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If Bangladesh win the third ODI against Mirpur, they will have not lost an ODI series against major opposition for the first time ever

The Preview by George Binoy10-Oct-2010Match FactsMonday, October 11, Mirpur
Start time 09:00 local (03:00 GMT)Shakib Al Hasan’s performance will be pivotal to Bangladesh’s chances of pulling off another upset•Associated PressThe Big PictureNew Zealand’s best-laid plans of preparing for the 2011 World Cup by scheduling series in each of the host nations are being laid to waste. They went to Sri Lanka first, to give their inexperienced team insight into the conditions there, but didn’t perform adequately enough to make the tri-series final. A tour of India will follow, but only after their ongoing assignment in Bangladesh, where a depression over the Bay of Bengal has caused enough rain to wreck their first ten days in the country. Both warm-ups were washed out, as was an international, and the only ODI New Zealand played ended in a nine-run defeat on D/L terms.There was, though, a shimmer of hope ahead of Monday’s match. The intensity of the depression had eased and the sun shone, albeit briefly, on the eve of the third ODI, allowing the Shere-e-Bangla Stadium time to recover from all the rain. New Zealand, who have been confined indoors for a while, were finally able to practice outside and get a feel of Mirpur. Brendon McCullum, their opening batsman, spoke of a sense of frustration at the weather, and hoped New Zealand would be able to play the remaining three games. Trailing 1-0 in the five-ODI series, they now have to win three in a row to leave Bangladesh with a trophy.The hosts have challenges of their own to overcome. They are without Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Hossain, both of whom were involved in the victory but are ruled out by injury. More importantly, however, they face the challenge of achieving collective consistency. If not for Shakib Al Hasan’s quality all-round performance, it’s likely that New Zealand would have taken the series lead and Bangladesh will find it hard to string wins together on the back of a single man’s performance. All of the top six batsman got to double figures in the first ODI, but only Shakib made it past 40. It’s an issue their opening batsman, Shariar Nafees, said needed urgent addressing. Bangladesh are one win away from not losing the series, an accomplishment they’ve never achieved against a major opposition, not counting a weakened West Indies.Form guide (most recent, completed matches)
Bangladesh: WLWLL
New Zealand: LLLWW
Watch out for…New Zealand’s opening batsmen, Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, are among the most watchable opening pairs in international cricket today. McCullum is forever innovating, opening up previously unexploited regions with inventive stroke play, while Ryder possesses oodles of talent. He’s also remarkably quick for someone who could be several kilos lighter. They added 53 in 6.5 overs in the first ODI before Ryder fell. The goal will be to convert an explosive start into something more damaging.Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh’s captain again for the remainder of the series because of Mortaza’s injury. He is also their most valuable match-winner, especially in the absence of Tamim Iqbal. He made 58 in the first game and his four wickets were crucial in dragging New Zealand below the D/L equation. A lesser performance from him and Bangladesh will struggle to make it 2-0.Pitch and conditionsThe Mirpur square has spent a lot of time under covers and McCullum expected it to not change too much from the way it played in the first game – slow without massive turn. The rains had eased considerably on the eve of the match but there was some showers forecast for Monday. The third ODI is unlikely to be a complete washout though.Team newsBangladesh (probable): 1 Imrul Kayes, 2 Shahriar Nafees, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Naeem Islam, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Rubel Hossain/Shafiul Islam, 11 Syed Rasel.New Zealand (probable): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Grant Elliott, 5, 6 Kane Williamson/BJ Watling/Shannan Stewart, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Daryl Tuffey.Stats and trivia Daniel Vettori needs two wickets to become the highest wicket-taker in New Zealand-Bangladesh bilateral contests. Unless the incumbent, Kyle Mills, adds to his tally of 27. Imrul Kayes averages 34.20 against New Zealand, which is the highest for a Bangladesh batsman with a minimum of five innings.Quotes”I’m a positive scorer when going well … I would like to cement myself in the team with a couple of match-winning performances.”
“Shakib is definitely a world-class player and you will have to check him if you want to win matches.”
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England’s coach, Andy Flower, admitted that his bowlers were finding it tough to readjust to the disciplines of five-day cricket after another chastising day in the field

