Arsenal left it late against Stoke City on Sunday but eventually ran out 3-0 winners at the Emirates Stadium.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a double in the final 15 minutes to ensure victory before Alexandre Lacazette scored an 89th minute penalty to make sure the scoreline flattered Arsene Wenger’s outfit.
The Gunners main priority in the closing stages of this season is the UEFA Europa League, but with an outside shot at fifth position, fans would love to finish above Chelsea in the table.
In that regard it was a pleasing afternoon for fans, with the three points especially valuable after the Blues lost at home to Spurs later in the day.
However, the performance did upset some sections of the Emirates support, booing the team at half-time with the scores still level at 0-0.
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One of the players that received much of the criticism was captain for the day Jack Wilshere, who failed to really get to grips with the game before being substituted in the 76th minute.
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Fans are hoping he can show the kind of form that would make him worth a new contract at the club but more performances like Sunday’s would continue to turn opinion against him.
Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his display…
Speaking after his side’s defeat at Leicester over the weekend, Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert said: “We need a bit more creativity, that’s the only thing that is lacking from us.”
Fast forward just a few days, and the Villains are, according to BBC Sport, on the verge of snapping up Carles Gil from Valencia in a deal worth around £3.2m. The deal for the 22-year-old is likely to go through by the end of the week, with reports claiming that the incoming man will start against Liverpool.
So is he what Villa need? BBC Sport’s Pat Murphy thinks he’ll fit well: “Gil arrives with the reputation of a player who can go past opposition players swiftly in the area where Villa are blatantly deficient – the final third of the field.”
It’s fair to say the Midlanders need his flair and guile, with goals having been hard to come by for the claret and blues. Just 11 strikes in 21 games – the month of October was infamous for the cancellation of the club’s Goal of the Month award, as there were, erm… were none! – has led to criticism and unrest in the stands at Villa Park.
The stats show that Gil is extremely able in the final third, with his numbers tallying among the current crop of first-team options Villa have, even though the youngster has not featured frequently for Valencia this season.
What the stats don’t paint a picture of, though, are Gil’s technical skills, with the Spain U-21 star excellent on the ball and adept at taking on his man. The below video shows off what the silky attacking midfielder is good at, with his form with Elche very impressive:
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Reading earned their first Premier League away win of the season after coming from behind to beat Newcastle at St James’ Park. Manchester City comfortably beat Fulham at the Etihad Stadium to close the gap on rivals United to just four points, while Liverpool strengthened their case for a European push in the second half of the season by putting five past Norwich without reply at Anfield.
Newcastle United 1-2 Reading: Adam Le Fondre came off the bench to score twice in six, second half minutes to earn Reading their first away win of the season and dump more pressure on Newcastle boss Alan Pardew. The Magpies boss was left facing a chorus of boos at the final whistle after his side slumped to another worrying home defeat. It all looked rosy for the hosts Yohan Cabaye’s sumptuous free kick gave them a deserved half time lead. However, the game would then be decided by two changes from either boss with Pardew’s withdrawal of Sylvain Marveaux and then Cabaye stifling his teams momentum, much to the dissatisfaction of the home crowd. That played into Brian McDermott’s hands and Le Fondre bundled home within a minute of his introduction before he squeezed the ball past Tim Krul from Hope Akpan miscued shot.
Liverpool 5-0 Norwich City: Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge both started and scored for Liverpool as they intensified their push for European football with a resounding win over Norwich at Anfield. Brendan Rodgers’ men produced arguably their best performance of the season and Jordan Henderson got the ball rolling in the 26th minute with a thumping volley from 20-yards that beat Mark Bunn. Suarez doubled the lead 10 minutes later, slotting home after a dummy from Sturridge. And just before the hour the Reds’ newest recruit opened his Anfield account as he tapped in from Stewart Downing’s low cross, before Steven Gerrard rifled home from 25-yards. The Canaries misery was complete 15 minutes from time when Ryan Bennett put through his own net to make it five defeats from six for Chris Hughton.
