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According to The Sun journalist Tom Barclay, at least one of Southampton’s three senior goalkeepers will leave the club this summer.

The Lowdown: Goalkeepers out of contract

Fraser Forster has played every minute for the Saints since coming back into the side in December as a result of Alex McCarthy picking up a long-term thigh injury,

However, he could now be on the move following news that the club are reportedly committed to keeping McCarthy as their first-choice shot-stopper, having only put pen to paper on a new deal at St Mary’s at the end of last season.

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Willy Caballero’s time could also be coming to an end under Ralph Hasenhuttl following a lack of game-time, with the 40-year-old having made just four appearances since joining the Saints.

All but McCarthy will be out of contract in June, and Barclay has suggested that at least one of them will be on the move over the summer.

The Latest: Saints likely to let one leave

When asked how he believes Southampton’s transfer business will pan out, Barclay told GiveMeSport:

“I’m not sure about a rebuild, because there’s a lot of good stuff being done, but adding a few and letting a few go would help. When you look at it, the goalkeepers, at least one of them will go.”

The Verdict: Johnstone an ideal replacement

While there seems little doubt that McCarthy will be in control of the gloves at the start of next season, Hasenhuttl will need to sign a suitable replacement should one of the existing goalkeeping trio depart, and that person could be West Brom’s Sam Johnstone.

The 29-year-old is set to become a free agent in the summer following the expiry of his contract with the Baggies, and it has been reported by the Daily Mail that the Saints are said to be interested in his services.

Johnstone has kept 15 clean sheets for the Championship outfit this season and has previous top-flight experience having been in the Premier League with Albion last term, so a possible move to a mid-table team like Southampton could have the potential to revive his career for both club and country.

In other news… the Saints have joined the transfer race for this ‘big player

Earlier, his bat used to point to first slip at the point of the bowler’s delivery. Now it’s over middle and off stump, but there’s been teething issues

Karthik Krishnaswamy02-Sep-2019Was that a defensive shot, or was it a leave? If you watched KL Rahul scratch his way to 6 off 63 balls on Sunday, the question would have popped into your head on several occasions.It usually happened when West Indies’ fast bowlers hit the short-of-good-length area in the corridor outside off stump. Rahul would push his bat at the ball, and then, having made contact, withdraw it hastily, as if he’d just touched a blazing skillet.He’d been out playing the same sort of half-shot in the first innings, getting squared up by a ball from Jason Holder, nicking to first slip, and then pulling his bat away futilely with an elaborate flourish.Batsmen often shadow-practise the shot they have played after they are beaten or dismissed; with Rahul, the shadow-practice seems to begin as soon as he’s made his mistake, as if to say, “wait, I’ve taken that shot back!”His dismissal on Sunday was a little different, off a front-foot defensive shot to a delivery from Kemar Roach that left him late in the corridor. But again, his bat, having felt for the ball, shrunk back guiltily after edging it.Rahul didn’t look like he was simply watching the ball and reacting to it. He seemed preoccupied with thoughts of where his feet were, where his head was, and how his bat was coming down.The uncertainty was understandable. Since the start of 2018, Rahul has averaged 22.23 across 15 Test matches, scoring one hundred, against England at The Oval, and one fifty, against Afghanistan in Bengaluru. His career average, which stood at 44.62 before this lean run, has now slumped to 34.58.In that time, he’s made a few technical adjustments, possibly prompted by a run of nine straight innings – in England, and against West Indies at home – in which he was either bowled or lbw.The most visible change is in the pick-up of his bat. In 2017, and through most of 2018, Rahul’s bat used to point to first slip at the point when the bowler let fly. During the Australia tour at the turn of the year, his pick-up became a little straighter, with his bat pointing over the top of off stump, perhaps to ensure that he didn’t leave too big a gap between bat and pad. The change didn’t bring him any immediate reward – he only managed one double-digit score in five innings.

