Casillas sets Champions League record
Iker Casillas has become the first player to participate in 20 Champions League seasons.The Porto goalkeeper reached the mark when he started his side’s opening Group D match against Schalke on Tuesday.20 – Iker Casillas will become the first player in the Champions League history to play in 20 different seasons. Legend. pic.twitter.com/1HUkAvHW80— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 18, 2018With the start, Casillas went past Manchester United great Ryan Giggs, who played in 19 Champions League campaigns. Article continues below Editors’ Picks Man Utd ready to spend big on Sancho and Haaland in January Who is Marcus Thuram? Lilian’s son who is top of the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach Brazil, beware! Messi and Argentina out for revenge after Copa controversy Best player in MLS? Zlatan wasn’t even the best player in LA! Rounding out the top three is another United legend, Paul Scholes, who took part in 17 seasons in Europe’s premier club competition. Casillas, 37, played in 16 Champions League campaigns with Real Madrid, and is now embarking on his fourth with the Portuguese side.The former Spain international has won the competition three times: in 1999–00, 2001–02 and most recently in 2013–14, all of which came while playing for Real Madrid. With Porto, Casillas has managed to get out of the group stage in the past two seasons, but the team was knocked out in the round of 16 both times.He has been more successful on the domestic front, helping Porto to a league title last term.
Cesc Fabregas says that AC Milan have not contacted him over a January move, but that he is open to talking to clubs in January with his contract expiring in the summer.The 31-year-old has yet to be offered a new deal by Chelsea and he will be able to talk to other clubs over a pre-contract for a free transfer upon entering the final six months of his deal in January.There had been talk that he could leave Chelsea as early as January, but Maurizio Sarri has been impressed with how Fabregas has deputised for Jorginho. The Spaniard produced 127 passes against 10-man PAOK on Thursday, and he provided two assists in the 4-0 win in the Europa League. Article continues below Editors’ Picks Man Utd ready to spend big on Sancho and Haaland in January Who is Marcus Thuram? Lilian’s son who is top of the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach Brazil, beware! Messi and Argentina out for revenge after Copa controversy Best player in MLS? Zlatan wasn’t even the best player in LA! “No [Milan contact]. I haven’t spoken to anyone,” Fabregas said at Stamford Bridge. “Obviously, in January I can sign [a pre-contract] with whoever I want and probably this will attract many clubs. But, so far, from what I can say right now, yes I will stay here until the end of the season.”I will play in the Premier League now. In December I will play games. I already know which games I will play and I am ready for it. I have spoken to the coach. He has been straight-forward with me and I need to be ready for when the opportunity comes. That’s it.”Fabregas has played only nine times for Chelsea this season and he has not yet started a Premier League game, with Jorginho having come in and taken his place after a £57 million summer transfer.Sarri knows Jorginho from his Napoli days and is using the midfielder to implement his new style of play in west London. Fabregas is acting as his deputy and admits that he would rather be in Chelsea’s first-choice XI, with Sarri having changed every outfield player for Thursday’s match.”This was another opportunity for the rest of the team,” Fabregas added. “The whole side changed except Kepa, so probably the same will happen in Hungary against Vidi. We have to take our chances. At the moment this is the only platform for us to show what we can do, we have to take it and that’s what we did.”That’s the problem with the Europa League to be honest. You saw that with Arsenal – I think two players travelled [to Ukraine] from the squad that will play on Sunday. It’s a tricky competition, you play every Thursday and Sunday.”We knew it was going to be a difficult season because of that. We just have to be ready. 10 players played on Saturday, 10 on Thursday. That means you have 20 players who can play at the top level and that is positive.
