are searching for new talent themselves. Some of their better-known players like Sean Williams and Craig Ervine weren’t considered for this series and Ryan Burl has been dropped. Wessly Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta, though, are back in contention after serving out four-month suspensions for drug use.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 3 Sikandar Raza (capt), 4 Johnathan Campbell, 5 Antum Naqvi, 6 Clive Madande (wk), 7 Wessly Madhevere, 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Faraz Akram, 10 Wellington Masakadza, 11 Blessing MuzarabaniPitch and conditions – Runs at a premiumThis will be Harare’s first T20I of the year. First-innings totals in the recent past have been a bit middling, with only five of the last 12, going past 150. In those last 12 matches, spinners (69 wickets at 19.71 and economy rate of 6.6) have done better than the fast bowlers (80 wickets at 25.92 and an economy rate of 7.82). There is no threat of rain with temperatures in the mid-20C.Stats and trivia India have faced Zimbabwe in only eight T20Is over the course of 14 years. They’ve won six and lost two. Raza needs 53 more to become the first Zimbabwean to score 2000 runs in T20Is.

After their looming Conference League final, Enzo Maresca can turn his full attention to the summer transfer window, with Chelsea sealing their spot in the Champions League for next season and their 2024/2025 Premier League campaign drawing to a close in excellent fashion.

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In the build up to their crucial 1-0 win away to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, much was made about the importance of sealing all three points and confirming their place in Europe’s most prestigious competition.

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Not only does it represent a significant milestone when it comes to Maresca’s debut season in the dugout, but the riches that come with competing in the Champions League in terms of revenue and overall player-pull also cannot be understated.

Rank

Team

Points

GD

3

Man City

71

+28

4

Chelsea

69

+21

5

Newcastle

66

+21

6

Aston Villa

66

+7

7

Nottingham Forest

65

+12

Maresca suggested back in April that Chelsea’s European status would impact their recruitment strategy this summer, but the Italian and Stamford Bridge officials can now rest easy in the knowledge that they go into the next transfer window in a very strong position to attract their desired targets.

The signing of a prolific striker is perhaps their most important potential deal of the summer, with many high-profile names already linked ahead of the first mini-window, which opens from June 1 to June 10 and allows Chelsea to register new players before their Club World Cup campaign.

According to journalist Simon Phillips this week, Chelsea have held talks over signing RB Leipzig star Benjamin Sesko, with Arsenal and Maresca’s side both pushing hard for his signature. However, the Slovenian is by no means their only option.

Links to Napoli outcast and Galatasaray star Victor Osimhen have re-emerged recently, following the club’s well-documented attempts to sign the Nigerian last summer (Fabrizio Romano), which ultimately fell through.

Osimhen remains keen on a move to Chelsea nearly a year later, with Phillips sharing another update on their striker hunt involving the 26-year-old.

Victor Osimhen waiting to see if Chelsea contact him about a summer move

According to the journalist, Osimhen is currently waiting to see if Chelsea contact him about a summer move again, as he looks to discover if the west Londoners are in fact interested in a deal for the £172,000-per-week striker.

“Victor Osimhen to Chelsea is far from over,” wrote Phillips on Sunday.

“The player is awaiting to see whether Chelsea get UCL football and whether getting it means they will be back in touch with him about a move this summer, and Chelsea are still weighing up pushing for him again.”

With Champions League football now secured, the ball is firmly in Chelsea’s court, and there is every reason to believe the ex-Lille star would be an exceptional signing for Maresca.

Osimhen has torn the Süper Lig to shreds during his temporary stint in Turkey, bagging 36 goals and eight assists in all competitions, with ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi-Mikel also desperate for BlueCo to bring him in.

“Victor has been on fire, unplayable sometimes. Unplayable. Scoring goals, creating chances, everything he does this season has been absolutely fantastic,” said the pundit on his Obi-One podcast last week.

“So for me, like I’ve said, and I’ve always said: this is a player that wins you trophies. This is a player that puts you in the top 4. This is a player that is reliable. He will get you goals. I don’t want to see him at PSG, I don’t want to see him at Manchester United, I don’t want to see him at Arsenal. He’s tailor-made for us [Chelsea].”

Osimhen’s release clause will be around £63 million from July, so he remain a very interesting option.

Wolverhampton Wanderers managed to enjoy a comfortable end to the campaign and have now made an approach to bring a talented youngster to Molineux this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Wolves transfer rumours with Cunha set to join Man Utd

The Old Gold spent a portion of the campaign flirting with relegation from the Premier League. However, Vitor Pereira made sure that no such thoughts managed to enter their psyche in the West Midlands and secured safety with plenty of time to spare.

