All posts by h716a5.icu

The new owners of Newcastle United are now reportedly coveting Gareth Southgate as a potential replacement for Steve Bruce.

The Lowdown: Changes expected

As per 90min, the St. James’ Park faithful’s new owners are now ready to put in place a new management team, which is set to see Bruce and managing director Lee Charnley leave ‘within weeks, if not sooner’, following the completion of the takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

Of course, a new manager would have to be brought in to replace Bruce, and it will no doubt be interesting to see just how ambitious the owners will be with their appointment.

The Latest: Southgate coveted

According to 90min, Southgate is now being coveted by the owners to take charge in the North East, although he cannot leave his current role as England boss for another 12 months.

Manchester United first-team coach, Michael Carrick, is also being considered, but Southgate’s experience over him may give him the edge.

The Verdict: Avoid

Although there is a lot to admire about Southgate, as Englishman John Stones described him as ‘ruthless’ back in March after a win streak for The Three Lions, the fact of the matter is he has relatively little experience managing at club level, with his only spell at Middlesbrough ending all the way back in 2009 (Transfermarkt).

Yes, he has won 117 of the 249 games that he has managed, giving him a decent 47% win rate, but you also have to consider the lower-quality teams that England often face in qualifying matches for major tournaments.

Nonetheless, Southgate does not have the experience of spending particularly big sums of cash on big players either, and with the abundance of riches that the next manager is likely to get to spend on Tyneside, the Magpies are better off looking for a more high-profile name.

In other news, find out what ‘big boost’ NUFC have received here!

Everton have received a double injury setback ahead of their Premier League clash with West Ham United this afternoon after both Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were ruled out of action.

What’s the word?

The Toffees have been without the Brazil international since September 13 after he was injured following a heavy challenge from James Tarkowski in the Toffees’ 3-1 victory over Burnley, picking up a knee issue in the process.

Calvert-Lewin, meanwhile, has been absent since the win at Brighton at the end of August due to a fractured toe, although Everton’s form hasn’t suffered in their absence.

Nevertheless, the pair are vitally important to Rafa Benitez’s side, and he confirmed that the attacking pair will be unavailable for the visit of the Hammers, although there was some positive news regarding the fitness of Lucas Digne.

“Lucas (Digne) is fine, Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin are closer, but still they won’t be available for this game,” the Spaniard revealed in Friday’s press conference.

And Benitez also confirmed that his defensive ranks should be bolstered by key centre-back Yerry Mina despite his involvement in Colombia’s World Cup qualifiers over the international break.

“Yerry is coming back, he’s been playing a lot of games, a lot of minutes, but now I think he is travelling so hopefully, he will be here for starting the game.

“Everything is positive in terms of the feedback, but we’ll have to wait and see how he feels. He’s following the protocols and is doing everything he has to do to be sure that he’s available,” Benitez concluded.

Benitez will be gutted

The news that both Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin will be absent once again will leave Benitez feeling gutted ahead of a tricky encounter at Goodison Park.

The Brazilian bagged one goal and provided one assist in his four top-flight outings prior to his injury setback, while Calvert-Lewin netted in each of his three appearances for the Blues, highlighting their importance to the team.

Benitez will be hoping that the likes of Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray can step up in their absence once again, maintaining Everton’s impressive start to the season.

In other news… “It hasn’t worked”: Journalist makes damning Everton claim, fans must be fuming with Brands 

Sussex booked their place in the Twenty20 final, and with it passage to the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 in India, with a seven-wicket victory against Northamptonshire

