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After securing a 2-1 win against Leicester City at the weekend, Wolves were on the wrong end of the same scoreline in their midweek Premier League clash against Arsenal.

Having taken the lead in the early stages of the first half through winger Hwang Hee-chan thanks to a misplaced pass from Gunners defender Gabriel, Bruno Lage’s side ultimately walked away with nothing after two goals from the home side through Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette right at the death secured the comeback and all three points in a heartbreaking defeat.

Despite the gutting result, one player in a Wolves shirt, aside from Hwang, stood out with a rather positive performance against Mikel Arteta’s side was full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Having played through the entire match, the Frenchman managed to have 62 touches of the ball and complete 27 accurate passes with one key pass in a shining display in north London.

The 20-year-old, who has been praised in the past for his “phenomenal” performances in an Old Gold shirt by Tim Spiers, also managed to successfully complete all three dribbles he attempted, showing how exciting he is when advancing forward.

In addition to this, the youngster also managed to show how impressive he can be from a defensive point of view by making four clearances, three tackles and one interception, as well as winning 77% of the duels he was involved in while not getting dribbled past once.

This display ultimately earned the wing-back an overall match rating of 7.1/10, making him one of Wolves’ highest-rated players on the day according to SofaScore.

Birmingham Live also picked up on his efforts on this occasion by saying in their report on the game that he “did make an impact going forward.”

With 15 league appearances to his name this term, WhoScored currently have the Frenchman listed as the highest-rated player in Lage’s squad with an overall performance rating of 7.12/10, showing how impressive he has been throughout the campaign.

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Moving forward, the best thing the Midlands club can do now would be to put this defeat behind them and hope that they can move forward positively as a team if they want to have any chance of securing European football for next season.

In other news: Wolves can unearth the next Moutinho in 19 y/o who plays “like he’s in the playground” – opinion

“I’d like players from overseas too to graduate from the NCA,” says Dav Whatmore, who is all set to become its first director of operations © AFP

Dav Whatmore, the former Bangladesh coach, is set to become the first director of operations of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.”I’ve agreed, but the announcement should come from the board … I don’t wish to break protocol,” Whatmore was quoted as saying by the , a Kolkata-based daily. “The contract is for three years and I’ll be in Bangalore by the end of this month.” Whatmore had been made the offer by Ravi Shastri, the NCA chairman.Looking ahead to the job at hand, Whatmore indicated that there were several plans for the NCA. “I’m excited and Ravi wants it to become a real finishing school. In fact, I’d like players from overseas too to graduate from there.”The specifics have to be worked out, but I expect the NCA to be operational for 8-10 months [in a year]. Eventually, one would like Indian coaches to impart all the training but, if needed, one may call specialists from overseas. However, one doesn’t have to cross that bridge right now.”Whatmore had been one of the leading contenders to replace Greg Chappell as India coach, but he wasn’t even called for the interview by a panel which included Shastri. Whatmore, though, said that didn’t affect his decision to take up the NCA offer.”I’d rather talk of the NCA,” he said. “It didn’t take me long to realise there’s value in being associated with it. Plus, I can give something. I know Ravi’s on the coach-appointing committee, but I didn’t bring up what happened in June. I’ve known Ravi for a number of years. We understand each other well and I’m looking forward to a formal association with him.”

Inclement weather in Colombo has forced the postponement of certain Premier league matches in Sri Lanka. Matches that were scheduled to begin on November 24 and December 1 have been pushed back to January 12 and 19.Basil Perera, Sri Lanka Cricket’s tournament committee chairman, said that in fairness to the 14 clubs represented the postponement was necessary because the current season was one of transformation for them. “Each of the clubs has only six matches in their respective groups to try and finish in the top ten to qualify for next season’s competition so it is only fair to give them the maximum opportunity of playing time,” he explained. “Last week four matches did not start at all due to bad weather and ground conditions. Of the remaining two only one club recorded victory while the other game was also affected by the weather.”It was the consensus of the captains that they were disappointed with the outcome. In consultation with the Met Department which predicted rain for the next two weeks we decided to postpone the matches for January,” he added. “Rescheduling of matches is not a difficult task but one has to look at the expenditure and revenue. Then there is also the question of venues being available. There are five clubs playing in the Premier league without a ground of their own.”Matches of the Premier limited-overs tournament scheduled for November 28 have also been postponed to December 3.The Premier league will recommence December 8 with the following matches: SSC v BRC at Maitland Place, Ragama CC v Saracens tbc, NCC v Bloomfield at Maitland Place, Tamil Union v Chilaw Marians at Sara Stadium, Colts v Sebastianites at Havelock Park and Moors SC v CCC at Braybrooke Place.

