Everton suffered defeat in the English Premier League for the first time since Sam Allardyce arrived at the club on Saturday, losing 2-1 away to Bournemouth.
Allardyce has struggled to pick up wins since becoming manager, but had at least brought defensive stability to the club and stopped his new side shipping goals and slipping to losses prior to Saturday.
However, defensive frailties came to the fore in a match that Everton looked to win on the counter, rather than showing the ambition to bring the game to the home side.
Ryan Fraser struck in each half to sink their hopes of a point after Idrissa Gueye equalised after half-time, leaving the away fans deeply disappointed.
There was particular criticism for some of the club’s summer signings, including Gylfi Sigurdsson, who struggled to have the kind of impact on the game that fans thought they were buying with big money in August.
They’re looking for more from the Icelandic international and took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his Saturday performance…
Manchester United boss David Moyes has called for a complete overhaul of the club’s scouting system, with the view to bring in his own choice of scouts, after a summer of immense disappointment in the transfer market for the Premier League champions. But we never witnessed such a plethora of transfer faux pas and ungraceful errors at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson and former Chief Executive David Gill.
The majority of stories regarding Sir Alex Ferguson’s transfer pursuits during his seventeen-year reign as Manchester United boss often share a great similarity. According to the likes of Peter Schemeichel, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, the United legend visited them personally, once travelling all the way to Denmark in the goalkeeper’s case, and told them simply that he wanted to bring them to Manchester United and that he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
David Moyes hasn’t been in the job long enough to have such a dazzling, personal effect on his transfer targets, something which he pointed out earlier in the summer by citing he’d only been at Old Trafford officially since the 1st of July, but there’s a stark contrast between the style and demeanour of Ferguson’s escapades in the transfer market and the series of calamities his predecessor has endured this summer.
The fact the Scot struggled during his inaugural transfer window at his first major club is no secret -Marouane Fellaini’s last minute arrival, left so late that the British media couldn’t confirm his move from Everton until after the 11pm deadline, is evidence enough, especially when it’s tied in with two failed bids for Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas earlier in the summer.
But it’s since the window slammed shut that the most condemning reports of Moyes and new Manchester United Chief Executive Ed Woodward’s failures in the transfer market have come to light, and the list of transfer mishaps is now becoming a source of embarrassment for a club as prestigious and historically pivotal as Manchester United.
After failing to tempt Everton chief Bill Kenwright into selling his two leading stars over the course of the summer, Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini, it seems the Red Devils entered and conducted themselves on deadline day in an unusually chaotic fashion.
According to Sami Khedira, Manchester United made a late £34million bid for the German midfielder just hours before the 11pm deadline, playing on the fact Real Madrid were desperate to balance the books from their record-breaking deal for Tottenham’s Gareth Bale. Los Blancos rejected the offer unsurprisingly considering the timing, but it all seems a bit rash on United’s part.
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The 26 year-old moved to the Bernabeu for just £12million in 2010, and although the average price of established European players has sky-rocketed this summer, I’d argue Khedira hasn’t increased his value by £22million in the last three years, considering he’s contributed to just one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey in that time period.
David Moyes also tried to loan wantaway team-mate Fabio Coentrao from Real Madrid after realising that he couldn’t justifiably match Everton’s £20million valuation for Leighton Baines, however, the planned deal was left so late that it wasn’t completed before the 11pm deadline – not that signing the Portuguese would have done anything more than save face for Moyes after missing out on the Toffees defender and other key targets throughout the summer.
At the same time, the planned acquisition of Athletic Bilbao’s Ander Herrera ended in complete farce. It seems United’s initial £30million bid was legitimate and David Moyes’ interest in the Spanish playmaker was genuine, but at some point the deal was hi-jacked by three unknown lawyers claiming to represent the Premier League champions, and after Bilbao’s realisation that they weren’t dealing with Red Devils officials, negotiations were called off completely.
You can hardly blame the Scot for the actions of a trio of borderline con-men, but he was only £6million away from activating Herrera’s release clause, and the promising starlet epitomised the balance between attack and defence in central midfield that Moyes was desperately searching for this summer.