Andrew Miller at Lord's30-May-2010England’s coach, Andy Flower, admitted that his bowlers were finding it tough to readjust to the disciplines of five-day cricket after another chastising day in the field against Bangladesh at Lord’s. Barely a fortnight ago, Flower and his charges were in the Caribbean, celebrating England’s triumph in the World Twenty20, but right now, the short-form bowling skills that were instrumental in that victory are proving insufficient to dislodge an obdurate Bangladesh batting line-up.Bangladesh were asked to follow-on after being dismissed for 282 on the fourth morning, but reached a confident 328 for 5 in their second innings, a lead of 105. Tamim Iqbal led the way with a brilliant 94-ball century, and was expertly assisted by Imrul Kayes, who made 75 in an opening stand of 185, before Junaid Siddique (66 not out) and Jahurul Islam (46) propped up the middle order.England’s attack was led once again by Steven Finn, who took his match tally to six with two further scalps, but for James Anderson, Tim Bresnan and even Graeme Swann, who have all missed out on first-class practice during the World Twenty20, there was a lot of toil with very little reward, at least until the second new ball was claimed late in the day.”I think in both innings the bowlers themselves would acknowledge they have not performed as they would have liked,” said Flower. “We let them get away in the first innings, then dragged it back. But today I thought their openers played superbly. Imrul Kayes left the ball well, and Tamim obviously played a great aggressive innings. We do acknowledge that and give them credit, but we know that we were a little below-par.”England’s toils also led to inevitable questions about the balance of the attack, with Jonathan Trott’s medium pace being drafted in to bolster a struggling four-man attack. But Flower disagreed that an extra front-line seamer would have made any difference to the scoreline, and instead hinted that Bresnan and Anderson in particular needed to raise their game.”I don’t think the number of bowlers is the issue. I think the way we bowled is the issue,” said Flower. “Finn has been excellent, especially in the first innings. He’s been superb, quite accurate and surprisingly so for a young man of that sort of pace. But Jimmy Anderson, after a long break and with not much first-class cricket under his belt, is not really hitting his straps – until this evening when, with the new ball from the pavilion end, he looked superb. He was a little bit more like the Jimmy Anderson we know.”Tim Bresnan was superb in the West Indies in the Twenty20 stuff. But that’s a different type of bowling, the type where he can come wide of the crease and angle the ball into the right-handers and swing is not all that important. He hasn’t had a chance to get any first-class cricket under his belt for I don’t know how many weeks, since three games at the start of the season.”Flower conceded that he had considered selecting a bowling line-up that had been playing more first-class cricket this season, but added that it would have set an unwanted precedent. “I did think about that,” he said, “but in the end you also want to pick the right guys.”You have to make do with whatever schedule you are given, and we got Jimmy back as soon as we could from the West Indies – and he played the second half of that first-class game for Lancashire. Bresnan needed to rest a niggling knee, so couldn’t do that. We just make the best of the situation we’ve got.One man who did miss out for this match was Stuart Broad, but though Flower conceded that his aggression might have made a short-term difference to the quality of the attack, he reiterated his belief that his key players would need to be rested during the course of a long season. “The Stuart Broad decision is one based on what’s best for English cricket and Stuart Broad, looking to the medium and long term,” he said. “Sometimes, you have to make those tough decisions.”Looking to the match situation, with England needing five quick wickets to avoid the prospect of an embarrassing draw against the weakest team in Test cricket, Flower insisted that there had been no under-estimating of opponents who had proven tough to beat in their own conditions two months ago. “Other people have talked them down a bit, and talked us up. But we certainly haven’t done that in our own changing room.”We respect them, and they fought very hard in Bangladesh and very hard here. But we’ve got a brand new ball, and it always does a bit more in the morning – so we’ve got a good opportunity we need to take then. I personally think there’s enough in this pitch to get a result.”

Recalled Durham batsmen Mark Stoneman and Gordon Muchall assembled an unbroken partnership of 61 in a seriously truncated first day in the County Championship clash with Warwickshire at Edgbaston

