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Kumar Sangakkara announced that this would be his final season in the County Championship after Surrey had secured a draw at Lord’s

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's22-May-2017
ScorecardThree days of engaging cricket from both sides ended, depressingly, with handshakes at 5.25pm. But whatever sorrow filled the air was engulfed by a deeper dismay when Kumar Sangakkara, with a century in each innings, announced that this would be his final season in the County Championship.He has a couple of contracts to honour this year, including a stint in the Caribbean Premier League with Jamaica Tallawahs. “The mercenary in me is still alive,” he joked, when pressed on whether he might be around for a T20 gig or two. “No one wants an old dog just playing for the sake of it. All in all, I’ll have a few more months but that’ll be it.” So begins the farewell tour.”You need to get out while you are ahead,” was Sangakkara’s response when he was implored to reconsider – by the press, no less. What world is this where a man can become the fourth Surrey batsman to score four centuries in four consecutive innings (Ian Ward was the last to do it in 2002), pass 20,000 first-class runs with two centuries in a match and sit pretty on 592 in just four Championship games this season and think he’s done? Sport and indeed life, as it happens. “This really is it. Look – I’m 39. I’ll be 40 in a few months. I think this is about the end of county cricket [for me] in the four-day and any sense, really.”The biggest mistake you can make is to think you are better than you are and you try to fight the inevitable. When you start a season like this, there is a long way to go. You have to enjoy the good times. All good things come to an end. Cricketers and any other sportsperson have an expiry date. I’ve been very lucky to plays as much as I have and I’m not taking anything for granted, but and there’s a lot of life to be lived away from the game.”He has a young family: two children who have reached ages when a settled home life will do them the world of good. They have seen dad play all around the world. Now is time for dad to take a load off his feet and watch them flourish.That is not to say their stay in south London has been unenjoyable. Surrey, as a county and a base, has been good to Sangakkara, even if his original move – spawned over a beer with his then Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford, who was leaving for the county – was met with a degree of trepidation from himself and those who know he prefers warmer climes. They also worried that the longest form of the game might enhance the streaks of grey that have crept into his sideburns.Turns out there was nothing to worry about. In fact, he took to the city so quickly that he was even looking into canal boats and mooring spots along the Thames during his first year at the club. “Seriously, he won’t stop going on about it,” groaned a team-mate at the time. Last year he signed a one-year extension.”A lot of friends asked me: ‘Why four day cricket? It’s long, it’s tough in England, it’s cold. It’s a long hard grind.’ I thought the same when I came in to be honest. Had I made the right decision? But I really, thoroughly enjoyed my time at Surrey. They’ve been a wonderful club to play for. They take care of their players very well.”James Franklin removed Kumar Sangakkara for 120 but his side opted not to chase a fourth-innings target•Getty ImagesIf this really is to be it, then it has been some way to bow out. As a man with very little memorabilia at home, he watched on as MCC unveiled his portrait in the days leading up to this fixture. “It’s a great honour and I think Anthony, the artist, has actually made me look a bit better than I actually am!”Look at all the other portraits of great cricketers and you feel a bit funny, thinking you don’t belong in that environment but the fact the MCC wanted my portrait was very humbling.”He says he was unnerved and slightly embarrassed when he walked past it on his way to the middle, twice, before making centuries in both innings. To think, for the longest time, his lack of a red-ball century at Lord’s weighed heavy on his mind.”I sat here in my last Test at Lord’s hoping to get a hundred,” he said. It was only in the first innings of that match in 2014, after six previous innings that amounted to just 140 runs, that he got his name on the honours board. “But also, at that time, I was thinking ‘wouldn’t it be funny if I got a duck?’ It was nice to go through the processes and bat again at Lord’s. It’s probably the last time I’ll play a four-day game here.”For the second time in the match, though, Sangakkara was unable to go on the morning after the century before, meaning Middlesex had an end open. And while they were able to pick away at that end, eventually bowling out Surrey, it was Ben Foakes, batting for more than six hours for his 67 not out, who dragged Surrey away from danger.Ollie Rayner accounted for the Currans either side of lunch, before Dawid Malan bowled Stuart Meaker and then had Mark Footitt caught at midwicket to leave Middlesex with a chase of 242 off 39 overs. What happened next did not reflect well on the defending champions.Even with all the caveats – a red ball, no fielding restrictions, the fall in the pound – this was a chase to be undertaken: just over six an over needed, a small boundary away to the Grandstand that had been peppered regularly over the last three days. This is also a Middlesex batting line-up that went to Taunton last year and successfully chased 302 in 45.4 overs. The cornerstone of their title win was positivity and yet here, on a pitch that was still playing true, they opted for caution.Nick Gubbins and Nick Compton opened the second innings and it became apparent after the third over, which Compton played out as a maiden, that the champions were not going to go out of their way to get the runs. Gubbins was caught behind swiping in an attempt to get things going and with him seemed to go the impetus.Compton – who had 2 off 16 balls at one point – hit a couple of fours before being caught on the square-leg boundary off Footitt. Even Malan, who did not play with any particular urgency, finished with 37 off 44 balls when the game was put out of its misery. Middlesex’s captain, James Franklin, while accepting that the chase entered their minds, felt that ultimately a docile fourth-day surface would have prevented them from really going hell for leather.