Similarly, according to Spanish super-journalist Guilleme Balague, the Red Devils were offered the services of Mesut Ozil on deadline day, and Real Madrid even delayed his move to Arsenal in the hope that Moyes and Woodward would launch a counter-offer to the Gunners’ £42million bid.
It seemed an offer almost too good to refuse for the new United boss considering his side have started the season with a disturbing lack of creativity going forward, but by lunchtime on September 2nd came news from Old Trafford that the Premier League champions had ruled themselves out of the race to sign an attacking midfielder who dons the most assists in Europe over the last four years. Granted, £42million is a lot of money, but The Independent reported in early August that Ozil had been offered to the Red Devils for less than Arsene Wenger eventually paid for him.
Deadline day is a crazy 24 hours, and a panic zone Sir Alex Ferguson always did his best to steer clear from, with late acquisitions of Wayne Rooney in 2004 and Dimitar Berbatov in 2008 two of a rare few exceptions – but even those transfers had been in the pipeline for some time. It’s not Manchester United’s style to run around Europe putting their fingers in every mildly-warm pie in the hope of signing any player with a decent reputation in the final hours of the transfer window.
But even before September 2nd, Moyes had made a series of ill-fated bids for various continental stars. According to Turkish news outlet Milliyet, the Red Devils made an ‘indirect offer’ for Galatasaray’s Wesley Sneijder to solve their creative midfield crisis in mid-August to no avail, and their £12million bid for Daniele De Ross was turned down by Roma but never improved upon.
Two failed attempts to sign Cesc Fabregas earlier in the summer also showed great naivety; after their first offer, believed to be around £35million, Barcelona described the midfielder as simply ‘non-transferable’. Despite the Spaniard’s apparent discontent at playing second-fiddle to Xavi and Andreas Iniesta, he’s managed 29 goals and 37 assists in 101 appearances since arriving at the Nou Camp from Arsenal two years ago.
Meanwhile, Manchester United lost out on promising Portugal winger Bruma because of their poor conduct in proceedings with former club Sporting Lisbon. The 18 year-old entered into an employment dispute with the Portuguese outfit over whether his contract expired this summer or the next, and thus the Red Devils offered him a deal at Old Trafford with no transfer fee involved.
But Lisbon eventually won their case to prevent Bruma leaving on a bosman move, meaning that his illustrious list of potential suitors, including the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United would have to make a monetary offer for his services. Miffed at how the Premier League champions had tried to circumvent them during negotiations however, Lisbon club rejected Moyes’ £15million offer and sold their youngster to Galatasaray, taking on a £6million loss in the process.
And therefore, having failed to secure the signings of any of the seven targets mentioned, five of which the Red Devils made formal bids for, Moyes went full circle and turned back to one of the first names linked with the Red Devils this summer- Everton’s Marouane Fellaini. The Toffees were too financially weak to resist a decent offer, and the Belgian was one of a rare few players guaranteed not to be put off by Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement at the end of last season.
But even the Fellaini deal has its fair share of negatives to be drawn from it. He wasn’t Moyes’ first choice of central midfielder, that much is obvious, but he could have signed the 25 year-old for significantly less a month earlier, with his previous £23million release clause expiring on the 1st of August.
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Eventually, Moyes got his man for £28million, but that’s the same amount the United gaffer offered for Fellaini and team-mate Leighton Baines just two weeks previous, and in order to force through his move to Old Trafford, the midfielder handed in a transfer request at Goodison Park on deadline day, nullifying his £4million loyalty bonus, and made haste down the M62 from Merseyside to Manchester as the 11pm deadline loomed in.
Every Premier League club has endured failed pursuits in the transfer market this summer; Arsenal missed out on Luiz Gustavo, David Villa and Gonzalo Higuain, Chelsea couldn’t lure away Wayne Rooney from Manchester United, and Manchester City’s planned acquisition of Pepe never got off the ground.
But for a club of Manchester United’s stature, it’s the chaotic nature of their summer escapades, the naivety and the clear lack of any sort of plan or policy that’s truly worrying. Moyes may have only officially took over as Old Trafford boss on July 1st, but running around on deadline day like headless chickens in a bid to find a solution to a summer of transfer disappointments is not how the Premier League champions conduct themselves – or rather, it’s not how they conducted themselves under Sir Alex Ferguson, and it has nothing to do with United’s scouting network.