29-May-2010
ScorecardRecalled Durham batsmen Mark Stoneman and Gordon Muchall assembled an unbroken partnership of 61 in a seriously truncated first day in the County Championship clash with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.After a five-hour wait for play to get under way, further showers and bad light caused three stoppages as the struggling champions – on the rebound from a two-day defeat by Kent – reached 65 for 1 in 21 overs.With Durham starting the game three points ahead of bottom-of-the-table Warwickshire, there was a different edge to last summer when the northerners won both meetings on their way to retaining the Division One crown. Consistently undermined by fitness issues this season, Durham were without Steve Harmison because of an ankle problem and they also left out opening batsman Kyle Coetzer and all-rounder Gareth Breese.They even managed to pick up another injury during a football kick-about on the outfield, although Callum Thorp, who needed stitches in a cut eyebrow, was not scheduled to take part in the match.Losing a wicket in the first over was the last thing they would have wanted, but Michael Di Venuto was a victim of early movement after collecting a boundary off Chris Woakes. The England Lions seamer immediately took his revenge with a successful lbw appeal. That brought together two batsmen making their first championship appearances since last August.Stoneman took 18 balls to get off the mark and Muchall came through a difficult start. Dropped at second slip in Woakes’ second over, he survived again when two edges off Andrew Miller failed to carry to the catching cordon.The initial uncertainty gradually eased as Stoneman, in particular, played some pleasing shots. The left-hander seized his opportunity, having waited more than three weeks since scoring a career-best 118 against Durham MCCU in his only previous first-class innings this season.Seven fours helped him to an undefeated 31, and when the gloomy weather closed in again at 6pm, the umpires called time for the day with Muchall on 21. By then the injury troubles had spread to Warwickshire with Darren Maddy forced to leave the field after bowling five balls in his third over.

Tottenham insider John Wenham believes the club could seal the signing of AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie in a number of days, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Talks at an advanced stage

Managing director at Spurs Fabio Paratici has been linked with a move for Kessie for a number of months now.

The Ivorian, capable of playing as a central or defensive midfielder, has just six months remaining on his AC Milan contract.

That means Tottenham will have the chance to seal pre-contract terms in the January transfer window, with The Daily Express reporting in recent days that talks are at an advanced stage.

Arsenal and Manchester United are also keen, but it’s believed Antonio Conte’s side are at the front of the queue for the 25-year-old’s signature.

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The Latest: Wenham’s comments

Spurs insider Wenham was talking to Football Insider in a story on Thursday evening regarding Kessie.

He feels that a move could be finalised in ‘days’, labelling Paratici as a ‘specialist’.

“The Franck Kessie stuff is still going on.

“The opportunity to get him on a pre-contract is coming up in a few days and I think that’s one to keep an eye on.

“I’ve mentioned before about Paratici’s links with Serie A and how he is a specialist at getting these deals done.

“That one would not surprise me. There are reportedly a lot of clubs interested in him.

“But now we have the pulling power of Antonio Conte, which could give us an edge.”

The Verdict: Brilliant…

Should Spurs land Kessie on a pre-contract agreement over the coming days, it could turn out to be an excellent piece of business both in the short and long term, with Paratici then able to look at immediate January additions.

Tottenham would be getting a £43.2m-rated midfielder seemingly in his prime for nothing, with Kessie bringing a wealth of international and European experience to north London.

There could also be a number of midfield departures at Spurs over the next few weeks, with Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso linked with exits. Should the pair move on, that would leave Conte with just four senior midfield options, so bringing in Kessie would help bolster the numbers in the middle of the pitch.

In other news: ‘I’m hearing’ – talkSPORT drop Spurs transfer update live on-air; Conte wants ‘world class’ ace. 

Australia have topped Group A at the Under-19 World Cup emphatically. Yet, their coach Stuart Law recognises there are disciplines his team needs to improve on during Sunday’s quarterfinal against Bangladesh

