It would be fair to say that West Ham United have not had the best of luck when it comes to transfers over the last decade or so.

Sure, the Hammers have signed seriously talented players like Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, but they’ve also made more than their fair share of dud signings.

Hopefully, with Nuno Espírito Santo in the hotseat ahead of the winter window, the club will start making some smart acquisitions.

However, in addition to bringing in talent, West Ham should also be looking to offload some players, including one who might just be their worst signing since Gianluca Scamacca.

West Ham's flop signings

You only have to go back to last summer for some examples of West Ham’s poor decision-making in the market, with Max Kilman and Niclas Füllkrug now looking like terrible additions to the squad.

The former cost around £40m, and while he’s had a few games in which he’s impressed, he’s had far more in which he’s been a liability, and to make things worse, former manager Gary O’Neil described him as a defender who tends to “switch off” during games.

The German striker, on the other hand, only cost around £27m, but has arguably been an even worse investment for the East Londoners.

On top of missing plenty of games through injury, he’s just not been very good when he has played and is now set to join AC Milan, having chalked up a measly tally of three goals and two assists in 29 games.

In fact, the former Borussia Dortmund star has been such a disappointment at the London Stadium that he has made Scamacca’s time in the capital look better.

With that said, the Italian striker, who joined the Irons from Sassuolo in the summer of 2022 for a fee of around £30.5m, was still a disappointment, though.

The 26-year-old made the move off the back of an impressive season in which he had scored 16 goals and provided one assist for a mid-table side, so there was an expectation that he could be the one to spearhead David Moyes’ side.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t to be, as the 6 foot 5 poacher struggled to impose himself on opposition teams and ended the campaign with just eight goals in 27 games.

Worse yet, just three of those goals came in the league, and even then, they came against Fulham, Leeds United and Wolverhampton.

Scamacca’s West Ham record

Competition

Games

G+As

EPL

16

3

FA Cup

1

0

EFL Cup

1

0

UECL

7

3

UECL Qualification

2

2

All Stats via Transfermarkt

The Rome-born striker would leave the following summer, and while he was undoubtedly a flop, there is someone in Nuno’s current team who might’ve been an even worse signing.

The West Ham signing worse than Scamacca

Unfortunately, for Nuno and Co, you could probably make the case for several current West Ham players fitting this description, from the pair mentioned above to Mads Hermansen and James Ward-Prowse.

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However, in this instance, the unenviable title goes to Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Now, to be clear, like most transfer flops, the Greek international has shown moments of quality here and there, but overall, since his £19m move to the club two years ago, he’s been poor.

On the one hand, he’s not got the technical ability to be a modern ball-playing centre-back, and yet he also struggles to make the most of his frame to bully opposition attackers.

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Unsurprisingly, his underlying numbers help to demonstrate how lacklustre he’s been.

Mavropanos’ Scout Report

Statistics

Per 90

Percentile

Pass Completion %

86.9%

Bottom 43%

Progressive Carries

0.42

Bottom 32%

Assists

0.00

Bottom 28%

Tackles

1.08

Bottom 19%

Progressive Passes

2.21

Bottom 17%

Dribblers Tackled

0.42

Bottom 7%

All Stats via FBref

According to FBref, he ranks in the bottom 47% of centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for blocks, the bottom 43% for pass completion, the bottom 19% for tackles, the bottom 7% for dribblers tackled and more, all per 90.

With that said, you don’t need the numbers to know that, in the words of The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas, he often has “no clue” where to go or what to do in intense moments.

An example of this lack of awareness was on full display in the draw against Everton earlier this season.

Ultimately, Mavropanos is not a terrible player, but he’s not been good enough, and he likely never will be for West Ham.

Related West Ham submit bid to sign Wilson upgrade who "doesn't stop scoring"

The incredible goalscorer would be an unreal signing for West Ham, but bad news for Wilson.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes

Former Premier League marksman Kevin Phillips has given his reaction to transfer news involving Manchester United and Tammy Abraham. 

The lowdown: Abraham linked with Man United

Since joining Jose Mourinho at AS Roma from Chelsea last year, the 24-year-old has enjoyed a stellar campaign in Italy.