Manchester City 2-0 Fulham: David Silva scored either side of half time to earn Manchester City an easy victory over Fulham and move them to within four points of league leaders Manchester United. The Spanish schemer was quick out of the blocks for the home side and had the ball in the net after just 95 seconds, converting from close range after Edin Dzeko’s 25-yard shot was parried into his path by Mark Schwarzer. The Cottagers dug their heels in after that but were undone again in the 69th minute when he latched onto Gael Clichy’s pass and dinked the ball over a helpless Schwarzer.
Wigan Athletic 2-3 Sunderland: Steven Fletcher struck twice for Sunderland as they came from behind to beat Wigan at the DW Stadium. The travelling Black Cats supporters were stunned into silence after David Vaughan’s own goal gave the Latics a fourth minute lead but James McCarthy’s handball allowed Craig Gardner to put them back on level terms from the penalty spot just after the quarter hour. Fletcher then struck his first of the afternoon three minutes later despite needing two bites of the cherry to score from close range and made it 3-1 with an instinctive strike from the edge of the area that nestled sweetly in the top corner. Angelo Henrique headed home Shaun Maloney’s cross 10 minutes from time to set up a grandstand finish but the visitors held on.
West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Aston Villa: Peter Odemwingie scored seven minutes from time to rescue a point for West Brom in an entertaining West Midlands derby against Aston Villa at the Hawthorns. Christian Benteke thumped Villa into the lead with a brilliant turn and strike after 12 minutes and that lead was doubled when Gabriel Agbonlahor finished cooly past Ben Foster just after the half hour. Steve Clarkes men responded valiantly and halved the deficit four minutes after the break through captain Chris Brunt’s sidefoot finish from 20-yard that clipped the post on the way in. And the turnaround was completed by Peter Odemwingie seven minutes from time, the Nigerian neatly turning inside the six-yard box and hammering the ball past Brad Guzan.
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Swansea City 3-1 Stoke City: Jonathan De Guzman was the unlikely hero for Swansea as he scored twice to secure victory over Stoke at the Liberty Stadium. After a goalless first half Ben Davies broke the deadlock four minutes after the break with a cool finish past Asmir Begovic to notch his first senior strike for the Swans. De Guzman scored his first just before the hour, curling a measured free kick into the net before putting the finishing touches to a sweeping move to make it 3-0. Michael Owen nodded in a consolation scored with a from six yards in the final minute but it was too little, too late for the Potters.
West Ham United 1-1 QPR: Loic Remy scored on his QPR debut but was denied a winning start afer Joe The French attacker, who signed for £8 million from Marseille earlier in the week, took just 14 minutes to open his account with a composed finish past Jussi Jaaskelainen after latching on to Adel Taarabt’s pass. But the Premier League’s bottom club were denied a vital victory when Cole turned home a loose ball from two yards to earn the Hammers a point with 20 minutes left.
According to reports in The Mirror, Manchester United are lining up a summer move for Real Madrid’s £50m-rated centre-back Raphael Varane as Jose Mourinho looks to strengthen his side’s defensive options.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Mirror says that Mourinho will bolster his central defence at the end of the season in order to try and help them become contenders to win both the Premier League title and the Champions League next season, and Varane is on his shortlist of targets.
The Mirror says that while Real are willing to sell the 24-year-old and are looking for £50m for the France international, the Red Devils’ Portuguese boss in only willing to pay £40m for a player he tried to sign when he was in charge of Chelsea in 2014.
The report adds that United centre-backs Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof are all facing uncertain futures at Old Trafford, with the club potentially looking to sign two new centre-backs this summer.
How has Varane done this season?
The Frenchman has been a regular for Real in both La Liga and the Champions League when he hasn’t been on the sidelines because of injury this term, making 33 appearances in all competitions.
Playing alongside captain Sergio Ramos, the 24-year-old has shown his defensive qualities, and according to WhoScored.com his main strengths are his passing, concentration and his ability to win aerial duels.
The centre-back has a passing accuracy of 91.2% across 27 outings in the Spanish top flight and in Europe, while he has won 43 of the 64 aerial duels he has faced, as well as making 118 clearances.
Would he be a good signing for United?
He certainly would be.