George Binoy in Townsville18-Aug-2012Australia have topped Group A at the Under-19 World Cup emphatically. They beat England by six wickets and 15 overs to spare, Nepal by 212 runs, and Ireland by six wickets and 57 balls left. Yet, their coach Stuart Law recognises there are disciplines his team needs to improve on during Sunday’s quarterfinal against Bangladesh, and says having won so comprehensively despite not being at their best highlighted the depth of talent within the squad.”We have got through, won three out of three, but I still feel there are some areas for improvement, which is pretty good if you’re winning games and still not playing your best cricket,” Law said. “It doesn’t make you very complacent.”Australia’s bowlers have conceded 25 wides in three games, only one batsman has scored a hundred and some have been getting out in the same fashion, and they haven’t run out a batsman yet. These were the areas Law felt needed attention.”There have been some great areas for us, but there are just those little one per-centers,” Law said. “We bowled a lot of wides with the new ball. Batsmen have got to learn that once you get out a certain way, you shouldn’t be getting out like that time and time again. We haven’t got many run outs in this competition, we’re a better fielding side than what we’re showing. They may not mean much in the whole scheme of things but in big games coming up, if we can get one run out, take a great catch, don’t bowl five wides, it makes it easier to win the game.”While Australia’s captain William Bosisto said he was “rapt” to have won all three games so far, he too wasn’t thrilled with the performance in the last group game against Ireland. “I suppose, with attacking cricket, you can sometimes come unstuck, it’s not going to come off all the time,” Bosisto said. “It’s a learning experience, but I think if we try and be as positive as we can and learn from our mistakes that’s the only way to improve.”What Australia have done during the group stages is manage to give all 15 players in their squad a game, which means no one will have to take the field during the knock-out without match practice. Even the two replacement players they called into the squad because of injuries, seam bowler Alex Gregory and legspinner Shane Cassel, have had success. “Coming into the group stage, we wanted to win all three games but we also wanted to get as many players into form as possible and I think we’ve achieved that so far,” Bosisto said.Australia have two significant advantages going into the quarterfinal against Bangladesh in Townsville. They’ve played at Endeavour Park, in this tournament and during a quadrangular series earlier this year, and know what to expect from the conditions. Bangladesh have been based in Brisbane and will have to adjust to their new environment on the go. Australia have not played this Under-19 Bangladesh side before, but they have Law, who was Bangladesh coach until recently and knows some of their key players. Bangladesh don’t have similar insights.”I’ve spoken to the players a little bit about it [the Bangladesh team],” Law said. “You don’t try and give them too much, if you give them too much information you can lead to paralysing them mentally and you don’t want to do that. You just want them to go out and play good, carefree cricket with discipline.”What Law wants, however, is for the batsmen who get set to play substantial innings when they get the opportunity to. Cameron Bancroft showed that appetite against Nepal, when he scored 125, but some others have failed to score a century or see the chase home because of an error of judgment rather than being dismissed by a good ball.”It’s good to have a sounding board like Greg Chappell in the dressing room. We look at each other and say, ‘These guys don’t like scoring hundreds.’ We tell these players that 20s aren’t going to be enough to put your name up in lights. If you’re 50 not out at the end of an innings, great … but if you get the opportunity, you’ve got to go big. If you’re getting 40 and 50 all the time, it’s okay, but it’s not going to get you far.”Having said that, Law was pleased with the balance in Australia’s line-up. Bancroft and Bosisto are the steady batsmen who have shown the temperament to battle through tough periods, while Jimmy Peirson, Kurtis Patterson and Travis Head have been more aggressive during the group games. “We’ve looked at different combinations, we’ve looked at who’s got the power game, who can constantly hit gaps,” Law said. “It is a good balance, it’s something Greg and I, we’re pretty conscious of keeping that balance going through the next three games. Don’t have too many changes now, everyone knows their role.”Australia will be expected to get past Bangladesh, and they’ll want to do so in a manner that shows improvement from their already impressive performances during this tournament.

Pakistan A shocked their England counterparts with a six-wicket win off the penultimate ball in their Twenty20 match in Abu Dubai

Cricinfo staff16-Feb-2010
ScorecardPakistan A gained some revenge over their England counterparts with a six-wicket win off the penultimate ball in their Twenty20 match in Abu Dubai. Led by a 47-ball 49 from Umair Khan, Pakistan A chased down’ 147 with a ball to spare to consign the Lions to their first defeat since arriving in UAE.With six still needed off the final over from Sajid Mahmood, Naeem Anjum was run out from the first delivery to set up a tense finish. Tanvir Ahmed then found a crucial boundary to ease the pressure on Pakistan A as he and Kashif Siddiq scampered home with one ball remaining.It is a frustrating result for the Lions after they responded well to Mohammad Hafeez’s invitation to bat first, reaching 58 without loss inside the first six overs. Craig Kieswetter and Steven Davies looked well set, with Kieswetter in particular in good order. He is pushing for a berth in the senior side having qualified for England on Tuesday and earned special mention from Andy Flower on Monday.After Davies departed for 17, Kieswetter clubbed his way to his second half-century of the tour, hitting five fours and three sixes, including one which sailed over midwicket, on his way to 50 from 31 balls. His dismissal in the 10th over, stumped running down the wicket at former Test left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, robbed his side of a chance to post a really imposing total. While Ian Bell and Michael Lumb played tidily it was only Peter Trego that attempted anything expansive. He hit 14 from nine balls to help lift the total to 146.Pakistan A were reduced to 18 for 2 inside the first three overs of their reply, with the openers falling to each of the opening bowlers. Asad Shafiq then set about reviving Pakistan A’s hopes in a 61-run stand with Umair, carrying the total to 79 before he was out in the 12th over.At that stage the game was evenly poised and Pakistan A did well to work the ball around and calmly lay the foundations for the victory. Umair was bowled one short of a deserved 50 by Steve Kirby but England Lions couldn’t quite take decisive control of the game. Aamer Sajjad picked off two boundaries and ran well between the wickets to take his side within nine runs of the target with nine balls to go. In the end they had just enough to take them over the line.

