Southampton’s last two results have made relegation from the Premier League all the more likely.
Mark Hughes’s side were beaten 3-2 by both Arsenal and Chelsea, which has left them five points from safety with as many games left to play.
The style of football under Hughes has been more positive than that implemented by Mauricio Pellegrino prior to the Argentine’s sacking.
However, time is running out for the Saints to pick up the points they need to retain their top-flight status.
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At the weekend, the game against Chelsea was frustrating for the coastal club at St Mary’s as they threw away a two-goal lead.
Not only that, but Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso seemingly got away with a stamp on Shane Long’s calf in the first half while the Blues were trailing.
Retrospective action has now been taken, with the FA charging the Spaniard with violent conduct.
If found guilty, the Chelsea man could be suspended for this Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton.
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Even though that would be a positive outcome for the Saints, the majority of fans feel that the charge is meaningless.
Comment from discussion Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso charged by FA for tackle on Southampton’s Shane Long.Comment from discussion Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso charged by FA for tackle on Southampton’s Shane Long.Comment from discussion Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso charged by FA for tackle on Southampton’s Shane Long.Comment from discussion Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso charged by FA for tackle on Southampton’s Shane Long.Comment from discussion Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso charged by FA for tackle on Southampton’s Shane Long.Comment from discussion Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso charged by FA for tackle on Southampton’s Shane Long.Comment from discussion Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso charged by FA for tackle on Southampton’s Shane Long.
This week will be crucial for Southampton as they take on Leicester City on Thursday night and then Chelsea at Wembley three days later.
Not again? Afraid so Liverpool fans, Daniel Sturridge is once again set for a spell on the sidelines after being sent home from England’s training camp.
Roy Hodgson cannot be blamed this time, though, with the striker picking up a torn muscle in his hip during the loss at home to Manchester United on Sunday – which may cost the club top four football, and has left them facing three games without Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel.
Initially considered to be minor issue, scans have revealed that Sturridge’s problem could leave him out of action for a month, in which time he will miss vital Premier League and FA Cup games, to add to the five months he’s already sat out this season.
The skilful striker may have hit in excess of 30 goals in just over 50 outing for Liverpool, but is it time for the Merseyside club to think about cutting their losses this summer? Maybe, and here are FIVE reasons why…
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Cannot be relied upon to stay fit
Football – Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers – FA Cup Quarter Final – Anfield – 8/3/15Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge looks dejected Action Images via Reuters / Carl RecineLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Since joining Liverpool in January 2013 – just over two years ago – Sturridge has suffered 14 injuries. FOURTEEN. He’s already missed five months of action this term, which put a serious strain on Brendan Rodgers’ squad, and was absent for large chunks of 2013/14 – although Luis Suarez’s eternal fitness covered that well.
It’s not as such Sturridge’s fault that he picks up these knocks and strains, but there comes a point when Liverpool must realise that he cannot be relied upon to get them through an entire campaign.
Should command a decent fee
Football – Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers – FA Cup Quarter Final – Anfield – 8/3/15Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge looks dejected Action Images via Reuters / Carl RecineLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Despite his injury woes, Sturridge is English and still relatively young at 25. These factors mean that he could well attract a decent fee from an interested rival. Chelsea appears to be a no-go after his fruitless spell there, while Manchester City may be a tricky one given that he left them as a youngster.
A move abroad could be an option, with more and more English players testing their skills outside of the Premier League.
Sterling can play the role
Top scorer for Liverpool in the league with six goals – we’re not counting Steven Gerrard’s penalties and free-kicks – Sterling has proven himself capable in a variety of roles. Sturridge’s injury woes saw Rodgers thrust him into a slot as the central striker, and although he lacks the physicality to occupy centre-backs, his movement and pace have come to the fore.
Aside from his run in the ‘No. 10’ last season, Sterling’s best form has come as the focal point of the attack, making it a long-term role to consider, and one that may make him rethink his stance in regard to contract negotiations.
Doesn’t seem suited to the 3-4-2-1
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Sturridge’s return earlier this year saw him thrust into Rodgers’ new system. Recovery may be an issue preventing him from reaching the highs of last term, but the 25-year-old has appeared to be a little off the pace of late, with his movement not quite there. The goals have come, albeit not in a prolific nature, yet his performances haven’t quite been of the level Reds and had hoped for.
