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Virat Kohli scored a century that looked inevitable to take India to a position from where they could dominate the Test

The Report by Sidharth Monga21-Jul-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
2:07

Manjrekar: ‘WI attack one of the weakest you’ll see’

In the lead-up to this series, India’s captain Virat Kohli arranged a meeting with Viv Richards to take his blessings, in the words of Richards. On the first day of the series, at a ground named after Richards, Kohli showed all the intent that was a hallmark of Richards. He picked five bowlers, going for specialists ahead of those who can bat; he went with Shikhar Dhawan, who brings the possibility of quicker runs than KL Rahul; and he chose to bat when the first session on this pitch was the only one expected to offer bowlers any assistance on the first three days.Most importantly, with India in a spot of bother at 74 for 2 and struggling to score freely, Kohli batted with similar intent, albeit against a limited attack that must have been close to tiring out. He scored an unbeaten 143, his 12th Test century and his first against West Indies, to put India in a position to dominate, a goal they seemed to have set themselves at the start of the series. To make it better for Kohli, his selection of Dhawan paid off. Some considered Dhawan lucky to be playing this Test, he enjoyed some luck against testing bowling at the start of the innings, but he helped India keep a disciplined West Indies attack at bay with his first half-century in eight innings. The two added 105 in 27.1 overs; the previous 74 runs had taken 27.4 overs.India would have expected to work hard for their runs on a slow pitch surrounded by a slow outfield in North Sound, but hands in front of helmets as protective action wouldn’t have been on the agenda. In their first Test under new bowling coach Roddy Estwick, the West Indies attack, thin on numbers but displaying tenacity, tested the Indian top order in the first session. Shannon Gabriel, making a Test comeback after good returns in the ODI triangular series earlier this season, rattled the openers with his pace, accounting for M Vijay with a bouncer, but Dhawan was prepared to fight before capitalising on the second string, an older ball and falling intensity.Play began along expected lines. As opposed to India’s intent, West Indies took the safer route given their limited resources: they picked the extra batsman, debutant Roston Chase, and chose Jason Holder, who on many sheets was marked as an allrounder, to share the new ball. India were expected to look for runs, and relatively quick runs, while West Indies were expected to frustrate India. On the field, it was going to be a test of execution and endurance for West Indies.The execution was near perfect before lunch. In his first spell of 4-2-6-1, Gabriel roughed up both Dhawan and Vijay. Dhawan had the worse of the exchanges, top-edging Holder before fending hopelessly four times in a row against Gabriel. Vijay edged the second bouncer he faced for Kraigg Brathwaite to juggle a catch at second slip. Holder – first spell of 5-2-10-0 – played his part in making Gabriel effective, and Carlos Brathwaite followed it up with a spell of six overs for six runs.Virat Kohli ended the first day in Antigua unbeaten on 143•Getty ImagesDhawan might have had a problem against the short ball, but his discipline outside off and his will to make the bowlers get his wicket stood out. He refused to fall for the sucker delivery after the short ones, shelving his cover drive – playing only seven of them – and indulging only in the late cut off the part-timer Chase, who bowled economical overs of offspin in the first session. Unlike Cheteshwar Pujara, who got stuck and fell for 16 off 67 after a 60-run second-wicket partnership, Dhawan kept finding a way to score. While it was the late cut at the start – 14 runs off five attempts – he began to use his feet towards the end of the first session. He went into lunch with 29 off his last 26 balls, and would come back to get himself in before opening up again.Pujara, though, fell immediately after lunch, getting a leading edge off a short legbreak from the returning Devendra Bishoo. The wicket changed the complexion of the day’s play. With Kohli came the intent to score runs. The flat and slow pitch didn’t call for a watertight technique, so Kohli could take a few liberties, but his attitude of looking to score first before falling back on other options exposed the limited West Indies attack.Until then, West Indies had kept India quiet by bowling well outside off, but Kohli began driving, a shot that can be dangerous early in the innings in some conditions, but not in Antigua. There was no seam, no unfriendly bounce, and the ball was too old to swing. As if a sign of how the West Indies concentration was being tested, Kohli’s first boundary came through a misfield, from Marlon Samuels.Dhawan began to find more authority in his cuts. He upper-cut Gabriel for a six, swept Bishoo and stopped missing chances for singles. All through, Kohli kept driving imperiously. In the 34th over, the run rate reached three for the first time since the third over. The two kept picking ones and twos effortlessly. At one point Kohli pinched a single to Gabriel at mid-off, and told his partner, “He is very tired.” Before you realised it, Kohli had followed Dhawan to a half-century, bringing it up off the 75th ball he faced. Bishoo, though, came back just before tea to trap Dhawan lbw on the sweep.Kohli added 57 with an enterprising Ajinkya Rahane, who like Pujara, saw a short legbreak, shaped to pull but didn’t manage to adjust as the ball stopped and bounced at him. In another sign of intent, India had R Ashwin batting at No. 6, ahead of Wriddhiman Saha. West Indies continued with their conservative approach, happy to slow India down, not taking the new ball and getting in some quiet overs before stumps as Kohli and Ashwin added an unbeaten 66 runs.Kohli brought up what had looked like an inevitable century. Only once was there alarm during his innings. After a mini quiet period, he drove at a wide Brathwaite delivery. The edge flew wide of gully. On this pitch, such a drive to prevent the bowlers from bowling quiet overs wide outside off was a risk worth taking. As was playing five bowlers. Kohli was prepared to take both.

