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An “incredible” midfielder is now “set to join” Leeds United alongside their move for Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff, according to Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg on X.

Leeds closing in on two new midfielders

Leeds have been targeting Longstaff for quite some time, and the deal is now finally edging closer to completion, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealing the midfielder is set to undergo a medical ahead of a move.

Daniel Farke will be relieved to finally get a new central midfielder through the door, having missed out on Habib Diarra to Premier League rivals Sunderland, but the manager remains keen on securing the signature of another player.

It was recently revealed the Whites have agreed personal terms with Hoffenheim midfielder Anton Stach, who is valued at £17m by the German club, and there has now been a major new update on their pursuit of the 26-year-old.

In a recent update from Plettenberg on X, it was revealed that “new talks” over a deal for Stach took place on Wednesday, with Leeds stepping up their pursuit of the Hoffenheim star, amid rival interest from Bundesliga side Stuttgart.

Major blow for 49ers as £30m+ Leeds target now pushing other clubs to bid

Leeds have a fight on their hands to secure one of their top targets of the summer transfer window.

3 ByBrett Worthington Jul 16, 2025

Stuttgart have also held talks over a deal for the German, but Hoffenheim are yet to strike an agreement with either club, although the feeling is that he is now “set to join Leeds”, which will come as welcome news for Farke.

However, it remains to be seen whether the Premier League side are willing to match the aforementioned asking price of around £17m plus bonuses.

Stach could be "incredible" addition to Farke's squad

The Hoffenheim maestro has received praise from former teammate Dominik Kohr, who lauded him for his “incredible” shooting ability, while he also excels in a number of other key areas, most often catching the eye from a defensive point of view.

The two-time Germany international is particularly impressive at winning back possession, as showcased by the number of interceptions he has averaged per 90 over the past year, while the defensive midfielder’s 6-foot-4 frame means he is also impressive in the air.

Statistic

Average per 90

Interceptions

1.65 (93rd percentile)

Blocks

1.60 (85th percentile)

Clearances

3.65 (99th percentile)

Aerials won

1.83 (88th percentile)

Leeds will need to be defensively solid if they are to stand a chance of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship, and Stach’s displays for Hoffenheim prove he could be a fantastic signing, so it is exciting news that the move has progressed in recent days.

Sri Lanka two down chasing 483 after Root becomes fourth man to score twin tons at Lord’s

Alan Gardner31-Aug-2024

For the second time in three days at Lord’s, it was all about Joe Root. England’s batting bellwether continued a bumper Test match by producing twin tons for the first time in his storied career, his 34th century in the format setting new records for his country – and setting his team on their way towards what would be a series-sealing win.England began the day in a position of comfort, 256 runs ahead with nine wickets standing, and Root allowed an expectant crowd to drink in the experience of a Lord’s Saturday. If there was data on champagne corks popped, Root would probably set have another benchmark. As it was, his innings of 103 was garlanded by several entries in the record books: his seventh Test hundred the most by an individual at Lord’s, as he surpassed Graham Gooch as the leading run-scorer on the ground. Alastair Cook’s overall England run-scoring records is now less than 100 runs away.This effort, coming from 111 balls, was also his fastest in the format. He reached the mark, in the company of the No. 10, Olly Stone, by swatting Lahiru Kumara’s bouncer in front of deep point, amid a rising crescendo of “Roooooooot!” rolling around the ground. The next-highest score by one of his team-mates was Harry Brook’s 37 off 36 balls.Related

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Root breaks records with twin tons at Lord's

Alastair Cook hails 'genius' Root after England-record 34th Test hundred

With Sri Lanka asked to chase a target of 483, Root was at it again in the field – his two catches at first slip to remove Nishan Madushka and Pathum Nissanka making him the fourth man to take 200 in Tests. Rahul Dravid, the record-holder with 210, is very much in his sights.That Sri Lanka finished the day only two down was in part due to an early finish brought about by bad light. A world-record target looked a long way off for a team short on batting confidence, though Dimuth Karunaratne survived being given out lbw to his third ball – a poor decision from Paul Reiffel overturned – to negotiate 90 minutes in the gloom after tea. He walked off in the company of “lightwatcher” Prabath Jayasuriya after England had been instructed to bowl their spinners for a second time, with Ollie Pope preferring to preserve the condition of the ball for Sunday.Madushka was the first wicket to fall, edging Gus Atkinson to slip to continue a difficult first tour of England – having been replaced behind the stumps by Dinesh Chandimal on the third morning, he also dropped two catches in the field (although one still resulted in the dismissal of Ben Duckett, as Angelo Mathews snaffled the rebound). Nissanka survived on 2 when the faintest of under-edges to leg slip off Shoaib Bashir went undetected, only to be dismissed by a snorter in Olly Stone’s first over as the light briefly improved enough to allow a return to pace.Bad light forced an early finish on day 3•AFP/Getty Images