KL Rahul has changed the way he picks up his bat, and the extent of his trigger movement. It hasn't changed his Test-match fortunes, just yet. pic.twitter.com/49CMISIIKS

— Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk) September 1, 2019

On the West Indies tour, he’s been holding his bat up even straighter, over the top of middle and leg stumps, and his back-foot trigger movement isn’t taking him as far across his stumps as it used to.His indecision in the middle suggests that he’s still getting used to his new technique. It can’t be easy to be playing international cricket with a set-up you aren’t fully comfortable with, but that’s the way of the modern game – particularly if you’re an India player – with no off-season and hardly any gaps between series to fine-tune your game.India might have given him a break here if their other first-choice opener had been available, but Prithvi Shaw’s suspension has almost forced them to pick Rahul. And with the ability he has, he isn’t an easy batsman to leave out in the first place.Rahul’s struggle is hard to watch, and it must be even harder to experience. But hidden somewhere amid all the indecision is a top-class batsman who not too long ago made ten 50-plus scores in the span of 14 Test innings. India will hope Rahul can rediscover that batsman sooner rather than later.

After a stuttering start, James Anderson’s career has gathered pace to become one of the most prolific in Test cricket

Shiva Jayaraman08-Sep-2017James Anderson’s early career showed little indication that he would go on to achieve what only five bowlers and two fast bowlers managed before him – 500 Test wickets. After his first 20 Tests, played over four years, during which he endured loss of form, a stress fracture and a remodeled action, Anderson had taken 62 wickets at an average of 39.20. At that point, his average ranked 73rd among 76 England bowlers who had taken at least 50 Test wickets. It was hardly a start that suggested one of the most prolific bowling careers in Test cricket.Then came what was perhaps the watershed moment in Anderson’s career: England sought replacements for their pace-bowlers after the bashing they received in the Hamilton Test in 2007-08. And Anderson responded with figures of 7 for 130 – including a five-for in the first innings – in the next Test in Wellington.That timely haul marked the beginning of Anderson’s growth as a fast bowler. By his 50th Test, he had evolved considerably in terms of repertoire and consistency, which also reflected in his career numbers: 181 wickets at an average of 32.08, an overall improvement in a career bowling average of over seven runs from his first 20 matches. After 50 Tests, Anderson had taken ten five-wicket hauls, two more than any other England bowler since his debut, despite missing almost half the Tests he could have played in that period.If there is one recurring theme in Anderson’s career, it is continuous evolution and that is borne out by the numbers. In his next 50 Tests, Anderson took 203 wickets at an average of 27.72. His bowling average had dropped under 30 for good by the time he had played his 100th Test in 2015. Incredibly, Anderson’s career has been on an upswing even after his 100th Test. In the 28 matches since, Anderson has taken 113 wickets at an average of 20.82. This is the best any bowler, with at least 50 wickets, has averaged during this period.

In fact, among bowlers who have played over 100 Tests, no other bowler boasts an average post-100 matches as good as Anderson’s. In this regard, that he averages better than bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh speaks volumes about his quality.ESPNcricinfo Ltd500 wickets into his career, Anderson now seems to have only hit the peak of his prowess. In terms of bowling average, Anderson’s best 20-match streak in his career was from the Ashes Test at Edgbaston in 2015 to the final Test of the recently concluded series against South Africa. In this time, he took 81 wickets at an average of 18.76. That is a difference in average of more than 20 runs per wicket when compared with the first 20 Tests of his career, when he averaged 39.20. No other bowler in Test history has had such a big difference between the beginning and the peak of their career.ESPNcricinfo LtdAdmittedly, Anderson is more successful at home than when he is playing outside England. No pace-bowler in Test history has taken as many wickets at home as he has. Outside England, he has taken 171 wickets in 53 matches at an average of 33.46 – almost ten runs more than his average at home. Of the 44 pace-bowlers who have taken at least 150 wickets outside England, Anderson’s average ranks 40th.

Like his career, however, his performance in away Tests, too, has improved over the years. Even though he is not as effective a strike bowler when playing outside England as he is at home, he has found ways to make batsmen work hard for their runs. Anderson played 19 of his first 50 Tests away from home and took 52 wickets at an unenviable average of 43.84. In the 23 matches that he played outside England in his next 50 Tests, Anderson improved his average to 31.18 while taking 82 wickets. Eleven of his last 27 Tests have been outside England and in those matches, his average has improved further to 23.91.ESPNcricinfo LtdOnly four of his 22 five-fors have come outside England and none of them have come in the 13 Ashes Tests he has played in Australia. The forthcoming Ashes series will be a good time to add a first to that tally. He could possibly overtake Courtney Walsh’s tally of 519 Test wickets by the time the series ends. The odds of surpassing Glenn McGrath’s tally of 563 are slightly against Anderson, given he is 35 years old. The chances of him reaching this milestone, however, weren’t high either, for no bowler before him who averaged 35-plus after 20 Tests ended up with 500 wickets. Or even 400 for that matter.