With the futures of Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford all uncertain, the Red Devils were linked with a move for the former Blues ace by Italian news outlet Corriere della Sera.

The report claimed that United would be willing to spend €90m (£75m) on the England international, although Phillips doesn’t believe that it would be a wise move.

The latest: Phillips unsure on Abraham move

Speaking to Football Insider, the 2000 European Golden Shoe winner was asked whether spending big on Abraham at this juncture is a viable option.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Phillips warned against the expenditure, saying: “I’m not sure for that sort of money.

“Credit to the player for going over to Italy and take the challenge on. He is doing well and is scoring goals.

“We saw Lukaku do something similar when he left Man United to go to Inter Milan. He came back as a £100million player but that has not worked. That has not been the great success that we all thought it would be.

“I fear it would be a similar scenario with Abraham, to be honest. The football over there is nowhere near as competitive or as good as it is in the Premier League.

“Tammy found it hard at times when he was here. I’d be very cautious to spend that kind of money on him.”

The verdict: Heed the warning

Whilst the 10-cap England striker has enjoyed a career renaissance in Rome, one swallow doesn’t make a summer and United would be taking a huge risk with this deal.

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So far this season, Abraham has scored 23 times and provided four assists. That is an even better tally than the Red Devils’ top scorer Ronaldo, who has 18 goals and three assists to his name in 2021/22.

However, signing the £40.5m-valued Abraham – who is under contract until 2026 (Transfermarkt) and therefore has a very secure future from Roma’s perspective – for the mooted £75m fee would undoubtedly be too big a stretch.

In other news: Man Utd closing in on new manager appointment. Read more here.

Arsene Wenger certainly isn’t too fond of the January transfer window, but with his Arsenal side already nine points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, it could well be the opportunity he needs to right some of the wrongs from the Gunners’ lukewarm start to the campaign.

Indeed, the squad, although impressive in certain departments, lacks balance and depth throughout, whilst there are a number of lingering transfer issues that need to be addressed in the new year.

As a result, here’s a list of FOUR key issues the Emirates boss must resolve via the transfer market when it reopens.

[ffc-gallery]CLICK ON WENGER TO REVEAL

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LUKAS PODOLSKI – Does he stay or does he go?

Just as we were all forgetting how much of an impact Lukas Podolski can have on any given fixture, he came off the bench last week to rescue Arsenal a victory against Anderlecht in Champions League Group D – netting this last-minute winner:

Indeed, the 29 year-old is a potent finisher and his experience cannot be understated, having amassed 34 appearances in Europe and 124 caps for Germany throughout his career.

But the winger-forward clearly isn’t the player he once was and appears to be growing disillusioned with his bit-part role at the Emirates, stating in October; “I am a full-blooded player, a street player and I love competition. If I don’t have this competition every weekend then a change must occur.” Resultantly, rumours linking him with a January move have not been hard to come by:

Podolski’s been seeing a bit more action recently, but with Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott set to return to first team action by the time of the January window, he may not even make Arsenal’s match-day squads come the new year.

Wenger’s had trouble moving players on in the past. I’m sure we all remember summer 2013, where the Gunners let Denilson, Sebastian Squillaci and Andrei Arshavin all leave on free transfers despite costing the club around £23million in original investments and an unimaginable amount more in wages.

But he may as well cash in on Podolski before the German’s value begins to depreciate, with his contract set to expire in summer 2016.

SIGN PRETTY MUCH ANY DECENT CENTRE-BACK

At this point, any defender that can improve upon the inevitably subpar performances of 5 foot 10 full-back Nacho Monreal at centre-half will do.

How Arsenal entered the new Premier League season with one defender less than last year – Carl Jenkinson, Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna out, Calum Chambers and Mathieu Debuchy in – remains an eternal mystery, and it would now be inexcusable for Wenger not to rectify the situation in January.