Both Simon Katich, the NSW captain, and team-mate Michael Clarke can do with some domestic runs under their belts © Getty Images

Simon Katich, who was dropped from the Australia squad for the second Test against West Indies, will lead the top-of-the-table New South Wales in their crucial ING Cup match against Queensland at the SCG on Sunday. The squad also includes Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill and Glenn McGrath, who will all play the match before flying to Hobart for the Test.Brad Haddin, the wicketkeeper, has been ruled out due to a finger injury he suffered in Perth. A further assessment on the injury will be made next week but Haddin is hopeful of being fit to play in the Pura Cup match against Tasmania starting next Friday.Matthew Hayden is the only change to the Queensland team that lost to South Australia on Friday night, replacing the injured James Hopes. Hopes hurt his shoulder during the match and expects to be fit in time for Australia’s Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series against New Zealand in December.Queensland squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Nathan Reardon, Chris Hartley (wk), Nathan Hauritz, Andy Bichel, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Chris Simpson.New South Wales squad: Simon Katich (capt), Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Phil Jaques, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Aaron O’Brien, Corey Richards, Daniel Smith, Dominic Thornely.

Scorecard

Salman Butt’s century saved Pakistani blushes at Lilac Hill© Getty Images

A superb unbeaten 115 off 135 balls from Salman Butt guided the Pakistanis to a 43-run win in their opening tour match against the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI at Lilac Hill in Perth. In reply to the Pakistanis’ total of 9 for 256 in 50 overs, the CA Chairman’s XI were bowled out for 213.Butt smacked 11 fours and a six to enhance his chances of a call-up to the Test team, while Michael Hussey’s part-time bowling accounted for three of the wickets to fall.Geoff Lawson and Tony Dodemaide, Australian stalwarts of the past, gave the crowd something to cheer, picking up a wicket apiece as Pakistan made a spluttering start. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana both failed, making 16 and 15, while the big-hitting Shahid Afridi was out for 21.The Chairman’s XI were always off the pace, although West Australian keeper Luke Ronchi smashed five sixes in his 44-ball 51 and Chris Rogers made 61 from 59 deliveries. But they lacked support, with Justin Langer (1) and WA regulars Murray Goodwin (8) and Mike Hussey (8) all failing to trouble the Pakistan attack. Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan was the pick of the visitor’s bowlers, finishing with 3 for 36.Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, admitted that Salman was in the running for a Test berth. "His knock definitely puts him into the mix, with a hundred against India as well at Kolkata on a much bigger occasion,” Woolmer said. “It showed what temperament he had then and he showed a bit of skill today, so I think if you’re in form you’re always pushing, aren’t you?”Dodemaide, now 41, said he had trouble sleeping as he contemplated facing the Pakistan top-order. His last game was a social outing for Surrey Cryptics in leafy Surrey, England some 14 months ago, when he made a hundred. He admitted his post-match routine might be at odds with his younger colleagues. “I came from the era where most of the ice in the rooms was keeping the beer cold,” he laughed. “I reckon that’ll be the best pain-killer.”Pakistan will play a four-day match against Western Australia before the first Test against Australia starts at the WACA on December 16.

Joshua Jeyaraja and Anwar bin Arudin struck sparkling half-centuries for Malaysia, who trounced Oman by 51 runs to notch up their second victory in the Youth Asia Cup match at the Quaid-e-Azam Park in Karachi. In today’s other match at National Stadium, Hong Kong defeated Thailand by four wickets.