Plays of the day from the fourth T20I between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, in Khulna

Mohammad Isam22-Jan-2016The belated sprintIn the fifth over of Zimbabwe’s innings, Hamilton Masakadza ripped his wrists to lift Taskin Ahmed over midwicket. He did not follow the path of the lofted shot, but suddenly he looked up and saw the ball going too high without a fielder under it. Thinking it could fall inside the rope, he started to run while his partner Richmond Mutumbami kept strolling. However, the ball had by then ended up in the stands at midwicket.The clumsy dropRichmond Mutumbami slammed Abu Hider for two fours past mid-off and mid-on before the left-armer tricked him with a slower bouncer. Mutumbami top-edged an attempted pull towards Taskin Ahmed at short fine-leg, but Taskin dropped an absolute sitter, the ball hitting his head before dropping down on the ground. Taskin would have felt a bit of relief when the captain Mashrafe Mortaza himself dropped Masakadza a few overs later.The cathartic roarAfter the dropped catch, Taskin had a better day bowling three very good overs. He also took the important wicket of Malcolm Waller who was looking dangerous for Zimbabwe. Taskin’s celebration after he nailed Waller with a yorker was one to remember, as he ran hard past his team-mates and screamed towards the crowd. Perhaps he was told a few things after the dropped chance.The short gap finderNeville Madziva bowled Tamim Iqbal with a slower delivery that ended up as a yorker, and found very little gap between the batsman’s jammed down bat and slow feet. The gap was miniscule, perhaps as wide as the ball itself. But it stunned Tamim, even as the bowler ran off in celebration. Replays confirmed that it was a precisely bowled slower delivery.

After being pushed on to the defensive in the field, it is up to India’s batsmen to try and prevent a return to the bad old days of touring

Sidharth Monga at the Ageas Bowl28-Jul-2014A five-Test series was always going to be a challenge for India. In the second half of the first back-to-back Tests, at Lord’s, they gave it their all: batsmen showed discipline for long hours, bowlers bowled long testing spells, MS Dhoni went against the grain and showed rare aggression and tactical nous as captain. But the question always was, how much did it take out of India?In Southampton, Ishant Sharma was ruled out with an injury broadly described by India as a “sore leg”, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was down on intensity, with the ball not seaming as much as it did at Lord’s, and Mohammed Shami’s lack of discipline became exposed when others around him didn’t bowl that well. Now it’s down to the batsmen once again to make sure India do not fall back to the bad old days.It didn’t help India that their slips give no confidence to the bowlers – another catch went down, another catch that the wicketkeeper should have gone for – but the bigger concern would be that they decided too early that the pitch was too flat and that they couldn’t win the match. As early as the middle session of the second day, India went to Ravindra Jadeja as their main bowler, who darted balls into the pads with a six-three leg-side field.There wasn’t much success for India’s bowlers to celebrate over the first two days•Associated PressThe pursuit, like it was in Durban when they didn’t take the second new ball until they were forced to after 146 overs, seemed to just contain and delay England’s declaration. It is up for debate if thinking of a draw when your enforcing bowler is injured, you have a long series to go through, and you have the series lead, is such a bad thing, but that attitude can lead to dropping of intensity. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who bowled tirelessly at Lord’s for six wickets in the first innings, echoed what was happening out there.”Wicket is flat, easy for batsman,” Bhuvneshwar said. “We tried our best as a bowling unit but we have had two long days.”The two long days led to extreme steps by Dhoni. In the middle session of day two, he had his bowlers bowling one-over spells for a long period. The 16th over after lunch was the first time a bowler had bowled two continuous overs from the same end. When Bhuvneshwar created an opportunity in the second half of the session, he was rewarded with another over. He was testing still, but that’s all he got. Debutant Pankaj Singh was brought on for the next over, and the first ball he bowled was a leg-side loosener. That can happen when you don’t let the bowlers get into any rhythm.Bhuvneshwar, though, said the number of overs they have bowled justified that extreme rotation of bowlers. “I found that really easy, being in the field for one-and-a-half days we were really tired,” Bhuvneshwar said. “Skipper wanted us to bowl one-over spells. By then we were in rhythm as well and we were not getting tired. Personally we found that easy.”When asked about conceding boundaries on both side of the wicket, Bhuvneshwar brought up fatigue again. “When [Gary] Ballance and [Alastair] Cook were batting, the situation demanded that we bowl on one side,” Bhuvneshwar said. “Sometimes we were tired, been a long day in the field, it is natural, we are human beings. We tried our best to bowl in a particular area. We tried different strategies.”The slips’ slips can’t be put down to tiredness, though. Bhuvneshwar sounded forgiving, although you can’t expect him or a lot of other India players to accept in a press conference that there is something wrong with them. “Being a bowler you have to know they are going to take some catches, and they are going to drop a few,” Bhuvneshwar said. “Every team drops a few catches, but you have to trust the fielder. You can’t ask anyone to come out of the slips. All you want is to give them confidence. It happens in cricket that catches are dropped. So far, in all three matches it has been good for us.”Tired bowlers, one injured bowler, dropped catches, dropped pace, captaincy waiting for declaration, an early wicket before stumps, it all sounds like a perfect recipe for disaster. India will dearly love to go to Old Trafford still ahead in the series but their batsmen have a long way to go to ensure that, going by how well James Anderson bowled in that seven-over burst and how the pitch has responded to his pace as opposed to India’s put-it-there bowlers.