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The 24-year-old has plenty of experience of playing at the top level for Real and for his country, while he is good on the ball – something that Mourinho is likely to demand from his centre-backs.
£50m for a central defender with his quality and experience and who still has plenty of time to improve could prove to be something of a bargain, and he could be better value for money in the long run than Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld – another reported target for the Red Devils.
Ronny Deila didn’t get off to the best of starts during the opening few months of his Celtic tenure. The Hoops were knocked out of the Champions League twice before the group stage had even begun. Legia Warsaw defeated them 6-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round before the Polish side were expelled for fielding an ineligible player, giving Celtic a second bite of the cherry. They failed to make it count as NK Maribor edged past 2-1 on aggregate to leave the Bhoys red faced yet again.
By early October there were calls for Deila to be sacked following a 1-0 home defeat to Hamilton. This left the club 6th after eight matches but, seven league wins later, Celtic are back where they belong at top spot in the Premiership. Their Europa League campaign has been impressive aswell, even if the group isn’t the strongest in the world. They progressed with one match still to play and Deila will know his European campaign is probably what he will be judged on the most.
With Celtic sitting pretty at the top of the league and still in both domestic competitions, Deila could be on course for a domestic treble in his first season as boss. It certainly isn’t out of the question with Rangers being all that stands between them and treble, as the two meet in the League Cup semi-final stage.
Despite the clear downsizing of the club from the glory days of around a decade ago, Celtic are starting to establish a squad capable of bringing those days back to Glasgow. They have still managed to secure three consecutive titles whilst downsizing on the pitch, although it’s no secret the lack of competition they face. It was only a couple of years ago they were beating Barcelona in what was a famous night at Celtic Park.
In order to compete in Europe again, they need to keep hold of their top players. This is something that hasn’t happened in recent years with Fraser Forster, Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama among the names that have moved on to bigger and better things. The latest player linked with a move to the Premier League is Dutch defender Virgil Van Dijk. The 23-year-old has impressed significantly with his defensive capabilities this season . He is someone they need to keep hold of in order to progress.
Deila had to rely heavily on the loan system to recruit players this summer. John Guidetti has impressed most since joining on-loan from Man City, scoring 11 times in 14 matches across all competitions. He has failed to win a place at Man City but is still highly regarded. Despite limited opportunities throughout his career, he has managed to keep a healthy scoring rate especially at Feyenoord where he scored 20 league goals in 2011/2012. Celtic will hope they are able to make his loan permanent next summer as he is someone that is guaranteed goals the more he plays.
Craig Gordon replaced the departed Fraser Forster in goal and is slowly regaining the form that saw him move to Sunderland in 2007. With the likes of Efe Ambrose and Virgil Van Dijk in defence, they are certainly looking a little more solid at the back. Antony Stokes and John Guidetti have been on good goal scoring form, something that should continue against the level of domestic teams they face on a weekly basis.
There is always the debate about Scottish football becoming a one horse race since Rangers’ financial problems, but the fact remains Celtic have the chance to win all three domestic trophies this season. Surely despite the lack of strong competition, winning the treble would be a fantastic achievement for the club and something that hasn’t been achieved since 2001.
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Chelsea are looking to back to winning ways now they return to the Premier League following their absence last week at the Club World Cup.
The Blues had a long journey to Japan and eventually ended up short last Sunday losing 1-0 to Brazilian side Corinthians. They did put in a dazzling display though midweek against Leeds with a 5-1 victory at Elland Road to dispel any hangover from their previous defeat.
Aston Villa will need no invitation to start performing as Paul Lambert’s side have shown that they are really starting to hit their peak as of late.
Christian Benteke was a menace to the Liverpool defence last weekend as they managed to get a highly unlikely but well deserved 3-1 victory at Anfield.
This fixture poses a similarly tough venue to secure 3 points and Chelsea will be looking to up their league form under Rafa Benitez.
Paul Lambert’s young side may appear to be finding their feet but extending their current unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge to seven games will be a tall order.
Gary Cahill is welcomed back into the fold after he served his ban in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday. John Terry remains absent with a knee injury so the England international could slot right back in. John Obi Mikel and Daniel Sturridge remain unavailable too.
Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland is back to face last season’s European Champions. The Republic of Ireland international was out last time with illness. Ron Vlaar and Agbonlahor are highly unlikely to make it. Darren Bent is definitely going to be missing.
Rafael Benitez has suffered just one defeat in 12 meetings with Aston Villa as a Premier League manager (W7 D4) and would expect to continue that here.
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Prediction: Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa
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Fast bowler played for Birmingham Bears last season, but has since become regular in New Zealand T20Is
ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2025Zak Foulkes, the 22-year-old New Zealand fast bowler, has joined Durham for their T20 Blast campaign.Foulkes has made eight international white-ball appearances to date, having made his debut in April 2024. As a tall right-arm seamer, who hits the deck hard, seven of those have come in T20Is, in which he has claimed nine wickets at 26.33, with a best of 3 for 20 against Sri Lanka.Foulkes has previous experience in the Vitality Blast, having played seven games for Birmingham Bears last summer, claiming eight wickets.”I am really excited to be joining Durham for the Vitality Blast this season,” Foulkes said. “I have heard great things about the Club and can’t wait to get involved.”Marcus North, Director of Cricket, said: “We are very pleased to have recruited Zak for our T20 Blast season.”It was important we brought in a player who will provide us with a clear point of difference within our bowling attack and that is exactly what Zak brings.”At only 22, Zak has already shown across the international and domestic game how much of a dynamic and well-rounded player he is in the T20 format.
“We look forward to welcoming him to Durham this summer.”
He also insists their firepower with the bat can’t be questioned despite the early defeats
Matt Roller18-Oct-20231:16
‘England need to adapt to Indian pitches’
England have not become a bad team overnight and their players remain confident that they can win the World Cup, despite early defeats to New Zealand and Afghanistan. That was the message put forward on Wednesday by Jonny Bairstow, who also pushed back against criticism of the squad’s focus.With two points from their first three games, England will probably need to win five of their remaining six group-stage fixtures to qualify for the semi-finals. They play against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday night, which represents a chance to respond from a shock 69-run defeat to Afghanistan in Delhi.And Bairstow said the squad retains belief that they can put a run of victories together. “There’s a reason why the guys won the T20 World Cup last year; there’s a reason why the guys won the 2019 World Cup, and we’re the defending champions,” he said. “Just because we’ve lost a game to Afghanistan doesn’t make us bad cricketers or anything like that.Related
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“You look at [Fazalhaq] Farooqi, his record in the IPL; you look at the three spinners that they’ve got and their records. Just because they play for Afghanistan, they’re no slouches. They’ve actually got some of the world’s best in there and they’ve got match-winners. We lost that game, we didn’t play well enough, and we’ve accepted that and moved on from that.”Asked whether England’s batting line-up is still capable of dominating opposing teams in the way they have over the last eight years, Bairstow said: “I don’t really think much has really changed, has it? You look at the strength in depth that we have with our batting line-up… I don’t think the firepower can be questioned.Jonny Bairstow said one defeat doesn’t mean England are a bad team•Getty Images
“We’re just focusing on ourselves. That’s what we do. We’ll go out and play the way that we’re looking to play, put pressure on the opposition like we said that we’d try and do. People are allowed to bowl or bat well. But if our mindset is right and if the way in which we approach the game is right, then that’s the bit that we can control.”England’s players came in for significant criticism across broadcast and print media after their defeat on Sunday, which the squad have largely ignored. But they have taken issue with one report which focused on the players’ use of their downtime and suggested that they should spend less time on the golf course, and more in the nets.”The group remains calm within it,” Bairstow said. “Belief and confidence isn’t something that’s been questioned one bit. That’s something that you’re able to call upon when you do lose a game. We lost to Sri Lanka in 2019. We lost to Pakistan in 2019. We still went through. There were similar things that I’m sure you guys [the press] wrote in 2019 at the home World Cup.”But that’s OK. That’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to write certain things about certain members and what people do and don’t do in their downtime. That’s things that you’ll fill in the [column] inches and you’re doing that. Whether it’s true, whether it’s incorrect, whatever it is – that’s up to you to do that, isn’t it?”The confidence is there. It’s unwavering. There’s no lack of belief within this group.”Responding to a question about whether criticism would bring the squad closer together, Bairstow said: “Not really, no. I don’t read it [but] I got told about some of the stuff that you put, so we’ll leave it at that.”South Africa, England’s opponents on Saturday, started the World Cup with convincing wins over Sri Lanka and Australia but were beaten by Netherlands on Tuesday night, which Bairstow described as “a great result to wake up to”. He believes South Africa have “a quality attack” and also cited Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen as two “exceptional” batters.England will also face South Africa in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup in Paris on Saturday night, which Bairstow said would be “a great day” for two “extremely proud nations”. He added: “You’ll have people in South Africa having a few brandy-and-cokes and a couple of braais, and you’ll have a few Englishmen popping down the pub… it’ll be great, and hopefully both results go our way.”