When the two teams meet on Wednesday, Bangladesh will have a chance to register their first victory over New Zealand at an away or a neutral venue

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2017Match factsWednesday May 17, Dublin
Start time 1045 local time (0945 GMT)Mitchell Santner’s five-for against Ireland was a tale of two spells•AFPBig pictureBangladesh have never beaten New Zealand at an away or neutral venue in 15 matches and will be keen to set that record straight, given how the last series between the two teams, in New Zealand, panned out.In all three of those matches, sudden and quick batting slumps from positions of relative stability cost Bangladesh. Some of that fragility was also on display in their opening match of this tri-nation series against Ireland: they lost wickets on either side of a promising stand, before Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah made a recovery. It’s a tendency Bangladesh will have to guard against, particularly if they want to tackle a New Zealand side which, although weakened, fought back well against Ireland.In conditions suited to seam bowling, how Bangladesh cope with New Zealand’s inexperienced but promising pace attack will be key. They will also be wary of New Zealand’s middle order striking form, although both George Worker and Ross Taylor were not quite fluent during their half-centuries against Ireland. New Zealand are likely to continue with Luke Ronchi as opener, giving the batsman freedom to hit out in order to ease the pressure on the middle order.Form guideBangladesh: LWLLL (most recent first, last five completed matches)
New Zealand: WLWLWIn the spotlightMahmudullah’s unbeaten 43 in the rain-interrupted match last week was only the fourth time he’s scored more than 20 in an innings since October 2016. While he has scored a half-century in that period, he has not been consistent. Mahmudullah had a disappointing ODI series in New Zealand, where he scored 4 runs in three innings. However, the solid patch of form from the Dhaka Premier League has extended to this tour, and Bangladesh will be happy that his runs against Ireland came after they were struggling at 70 for 4 in the 15th over. Mahmudullah needs another 79 to become the fifth Bangladesh batsman to score 3000 ODI runs.New Zealand coach Mike Hesson recently said they were not averse to opening the bowling with a spinner even in English conditions during the Champions Trophy, particularly if the track was flat. Mitchell Santner could be a key part of that strategy. Hesson was particularly impressed with how the left-arm spinner bounced back against Ireland: having conceded 43 and taken one wicket in his first spell of seven overs, Santner came back to take four wickets for seven in his second spell, decisively turning the match for New Zealand.Teams newsAdam Milne is likely to be available for selection, having joined the team last week. He could replace Ish Sodhi if New Zealand opt to boost their pace attack in what are likely to be seaming conditions.New Zealand (probable) 1 Luke Ronchi (wk), 2 Tom Latham (capt), 3 George Worker, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 James Neesham, 7 Colin Munro, 8 Scott Kuggeleijn, 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Seth Rance, 11 Adam Milne/ Ish SodhiMashrafe Mortaza will return from over-rate suspension, at the expense of possibly Rubel Hossain. Apart from that change, Bangladesh may want to persist with the XI they picked for the first match, which was abandoned.Bangladesh:(probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 11 Mustafizur RahmanPitch and conditionsThis will be the first ODI, and the second international game, at Castle Avenue since May 2014, when Sri Lanka took on Ireland in a two-match series. At the time, conditions were green and seaming and it could be the same on Wednesday. The temperature in Dublin is expected to be between 15 and 18 Celsius during the day, with a chance of rain.Stats This will be the first match at Clontarf between two Full Member nations. Bangladesh had played a match there against West Indies in 1999, but had not yet achieved Full Member status Sunday’s match against Ireland was only the eighth time that Ronchi opened the batting in an ODI. His score of 37 was also his best at that position. Tamim and Shakib Al Hasan have the most runs by Bangladesh batsmen against New Zealand – 442 and 436 respectively. Quotes”It’s a challenge for us because we have guys coming back from the IPL. So we will have players we will release back to England and we will give a little bit of time to acclimatise and then assess conditions, because there are still ODIs and we will need to keep picking what we deem to be our best team.”