From David Balme, New Zealand Had the Champions Trophy gone ahead as scheduled, this tournament would be only relevant for who is here – not in Pakistan

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013David Balme, New Zealand
Had the Champions Trophy gone ahead as scheduled, this tournament would be only relevant for who is here – not in Pakistan. Now it is a tournament that previews a Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and gives a window on the future of New Zealand Cricket.New Zealand need to find a couple more international players to make an international team, they have been described as rebuilding, this means the only international players they had last generation are gone; not that the house fell down, as it seems to be doing as I write with Bangladesh. But rather, some have moved down the road to the rest home and none have yet stepped up from high school to fill there boots. India has home advantage, they are at home, yes, but sometimes you wonder if this is a blessing or a hindrance with the scrutiny they get. More importantly they have a large group with international experience. This reflects a combination of the Indian selection panel being indecisive, and the amount of cricket played by India. At least a couple of the top order they would put out could be a near automatic selection in the top team in New Zealand.The New Zealand A squad is a mixture of those who have been in and out of the NZ top squad, and seasoned domestic campaigners who have strung two good seasons together. Reflective of its true strength would be a comparison of the batting averages, only Fulton has a first class average over 40. The batting might struggle either against Australian pace or Indian Spin. Their strength is they will become a team faster than the other two sides. The weakness is the question; do they have a quality anywhere on the field to succeed? Particularly can they conquer a tendency to face to many dot balls between the power plays and over 40? Players to watch Overall: Peter Fulton: A right-hand top order batsman. Tall, able to play pace and spin, correct all around the clock, and with a full ODI hundred. Fulton is near unique in the current NZ domestic scene, he averages >40 in First class and >30 in List A cricket. Last year was a terrible time to step up to the test number 3 spot.Batting: Neil Broom: A right-hand middle order batsman. Broom had been a quiet achieve, with lots of contributions, but to few big scores. His average in the high 30’s in both forms shows ability, but the chances to step up under pressure have not occurred – this is a chance to shine.Bowling: Jeetan Patel: Off-Spinner. Patel has not got a great record, welcome to the life of a spinner in Australasia, but has played above himself in a NZ shirt. Also a death bowling specialist, something NZ always needs. These should be his conditions for a change.Australia A have the most battle hardened players on show, it is clear that in the last two decades, anyone regularly making an Australian domestic team could be close to international cricket elsewhere. Their strength is aggressive batsmen capable of big scores fast, and aggressive pace bowlers capable of big halls. The weakness is spin.Cameron White has yet to show even a domestic level of spin ability, he should be targeted by the Indian batting. Players to watch Overall: Cameron White: A right-hand middle order batsman, and Leg spin bowler. His batting should win games, captaincy might win games, and his bowling could lose games. Using his bowlers well and stepping up his own bowling effort will be the keys for success.Batting: Adam Voges: A right-hand middle order batsman. Seems the most likely to step up a class, particularly in the one day arena. Hits hard and often, also very at good at closing an innings. Voges needs to learn how to score hundreds to become an international, hopefully this is the message from the selectors. As such he should bat higher than 6.Bowler: Doug Bollinger: A left-arm quick, Bollinger had a very poor record till last season he sparked. Could play in the Border-Gavaskar, left arm quicks are valued everywhere.A Point to Prove, Shaun Tait: Has shown in the past that he is the quickest bowler around at the moment. Is he well rested, or will the scatter gun miss the target. He needs to learn control and some variation in is second life.Possible Performer: Peter Siddle: Has had good reviews and has also been noticed by the Australian selection panel. His record looks excellent. If he can stay fit enough to show it.India A This is a line up some nations would want to swap with whole sale. It’s time that the players who have been there step up, and the ones who want a go to show that they have got it. The batting is a mix of those who couldn’t keep a place higher up and those who deserve a go. It looks, skilled, inventive, hard hitting, and competent. The pace attack is not sharp, but should be skilled. The spinners are useful with Chawla’s leg spin likely to be telling. It is a surprise that a third spinner has not been selected.India A’s strength is that they have the longest middle order in the competition with some capable batters right down to the more experienced bowlers. Both the other sides look a bit weak at this level after number 6. The weakness is teamwork. So many of the players in this India A side will be looking out for themselves, they may forget that the team needs to win too.Selecting a batting order here will be a nightmare. The biggest problem will be leaving quality players too late in the order to have an effect. Badrinath should bat high enough to show his class as a constructor of big innings as he has never been given the top team chance the others have.A Point to Prove, Robin Uthappa: Is capable of more than he has shown recently. He also has the advantage of 50 overs to bat. He should be capable of influential innings.Enjoy the tournament.

