All posts by h716a5.icu

Newcastle United defied expectations and cleaved their way into European contention last term with a fourth-placed Premier League finish, and could now consolidate their newfound stature by signing Southampton's Tino Livramento.

Are Newcastle going to sign Tino Livramento?

According to talkSPORT, the relegated Saints have touted the 20-year-old at £50m after Newcastle lodged a recent offer of £30m for Livramento, who made just two appearances last term due to a long-term injury sustained in April 2022.

This might seem exorbitant, but Southampton's stance is seemingly that the precocious talent played no part in such a dismal year and as such should not see a deprecation in value.

The south coast club signed the emerging ace from Chelsea for just £5m but inserted a £25m buyback clause into the contract, and the Saints hierarchy evidently believes that for Newcastle to find fruit in their pursuit they must stretch closer towards that ballpark figure of £50m.

What position is Tino Livramento?

Having signed Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid for £12m in January 2022, Newcastle unearthed a new focal point from the right-back position to spearhead an ascent that has carried the club away from relegation worries at the bottom of the Premier League and toward Champions League football just 18 months on.

The England international has made 53 displays for the Tyneside outfit, scoring three goals and supplying ten assists to date; he also played an important role in securing the division's joint-best defensive record of 33 goals conceded – alongside champions Manchester City.

Once hailed as a "revelation" by pundit Simon Jordan, Trippier has been immense, but at 32-years-old his influence will not last forever and targetting a worthy successor is paramount to ensure the robustness of the outfit continues.

Livramento played next to no part in Southampton's 2022/23 travails but did impress across the previous campaign, earning an average Sofascore rating of 6.85 after making 28 appearances, making 1.9 tackles and 1.7 clearances and interceptions per game, earning praise as a "future star" by former teammate Theo Walcott, who also called him "fantastic".

One player who could benefit from his arrival at St. James's Park is Anthony Gordon, with the 22-year-old Englishman not quite hitting the ground running since completing a £45m transfer from Everton last January, scoring just one goal from 16 appearances.

Gordon is a nimble and progressive winger and has been called "fearless" by Newcastle icon Alan Shearer, and with both the Liverpudlian and the Southampton starlet in the maiden phase of exciting careers, they could form an innate partnership down the right flank.

Livramento's aforementioned defensive metrics highlight his prowess at protecting the base of his team, which could allow Gordon to thrive as he grows into his skin and harnesses his end product over the next several seasons.

Trippier is a dynamic option and can help Gordon at present with his masterful ball-playing skills, but indeed, several years down the line his presence will have waned and the changing of the guard could reap rewards across several facets of the pitch with Livramento the heir.

Glasgow Rangers manager Michael Beale has already signed a total of nine players since taking over the Ibrox side last November.

The seven summer arrivals have yet to truly display their talents due to the season not yet underway, but if they are as impressive as his two January signings, then the club could be in the perfect position to claim back the Premiership crown.

Nicolas Raskin and Todd Cantwell were the first two players to arrive under the Beale revolution and while Raskin gave the club some much-needed steel in the heart of the midfield, evident by averaging 1.8 tackles per game which ranked him third in the squad, it was the Englishman who was particularly inspiring.

How good was Todd Cantwell last season?

Having registered zero goals or assists for Norwich City during the first half of the season, the 25-year-old looked like a man reborn under Beale, scoring six times and grabbing five assists, including a first Old Firm goal.

Given he played just 16 league matches, he remarkably finished third in the squad in terms of overall Sofascore rating and fourth for successful dribbles per game (1.5), showing how easily he settled into life at the Gers.

The former Canaries starlet will be hoping to continue this stunning run of form once the Premiership season kicks off in a couple of weeks and Beale could even be planning a repeat of his Cantwell masterclass with a move for Charlie Cresswell.

Could Rangers sign Charlie Cresswell?

Rangers had an opening offer rejected by Leeds United for the youngster last month, according to Football League World, and it remains to be seen whether Beale will go back in for the defender, though given the evidence below, it is certainly something the Teddy Bears boss should do.

Like Cantwell, the “unbelievable” titan – as hailed by Leeds presenter Joe Wainman last year – was playing in the Championship last season.

He featured in 30 matches for Millwall across all competitions and even added an unlikely goal threat, scoring five times overall.

The 20-year-old was impressive for the Lions, winning 60% of his total duels in the second tier, displaying his physical presence and this would certainly stand him in good stead should he make the move to Scotland, with the physicality tending to be a problem for players arriving from England.