“I would rather be on the other side of the team, but I play at Stamford Bridge, I’m happy. That’s the most important thing. But, of course, every player wants to play more. He made that clear to be honest. I have known that since the beginning of the season.”I know that [Sarri] rates me highly but at the same time it’s a new position for me and I think it is just my fifth game starting in it. I only played there when I was 10 or 12 in the academy at Barcelona. It is something new to learn. At the same time, I can give more in other positions.”Maybe at the moment, he still doesn’t see it. We have had a chat about it and maybe in the future it will start to happen. But at the moment it is what it is and you just have to take it.”Sarri has spoken about how he needs a “very technical player” like Fabregas or Jorginho to act as the pivot in the centre of his three-man midfield, as he implements a 4-3-3 formation at the club.Many pundits and fans have called for Sarri to switch Jorginho with N’Golo Kante, who has been somewhat struggling with his more attacking role on the right-hand side. Sarri has dismissed those calls, but Fabregas admits that the nature of his and Jorginho’s position means they are easier to man mark than any other player on the pitch.”He is a good player, he knows the system very well, he plays one touch, makes short passes,” Fabregas said of Jorginho, before going on to explain how teams are looking to stop him. “But it has been difficult for him because opponents know how to defend against this.
“Maybe whether he plays, or I play, sometimes we have to find a solution, new movement, be quicker with the ball. But it’s not easy when you play in this position because you can’t move too much. If you move too much to get an option on the ball, then you leave too much freedom in there.”For the opponent, it is probably the easiest position to man mark. You can’t really get away from the play, you need to stay there. Even if you don’t touch the ball, you have to stay just in case there is a lost ball or something like that.”In terms of if you want to put in a man-marking player, this is the easiest player to mark. But we know what we have to do, we know what the coach wants from us, we just have to keep going.”Chelsea’s win over PAOK offers some relief after they were well beaten last weekend by London rivals Tottenham, who leapfrogged their the Blues in the Premier League table after a convincing 3-1 win at Wembley Stadium.Fulham are next for Chelsea and Fabregas has warned his team that another London derby against a side with a new manager in Claudio Ranieri will be tough.”It’s massive. Fulham played well the other day, they won and have a new manager,” he concluded. “There is new motivation for the players and it will be a tough game. It is an early kick-off too so we need to be ready for it.”
Former tennis bad boy Ilie Nastase found himself in deep water on Saturday after being booted out of Romania’s Fed Cup tie against Britain, a day after allegations that he made a derogatory comment about Serena Williams’ unborn child.The 70-year-old former French Open and U.S. Open champion, who is captain of Romania’s Fed Cup team, was sent from his courtside chair after apparently aiming abuse at the umpire, British player Johanna Konta and visiting captain Anne Keothavong during the second singles rubber.World number seven Konta was in tears when play was briefly suspended at the tie in Constanta where she was up against Sorana Cirstea, apparently because of remarks made by Nastase.He was eventually excluded from the tie because of “unsportsmanlike conduct”.Konta recovered her composure to win the last five games for a 6-2 6-3 victory that levelled up the tie at 1-1 after Romania’s number one Simona Halep had beaten Heather Watson.”Mr Nastase was also removed from the grounds due to his serious misconduct,” the ITF said in a second statement.”His accreditation was removed and he will play no further part in the tie.”The ITF has launched an investigation into this matter as well as previous comments made by Mr Nastase during the week.”British captain Keothavong, who said she was made to feel “uncomfortable” by comments made by Nastase at the official pre-match dinner, said the abuse during play had been unacceptable.”We expected a patriotic crowd for the Romanian team but we don’t expect abusive language to be used … what he said directed to both Johanna and myself is… language that is not appropriate for anyone to speak to any other human.”advertisementITF president David Haggerty said an investigation would be launched.”This is unacceptable behaviour by a Fed Cup captain. No player, official, member of the media or fan should have to endure any kind of abuse, and Mr Nastase will rightly play no further part in this tie,” he said.”A formal investigation is already underway and any decision or sanction will be made by the ITF’s Adjudication Panel. We are unable to comment further on an ongoing investigation.”Nastase, whose behaviour on court during his career often landed him trouble and earned him the nickname “Nasty”, began the tie under a cloud after remarks overheard at the official draw ceremony on Friday.He was heard speaking in Romanian to one of his team members about Williams’ baby.”Let’s see what colour it has. Chocolate with milk?” he was quoted by Romanian and some British media as saying.Williams, who confirmed her pregnancy through a spokeswoman on Wednesday, is engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is white.