Andrew McGlashan at Edgbaston15-Aug-2009Sussex 137 for 3 (Goodwin 80*) beat Northamptonshire 136 for 6 (Boje 34*) by seven wickets
ScorecardMurray Goodwin’s calm innings carried Sussex into the Twenty20 final•PA PhotosSussex booked their place in the Twenty20 final, and with it passage to the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 in India, with a seven-wicket victory against Northamptonshire. Murray Goodwin’s masterful, unbeaten 80 completed the run-chase after a sharp and efficient display in the field from Michael Yardy’s team.Goodwin has completed many harder run-chases than this for Sussex, but few with such rewards riding on the outcome, and was in control throughout as he brought up fifty from 43 balls. His Championship form has been poor this season and he showed some emotion as he acknowledged the crowd and his team-mates. His one scare came on 74 when he could have been run out as a modicum of pressure began to tell, but a square-driven boundary left four needed from the last over. The result was more comfortable than the two-ball margin suggests.However, despite helping his team take a step towards the potential for a huge pay-day in India, Goodwin won’t be there himself as he has a ‘cooling-off’ period after ending his ICL ties and is ineligible until the 2010 event. Nothing is simple in the evolving Twenty20 world.It was a disappointing performance from Northamptonshire, who arrived to Finals Day as the outsiders but had shown their capability this season in Twenty20. Unlike the other three teams on show, they didn’t have the motivation of a Champions League spot to play for after ICL-related issues involving Nicky Boje and Andrew Hall which, however professional they tried to be, surely impacted on their mindset.However, Sussex were also mighty impressive and never allowed the opposition to build any momentum in their innings with disciplined bowling and some live-wire fielding. Their 20 overs included just 11 boundaries and a solitary six with five of those fours coming in the last five overs, while overs seven to 17 included one four and the six. Northamptonshire’s powerful hitters – Hall and Johan van der Wath – were left in the dug-out for too long with the pair having nine balls between them to make an impact.Ian Harvey was the only batsman capable of forcing the pace and his brief innings was terminated by an inside edge against James Kirtley. Sussex produced two pieces of excellent fielding, firstly a direct hit from Ed Joyce from inside the circle to remove Rob White then a swift stumping from Andy Hodd to send back his opposite number, Niall O’Brien, for 24. O’Brien had shown plenty of innovation during his stay, regularly reverse-sweeping the spinners and would have escaped had Hodd not be so alert to the deflection off the thigh pad.Spin had been introduced as soon as the fielding restrictions relaxed and the nine overs between Yardy, Will Beer and Rory-Hamilton Brown conceded 54 runs. Beer, the 20-year-old legspinner, held his nerve well as the batsmen tried to take the attack to him, and his last two overs cost eight plus the wicket of Alex Wakely. Yardy, with his round-arm slinging variety, went for less than six-an-over as Northamptonshire couldn’t find the boundary.Luke Wright provided some early impetus for the chase and while the six-over comparison was very close, (Sussex 40 for 1, against Northamptonshire’s 39 for 1) Sussex always knew what they had to do. Goodwin and Rory-Hamilton Brown took them to within 16 of victory with a stand of 91 and although Hall made them work, Sussex never looked like falling short.

An Australian cricketer’s confidence never wavers. Not in the face of sparse results or being behind in the Ashes for the second time in consecutive tours

Peter English at Edgbaston28-Jul-2009An Australian cricketer’s confidence, at least in public utterances, never wavers. Not in the face of sparse results, a growing list of doubters or being behind in an Ashes series for the second time in consecutive tours. The players are preparing to enter the third Test with an opener who hasn’t been able to cope with the short ball, a blunt bowling spearhead and a number of possible permutations over their XI, but with the way they talk it’s almost like they own the 1-0 advantage.There are only positives in the problems of Phillip Hughes and Mitchell Johnson, and opportunities for those who might be so lucky to replace them. Michael Clarke, the vice-captain, said the make-up of the team had not been discussed among the group this week, other than everyone being told by the captain and coach that they could play at Edgbaston. It’s not quite a crisis, but with only three matches remaining the time for cheerful chatter must soon switch to on-field action.So given their situation, why do the tourists have such confidence in a swift comeback? “It’s the Australian way, I guess,” Clarke said. “We play this game for one reason: to win. We love the game we play, we’ll be out there on Thursday backing ourselves 100% to win this game.”Times of trouble spur Australians more, they claim, and there have been series full of them over the past year. It is virtually impossible to speak to a player in the squad without them mentioning the tour of South Africa, where they beat the hosts to maintain their No. 1 ranking. However, on current results that series is the exception, not the light to guide them through a blip.”We play our best cricket when the chips are down, we are 1-0 down and we’ll take the positives out of that,” Clarke said. “We know where we let ourselves down over the past two Tests and we know the areas we want to improve. I’m certain if we play our best cricket we will win this Test.”Four years ago the Australian selectors were slow to act as Ricky Ponting’s squad lost the Ashes 2-1. The refurbished panel, which is led by Andrew Hilditch, has also shown a tendency to let things slide rather than make a firm decision when it comes to their respected players. It happened with Brett Lee and Matthew Hayden during their home summer and appears to be occurring again with Mitchell Johnson, who has been a shadow of the hero who turned up in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. All Johnson’s team-mates expect him to do an excellent job if he plays at Edgbatson.The closest Clarke came to admitting things haven’t gone exactly to plan came when he said “things could be better”. “We could be 1-0 up, there are things we need to improve with bat and ball,” he said. “We need to be playing our best cricket to beat England in these conditions.”Despite losing Kevin Pietersen, England remain inspired by the Andrew Flintoff wave that rose in the second innings at Lord’s. Flintoff is sleeping with an ice machine to ensure his problem knee is ready for back-to-back Tests and the Australians are wary of him.Clarke is the most qualified batsman to deal with Flintoff, having not been dismissed by him in 12 Tests. The statistic surprised Clarke – “I didn’t know that, touch wood, hopefully Thursday’s not the day” – but he does not expect Flintoff to carry England to victory.”He’s an amazing player and has been for a long time, but I’m not disappointed that I won’t have to face him after this series again in Test cricket,” Clarke said. “It’s always a contest. I hope Andrew is fit and ready to go and can finish the series, he certainly deserves that. Unfortunately, I think he’s going to be finishing as a loser when we win the series.” Of course, an Australian player would say that.