Not only that, the youngster showed great maturity by ranking second across the whole squad for his overall Sofascore rating (7.13), accurate passes per game (28.1) and clearances per game (3.1) as he turned into one of their finest players during a season where they finished eighth, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot.

Cantwell saw the chance to join Rangers and rejuvenate his game and although Cresswell is playing well, moving north of the border could give him opportunities which wouldn’t be on offer at Leeds.

Playing in the Champions League is a key example.

Creswell may have the chance to showcase his abilities on the grandest club stage of all and the 6 foot 3 titan would certainly have the physical presence to mix it with the best.

By signing the young talent, Beale could well repeat his Cantwell transfer masterclass, and it could pay off for the Ibrox outfit handsomely in the future.

Jake Ball has been ruled out of the Lord’s Test against South Africa with a knee strain

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2017Jake Ball will not be available for England’s first Test against South Africa due to a knee strain. He has also been ruled out of Nottinghamshire’s Royal London Cup final at Lord’s on Saturday, head coach Peter Moores has confirmed.The seamer felt pain in his knee when bowling during the second innings of Nottinghamshire’s Specsavers County Championship game against Kent on Tuesday. He went for a scan on Wednesday to assess the damage and was unable to take to the field when the third day of the day-night match resumed after a rain delay.Ball is set to miss the next two weeks of action, which puts him out of contention for the start of the Investec Test series against South Africa, which begins on 6 July at Lord’s. England are already set to be without Chris Woakes and have worries over the fitness of Stuart Broad, Ball’s Notts team-mate, after he suffered a recurrence of his heel problem last week.Nottinghamshire hope Broad will be able to play in the Royal London Cup final, having sat out the pink-ball match at Trent Bridge.”Jake is naturally very, very disappointed to miss out on the final, having previously been made available to play by the ECB, particularly after missing out on selection when Notts beat Glamorgan at Lord’s in 2013,” Moores said. “He’s given his all in this competition when he’s been available to us, and we’ll miss him for what will be a really tough game against Surrey.”Jake is a very strong character and I’m sure he’ll bounce back from this. I know he’ll be wanting us to beat Surrey as much as anybody.”

When the transfer window opens, and football fanatics take up their summer internship as detectives, nothing gets past them. Flights are tracked, quotes followed, and social media activity is monitored like it's 24-hour CCTV. Where there is a transfer clue, there will be a supporter on the case.

The latest discovery has been about the future of Liverpool midfielder Fabinho. According to David Ornstein, the Brazilian is set to be the subject of a £40m bid from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad this summer.

Supporters were quick to get on the case to find any clues about his potential transfer decision, too, leading them to what could be a major indication as to where Fabinho will be plying his trade next season.

Liverpool fans spot potential Fabinho transfer clue

Amid the rumours linking him with a move away, Liverpool fans took to Fabinho's social media, and Rebeca Tavares' – the midfielder's wife – in an attempt to spot any clues.

On her personal Instagram account – as shared on Reddit – it was discovered that Tavares is following an Instagram account called 'welcomesaudi', amid reports linking her husband with a move to Saudi Arabia this summer.

It's safe to say this looks fairly suspicious to say the least…

Considering the recent Instagram activity of his partner, fans hoping for the 29-year-old to stay put in the current transfer window may just have to prepare themselves for the worst.

What's the latest on Liverpool and Fabinho?

Liverpool looked set to enter pre-season without any major recent departures just yet – although Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain left at the start of the summer – and with some much-needed midfield reinforcements too following the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.

An unexpected twist means that they could be set to lose both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia this summer, however.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Henderson has accepted a contract proposal from Al-Ettifaq, who recently hired Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. It will now be down to the negotiations between the Reds and the Saudi Arabia club as to whether the move takes place for the 33-year-old.

Meanwhile, Al-Ittihad are reportedly set to bid for Fabinho, with a deal likely to progress quickly whether it is a swift rejection or completion of the transfer.

Suddenly, Klopp would find himself short on options in the middle of the park, perhaps forced to turn to the transfer market again. And that's where Romeo Lavia could come in.

As per Ornstein, the Southampton midfielder is among their list of targets if Fabinho departs this summer. Romano previously reported that the Saints value the teenager at £50m, but it remains to be seen what Liverpool would actually be willing to pay.

So, with that said, if the Brazilian did decide to leave in the coming weeks, it would start quite the domino effect of transfers.

