Swansea recorded their first win in six Premier League games with goals from Pablo Hernandez and Michu enough to see off Wigan at the Liberty Stadium.
The Spanish duo scored within two minutes of each other in the second half to stop the rot for Michael Laudrup’s side and prolong the misery of the visitors who find themselves in familiar territory at the wrong end of the table. Roberto Martinez will be cursing his sides luck after Arouna Kone was denied a late equaliser by the offside flag.
It leaves the Latics without a top-flight win since 25th August although they will be wondering how they didn’t leave South Wales with at least a point to show for their efforts.
Clear goalscoring opportunities were few and far between during a tedious first half with Michu going closest for the home side with a volley that sailed narrowly wide in the 18th minute. Jonathan de Guzman then curled wide from 20-yards before Michel Vorm denied Shaun Maloney from close range at the other end.
Thankfully the second half provided more entertainment value for the supporters and they were treated to three goals in four minutes just after the hour mark. Firstly Hernandez was on hand to break the deadlock in the 65th minute and notch his first Swans goal, scoring with a low effort after fine work from Wayne Routledge.
Two minutes later and Michu had doubled the home sides lead, taking advantage of some lax Wigan defending to head home unmarked from a corner. Emmerson Boyce then set up a tantalising final 20 minutes with an outrageous flicked effort that caught Vorm out in the Swansea goal.
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Wigan thought they’d snatched a point only for Kone’s effort to be chalked off for offside before goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi was sensationally denied by Vorm at the death after meeting a corner with a firm header.
The summer transfer window may have only just slammed shut but we at Football FanCast are already looking forward to it’s winter counterpart.And although Arsenal spent around £80million during the off-season – the fourth most of any Premier League side – there are still a number of issues Arsene Wenger has to address via the transfer market in January.Admittedly, the winter window is never the best time to resolve lingering issues; few clubs are willing to spend big and the majority of players available are usually short of form. But if the Gunners gaffer intends to improve his club’sÂtitle credentials and all-round efficiency, it’s an opportunity he can’t pass by.So without further ado, here’s FOUR transfer dilemmas Arsene Wenger must resolve when the market reopens.
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Decide the fate of Joel Campbell
After netting this sensational strike against Manchester United in the Champions League amid a loan spell with Olympiacos last season:
//www.youtube.com/embed/nloqftNzgYM?rel=0
…in addition to bagging a goal for Costa Rica at the World Cup:
Many expected young winger-forward Joel Campbell to be utilised in a cameo role by Arsene Wenger this season. Thus far however, he’s been granted a token substitute outing in the Community Shield and seen just 16 minutes’ worth of Premier League action. That’s in no small part due to Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck joining the Emirates ranks over the summer, whilst Theo Walcott’s planned return from injury within the next few weeks will further exacerbate the situation. The 22 year-old is desperate for first team football; Campbell’s agent claims he wanted to move to either Roma or AC Milan this summer:
Wenger must grant that wish in January. Either Campbell has the potential to become a future star for Arsenal, and thus needs to gain experience through a loan spell in the Premier League, or he’s surplus to requirements and should be sold whilst interest in the South American is high.
Sign a low-cost centre-back
Arsene Wenger has around £30million to spend in January according to the Daily Mail, and a decent portion of that must be devoted to signing a centre-back.
We’re only five games into the Premier League season and Arsenal have already hit the limits of their defensive depth, with Mathieu Debuchy, Kieran Gibbs, Nacho Monreal and Calum Chambers all recently undergoing spells on the sidelines.
But this issue has existed for some time, namely since the sale of Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona in the summer.
There are a few decent options out there; Winston Reid for example, who was linked with an Emirates switch last January, has shown a remarkable consistency since West Ham returned to the Premier League in 2012.
His contract is up at the end of the season, meaning he’ll likely be available for a pittance, and the 26 year-old would fit the hierarchy of Arsenal’s squad well. Here’s a look at the 2013 Hammer of the Year in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/vhYZjrgfBsA?rel=0
Another candidate is FC Basel’s Fabian Schar, who was once again linked with a move to north London over the weekend:
Whoscored.com rated the 22 year-old as the best defender in the Champions League last season, as detailed below:
And the Swiss international’s World Cup performances weren’t too bad either, making eight interceptions during two outings at Brazil 2014. In a similar vein of thought to Winston Reid, Schar won’t immediately command a place in Arsenal’s starting XI over Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny.