Steven Davies struck 82 to lead his side away from trouble, after which the Surrey batsman reiterated his desire to retake the gloves

Tim Wigmore at Kia Oval19-Jun-2016
ScorecardSteven Davies struck a valuable 82•Getty ImagesOn March 15 2009, a ragtag England side, fresh from being bundled out for 51 en route to defeat in the Test series, faced West Indies in a T20 game in Trinidad. That Andrew Strauss led England’s T20 side embodied their frazzled state.Predictably, England were thrashed. Amid the wreckage of an ignominious defeat a little solace came from the bat of Steven Davies: making his international debut aged 22, Davies top scored with a crisp 27.On Friday, Davies turned 30, an age that invites self-reflection among all of us, but especially in those with career as short as that of professional sportsmen. Davies has much to be proud of: over 10,000 first-class runs at a tick above 40 apiece, and each made with an élan rarely spied on the county circuit.And yet all these runs cannot quite detract from the abiding sense of Davies’ career as being a little unfulfilled. In the seven years since his England debut, Davies has added just 12 more international caps, and has yet to play a Test match. “I’m fairly happy with it,” Davies said of his career to date. “I’ve represented England, which was one of my goals as a young boy.”All his batting qualities were in evidence against Nottinghamshire at The Oval. While Surrey slipped to 172 for 6, Davies remained impervious to the sense of crisis mounting over Surrey’s Division One status. As much as any shots that Kumar Sangakkara played during his 29, Davies’s every stroke oozed elegance.Consecutive boundaries off Brett Hutton – one glided through third man, the other caressed to fine leg of his hips – encapsulated Davies’ ability to reach the boundary without any discernible effort. There are few more aesthetic batsmen on the county circuit, and here that elegance was married with grit: Davies played Jake Ball with meticulous care, leaving the ball with great precision. The shame was that Davies played on for 82 in the evening gloom. In his own judgement, it was a microcosm of his wider challenge to capitalise upon his good starts.”It’s just application. It’s turning those 80s, like I got today, into 120 or 130. I once spoke to Rob Key about batting and he said, ‘You can’t score runs every day, but when it is your day, make sure it’s a massive score.’ For me, it’s turning those decent scores into really big ones, and that will take me to the next level.”Davies’ delicate cuts, played so late that the ball already seemed safely nestled inside the wicketkeeper’s gloves, were also infused with a rather elegiac quality. His aptitude in the first-class game befits a stage greater than a dingy day at The Oval, but Davies might never get it.The debate over Jonny Barstow’s readiness as a Test wicketkeeper, for all his gluttonous recent run-scoring, emphasises that England have lacked an established Test keeper since Matt Prior’s form deserted him three years ago.It was once assumed that Davies would replace Prior. But the tragic death of Tom Maynard, a close friend, in 2012 triggered a collapse in his form, and later a battle with depression. After that fateful year Davies’ form has remained good without ever quite being scintillating, but his England ambitions have been undermined by a decision he made early in the summer of 2014, to stop keeping wicket and play as a specialist batsman instead. Surrey were taken aback. Davies has still made easily enough runs to justify his place in the team, but far from enough to suggest to the England selectors he could play international cricket as a specialist batsman.At the start of this season Davies declared his intent to regain the gloves and, in so doing, maximise his England ambitions. But halfway through the summer, Davies has not kept wicket in a single game, in any format. With each match that passes, so his international ambitions subtly recede.To keep for Surrey, Davies needs to usurp Ben Foakes and also Gary Wilson, who has kept ahead of Davies in white-ball cricket. “I’ve got to bide my time,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but it’s just the way it is. I’m in the last year of my contract so we’ll see what happens at the end of the year.”If he did choose to leave, Davies would not be short of suitors – Essex, Nottinghamshire and Somerset are among the counties potentially attracted by his consistent run-scoring – but might need to accept less than his hefty wage at The Oval. Davies could face a conflict between pursuing his England ambitions and safeguarding his financial future.The greatest reason for that is the eminent potential of Foakes. Trevor Bayliss has spoken about Foakes’ potential as a future England keeper. Here there were glimpses of why: consecutive flicks to the leg-side boundary off Harry Gurney brimmed with panache, even if Foakes’ stay at the crease was too fleeting. Despite Arun Harinath’s 73, which became progressively more fluent as it progressed, there was something worryingly familiar about the meekness of Surrey’s top order.”We need to play tougher, smarter cricket,” Davies said. That he did just that, allied to Nottinghamshire’s reliance upon their opener pair of quicks and the counterpunching of Tom Curran, meant that Surrey were able to salvage a position of near-parity by the close. But, once again, both Davies and his club would have hoped for even better.