The Athletic’s George Caulkin has delivered some insight from behind-the-scenes about PIF and their current plans for Newcastle United.

What’s the story?

Writing on Twitter, he said: “Not much more than what I’ve already said & written about. Everything is going through PIF & they’re assessing everything, including what would have to happen next. The first step is taking too long though.

“The hope from inside is that within a couple of months the system of making decisions will have settled down. And it needs to – you can’t hang around during transfer windows,” he continued.

“No, I don’t think it’s about bigger names – it’s about right names. Not sure the people they would ideally want are available (and I don’t know who). My argument, the football argument, would be that you just need to take the first decision.”

Fans will be reassured

Make no mistake about it, after completing the takeover a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle fans would surely have been hopeful, if not expecting, entering a new era with a new manager for the weekend game against Tottenham at St James’ Park.

Instead, a whole week of uncertainty that saw reports emerge claiming Bruce would be sacked well ahead of the match didn’t come to fruition, and the Magpies’ new owners watched more of the same as the Tyneside club fell to a disappointing defeat at home.

On Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, both Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville pointed the finger of blame at the new owners and suggested that they had made an early mistake in not sorting out the managerial mess before that Spurs clash.

What Caulkin’s update should do however, is reassure fans that PIF do have a plan at hand, and that once all the early drama and confusion subsides, their judgments can become quicker and clearer.

Clearly, they have a big job on their hands, and it’s no surprise that they want to take their time over making decisions.

But, as Caulkin says, “the first step is taking too long”, and it’s high time they dealt with it.

Meanwhile, Newcastle could sign a Joelinton upgrade in this Premier League star…

A number of West Ham supporters have been reacting in shocked fashion to the facial injury Tomas Soucek picked up in the win over Everton.

The Hammers faced a testing trip to Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon but they passed with flying colours. David Moyes’ men were the better team throughout the contest and deservedly took home all three points thanks to Angelo Ogbonna’s goal, which sealed a 1-0 victory.

It means West Ham have jumped to seventh place in the Premier League table, putting them level on points with Manchester United.

Soucek was typically impressive for the Hammers, winning three tackles and five duels and misplacing just one of his 46 passes, but he didn’t get through the match unscathed, picking up a horrible injury after being kicked in the face by Salomon Rondon.

After the game, West Ham fan Tom Atherton (@Athers32) shared a photo of the midfielder on Twitter, showing the extent of the damage.

West Ham fans shocked by Soucek injury

These Hammers fans reacted to the “disgusting” image with shock and fury over how it was inflicted by Rondon.

“Yup, game should’ve been stopped. AND a head injury seems too. Crazy VAR needs to be able to stop the game if the referee makes a mistake”

Credit: @WestHamInOz

“Yikes”

Credit: @hammerslibrary

“@salorondon23 you know what you did. That was disgusting, nasty and despicable”

Credit: @woodysworld1

“What in the world?!”

