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While Tottenham have enjoyed a resurgence under Antonio Conte and a number of players have found their form, one man who has been left on the outside looking in, is Steven Bergwijn.

Signed for £27m from Dutch giants PSV back in January 2020, the winger was quick to express his satisfaction at sealing a move to the Lilywhites, saying: “I think it is an amazing move, an amazing club.

“When I was a young boy I looked up to the coach, of course Mourinho, and now I play for him. You have to believe in yourself and I know what I can bring to this club and this team – I am good with the ball and I can score. They play good football and that is what I like, to play here is a dream for me. It is an honour.”

And, he got his Spurs career off to the perfect start by netting in the victory over Manchester City at home, and fans of the north London club would’ve been forgiven if they had thought they had pulled off an absolute masterstroke in signing him.

Instead, things have not quite hit the heights of his debut, with some fleeting moments here and there – his role in the thrilling comeback victory over Leicester being one – not doing enough to justify his price tag from a couple of years ago.

Indeed, according to CIES, his value has now dropped to £13.5m, exactly half of what Spurs actually paid for him.

With just seven goals and ten assists in 76 games across all competitions for the north Londoners, Bergwijn has struggled to really adjust to life in English football, and his game-time under Conte has become increasingly limited.

The last 11 games in the Premier League have seen him start and play the full 90 minutes just once, while his previous seven outings have amounted to just 51 minutes of football, with Conte restricting him to meaningless cameos.

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Given the kind of fee Daniel Levy shelled out to sign Bergwijn at the time, seeing the Dutchman completely fall off the radar at Spurs and almost become an outcast will surely have left the Spurs supremo tearing his hair out.

AND in other news: Left in 2019, now worth £50m: Levy suffered shocking Spurs howler over “insane” star

	Ranjan Madugalle has his task cut out as he prepares to mediate between Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble © Getty Images

Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC match referee who has been appointed as a mediator to ensure good on-field relations between Australia and India, is confident he will succeed in his brief.Speaking to the , Madugalle said rival captains Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble will be keen to sort out their differences. “Each one realises cricket is everyone’s passion and they will stretch that little bit extra to uphold the spirit of the game.”Madugalle has a tough task at hand as the relationship between the teams plummeted after the Sydney Test, with Harbhajan Singh being banned for three Tests by Mike Procter, the match referee, for alleged racial abuse. Following the ban, the Indian board filed an appeal, and the team management charged Brad Hogg with making an abusive remark to Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.”I have an open briefing to get things back on track,” said Madugalle. “I will try and go about things quietly and do as much as I can without making too much noise about it. We’ll see at the end of the five days [of the Perth Test] if it has worked. But I am optimistic that everyone wants to do the right thing by the game.”Madugalle, who will arrive in Perth on Saturday will meet officials from Cricket Australia to set a date and time for a meeting with Kumble and Ponting. “It is important we work through this, and I am sure they understand that.”Harbhajan’s appeal will be heard by New Zealand High Court judge John Hansen, while the date for the preliminary hearing for Hogg, who was charged with committing a Level 3 offence [which invites a ban of between two and four Test matches] as part of the ICC’s Code of Conduct regulations, has been set for January 14.

Pollard burst onto the scene with impressive hitting during the Stanford 20/20 tournament last year © Trinidad & Tobago Express