There’s certainly some options open to the Gunners – West Ham defender Winston Reid for example looks set to be on the move in the new year, with the New Zealand skipper yet to extend his contract past the summer:

Likewise to Aston Villa’s Ron Vlaar, whose World Cup performances for the Netherlands verged upon talismanic:

Here’s a look at the 29 year-old’s World Cup highlights:

//www.youtube.com/embed/KElFlYKBcUY?rel=0

Or, going slightly further afield, rumoured Gunners target Fabian Schar:

Statistically, the 22 year-old Basel prodigy was the best defender in the Champions League last season, as shown below:

And he too is letting his contract wind down with the Swiss champions, suggesting they’ll be forced to sell in the new year.

Upgrade on Arteta and Flamini

No disrespect to Mikel Arteta or Mathieu Flamini, but Arsenal clearly need a more convincing and physical option in holding midfield.

Both have been found wanting this season and if Arsenal are to break the glass ceiling between themselves and the title race, finding an imposing defensive midfielder in January is a necessity. Arsene Wenger appears to agree, having recently called for physical additions in the middle of the park:

The favoured choice of the fanbase would undoubtedly be Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira. A Champions League and World Cup winner, he’s considered to be one of the top midfield enforcers in world football – here’s a clip of him in action:

//www.youtube.com/embed/RetIjHKY6pA?rel=0

He looks set to leave the Bernabeu in January after refusing to extend his contract past 2015, but there’s a plethora of clubs already chasing his signature:

That could force Arsenal to consider some more costly alternatives, namely Sporting Lisbon prodigy William Carvalho, who reportedly came close to joining the Gunners on summer deadline day:

Measuring at 6 foot 2, weighing about 14 stone and famed for his simple-yet-effective style, the 22 year-old fits the bill perfectly. Here’s a look at him in action:

//www.youtube.com/embed/A8jRQbn1LzE?rel=0

And having recently rejected a new contract at Estadio Jose Alvalade, the Gunners could sign Carvalho for significantly cheaper than his £37million release clause.

LOAN OUT JOEL CAMPBELL

After netting this sensational strike against Manchester United on loan Olympiacos last season:

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//www.youtube.com/embed/nloqftNzgYM?rel=0

…in addition to bagging a goal for Costa Rica at the World Cup:

Many expected young winger-forward Joel Campbell to see a fair amount of action at the Emirates this season.

But for whatever reason, Arsene Wenger simply doesn’t fancy him. He has used the 22 year-old in just three outings so far this season – two substitute appearances and a solitary start in the League Cup.

That’s in no small part due to Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck joining the Emirates ranks over the summer, whilst Theo Walcott’s planned return from injury over the next few weeks will further reduce Campbell’s likely game time.

So if the attacker isn’t going to be a semi-regular fixture this year, Wenger needs to sort him a loan move for the rest of the campaign.

Loads of clubs are willing to take the Costa Rican international on – both Roma and Inter Mila were courting his services during the summer:

Whilst Newcastle remain a potential loan destination a little closer to home, offering Campbell vital Premier League experience.

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ScorecardRikki Clarke played a key role with bat and ball as Birmingham won a close game•Getty Images