Finding a physical midfielder
To the delight of Arsenal fans who have been aware of this issue for several years, Arsene Wenger revealed last week that he wants to add a physically imposing midfielder to his squad:
The Gunners currently boast great quality and depth in the middle of the park, but with Aaron Ramsey the only regular midfielder who measures in at over 6 foot, a lack of variation in that department is costing Arsenal valuable points against big teams.
The north Londoners were linked to Southampton star Morgan Schneiderlin over the summer and could revisit the France international in January. His form has been nothing short of incredible this season, as detailed below:
…and typified by this curler against Newcastle:
//www.youtube.com/embed/anRtvwoN4iI?rel=0
But rated at around £30million and recently declaring he’s happy at St. Mary’s, the 24 year-old may prove too rich for Wenger’s blood.
Highly-rated Sporting Lisbon star William Carvalho remains an alternative, having recently rejected a new contract with the Portuguese side, but The Metro believe he’ll still cost around £24million.
Nigel de Jong remains a cheaper solution, with the shin-crushing Dutchman’s contract at AC Milan set to expire in the summer, but recent speculation suggests he’s about to sign a new deal.
Sami Khedira’s contract will enter it’s final six months in January too, yet the Real Madrid star’s wage demands were highlighted as a potential stumbling block over the summer.
Thus, in classic Wenger style, signing an athletically gifted holding midfielder will likely have to wait until the summer.
Reduce the wage bill
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For the first time in over a decade, Arsenal’s wage bill now surpasses Chelsea’s, which is completely ridiculous considering where both sides are likely to finish in the Premier League table this season.
Arsene Wenger needs to shift some deadwood in January and one prime candidate for the transfer scrapheap is wide man Lukas Podolski.
The German international is a useful member of the Emirates squad but first team opportunities are likely to dry up in January when Olivier Giroud returns from injury, freeing Danny Welbeck to act as cover for Alexis Sanchez on the right-hand side. Theo Walcott will be back in action soon too.
The 29 year-old’s salary is at £3million per-annum according to recent reports and this money could be better spent in other areas, particularly the defence. Here’s a look at Podolski in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/xfB7id7N_g0?rel=0
It could be worth parting company with Santi Cazorla too; the 29 year-old is a fantastic technical talent but he lost form last year and the Gunners are already privy to a wealth of quality and depth in midfield.
He was strongly linked to Atletico Madrid this summer and currently on £80k per-week, the Spaniard’s departure would significantly reduce Arsenal’s wage bill. Cazorla is a real talent however, here’s a look at some of his silkiest skills in an Arsenal jersey:
Everyone loves Fantasy Football, it dominates our thoughts the closer we get to a new Premier League season, we can spend hours pouring over the information before we settle on our side. A key component of this is picking players that will score goals in positions that don’t normally rely upon them, such as a goalscoring centre-half or full-back. With this in mind, do we overrate goalscoring defenders? Ando do we let them off lightly when it becomes to their defensive deficiencies because they happen to be good at finding the back of the net? Fantasy Football has a lot to answer for….
I’m a sucker for goalscoring defenders may I just say begin with. My fantasy football teams at school always, always included Everton’s David Unsworth (45 goals in 445 games) and Leicester’s Matt Elliott (70 goals in 589 games), with the occasional nod to Julian Dicks (55 goals in 379 games). They were invaluable, the poorness of the defences they played in was completely counter-acted by the points they’d get me for their inevitable solid five-goal a season return. Heck, I even had Gary Cahill (21 goals in 234 games) and Mats Hummels (17 goals in 162 games) in my Euro 2012 side until injury cruelly robbed me of the former, while the other never bloody scored.
The short but simple fact is that everyone loves a goalscoring defender. We love the unexpected nature of their forward forays up the pitch. We love the fact that because they can clear the ball a whopping great distance means, this all of a sudden qualifies them as a free-kick expert. However, does this mean that we shy away from criticising them for doing the job that they are actually paid to do, which is defend?
According to the Premier League’s own player performance index, Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen was the 58th best player in the top flight last term. His season was interrupted by injury on ocassion, but he still managed to complete 29 league games, scoring six goals in the process. He made 29 clearances, 11 blocks and helped his side to 11 clean sheets during his time in the starting eleven. At the other end of the pitch, though, he finished the campaign with 37 shots, five crosses and one assist – not too bad at all for a centre-back it has to be said, certainly more than a lot of the deadwood currently at the club are capable of (I’m looking at you Park Chu-Young and Marouane Chamakh).