“It is a dream come true.” That was Kieron Pollard’s reaction to being named in West Indies’ provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup. Only a week after scoring a century on his first class debut for Trinidad and Tobago in the regional Carib Beer Series, Pollard has been picked to train for the World Cup in March. The squad also includes West Indies A player, Gavin Tonge and Trinidad and Tobago allrounder Reyad Emrit.The call-up to the regional squad came as a bit of a shock to Pollard but it was all part of his plan, albeit, it happened a bit earlier than expected. “I always dreamt of playing for the West Indies but I had no idea it would be so soon”, Pollard said. “Right now I am focusing on the task at hand which is to defeat Guyana (in the current Carib Beer second round game). My main goal is to perform my best and when the training camp starts then I’ll worry about the final selection.”Everyone has an equal chance of being selected but I think I have a very good chance of making it into the final 15 for the World Cup. I am happy with my current form and once I continue to perform consistently, I think I can be a positive attribute to the West Indies squad.”Pollard, who burst onto the scene with impressive hitting during the Stanford 20/20 tournament last year, attributed a lot of his success to the senior players on the T&T squad. “Playing with senior players has been a big help to the younger guys. They have been there for us and it is a great feeling to play in a squad with those guys”.Emrit also had dreams of playing for West Indies but admitted that later was better than never. After playing one game for West Indies A, Emrit was named in the 15-man squad to tour India for a short one-day series.He admitted that he had some problems with his bowling recently but said he had been working with coaches and hoped to get it right in time for India. “I have been working on swinging the ball more consistently and I think that will be a great asset on the tour”, said Emrit. In terms of his chances of making it to the final World Cup squad Emrit said: “It means a lot. It is every cricketer’s dream. I have been working very hard in the past year and I think as long as I have a good tour in India my chances will only get better. Dreams do come true and I am looking forward to the tour and the World Cup”.World Cup probables
Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Omari Banks, Carlton Baugh, Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Patrick Browne, Corey Collymore, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Fidel Edwards, Rayad Emrit, Ryan Hinds, Wavell Hinds, Sylvester Joseph, Rawl Lewis, Dave Mohammed, Runako Morton, Daren Powell, Keiron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor, Gavin Tonge.

Abdul Rauf and Shahzad Butt, opening bowlers of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), produced fiery spells to bundle Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) out for a poor 123 on the opening day of their Group A Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match at Karachi.By stumps, KRL had replied with 144 for 4 in 33 overs to clinch a 21 run first-innings lead before the day’s play was called off seven overs early because of fading light. Mohammad Wasim, KRL’s captain who has opened the batting for Pakistan, made an enterprising 61 off 65 balls with the aid of 10 boundaries.Sent in to bat on a lively pitch, PIA’s powerful batting tumbled for a meagre total, 45 minutes before tea as Wasim’s decision to bowl first had paid rich dividends. The lanky Abdul Rauf snapped up 5 for 54 in a hostile spell to wreck the PIA batting. Shahzad Butt, his medium-pace partner, claimed 3 for 38 while Ali Naqvi claimed 2 for 12 with his medium-pace bowling.Asif Mujtaba, the former Pakistan allrounder, top-scored with an unbeaten 44 from 96 deliveries with seven fours and Bazid Khan got a useful 23. KRL are currently lying at the bottom in the five-team Group A points table. They started the tournament by losing both their matches in the first two rounds.Habib Bank were restricted to a first-day score of 260 for 8 by Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL), in their Group A match at Karachi. After a tall-scoring draw against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), also their opponents in last season’s rained-off final, and a comfortable nine-wicket win against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Habib Bank found the SNGPL bowlers a slightly different proposition.Imran Khalid, the 21-year-old slow left-armer from Kasur, turned in another mature bowling effort in taking 5 for 72 runs after Habib Bank had won the toss and elected to bat first. Strengthened by the inclusion of Younis Khan, who rushed to Karachi from Rawalpindi after completing the five-match one-day series against England, Habib Bank should have continued with their early form in the tournament. But the SNGPL bowlers appear to have won the first round.Three batsmen, including Younis, reached 40s for Habib Bank. After opener Imran Farhat had scored an exact 40, in a 67-run second-wicket stand with Aftab Khan, Younis and Farhan Adil got involved in a fifth-wicket partnership of 81. Farhan, who has appeared in a Test match for Pakistan, top-scored with 49 off 116 balls with three boundaries.The ninth-wicket pair of Kamran Hussain (23) and Junaid Zia (16) lifted Habib Bank with an unbroken 46-run stand later in the day. Habib Bank have been a record seven time winners of the Patron’s Trophy Championship title.There was no play due to rain, bad weather and poor light in the two Group B matches in the third-round of the Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship, at venues in the Punjab on Thursday. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) were to meet second-placed National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in their four-day match at the Sheikhupura Stadium.At the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), the runners-up of the 2003-04 competition, were to start their encounter against Service Industries, who are currently placed at the bottom of the five-team Group B table. NBP have won the Patron’s Trophy title on five occasions. Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), formerly known as the Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP), have picked up this trophy four times. None of the other teams have been as lucky yet. Service Industries are playing in this season’s Patron’s Trophy tournament, after having gained promotion following their win in last season’s Patron’s Trophy Grade-II Championship final.