A fine all-round performance from Rikki Clarke saw Birmingham through to an impressive victory over Leicestershire at Grace Road.Having hit 46 from 36 balls after Birmingham batted first, the experienced Clarke then produced the most economical figures of the T20 competition so far this season, bowling his four overs (three of which formed part of the Leicestershire Powerplay) for just ten runs and picking up the wicket of opener Ned Eckersley.Leicestershire captain Mark Cosgrove hit 74 off 56 balls to keep his side in the hunt but he was run out in the final over, from which 19 runs were required. The result leaves Birmingham top of the North Group, while Leicestershire may now need to win their final three games to qualify for the quarter-finals.Earlier, the home side had shown few ill-effects from their long and fruitless trip to Durham the previous evening, from which they did not get back to Leicester until close to 3am.Ben Raine struck with his first ball, Birmingham captain Varun Chopra going leg before wicket playing across a straight delivery, but the wicket Leicestershire craved came in the following over.Clint McKay, clearly relishing bowling on a pitch with a little more pace than some at Grace Road this season, had already discomfited Brendon McCullum with a rising delivery when he pitched one up and the New Zealand skipper, who had scored an English T20 record 158 against Derbyshire at Edgbaston on Friday evening, mistimed an attempted drive straight into the hands of compatriot Grant Elliott at mid-off for just 6.There was no panic from Clarke, however, and in company initially with Tom Lewis and then with Tim Ambrose, he steered Birmingham towards a competitive score before finally holing out off the bowling of Ollie Freckingham.Clarke’s bowling spell kept the Leicestershire chase in check, but with Cosgrove going strongly in company with New Zealand international Grant Elliott, they looked to be favourites at the 15-over point, when they were 111 for 2. At the same stage of their innings, Birmingham were 111 for 5.But Elliott, who had been playing calmly, surprisingly lifted Recordo Gordon high to Lauire Evans at deep midwicket and, not for the first time this season, Gordon’s well-disguised slower balls ensured the required rate kept rising until it was beyond the home team’s reach.”It was a good win,” Clarke said. “It was not a complete performance by any means and we were not at our best but we have come away with two points which is the sign of a good side. We have that winning formula.”We were perhaps 15 or 20 runs shy of what we wanted but we are a good bowling and fielding side and have defended that sort of total before and did so again. I was very pleased with my bowling. I had seen the way the ball nipped around for their guys so just tried to keep it simple, stand the seam up and get it through to Timmy Ambrose.”

ScorecardDawid Malan continued his rich vein of form•Getty Images

Dawid Malan hit some of the biggest sixes seen at Lord’s this season as his exhilarating 156 not out rushed Middlesex to a crushing eight-wicket victory against Glamorgan in the Royal London One-Day Cup.One of Malan’s sixes struck the balcony on the top tier of the pavilion, one flew into the top tier of the New Mound Stand and another, over a long boundary on one side of the ground, made it all the way into the Warner Stand.It meant that Colin Ingram’s third hundred in five Royal London One-Day Cup innings this season was all in vain as Glamorgan’s 50-over total of 251 for 9 was chased down by Middlesex with 10.2 overs to spare.Malan, like Ingram a left-hander in superb current form, was joined by Paul Stirling in an opening stand of 139 in 21.2 overs and, in all, the 27-year-old hit four sixes and 18 fours from 128 balls in a one-day career-best knock.Ingram’s 102 from 93 balls included five sixes and four fours was a fine effort, but even it paled by comparison to Malan’s languid hitting. Indeed, Malan – who currently averages more than 100 in championship cricket – is probably the most in-form batsman in the county game at present.Middlesex’s third win in Group B mathematically keeps alive their hopes of qualifying for a quarter-final place, but it is a very slim chance as they have now finished their group matches.Glamorgan, although they have only lost two of their seven games, are already out of contention for a knockout place as they have been docked four penalty points – two for preparing a poor pitch last season and another two for the surface at Cardiff which caused their match against Hampshire on August 2 to be abandoned.After winning the toss, Glamorgan captain Jacques Rudolph and his opening partner James Kettleborough were initially kept in check by an accurate and typically probing new ball spell by Tim Murtagh.Surprisingly playing his first 50-over game of the summer, Murtagh had Will Bragg caught at the wicket for nought while also conceding only 34 runs while bowling his 10-over stint straight through.Kettleborough, the first to go, was leg before to the equally steady James Harris for 25, in the 14th over, and although Ingram warmed up by hitting Ollie Rayner’s off spin for the first of his five sixes the Glamorgan total had reached only 99 for 2 by the halfway mark in their innings.Rudolph was soon out lbw to Rayner for 58, from 82 balls and with just six fours, leaving Glamorgan on a wobbly 105 for 3, but Chris Cooke hit 25 to help add 50 in 11 overs for the fourth wicket with Ingram.A brilliant diving catch at the second attempt at short mid wicket by Rayner, off Neil Dexter’s medium pace, sent back Cooke while David Lloyd also fell to Dexter for 10.Ingram, however, going to his fifty from 64 balls, then took a six and a four off the disappointing Junaid Khan, Middlesex’s overseas player, in a 43rd over which cost 14 and which brought up Glamorgan’s 200.Though he had bowled well earlier in two spells, also bowling Craig Meschede, asking Rayner to stay on to deliver the 49th over seemed a strange decision by James Franklin, the Middlesex captain, and Ingram duly hit the spinner for two sixes and a four in the space of four balls – the second six taking him to a 91-ball century.Ingram finally fell in the last over, which ended with Harris also bowling Ruaidhri Smith to earn himself figures of 4 for 38, and the former South African one-day international has now scored 405 runs in five Royal London Cup innings at an average of 81.It was nowhere near enough, though, as Malan produced some even more spectacular fireworks of his own and, with the assistance of Stirling and Sam Robson – who scored 22 in a second wicket stand of 76 in 16 overs – it all made Glamorgan’s creditable total look wholly inadequate.Malan’s first six, straight-driven off the suffering Dewi Penrhyn Jones in only his second one-day appearance, scattered spectators in the pavilion and the last blow of the match, a free hit following a no ball from the same bowler, was also a six from Dexter.