Are the stories from United’s summer getting embarrassing?
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has stated that his side are ready to do battle in the Champions League.
The Premier League champions were eliminated from a tough Group A last term, and have been drawn alongside Real Madrid, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund this time round.
Despite the calibre of this campaign’s opponents, Kompany is confident his side can progress.
“Games like this are why you are in the Champions League. I thought it couldn’t get more difficult than last year but there you go,” the centre-half is quoted as saying by The Sun.
“It’s a great challenge. I think we are the sort of team which gets better as the challenges get even greater.
“It’s perfect for us. There won’t be any moments where we will be surprised. The motivation will be sky-high, the atmosphere great. I couldn’t think of a better way to play the Champions League.
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“It’s all about how far you can get but it’s even nicer when you play against the best teams,” he concluded.
City take on Real Madrid in their first Champions League fixture next Tuesday.
Winner joins India in Super Four round from Group A; loser exits the Asia Cup
ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2025 After a one-hour delay to the start of the game, UAE won the toss and opted to bowl against Pakistan in a must-win game for both teams in the Asia Cup in Dubai. PCB cleared the Pakistan team to play after the board claimed that match referee Pycroft had apologised to their players for his actions during the India-Pakistan game on Sunday.UAE captain Muhammad Waseem expected dew to play a part and confirmed that Simranjeet Singh replaced Muhammad Jawadullah.
“We will try to restrict them,” Waseem said. “It is a do-or-die game. We will take advantage. We had a good game in Abu Dhabi; this is a different game.”Related
PCB clears Pakistan to play UAE; says Pycroft apologised
UAE’s decision went down well with Pakistan, who wanted to bat first anyway. Pakistan made two changes to the side that lost to India on Sunday, with Haris Rauf and Khushdil Shah coming in. They replaced Sufiyan Muqeem and Faheem Ashraf.One of these two teams will be eliminated after Wednesday’s result. Both sides beat Oman comfortably and lost to India, making this fixture in Dubai a knockout game: the winner joins India in the Super Four, while the loser exits.UAE: 1 Alishan Sharafu, 2 Muhammad Waseem (capt), 3 Asif Khan, 4 Muhammad Zohaib, 5 Harshit Kaushik, 6 Rahul Chopra (wk), 7 Dhruv Parashar, 8 Haider Ali, 9 Muhammad Rohid Khan, 10 Simranjeet Singh, 11 Junaid SiddiquePakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Sahibzada Farhan, 3 Mohammad Haris (wk), 4 Fakhar Zaman, 5 Salman Agha (capt), 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Hasan Nawaz, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed
Athapaththu has moved past Nat Sciver-Brunt following her match-winning unbeaten 195 not out in the final ODI in South Africa
ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2024Chamari Athapaththu, who scored an unbeaten 195 in just 139 balls to take Sri Lanka to a remarkable win over South Africa in their final ODI in Potchefstroom last week, has risen to the No. 1 spot in the ICC’s batting rankings for women’s ODIs.Athapaththu’s knock broke a number of records in women’s cricket, including the highest individual score in a successful ODI chase. It was also the second-highest individual score in a successful ODI chase across women’s and men’s cricket, behind Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out against Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup.Chasing South Africa’s 301 for 5, itself the result of Laura Wolvaardt’s outstanding 147-ball 184 not out – which took her series tally to 335 runs – Sri Lanka got home in just 44.3 overs to square the series. The second-best individual score for Sri Lanka in the chase was Nilakshika Silva’s 50 not out in 71 balls.
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Following that effort, Athapaththu achieved her highest-ever rating of 773 on the ICC table, and moved past Nat Sciver-Brunt, who has 764 points. Wolvaardt, who had entered the top five in the last update of the rankings, moved up two more spots, past Beth Mooney and Smriti Mandhana, to third place.Hayley Matthews, meanwhile, jumped seven spots to reach No. 11 on the same table after scoring 140 not out and 44 in West Indies’ wins over Pakistan in the first two ODIs of their three-match series.Among bowlers, Sadia Iqbal, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, moved up six places to enter the top 20 after returns of 2 for 38 and 1 for 36 in the two games against West Indies.