Kwan Chand of Thailand Photo © ACC

Jeyaraja scored 82 off 125 balls, including nine fours and a six, while Anwar hit a 51-ball 71 with six fours and two sixes to guide Malaysia to 278 for five from 50 overs. Oman, who had their target revised to 209 in 30 overs due to afternoon rain, were restricted to 157 for 9 – thanks to Maxwell Stephen, who took 3 for 16.Malaysia now have 13 points from three games, while Oman have 10 points from as many games.At the National Stadium, Thailand batted first and were dismissed for 174 in 46.2 overs with No. 9 batsman Kwan Chand top-scoring with 39. Openers Darshil Shah (37) and Saurabh Dhanukha (31) put on 41 runs, but the middle order failed to handle the offspin bowling of Zain Abbas, who finished with 4 for 22.In their chase, Hong Kong were helped by Thailand’s generous helping of 38 extras which helped the winners’ cause. Courtney Kruger was the top-scorer with a 56-ball 45 which featured five boundaries. Sahan bowled well for Thailand and finished with figures of 4 for 34.Scores in brief:
Thailand 174 in 46.2 overs (Kwan Chand 39, Darshil Shah 37, Saurabh Dhanuka 31, Zain Abbas 4-22) lost to Hong Kong 178-6 in 36 overs (Courtney Kruger 45, Sahan 4-34) by four wickets.Malaysia 278-5 in 50 overs (Joshua Jeyaraja 82, Anwar bin Arudin 71) beat Oman 157-9 in 30 overs (Derrick Ruston 38, Rustam Ali Khan 30, Maxwell Stephen 3-16) by 51 (D/L method).Tuesday’s fixtures:
Singapore v Nepal at Asghar Ali Shah Stadium; UAE v Maldives at PCB Regional Academy ground.

Part III: History at the OvalThe woeful showing of the Indian cricket team abroad was for long bestsymbolized by their record in England. Until 1971, out of 19 Testsplayed in that country since 1932, India had lost 15 and drawn four.In 18 of the Tests. they had conceded the first-innings lead. In noneof the Tests was there even a semblance of an Indian victory, and,indeed, on most occasions, the team went down without a fight.

Suddenly, the hunter had become the hunted. An unexpected avenuenow presented itself before the Indians to win the Test and wrap upthe series. The English total of 101 meant that India had to make 173for victory in about eight hours.