Hampshire 0 for 1 trail Nottinghamshire 340 (Wessels 104, Edwards 6-88) by 340 runs
ScorecardFidel Edwards claimed six wickets but Nottinghamshire’s tail thwarted Hampshire•PA Photos

Two West Indian pace bowlers are in situ for the final throes of the Championship. Like Fidel Edwards, cutting a dash for Hampshire at Trent Bridge, Shannon Gabriel was in the wickets at Worcester. But while Worcestershire are already down, and Gabriel’s two-match contract no longer has much point, Edwards clings to the belief, as he has all season, that he can keep Hampshire in the First Division.It must be like clinging to Norway’s Storseisundet Bridge, known by the locals as the drunk bridge, for its tendency to sway in strong winds. For Hampshire, the wind began at force 7, and rose to force 8 once Riki Wessels registered his second Championship century of the season, a sweetly-timed affair.Edwards took 6 for 88, his season’s best figures as Nottinghamshire fell late in the day for 340. He has surely never bowled more intelligently in England than this season. At 33, he has done himself proud: always watchable, and occasionally destructive. Over at Worcester, Gabriel bowls with serious intent; Edwards assembles passion from the air itself. Two very different Caribbean quicks, both good for the game. County cricket desperately needs characters, standards, stories. It will not survive in the public consciousness merely as a glorified England academy.Edwards has been this season’s “stuff you” signing, the quick bowler brought in on a Kolpak contract to widespread doubts that he could do the job, but who has responded with verve and skill to become Hampshire’s leading wicket-taker, his 41 wickets coming at 21.53 each. Without Edwards, Hampshire would have been doomed long ago: at least he has helped them drag it out to the final days.He is likely to fail. On this evidence at least, Hampshire, once the overseas new-ball pair of Edwards and Ryan McLaren are repelled, have little to commend them. The third seamer, Gareth Berg, is doing as much as can be expected in a late flowering; Ryan Stevenson, introduced into a relegation scrap in September, so far has nods of respect and two wickets at 100 each. Perhaps his time will come. It will be a surprise if it comes this week.Hampshire could have done without Nottinghamshire’s recovery from 247 for 7, a recovery fashioned largely by Stuart Broad and Brett Hutton, as the final three wickets added 93. Having won the toss and inserted on a sunny day, but with dampness underfoot, they would have hoped to complete the job far sooner than that.Dale Benkenstein, Hampshire’s coach, said: “If you are looking at what we were aiming to do, then we’ve managed to get full bowling points, so that’s a positive. But it wasn’t our best performance and having put them in, a score of around 300 should have been more realistic”.Maximum batting points will be more taxing. They have faced one ball and lost one wicket – the nightwatchman Stevenson, a victim for the Stuart Broad / Chris Read combo.Trailing Sussex by 16 points and Somerset by 18, Hampshire’s task is a daunting one if they are to avoid relegation to Division Two of the Championship. They must beat Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge – a Nottinghamshire side with designs on second place – and then hope one of their companions in distress suffer, at best, an unproductive draw to send them down instead.Edwards, who took eight wickets against Nottinghamshire in a pre-season match in his native Barbados, relished another foray in more important circumstances, summoning an opening burst that brought him three wickets inside his first five overs and signalling that Hampshire would not depart Division One easily.But Wessels and Steven Mullaney responded by adding 115 either side of lunch. Hampshire missed one opportunity to part them as a regulation nick from Mullaney, on 52, was put down by Sean Ervine at first slip, off Edwards. He made only made six more before being bowled as he tried to whip Liam Dawson’s off spin to leg.For Nottinghamshire, and a few neutrals besides, interest centred upon the debut of Billy Root, younger brother of Joe, national cricket hero. He has been loosely characterised as the less driven younger brother (aren’t they always) but he walks to the wicket with the same stiff-legged farmer’s gait before preventing all further comparisons by batting left-handed. There were fewer to watch him than watched Joe in the Ashes on the same ground a month earlier – this late in the season battle-hardened county supporters wear the toughened, slightly-glazed expression of walkers nearing the end of the Pennine Way , but on debuts you tend not to gaze around too much.He played confidently for his 37, until an edge from Gareth Berg was smartly taken by Ervine, who responded to the ball rebounding out of James Vince’s hand at second slip.Wessels escaped a tough chance to the wicketkeeper, Aam Wheater, on 16, drove effortlessly and went past 1,000 Championship runs for the season, reaching his hundred from 153 balls, having hit 13 fours and a six. Straight after tea he tamely clipped Ervine to midwicket and three overs later Read was bowled by Edwards, shouldering arms. Hampshire had lost three wickets for just 11 runs.Edwards’ most eye-catching wicket was a big inswinger to bowl Chris Read. He claimed his third five-wicket haul of the season when he induced Broad into hooking into the hands of Ryan McLaren at fine leg, after also making 37. Jake Ball was bowled on the retreat before Hutton was last out, lifting McLaren into the deep to depart for 46.Among his three new-ball wickets was Brendon Taylor, who casually flicked into the hands of Gareth Berg at midwicket. It is a long season and Taylor has not survived it well. County cricket, judging by his stats, does not look as appealing to him as it did when he decided to abandon Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has apparently developed a habit of delivering the same speech. Without a half-century since midsummer, Taylor is delivering the same innings. A winter’s reassessment lies ahead.