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Options out there
As ever, this summer is likely to be a busy one on terms of transfers across Europe. Should Liverpool go shopping for a forward, there will be lots of choice.
Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan looks a decent bet for an side in need of a pacey, tenacious striker, while Palermo’s Paulo Dybala is not dissimilar. Karim Benzema remains a target, and there has even been talk of a shock move for Manchester United’s struggling loanee Radamel Falcao.
Tottenham transfer target Leandro Damiao has insisted he is happy to remain at Internacional but admitted to being flattered by the interest Spurs have shown in him.
The Brazilian international has been linked with a move to the Premier League over the past couple of years, with Tottenham favourites to win his signature.
Spurs’ latest attempt to try and land Damiao came on the final day of the January transfer window, but a £18m bid did not meet Internacional’s valuation of the striker, who has said he is happy to stay in Brazil.
“I certainly thank Tottenham for their interest,” the 23-year-old told Correio do Povo. “They are a big club in Europe, but my focus is on Inter.
“(Internacional’s) president Giovanni Luigi knows I always wanted to stay at Internacional, regardless of any offers that could come.
“I hope to help Inter for a long time, I have a long contract and I am very happy and focused.”
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Tottenham are now struggling for options up front after Jermain Defoe went off injured against West Brom on Sunday.
Newcastle fans are lauding Rafael Benitez again, as one important statistic shows exactly why he set up so negatively against the big boys this season.
It’s been a common criticism of bottom half teams in recent years. All too often they play the “big six” and set up with eleven men behind the ball, just waiting for the final whistle to blow with the score at 0-0.
Rafa Benitez seemed to come under particularly intense criticism this season, especially in the Magpies’ narrow defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool.
Newcastle are having the last laugh now though, as they have the best goal difference in the bottom half of the table, which could have proved vital to survival had results not gone their way in recent weeks.
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The difference between many other managers and Benitez is they often don’t make any effort to win the match, whereas Benitez clearly has a deliberate plan to steal three points – make 75 minutes as boring as possible, then make a game of it in the last 15 minutes.
This approach was particularly evident in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City in December, when Newcastle could have easily grabbed a goal or two in the closing stages.
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Benitez was heavily criticised for setting up so negatively in that match, and now the Toon Army are enjoying saying “I told you so”, as Newcastle are the only team in the bottom half with a goal difference better than -10.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
It’s hard to dislike Santi Cazorla. The little Spaniard is a magician on the ball, hard working off it, can score goals and looks like a lovable woodland creature in a Disney film. But the classy ‘No. 10’ may not be around for much longer, with Atletico Madrid thought to have all but agreed a move for the pass-master.
The proposed swoop would not kick in until this summer and has not yet been agreed with the Gunners, but we think that, despite Santi’s quality, selling could make sense… and here are FIVE reasons why.
The wrong side of 30…
30 is not really old in the grand scheme of things, but for an attack-minded footballer, anywhere north of this milestone is seen as ‘end of career territory’. Cazorla has been excellent since the turn of 2015, but by the time 2016 rolls around he’ll be 31, and that burst of pace he has over 10 yards now may be slightly reduced, which is vital in the final third. So, getting rid now makes sense for Arsenal.
Take the money and run
Although a fee is likely to be a reduced one, with Santi set to enter the last year of his contract this summer, any income is worthwhile. The Spaniard, 30, will hold very little value if the club look to keep him, with the potential for a free transfer lingering in the background. A fee for Atletico Madrid to pay is, as of yet, unknown, but income is income…
Plenty of other options
With Arsene Wenger’s love of the ‘No. 10’ player, Arsenal have a fair few options for the line of three behind the striker. From pacey wide-men such as Theo Walcott and inside strikers like Danny Welbeck right trough to classy playmakers of Mesut Ozil’s quality and more defensively adept stars in the mould of Aaron Ramsey, the Frenchman has a wealth of options for almost any set of circumstances. Although Cazorla is a top class player, his exit will not cause a seismic shift, nor will it leave Wenger particularly light.