Peter Chingoka: cracks beginning to appear?© Getty Images

In the eight months since the sacking of Heath Streak set in motion events which threatened the future of the game inside Zimbabwe, Peter Chingoka and the Zimbabwe Cricket board have used the divide and rule tactic to good effect. But those tactics now appear to be causing their own problems.Ahead of its annual general meeting in August, the ZC board realised the provincial associations had the power to remove them and quickly made moves to infiltrate the local set-ups. Mashonaland and Matabeleland Country Districts, Midlands and Masvingo were known to be hostile. And so, Macsood Ebrahim, a senior board member, went out of his way to become chairman of Masvingo, a province where he was virtually unknown.With Mashonaland, Matabeleland, Manicaland and Masvingo in their control, it now meant that out of the seven provincial associations, four were in support of the ZC board while three were against. If it came to a vote, the four could carry the day. That control was further strengthened at ZC’s AGM, when nine of the 12 board members were re-elected, even though rumours of a vote against them had been widely reported in previous days.But the patience of those backing the status quo was pushed too far by the issue of rebranding. Mashonaland, the leading and most powerful stakeholder in Zimbabwe cricket, announced it was opposed to the change of name (from Zimbabwe Cricket Union to Zimbabwe Cricket) an exercise which is believed to have cost millions of dollars at a time the board was struggling to pay even the most basic of bills.Zimbabwe Cricket got wind of what Mashonaland was about to do, and in the hours before the press conference some of the province’s board were persuaded to back away from giving open support. In his own press conference later in the day, this enabled Chingoka to point out that the MCA chairman and some of the board members were not party to the criticism aimed at ZC.While Mashonaland still seems determined to oust those running ZC, the question is whether they will get support from the other provinces. Should they fail to so do, then Chingoka and his board will again survive on the divide and rule tactic.And that approach also applies to the Zimbabwe media. Since April, the state controlled Herald newspaper has been singing the praises of ZC’s board while opponents have had criticism heaped on them. Ozias Bvute, ZC’s acting managing director, has threatened those journalists who have sought to tell the truth on a number of occasions. Despite the ICC admonishing ZC for the behaviour of some of its members – and this was a thinly veiled reference to Bvute among others – he has continued to do since.This is not a race issue, nor does it have much to do with the Streak dispute. It is a simple matter of clubs and players being unhappy with the board and they way that it is running the game inside the country.Since April, ZC’s divide and rule strategy has worked well, but the question is, how long will this continue to be the case? One day, enough of the provinces will unite to end the rule of the current regime; one day, the players will tire of being paid a pittance while senior board officials award themselves massive ( by Zimbabwe standards) remuneration packages; one day, the media will stop towing the line and will turn on the board.For the sake of Zimbabwe cricket, that day cannot come soon enough.

All Today’s Yesterdays – September 27 down the years

September 26 | September 28

1948
The birth of England’s talisman. On becoming England’s first overseascoach in 1999 Duncan Fletcher took possession of a team rated the worstin the world, but he turned things round quicker than anyone couldpossibly have expected. With sensible man-management, the ability tolook beyond county statistics – best evidenced by the success of CraigWhite and Marcus Trescothick – and no little skill, he helped England tofour consecutive Test-series victories, including an unprecedenteddouble on the subcontinent. Fletcher was also a doughty allrounder whomade 69 not out and took 4 for 42 as Zimbabwe pulled off a stunningvictory over Australia – Border, Lillee, Marsh, Thomson and all – intheir first ever official one-day international, at Trent Bridge in the1983 World Cup.