Real Madrid and Manchester City played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in the first leg of a mouthwatering Champions League semi-final tie, and there were plenty of battles all over the pitch.

Vinicius Junior and Kevin De Bruyne both scored incredible long-range efforts, in what ended up as a draw that both sides may be happy with.

However, one incident which has sparked a divisive reaction came towards the end of the first half.

Real Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal engaged Jack Grealish in a number of physical battles, and he may consider himself lucky that he was not penalised for some of the heavy-handed tackles he left on the Englishman.

One particularly controversial duel came when Carvajal followed the ball out of play, before sending Grealish hurtling into the advertising boards as he collided with the winger.

Some have argued that this should have been a red card, whilst others encouraged the physical nature of their duels in what was a fiery affair.

The best of the reaction can be seen below. Was Carvajal lucky to escape without a card?

Some fans were sympathetic towards Grealish…

Others were quick to defend it as a regular challenge in a physical game…

Leading the Sunrisers Hyderabad attack in Ashish Nehra’s absence, Bhuvneshwar Kumar says he has picked up several things from the left-arm quick

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2016Two injuries to Ashish Nehra this IPL meant that the responsibility of leading Sunrisers Hyderabad’s attack rested on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s shoulders. Not only has he led that attack, he has also topped the wicket-takers’ list in this IPL with only one match to go. With 23 wickets and an economy rate of 7.50, Bhuvneshwar said that bowling with Nehra had helped him pick up several things about bowling.”When you are bowling together there are little things, like how you set the field, what is the strength of which batsman and so how do you bluff him – little things like that which he talked about which has helped,” Bhuvneshwar told . “And that is probably what I tried to help [Barinder] Sran with. I know that I can’t do what he [Nehra] did with his experience. But I was trying to do and play the role that he did.”When I came to know that Ashish Nehra is injured, there was a bit of extra load that fell on my shoulders. However, if you see the way Sran responded to the situation was very good. He didn’t let the pressure show on him after Nehra’s injury.”Bhuvneshwar has taken wickets in the Powerplay, has stifled batsmen in the slog overs and has varied his pace very well, while being accurate, to deceive the batsmen. He said “bluffing” the batsmen played a crucial role in that.”What happens these days in cricket is that, watching the way you set the field, the batsman knows what you are going to bowl. But as we play more and understand opponents better, we try to bowl against the field that we have set, but not to the extent that it backfires. What we try to do is to be able to bluff the batsman, stop the runs, and get the batsman out.”After conceding only 10 runs in his first two overs against Gujarat Lions in the second Qualifier in Delhi, Bhuvneshwar returned for the 17th and 20th overs. Looking for a late push after Aaron Finch’s quickfire fifty, Dwayne Bravo tried to take on Bhuvneshwar in the last over, but failed. Bhuvneshwar followed a first-ball yorker with a slower delivery and then tried another yorker, which accounted for Bravo.”Bravo was a crucial wicket; he had hit a couple of big boundaries in the earlier