To say that Mykhailo Mudryk’s time at Chelsea is yet to meet expectations would be an understatement in the truest form. The Ukrainian was welcomed in January as the man to finally help kickstart the Blues’ season, before going on to endure a nightmare start to life at Stamford Bridge.Not helped by Chelsea’s dismal form in general, Mudryk ended the season with just two assists in the Premier League, and not a single goal to his name. Considering his reported hefty price tag of up to £89m, the pressure was on the 22-year-old to hit the ground running.In fairness to the winger, too, his first game against Liverpool, coming from the bench, showed plenty of promise, as he gave James Milner another reason why the curtains are perhaps closing on his illustrious career.With that, Mudryk had the excitement of the fans behind him. But, since then, he has failed to deliver.That hasn’t stopped him from backing himself on social media, however.

Mudryk hits back at fan

Fans love to have their say in football, with some even going as far to advise the professional players on what they should do, and how they should play. But, believe it or not, the player coached by football geniuses every week probably knows what they’re doing.

Criticising Mudryk, one fan took to social media to comment on the player’s Instagram post, saying: “Bro learn to make 360 turns with the ball it will help u change direction and be unpredictable. Running with the ball in one direction isn’t good enough. Clue.”

Talk about game-changing tactics…

Understandably, the Chelsea man couldn’t resist hitting back with a sarcastic comment, asking: “Didn’t win [the] Ballon d’Or yet?”

With that said, Mudryk will aim to finally prove himself on the pitch for Chelsea, likely opting not to take the advice of the supporter next season.

What is the market value of Mudryk?

Today’s transfer market is, of course, very different to how things used to be, given the incredible inflation in prices. That said, however, Chelsea massively overpaid for Mudryk, whose value is currently at just €50m (£42.61m). For context, the London club paid up to £89m for the Ukrainian back in January.

Even at the time of his arrival, as per Transfermarkt, Mudryk was only valued at the €40m (£34.09m) mark, which raises the question as to how Chelsea ended up paying almost triple that price for his signature.

The player they believed was arriving was someone who had been involved in 13 goals in 12 league appearances for Shakhtar Donetsk. What they got, though, was a player clearly not ready to save a sinking ship.

Under Mauricio Pochettino, things may get slightly easier. After all, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager has gotten the best out of young talents in the past such as Dele Alli. What’s more, the Argentine will almost certainly be an upgrade on Frank Lampard.

At the very least, he did show some glimpses of his mercurial talent while playing for Ukraine at the U21 European Championship this summer. Perhaps that is a sign of things to come.

After exceeding their transformation targets in the 2016-17 season, CSA were optimistic of having their major tournament ban lifted

Firdose Moonda08-May-2017Cricket South Africa is “optimistic” of having the government ban on bidding for hosting major global tournaments overturned when the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) presents its transformation report on Tuesday morning, although they do not foresee having any global cricket events in the country until at least 2023.The EPG is an independent committee, appointed by ministers, who compile an annual assessment of various sporting codes and their commitment to change. Last year, they found four sporting federations, including cricket, had not met the transformation criteria. Then-sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, meted out the same punishment to all four federations, even though it had little material impact on any of them. In cricket’s case, the ICC had already distributed events for the next six years.Nonetheless, CSA set new transformation targets which required the team to field a minimum of six players of colour, of which at least two must be black African. At the end of the 2016-17 summer, CSA exceeded their targets.”We are optimistic of achieving good outcomes but we would not want to pre-empt anything at this stage. Regardless, we are committed to transformation and we will continue to engage with the ministry and other stakeholders to ensure we achieve our transformation goals,” CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat told ESPNcricinfo.Apart from the on-field numbers, CSA also worked with the EPG and government administrators to create a more up-to-date database of cricket statistics at lower levels, particularly schools and clubs where much of the existing information was obsolete. “We have engaged constructively with the EPG secretariat and the Department to correct data errors and to develop a tailored scorecard for cricket,” Lorgat said.With accurate statistics now in place, cricket is unlikely to have a similar problem in the future provided the transformation numbers continue to meet requirements. There is no word on whether the targets will be increased, with new sports minister, Thembelani Nxesi, who was appointed in early April, yet to weigh in on the issue.