A new-look midfield of Lavia, Mac Allister, and Szoboszlai may lack experience when compared with what Klopp had in midfield before, but what it lacks in that department, it makes up for in excitement.

With the new Premier League season approaching, how Liverpool line-up on the opening day of the season against Chelsea will certainly be an interesting one, to say the least.

Sri Lanka head coach Graham Ford has said that Sri Lanka had more positives to take from the Champions Trophy than some of the other teams in the tournament

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Jun-2017They were swatted away by South Africa, and let slip a winning position against Pakistan, but Sri Lanka still gained more from the Champions Trophy than some other teams would have. That, in any case, is the conclusion head coach Graham Ford drew from a campaign in which Sri Lanka glittered in patches, though not quite for long enough to earn a place in the semi-finals.Malinga targeting 2019 World Cup

Lasith Malinga conceded that at 33, he is a diminished bowling force, but remained hopeful about playing in the 2019 World Cup, when he will be 35. Sri Lanka’s Champions Trophy opener against South Africa was Malinga’s first match since November 2015 – that hiatus was a result of chronic leg injuries. He claimed only three wickets at an average of 59.66 in the tournament, but did also have at least three catches dropped off his bowling.
“At 33, I find it difficult to do the things I’m used to doing,” Malinga said. “I do still have the desire to take wickets whenever I bowl, but maybe I’m not a match-winning bowler anymore. I played a one-dayer after 19 months. Before that, I hadn’t bowled more than four overs. I was happy I was able to play, but I’m not that satisfied with my bowling, because I couldn’t win a match for the team this time. But the other bowlers did well, though losses do occur.
“I’m looking forward to playing on in the format – as long as I’m good enough to play in the team. If the selectors choose me for the next World Cup, I’m ready to play.”

This optimism largely stems, of course, from the seven-wicket win against India, whose 321 for 6 Sri Lanka ran down with relative ease. Ford felt the top order’s modest showings in the other games were down to inexperience – Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka and Asela Gunaratne having played fewer than 30 ODIs.”If you look at the number of caps in the India side, and the number of caps in ours, we’re vastly inexperienced, yet we outplayed them completely,” Ford said. “I do feel that with inexperience, we’re not going to get those performances every day of the week. We are going to have disappointments. But as time goes by – some of our players have played 20-odd, or fewer than 20 ODIs – and they get to 80, 90, 100 ODIs, these guys are going to win us a lot of games. That win was against the team everyone is talking about being favourites to win the tournament.”Ford believed that the loss against Pakistan, too, was not without its positives. Sri Lanka squandered a good chance to move to the semi-final with some horrendous catching at the back end. But Ford said that to even get to a stage where Sri Lanka looked like defending 237 required substantial resolve from the bowlers.”The game against Pakistan, unfortunately we didn’t play very well. But look at the attitude and the fight we showed – South Africa lost their game, and they just disappeared. We looked out of that game when Pakistan were 76 (they were 74) without loss chasing a moderate total, and somehow our boys found a way to fight back and get us into a winning position.”The character that these guys continue to show is really exciting. If we get a bit of experience among the younger players and we continue to keep that fight – that kind of spirit is really important if we’re going to build and become a highly competitive team. We were trying to win, but I think there are other teams going back from the Champions Trophy with far less positives and far less to really get excited about than we have.”Although Sri Lanka dropped at least five catches through their campaign, Ford said improvements had been made on the fielding front. Fielding had, in fact, been a particular area of focus during the pre-tournament training camp at Pallekele – a result of having lost several matches, across formats, due to poor catching over the last two years.”The public probably don’t realise just how determined these guys are to try and improve,” Ford said. “Unfortunately our fielding let us down against Pakistan, but we started to look like a side that can field. I’ve always said it’s going to take time before we become a fielding unit that the rest of the world talks about. But there’s no doubt that there’s been an improvement in that area.”

West Ham United boss David Moyes is 'determined' to get the 'best out' of striker Gianluca Scamacca in 2023/24 and will try to keep hold of the Italy international, according to journalist Paul Brown.

Is Gianluca Scamacca leaving West Ham United?

According to Calciomercato, Scamacca has attracted interest from Roma and talks are set to take place between both parties over the potential of the 24-year-old returning to Serie A.

Scamacca is believed only to want to play for Roma over other suitors keen on offering him an escape route from the London Stadium and has given his word to the Giallorossi that he is keen to ply his trade at the Stadio Olimpico.

Journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has reported that Juventus have sounded out Scamacca and asked for information regarding the £90k-a-week ace to protect themselves against the possibility of striker Dusan Vlahovic leaving the club this summer.

AC Milan are also on the trail of the former Sassuolo man, while Di Marzio has claimed that any agreement to take Scamacca to Roma would likely be on a loan basis.

Last term, Scamacca struggled to make an impact in his maiden campaign in English football, scoring eight times in 27 appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Brown thinks that Moyes will be 'determined' to help Scamacca succeed at the London Stadium despite his inconsistent form in 2022/23.

Brown stated: “As far as I'm aware, West Ham are still really determined to try and make a success of Scamacca.

"There have been little hints from Italy about him wanting to return there because things didn't really quite go according to plan.

"He does feel like someone who doesn't really fit the Moyes system perfectly, I think Antonio even said that on his podcast not so long ago.

"But I'm told the plan is that they want him back and they want to try and get the best out of him next season.”

Which striker is linked to West Ham?

It's possible that West Ham United will act to strengthen their forward line this summer as they look to build on their Europa Conference League triumph last term.

According to 90min, Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun is a target for the Hammers and contact has been initiated with the USA international, who is valued at £30 million by the Gunners.

Strasbourg forward Habib Diallo is another name on West Ham United's radar this window; however, Brentford and Crystal Palace will provide competition in the race to sign the Senegal international, as per Football Insider.

The Irons are tracking Jubilo Iwata youngster Keisuke Goto and the 18-year-old could be brought to the club under the GBE rule, which guarantees that players of significant talent that don't qualify for a work permit are given an exemption from the process, according to The Daily Mail.

Sevilla, Juventus and Feyenoord are all monitoring the exciting starlet, who has striking physical attributes and stands at 6ft 3ins. Goto has been tipped for big things in his homeland and there is an expectation that at some point he will make a full breakthrough to the Japanese national team.

Paul Collingwood starred with bat and ball at Gosforth as Leicestershire never recovered from a disastrous start

ECB Reporters Network05-May-2017
ScorecardPaul Collingwood starred with bat and ball [file picture]•Getty ImagesPaul Collingwood hurried Durham to a five-wicket Royal London Cup win against Leicestershire at the South Northumberland club ground in Gosforth.After taking 3 for 42 in dismissing the visitors for 211 with one ball unused, Collingwood went in at 122 for 3 and remained unbeaten on 65.Leicestershire were brought swiftly back to earth after their 103-run win against Warwickshire, slumping to 13 for 4 after losing an important toss.Fresh from his 153, Mark Pettini edged Chris Rushworth’s second ball of the match behind and although the pitch appeared to have good carry, Cameron Delport and Aadil Ali both lobbed up easy catches from mistimed drives.They provided James Weighell with the first two of his four wickets, the third coming when Ned Eckersley also surrendered by hooking straight to long leg.Mark Cosgrove was beginning to look dangerous when, on 21, his attempted pull off Paul Coughlin flew off the top edge over the wicketkeeper for six. But, on 37, he clipped Collingwood straight to deep square leg.At 68 for 6, Zak Chappell went in and remained unbeaten in compiling his maiden one-day half-century. He reached 50 with a fierce pull wide of long-on off a slower ball by Weighell and had eight other boundaries in his 59 off 82 balls.Lewis Hill was the second-highest scorer with 44 before he clipped Collingwood to mid-wicket and was brilliantly caught by Keaton Jennings, diving to his left. Dieter Klein helped Chappell add 73 in 17 overs for the ninth wicket before he heaved across the line in the 49th over and was bowled by Weighell for 26.When Durham replied, left-armer Klein surprised Jennings with a full toss which had the Durham captain lbw for 12. But Michael Richardson was soon in full flow as two cuts off Gavin Griffiths flew to the boundary.Richardson reached 50 off 65 balls but then went back for a second run to third man and found himself at the same end as Stephen Cook with the throw heading for the other end.Cook was bowled for when trying to run Tom Wells to third man then Cameron Steel fell lbw to a yorker in the same over with 33 still needed. But Collingwood hit two sixes and six fours in his 45-ball half-century and quickly finished the job.