Credit: @DarynTedric

“Crikey”

Credit: @tomdown1984

“Unbelievable, split lip open, slashed across his nose. cheekbone cut open. No foul or freekick!!!”

Credit: @deanrmarsh

In other news, some West Ham fans were unhappy with one player’s first-half performance against Everton. Read more here.

Ricky Ponting knew from the moment he spotted Michael Hussey on the final morning he was in the mood to break out of an extended form slump

Peter English at The Oval23-Aug-2009Ricky Ponting knew from the moment he spotted Michael Hussey on the final morning he was in the mood to break out of an extended form slump. Hussey’s goals were to save his team and, possibly, his place in the Test side. While the first dream scenario didn’t eventuate, he did score his first century in 29 innings.Four years ago it was Matthew Hayden who saved his spot at The Oval after a wretched series, but both men’s revivals could not stop a numbing series defeat. In the end Hussey’s 121 only delayed the loss, cutting it to 197 runs, but it was the one bright spot as Australia conduct their post mortem.”You could see in his eyes this morning that he was really up for the challenge,” Ponting said. “It’s been a while since he made a hundred and he’s probably felt that more than anyone else. It was great to see him stand up and make that hundred in difficult conditions when the team needed him most, and when he needed it most. It would have been a really satisfying innings, it was great for us.”Until this display Hussey had only two half-centuries for the contest along with a string of failures that weakened his hold in the team. The Australians kept the faith and watched Hussey score his 10th hundred, relived to know he would be staying with them for a bit longer.In partnership with Ponting he gave Australia some hope that they would get close to the other-world figure of 546 for victory, but the middle order tumbled in a couple of run-outs. Hussey was last out, starting England’s party with a bat-pad catch off Graeme Swann.”He played beautifully today, exceptionally,” Ponting said. “It was good fun to be out there and share a partnership … He showed today just how much of a class player he is.”Most of Hussey’s problems have occurred with him not being able to sense the placement of his off stump. He knew today, leaving well and pushing forward or back. Seeing him purr on the tricky surface made it hard to believe he had been in a rut for almost a year.There were awkward moments from the offspin of Swann, who had him dropped twice, and the sharp Steve Harmison, who troubled him with some short deliveries late in the day. When the cloud of defeat disperses, Hussey will recall happily the string of pull shots he sent to the boundary and his driving through the offside.A crisp cut off Stuart Broad took him to 98 and he followed with a two to cover to bring up three figures. It was a sombre celebration, but a satisfying one, and he looked to the sky with one of his bat raises.Four years ago Hayden followed his century at The Oval with three more hundreds in a row to signal the start of the next phase in his life of domination. A similar streak would help Hussey convince himself that he is capable of remaining a prolific force on the international scene.

For the first time since the 1996 World Cup a team gave them a scare in a global final, but Australia still remain the team to beat on the big day