Thanking supporters for their crucial role in backing the team, the Portuguese boss has promised to add to his Wolves squad this summer to ensure a repeat scenario doesn’t unfold next term.

He stated: “Our supporters, they are fantastic. I’m very proud of them, very proud of my team, proud of our work, proud of our club, all the staff, all the efforts that everybody did to finish the league in the situation that we know we can build on in the future.”

Matheus Cunha may be on his way to Manchester United, though Pereira has already profiled Leicester City midfielder Bilal El Khannouss as an ideal Wolves replacement for the Brazil international.

A bid of around £22 million should be enough to entice him away from the King Power Stadium, and he is far from the only star lined up at Molineux now the window is around the corner.

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The Old Gold have now made a move for a defender.

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Lazio defender Mario Gila could also pitch up at Wolves if they can see off competition from Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion for his signature.

Plenty of movement is underway as the Old Gold build for next season, and they have now reportedly made an approach for a highly-rated talent.

Romano: Wolves make approach for Liverpool's Kieran Morrison

Taking to social media platform X, renowned transfer specialist Romano has reported that Wolves have made an approach for “highly rated” Liverpool winger Kieran Morrison.

Said to be on their shortlist, there is also competition from around Europe for his signature as the summer window kicks off in earnest.

Capable of operating out wide or in a central role, the Northern Ireland Under-19 international has registered five goals and six assists in 27 appearances for Liverpool’s youth development squad this season.

It feels unlikely that Morrison would immediately become a first-team figure at Molineux, though his versatility and scope to develop would be an attracting commodity looking towards the future.

Under contract at Anfield until 2027, it remains to be seen what type of fee he could command if he were to leave the Merseyside giants. However, it may be worth noting that a sale would likely count as pure profit for Liverpool, indicating that a move could go through before the PSR deadline.

This summer is massive for West Ham United if they are to right the wrongs of this season and push on under the guidance of manager Graham Potter.

The Hammers currently sit in 17th place in the Premier League, just one place above the relegation zone, and are lucky not to be in a scrap to maintain their top-flight status.

It’s certainly been a year to forget, with the 49-year-old unable to change the club’s fortunes after taking the reins from Julen Lopetegui, who was sacked after just six months in charge.

The former Chelsea boss has the summer window to try and transform the Hammers’ fortunes and push the side back up towards the European spots in 2025/26.

With the opening of the market rapidly approaching, groundwork is already being laid ahead of a huge period for the club – needing to make the right signings if they are to progress.

The latest on West Ham’s hunt for signings this summer

In the last couple of days, West Ham have entered negotiations with the representatives of left-back Junior Firpo over a potential deal this summer.

The Dominican international is currently on the books of Leeds United, but looks set to depart the Whites with his contract set to expire at the end of June.

The defender, who’s registered 14 combined goals and assists this season, isn’t the only player on their shortlist, with midfielder Morton Frendrup also on their radar, according to GIVEMESPORT.

Their report claims that the Hammers’ hierarchy have already made contact with Genoa over a deal for the 24-year-old, who could be available for £17m this summer.

It also states that he’s one of a number of options being considered for the upcoming window, but face competition from fellow Premier League outfit Brentford for his signature.

Why West Ham’s £17m target would be an upgrade on Soucek

Tomas Soucek has been a regular in the heart of the West Ham midfield this season, registering 35 appearances across all competitions, scoring on eight separate occasions.

However, despite his excellent record for the Hammers, he could be set to depart East London during the off-season, with newly-promoted Leeds just one potential destination.

It’s unclear if Potter will be wanting to cash in on the Czech international during the coming months, with his future in the capital certainly up in the air to say the least.

Should he leave, it would be a blow given his output across the field, but it would allow the manager to land an upgrade in the form of Genoa star Frendrup.

When comparing their respective figures from the current campaign, the Dane has managed to outperform Soucek in various key areas – highlighting how much of a bargain he would be at £17m.

Games played

33

32

Goals & assists

2

9

Pass accuracy

85%

73%

Progressive passes

3.1

2.7

Tackles won

3.1

1.6

Interceptions made

1.4

0.7

Blocks made

1.9

1.3

Frendrup, who’s been labelled a “midfield machine” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has starred in possession, completing more of the passes he’s attempted along with more progressive passes – aiding other players within the final third.

He’s also dominated without the ball, winning nearly double the number of tackles per 90, along with more interceptions made – handing Potter the added quality he desires out of possession.

Since the departure of Declan Rice, the side have desperately needed the ball-winning presence in front of the back four, undoubtedly having an impact on their league standing.

Frendrup could provide just that for the Hammers, but the hierarchy will need to act quickly to avoid missing out on such a talent given the interest from elsewhere.