Liverpool have already made two signings this summer following a disappointing campaign last season and now a new update has emerged on another potential transfer target.

What's the latest on Liverpool's interest in Federico Chiesa?

According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Liverpool are monitoring Federico Chiesa's situation at Juventus.

As per the report, the Reds are joined in their by Newcastle United who are also keen on snapping up the services of the versatile winger this summer.

It is claimed that Chiesa could be one of the players moved on due to being ill-suited to Max Allegri's tactical philosophy of a 3-5-2 system.

Have Liverpool made a bid for Chiesa?

It was reported last month that Liverpool were preparing a €40m (£34.4m) bid for the Serie A star – dubbed a "treasure" by Inter Milan director Piero Ausilio – however, they are yet to make a concrete move for the player with Juventus commanding a fee of €60m (£51m).

Some of the Reds returned to pre-season training on Saturday alongside Jurgen Klopp who was in high spirits ahead of his preparations for next season and will be hoping that the business done this summer will be enough to improve upon the fall from grace Liverpool experienced over their last campaign.

Whilst a midfield rebuild has been the top priority so far with the signing of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, the Merseyside giants could now look to other key areas of the pitch to add depth and much-needed quality.

As a result, the signing of Chiesa could be a great opportunity for Klopp to land his dream Mohamed Salah heir, with the 31-year-old winger set to enter the last two years of his extended contract when football resumes next month.

Chiesa has been subjected to huge praise over his career so far, with former Azzurri striker Antonio Di Natale hailing his influential impact on Italy's Euro 2020 campaign:

"He is a player I like a lot because he is unpredictable. He goes right, left, and makes some fakes. You never know where he’s going.

"Already in his first season in Turin he showed what he is worth. And at Euro 2020, he’s confirming his talent with some great plays and goals."

Whilst the Euro 2020 winner is most prolific as an inverted right-winger – just like Salah – scoring 32 goals and registering 13 assists over 92 appearances in the position, he was utilised in a range of roles including left-wing, wing-back and second striker last season to fit Allegri's system with four goals and six assists delivered.

When comparing the Italy international's output over the last 12 months to his Liverpool positional peer, Chiesa offered more assists per 90 (0.42) compared to Salah's (0.32), as well as outperforming the Egyptian in shot-creating actions per 90 (4.10 v 3.75), progressive carries (4.52 v 3.31) and successful take-ons (2.26 v 1.36), demonstrating stronger attributes in ball-winning and challenging opponents successfully.

With that being said, if Liverpool could get a deal for Chiesa this summer then it would be a major coup for the club and get Klopp ahead in his challenge to build the next generation of success at Anfield.

Arsenal are still very interested in signing Southampton starlet Romeo Lavia this summer but they need Thomas Partey to leave, according to reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Who are Arsenal signing this summer?

Kai Havertz, after completing a move from Chelsea in a £65 million deal, has already been announced as manager Mikel Arteta’s first summer signing. The Gunners boss, speaking on Havertz’s signing, insists he will strengthen Arsenal’s midfield to no end.

“Kai is a player of top quality,” explained Arteta.

“He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play. We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon.”

Meanwhile, it is widely reported that the north Londoners are closing in on West Ham United star Declan Rice after both Arsenal and the Hammers agreed a total £105 million fee for his transfer.

Ajax defender Jurrien Timber, who is apparently desperate to join Arsenal before 2023/2024, is also close to sealing his desired move as the club near these two major deals.

The signings could take Arsenal’s total spending past £200 million, but reports suggest they aren’t done there, with Man City defender Joao Cancelo and Galatsary’s Sacha Boey being considered for their defensive flanks.

Meanwhile, Arteta’s side have also been heavily linked with a swoop for Lavia of Southampton, but Liverpool and Chelsea are in the race. Indeed, a “huge fight” could be looming for the 19-year-old.