Board also alleges breach of retainer contracts by some players

Cricinfo staff17-Jul-2009The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has said the players who refused to join the Test squad last week, and the official ticket launch for the 2010 World Twenty20 on July 4, violated the board’s code of conduct and, in some cases, retainer contracts. In its first formal communication with the players on this issue, it has written individually to each of them citing breaches of contract and seeking a reply within ten days.The action precipitated an immediate response, with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) disputing the charge, saying the players could not breach contractual obligations because they had not entered into an agreement with the WICB. It said the board lacked the standing to issue such letters.The board claimed a breach of Rule 6 of the WICB Code of Conduct, which states: ‘Players and team officials must not at any time engage in behaviour unbecoming that could bring the game of cricket into disrepute or be harmful to the interests of cricket’.The WICB release also said those players on retainer contracts have been informed that “their action breached that contract and therefore those payments have been suspended immediately until such time as you [the players] indicate in writing to the WICB your resumption of obligations under the contract”.WICB media officer Phillip Spooner said the board had also told WIPA that the strike action breaches the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the two, and requested that the dispute be referred to immediate mediation.WIPA, on the other hand, clarified the position of its players in its own press release. “They informed the WICB that they were unavailable for the first Test against Bangladesh,” the WIPA statement read. “These players were under no contract with the WICB that imposed any terms, conditions and obligations with regard to the first Test against Bangladesh and have taken no strike action within this context.”On the “boycott” of the ticket launch, WIPA said though the players participated in the ODIs against India, “there was no contract setting out what the terms, conditions and obligations were with regard to this series and it was their understanding it was an optional event.””In the normal circumstances the players may well have attended in any event without a contract but after a three-hour meeting at which it came to their attention that a large number of long outstanding issues had still not been resolved they exercised the option not to attend,” the WIPA statement read.According to the association, a letter was subsequently sent to the president of the WICB to the effect. WIPA acknowledged receipt of a letter from the WICB and a notice of dispute which it would respond to, denying any such assertion of strike action or breaches of the MoU and the CBA , and said it would proceed to respond as mandated under the CBA.The latest move in the ongoing player contracts crisis comes on the heels of WIPA’s tongue-in-cheek ‘apology’ on Tuesday, listing the debacles of the WICB administration and management over the last few years and also slamming the board for not honouring previously-arbitrated agreements between the two entities. On Wednesday, WIPA wrote to the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), seeking their intervention on the contractual impasse.

Liverpool go into their last Champions League group game this evening, already qualified and in a position to break the record as the first English side to win every single Champions League group stage game.

Despite already being qualified and the game at the San Siro tonight not having an effect on Liverpool’s qualification or position in the group table, Klopp will be working to put out a team that could break the record and keep the winning mentality flowing through the team, even with a heavy rotation of players.

With that being said, here is how Football FanCast expects Liverpool to line up against AC Milan away from home this evening;

We predict there will be seven changes made to the Liverpool side we saw against Wolves in the Premier League last weekend, with Mo Salah, Alisson Becker, Jordan Henderson and Virgil Van Dijk staying in the team to keep the balance and protect the areas where less experienced players will be rotated in.

Divock Origi is tipped to make an appearance in the starting line up for Liverpool this evening, after an impressive performance against Wolves when he came on as a substitute and scored the winning goal in the 94th minute, leading to huge praise from Jurgen Klopp where the German coach referred to the £10.8m-rated striker as a “legend” after the game;

“Divock Origi, the legend, finished it off and it’s a great story,” he said.

“He’s one of the best finishers I’ve ever seen in my life. In this great team, with our [front] three, he doesn’t play all the time but he is a very positive boy, loves the club, wants to contribute and he did in an incredible way.”