Wicketkeeper-batter embraces challenge against India after show of faith from Nat Sciver
Valkerie Baynes12-Sep-2022Amy Jones is the first to admit that captaincy doesn’t come naturally to her.So when she was thrust into the role on the international stage because Nat Sciver had chosen to step away for mental health reasons, it was Sciver who initially helped convince her she could do it.”It’s definitely not something I’ve been gunning for quietly for a while at all,” grinned Jones on the eve of Tuesday’s second T20I against India in Derby. “But when I was having chats with Nat, sort of getting an inkling that she might go home, we did have a conversation where we were like, ‘this could be you, Amy,’ and it was very daunting.”I’d say on the pitch, definitely not something that comes naturally to me. I like to lead off the pitch in my own way, how I go about things, but when it comes to being vocal and speaking in front of the group or management of the game, all of this is all pretty new to me.”But, after leading England to a resounding nine-wicket win in the first match on a damp evening in Durham on Saturday, Jones – the wicketkeeper-batter who is set to make her 150th appearance for England in Thursday’s third fixture in Bristol – admitted she rather enjoyed herself.”One of the most pleasing things about the other night was just how everyone came together,” she said. “They know it’s not natural for me, but everyone’s been really supportive and just helped whenever they can. So it was, yeah, I’d go as far to say I enjoyed it, actually.”England announced last Thursday that Sciver had withdrawn from both white-ball series with India and returned home from the team’s camp in Durham to focus on her mental health and wellbeing. Sciver, who had been standing in for injured regular captain Heather Knight since July, said that she was “very emotionally fatigued” after a busy nine months which included an Ashes tour of Australia, the World Cup in New Zealand, a home series with South Africa and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the host nation finished a disappointing fourth.”She’s one of my closest friends as well as a team-mate,” Jones said. “The first couple of days in Durham, she obviously wasn’t herself.”So when she did, with the help of our support staff, decide that she shouldn’t be there, I think it was almost a relief for me as a friend to know that she was going to go back home and get herself right before she joins back up with us, so definitely the right decision for her and everyone’s right behind her.”Related
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Jones felt she had Sciver’s full support in taking on the captaincy, as well as that of Sciver’s wife, Katherine Brunt, who is being rested from the T20Is and subsequent three-match ODI series with India.”She was being really reassuring, she said I’d do a great job,” Jones said of Sciver. “And Katherine has also messaged me as well and they’ve been very supportive. It felt like they thought I was the right person, which definitely gave me a bit of confidence.”Jones captained Birmingham Phoenix through the inaugural season of the Hundred last year before the arrival of Sophie Devine, the New Zealand skipper, at the franchise this year.”For me, it was daunting, purely because I did a year at the Hundred obviously and nothing either side of that, so it’s just the unknown really,” Jones said. “That’s what I was stressing about the most leading up to the game.”It’s obviously a lot of responsibility and with a young side… I wasn’t sure if some of the bowlers would need more help than they did, but everyone just really stepped up, knew their game, and it was a lot simpler than I thought.”In the absence of three senior players, Jones was hugely impressed with her side’s performance on Saturday, particularly leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, who took a career-best 4 for 23, including three of India’s top four in Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha and Harmanpreet Kaur.”Leading into this, missing three key players for us, it would have been easy for us to sort of go into our shell in that first game with a bit less confidence,” Jones said. “It just really felt like everyone came together and stood up in a time where we could have gone the other way, so that was really pleasing.”It was definitely a challenge. I was very nervous. I think for the couple days leading up to it, it was a lot of thinking and it’s quite hard to switch off. But now, having played the first one, I can relax a bit more and know that we can get through a game and with the girls helping you it just made it so much easier.”Alice Davidson-Richards was called into the England squad for the remainder of the T20I series as cover for allrounder Sciver. The squad – and captain – for the ODIs starting on Sunday at Hove is yet to be named.”I’m not sure I’d be throwing my hat in the ring,” Jones said. “I think fifty overs is a whole other ball game. But, in saying that, obviously if they think I’m the right person for it then it’s something I would never turn down.”I’m happy just to focus on the T20s now. As always, I would never turned down an opportunity like that, but I’m definitely doing just a little stand-in.”