In 1959, all five Tests had been lost. In 1967, the visitors had gonedown in all three matches. Along the way, there had been suchinglorious deeds as losing the first four wickets without a run on theboard, losing the first five wickets for six runs, and being the onlyside to be dismissed twice in one day. The vastly different wicketsand weather conditions, more than the strength of the opposition,meant that the Indians were always up against it on a tour of England.When the 1971 team landed in England to play a three-Test series,there were indications that the visitors would put up a fight andwould not go the way of their predecessors by losing all the Tests orgoing down tamely. But of course, winning a Test ­ let alone theseries ­ was deemed out of the question. True, more or less the samesquad had performed admirably in winning the series in the West Indiesjust a few months before. But whereas the West Indies were in therebuilding process, England were, in 1971, very much the best team inthe world, having just returned after regaining the Ashes inAustralia. They had a particularly good record at home, fielded aformidable all-round side, and were led by a shrewd and successfulcaptain in Ray Illingworth.The Indians took little time showing that there were a very differentlot from their gutless predecessors, winning five of the eight firstclass games prior to the first Test ­ including four in a row. In thefirst Test, they matched England in every department, even taking thefirst-innings lead ­ for only the second time in 21 Tests in thatcountry ­ and came close to winning before rain washed out play on thefinal evening. In the second Test at Manchester, however, the Indianswere distinctly lucky to escape with a draw. England had the better ofthe game, but rain again played spoilsport on the last day, with thehome team in a position of considerable strength.It was indeed a creditable feat by the Indians to come into the finalTest at the Oval with everything to play for, but England quickly putthemselves into an advantageous position by scoring 355 on the firstday. Rain washed out the second day’s play and, on the morning of thefourth day, India were all out for 284. With a handy lead of 71,England could strengthen their position if they scored quickly and setIndia a challenging target on the final day. This was what they haddone in the previous Test.However, this time, there was a distinct change in the script, thankschiefly to BS Chandrasekhar, who ripped through the England battingwith his deadly mix of leg-spinners, googlies and top-spinners. Inabout two-and-a-half hours, the formidable line-up of John Edrich,John Jameson, Brian Luckhurst, Alan Knott, Basil D’Oliveira, KeithFletcher, Illingworth and Richard Hutton were turned inside out asChandrasekhar finished with six for 38. Srinivas Venkatraghavansupported him well by taking two for 44, and the Indian catching,symbolized by Eknath Solkar’s famous catch to get rid of Knott, wasexemplary.Suddenly, the hunter had become the hunted. An unexpected avenue nowpresented itself before the Indians to win the Test and wrap up theseries. The English total of 101 meant that India had to make 173 forvictory in about eight hours. Time, however, was not really a factor;neither was the pitch which, but for the inevitable wear and tear,still played true on the whole. The psychological pressure of ahistoric victory was the major hurdle, and how the Indians handledthis would, in the final analysis, decide the outcome of the game.After the early loss of the openers, skipper Ajit Wadekar and DilipSardesai took the score to 76 at the close of play. Thus, on the lastday, August 24, which happened to be Ganesh Chaturthi, India requireda further 97 runs. Wadekar was out for 45 without any addition to thetotal but, amidst much tension, Sardesai and Gundappa Viswanath tookthe score to 124 before the former was out for 40. Solkar was fifthout at 134 and, as Farokh Engineer joined Viswanath, England espied aray of hope with India still 39 runs away from keeping their date withhistory.But Engineer quickly scotched their hopes with some daring shots, andthe two had carried India to within a stroke of victory whenViswanath, going for the winning boundary, was out for a gallant 33,made in three hours. It was written in Abid Ali’s fate to hit theclinching four ­ a square cut off Luckhurst ­ which set off amazingscenes of delight among the host of Indian supporters at the ground.Certainly the victory was the most famous in Indian cricket history;settling a historic series win and coming as it did on the 22ndattempt spread over almost 40 years, it set off a chain ofcelebrations all around the country, the like of which had never beenseen before.

Sri Lanka interim head coach Jerome Jayaratne has slammed the team’s fielding standards, describing it as “the worst in Asia.””We are now the worst fielding side in Asia, we were never behind Pakistan but now we have gone behind them,” Jayaratne told . “India proved that they were better than us and even Bangladesh are fielding better than us.”Jayaratne, who was appointed in the stopgap role earlier this month following Marvan Atapattu’s resignation, was equally critical of Sri Lanka’s performance in other departments. He cited below-par fitness levels as the chief cause of the team’s problems.”Other than the bowling which is holding the team together, the batting, fielding and fitness has let us down,” Jayaratne said. “It’s a lot to do with the fitness levels. The way our guys are fielding they are carrying excess weight and we are in shambles.”Jayaratne, however, was confident these issues would be addressed by English trainer Michael Main, who has been hired for two years by Sri Lanka Cricket. Main, Jayaratne said, had laid down specific targets to be achieved by players in a particular time frame, failing which “they are going to be in trouble.””Michael gave us a mind blowing presentation and showed where we are and where we need to get to,” he said. “What he tried to do in the first three months is he didn’t try to turn things around but observed everything. Now he has decided how he is going to take this forward and at the presentation he was given a full green light to go ahead in whatever he wants to do.”I have a very strong belief if we give Michael about four to six months he can turn things around. He has got the players to sign documents like signing a contract that they need to reach desired targets in particular time duration otherwise they are going to be in trouble.”He has assessed them and given them time targets, some they cannot do before the West Indies series but definitely you can see the boys are working towards that. Everybody’s got individual programs and targets and they have taken it seriously.”While Jayaratne has been involved extensively with cricket in Sri Lanka, this is his first stint as coach of the senior team. He said he was surprised when SLC interim committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny had asked him to take charge.”I was asked to stand in as stopgap coach for an interim period until they found a coach from overseas,” Jayaratne said. “I wouldn’t have said yes if I wasn’t up to it.”