Blocking young players
With Arsenal possessing a good reputation when it comes to bringing youngster through, it comes as little surprise that a number of emerging players are on the edge of the starting XI. Videos over the weekend showed the crazy skills of Chris Willock, while Gedion Zelalem is an option in the attacking midfield line. Alternatively the chance to allow Ramsey to step forward may allow young January addition Krystian Bielik to get some game time.
Chris Willock doing dirty things vs Milan: pic.twitter.com/Np2pSVauPZ
— Danskin (@danskin1886) February 15, 2015
Midfield re-shuffle needed
Even though Arsenal have been impressive in 2015, there is still the feeling that the Gunners’ midfield lacks a little balance. While flair players in the final third can unlock defences, the Londoners lack a true presence in the middle of the park, with Wenger, perhaps, a slave to the sheer level of attacking talent he has. Axing Santi to free up space for an enforcer may make some sense then, and could be an option.
West Brom defender Billy Jones believes fans of the club must back under-fire captain Chris Brunt.
The midfielder has been struggling form of late, and was the subject of ironic cheers as he was subbed during the Baggies’ recent defeat to Fulham.
Jones feels that his team-mate is getting undeserved treatment and urged supporters to get behind the 28-year-old:
“I don’t understand why they did that. You can tell that Brunty, the same as a lot of us, misplaced some passes, but the effort was still there.” He is quoted by The Mirror.
“He was challenging and working hard. It was one of those days for us -individually and as a team, we know that and we’ll learn from that.
“But Brunty’s a great player, he has been in the past and still is now. He’s a massive part of the starting 11 and the squad.”
West Brom were also booed off of the pitch during their defeat to the Cottagers and Jones feels that they are becoming victims of their early season success:
“The expectations we’ve put on ourselves, and the performances we’ve given in front of the home crowd, means they expect that.
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“We expect high standards from ourselves, but against Fulham it wasn’t a good performance.
“Yes, there were misplaced passes and mistimed tackles, but all the lads gave it a right good go.”
India captain Shubman Gill was visibly upset with the ball they were given by the umpires after the second new ball had to be changed in the first hour
Sidharth Monga11-Jul-20255:19
Kumble: There can’t be so many ball changes in a Test
The Dukes balls were at the centre of attention once again as India were unhappy with the replacement ball for the second new ball, incredibly just 10.3 overs into its life on the second morning of the Lord’s Test.The difference in results was stark. Jasprit Bumrah had wreaked havoc with the original ball, taking three wickets in his first 14 deliveries, but India went the rest of the first session without another wicket despite bowling to England’s Nos. 7 and 9. After plenty of remonstrations the ball was changed once again, 48 balls after the first ball change.The second new ball, which went out of shape in just 10.3 overs and didn’t pass through any of the rings on the gauge, had swung 1.869 degrees and seamed 0.579 degrees on average. The replacement ball swung 0.855 degrees an average and seamed 0.594 degrees. More than the data perhaps it was the softness and the age of the ball that irked India.Bumrah said he didn’t want to invite sanctions but also later said he didn’t remember having to ever get the ball changed on his previous two tours of England.Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who has been a critic of the balls used in England since 2020, said on the broadcast that the replacement ball looked like it was 18-20 overs old. He also expressed his displeasure on X.”The cricket ball should be like a fine wicketkeeper. Barely noticed,” Broad wrote on X. “We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue & being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. Feels like it’s been five years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it. A ball should last 80 overs. Not 10.”Former England captain Nasser Hussain said there was a “serious issue with the Dukes ball” but felt they were also changed “too often” as players search for the perfect ball.”The first thing is that there’s a serious issue with the Dukes ball,” Hussain said on . “Both captains talked about it before the game. We’ve seen it in this game: in this session, it’s been changed twice. We’ve seen it in the last few years, really, the Dukes ball going out of shape.”The second point at play here is that I think the ball is changed too often. I think we’re getting a bit precious about cricket balls. In the history of the game, the cricket ball gets old, and the cricket ball gets soft. I think we’re getting a bit addicted to having the perfect cricket ball for 80 overs.”The third thing at play is that they got through in that first hour and Bumrah was unplayable … I looked up from my laptop at the back of comms box and went, ‘They’re changing the ball: why would you change the ball that is doing something to a random box of balls?’ You know nothing about that, you know everything about this … I get why they’re getting upset – it did look older, it did look softer — but why change? Why take the gamble? I thought that was a real bizarre thing to do when you’ve got something, especially in this time when the Dukes ball is so all over the place, when you’ve got something, stick to it. They didn’t.”The Dukes ball has been in the eye of a storm since 2020 as it has been going out of shape and soft too soon. The ECB’s decision to introduce Kookaburra balls for four rounds of County Championship matches has also brought the Dukes ball in focus.This series has featured regular complaints from the fielding captain – starting as early as the first session of a Test – and regular ball changes around the 43rd over. During this series, a combination of pitches and the balls has resulted in dramatic results. Wickets have come at an average of 86.09 between overs 31 to 80, the highest average in England since we have maintained ball-by-ball records. It is also marginally the third highest in all Test series we have ball-by-ball-records for, overwhelmingly behind Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan in 2008-09 and trailing Zimbabwe’s tour of New Zealand in 2000-01 by just 0.57.