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga05-Oct-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outDon’t bowl short: Shane Watson was lethal on the pull and the cut•Getty ImagesThey were given a scare in a global final for the first time since the 1996 World Cup but Australia still remain the team to beat on the big day. If Australia were typically aggressive and opportunistic in setting themselves just 201 to chase, they were made to play out of character in the chase against exceptional opening spells from Kyle Mills and Shane Bond, which Shane Watson and Cameron White did with smartness and with determination.Watson’s best innings at international level, a century that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award for the second successive Champions Trophy final, was key to Australia’s win. The opening spells of Mills and Bond even overshadowed that of Brett Lee and Peter Siddle. In defence of a meagre total, their lengths were immaculate. The ball that got Ricky Ponting was a perfect example: neither full enough for him to come forward, nor short enough to carry over the stumps, and the inswing trapped him in front. By then Bond had nailed Tim Paine with a full outswinger.Along with White, Watson went into the Test-match mode, playing out the top two bowlers as if in the first session on a green top under overcast skies. They could afford to do so because of the paltriness of the target, and the absence of Daniel Vettori: he had to pull out at the last minute because of a hamstring injury. White even let go two leg-side half-volleys. Apart from that, there were hardly any scoring opportunities on offer. Except for a couple of awry calls for singles, they survived that period calmly. Starting from the seventh, five overs went for just two runs, and the bowling figures of Mills and Bond then told the story: 6-2-8-1 and 5-2-9-1 respectively.And then the Aussie mental strength and ruthlessness came to fore. All the other four bowlers were welcomed with boundaries in their first overs. Two of them, against Ian Butler and Jeetan Patel, were deliberate efforts to signal intent; the other two, off James Franklin and Grant Elliott, were gifts down the leg side. Once both the opening bowlers were taken off, Watson turned it on to take the game away from New Zealand. He was lethally good with the horizontal bat, launching two powerful sixes to midwicket, and with the straight bat he mostly went down and along the ground.Prime Numbers5The number of successive finals Australia have won in multi-team tournaments – they have triumphed in the last three World Cups, and the last two Champions Trophies. The last time they lost such a final was the 1996 World Cup.3The number of Man-of-the-Match awards Shane Watson has won in Champions Trophy knockout matches – he won the award in the 2006 final, and the 2009 semi-final and final. In all he has won seven such awards.49.68Watson’s average when he has opened the innings in ODIs. In 30 innings he has scored 1242 runs, with four centuries and three fifties, and a strike rate of 85.95. 73The number of dot balls Australia played in the first 15 overs of their chase. During this period they struck only four fours. In the next 30.2 overs, though, they struck 18 fours and five sixes.128The partnership for the third wicket between Watson and Cameron White, which is the third-highest for Australia in an ODI against New Zealand. They fell seven short of the record.16The number of times Australia have beaten New Zealand in an ODI at a neutral venue, out of 17 games. Their only defeat was in Cardiff during the 1999 World Cup.51The number of ODI wickets Brett Lee has taken against New Zealand, making him the sixth bowler – and the second Australian, after Glenn McGrath – to get to the 50-wicket mark against them.From 7 off 28 he motored along to 49 off 72 by the 25th over. During that Watson onslaught, White presented New Zealand with a top-edge that Brendon McCullum, the stand-in captain, got under after having run backwards but dropped. That would have reduced Australia to 41 for 3 in the 18th over.The momentum wrested, Watson took the back seat, and allowed White get into action. McCullum realised the second string of bowlers wasn’t doing him any good, and called Mills and Bond back. Mills gave him another big-hearted effort, taking out White and Michael Hussey, in the process crossing Richard Hadlee’s tally of 158 wickets. Both the leading bowlers’ quotas were exhausted, and Watson turned it on again, bringing up his hundred and the win with back-to-back sixes.This final will be remembered for the top-class pace bowling from both sides, on what was a true surface that yielded neither variable bounce nor much seam movement. The way Australia bowled, it seemed we would have the traditional anti-climactic final involving Australia.All three fast bowlers were fast, accurate and menacing. Nathan Hauritz was canny on a pitch that assisted him, and Watson was stable. New Zealand were never allowed space: the first time their run-rate crossed four an over was at the end of the 43rd over, but they had lost seven wickets by then and had consumed the batting Powerplay. Ponting was proactive in attacking – even during two sizeable partnerships, he set aggressive fields, and brought back all his three strike bowlers in the middle overs to try and get breakthroughs.A bad start for New Zealand got worse when McCullum fell for a 14-ball duck, which seemed almost inevitable. Right from the off, Lee and Siddle hit the mid-to-high 140s, with Lee getting consistent outswing as well. Three tight overs were enough to frustrate McCullum into cutting a Siddle delivery that was too close to him.Martin Guptill and Aaron Redmond weathered the storm that the three Aussie fast bowlers worked up, but then Hauritz struck in the middle overs. A 61-run stand was followed by back-to-back strikes from Hauritz, sending back both the batsmen.Ponting got slips in, and asked Mitchell Johnson and Lee to attack furthermore. Ross Taylor, who twice edged towards slip deliveries from Johnson straightening from a sharp round-the-wicket angle, finally played an impatient shot. Lee produced a vicious inswinging yorker to get rid of Elliott.It then became a matter of surviving the 50 overs, and Australia never let up the pressure, despite the batting Powerplay that yielded 40 runs.

Graeme Jones will be hoping to pull off a surprise on Saturday as Newcastle host Chelsea in the Premier League at St James’ Park.

The Magpies are 19th in the table and winless after nine games, and today they come up against the league leaders off the back of their 7-0 win over Norwich last weekend.

Jones’ first match in charge of Newcastle ended in a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace, with Callum Wilson’s overhead kick securing a point at Selhurst Park.