The £17m fee touted is a bargain in today’s market, with the Dane having all the tools to push the club back towards the European spots in the 2025/26 campaign.

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The yin and yang styles dovetailed perfectly after Namibia had looked to be taking charge

Melinda Farrell07-Jun-20244:19

Finch: Berrington showed his experience and class

Scotland were in a wee spot of bother, to say the least.George Munsey and Michael Jones, the openers who had fearlessly faced down England’s fastest bowlers and wiliest spinners before the rains came, were back in the dressing room. Brandon McMullen soon followed.Gerhard Erasmus and Bernard Scholtz were threatening to squeeze the life out of the chase with their right and left-arm spinning combination and, with ten overs left and 87 runs needed, the momentum was shifting Namibia’s way.Related

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Berrington and Leask launch Scotland to landmark victory

Matthew Cross attempted to up the ante after a string of dot balls and singles increased the pressure further, but a wild sweep intended to cut the rope was misdirected and he trudged off the field to join the top order as spectators after the ball clattered into his pads.In the three times the two sides had met in T20Is, Namibia had walked away with victory. A fourth would leave Scotland’s hopes of progressing to the holy land of the Super Eights hanging by a fraying thread.Richie Berrington, his right eye blackening from an errant dive in the field, had scratched his way to 5 off nine balls and Scotland were four down, still needing 83 from 54 deliveries, when Michael Leask strode to the crease.Anyone who has seen Leask hold a bat knows he likes to swing it; he swung it magnificently in Bulawayo last July, smashing 48 off 34 to set up Scotland’s victory over Zimbabwe in the ODI World Cup qualifiers. He did the same in losing causes against Namibia and New Zealand at the T20 World Cup in the UAE; his reputation as an aggressive finisher is well earned.

Berrington’s sweet spots are square of the wicket, leaning on the back foot and lacing the ball through point with a kind of ferocious finesse, or timing his sweeps and slog-sweeps with the precision of an atomic clock

But coming into this tournament his form was somewhat patchy. Across six innings in Scotland’s series against UAE and the tri-series with Ireland and the Netherlands he had scored 81 runs, passing 20 just once. At Kensington Oval, his captain and his country needed him to unlock the best he had.Leask has a kinetic, frenetic energy, both on and off the field; a “hyper dafty who puts his heart on his sleeve” is how he describes himself. He’s a friendly chatterbox and a cricket badger who is, at the very least, as fiercely proud of his Scottish heritage as anyone in the squad.You see it in the field as he attacks every ball and screams encouragement, when he’s appealing for an lbw or celebrating a wicket, a jack-in-the-box bursting with fireworks.But the ignition spark is hard to find as he begins his partnership with Berrington and the required run rate is climbing steadily.Berrington is Leask’s polar opposite in character and style. Scotland’s captain is measured and reserved; he speaks softly and is a shrewd observer of people and match situations alike. When he does speak, his team-mates listen and he inspires fierce loyalty among them. He’s borne the responsibility of being the most public face of cricket in Scotland through the game’s most tumultuous off-the-field turmoil and has done so with a quiet dignity.Richie Berrington and Chris Greaves celebrate victory•AFP/Getty ImagesTheir contrasting personalities are epitomised by the way they bat. Leask is a v-man, his slender frame generating colossal power through a straight bat as he plunders the ball in front of the wicket. There is nothing of fancy or fuss, just the sheer bloody-minded determination to send the ball packing to another time zone.Berrington’s sweet spots are square of the wicket, leaning on the back foot and lacing the ball through point with a kind of ferocious finesse, or timing his sweeps and slog-sweeps with the precision of an atomic clock.In the 13th over it was Berrington who dropped the hammer and dropped to one knee, the favoured slog-sweep launching Tangeni Lunganeni’s over the deep-midwicket fence. The next ball was lofted over the covers for four and the momentum marching Namibia’s way paused and looked back over its shoulder.What it saw was Leask, locked and loaded and always trigger-happy. The merest hint of width was all he needed to smash the shackles and the ball from Erasmus into the Bridgetown sky and over midwicket to land on the groundsman’s shed. At least it was still in the Caribbean time zone.Light and dark, night and day, Berrington and Leask yin-and-yanged Scotland towards victory. They found gaps in their own peculiar ways and ran hard to eliminate the deadly dots.Scotland had been under significant pressure•Getty ImagesIn their individual fashions, they took to David Wiese, Namibia’s Super Over bowling hero against Oman four days earlier; laser calibrated, Berrington’s swipe across the line that crossed the rope between two boundary riders was bookended by a brace of Leask bludgeons over his beloved deep-midwicket for six.The longest blow of the afternoon was Leask’s, of course, a 101-metre monster off Ruben Trumpelmann over wide long on. It was into the wind, it was in the stands and the crowd was in a delirious rapture.When he holed out four balls later the damage was done, his 17-ball 35 ensuring momentum was encamped in Scotland’s corner, wrapped in the Saltire and taunting Namibia .The shiner didn’t impede the skipper’s vision as he sealed the chase with a final, emphatic, six that catapulted Scotland to the top of Group B. From there they can glimpse the knockouts on the far horizon; it will take more heroics to bring them more sharply into view.But if ever there was inspiration to be found, a reminder that the sum is greater than its parts, Scotland can find in the deeds of their own odd couple. The classy Berrington and the mighty Leask.