The trophy commemorates the tragic Tangiwai train disaster of 1953 where 151 people, including the fiance of NZ fast bowler Bob Blair, lost their lives
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2024All New Zealand and South Africa Test series will now be played for the Tangiwai Shield, starting with the two-match Test series that’s set to begin on February 4 in Mount Maunganui. The trophy commemorates the tragic events of 1953, when 151 people on the train from Wellington to Auckland on Christmas eve – including Nerissa Love, the fiancé of New Zealand fast bowler Bob Blair – lost their lives in the country’s worst rail disaster.The tragedy coincided with the second Test between New Zealand and South Africa at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on December 24, which Blair was part of. On the opening day, New Zealand’s seam attack reduced South Africa to 259 for 8. The New Zealand squad spent Christmas at their team hotel, but woke up on Boxing Day to the news of the accident.Blair remained behind at the hotel to grieve. It was announced that he had withdrawn from the match, and flags at the ground were lowered to half-mast.But Blair appeared out of the players’ tunnel after New Zealand lost their ninth wicket for 154 in the first innings, which left the players and the crowd at Ellis Park stunned. Along with Bert Sutcliffe, he put up a 33-run stand to drag New Zealand to 187. It remains one of the most defining moments in New Zealand sporting history.”The background to this Test match is one of the most sad and moving and heart-breaking stories imaginable,” NZC chief executive Scott Weenink said. “It’s also an uplifting story of incredible courage and resilience, and in terms of the South African team and public, great compassion and empathy. I’m delighted to see this very important part of cricket history properly recognised and acknowledged.”The Shield was created by carver David Ngawati (Ngati Hine), is made from the native New Zealand timber puriri, and includes an inlaid mere made from pounamu, a type of stone sourced from the Tangiwai region. An NZC release said that the shield will be blessed and presented to the teams in Tauranga today.CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki said, “On behalf of CSA, I send my best wishes to everyone who was touched by this tragedy, and to both teams contesting the inaugural trophy. It’s important that the teams of today and tomorrow know where they came from, and I’m sure the Tangiwai Shield will do much to assist with that.”