On the face of things it would seem like he had a very good season, would it not? However, Vermaelen has developed a worrying propensity to get dragged out of position, as was clearly in evidence during the 3-3 draw against Norwich last season at home, where he was quite frankly all over the place. He was far from his best throughout the course of the campaign, with partner Laurent Koscielny the superior partner for the most part.
Upon arriving in England, it was noted that at just 6ft tall, he looked a tad on the short side to be a commanding centre-half, but his aerial ability is one of his greatest strengths and plays a large part in his prowess in front of goal. To talk about Vermaelen in terms of criticism, he rarely comes in for any flak considering his poor positioning. He’s quick on the ground, mobile and decent on the ball, so anything that isn’t seen as a positive is conveniently glossed over.
Jonny Evans last season was the main beneficiary of Nemanja Vidic’s season-ending knee injury, going on to play 27 times for Manchester United as they were pipped to the post for the title by bitter rivals Manchester City. He has often been made out to be a scapegoat by many fans, yet he managed 30 blocks, 56 clearances and 16 clean sheets in less games than Vermaelen. The crucial difference is he doesn’t offer anything going forward and any mistake at the back is magnified tenfold, whereas with Vermaelen it is not.
We often gloss over the glaring weaknesses in a defender if they manage to chip in with the odd goal. John Arne Riise had an excellent first few years at Liverpool, but then spent his last two seasons trying to replicate his goal against Tottenham from 40 yards out every single time he crossed the halfway line. Matt Taylor suffers from a similar flaw. To call it frustrating to watch would be an understatement, yet at Fulham last season, shorn of his pace at 31 years of age, he looked a much better defender than his final couple of years at Anfield, but he had no goals in 40 appearances to show for it, despite his best efforts at breaking his duck.
Taye Taiwo managed to score 23 goals in 253 games at Marseille, where his job was to bound beyond the winger down the left-hand flank and he became a key part of their style of play. He then moved to AC Milan but struggled, as it seemed nobody actually checked first if he was any good at this defending lark before being farmed out to QPR on loan in the second half of last season. He’s full of energy, built like a tank but seems oddly unsure of where to actually stand when he’s on the back foot and is hugely susceptible to a ball played in behind him, a common occurrence for pacy full-backs these days.
Andreas Granqvist managed to bag 11 goals for Groningen in the Eredivise the year before last, but Wigan fans will remember a defender frightfully out of kilter with the pace of the top flight, yet AC Milan and Inter are rumoured to be interested in the Swede this summer after a decent first year at Genoa in Italy. It’s all about striking the right balance.
Ian Harte, Marco Materazzi, Daniel van Buyten, Naldo, Alex all made headlines for their goalscoring exploits in their respctive leagues over the years but they all have obvious flaws to their game. It’s when the goals become solely what they are remembered for that you start to worry and Vermaelen is in danger of falling into that trap.
The likes of Brazilian centre-half Juan, Sami Hyypia, Robert Huth, Sergio Ramos and Diego Lugano are all remembered for their defending first and foremost, with their attacking prowess just an added bonus, which is why they’re quite rightly regarded as superior players to the aforementioned list above, Vermaelen aside.
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It may not solely be the result of Fantasy Football, but something has become distorted along the way – goalscoring defenders are judged on their abilities further forward just as much as they are on their ability to stem an attack at the back and that’s a worrying trap to fall into. We should treat the goalscoring defender as a positive, they bring unexpected joy to the terraces and every side likes to have one in their side, but they have to be good enough defenders first, otherwise, that’s a slippery slope to head down.
Bayer Leverkusen attacker Leon Bailey is some talent, and there is not a major European club in the world that has not had a look at the Jamaica international.
Bailey only turned 20 last August, but he managed 12 goals and six assists in 34 appearances for Leverkusen during the 2017-18 campaign.
Manchester City are believed to be interested in the attacker, although Leverkusen will surely fight to keep hold of their prized asset.
Bailey was recently pictured alongside Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele, and that prompted the Spurs supporters to comment on the Jamaican.