England left the field at just after 5pm, content that there is plenty of time left for them to take the eight wickets required for a 2-0 lead in the series. Kamindu Mendis had held out the hope on the second evening that Sri Lanka could find a way back into the game if they could get England out for “under 150-175” – they gamely chipped out five wickets by that stage but couldn’t prevent a Root march carrying the hosts to 251 and a seemingly impregnable position.Root’s reliability had allowed England to negotiate the morning session with few alarms, and the game continued to revolve around him after the interval. A nudge down the ground off Jayasuriya took him to fifty from 65 balls, and he began to push the tempo with three fours – two hauled through wide long-on, one delicately reverse-swept – in four balls.Sri Lanka kept at it, Jayasuriya removing Jamie Smith lbw despite a review from the batter, before Chris Woakes flat-batted Milan Rathnayake to cover. Atkinson’s dismissal, meanwhile, came in complete contrast to the elegant simplicity that characterised his maiden hundred in the first innings: caught behind the keeper at long-stop when top-edging a reverse-pull at Asitha Fernando. Matt Potts then gloved the same bowler behind but Stone hung in to get Root to his milestone.Getty Images

Stone was caught at fine leg in the same over, and although England’s approach had seemed to have a declaration in mind, they batted on. Root eventually gave Kumara a third wicket, top-edging a tired heave to deep-backward square leg, with tea taken early at the close of the innings.England’s batting effort was uneven, Root aside, reflective of their strong grip on the game. Three wickets went down during the morning session, including that of Pope, England’s stand-in captain, who made his highest score while deputising for Ben Stokes but again fell in perplexing fashion, slashing an Asitha bouncer straight to deep backward point for 17, shortly after Sri Lanka had put four men back for the ploy.The hosts resumed on 25 for 1, after Dan Lawrence’s dismissal on the second evening, and Ben Duckett was the first to depart, thanks to an accidental piece of choreography between slip and gully. Rathnayake pitched the ball up from round the wicket, tempting the drive – and while Madushka could not hold on diving to his right, he managed to scoop the chance back towards Mathews for a regulation catch.At the other end, Pope was looking to quell some of the noise around his batting. He moved into double-figures for the first time in the series with a clip off his legs, then survived a review for lbw against Rathnayake, with ball-tracking showing the ball would have cleared the stumps. But he did not last much longer, as Asitha targeted him from round the wicket.The first of Root’s four boundaries was a thick outside edge between slip and gully, but he was otherwise serene in progressing towards a third consecutive 50-plus score. Jayasuriya was picked off on the sweep and twice down the ground, though Root was initially happy to tick along at a strike rate in the 70s, allowing Brook and then Smith to play the aggressor.Brook’s intent during a half-century stand seemed to suggest that England were already thinking about the declaration. Brook was badly dropped on 9, Madushka making a mess of a skied slog-sweep at midwicket, then launched Jayasuriya’s next delivery into the Tavern Stand to rub in the pain. Sri Lanka’s spinner bore the brunt of the attack, but he had the satisfaction of removing Brook when another attempt to haul him leg side was safely held by Madushka in front of the rope.