Romano has shared his own update on Lavia’s future, claiming Arsenal could still sign the Belgium international, but on one condition. Before attempting any deal, it is believed midfielder Thomas Partey will need to make way first.

Southampton, for their part, will charge around £50 million despite their relegation to the Championship.

What’s been said about Romeo Lavia?

The former Man City starlet averaged a higher pass accuracy than any other Southampton player last season whilst ranking among their best for league performances per 90 (WhoScored).

Lavia is clearly a player of huge potential, with City boss Pep Guardiola once explaining that everyone rated him highly when he was at Eastlands.

As well as this, journalist Sam Tighe, who watches the Saints every week, called Lavia one of the south coast side’s shining stars – believing Arsenal supporter should be thrilled by the prospect of him joining.

Mason Crane produced a stunning spell of legspin to secure a 3-0 whitewash for the South in a rain-affected climax to the new North-South Series in Abu Dhabi

ECB Reporters Network21-Mar-2017
ScorecardDaniel Bell-Drummond’s 81 anchored South’s innings•Getty ImagesMason Crane produced a stunning spell of legspin to secure a 3-0 whitewash for the South in a rain-affected climax to the new North-South Series in Abu Dhabi.The North seemed on course for victory in a game restricted to 40 overs per side by rare desert rain, with Ben Duckett providing a flying start to their pursuit of a modest South total of 228 for 8, and Sam Hain and Liam Livingstone sharing a mature third-wicket stand of 67 to steer the North to 146 for 2.But Crane, the 20-year-old Hampshire legspinner who recently became the first overseas player to represent New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield since Imran Khan, then offered further evidence of his exciting potential by taking four wickets for one run in the space of 10 balls under the floodlights at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.Hain was bowled for 44 from 97 balls, Joe Clarke was also bowled for a golden duck, and Crane went close to a hat-trick as Jack Leaning’s edge fell short of second slip.Leaning was out in the next over, also bowled and bemused, and finally Crane claimed the key wicket of Livingstone, the Lancashire allrounder who excelled on the recent England Lions tour of Sri Lanka, and had just reached his first half century of the series.He was lured down the pitch and smartly stumped by Ben Foakes, and despite another battling innings from Tim Bresnan, Toby Roland-Jones and Tom Curran polished off the North tail.Other performances of note in the tightest contest of the series included 81 from Daniel Bell-Drummond, continuing the good List A form which has brought him a Lions century in Sri Lanka and 92 not out in the first North-South contest in Dubai.Roland-Jones underlined his allround value by thumping an unbeaten 43 from 24 balls to give the South important lower-order runs, while Mark Wood continued his encouraging comeback after ankle surgery by taking 2 for 38, and the North spinners Josh Poysden and Graeme White both impressed – Poysden taking 3 for 55, and White claiming James Vince and Bell-Drummond as classic slow-left-arm victims.The game was delayed by almost four hours by steady morning rain, and North captain Keaton Jennings chose to bowl when he won his third toss of the series.Both teams were forced to make one change, with Sam Northeast ruled out for the South after feeling a twinge in his hamstring when making a century in the second game in Dubai on Sunday, and Durham allrounder Paul Coughlin unavailable after suffering cramp in his hamstring during that game.The South also recalled Lewis Gregory in place of his Somerset team-mate Tim Groenewald, with Crane replacing Northeast, while the North brought back White in addition to Wood, with Nottinghamshire’s Harry Gurney dropping out.Wickets fell steadily on a tricky pitch, but Bell-Drummond again displayed patience and skill to hold things together before Roland-Jones provided those much-needed late runs.Duckett responded by whacking 37 from 17 balls with seven fours and a six, but Roland-Jones prevented him from inflicting any further damage, and Liam Dawson produced another tidy spell of left-arm spin before Crane’s match-winning burst.