over,” Bhuvneshwar said. “So I knew that my over was also a crucial one and I was aiming to keep it to eight to 10 runs. If you see we had conceded about 60 runs in the last six overs. When about four overs were left I thought that we shouldn’t give away more than 30 or 35 runs but that didn’t happen. When it came to Bravo my aim was to try and get him out and not give away more than eight to 10 runs.”The main thing is to see who the batsman is and bowl accordingly. With Bravo, my effort was in trying to bowl a yorker but on the leg stump as he doesn’t hit it so well there. There are little things that you do when you plan for a batsman – like where to bowl a yorker for which batsman, etc. Small things like that matter.”Bhuvneshwar succeeded in sticking to his plan as he conceded eight runs in the final over and finished with figures of 4-0-27-2.”When you are bowling the death overs, you are bound to concede more runs,” he said. “My economy has been around eight runs per over, but I didn’t really have much of a problem with that as you bowl a couple of overs upfront and then a couple of overs later. So that is bound to happen. But the good part is that if you take wickets it gets managed. I have been working on that. I know that if I want to be consistent I have to continuously practice what I have been doing.”With swing his weapon in the early overs and yorkers towards the end, Bhuvneshwar has also picked up some pace to add to his arsenal. He credited it to a training programme he has been following since the Sri Lanka tour last year.”If we talk about pace, we had gone to Sri Lanka a few months back and I started training from there on,” he said. “I was put on to this thing called Power Training. Our trainer, Mr. Basu, helped me a lot as well. I followed the programme given by him. Initially I wasn’t too convinced with it as it was a bit different but gradually as I got into a route of doing the things he had prescribed, it helped. Now, between games too I do what is needed to maintain things.”Sunrisers will now run into Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have been riding on their batting might, led by in-form batsmen Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Bhuvneshwar kept it straightforward and said they would have plans for Kohli.”Everyone knows he is a world-class batsman and the kind of form he is in, it is difficult to bowl to him. But when you are playing against such an opponent, you too want to perform and to get him out. We will definitely have our plans for him. I hope that we will be able to successfully implement our plans.”

Leeds United's bid for Premier League survival continues on Sunday afternoon, with the Yorkshire side set to take on AFC Bournemouth with the aim of ending their recent four-game run without a win.

While the Elland Road outfit did stop the rot with a draw against Leicester City in midweek after suffering three successive defeats prior to that, Javi Gracia's men are currently in a perilous position, with a return to the second tier a very real possibility.

In need of a positive result this time around, the Whites are faced with a Cherries side who look to be edging ever closer to securing their own top-flight status, with the south coast outfit now seven points clear of the drop following their win over bottom-side Southampton just a few days ago.

Leeds go into that mouthwatering meeting having come out on top when the two sides previously met back in November, with then-boss Jesse Marsch steering his team to a thrilling, 4-3 victory on home soil, despite having been 3-1 down on the day.