Jos Buttler, England’s captain, praised his players for blocking out the noise and focussing on the task of beating Oman in style, as the T20 World Cup defending champions produced a command performance that has put them back on course for Super Eight qualification.England needed a grand total of 99 deliveries to beat Oman in the first of two must-win matches in three days, with Buttler himself striking 24 not out from eight deliveries to hunt down a victory target of 48 in just 3.1 overs.In so doing, England transformed their net run-rate from -1.8 to +3.08, placing them ahead of Scotland’s figure of 2.16, meaning that they will progress at the Scots’ expense from a tightly contested Group B if there are no more upsets or washouts in the remaining fixtures.Though the speed of England’s chase was a key factor in the NRR boost, the match was set up by a thrilling bowling display, led by Adil Rashid’s 4 for 11, with Mark Wood and Jofra Archer both returning the excellent figures of 3 for 12.”I thought the tone was set really well by the bowlers,” Buttler said at the post-match presentations. “We managed to pick up those early wickets and restrict them and knock them off, so job done today and we’ve got another big game in two days’ time.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Asked if he had been surprised by the mood around England’s campaign, after one washed-out contest against Scotland and a poor display against Australia in Barbados, Buttler smiled and acknowledged that he’d seen it all before.”I’ve been around long enough to know how it works,” he told Nasser Hussain, who was conducting the post-match interviews. “How guys like you make some comments, so that’s fine. That’s part of your job. I don’t mind. We know what’s going on in the dressing room. We have lots of confidence in our team and we have another huge match to come.”That match is against Namibia on Saturday, at the same venue in Antigua, which ought to suit England’s bowling attack given the steep bounce on offer for the quick bowlers and the sharp spin that Rashid extracted in the course of his four superbly executed overs.”I thought they bowled brilliantly,” Buttler said. “[Reece] Topley with his height, Jofra Archer with that high release point as well. They were really challenging bowlers on that surface. I thought they bowled a really good line and length.Related

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“I don’t think any of us expected the wicket to probably play like it did,” he added. “It looked a really good surface. But yeah, [Rashid] found spin and obviously you know what a threat he is. He bowled fantastically well.”England’s run-chase was ignited by Phil Salt’s volley of two sixes from the first two balls – the first such instance in a T20I since Spain versus the Isle of Man in February 2023, and sealed 17 balls later by Jonny Bairstow’s second four in as many balls.”Just be ultra-positive,” Buttler said, when asked what his message to the batters had been. “We’ve spoken in the lead-up to this about we have to win games, and if we get a chance we have to try and take advantage with the net run-rate, and we managed to do that today.”We can only focus on ourselves. We’ve got a huge game against Namibia and all focus now is on that.”

It feels like it’s going to be a hectic summer for Tottenham Hotspur this year.

The Europa League champions sacked Ange Postecoglou on Friday afternoon due to his horrific Premier League record, and while it’s not been confirmed by the club, Thomas Frank looks set to replace him.

Despite the talent in the squad, the Danish manager will have a lot to do to ensure their domestic campaign is more of a success next season, and the best way for Daniel Levy and Co to help him with that is by bringing in the right players in the coming weeks and months.

One of those players linked with a move to the club has been Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo, but recent reports have now touted another wide talent for a move to Spurs, someone who could be the perfect alternative.

Tottenham's interest in Semenyo

Spurs have been linked with a host of talented players in recent weeks, from Crystal Palace’s Eberchi Eze to Brentford’s in-demand Bryan Mbeumo, but earlier this week, Semenyo became one of the latest Premier League stars to be touted for a move to N17.

It’s not hard to see why the Lilywhites might be interested in the Cherries star, as even though he’s playing for a mid-table side, the Ghana international was able to rack up an impressive tally of 13 goals and seven assists in 42 appearances.

However, with his price tag potentially being as high as £70m and interest from other Premier League sides like Arsenal and Liverpool, this might be a transfer both too expensive and too challenging to get over the line, in which case, Levy and Co might be after an alternative, like Dorgeles Nene.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Yes, according to a recent report from TEAMtalk, Spurs are now one of several top-flight teams now ‘considering a move’ for the RB Salzburg gem this summer.

Alongside the North Londoners, the report has revealed that Lazio, Fiorentina, Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen are all interested in the 22-year-old dynamo who has been seriously impressive in Austria this season.

Moreover, while the competition might be a problem, the fee shouldn’t be, as the report claims that an offer of up to £21m should be enough to tempt Salzburg to sell.

Nene might not be a well-known name or sound like a particularly inspiring signing, but should Semenyo be out of reach, the youngster would certainly be worth bringing in for Spurs.

Why Nene would be a good signing for Spurs

So then, in a market where there are countless wide talents available, why would Nene be a good signing for Spurs?

Well, first and arguably most importantly, his output this season was seriously impressive and made more so by the fact he was primarily playing off the wings.

For example, in 46 appearances, totalling 3043 minutes, the “terrifying” threat, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, was able to score 15 goals and provide nine assists for the Austrian outfit.