Ramiz Raja warns that the country is paying price for lengthy exile from international cricket
Danyal Rasool02-Dec-2022The Rawalpindi pitch on which England racked up a world-record 506 runs on the first day of the first Test was “embarrassing”, according to PCB chairman Ramiz Raja. Terming Pakistan as living in “the dark ages of pitch preparation” owing to a decade-long hiatus of Test cricket in the country, Ramiz said it would take at least another season for the quality of pitches to begin improving.”It is embarrassing for us, especially when you have a cricketer as chairman,” Ramiz said, speaking to media during the lunch break on the second day of the Test. “This is not a good advert for cricket. We’re a better cricketing nation than this.”The quality of Test match pitches has become a point of intense scrutiny, effectively since the day Ramiz took over as chairman last year when he promised to bring drop-in pitches to Pakistan. While such talk has continued apace in the past 15 months, tangible progress on the subject has been non-existent, with Ramiz decrying the costs of having them shipped from abroad as prohibitive.”Ultimately, the only situation is a drop-in pitch. Which is extremely expensive if we’re bringing it from abroad. Instead, we’re developing soil here for drop-in pitches. That way, we can prepare square turners or bouncy wickets depending on what we want.”This is not an issue of not leaving grass on the pitch. The grass looks good from the point of view of optics. We need to create bounce, which can happen without grass, as happens on Australian pitches. They don’t leave lots of grass on the pitch. We get different pitches in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.”We have the same pitches because we get the same kind of soil. We’ve tried to bring a curator from abroad; we needed to bring a curator from Australia for the Lahore Test, because the situation had got out of hand. When I want a spinning pitch, we don’t get that either, so it ends up being half and half. We don’t want that.”While Ramiz implied there were structural issues undermining pitch preparation in Pakistan, there had been relatively little controversy about the quality of the surfaces for Test series until Australia’s visit to Rawalpindi in March. The pitch for that match produced 14 wickets in five days, and was awarded a poor rating and docked a demerit point by the ICC.Pindi was recently regarded as Pakistan’s spiciest Test pitch, the one that offered the most assistance to the bowlers. When South Africa visited in January 2021, the Test in Rawalpindi was something of a classic, with all four innings producing scores between 200 and 300, leading to a thrilling climax on day five.Eighteen of South Africa’s 20 wickets fell to Pakistani pace bowlers, an advantage that Ramiz acknowledged Pakistan needed to capitalise on. Even the surface in Karachi at the time produced an absorbing contest, with Pakistan triumphing by seven wickets on the final day.Related
ICC rescinds demerit point for Rawalpindi pitch that hosted Pakistan-England Test
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Pakistan and the consequences of fixing what wasn't broken
Ramiz’s repeated talk of overhauling pitches in Pakistan has led to criticism that the PCB chairman is micromanaging their preparation. That speculation isn’t completely unwarranted, either, with Ramiz flying in Toby Lumsden, a former curator at the MCG, to help with the Gaddafi Stadium surface ahead of the third Test against Australia.Ramiz, however, insisted he did not interfere in the preparation of individual Test match pitches. “The board doesn’t direct how pitches are made. I’ve left this to the thinktank. We look at our strengths and then the pitch and then make selections. I try and limit my involvement because otherwise I can’t hold people accountable. For accountability you have to cede control. I aim to create a pitch that ends up defining our tactics so a template is set.”We live in the dark ages of pitches in Pakistan. They aren’t exposed in T20 and 50 overs but they are in Test cricket. We lived in an apartheid situation where teams didn’t come here. Pakistan players had played 70 Tests without playing here. It’s an achievement that we managed to stay afloat. We’ve tried everything, bringing in a curator from abroad. Pitches are the lifeblood of cricket in a country, but having said that, I’ve never seen batting like England’s on Day 1 either.”Pakistan were untroubled in their own first innings, when England were finally dismissed for 657, if not quite as explosive. With little seam movement or variable bounce, Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq eased to an unbeaten 150-run stand. In the Rawalpindi Test against Australia in March, the same pair put on an undefeated 252 for the opening partnership on the fifth day.Ramiz, however, warned there would be little immediate improvement to that situation. “This will improve by next season. Unfortunately we’ll see the same kinds of pitches for the New Zealand series.”