Plays of the Day from the Group A match between Canada and Zimbabwe in Nagpur

Nagraj Gollapudi in Nagpur28-Feb-2011Colour of the day
Red. And no, it wasn’t the film in the Krzysztof Kieślowski trilogy. It was the colour that jarred the eye in Nagpur, with both Zimbabwe and Canada wearing similar hues of blood red. Such was the stark similarity in the colours that it felt as though only one team was playing. With Pakistan and Kenya also sporting a similar green, would it not be better for cricket to adopt the same approach as soccer, where a team has the option of first-choice and alternative colour to avoid any clashes?The glaring miss
Tatenda Taibu tried a pre-meditated sweep against a full toss from Balaji Rao. The bottom edge bounced off his pads into no-man’s land on the leg side, but the Canadians appealed for lbw and Asad Rauf readily raised his finger. Taibu instantly asked for the review and immediately, and correctly, got the decision reversed. The angle was straight, the ground was empty, it was close to noon and bright, but Rauf did not see or hear the edge. Thankfully, technology came to Taibu’s rescue and did not create a debate like the one that angered India captain MS Dhoni on Saturday evening.The winning hand
Ray Price pitched the ball on a length around off stump and Nitish Kumar, the youngest player in the tournament making his World Cup debut, hit an airy drive that seemed going towards mid-off. Price, who usually bowls from wide of the crease, was on his follow-through and just skipped a couple of yards further to his left to take a beauty with his outstretched left hand.The Raspberry
John Davison, Canada’s most experienced player. Canada expected a lot from him today but he was all smoke and no fire. Leave aside his bowling figures (7-0-56-0), more disillusioning was his choice of shot against Price. Price was bowling his first over, the second over of the innings. To the third ball he faced, Davison stepped out and attempted a wristy flick over midwicket. Unfortunately for him, Price, having read the batsman’s mind early, had given loop and Davison was beaten and bowled.