Hosts collapse after lunch at Canterbury, leaving them bottom of the table
ECB Reporters Network25-Apr-2021Lancashire 525 (Lamb 125, Wood 119, Bohannon 87, Vilas 53) beat Kent 169 (Crawley 60, Bailey 4-46) and 351 (Bell-Drummond 114, Cox 80, Parkinson 7-126) by an innings and five runs Lancashire moved top of Group Three after thrashing Kent by an innings and five runs in their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury.Matt Parkinson helped spin the visitors to 22 points, claiming 7 for 126 as Kent were all out for 351 in their second innings, while Danny Lamb, who scored 125 on the second day, claimed 2 for 57.Daniel Bell-Drummond made 114, but the hosts lost three wickets in the morning session and collapsed from 305 for 4 after lunch, leaving them bottom of the table, having picked up just two bonus points.Related
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With the St Lawrence ground under cloud for the first time this season and buffeted by a north-easterly wind strong enough to blow over advertising hoardings, Kent began the final day on 209 for 1 following on, still 147 in arrears.Bell-Drummond added just six to his overnight score when he played on to Josh Bohannon and Parkinson then hit Kent with a gut punch, taking two wickets from successive balls. Zak Crawley was lbw for 36 to a full toss that landed on his toe and Jack Leaning was caught and bowled for a golden duck, lingering for several seconds before the umpires agreed the ball hadn’t bounced.Joe Denly and Heino Kuhn steered Kent to 280 for 4 at lunch, but just as the hosts began to harbour plausible hopes of at least forcing Lancashire to bat again, both were removed by Lamb. Kuhn was lbw for 32 in the 53rd over and in the 55th Denly’s middle stump was sent flying as he was bowled for 31.Darren Stevens went for a duck in the next over, caught by Rob Jones as he tried to drive Parkinson through extra cover and Matt Milnes was unable to recreate last week’s rearguard against Yorkshire, lasting 27 balls before he was lbw to Parkinson for 14, leaving Kent on 345 for 8 at tea.Fred Klaassen was on three when he steered a Lamb delivery into his stumps and although he was reprieved when the ball failed to dislodge the bails, Parkinson had him caught by Steven Croft at silly point before he could add to his score. Lancashire sealed the win when Parkinson drew an inside edge from Miguel Cummins and he was caught by Keaton Jennings at short leg.Having bowled 52 overs, Parkinson described the result as “probably the best four-day win I’ve had”.”It was a long stint, I think last week got me ready and to bowl 50 was awesome,” he said. “I think I bowled two full sessions, so for Dane to trust me for that length of time and for me to perform in those overs was amazing, so I’m just pleased to get the win.”It was nice to get two wickets in the first innings, I think that probably calmed me down a bit. Coming into this game I was a bit nervous, about going from Old Trafford – which I’m used to – to a very flat surface, but I relaxed into a long spell.”They played well, [Jordan] Cox and Bell-Drummond, but it’s testimony to the energy that we’ve got at the minute, it’s a massive change from what I’m used to in this Lancashire side for us to have that belief. From 200 for one, I don’t think many teams in the country would have won from there.”