1957
Having been hyped as the natural successor to Hutton, Sutcliffe andBoycott, the career of Bill Athey who was born today, was always indanger of being one of underachievement. A stately performer who madehis debut in the Centenary Test in 1980, Athey averaged a disappointing22.98 from 23 Tests. His opening partnership with Chris Broad wascentral to England’s Ashes triumph of 1986-87, but after a sparkling 123at Lord’s against Pakistan the following summer Athey failed to pass 50in eight Tests. He was dropped for the final time after the defeat byWest Indies at Headingley in 1988, but continued to be prolific atcounty level, having moved from Yorkshire to Gloucestershire in 1984 andto Sussex in 1993. He had made over 25,000 first-class runs when heretired in 1997.

1982
In Kingston, Eddie Hemmings became the first person to take tenwickets in a first-class innings for 13 years, returning figures of49.3-14-175-10 while playing for an International XI. It broke a numberof records: it is the only time one bowler has taken ten wickets in afirst-class innings in the West Indies; it is the most-expensive “allten” in any innings, and the West Indies XI’s 419 is the highest totalto include one.

1962
It would be no surprise if the birth of Gavin Larsen in Wellington todaywent largely unnoticed; he is that sort of character. Despite playing121 ODIs for New Zealand between 1990 and 1999 Larsen’s gentle mediumpace was consistently underrated, and though he took only 113 wicketshis outstanding economy rate of 3.76 runs per over underlined his valueto the team. He is best remembered for the 1991-92 World Cup when he waspart of the thriftiest of triumvirates (Larsen, Chris Harris and RodLatham were called “Dibbly, Dobbly and Wobbly”) that tortured even thebest batsmen on the anaesthetised home surfaces. Firmly typecast as apyjama performer, Larsen played just eight Tests despite a perfectlyacceptable record in the longer game (24 wickets at 28.71).

1982
Pakistan eased to a nine-wicket victory in the first Test againstAustralia at Karachi. The tourists began the final day on 138 for 7 intheir second innings, a deficit of 10, and were quickly finished offwith Abdul Qadir (5 for 76) the pick of the bowlers.

1998
In the second one-day international at Bulawayo, Sourav Ganguly’s fifthone-day hundred helped India to an eight-wicket victory over Zimbabweand an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Ganguly added153 for the second wicket with Mohammed Azharuddin, his captain, asIndia, chasing 236 from 45 overs, eased home with 19 balls to spare.

Other birthdays
1974 Pankaj Dharmani (India)

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today expressed its delight thatan agreement had been reached between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and that the forthcoming three-match Test Series between India and England will therefore continue as scheduled.Lord MacLaurin, ECB Chairman, said, “I am delighted to hear this news. The decision is a victory for common sense and I congratulate both the ICC and BCCI on reaching an agreement. As we have made clear, the ECB has always been fully supportive of the ICC’s position throughout this process. The decision will strengthen the ICC’s authority and integrity as the world governing body for cricket, but the family of cricket is the real winner. “Tim Lamb, ECB Chief Executive, said, “This is good news for the millions ofcricket followers worldwide and England’s supporters. There is huge expectation about the Series and I am delighted that the tour can now proceed as planned, and that the England team can continue their preparations for the first Test in Mohali without any further distractions.”

Pundit Alex McLeish has been reacting to an update on Celtic loanee Cameron Carter-Vickers, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Ange’s comments; Maguire’s reveal

The Hoops have an option to make the defender’s move permanent in the summer, with Ange Postecoglou admitting he is hopeful that qualifying for the Champions League would help Carter-Vickers and Jota pen long-term deals in Glasgow.

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Financial expert Kieran Maguire, who contributes for Sky Sports, revealed that Champions League qualification would pocket the club £20m at the worst, whereas progressing to the knock-out stages could double those figures.

Carter-Vickers has been a regular for the Hoops this season and is now attracting interest from multiple Premier League clubs ahead of the summer window.

The Latest: McLeish’s comments

McLeish was talking to Football Insider about Champions League football but admitted even group stage qualification might not be enough to persuade the centre-back to stay.

“It’s straight into the Champions League for the (Premiership) winner this year. It is absolutely like winning the lottery for countries that don’t have great revenue streams.