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni slammed his 17th IPL fifty as he finished with an unbeaten 61 off 34 balls to guide Pune Supergiant home versus Sunrisers Hyderabad. Pune needed 47 off the last three overs and the 35-year-old looked in fine touch and displayed finesse of the yesteryears to finish the game off.Speaking to India Today, former Australia captain Michael Clarke was not at all surprised at Dhoni’s splendid knock to win the match for RPS. “I am not surprised one bit, as long as MS Dhoni is at the crease, the game is never over. I felt it as the captain of the Australia playing against MS Dhoni, and I feel exactly the same as a commentator now. The man has played a phenomenal innings and deserves all the credit he is getting. Hopefully the people that were doubting him, hopefully they are gone away now,” he said. (Dhoni did what he does best: Pune captain Steve Smith)Clarke also reminded those who had been criticising Dhoni’s form and questioning his ability as a T20 player.”What an innings by MS Dhoni and for the people that have doubted him and said that his time is up, he is not good enough to be in the Pune team or the Indian Champions Trophy team,” he said. “I think that it is time to take their words back. I have said time and again over the last couple of weeks that class is permanent and MS Dhoni is a class player. I think today was great example of his experience playing a part. Yes he is skillful, there is no doubt about it and his keeping has been fantastic throughout the tournament. Today he got the chance with the bat to win the game for his team as he has done throughout his career,” he added. (Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers salute MS Dhoni: ‘What a champion knock’)advertisementOn being asked if MS Dhoni is the best finisher, even better than Micheal Bevan, Clarke said, “MS Dhoni is the best finisher in the world, and certainly in One Day cricket. He has done it throughout his One Day career and he can do it in T20s as well. Micheal Bevan was fantastic, but Dhoni has won numerous matches for his teams, Chennai, Pune, India, and he does it regularly and he still has the talent to do it.””What I also liked is that Dhoni batting at number four. This has been my point about Dhoni for a long time in the Pune team. Allow him to come up the order, allow him to face more deliveries. Pune have made a smart decision in the last couple of games getting him in at number four,” said Clarke, who has been harping on that note for quite some time.
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New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) Sharmila Nicollet put her name in the golfs history books by becoming the first professional golfer, male or female, to be ?voted? into a professional golf tournament. The 26-year-old six-foot tall golfer got an entry into the USD 1.5 million Shoprite Classic in New Jersey after garnered 39 per cent of the 27,652 votes polled globally on the social media platform Twitter. The ShopRite Classic will be held June 2-5 on the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club in Galloway Township. While Sharmila will be given a sponsors spot into the event, India?s Aditi Ashok already has a limited status on LPGA and she is likely to make the start list, too. Aditi, two-time winner on Ladies European Tour in her Rookie season in 2016, has already played three LPGA events this season. If Aditi also figures in the start list, it would mark the first time ever two Indians will feature in an LPGA event. Sharmila, who has also played as a full member on the LET in the past, now has limited status on the same tour. She is one of the six Indians, lead by Aditi Ashok, who have playing rights in Europe. Sharmila received 39 percent of the votes cast in the weeklong poll and she finished nine percentage points ahead of Golf Channel host Blair O?Neal. Scottish golfer Carly Booth was third with 25 percent, followed by Bolivia?s Susana Benavides with six percent. In the initial stages of the poll, Blair led the numbers, but over the last three-four days, boosted by the golf fraternity of India, Sharmila slowly but steadily surged ahead to win by a very comfortable margin. The four golfers had been chosen from data compiled by MVPindex, which follows social media platforms of sports and entertainment figures. Sharmila thanked her fans on Twitter and later she was overwhelmed by the support she got from fans and supporters. The media savyy golfer, who has nearly 358,000 followers, said in a statement, “I would like to thank the sponsors ShopRite for conceiving the brilliant idea of having fans vote their choice.” “In a small way, the poll has helped boost awareness of the game in India, where it is still a niche sport.” PTI Cor AT ATadvertisement