A round-up of the Regional 4 Day Tournament matches that were played between March 10 to 13

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2017Kemar Roach took match figures of 7 for 47 as Barbados defeated Leeward Islands by an innings and 26 runs at Bridgetown. Leeward Islands batted without their captain Kieran Powell, who was absent hurt, in a match where they managed only six double-digit scores across two innings.Barbados had put on 313 after electing to bat, led by Shamarh Brooks’ 63 and contributions from Roston Chase (49), Jonathan Carter (46) and Kevin Stoute (41). Their innings ended early on the second day when pacer Alzarri Joseph (5-42) took the last two wickets to complete his third first-class five-for.In response, Leeward Islands found themselves on 37 for 6 as Roach (3-29) and Miguel Cummins (3-34) ran through the top order. They were asked to follow on after folding for 163, and the second innings ran a similar script – they were reduced to 38 for 6, before being bowled out for 124. Roach finished with 4 for 18 from 16 overs and took the award for Man of the Match. Nkrumah Bonner’s 70 in the first innings and Keacy Carty’s 79 in the second were the only notable batting performances for Leeward Islands who continue to sit at the bottom of the table.The Chanderpauls, Guyana’s father-son duo, were at the crease together against Jamaica and hit important half-centuries•WICB Media/Ashley Allen PhotoIt was a match to remember for several of the Guyana players at Sabina Park. Fast bowler Keon Joseph picked up his first five-wicket haul and finished with 7 for 53. Not to be outdone, fellow seamer Raymon Reifer claimed 5 for 60 in the second innings. Meanwhile, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his son Tagenarine hit fifties together to ensure they claimed a slim but vital lead. In the end and despite a century from Chadwick Walton, Jamaica lost by seven wickets.Walton’s knock – 101 off 173 balls – formed the bulk of Jamaica’s first-innings total of 255 after they were asked to bat. Joseph took out for of the top six batsmen to send them on their way to the underwhelming total. In response, Guyana were struggling to push ahead but Shimron Hetmyer’s 74 off 79, Tagenarine’s 58 off 135 and Shivnarine’s 57 off 175 were just about enough. They were the only ones who could properly resist left-arm spinner Nikita Miller (4 for 69) and part-time offspinner Andre McCarthy (3 for 18).Jamaica were able to erase their deficit, which was only seven runs, but were bundled out for 188 with Reifer doing the most damage. The only setback for Guyana was Tagenarine being forced to retire hurt in their chase of 182, which was taken care of in 54 overs thanks to Vishaul Singh’s unbeaten 63.Trinidad & Tobago legspinner Imran Khan picked up seven wickets in the match against Windward Islands•WICB Media/Ashley AllenLegspinner Imran Khan and offspinner Bryan Charles shared nine wickets in the second innings to help Trinidad & Tobago overcome Windward Islands by 175 runs.The victory, let alone the sizable margin, did not seem probable when T&T were reduced to 57 for 5 after being put in to bat. Yannic Cariah, however, produced a career-best 102 not out off 212 balls, wicketkeeper Steven Katwaroo struck 59 and a bonus half-century from left-arm spinner Khary Pierre pushed the total to 275.The bowlers then got to work and by the time they were halfway through the game already seemed in the bag. Windward Islands crashed to 33 for 6 in the 20th over and just about stuttered over 100 before they were knocked out. Left-arm quick Sheldon Cottrell took 3 for 30 while Imran, Charles and Marlon Richards chipped in with two wickets each.T&T had the benefit of another century in their second innings, this time from captain Kyle Hope (105 not out) while Kariah pushed his match tally further by 47 runs. All that meant Windward Islands were looking at a target of 375. They enjoyed a good start, finishing at 61 for 1 on day three, but things took a bad turn thereafter. Imran (5 for 67) and Charles (4 for 79) ran through the side, reducing the score to 92 for 4, then 182 for 8 and finally 202 all out.

Manchester City have reportedly made an offer for Atletico Madrid winger Rodrigo Riquelme.

What’s the latest Man City transfer news?

Those at the Etihad aren’t wasting any time in preparing for the 2023/24 season, looking to carry on the success under Pep Guardiola following a historic treble-winning campaign.

However, City have already lost one of their key players from last season in Ilkay Gundogan, who has left the Etihad on a free transfer to sign for Barcelona.

Mateo Kovacic has been confirmed as the first arrival of the window and looks set to replace Gundogan in the middle of the park, joining from Premier League rivals Chelsea in a deal worth an intial £25m.

Fellow Croatia international and RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol could soon join Kovacic in Manchester, with personal terms already agreed over a potential move.

There has been further rumours of another new midfielder as well, with talks held with the agent of Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga and contact seemingly made for Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada.