David Warner, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Coulter-Nile will return to the Australian team fold at a Test team training camp in Hurstville, to Sydney’s south, after being absent from the touring party for the postponed trip to Bangladesh.Vice-captain Warner and the trio of fast men will join 15 others for two days of centre-wicket training and a range of other drills, devised to keep players of national interest in decent trim ahead of a looming Test assignment against New Zealand in November. James Faulkner has also been included in the group after he missed the ODIs in England as the penalty for a drink-driving offence incurred while playing for Lancashire during the northern summer.”Spending some time in England with the moving ball over there in foreign conditions, hopefully can hold my game in good shape,” Faulkner said. “I definitely learned a hell of a lot over there in those conditions. It’s probably a bit different over here, there’s not as much swing, or reverse swing, so we’ll see how we go. I’ll prepare like I normally do and try to get runs and wickets like every other player.”Johnson and Hazlewood had been scratched quite early from plans for Bangladesh as the national selectors and fitness staff had decided they needed something like a full pre-season ahead of the home summer, rather than being tided over from the Ashes to take part in Bangladesh.They were joined on the sidelines by Warner and Coulter-Nile when the duo suffered injuries during Australia’s successful ODI series in England that followed defeat in the Ashes.The selectors and the captain Steven Smith have flagged that the selection for the first match against New Zealand at the Gabba – which starts from November 5 – is likely to result in a team some distance removed from the squad chosen for the subcontinent. However all members of the Bangladesh tour party have been included in the training group.”Different conditions, you’re not going to have two spinners at the Gabba,” the selector Mark Waugh said after the tour was postponed. “So, there are some guys who were picked on that tour who are going to be shuffled down the order a little bit, but you can’t do anything about it.”At least their names are there … they got picked on an Australian tour so they can take comfort from the fact that they’re definitely in the reckoning. The real thing is it’s going to be a different eleven for the first Test in Brisbane to what would have been picked in Bangladesh.”These players include Cameron Bancroft and Joe Burns, thought to be vying for the opening spot vacated by the retired Chris Rogers, plus Andrew Fekete, Steve O’Keefe and Usman Khawaja.Red-ball camp squad: Steve Smith, David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Andrew Fekete, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, Steve O’Keefe, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges

Eighty-two players, including 19 overseas players, were allocated through a lottery during the BPL draft in Dhaka on Thursday. Out of the 63 local players, the selection of the six icons came at the end of the draft. Rangpur, which had the first pick, chose Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal was selected by Chittagong, Mashrafe Mortaza by Comilla, Mushfiqur Rahim by Sylhet, Mahmudullah by Barisal, and Nasir Hossain by Dhaka.According to BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick, the list of foreign cricketers signed outside the draft includes Shahid Afridi (Sylhet), Chris Gayle (Barisal) and Kumar Sangakkara (Dhaka) as well as Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir (Chittagong), who recently returned to cricket after serving out a suspension for spot-fixing. There is a dispute over Tillakaratne Dilshan after both the Rangpur and Chittagong franchises claimed they had signed him. Mallick said that the BPL governing council will investigate the documents from the two franchises before taking a decision on the matter.Chris Jordan was the first foreign player to be chosen in the draft, by Sylhet, while three other English players – Darren Stevens, Josh Cobb and Dawid Malan – were also picked. Jordan, however, is unlikely to be available for the entire duration of the BPL, which is scheduled between November 22 and December 15. The England fast bowler will be with the Test squad in the UAE until November 30 and is due to be a part of the Performance Camp training squad in Dubai. He may also be picked for England’s tour of South Africa, which starts with a tour match in Potchefstroom on December 15.Seven Pakistan players, including Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Sami, were selected, while five Sri Lanka players and a cricketer each from South Africa (Robin Peterson), West Indies (Andre Russell) and Afghanistan (Mohammad Nabi) were chosen in the draft.After the draft started at around 11.20am on Thursday, Rangpur got four first picks in all, including the icon pick. Chittagong and Comilla got two first picks, while Dhaka and Sylhet got one each in the normal round of the draft.Mahbubul Anam, the BCB vice-president, moderated the draft and had to explain the rules of the draft a number of times, but the process appeared to be a smarter way of allocating players compared to the auctions that had been held for the previous editions of the BPL. Those auctions had seen a lull in the middle and end periods, when franchises did not show an interest in the players lined up.There were no excess calls for players from the commissioner as many of the teams opted to quit calling after picking the minimum number of foreign and local players required. They have the option of calling up more players within the next seven days if needed.Barisal: Mahmudullah (icon), Chris Gayle, Brendan Taylor, Kevon Cooper, Evin Lewis, Seekkuge Prasanna, Mohammad Sami, Imad Wasim, Sabbir Rahman, Sohag Gazi, Taijul Islam, Rony Talukdar, Al-Amin Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Mehedi Maruf, Nadif Chowdhury, Mohammad Sharifullah, Sajidul Islam.Chittagong: Tamim Iqbal (icon), Umar Akmal, Chamara Kapugedera, Mohammad Amir, Elton Chigumbura, Kamran Akmal, Robin Peterson, Saeed Ajmal, Jeevan Mendis, Anamul Haque, Taskin Ahmed, Ziaur Rahman, Naeem Islam, Enamul Haque jnr, Shafiul Islam, Nafees Iqbal, Elias Sunny, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Asif Ahmed.Comilla: Mashrafe Mortaza (icon), Sunil Narine, Shoaib Malik, Marlon Samuels, Ahmed Shehzad, Krishmar Santokie, Andre Russell, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Darren Stevens, Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Shuvagata Hom, Sanjamul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Ariful Haque, Mahmudul Hasan, Naeem Islam jnr, Abu Hider, Dhiman Ghosh.Dhaka: Nasir Hossain (icon), Kumar Sangakkara, Ryan ten Doeschate, Mohammad Irfan, Yasir Shah, Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan, Dawid Malan, Shahzaib Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mosharraf Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Shamsur Rahman, Saikat Ali, Farhad Reza, Nabil Samad, Abul Hasan, Irfan Shukkur.Rangpur: Shakib Al Hasan (icon), Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Thisara Perera, Wahab Riaz, Sachithra Senanayake, Mohammad Nabi, Soumya Sarkar, Arafat Sunny, Mohammad Mithun, Muktar Ali, Saqlain Sajib, Jahurul Islam, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Murad Khan, Rasel Al Mamun.Sylhet: Mushfiqur Rahim (icon), Shahid Afridi, Ravi Bopara, Brad Hodge, Ajantha Mendis, Chris Jordan, Sohail Tanvir, Joshua Cobb, Rubel Hossain, Mominul Haque, Abdur Razzak, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Shahid, Najmul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Abu Sayem.