Matt Renshaw, who scored 60, said that he responded to what the Indian players said to him with a smile to try and unnerve their bowlers

Daniel Brettig05-Mar-2017Australia’s day two plan was simple: bat all day and wear down an Indian bowling attack trundling through an 11th Test match of the season. But the execution of this plan was made difficult by an untrustworthy Bengaluru pitch, and a snarling, desperate home side, intent on getting in the Australians’ faces, and in turn, their wickets.What played out was riveting, low-scoring stuff. Australia’s 197 for 6 was their lowest score in a full day’s play since Nagpur in 2008, when a Mexican stand-off on a flatter pitch – MS Dhoni employed 8-1 off-side fields which the tourists could not shake – reaped a mere 166 runs. But, where Simon Katich in particular met that grind with mounting frustration, Matt Renshaw responded to Virat Kohli’s niggle with a broad grin, and a deliberate one at that.”I don’t try and say too much out there,” Renshaw said after his 60 from 196 balls took him past 400 balls faced for the series. “I just try to smile, because in my past experience, smiling seems to unnerve the bowlers a bit more than talking back. They seemed to get quite frustrated.”I was just trying to enjoy it and laugh at what he was saying because some of it was quite funny. He [Kohli] was just reminding me to run off and go to the toilet again, which happened in Pune, so it was quite funny. We all took it pretty well and we know that they’re trying to get under our skin because we’ve got a one-nil lead in the series.”Renshaw had a ringside seat as Kohli tried pointedly to distract his opposite number Steven Smith. “There was a bit of talk, but I think that’s because they’re trying to unnerve each other and try and get under the skin. But it was all good fun and good contest out there,” he said. “It was really loud out there when he was doing that. It’s something I’m probably not used to, but it’s about embracing different conditions and challenges that we get.”Incredibly, the surface at the Chinnaswamy Stadium may actually be more difficult than the one prepared for the first Test in Pune. Spin, bounce and pace are all variable, requiring Renshaw and the rest of the Australians to adapt further still to every ball spun or seamed down towards them.”I think Pune we knew was going to spin. This one, we don’t really know which one is going to spin. That’s the challenge,” Renshaw said. “Some are turning quite a lot, some are not turning as much, some are going on with the angle. It’s trying to play for the one that doesn’t turn and then if it goes past the bat, it goes past the bat. But it’s probably a bit harder against the quicks because it’s not bouncing as much or some are going up.”I think every run is vital. We sort of felt like we were just about to get on top of the game when I got out, so it’s quite frustrating from that point of view. If we’d got a few more runs, me and Shaun Marsh, we could have had complete control of the game.”The mental challenge presented was underlined by how successive Australian batsmen fought their way into a position where they may have been able to assert themselves, only to drop their guard. Smith did so, then Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, and finally Shaun Marsh. “It probably wasn’t a great move from me, but Jadeja is a really smart bowler and he probably saw me coming, so he fired it down there,” Renshaw said. “I tried to get a bit of pad on but just missed it.”However, the visitors were still able to ward off the threat of a batting collapse, steadily adding runs across the day to leave Matthew Wade and Mitchell Starc with a chance to build a significant lead on day three. In doing so, it appeared that all had taken something from watching Renshaw, who said his own determination to stay at the crease had been derived from a creative interpretation of junior cricket rules devised to give everyone a go.”I wasn’t the biggest bloke. Instead of retiring us on balls, they retired us on runs, so once we got to 50, we had to retire and someone else would come in,” Renshaw said. “I didn’t really want anyone else to bat, I just wanted to bat for myself. I tried to get to 50 as slow as possible. I don’t think it was my fault, it was my size.”

If Chelsea are looking for a big-name signing to truly kick-start Mauricio Pochettino's tenure as head coach, they do not come much bigger than Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar.

According to The Athletic, that is a possibility as PSG are open to getting the big-earning forward – on wages of £933k a week at the Parc des Princes, according to Capology – off their books this summer.

Is PSG superstar Neymar a realistic target for Chelsea?

Six years on from becoming the most expensive footballer in history when joining from Barcelona for a fee of €222m (£198m), Neymar's time in the French capital may finally be up.

The report suggests Chelsea hold an interest in the Brazil international, and the transfer is now a lot more feasible due to the Blues getting a number of their own big earners off the books early in the transfer window.

PSG would ideally still like to recoup some of the mammoth fee they splashed out on Neymar, but with the forward having two years of his contract to run, it is suggested removing his reported £48.5m annual salary off their books is also appealing.

Can Neymar still do a job in the Premier League?

This is not the first time Neymar has been linked with a move to the Premier League – or indeed Chelsea – with Manchester United said to also be showing an interest this summer.

There is no doubt that the samba star is not as highly regarded as he once was, not helped by a period of stagnation at PSG despite an influx of the world's greatest players, including Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

However, on the basis of last season, the £49m-rated Neymar is still as good as any player in the world in a number of areas. Indeed, he ranks in the top 1% of all forwards across Europe's top five leagues last season for chances created, as per The Analyst, while nobody can better him for touches of the ball.