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Dembele might actually be heading out of Tottenham this summer, but the Spurs fans are desperate for Bailey to make the move to the new White Hart Lane.
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The London club would have to hold off a host of major clubs in order to sign Bailey, but the attacker, who is valued at £40.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, might well fancy linking-up with Harry Kane in the English capital.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Spurs supporters can be seen below:
Em ótima fase na defesa do Botafogo, Gabriel mostrou que ainda não desanimou quanto à classificação de sua equipe para as semifinais da Taça Rio – o único canal para seguir vivo na briga pelo título estadual.
Logo depois da goleada aplicada sobre a Portuguesa, na última quinta-feira, o zagueiro emprestado pelo Atlético-MG afirmou que a concentração na “parte” do Alvinegro pode ser decisiva neste domingo, quando enfrentam o Americano, às 16h (de Brasília), em Bacaxá.
– Enquanto tiver chance de classificação, nós vamos acreditar e brigar por ela. Todos da equipe estão confiantes, concentrados em fazer a nossa parte nos jogos para buscarmos essa vaga. Agora temos o Americano pela frente e com muito respeito vamos até lá buscar mais uma vitória para somarmos mais três pontos – disse, pouco depois de analisar a última partida, no Nilton Santos:
– Fizemos uma grande partida contra a Portuguesa. Todos estão de parabéns pelo desempenho e pelo resultado. A equipe entrou focada e com muita vontade de vencer. Agora é manter essa pegada para enfrentarmos o Americano e tentarmos mais um resultado positivo.
O Botafogo de Gabriel vai enfrentar o Americano e, além de vencer, precisará ficar de olho no quesito saldo de gols, pois precisará tirar uma diferença de saldo de quatro e três gols em relação a Flamengo, que terá que perder o clássico com o Fluminense, e Cabofriense, a encarar o Madureira, fora de casa.
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File photo – Junaid Siddique was part of a 130-run stand in just 17 overs for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmodi Club•BPL T20
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club cantered to an eight-wicket win against Prime Bank Cricket Club in the Dhaka Premier League. They won with 20.1 overs to spare after being set 201 to win in 48 overs.Dilshan Munaweera and Junaid Siddique got their chase off to one of the most scintillating starts this season.The opening pair added 130 runs in just 17 overs. Munaweera blazed 95 off 57 balls with 15 fours and three sixes, completely dominating the opening partnership. Junaid took over after Munaweera’s departure. He hammered an unbeaten 74 off 79 balls with five fours and two sixes.Prime Bank’s bowling was taken to task, particularly Tapash Baisya and Ziaur Rahman, who gave away 18 and 19 off their only overs respectively.Earlier, their new English recruit, Ravi Bopara, made 74 off 78 balls with 12 fours. Gulbadin Naib took four for 31 in seven overs. The match had started an hour late due to a wet outfield in Bogra.Mohammedan Sporting Club reversed their recent poor form with a 42-run win over neighbours Victoria Sporting Club. They had previously lost their last three matches in the league, slipping to eighth position.Batting first, Mohammedan were bowled out for 240 runs in 50 overs with Upul Tharanga making 73, with Ezaz Ahmed and Shamsur Rahman hitting 44 each. Victoria’s makeshift captain, Monir Hossain, took four wickets.In reply, the defending champions couldn’t recover from a poor start, although Milinda Seeriwardana and Soumya Sarkar added 95 for the fifth wicket. Soumya top scored with 57 off 54 balls. But once the pair was removed, left-arm spinner Murad Khan took three wickets to hasten Mohammedan’s fourth victory.Gazi Tank Cricketers handed Abahani a sixth defeat, when they won by 13 runs in Fatullah.Abahani faltered in their chase of 190 runs in 49 overs after rain delayed the start of the match by an hour. They slipped to 52 for four in the 23rd over, after which Thilina Kandamby and Al-Amin added 76 runs for the fifth wicket.The pair, however, batted slowly, which left Alauddin Babu too much to do in the latter overs. He struck a couple of sixes in his 11-ball 24 but it wasn’t enough as they were restricted to 176 for 8.Earlier, Al-Amin’s three-wicket haul helped restrict Gazi Tank to 189 runs. Rakibul Hasan’s 42 was their highest score while Imrul Kayes made 39, with Al-Amin being the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 27.