The race for the final two tickets to next season’s Champions League will go to the wire after Arsenal retained their slim hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top four thanks to a late burst from Alexis Sanchez against Sunderland on Tuesday.Arsenal’s 2-0 win meant that Manchester City, 3-1 winners at home against West Bromwich Albion, will still need a point to be absolutely certain of finishing in the top four.Pep Guardiola’s City moved back into third spot, above Liverpool, thanks to goals by Gabriel Jesus, Kevin de Bruyne and Yaya Toure in their final home game of the season.City are in third spot with 75 points, Liverpool have 73 and Arsenal 72. City face Watford away in Sunday’s final round of fixtures with Arsenal at home to Everton and Liverpool taking on already-relegated Middlesbrough at Anfield.Arsenal’s fourth consecutive victory at least gives them some hope of a 21st successive top-four finish, although matters are not in their own hands.It could have been even worse for the Gunners on a frustrating night at a sparsely-populated Emirates.Relegated Sunderland were showing some surprising resilience but Sanchez broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute, finishing off a flowing move by converting Mesut Ozil’s pass.The Chilean then bundled in a second from Olivier Giroud’s cut-back to take his league tally for the season to 23 — just one goal behind the league’s leading scorer Romelu Lukaku.While City need just a point to guarantee finishing above Arsenal, Arsene Wenger’s Gunners could potentially take advantage of any Liverpool jitters.advertisement”We made 71 points and were second. We now have 72 and want to go to 75. After that you deal with what happens,” Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said, referring to the fact that his side have more points than they managed as runners-up in 2015-16.”We’ve got in on the final day many times. Sunderland fought and you want that in the Premier League — that’s what you want from every team.”Wenger was again asked about his future.”At the moment let’s focus. We have a big game again on Sunday and then an FA Cup final — let’s sort that out first.”City took 27 minutes to break down West Brom but then scored twice in two minutes with Jesus first being set up by De Bruyne and then returning the compliment.Toure made the points safe before Pablo Zabaleta, playing his last game at the Etihad after nine years with the club, came on to a huge ovation from the home faithful.City look almost certain to achieve the bare minimum of a top-four place and could only finish below Arsenal if they lost at Watford, Arsenal won and there was a five-goal swing, with Wenger’s side scoring more than City on the day.”We are in third position so it’s in our hands,” Guardiola, who will finish a season trophy-less as manager for the first time, said. “We go to Watford to win the game.”Champions Chelsea and runners-up Tottenham Hotspur are England’s guaranteed representatives in the Champions League.
Big-hitting Australian teenager Jaimee Fourlis served up a major scare for Caroline Wozniacki at Roland Garros on Monday, making light of the 300-plus ranking places separating them to push the 11th seeded Dane to three sets.Wozniacki, who appeared to be carrying the after-effects of a lower back injury that forced her to retire during last week’s Strasbourg tournament, pulled away towards the end of a testy encounter, winning 6-4 3-6 6-2 in just over two hours.Wildcard Fourlis, aged 17 and at 337 the lowest-ranked player in the main draw, was the stronger for much of the first two sets, keeping Wozniacki pinned at the back of the court with blistering drives off both wings.But the Dane, making her 10th appearance at Roland Garros, showed her greater experience at key moments, winning both her breaks points in the opening set while the Australian converted just one out of five.Playing her first French Open and only her second grand slam after reaching the second round of her home major in January, Fourlis refused to be overawed, keeping up a running commentary with her courtside entourage and the umpire.Leading 4-1 in the second set, the Australian lost some of her focus after disputing a line call that went against her, dropping that game and the next. She recovered to break Wozniacki again before serving out to love to take the set.But as Fourlis began to take issue with other calls, the Dane took control in the third.
The nation erupted in joy and firecrackers were burst in the nook and corner of every street when India beat their arch rival Pakistan in the high-octane Champions Trophy match on Sunday.India displayed a clinical performance and out-classed their opponents at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground.An elated fan said, “During the month of Ramadan, the God has blessed us Indian Muslims this victory. This is a proud moment for us. We defeated our enemy.”Another fan remarked that the Sunday night win would help boost the morale of the soldiers at the border.”Winning the match against Pakistan in such a tensed situation will boost the confidence of our Armed Forces at the border,” he said.”I am happy that India fought against Pakistan in cricket and won. I congratulate everyone for this win,” another fan said.The defending champions beat the Men in Green by 124 runs through Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) in the one-sided match.Chasing a revised target of 289 runs in 41 overs, Pakistan were bundled out for 164 runs with Wahab Riaz not coming to bat because of an injury he sustained during India’s innings.Umesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for India as he finished with the figures of three for 30 while Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya took two wickets each.Yuvraj was declared ‘Man of the Match’ for his brilliant batting performance.The Kohli-led side will now lock horns against Sri Lanka at the Kennington Oval in London on June 8.