Neymar is also in the top 5% for goals scored, netting 13 of them last season and assisting 11 more in 20 Ligue 1 outings. Many will point to the quality of the French top flight, but Neymar has scored regularly now in both LaLiga and Ligue 1.

It is a goalscorer Chelsea desperately crave, and in Neymar they would be signing a player who has scored 359 times in 584 career appearances for Santos, Barcelona and PSG.

As Brazil colleague at the time David Luiz put it previously, Neymar is a "phenomenon" – a status that he continues to justify based on the statistics alone, even if he has his many doubters.

With Christopher Nkunku having already arrived from RB Leipzig this summer, Chelsea could find his ideal partner in Neymar. Nkunku is himself a goalscorer (top 4% in Europe's top five leagues last season), and would surely thrive off the creativity that the Brazilian brings.

While there is no dispelling the fact Neymar struggles in certain defensive metrics, he ranks higher than expected for possession won – in the top 32% of forwards across Europe's elite divisions.

Interestingly, as per The Analyst, the two players most like Nkunku right now are Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, who formed one of the Premier League's all-time great attacks alongside Roberto Firmino.

Neymar, meanwhile, is very alike Vinicius Junior in terms of their statistical profiles, and his compatriot did not exactly struggle to form a strong partnership with Karim Benzema at Real Madrid.

For all the talk that Neymar will take balance away from a team, there is just as much evidence to suggest he and Nkunku could tear up the Premier League in a double transfer that would seriously ignite Pochettino's tenure.

A round-up of the Regional Super 50 2016-17 Group B matches played on February 3, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2017Barbados won their fifth straight game with a 171-run thrashing of ICC Americas at Windward Park on Friday. Kraigg Brathwaite’s second century of the tournament laid the foundation for victory as he scored 108 out of a total of 282 for 9 after Barbados chose to bat. ICC Americas were bowled out for 111 in reply and remain winless in the Regional Super50.Brathwaite lost his opening partner Anthony Alleyne in the second over for 2, but proceeded to compile three successive 50-plus stands with Shai Hope (27), Jonathan Carter (57) and Roston Chase (40) as Barbados cruised to 240 for 3 in the 45th before a flurry of wickets fell in the final overs. Medium pacer Cecil Pervez, who dismissed Alleyne early on, came back late to remove Chase and Ashley Nurse to finish with 3 for 58 while legspinner Timil Patel had Brathwaite, Hope and Jason Holder all out stumped to claim 3 for 57.ICC Americas responded with their worst start of the tournament as five of the top six batsmen fell for 0, 1 or 2. Alex Amsterdam was the only one of the group to reach double-digits, making 30 before he became Holder’s third victim at the start of the 12th over to make it 39 for 6.Timroy Allen led a brief counterattack, striking two sixes off Carlos Brathwaite in the 13th and then one more off both Holder and Jomel Warrican before he fell for a top score of 36 off 25 balls to Warrican in the 21st over. His team was all out by the 34th.Shivnarine Chanderpaul made his 97th List A fifty•WICB Media/Kerrie EversleyGuyana broke a three-way tie for second place pulling ahead of Jamaica and Combined Campuses and Colleges, whom they beat by six wickets at Kensington Oval. CCC could manage only 188 after deciding to bat at the toss, and Guyana were able to chase it down with half-centuries from captain Leon Johnson and the evergreen Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Ronsford Beaton’s solid tournament with the ball for Guyana continued as he took 3 for 52 while left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul kept the run-rate tight in the middle overs, finishing with 2 for 29 from his 10 overs. Six out of the top eight for CCC reached double-figures but none made more than Amir Jangoo’s 30, with his innings coming to an end courtesy a run-out by Steven Jacobs. With wickets falling at regular intervals, the 41-run partnership between captain Jamal Smith and Nino Henry for the seventh wicket was CCC’s best stand.Guyana stumbled at the start, reaching 19 for 2, before Assad Fudadin and Johnson steadied the chase with a 54-run stand. That was followed by an 85-run fourth-wicket partnership between Johnson and Chanderpaul. Johnson eventually fell for 71 in the 42nd over with 31 left to win while Chanderpaul stayed through to the end, finishing unbeaten on 58.