Appearances

46

42

Minutes

3043′

3562′

Goals

15

13

Assists

9

7

Goal Involvements per Match

0.52

0.47

Minutes per Goal Involvements

126.79′

178.10′

That comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.91 games, or every 126.79 minutes, which is better than Semenyo’s average of one every 2.1 games or every 178.1 minutes.

Secondly, with him still being just 22 and not turning 23 until December, there is so much room for growth and development, as according to research carried out by The Athletic, wide players do not hit their peak until 26.

Finally, even though the Kayes-born dynamo is primarily a left-winger, he’s just as capable of playing down the middle or off the right, which would give Frank so much more tactical flexibility next season.

Ultimately, Semenyo will understandably be many Spurs fan’s first choice here, but if he’s unattainable, then Nene would be an excellent alternative, although with a price tag of £21m, why not try to sign both?

Kulusevski upgrade: Spurs "definitely" want to sign £68m star for Frank

The dynamic talent would help make Spurs tick next season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jun 10, 2025

Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has one player at the very top of his list of targets, and it is now believed the man in question is just as determined to make a move to the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta makes new Arsenal transfer admission

With the first summer window just weeks away from opening, Arsenal supporters are eager to hear what their club has planned after reportedly striking an agreement for Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

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The Gunners have reached out and made contact.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini May 14, 2025

Zubimendi will be Arsenal’s first signing of the summer, according to Fabrizio Romano and fellow reliable media sources, but one position they need to reinforce is further up front.

Race for Champions League qualification with 2 games remaining

Points

2. Arsenal

68

3. Newcastle United

66

4. Man City

65

5. Chelsea

63

6. Aston Villa

63

7. Nottingham Forest

62

Injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have forced Mikel Arteta to deploy midfielder Mikel Merino in an emergency striker role over the final stretch of this season, and supporters are desperate for Berta to end Arsenal’s long wait for a prolific number nine.

“I understand the narrative [about signing a No 9],” said Arteta about Arsenal’s rumoured pursuit of a striker.

“When you create five expected goals but only score one, it’s going to happen. It’s normal. We look at the things with much more data and resources than many people, but a lot of people have very good intuition on what is needed – and it’s good to listen to those opinions.

“We have a very clear vision from the ownership, the owner and the board, the new sporting director, we are all aligned on what we want to do. We are very close to achieving it – and that’s it.”

While Arteta remains coy, a host of strikers have already been linked with moves to N5, but one who stands out among them is Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres.

The Sweden international’s exceptional tally of 52 goals across 50 appearances in all competitions is understandably turning heads, and reports suggest Gyokeres could leave for much less than his £84 million release clause this year.

Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported earlier this week that Arsenal are offering the 26-year-old a £7 million-per-year salary to join them, roughly equating to around £135,000-per-week.

Now, that same source has provided another update, revealing the ex-Coventry star’s stance on returning to England with Arsenal.

Viktor Gyokeres decides he wants to join Arsenal

As per A Bola, Gyokeres has his heart set on joining Arsenal after being “emotionally” and “financially” convinced Arteta’s side are the right option for him ahead of Chelsea.

He is said to be at the top of Berta’s personal shopping list as well, with Sporting’s hopes of an auction between Arsenal and Chelsea quashed by Gyokeres’ burning desire to make a move to the former.

Gyokeres’ potential Arsenal deal would be a four-to-five-year contract, and the player apparently has an agreement already in place with Sporting that he can leave for around £63 million.

All signs are pointing towards an imminent Arsenal move for Gyokeres, but Emirates chiefs will be wary of potential hijacks, akin to Real Madrid’s swoop for Dean Huijsen.

With The Friedkin Group looking to make their mark at the beginning of a new era at Everton, the new owners have now reportedly submitted an opening offer to sign an in-demand defensive target.

New era approaching at Everton

Preparing to bid farewell to the historic Goodison Park in the coming weeks, it’s all change at Everton and they’ll be desperate to commence a new era in fine fashion this summer. Attempting to add the signings to match an impressive new stadium, the Toffees have already reportedly set their sights on the likes of Liam Delap and Vangelis Pavlidis.

The former will reportedly be available at the bargain price of just £30m if Ipswich Town are relegated back down to the Championship this season, which is beginning to look like an inevitability. If Friedkin are looking for a statement of intent, then winning the race to sign the impressive forward would certainly provide exactly that this summer.