Ben Stokes battled through pain as he came out to bat at No. 11 in England’s first innings after being diagnosed with a “collarbone joint injury” which will prevent him bowling or fielding again in the final Test.Stokes had some gentle throwdowns during the lunch interval and when James Anderson was dismissed he strode out to support Stuart Broad who tried to farm the strike. However, Stokes was on strike when Wahab Riaz was recalled to the attack and, unable to do anything other than block or leave, wore a short ball on the chest but survived the over.Next over, though, from Shoaib Malik, Broad took a single off the second ball – which both players seemed unsure over doing – and Stokes was bowled for a duck three balls later after a stand of 10.Stokes had been for a scan in Dubai yesterday and he will be reassessed in seven to 10 days after which a timetable for his return will be mapped out. The initial outlook appears more positive than was the case when he sustained the injury on the opening day, diving to try and take a catch at short fine leg when he then landed heavily on his right shoulder. Fears were of a dislocation, although that now appears not to have been the case.The exact details of the injury are yet to be confirmed, but if it involves the AC joint the full recovery time could be around six weeks. However, any type of shoulder injury can have serious implications for a bowler. England’s first tour match in South Africa, at Potchefstroom, begins in exactly six weeks with the first Test in Durban on Boxing Day.”Imaging confirms Stokes has a collarbone joint injury,” said the ECB in a press release. “It has already been decided he will be unable to bowl or field for the remainder of this Test match but if circumstances dictate he may bat. His injury will be reviewed in 7-10 days once it has had a chance to settle. A decision about his return to play will be taken at this time.”After the second day’s play in Sharjah, Ian Bell said it was down to the remaining 10 players to make up for Stokes’ absence. James Anderson and Stuart Broad were outstanding in the first innings with combined figure of 6 for 30 off 28.1 overs but will now have to carry the pace-bowling burden entirely by themselves, while there will be significant pressure on the spin trio of Moeen Ali, Samit Patel and Adil Rashid.”We’ve talked a little bit about having to step up as a batting unit, with one man down,” Bell said. “Losing someone like Stokesy, with all his attributes, is obviously tough. The bowlers are going to have to recognise that, and step up again in the next ‘dig’ – which I’m sure they will do.”Stokes had already been rested from the one-day and T20 legs of the UAE tour and was due to fly home after the third Test finishes.

Bihar took a pincer grip of their Super League tie against Railways atthe MECON Sail stadium in Ranchi after opening bowler Mihir Diwakarhad devastated the visitors for 130 on the opening day today. With twoand a quarter hours of play lopped off due to rain and bad light,Bihar had made 14/0 from five overs at stumps.After being put in to bat, the Railways innings lasted just 41.1 overswith the top score being Abhay Sharma’s 27. Seventeen year old Diwakarran through the innings, taking 7-47 in 18.1 overs. Seven batsmenfailed to reach double figures. Diwakar was ably supported by his newball partner Dhiraj Kumar who finished with 3-64.In the brief time that Bihar batted, opener Ratan Kumar was forced toretire hurt for seven. N Ranjan and Aamir Hashmi were the not outbatsmen.