One man who was integral to that second-half comeback was peripheral figure, Sam Greenwood, with it perhaps time for the promising Englishman to be handed the chance to yet again run riot against Gary O'Neil's men.

Will Greenwood start against Bournemouth?

With Patrick Bamford having suffered a 'dreadful miss' last time out – as per Yorkshire Evening Post's Graham Smyth – it may be wise to push leading scorer Rodrigo into a centre-forward berth, leaving a space available to be filled in the number ten berth.

Although the obvious candidate for that role would be summer signing Brenden Aaronson, the United States international has "failed to make the step up from the Austrian Bundesliga to the Premier League", according to writer Zach Lowy, having scored just once and provided only three assists in the league this term.

As such, rather than looking to the 22-year-old to offer a creative spark in a playmaking role, Gracia could instead turn to young Greenwood from the start against the Cherries, despite the 21-year-old having started just two league games this season.

While the former Arsenal man has only recorded three goal involvements in the top flight this term, the £30k-per-week man registered two of those in the reverse fixture against tomorrow's opponents, scoring once and providing one assist in that 4-3 triumph.

The Sunderland-born ace was notably hailed as "phenomenal" by BBC pundit James McFadden for his goal to help spark the comeback on the day, whipping the ball into the roof of the net from range in exquisite fashion.

It was also Greenwood's corner that was subsequently headed home by captain Liam Cooper to draw the home side level, with the playmaker able to provide three key passes in total after replacing Aaronson just after the break.

That stunning cameo earned the 5 foot 11 ace a standout 8.2 match rating, as per Sofascore – the highest of any player for either side – having been lauded for his 'huge quality' in helping to drag his side to victory, as per Leeds Live's Beren Cross.

The hope will be that the young gem can replicate those feats at the Vitality Stadium, with Greenwood potentially representing something of a secret weapon for Gracia and co.

Chelsea have endured a woeful season by their standards and that comes after spending millions across the summer and winter transfer windows over the previous year.

Following the hiring of Frank Lampard last month on an interim basis until the end of the season, Todd Boehly is now on his fourth manager of the campaign and things have to change this summer otherwise a dangerous precedent will set in, and they will become just another big club who hires and fires on a whim.

There will need to be a few players heading out of the Stamford Bridge exit door this summer due to the financial fair play regulations and the club have a few quality assets which could generate a tidy sum.

Mason Mount is one of them, with the attacking midfielder having been linked with a move away, of late as Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle United all show interest in the Englishman.

With just one year remaining on his contract, if Chelsea were to sell, this summer is their only chance to make a solid profit on the player, and they could hit the jackpot considering his current value.

How much is Mason Mount worth?

The 24-year-old has emerged through the Chelsea academy to become one of the finest players in the team since making his debut under Frank Lampard back in 2019.

He has gone from strength to strength at the club during those four seasons, working under Lampard, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter while winning the Champions League in 2021.

Mount is fast approaching 200 appearances for Chelsea, and although he perhaps hasn’t enjoyed the most lucrative time of it during this term, last season saw the midfielder at his very best under the German coach.

Across 53 matches in all competitions, Mount scored 13 goals and grabbed 16 assists as Chelsea came so close to glory in the League and FA Cup finals, being denied on both occasions by Liverpool, however, his attacking contributions turned him into a key player for club and country.

It’s no wonder then that journalist Benjamin Lynch dubbed the Englishman as “generational” late last year due to his performances and his soaring value is now a testament to just how impressive he has been.

Indeed, Football Transfers suggested the player's expected transfer value will fall around a staggering sum of €73.8m (£65m) and with plenty of potential suitors keen on the maestro, Boehly could land a major profit by selling him during the summer transfer window.

Chelsea are "closer than ever" to appointing Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, according to an update from journalist Fabrizio Romano in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Pochettino vs Nagelsmann for Chelsea?

The Blues are continuing to work hard on announcing a new boss in the near future, with the individual in question not expected to take charge until the summer. Frank Lampard will remain as manager until the end of the season, with these last few fixtures almost not coming quickly enough.