Martin Williamson looks at the man behind the series of Wisden Almanack reprints

Martin Williamson27-Aug-2006

Over the last couple of decades the price of old copies of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack have escalated beyond the reach of most collectors. To a certain cross-section of anoraks (and I include myself firmly among their number) one of life’s goals is to own a complete set. While obtaining copies back to the 1950s is not that hard and relatively inexpensive, before World War Two it starts getting pricy, and copies from the 19th century are for the Abramovichs and Murdochs of this world.Faced with this situation, in the early 1980s, David Jenkins, an academic based near Stoke, took it on himself to split an early Wisden (and talking to him you can see that still pains him!) and have it reprinted in a limited-edition run bound in cloth. The interest from collectors was immediate … sadly, so was the interest from Wisden’s publishers. But after initially pouring cold water on the project, Wisden agreed to allow Jenkins to continue with limited print-runs of early editions. Such was their success that these now fetch prices into three figures and some have even had to be reprinted.The purchase of Wisden by Paul Getty in the 1990s eased the restrictions there had been on what could be reproduced, and Jenkins’ cottage industry continue to publish two or three back copies each year with the scope expanded. The highlight for collectors was the printing of the all but impossible to obtain 1916 volume.Jenkins , now a director at Staffordshire University, continues to drive this admirable project from his home in his spare time – he admits his loft and any other space he can find are filled with boxes of various editions – and his family handle the processing and dispatching of orders. He is even considering expanding into the publication of other rare cricket books.The latest edition to roll off the presses is 1922. Unlike earlier volumes – the heavy prose of which is nigh on unreadable to the modern eye and the content often bizarre – Wisdens published after the First World War are more recognisable to today’s reader. The 1922 Almanack takes on board England’s calamitous 1920-21 tour of Australia – where they were whitewashed 5-0 – and the following summer’s triumphant tour by Warwick Armstrong’s all-conquering side. The anomalies of the time are still evident – public schools cricket comes ahead of the Australia tour – and one has to feel for the editor who starts his notes with the observation that “there has never been a season so disheartening as 1921”. His successors might have their own nominations.

James McAtee has reportedly been left out of Manchester City's Club World Cup squad amid transfer links with rivals Manchester United.

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McAtee left out of Club World Cup squadMay spell end for him at Man CityMan Utd linked with midfielderFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Daily Mail journalist Jack Gaughan says the 22-year-old is not going to the Club World Cup with City and that 'probably signals the end of his time' with the club. This comes at a time when he has been linked with rivals United.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

McAtee has been at City since 2013, alongside two loan spells at Sheffield United. The England Under-21 international has shown promise at the Etihad but it seems Pep Guardiola's side may try and cash in on the academy product this summer, rather than losing him for free when his contract expires in 2026.

Watch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowDID YOU KNOW?

McAtee, who has been linked with Nottingham Forest, Wolves, and Bayer Leverkusen this season, scored three goals in 15 Premier League appearances for City this season – highlighting how much of a fringe player he is there.

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While City prepare for the Club World Cup later this month in the United States, McAtee will once again represent his country at youth level as they prepare to defend their Euro Under-21 Championships title.

Former NZ allrounder Corey Anderson and England international Liam Plunkett picked up by San Francisco Unicorns

Peter Della Penna20-Mar-2023

A former India Under-19 World Cup champion from 2012 went first overall in the 2023 Major League Cricket domestic player draft held at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on Sunday night, but not the one some people might have expected.Harmeet Singh, the 30-year-old left-arm spinning allrounder formerly of Rajasthan Royals who last played first-class cricket in India for Tripura in 2020 but has since migrated to the USA, was the first overall selection by Seattle Orcas. Harmeet has made a name for himself on the cricket scene in the city after captaining Seattle Thunderbolts to the Minor League Cricket T20 championship last August.Harmeet was one of six players taken in the first round, all priced in a fixed $75,000 draft slot for the round. He was followed by a team-mate of his on the Thunderbolts, former South Africa Under-19 wicketkeeper Andries Gous taken by Washington (D.C.) Freedom.Related