Those links appear to be as a result of Bernardo Silva’s future at City being up in the air. Reports have claimed that Guardiola has given the green light to another marquee midfield signing should Silva leave, with the Portugal international having a ‘mind-boggling’ offer from a side in Saudi Arabia.

Therefore, it looks as if it could be an extremely busy few months in Manchester, and another player who appears to be on the radar is Riquelme.

Sport Witness relayed an update from Spanish outlet AS regarding City and Riquelme in the last 48 hours. They claimed that City have made an offer to sign the player, who has a €60m release clause, with a move in the initial stages.

The report adds that Atletico are willing to explore sales for plenty of their players, and they could negotiate a deal with City under Riquelme’s release clause.

Who is Rodrigo Riquelme?

Riquelme is primarily a left-winger who can also play on the right-hand side or in an attacking midfield role. The 23-year-old actually shares the same agency as Jon Stones and Nathan Ake and is valued at a career-high €12m by Transfermarkt.

The Spaniard has come through Atletico’s academy but has made just two senior appearances for his current employers. That’s because he has been sent out on loan on numerous occasions in recent years, including to Bournemouth where he scored twice in 19 appearances.

Riquelme has most recently been with Girona, though, contributing to eight La Liga goals in 34 appearances, with Atletico’s president, Enrique Cerezo, describing the winger’s efforts last season as “magnificent”.

“He had a magnificent season at Girona, and now Rayo [Vallecano] is interested in him.

“He is a great player, and I believe he has a place at Atletico.”

It looks as if a move to the Etihad could be one to watch this summer, and who knows, Guardiola may feel he could take Riquelme’s game to the next level, potentially viewing him as a long-term alternative to someone like Silva.

Charl Langeveldt said South Africa’s bowlers have to be “box smart” and more disciplined than they were on the second day in Dunedin

Firdose Moonda in Dunedin09-Mar-2017Charl Langeveldt, South Africa’s bowling coach, has asked for more discipline from his attack, who he admitted will have to “box smart” on a tricky Dunedin pitch. Although Langeveldt believes New Zealand probably got the best of the surface on the first morning, when there was variable bounce, he believes South Africa could still tighten up and take control of the match.”If you’re going to have attacking fields, you are going to leak runs. In hindsight, we went for too many fours,” Langeveldt said. “Kane (Williamson) put us under pressure, especially against the spinner. He didn’t let the spinner settle down. Just blocking up one end would have been ideal. But Kane was on fire. Jeetan put us under pressure as well.”Not only did Williamson score freely off Keshav Maharaj, but he also took runs off Kagiso Rabada, who struggled with a slight stomach bug. Rabada’s illness was not serious enough to prevent him from taking the field, and Langeveldt is confident he will return with more venom on the third morning, but has invested most of his hopes in the team’s ability to strike early and find reverse-swing.”This is like a Port Elizabeth wicket. At the end there was a hint of reverse, so hopefully that will work in our favour,” Langeveldt said. “We have to box smart and try and contain Kane Williamson. He’s the key. I’m not sure whether Ross Taylor is going to come back but he’s a good batsman and they’ve got a few allrounders coming in. So we still have to bowl well to get them out. Tomorrow morning I feel we’ll have that opportunity, and then we need to box smart after that.”Taylor left the field with a calf injury and had scans at the university hospital. There is no definitive call on his availability for the rest of the match. Whether or not he returns, South Africa still have some big hitters and quick run-scorers to contend with, including Jimmy Neesham. Langeveldt would like to see his bowlers emulate New Zealand and squeeze a first-innings lead. “They bowled brilliantly and built pressure from both ends,” he said.Almost a third (32%) of the 122.4 overs New Zealand bowled were maidens, and they kept South Africa’s scoring rate to 2.51, as part of a plan to frustrate the opposition’s powerful line-up. “We were just looking to grip the ball and ask tough questions and not let them get too far ahead,” Trent Boult explained. “Everyone applied pressure in different stages, so it was easy for Kane to move between bowlers and not let that foot up. Stepping up maidens and dot balls was a big part of our plan, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”By comparison, South Africa’s maidens efficiency was only 23%, and allowed New Zealand to score at 3.21. Still, Langeveldt believes the bowlers can make something happen, especially because Morne Morkel, who made a return after 14 months on the sidelines nursing a back injury, seems to be making a strong comeback. “His pace was up, he bowled a good amount of overs, he bowled really well and he got the ball in good areas. But the key thing was that Morne Morkel’s pace was up and he was bowling at 100%,” Langeveldt said.