For a while, it looked as though Julian Nagelsmann was the strong favourite to become Chelsea's latest manager, but the former Bayern Munich man has since dropped out of the race, reportedly citing issues with the recruitment process as the reason for it.

Now, it looks as though Pochettino will take charge, in a move that may not go down too well with Tottenham supporters, following his stint there previously. A new update has emerged overnight regarding the situation – one that further suggests that this is almost a done deal.

Is Pochettino joining Chelsea?

Taking to Twitter, Romano said that a deal to bring in the Argentine has "never been closer" after a new development in talks on Monday night. As expected, he won't come in until the summer:

"Mauricio Pochettino, now closer than ever to get Chelsea manager job after new crucial round of positive talks tonight. Negotiations entering final stages — still waiting for formal contract to be sent, checked and signed. Pochettino would join in June, NOT now."

Pochettino feels like an exciting appointment for Chelsea, and while some may point at a lack of trophies during his managerial career, there is more to a manager than simply winning silverware.

Granted, his only three successes have come at Paris Saint-Germain, where there is not exactly stiff competition compared to other leagues, but he reached the 2019 Champions League final with an underfuned Spurs side and had them playing an attack-minded brand of football along the way.

Chelsea have a strong squad that can be utilised by the right manager and Pochettino's man-management skills could get the best out of struggling figures such as Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix, for example, and his time away from management may have refreshed him.

The fact that Spurs fans will dislike the appointment could be an added bonus in the eyes of some Chelsea supporters, given the rivalry between the two clubs, but most importantly, the Blues would be acquiring the services of a top manager with a point to prove.

Chelsea lost 2-1 to Brighton on Saturday as Frank Lampard’s winless run as Blues boss continued.

The former midfielder was given the job for a second time prior to the meeting with Wolves a week ago but his record since has been poor.

Graham Potter is now long gone but the football isn’t improving and the team selections are only getting stranger.

The Londoners have now lost three games in a row under Lampard’s stewardship, having scored just once in that time frame.

A woeful record of 30 goals in 31 games shows exactly where they need to improve the most next term, which makes previous business in the transfer window all the more perplexing.

Romelu Lukaku is currently on loan at Inter Milan, Tammy Abraham has already been sold to Roma, and the divisive Timo Werner is now thriving back in Germany.

How has Werner played since leaving Chelsea?

The striker has been hugely impressive after moving back to Leipzig where he recently took his Bundesliga tally to 100 strikes this weekend.

Typically, on a day where Chelsea were lacking cutting edge and finesse, the German came up with a goal-of-the-season contender against Augsburg, having scored twice in the same game.

Kevin Kampl sent a looping ball forward into the path of the 27-year-old who took one touch to set himself 20 yards or so from goal before unleashing a thunderous volley into the back of the net.

It was the type of ruthlessness that Chelsea fans have simply been crying out for of late, with Werner sending a timely reminder of his qualities.

That took the £171k-per-week forward’s tally for the campaign to 16, seven more than the Stamford Bridge outfit’s top scorer in Kai Havertz.

The reaction to the goal was one of disdain from most Chelsea supporters. You can check out some of the best from social media below…

Some supporters seemed to think they should have cashed in on Havertz instead…

While another aimed the blame at fellow German, Thomas Tuchel, for even offloading him in the first place…

Leeds United's survival hopes were dealt a significant blow this afternoon at home to fellow strugglers, Crystal Palace, with the visitors running out 5-1 winners following a remarkable second-half display at Elland Road.

It had initially been a scintillating start for the Whites as they took a deserved lead through Patrick Bamford's guided header, only for compatriot Marc Guehi to convert at the other end on the stroke of half-time to drag the away side level.

That sucker punch just before the break appeared to knock the stuffing out of Javi Gracia's men as they simply capitulated in the second period, with Jordan Ayew bagging a brace, while both Odsonne Edouard and Eberechi Eze also got in on the act to rub further salt in the wounds.