It’s not just attacking reinforcements that David Moyes will need if he is to take Everton away from the misery of relegation battles once and for all, however. The former West Ham United manager will also need some fresh faces within his backline, especially in the face of Michael Keane’s likely exit as a free agent this summer.

Related Friedkin not messing around: Everton join £80m race to sign 24-goal striker

He’d be an instant upgrade.

Posts ByTom Cunningham Apr 10, 2025

Just what Friedkin’s budget will be ahead of the summer window remains to be seen, but it looks set to be a busy one for Everton, who have already reportedly submitted an opening bid for one star.

Everton submit opening bid to sign "perfect" Hancko

Looking to commence their summer transfer window with a bang, those in Merseyside have reportedly made their first move. According to Tuttomercatoweb, Friedkin have now submitted an opening offer worth €25m (£21m) to sign David Hancko this summer, only for Feyenoord to reject that opening bid in pursuit of around €30m (£26m) for their defender.

Whether Friedkin will be keen to up their offer will certainly be interesting to see, especially given how close they already are to Hancko’s reported valuation and amid competition from Bayer Leverkusen.

A player who has the “perfect profile” to act as the modern-day hybrid between a centre-back and full-back according to analyst Ben Mattinson, all signs are pointing towards a move away from Feyenoord for Hancko this summer whether it’s to Everton, Leverkusen or elsewhere.

A look at batting averages in each country over the years, and batters who have done much better, or worse, at home than others in that period