England have no safety concerns in the wake of Saturday’s militant attack that killed seven people in London and the Champions Trophy cricket tournament must go on, bowler Steve Finn has said.In the third major assault to hit Britain in less than three months, attackers rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing revellers in nearby bars.All team hotels subsequently went into lockdown and the International Cricket Council (ICC) issued a statement on Sunday saying it would review security in line with threat levels. (India vs Pakistan, Champions Trophy 2017: Record turnout at Edgbaston despite London terror attack)”It is a sorry state of affairs but we will keep playing cricket and be defiant in the face of it and hopefully put a smile on people’s faces here,” said Finn, who replaced the injured Chris Woakes in the England squad on Sunday.”We are fully supportive of the security plans that are in place. We have been briefed on how we are going to be protected.”We are very comfortable that there is a ring of steel around us so that everyone who is in the ground will be safe. As long as our minds are at ease, we will be alright to play cricket,” the 28-year-old added.Cricket Australia (CA) said they were also “comfortable” with the security for the event featuring the top eight teams in the one-day international rankings.”We toured Bangladesh last year under very tight security and were looked after very well. This tournament will be no different,” Finn said.advertisementSome of his team mates were staying in a hotel less than half a mile (800 metres) from the attack, while all-rounder Ben Stokes was dining in Leicester Square.”Ben struggled to get back to the hotel because of the roads being cordoned off,” Finn said.”But as far as I am aware no one else was affected or involved. Everyone in our squad was fine.”With Woakes unavailable and Stokes struggling to bowl at full pace because of a problematic knee, Finn can expect to be selected for Tuesday’s match against New Zealand with England looking to record a second straight victory in the tournament.”Woakes is an excellent bowler and has been for England in white-ball and red-ball cricket for a long time. I am obviously taller than the other guys around, so maybe there is a different element to that,” he told Sky Sports.”I’m going into these training days leading in the game and if I get the call beyond that then great and I will try my best for my country.”
India will be facing arch-rivals Pakistan in the Hockey World League semi-final in London on Sunday.Up against Pakistan for the first time this year, India will look to continue their good form after defeating Scotland 4-1 on June 15 and Canada 3-0 on Saturday.India have enjoyed considerable success against Pakistan in the recent past. In 2016, India beat Pakistan 3-2 in both league and final match at the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy. India also won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup match against Pakistan by a convincing 5-1 margin.Ahead of the match, skipper Manpreet Singh downplayed the hype around the high-voltage India-Pakistan clash and looked forward to putting up a good performance.”We always look at Pakistan as just another team and we always look at earning those three points from the match to advance in the league stage. They are a good side, but we have had a good start to the tournament,” Manpreet said.Manpreet has also added that “the idea will be to stick to the plans coach draws up before the match, bring in more aggression into our game and aim at finishing on top of the table in the league stage.”(With inputs from ANI)
Seventh seed Marin Cilic swept into the fourth round at Wimbledon with a 6-4 7-6(3) 6-4 win over American Steve Johnson on Friday to end an imperious opening week with a third consecutive straight sets victory.The big-serving Croat took his aces tally to 63 for the tournament as he ended Johnson’s Wimbledon run and underlined his own status as one of the main challengers to the established favourites.Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, is one of only two people, alongside Stan Wawrinka, to have won a grand slam in the last seven years outside of the game’s dominant quartet of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.Having reached the final at Queen’s in the traditional Wimbledon warmup, his grasscourt game is in good shape and he eased past Johnson with minimum fuss.The Croat took the first set when he broke in the 10th game and claimed the second in a tiebreakAfter both players struggled to hold serve at the start of the third, Cilic took control before wrapping up the contest when the American dumped a forehand return into the net.Next up for Cilic is Roberto Bautista Agut, who reached the fourth round with a shock victory over Japanese ninth seed Kei Nishikori.