Big picture – One last dance on memorable tour

South Africa’s memorable tour of India can still end with a nice cherry on the top. Having won the Tests 2-0 and forced a decider in the ODIs, they go into the last T20I with a chance to deny India a series win, which has been done only once in their last 14 series or tournaments in the format.However, no play in foggy Lucknow has made sure South Africa can’t win this series. And that is not an unexpected result. India have their T20I game almost sorted. They are only ironing out final wrinkles before their World Cup title defence. South Africa are playing like a side still figuring out the ideal structure for their limited-overs teams.There should be no threat of fog or need for jumpers in Ahmedabad, where day-time temperatures are still hitting early 30s. At least going by last year’s IPL, Ahmedabad also happens to be a venue least affected by the toss. In seven night games this year, sides defended successfully six times. However, you never can tell since this is a different time of the year.

Form guide

India WLWWW
South Africa LWLLL

In the spotlight – Marco Jansen and Suryakumar Yadav

This will be remembered as the tour when Marco Jansen realised his enormous potential in all its glory. With bat, ball and in the field, Jansen has been a delight to watch all tour. One final crowning achievement will be if he can win them one last match.Suryakumar Yadav has had the exact opposite time even though his side continues to win. He has not scored a T20I half-century since last October; his numbers since then: 21 innings, 239 runs, strike rate 119.5. He will want a positive turn before India go into a break of nearly a month.Sanju Samson has an outside chance of featuring in Ahmedabad•Associated Press

Team news – Bumrah back, Gill a question mark

One positive sign for India in the Lucknow no-show was that Jasprit Bumrah, who had gone on personal leave, was back with them. He should play in his hometown of Ahmedabad although the other Ahmedabadi, Axar Patel, has been ruled out with illness. However, there were reports around a possible toe injury for Shubman Gill, which could give Sanju Samson a game.India (probable) 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill/ Sanju Samson, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Harshit Rana/ Washington Sundar, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun ChakravarthyIt has been tough to get a handle on what changes South Africa make to their white-ball XIs and the reason for said changes. Ahmedabad will be no different.South Africa (probable) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 David Miller, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 George Linde/Keshav Maharaj/Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Ottneil Baartman

Pitch and conditions – Warmer climes of Ahmedabad

These are the parts of India that should be hosting international cricket in November, December and first half of January. It is not cold, the light stays on longer, and fog and smog are not an issue. Ahmedabad could finally give us the first close match of the series.

Stats and trivia

• Arshdeep has got Quinton de Kock out five times in 56 balls in all T20 cricket for just 66 runs.
• Ten men have opened in 80 or more T20Is. Among them, only Uganda’s Simon Ssesazi has a poorer strike rate than that of Reeza Hendricks, who has scored a three-ball duck and 8 off 10 in this series so far. In 15 innings against India, he has got to 50 only once and has struck at 118.8.

A calf strain has delayed Kyle Mills’ comeback © Getty Images

Kyle Mills’ long-awaited return from injury has been delayed again after he strained a calf during a pre-season tournament in Australia. Mills has been replaced in the Test squad to tour South Africa by Iain O’Brien, the Wellington fast bowler who played his only two Tests in 2005.Mills has been out of international cricket since the CB Series in Australia in January as a serious knee injury kept him out of the World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20. He was warming up for the South Africa trip by touring with a New Zealand representative side playing practice matches against Australian states in Queensland last week when he hurt his calf.”The selectors are not satisfied that Kyle will be fit enough to leave with Black Caps Test team next week and decided today to remove him from the Test section of the tour,” the side’s general manager Lindsay Crocker said. “It is hoped that when Kyle recovers from his injury and has some game time under his belt he will be considered for the one-day section of the tour.”O’Brien is the second late addition to the Test squad after Lou Vincent was called up last week to replace Peter Fulton, who requires knee surgery. The 15-man group departs on October 18 and has two warm-up matches before the two-Test series starts at Johannesburg on November 8. A Twenty20 international and three ODIs will follow the Tests.