Such a Jekyll and Hyde performance from the Yorkshire side will no doubt have Gracia tearing his hair out, with the performance of captain Luke Ayling likely to be of particular concern, with the Englishman having been simply woeful in that stunning collapse.

The former Bristol City man was particularly erratic on the ball as he lost possession on 31 occasions, while also proving culpable in the Eagles' second of the day, having merely allowed the aforementioned Ayew to head home.

Unsurprisingly, the 31-year-old's grim outing – in which he won just six of his 21 duels and was dribbled past on six occasions – saw him record the worst match rating of the lot, according to Sofascore, having been awarded a dismal 5.4/10.

The struggling full-back was not alone in having stunk the place out at Elland Road, however, with fellow defender Pascal Struijk having also endured a grim afternoon against Roy Hodgson's men.

How did Struijk perform against Palace?

The 23-year-old centre-back was at the 'eye of that second-half storm', according to Leeds Live's Beren Cross, as he was among those who simply could not live with the fluid nature of Palace's relentless forward line.

As 90min's Jack Gallagher noted, the former Netherlands youth international notably 'struggled to deal with Edouard's movement', with the home side likely ruing the absence of the stricken Max Wober in that left-sided berth.

The 54-touch dud, like Ayling, was also far too easily beaten as he was dribbled past four times in total, having also been rather lightweight at the heart of the backline after losing eight of his 12 total duels, including winning just one of his four aerial duels.

That is a worrying record indeed for the 6 foot 3 asset, with Yorkshire Evening Post writer Graham Smyth correctly summating that Stuijk looked like a 'rabbit in headlights at times' in that latter 45 minutes.

Those woes are laid bare by the fact that the £50k-per-week brute was also awarded a meagre 5.5 match rating, as per Sofascore, with that the second-worst rating of any player on the day, just marginally ahead of Ayling.

There is no doubt that Stuijk and his teammates will be hoping to forget this Easter horror show as soon as possible.

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is struggling behind the scenes as a result of recent changes to key figures in the club's board over the last two years.

Is it time for ENIC to sell?

Spurs are certainly enduring some major struggles both on and off the field in north London with their hopes of Champions League football taking a significant hit over recent weeks.

Adding to their issues has been the recent parting of ways with Antonio Conte and more recently the stepping down of their director of football, Fabio Paratici.

Frustrations among sections of the Spurs fanbase are seemingly growing with their chairman as some chant for him to leave the club along with Joe Lewis.

And speaking on Matt Hayes' YouTube channel, journalist Matt Law has suggested he's heard Levy is stretched across different issues behind the scenes with less experienced figures now in high-ranking positions:

(14:00) "Look, in terms of him isolating himself. There's been a massive change of heads of department over the last two years and going back from that, and it feels like he has less and less experienced people to lean on in these situations and to take charge of different departments and things.

"And I've had it said to me, that his he's stretched all over the place because of this and he's listening to so many different voices and the decision-making has become muddled. Now that's just what's been said to me."

Where do Spurs go from here?

There have been reports suggesting ENIC could look to sell with a number of potential investors – including one from Qatar – believed to have shown an interest in recent months.

However, there have also been claims that if a potential takeover was to happen, Levy could look to remain involved with the club.

And it seems the uncertainty has trickled through the club with Tottenham currently having no permanent manager in charge of the men's nor the women's team.

The club are also now without a director of football after Paratici stepped down on the back of his upgrade worldwide ban from football.

And now four years on from being opened to the Spurs faithful, the club have not been able to secure a sponsorship deal for the naming right of their state-of-the-art stadium.

Their issues do not end there with the future of their all-time record goalscorer, Harry Kane, also in doubt going into the summer transfer window.

Perhaps what is also an issue for Spurs fans is their chairman is very rarely heard from apart from the occasional written club statements.

And at a time when the club is facing many uncertainties, perhaps it could settle some concerns if the chairman was to speak about the steps he is putting in place to rectify the issues.

There is a big game at Goodison Park for Spurs on Monday night and there is certainly potential for the travelling Spurs fans to voice their frustrations with the current issues at the club.