Um triunfo convincente. Na Arena Fonte Nova, o Bahia recebeu o Salgueiro e venceu por 3 a 0. Com o placar, o Tricolor continua vivo na luta por uma vaga no mata-mata. Agora, a equipe é a quarta colocada do grupo B, com 12 pontos. O time pernambucano é o quarto do grupo A, com seis pontos.
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O jogo
Um primeiro tempo avassalador. Logo no primeiro minuto, Artur recebeu belo passe de Arthur Caíke, invadiu a grande área e tocou na saída do goleiro. Sem deixar o adversário respirar, o Bahia manteve o pé no acelerador e Fernandão aproveitou a cobrança de escanteio para ampliar o marcador.
Com dificuldade de atacar, o Salgueiro pouco fazia quando tinha a posse de bola. Por outro lado, o Tricolor queria definir o confronto na etapa inicial e Fernandão perdeu duas ótimas chances.
No segundo tempo o panorama do jogo permanecia o mesmo. Gilberto que entrou no lugar de Fernandão, recebeu passe de Shaylon na grande área e marcou um golaço.
Com o placar definido, o Esquadrão diminuiu o ritmo e deixou o Salgueiro respirar, mas o clube pernambucano pouco agredia e apenas esperou o fim do jogo para comemorar o triunfo.
Ryan ten Doeschate’s bruising 64 from 32 broke the back of a mediocre Kandurata Maroons total, and all but secured Otago Volts’ place in the Champions League proper
The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando18-Sep-2013 Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRyan ten Doeschate smashed 64 off 32 balls•BCCI
Ryan ten Doeschate’s bruising 64 from 32 broke the back of a mediocre Kandurata Maroons total, and all but secured Otago Volts’ place in the Champions League proper, while very nearly damning their opponents to the opposite fate. The match had been set up again by the discipline of the Otago’s fast men, who kept Kandurata down to 154 for 9, despite the best efforts of Upul Tharanga, who hit 76 from 56.Ten Doeschate had not played the first match of the qualifiers, having not been released in time from Essex to come to India. The match was finely poised at 45 for 2, when he arrived at the crease, but within three overs, he had injected Volt’s innings with the adrenaline that would not abate until the finish.Kandurata’s spinners had prospered in the first ten overs, but legspinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi could extract little turn from the surface, and it was off his first three balls that the match pivoted. Ten Doeschate charged the first, striking it long and straight, before hanging back to wallop his second six, over mid-on this time. The third six was swept flatter and squarer, and after that 20-run over, Otago needed only play sensibly to achieve the target.A short period of consolidation followed that burst, but the boundaries began again in earnest in the 15th over, with James Neesham joining in. A square boundary off Nuwan Kulasekara’s third over gave ten Doeschate his fifty off 26 balls, and when he had departed after another lucrative over, Otago needed only 9 from 17 balls. Neesham needed only five of those.In Kandurata’s innings, Tharanga was starved of his early penchant for off-side boundaries by a shrewd Otago strategy that prevented the kind of start he had achieved in their first match. McCullum placed a cover sweeper almost from the outset, and had his pace bowlers pitch it full and wide. If Tharanga flashed at the ball, he brought the two slips and catching infielders into play. If he played it along the ground, he would not muster enough power into the stroke to earn more than two.Kandurata hit only 25 in the Powerplay as a result, and it wasn’t until Nathan McCullum’s offspin was introduced that Tharanga’s innings finally gained traction. Two balls disappeared long and straight during the eighth over, and Tharanga exacted as heavy a toll in McCullum’s next over, which also went for 15.While he propelled the innings though, Otago made regular gains at the other end. Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne had both hit fifties in the first match, but were dismissed cheaply here, as short spells from Nick Beard and ten Doeschate crimped the scoring rate.Having been 132 for 4 after 17 overs, Kandurata might have felt they should have surged beyond 160, but a fine 18th over from Ian Butler, from which three wickets were gleaned, left Kandurata at a sub-par total. Butler finished with the best figures for the Volts, earning 3 for 21, with James McMillan having taken 1 for 17 from his three overs.This was Otago’s 12th consecutive T20 win, the joint third longest streak in the format and, more importantly, leaves them on the verge of qualifying to the main tournament.
Rangers’ 1-0 win against Braga on Thursday was a truly brilliant result, which means that Steven Gerrard’s side will be lining up against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League Round of 16.