Anantha Narayanan06-Jul-2024Recently there was a somewhat long thread in the Talking Cricket group, an email group I run for die-hard cricket enthusiasts. The topic was Kane Williamson’s quantum jump in batting average from 51 to 55 in the last four years. His high home average also came into the discussion and was portrayed as the main reason for his rather high career average. I felt that this was rather unfair, on two counts. One was that he had a very healthy 45-plus away average. The other was that New Zealand was/is not exactly a batting paradise although the recent pitches have moved away from the earlier bowling-centric ones. It was clear that Williamson’s 66-plus home average needed to be looked at contextually. So I set about learning everything about batting in each country and the result is this fascinating article. I am sure you will derive many interesting insights from it.I wanted to cover everything there is to know about batting in each country – by all the batters, including the visiting ones. A similar article on bowling is on the anvil. In view of the extent and depth of coverage, two distinct articles are needed. The areas I have covered are outlined below.How batting in each country has varied across periods.
How individual batters have fared with respect to other batters while playing on their home grounds. It is important to customise this to each batter’s exact career span.
How batters have fared at home in comparison with their away figures.
How batters have fared at home in comparison with their career figures. Let us first look at how tough or easy batting in the specific countries was, by period. I will be covering only the top eight countries: Australia England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies.Let me first define the criteria for this analysis. So as not to dilute the numbers, I will consider only the top seven batters in an XI. If there has been a nightwatcher batting in the positions 1-7, I will include him as a batter only if he scores 30 runs or more. Then he has done what a proper batter would have done. If he is out on a low score, I will instead include the No. 8 batter, who would have normally batted at No. 7.On an average, the data set includes around 24 innings per match (out of a maximum of 28) and around 22 wickets per match (due to not-outs). Also, 35 of the 38 UAE Tests are treated as home Tests for Pakistan players – other than the last three Tests, which involved Afghanistan playing against Ireland and Zimbabwe. If Afghanistan and Ireland play a Test in India, the batters of both teams will be included for the country-wise numbers.Let us first look at how teams have scored while playing in England and Australia. Do not forget that these refer only to the Nos. 1-7 batters.Anantha NarayananIn the first period, with its uncovered pitches and in its batting infancy, the batting average in Australia was only just over 32 despite the presence of Don Bradman during the last decade of that period. In the next block, the average in Australia improved significantly to around 38, with many of the pitches being quite benign. The ’70s saw the average drop somewhat, possibly due to the uncertainty caused by the Kerry Packer influence. In the period leading to the millennium, it improved slightly. Then the average took off to around 41 in the first decade of the millennium, with Australia becoming quite a strong team. Finally in the last period the average dropped to around 38.Anantha NarayananThe graph for averages in England looks somewhat like Australia’s, but a couple of runs lower. The second period was at only just above 34, despite the emergence of top-quality batters like Peter May, Ken Barrington, Denis Compton, etc. The first decade of the millennium did not see the high of Australia. The average also dropped quite strongly to around 34 in the last period. The overall averages reflect these variations.Anantha NarayananThat South Africa has always been a difficult country to bat is brought out by the numbers. The first period saw an average of around 30, which then stay in the mid-30s with a high value of only around 36. The 1970s period was virtually a no-show. The overall average reaches only around 33. Also, there is not much variation across the periods.Anantha NarayananThe averages in West Indies saw a high value of more than 42 in the post-war era, no doubt due to the presence of modern greats like the three Ws, Garry Sobers and Rohan Kanhai. It stayed above 40 in the next period. Then there was a huge drop to around 33 in the 1980s, no doubt caused by the proliferation of world-class pace bowlers. The recent period has seen a low of around 31, most probably caused by the decline of West Indies as a Test-playing nation.Anantha NarayananNew Zealand, in the 1950s, was a batters’ graveyard. The top batters averaged only around 28, the lowest of all countries. This figure kept improving over the next few periods. It reached a middling value of around 36 in the first decade of the millennium but picked up a lot recently. Their all-time average is around 35.Anantha NarayananThe averages in India have been steady, with a value of around 37 in the 50 years after WW2. In the first decade of the millennium, the value was very high at around 43. For this, one does not need to look beyond that famed batting line-up. However, there was a steep drop of over seven runs in the last decade. It could easily be attributed to the effectiveness of the Indian spinners, led by the two Ravis – Ashwin and Jadeja. It is not easy to score even 300 in India nowadays.Anantha NarayananPakistan’s post-war period was comparable to that of New Zealand, no doubt due to the matting wickets and the fearsome swing bowlers, led by Fazal Mahmood. The average went up by nearly ten runs in the 1970s, dropped to around 34 in the next period, largely due to the pace-bowling attack led by Imran Khan. In the last 20 years, the average has stayed north of 40 – an amazing metric indeed. The recent period average of 42.6 is the highest of all values featured.Anantha NarayananFinally, the average in Sri Lanka, which is the epitome of consistency. Look how flat the graph is. The three periods see values between 37 and 38, culminating in an average of 37.3. They have always had top quality spinners, led by Muthiah Muralidaran, and this is brought out in the numbers.Most of the averages, across all Tests for the countries, are around the 37 mark. England and New Zealand are a little lower at around 35, and South Africa is a lot lower at 33.1. Just for information, the corresponding figures for Zimbabwe is 36.5 (65 Tests), Bangladesh 37.3 (78 Tests), and Ireland 24.9 (one Test).Finally, a chart on how the batting averages have moved across all the countries across periods.Anantha NarayananThe shape of the graph follows the familiar pattern. Starting with a low average of nearly 32 during the initial 70 years, steadily increasing during each period, and culminating at an all-time high of nearly 39 in the first millennium years. Then a clear drop during the most recent dozen years. An overall average of 36.1 is an indication of only middling team scores.Now we move on to the most important table in this article. The one in which I compare the batter’s career home average with the batting average of the Nos. 1-7 batters who played in the country in the exact span of Tests between the batter’s first and last Tests, irrespective of where the batter played these two Tests. What is important is the span of Tests. Needless to say, the batter himself is excluded when calculating the average for others. Here also I have applied the same nightwatcher tweak that I have already explained.On an average, around 22 innings per match (28 minus the batter’s two innings minus not-outs) and around 19 wickets per match are considered to determine the other batters’ averages. The criterion for selection is that the batter should have scored 2000-plus home runs. One-hundred-and-fifty-four batters qualify.Readers might justifiably ask me why I have got all the batters, the home and visiting ones, in one basket, when calculating the average for others. Wouldn’t it have been better to separate the home and visiting batters? Let me answer it this way. There have been times when the home team has been weaker – New Zealand in the 1950s, India in the 1980s, etc. There have been times when the home team has been stronger – Australia around 2010, India recently, etc.Putting all the batters together allows me to take care of all such situations. Also, I do not want to make statements like “XYZ was better in comparison to his fellow batters, but was weak when compared to the visiting batters”. It does not convey much. The bottom line is: How does his home batting average compare with all the batters who batted in that country from his first Test to his last Test? And that question has been answered effectively.