Board said the fast bowler had reported the incident immediately to the authorities
ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2023Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has imposed a five-year ban on a “fan” for making a spot-fixing approach to fast bowler Luke Jongwe in August last year. ZC said that Jongwe had immediately reported the approach to the authorities.”Edward Walter Mupangano, a 27-year-old cricket fan from Harare who in the past also had playing trials with a local club, received the sanction after he approached Luke Jongwe on 4 August 2022 and sought to introduce him to an Indian bookmaker who allegedly wanted the player to bowl in a pre-arranged manner during an international match in return for a payment amounting to US$7000,” ZC said in a statement.”The facilitator himself would allegedly receive US$3000 if the planned corrupt activity was successful.”The board said Mupangano had accepted the charge of violating the anti-corruption code and that he had been banned from all ZC-affiliated events, activities and venues for five years.In the wake of this incident, ZC called for Zimbabwe to make “fixing and any other sporting corruption a criminal offence” under the country’s law.”It is our view that harsh sanctions, including custodial sentences, will go a long way in helping cricket to curb one of the biggest threats to its credibility,” ZC chair Tavengwa Mukuhlani said. “Criminalising match-fixing and spot-fixing will send a strong warning to offenders and would-be offenders that corruption has no place in cricket and those who engage in it should be jailed or put out of the game.”ZC said it would “intensify its anti-corruption education drive within its structures and continue working with the ICC to ensure that cricket locally and globally is not tainted”.”The integrity of ZC and the game itself is of paramount importance and, therefore, the need to maintain high levels of honesty and professionalism at all levels of the game cannot be overemphasised,” ZC managing director Givemore Makoni said. “Let me take this opportunity to place on record our thanks to Luke Jongwe for reporting the approach – this is what is expected of all participants in cricket if we are to keep our game clean.”Jongwe, 28, has played one Test, 37 ODIs and 45 T20Is for Zimbabwe since making his debut in 2014.
Karim Janat, Ikram Alikhil return among a host of changes
ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2021Sediqullah Atal, Shahidullah Kamal, Abdul Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad, who are all uncapped in ODI cricket, have found places in Afghanistan’s 17-member squad for their first bilateral ODI series against Pakistan. The three-match series is scheduled to be played in the UAE* in September.In addition to facing Pakistan in two Asia Cups and the 2019 World Cup, Afghanistan had come up against their neighbours in a one-off ODI in the UAE in 2012, when Pakistan won by seven wickets.Hashmatullah Shahidi is set to make his captaincy debut, having been appointed to the job in ODI cricket in May earlier this year. Rahmat Shah will be his deputy while former captain Asghar Afghan has been left out of the side altogether. Afghan had led the team in their most recent ODI series against Ireland in the UAE, which they won 3-0. Javed Ahmadi, Gulbadin Naib, Sayed Shirzad and Yamim Ahmadzai were among the others from the Ireland series who were omitted from this squad.Rashid Khan who was the first pick, by the Trent Rockets, in the ongoing Hundred, will be back to lead the spin attack along with Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Sixteen-year-old left-arm wristspinner Noor, who has already had stints in the BBL and PSL, is also part of the spin attack although he is yet to make his international debut.Left-arm seamer Farooqi, who made his T20I earlier this year and was subsequently picked by the Chennai Super Kings as an IPL net bowler, could be in line for his ODI debut on this tour.Kabul Eagles’ Atal has made the ODI squad despite having not played a List A game in his career. The top-order batter has played only seven T20s so far, scoring 114 runs at an average of 16.28 and strike rate of 107.54. His domestic captain Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the frontline keeper in the squad, with the returning Ikram Alikhil being his back-up. Alikhil has last played ODI cricket in 2019.Allrounder Karim Janat who has played only a solitary ODI for Afghanistan, back in 2017, also returned to the side.Afghanistan currently have 30 points in the World Cup Super league, having swept Ireland 3-0.Afghanistan squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediq Atal, Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Alikhil , Shahid Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad Out: Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Javed Ahmadi, Sayed Shirzad, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Usman Ghani, Yamin Ahmadzai In: Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Ikram Alikhil, Shahidullah Kamal, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad Reserves: Yousuf Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Saleem Safi, Qais Ahmad