Jalpaiguri (WB), Jul 11 (PTI) Panchanan Barman, father of heptathlete Swapna Barman who won gold at the Asian Athletics Chamionships, is bedridden ever since she was a child.But adversity has not robbed him of his dream. He wants his daughter Swapna, the promising athlete from Jalpaiguri in north Bengal, to conquer the world. “We could never provide nutritious food as required by a sportswoman to our daughter. I wish she becomes a world champion,” Panchanan said in a choked voice. The sole breadwinner for the family, Panchanan was a rickshaw puller but a stroke several years ago made him bedridden.Swapna, now 20, saw her father confined to the bed ever since she was a child.”We never imagined our daughter will go this far,” Swapnas mother Basana said, with tears rolling down her cheeks.”She is good at studies and sports…. I hope she goes further ahead…. I hope she gets a job,” said Basana, who used to work in a tea estate but now does odd jobs to run the family. Basana used to cycle Swapna to a club for practice when she was younger.Swapna is the youngest of her two brothers and a sister.Her brother Atish said, he was overjoyed at Swapnas triumph at the Asian Athletics Championships and burst crackers to celebrate. Swapna had collapsed just after crossing the 800m race, the last of the seven events of heptathlon, during the championship on July 9 and she required medical attention.She finished fourth in that event but still clinched the gold as she had already taken a lead of enough points to emerge as the winner.advertisementTill her higher secondary examination in 2014, Swapna studied in Kaliaganj Uttameshwar High School.The schools games teacher Bishwajit Majumdar is overjoyed at her success.”Since 2006 I was her games teacher. The school is proud of her. I wish she wins an Olympic gold,” Majumdar said.Swapna now stays at the SAI camp in Kolkata. PTI COR NN MM AH
New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) Over 100 delegates from 10 ASEAN countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – will participate in the India-ASEAN Youth Summit to be held in Bhopal from August 14-19.A statement from the India Foundation said the think tank in collaboration with the ministry of external affairs and the ministry of youth affairs and sports will organise the first- of-its-kind event.External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, her deputy V K Singh, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Vijay Goel, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be among the key speakers at the event, it said.The exercise will mark the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership in the ongoing year and also the commemorative years theme of “Shared Values, Common Destiny”.”It aptly reflects the close cultural and civilisational links that India and South East Asia have enjoyed over two millennia,” the statement said.While India?s civilisational, commercial, cultural and trade links with the region are centuries old, “renewed and revitalised” engagement with the region has come with Prime Minister Narendra Modis “Act East Policy”, it said.Noting that Modi at the 12th ASEAN-India Summit and the 9th East Asia Summit held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in November, 2014, had formally enunciated the Act East Policy, it said the addition of an economic vector to the Indo-ASEAN relationship has made it stronger and more sustainable.Apart from the 100 delegates from ASEAN countries, the summit will also have participation of 75 youth leaders from India.advertisementThe statement said participants will represent some of the largest institutions in their countries, including leaders from ruling as well as opposition parties, think tanks, media and universities. PTI KR KUN
Opening batsman Mark Stoneman has been selected to make his debut for England in their first day-night Test match against the West Indies, starting at Edgbaston on Thursday.The Surrey left-hander, who will become Alastair Cook’s 15th opening partner for England, was named in the side on Wednesday, the first of the three-Test series, in place of the struggling Keaton Jennings.It is the only change to the side that wrapped up a 3-1 series win over South Africa in the fourth and final Test as England still seek to find a regular partner for former captain Cook before the Ashes series against Australia this winter. (From Indoor ODI to Day-Night Tests: Innovations in cricket)Seamer Chris Woakes and spinner Mason Crane miss out on a place in the starting XI from the original 13-man squad.Captain Joe Root welcomed the inclusion of Stoneman, an experienced 30-year-old with 19 first-class hundreds to his name, telling Sky Sports: “He’s obviously got a huge amount of runs under his belt this season and in previous seasons as well.”He’s got a very well-rounded game and he’s a bit more experienced having played a lot of county cricket.”I’m excited to see him and I’d like to think he’ll get a very good opportunity and some good game time with England. This is a great opportunity for him to go out and prove how good he is.”