Opener’s 64 off 35 renders chase a formality despite mid-innings wobble
Matt Roller14-Jun-2021Surrey 167 for 5 (Roy 64) beat Glamorgan 166 for 8 (Labuschagne 74, Moriarty 3-26) by five wicketsBowlers, beware: Jason Roy has got his mojo back. Surrey’s margin of victory at the Kia Oval should have been much bigger than five wickets as they won their third game out of three in the Vitality Blast, but a middle-order wobble obscured the fact Roy had killed the game as a contest inside four overs of the chase; Glamorgan, who once boasted a proud record of six T20 wins in a row at this ground, had Marnus Labuschagne’s third consecutive fifty to thank for sparing their blushes.Roy’s personality does not lend itself to bio-bubbles and “secure team environments” and his form has suffered at times over the last 12 months, with a rare lean patch in ODIs and scratchy form in both the Big Bash and England’s T20I series in India and South Africa. Last week, he started the Blast with an ugly innings of 45 off 42 at Lord’s, swinging rustily and being outscored by a ratio of five-to-two by Will Jacks, then thrashed a cameo of 30 off 14 at Taunton.But here, in front of 4000 or so supporters, he scoffed at Glamorgan’s plan to start with spin against him in the Powerplay, racing to 41 off 18 balls. “I always look for small progressions,” he said afterwards. “Lord’s was very scratchy and I didn’t have that rhythm, hitting a lot of fielders and just getting a bit frustrated. At Taunton I had a bit of fun after a four-and-a-half-hour journey – I thought ‘why not?’ But tonight, it was a lot better.”Roy had dumped the first ball he faced straight back over Prem Sisodiya’s head for four and the second over of the chase demonstrated his dominance over bowlers at this level. Andrew Salter, the offspinner, went full and straight to start with, so Roy cleared his front leg and smeared him over mid-off. Roy realised the second would be shorter, so rocked back and slapped a cut through point with a powerful snap of the wrists. Salter had nowhere to go, and went full again; Roy lined him up, and hammered him straight back over his head.He was quieter against Glamorgan’s seamers, but still brought up a 28-ball half-century off the final ball of the Powerplay. When Labuschagne was introduced, Roy swept his first ball hard for four, and belted his third over midwicket; the only surprise came in Labuschagne’s second over, when he miscued a skier to backward point via a thick top-edge.Marnus Labuschagne made his third consecutive fifty•Getty Images
“Someone has to get you out at some stage, don’t they?” Roy said of Glamorgan’s ploy to bowl spin at him up front, which has become a consistent plan against England in T20Is. “Sometimes it happens to be a left-arm spinner. A leggie got me out tonight eventually, didn’t they? So I’m sure someone will have something to write about. As a player, it gives you something to work on, which is always nice.”Roy’s innings took the equation from 167 off 120 balls to 79 off 71 by the time he was dismissed, effectively sealing the game despite their minor stumble. Sam Curran and Jamie Overton fell in successive overs after Roy’s dismissal before Laurie Evans drilled Sisodiya straight to long-off, but Jamie Smith’s cool-headed 35 not out saw them across the line with 10 balls to spare.Roy will play two more games for Surrey, at home against Sussex and Hampshire on Thursday and Friday, before he links up with England on Saturday ahead of their white-ball summer, which comprises six ODIs and six T20Is, three each against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.”You always go back to square one, no matter how many runs you’ve scored,” he said. “Before every series you go back to the drawing board and get yourself back to basics and go from there – you certainly don’t want to think that you’re going to score runs every game, because unfortunately that’s not the way the game works. But it’s obviously very nice to have these runs behind me – it makes it a lot easier.”[Last year] was a huge experience and a massive learning curve. I’ve come through the other side a lot better for it. It was a very tough year on and off the field so it was about keeping my head down and making sure I stay consistent with my training and back myself, knowing that eventually it would come right. Am I in a good headspace now? Absolutely.”For Glamorgan, Labuschagne had been the glue holding the innings together for the third game in a row after Nick Selman’s leg-side pick-ups had got them to 55 for 1 inside six overs. Surrey exploited match-ups to their advantage, with Gareth Batty and Dan Moriarty encouraging batters to hit towards the long boundary and Glamorgan duly obliging.Labuschagne had stated his desire to use the Blast as a chance to pitch his case for inclusion in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad at the start of the season and his early efforts have been persuasive: 93 not out, 59 and 74 tonight, giving him 226 runs for twice out at a strike rate of 146.75 and four cheap wickets to boot.One of his biggest assets in T20 is his willingness to use his position on the crease to throw bowlers off their line, and his ability to adjust. There was no better demonstration than the fifth ball of the 17th over, when he jumped outside leg stump to encourage Tom Curran to bowl wide outside off, despite having point and third man up inside the ring. Curran landed a perfect wide yorker, but Labuschagne stretched out and deflected it away through the gap, like a centre-forward in hockey deflecting the ball in at the back post.He had started slowly, eking out 17 off the first 22 balls he faced with Curran putting down a caught-and-bowled chance, but once Labuschagne had adjusted to the slowness of the pitch he was away, hitting 57 off the next 29. His slow start was put into perspective by Roy’s fireworks, but with Surrey applying the squeeze, there had been no other option.