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Former USA captain Steven Taylor went third overall to Mumbai Indians New York. It was a sign of things to come as MI New York wound up taking six USA national squad players, far and away the most of any franchise. J Arunkumar, who served as USA men’s head coach from April 2020 until December 2022, now serves as an assistant coach for Mumbai Indians and had been on hand in Houston throughout the week leading up to the draft to continue scouting local talent.Former New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson, who married an American and migrated to her home state of Texas in 2020, was taken fourth overall by San Francisco Unicorns. Los Angeles Knight Riders took USA fast bowling superstar Ali Khan with the fifth overall pick in the first round, maintaining continuity with a player who has been a squad member with Kolkata Knight Riders, Trinbago Knight Riders and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. Rusty Theron, who previously represented South Africa prior to moving to the USA whom he subsequently debuted for in 2019, went with the final pick in the first round to Team Texas, the franchise affiliated with Chennai Super Kings.Unmukt Chand, who gained fame in India for captaining India to the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, was LA Knight Riders’ second pick in a round valued at $65,000. In the third round ($50,000), Knight Riders also snapped up USA wicketkeeper Jaskaran Malhotra, who became the fourth player to hit six sixes in an international match in 2021 in an ODI against Papua New Guinea, as well as former Canada captain Nitish Kumar in round four ($40,000).One of the other most notable headline names in the league joined Anderson at the Unicorns in round two. Liam Plunkett, whose final match for England was the 2019 World Cup Final at Lord’s where he took three wickets in the epic super over win over New Zealand, was the ninth overall selection. After wrapping up his English domestic career with Welsh Fire in The Hundred competition in 2021, Plunkett moved to suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his American wife’s hometown.Unmukt Chand was LA Knight Riders’ second pick•Unmukt Chand/Twitter

A significant presence of former Pakistan players now residing around the USA were taken in the draft. Hammad Azam was the first of six ex-senior Pakistan internationals now in the USA who were drafted, taken by MI New York. He was followed one pick later in the second round by Mukhtar Ahmed to Washington Freedom. Ehsan Adil joined Hammad at MI New York in round four while round five ($35,000) saw Saad Ali go to the Freedom and Sami Aslam taken by Team Texas. Nauman Anwar was the last one to go in round six ($25,000) to Seattle Orcas. Aside from those six, three other players with first-class cricket experience in Pakistan were also drafted: Shayan Jahangir to MI New York and Saif Badar to LA Knight Riders in round seven ($15,000) and Zia Shahzad to Team Texas in round eight ($10,000).Eleven other current or recent USA national team squad members were chosen, including a trio in round four – Nosthush Kenjige (MI New York), Saurabh Netravalkar (Freedom) and Cameron Gannon (Seattle Orcas) – as well as current USA men’s captain Monank Patel (MI New York) and his vice-captain Aaron Jones (Seattle Orcas) in round five.But perhaps the biggest winner of the night was 20-year-old left-arm spinning allrounder Ali Sheikh, who went to LA Knight Riders in round six. The former USA Under-19 squad member has yet to make his senior team debut, despite being in the T20I squad for USA’s 1-1 T20I series draw against Ireland in December 2021.Liam Plunkett, who last played for England during the 2019 World Cup final, was signed by Unicorns in round two of the Draft•Getty Images

But Sheikh saw his stock rise dramatically during a T20 Quadrangular series staged by MLC last week in Houston played among the pool of draft prospects in which he claimed two Player-of-the-Match awards for a pair of phenomenal death displays on both sides of the ball. On the first occasion, he took three wickets in the 20th over before top-scoring with 49 two days later, which included two fours and two sixes in the 20th over.Among other players who were picked having previously played senior international cricket for Test nations were the Sri Lankan pair of Shehan Jaysuriya (R2, Seattle Orcas) and Angelo Perera (R8, Seattle Orcas) as well as former South Africa spinner Dane Piedt (R6, Freedom).Seattle Orcas – Harmeet Singh, Shehan Jayasuriya, Shubham Ranjane, Cameron Gannon, Aaron Jones, Nauman Anwar, Phani Simhadri, Angelo Perera, Matthew Tromp (U23).Washington (D.C.) Freedom – Andries Gous, Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Saurabh Netravalkar, Saad Ali, Dane Piedt, Sujith Gowda, Justin Dill, Akhilesh Bodugum (U23).MI New York – Steven Taylor, Hammad Azam, Ehsan Adil, Nosthush Kenjige, Monank Patel, Sarbjeet Ladda, Shayan Jahangir, Kyle Phillip, Saideep Ganesh (U23).SF Unicorns – Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Tajinder Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Carmi Le Roux, Brody Couch, David White, Smit Patel, Sanjay Krishnamurthi (U23).LA Knight Riders – Ali Khan, Unmukt Chand, Jaskaran Malhotra, Nitish Kumar, Corne Dry, Ali Sheikh (U23), Saif Badar, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Bhaskar Yadram (U23)Team Texas – Rusty Theron, Calvin Savage, Lahiru Milantha, Milind Kumar, Sami Aslam, Cameron Stevenson, Cody Chetty, Zia Shahzad, Sai Mukkamalla (U23)