“Celtic are a massive club and they can generate money in other ways.

“You would think that Carter-Vickers would attract attention due to the vast improvement that he has made in the team.

“At first it was very difficult. It looked like as if he was just a trialist in the first few games.

“But he has become a very solid performer for them.

“I don’t know if Celtic will go to the kind of levels Spurs will expect to receive.”

The Verdict: Down to the player…

You’d like to think that the USA international would be open to committing his future to Celtic, as he has made more appearances for the Hoops (36) than any other club in his career.

This is his seventh loan spell away from Tottenham and he may finally feel at home in Scotland, but ultimately, he’ll be the one to have a major say in his next move, regardless of Celtic’s option to buy clause.

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Winning the Premiership and going straight into the Champions League may only boost Celtic’s chances of signing the player on a permanent deal, so it could be a crucial few months ahead.

In other news: BBC Radio 5 Live man hits out at Celtic player after penning Parkhead deal worth whopping £2.9m. 

Matthew Bell reached 188 before his captain declared © Getty Images

ScorecardWellington wrestled their way back to the top of the table with a 90-run win against Canterbury in Wellington. Matthew Bell’s second-innings 188 helped them to 414 for 8 declared, to set Canterbury 358 and they promptly bowled out their visitors for 267, Dewayne Bowden leading the attack with three wickets.Bell’s unbeaten 188 contained 24 fours and he received good support from Neal Parlane and Grant Elliott, who both made fifties. Parlane also made a half-century in the first innings, as did Chris Nevin, while Brandon Hiini bagged his third five-wicket haul to bowl them out for 256.Kruger van Wyk gave Canterbury hope with 42 to go with his first-innings 111, as they reached 213 for 6. This was some recovery from 139 for 5, the bulk of which was Peter Fulton’s 92. But van Wyk’s dismissal, bowled by Charlie Shreck for 42, brought about a further collapse of 5 for 54. Shreck grabbed another wicket to bring his match haul to seven, following his 5 for 77 in the first innings.Fraser Quarterman struck first in the second dig, removing Shanan Stewart, before Bowden opened his account by bowling Michael Papps for 28. He went on to trap Johann Myburgh for a duck and remove Hiini for 20.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts	Quotient	For	Against
Wellington	3	2	0	0	1	0	16	1.371	1711/43	1742/60
Auckland	2	1	0	0	1	0	10	2.407	918/22	572/33
Canterbury	3	1	1	0	1	0	8	0.913	1466/48	1706/51
Central Dist	2	0	1	0	1	0	2	0.737	923/29	1079/25
Northern Dis	2	0	2	0	0	0	2	0.622	967/40	971/25
Otago	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0.710	1392/36	1307/24

Glenn McGrath has the thumbs-up from Stuart Clark © Getty Images

Stuart Clark has urged his retiring mentor Glenn McGrath to help Australia with his vast playing experience after he quits.McGrath and Shane Warne will play their last Test in Tuesday’s fifth and final Ashes encounter against England at the SCG, although McGrath, 36, will play in the World Cup in March before retiring.Clark has been a revelation in his first eight Test matches taking 42 wickets, half of them in the Ashes. He believe his fellow seam bowler McGrath would be too useful a resource to be lost to Australian cricket once he retires. Clark said he learned the art of fast bowling from studying McGrath at close hand.The two have been team-mates at club, state and national level and have similar bowling actions. They also share the ability to find good bounce and movement off the seam, and maintain accuracy.”He’s retiring from Australian cricket but I don’t think he’ll be lost to Australian cricket,” Clark told reporters in Sydney on Sunday. “There’s a lot of knowledge in that 13-year career so we’ll be doing everything we can, whether it’s for Australia or for NSW, to be keeping him around the team.”Clark said McGrath and Warne were irreplaceable, but he was focused on forming a strong, lasting new-ball partnership with Brett Lee. Lee and Clark bowled impressively in the fourth Test, where their combined 11 wickets helped Australia beat England by an innings and 99 runs.”Partnerships in bowling work like batting,” he said. “If you get a good one it can lead the whole team into a good position in any Test.”