He’s no Shoaib Akhtar but one had to watch him close to notice how good he was, and his very few magic balls

Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Mar-2022Did you watch Suranga Lakmal bowl? No, really. Did you watch him closely? It’s ok. It’s human. Be honest. If anyone wouldn’t really mind, it’s Lakmal.Our man captained five Tests for Sri Lanka. In the third of these, he did not bowl at all in the first innings. In the second innings, he sent down just two overs.Related

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Why? Because he is who he is, and felt largely surplus to requirement. In this 2018 series, South Africa had surrendered en masse to Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera in the first Test. They were nosediving spectacularly again on a bone-dry SSC pitch, until, inside 35 overs, they were all out for 124, three spinners having bowled right through the innings. Lakmal’s two overs in the second dig were mainly to give the spinners a break.That’s Lakmal concentrate. Rational. Ego-free. Almost invisible. Bring a great ball of his to mind? Yeah, neither can I. Great bowling performances, though, there’s the thing. You don’t have to bowl magic balls to bowl a good spell. And that is where Lakmal lived. Draw a venn diagram. The space common to “bowls line and length”, “swings it a bit”, “seams a little”. Colour that segment in. That’s Lakmal territory.Perhaps, you’ll look at that Test average of 36.38, and think he was just a plodder. If you were being unkind, you’d say he one. Long of hair, longer of face, a gangly tumbling of over-long limbs – he’s no Shoaib Akhtar. He’s not even on that spectrum. He never tried to be. A gentle away-seamer, a smirk when the batter misses it. A turning of the heel, returning to his crease, a doing of all of the above again. You had to watch him to notice how good he was. Otherwise, he was almost invisible.Almost invisible to the Sri Lanka public, because his bowling only really got to really fly overseas, where Sri Lanka generally lost. A 5 for 63 in Port Elizabeth, 5 for 54 in Christchurch, 3 for 25 in Bridgetown, 4 for 39 in Port Elizabeth again, 5 for 47 in North Sound. Since 2016, he’s averaged 28.74 away from home.In that 2019 series that Sri Lanka won in South Africa, which perhaps should go down as their greatest Test triumph ever, there he was, averaging 25.5, keeping a lid on the opposition scoring while the younger bowlers hunted (successfully) for wickets around him. Not a man for the glory spells. The hard ones. In Galle, when nothing was happening, and there was a mild hope the ball would reverse. At the SSC, when the batters have started sweeping well, and the runs are flowing too quickly, and you need a guy to bring the rate down again, even if there’s no real chance of a wicket.When all you want is for balance to be restored, which for Sri Lanka, is a lot of the time in overseas Tests, it is where he shines. Those are the Lakmal overs.He probably would have got more overs if other fast bowlers had stayed with him. Sri Lanka would have prepared some slightly seamer-friendly tracks, if they had a seam attack, instead of a lone, reliable seamer. What could have he been if Nuwan Pradeep didn’t injure his hamstrings that often, or Shaminda Eranga didn’t have a kink in his elbow, or Dhammika Prasad’s shoulder hadn’t fallen apart, or even if Lahiru Kumara had delivered on his early promise?Instead, what Lakmal got at home were intensively spin-friendly pitches, on which he, and most others who bowled at more than 110kph, were sometimes redundant. In some ways, it is typical that Lakmal is right at the centre of an intentional erasure of seam bowling in Sri Lanka’s home Tests.He may get a fair showing from the pink ball, though. Across the two day-night Tests Sri Lanka have played, the first in Barbados, the second in Dubai, Lakmal averages 19.13, playing a significant role in winning both matches.At 35, he’s choosing to look after his financial future, moving to Derbyshire, instead of staying with the Sri Lanka national side, who pay him less than $60,000 a year, not including match fees. Here, for the first time, he appears to be acting in (understandable) self-interest.But in this last Test that he will play – against India – however, remote Sri Lanka’s possibility of pulling off an upset, we should do something most of us don’t really do with Lakmal. Watch him. Watch him close. There are very few magic balls. Only good spells. We can meet him there. He deserves that much.