The interim boss could make some changes for this game, and one player who he must unleash on the Blues is attacking midfielder Miguel Almiron.

The £15.75m-rated Paraguayan’s last start came against Wolves on 2 October and he made a positive impression off the bench against Palace last weekend. As per SofaScore, Almiron won three of his four duels and made two tackles and two interceptions in 24 minutes on the pitch. This shows the level of enthusiasm and defensive work rate that Jones will get from the 27-year-old, who is willing to put in the hard yards to win the ball back for his team.

As per SofaScore, he completed 100% of his attempted dribbles and created one chance as he was successful with one of his two crossing attempts. He was able to add quality end product in possession whilst also putting in the defensive work required to earn a point for the Magpies.

Last year, his former boss Steve Bruce hailed him as a manager’s dream, which plays into why Jones should want him in the starting XI.

The 60-year-old said: “Almiron is a manager’s dream. He’s bright, he’s tough, he trains every day and he’s been carrying a thigh injury but doesn’t want to tell anybody.

“The last 20 minutes on Sunday (against West Ham United) he was limping about the pitch. In 18 months he’s proved to be a really top, top player.”

Jones will know that he is starting a player who will give 110% on the pitch and that was highlighted in his cameo against the Eagles. With Newcastle likely to be up against it due to Chelsea winning seven of their nine league games so far, it could be beneficial to have a hardworking player like Almiron in the team, and that is why the 51-year-old must unleash him.

The 27-year-old could play a key role for the Magpies in stopping the Blues from creating overlaps down his flank if he plays out wide. Ben Chilwell has scored four goals in his last seven games for club and country, which is why Almiron’s defensive work could be important as he will need to track and stop Javier Manquillo from being overrun out wide.

AND in other news, PIF could find Saint-Maximin 2.0 in “big, big talent”, Newcastle fans would love him…

Michael Clarke has said he’s still hopeful of making some part of the ODI tour of India starting Sunday

Cricinfo staff19-Oct-2009Michael Clarke, Australia’s new Twenty20 captain, has said he’s still hopeful of playing some part of the ODI tour of India starting Sunday. He continues to recover from the lower-back problem which forced him to return home early from the ICC Champions Trophy last month in South Africa.Clarke is back in training as part of his rehabilitation from the injury that has troubled him over the past couple of years, “It’s going okay, I had a bit of a jog this morning which is fantastic,” Clarke said. “It’s good to get out of the house and get back into the gym but at the moment I’m having regular physio. I’m going pretty slow and steady to be honest but I’m confident that I can continue building on my progress.”He was willing to make the India trip, even if it meant only a few matches towards the finish of the seven-ODI series, which ends on November 11. “I’d really like to go there even if it’s the last couple of games to help the boys out there and also as preparation leading up to the first Test match (against West Indies in November) in Brisbane.”While eager to return to action as soon as possible, he was wary of making a comeback too soon. “I’m in a position where I’m not willing to risk coming back too early because I want it to be 100% right before I start doing too much.”Australia have a heavy workload in the next few months, and Clarke’s injury is proving to be a persistent one, but he was confident he wouldn’t need surgery any time soon. “I certainly haven’t considered surgery at this stage,” he said. “I’m seeing a physio who specialises in backs and she’s been fantastic and at this stage we’re very confident that I’m not going to need surgery.”However, Australian coach Tim Nielsen was more concerned about ensuring Clarke was fit enough to last the Australian summer and beyond, even if it meant not rejoining the squad until the first Test against the West Indies in November, soon after the India ODIs.”I don’t think we can ever guarantee that [his back will be fine], the issues are with discs and things with his back, so I’m not sure they’re ever going to be 100 per cent perfect,” Nielsen told . “He’ll have to manage it and he basically gets daily treatment on his back and his body when he’s away and playing and travelling, as do most of the blokes.””So I don’t think we can ever guarantee if he comes back saying he’s fit now that he’s not going to be sore or have flare-ups in the future again. It’s important that Michael is 100% right before he comes back and tries to get back into it because he only knows one way and he’s going to go 100%, flat-out in the field and bowl and bat as required.”So there’s no point bringing him back half-baked and hoping we can nurse him through, because there’s nothing surer that it’d be a recipe for disaster for him.”