Teenager, Tyler Morton, is yet again predicted to join the starting line up, after making his debut in the senior team due to an early midfield injury crisis at Liverpool this season. He has proved he has what it takes as a result of not losing a single game he has played in for the senior side so far this season, with four appearances under his belt already in Klopp’s team.

Other changes include Taki Minamino coming in for Sadio Mane on the left who earns a well-deserved rest. Fabinho and Thiago also miss out with the aforementioned Morton and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming in.

There are mass changes at the back where Kostas Tsimikas, Ibrahima Konate and Neco Williams all start.

The Liverpool side are in fantastic form at the moment and AC Milan will have work to do to take a very important three points from this game, that with a win, could see them qualify alongside the Merseyside giants if results go their way.

In other news: Klopp handed boost in chance to break Champions League record

Liam Plunkett cashed in on Mark Davies’ misfortune as the England Performance Programme (EPP) side fought back strongly on the second day of their tour match against Gauteng

Cricinfo staff01-Dec-2009
ScorecardLiam Plunkett cashed in on Mark Davies’ misfortune as the England Performance Programme (EPP) side fought back strongly on the second day of their tour match against Gauteng. Davies claimed four wickets on the first day but was unable to take the field on the second morning after his bowling boots were removed by groundstaff during a shower before play got under way.With Davies stuck on the sidelines, Durham team-mate Plunkett took charge to finish with 5 for 47 as Gauteng, who began the day on 311 for 6, were bundled out for 328. After being released from England’s one-day squad last week, Plunkett’s performance is an important nudge for the England selectors ahead of the Test series.In a rain-interrupted day, the tourists then pressed home the bowlers’ good work, with Stephen Moore, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell all hitting fifties to lift the total to 239 for two at the close.Cook hit 11 boundaries in his 76 before he was caught behind off Ugasen Govender. After struggling at the top of the order in the Twenty20 series, and disappointing in the Ashes, he needs a good Test series against South Africa to cement his place in the side, while Bell is fighting to retain his spot in the top order.

BBC journalist David Burns has now shared an interesting Tottenham Hotspur transfer update as their ‘scouting guru’ David Pleat is spotted on a Monday mission.

The Lowdown: Lilywhites eye Championship stars…

Over the last few months, there have been no shortage of links to some of the second tier’s most promising young stars.

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Indeed, the likes of Ronnie Edwards (Peterborough) and Nottingham Forest defender Djed Spence, currently on loan there from Middlesbrough, have been repeatedly mentioned as Spurs targets for the summer.

Lilywhites transfer chief Fabio Paratici and manager Antonio Conte are seemingly leaving no stone unturned as they scour the market for fresh additions at N17.

Keane Lewis-Potter, who was subject to a possible bid from Spurs in the January transfer window, is another head-turning young name on their radar.

Tottenham, and by extension Conte, are believed to still be eyeing the forward past their winter links (The Mail), with Burns now sharing another update on their interest.

The Latest: Burns shares Lewis-Potter update involving Pleat…

It appears that Tottenham are firmly keeping watch over Lewis-Potter with the BBC Radio Humberside reporter claiming their ‘scouting guru’ Pleat was running the rule over him on Monday as Hull faced off against Millwall.

As well as the 21-year-old, Burns suspects that Tigers centre-back Jacob Greaves was also being monitored by Pleat and Spurs.

“Very interested to see David Pleat, Spurs scouting guru, coming into the ground,” he explained (via Twitter).

“He’s watching KLP and I suspect Greaves.”

The Verdict: Take it further?

Reportedly worth around £20 million, Lewis-Potter could require significant investment on part of Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy.

However, still very young and homegrown, the Englishman has also been a real mainstay under head coach Shota Arveladze over 2021/2022 – even notching the most goals and assists (9G, 3A) combined for Hull in the Championship (WhoScored).

Averaging more shots at goal per 90 than any Tigers ace in that time (2.2), it’s clear Lewis-Potter is a proven threat, with his rapid progress in a tough division elevating the starlet’s value.

As Paratici and co reportedly eye around five major signings for Conte in the summer, it will be interesting to see whether Tottenham take more concrete action over the winger who former manager Grant McCann called ‘special’.

In other news: Conte personally approves ‘monster’ player move as Tottenham take pre-summer action, find out more here.