Pool of money for professional and recreational game follows initial bail-out of £61 million
ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2020The ECB has committed a further £35.7million to support professional and recreational cricket during the Covid-19 pandemic.The support package, agreed by the ECB board in a bid to mitigate the financial issues caused by the suspension of the 2020 season, follows on from the initial sum of £61 million that was announced back in March.The bulk of the figure, £30.22million, will be released to the first-class counties and MCC on August 1, and will comprise the early release of six months of core payments from the County Partnership, as well as the remainder of the annual payments of £1.3million that were promised to the counties with the establishment of the Hundred.The remainder of the sum, £5.5 million, will be made available to the county boards on August 1, again from core payments from the County Partnership distributions.In addition, recreational clubs will continue to have access to an interest-free pot of £20million through the ECB’s ‘Return to Cricket” scheme, and will also be given a 12-month holiday on loan repayments.”It is the ECB’s responsibility to protect the whole game’s future during the financial uncertainty we face as a sport,” said Tom Harrison, the chief executive.”We continue to work closely with all levels of the game to understand the challenges that are being presented and to map out a plan for the future. While I am pleased the ECB Board has been able to approve this financial support package for the remainder of this year we are still only at the beginning of addressing the impact of this crisis on cricket.”We still should not underestimate the significant financial burden that is ahead of us across all levels of the game. We must seek to reduce the cost base across the game, as we face up to the sobering reality of what lies ahead of us.”The response we have seen within the game has been reassuring and I know how much a return to the field of play would mean to clubs and players of all ages across England and Wales.”It remains our priority to get cricket started again this summer, from the grassroots to the elite level, and we will continue to work with Government to try and do that in a way that keeps people safe but that limits the ongoing impact of this crisis on our game.”
The culture of togetherness within the squad was the main reason for the upturn in fortunes, Sri Lanka’s captain has said
ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2019Sri Lanka have made history in South Africa, becoming only the third team overall – after England and Australia – and the first from Asia to breach the fortress in a Test series.It came against all calculations. After all, Sri Lanka have had very few reasons to cheer on the cricket field – or off it, for that matter – in recent months. Not to forget they had a new captain in the form of Dimuth Karunaratne for the series, with Dinesh Chandimal getting the axe after two huge defeats in Australia. The sword was hanging over coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s head too, and more than one key player picked up injuries and dropped out.”Beating South Africa two-nil isn’t easy. When we came here, we were underdogs. But we learnt a lot of things on previous tours, and the players executed really well in these conditions. That’s why we are here. It’s a great achievement for us,” Karunaratne gushed after Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando struck unbeaten half-centuries to take Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket win in Port Elizabeth for a series sweep.Just how big was the result? Karunaratne admitted that even when, at various stages, there were words of positivity and hope thrown about in the dressing room, “we didn’t take that seriously”.”I think we never expected to do it,” he said. “But when we started winning, we had the faith. We wanted to compete. Winning is the ultimate goal, but if we do the right things, the result will definitely be good for us. Most of the guys said that but we didn’t take that seriously, because when we have additional pressure, it’s not easy.”Cut to Saturday, which started with Sri Lanka 60 for 2 in their chase of 197, and “we said when you go out there, you play your natural game; if you can score, if you can hit over the fielder, go for it. That’s what in the first hour Mendis and Oshada did … when we played like that, South Africa were on the back foot.”Kasun Rajitha is pumped up•Getty Images