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Florian Kamberi made his contribution in the victory, playing 78 minutes of the game, in which he made one key pass, three clearances and one shot on target, though there is one thing that fans have picked up on: he was offside an awful lot of the time.
It turns out that the forward, on loan from Hibernian, was caught offside on six separate occasions during the match, with only three other players on the pitch even being caught once.
This can perhaps be seen as a cause for concern, considering that he needs to be able to stay onside if he is to truly maximise the threat he possesses.
It is clear that he can do that, as was the case against St. Johnstone, when the 24-year-old made a real impact after coming off the bench, getting a goal and an assist to drag his team to a 2-2 draw – saving further embarrassment from a defeat.
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His goal came from a superbly struck half-volley, while the assist was started by his piece of skill to beat the defender, before he raced behind and sent a low ball towards the front post for Joe Aribo to convert past the goalkeeper.
Kamberi has already shown that by playing on the shoulder and getting behind the defence, he can be a truly dangerous player and real asset for Rangers.
However, the Braga game does show that he needs to manage that – especially against European opposition – in order to ensure he is still getting the most out of that movement, rather than simply straying offside and accidentally killing off attacking momentum.
Meanwhile, Rangers fans have been talking about one man after the Europa League draw.
Kent’s outside hopes of qualifying for the YB40 semi-finals were ended as floodlight failure caused them to lose their penultimate Group A game to Warwickshire by seven runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.
15-Aug-2013 ScorecardDarren Stevens was leading the chase until the floodlight failure•Getty Images
Kent’s outside hopes of qualifying for the Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-finals were ended as floodlight failure caused them to lose their penultimate Group A game to Warwickshire by seven runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.Pursuing 214 for victory at Canterbury, Kent had reached 113 for 4 after 24.3 overs – nine runs shy of the Duckworth/Lewis par score – when generator failure to one of the five floodlights at the St Lawrence ground interrupted proceedings just before 9pm. Talks between the players, umpires and ground officials failed to resolve the issue, and led to the abandonment at 9.20pm due to unsafe conditions.Kent, who needed a seventh win to stay in contention for the knockout phase, had made a faltering start to their pursuit in losing Rob Key for seven to a simple catch to mid-on with their score on 23. Offspinner Ateeq Javid struck again in his next over, having Sam Northeast caught at short midwicket to leave the hosts in trouble at 36 for 2.Brendan Nash and Darren Stevens almost doubled Kent’s total before Nash, backing away to cut a short delivery from Boyd Rankin, edged to the wicketkeeper. With Stevens and Fabian Cowdrey in full flow, Kent posted 100 by the 21st over but soon after Cowdrey was caught behind down the leg side for six when attempting a paddle against Rikki Clarke.With Stevens on 42 and Geraint Jones unbeaten on two the floodlight nearest the lime tree failed after a loud bang and, with half the ground in shadow, the players left the field.Batting first after losing the toss, basement side Warwickshire made a reasonable start through William Porterfield and Varun Chopra, who posted 60 for the first wicket within 14 overs. Kent skipper and England one-day international James Tredwell then disrupted their progress by taking two wickets in consecutive overs from the Pavilion End.Chopra perished when attempting to reverse sweep, only to top-edge to Brendan Nash at backward square leg. Two runs later Jim Troughton slog swept Tredwell to pick out Northeast on the ropes at deep midwicket and depart for just 1.Bears’ veteran Daren Maddy, who is set to retire next month, scored only 4 before his indecisive prod at an Adam Riley arm ball saw him depart leg before to make it 76 for 3 at the mid-point of the Warwickshire innings.Porterfield looked set to anchor the visitors’ innings with a chanceless 70-ball half-century with three fours and a six but, nine balls later, he perished for a well compiled 57. Aiming to drive at former England Under-19 left-arm seamer Adam Ball, Porterfield miscued high to cover where Stevens took a well-judged catch to reduce the visitors to 112 for 4.The Bears regrouped with a fifth-wicket stand of 69 in 8.4 overs between Clarke and Javid until both fell in consecutive overs. Having muscled eight fours in his stay, Clarke drove on the up against Mitch Claydon to be caught at long-off, then Javid’s 44-ball innings ended when he went leg before shovelling across the line to Stevens.Steffan Piolet gifted Stevens a second wicket when he was bowled heaving to leg in the penultimate over to leave Kent facing an asking rate of 5.35 an over for victory.