Karunaratne stressed on “keep smiling” and “keep enjoying” as the main mantras for the players. After over two months on the road – with very little joy – the words proved useful.”The tour (in New Zealand) started in December, so we are out of the country for three months. If you don’t enjoy and if you can’t free your mind, you can’t give your best,” Karunaratne said. “I know the talent we have, so we wanted to get those out. If you’re enjoying yourself, you can definitely get those out.”With Mendis, who hasn’t had his best run with the bat while on the road, the new captain had to work extra hard. “He was really feeling the pressure, he was thinking about the social media and everything,” Karunaratne said. “But I said, ‘When you get a good knock, you’ll forget about it and we’ll keep supporting you. It’s high time you do it.’ And he did it for me.”Mendis and Oshada pulled it off in the end, but Sri Lanka had many other heroes in Port Elizabeth after Kusal Perera had done it all almost single-handedly in the first Test in Durban.South Africa only scored 222 and 128, and that was because the pace trio of Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha picked up 13 wickets between them and Dhananjaya de Silva, the lone spinner after Lasith Embuldeniya dislocated his left thumb, provided crucial breakthroughs in conditions not too suited to his brand of offspin.And no, comments from South Africans like Keshav Maharaj didn’t serve to spur the players on, according to the new captain, who now looks set to hold the job at least for the foreseeable future.”We had a few discussions, what I expect, what the management expects, and after that, we kept hanging together, we ate dinner together, we were together,” he said of the team culture he has tried to put in place. “When you make that culture, when you come overseas, only the squad will stay here … I wanted them to give their best and stay in the game all the time. They enjoyed a lot, still they are enjoying. It’s really a great feeling, when we are playing together, and my job becomes easier.”When we came here, no one thought we can win a series here. But if we back ourselves, we can win those matches. We wanted to do something good for the team, for the Sri Lankan fans. End of the day, we did a really good job.”
New Zealand were too slow to adjust to the nature of the Sydney pitch according to Ross Taylor who thought a total of 140 would have given them a fighting chance
ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2018New Zealand were too slow to adjust to the nature of the Sydney pitch according to Ross Taylor who thought a total of 140 would have given them a fighting chance.Three wickets in the first four overs – including two from Billy Stanlake’s opening two deliveries – set back New Zealand’s innings to such an extent that they could only limp to 9 for 117 with Australia cantering to a rain-adjusted target to take the opening points of the Trans-Tasman tri-series.The start of Stanlake’s spell was the most eye-catching period of the match as he pushed the speedgun over 150kph, dismissing Colin Munro first ball then producing an unplayable delivery to take Martin Guptill’s off stump.Munro is given licence to attack at the top of New Zealand’s limited-overs line-ups, but didn’t give himself a sighter against Stanlake when he top-edged a short ball and, while Guptill could do little about his delivery, Tom Bruce then top-edged another short ball to long leg in Stanlake’s second over.”We probably didn’t assess conditions well enough, Australia bowled very well and there was a little in the wicket but we weren’t able to soak that up,” Taylor said. “Don’t know it was 160-170 wicket but if we’d scrapped our way to 140 we might have been a chance.”With New Zealand’s two top-order strikers gone in two deliveries, boundaries were hard to come by to the extent that there was just one in the Powerplay after the opening over – and that was an edge fine of slip by Taylor – as captain David Warner gave Stanlake three of his four overs on the bounce.”I thought he bowled very well and those were two big wickets with his first two balls set the tone for their innings and our batting,” Taylor said. “He’s bowled very well in the Big Bash, it wasn’t a quick wicket here but he bowled well with good pace and will be one to watch in the future for sure.”Kane Williamson soaked up 21 deliveries for his 8 before getting a leading edge into the covers and Taylor was left to hold the innings together. Tom Blundell was promoted up the order to try and ensure the innings went deep to allow Colin de Grandhomme, who finished as the top-scorer with 38 off 24 balls, the freedom to attack later on.Taylor edged Ashton Agar’s final delivery to depart for 24 off 35 balls – New Zealand’s second-slowest 20-plus score in T20Is – while de Grandhomme clubbed three of the four sixes New Zealand managed, but Taylor rejected any suggestion that the difficulty in clearing the rope was because of the transition from the small grounds in New Zealand.”You just have to back yourself that you are doing the right thing at the time, try to eliminate the dot balls. Each time we lost a wicket we had to hold back and take it as deep as possible. I think it was more the wicket than the size of the boundary… the slower balls stuck in the wicket.”