All posts by h716a5.icu

Everything you need to know about Norwegian midfield maestro Martin Odegaard.

Martin Odegaard is a Norwegian professional footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Arsenal and the Norway national team. Born on December 17, 1998, in Drammen, Norway, Odegaard began his footballing journey at a young age, displaying exceptional talent and technical ability.

Odegaard started playing football at a young age, joining the local club Drammen Strong at just four years of age. He quickly progressed through the youth ranks, and by the age of eight, he joined the academy of Stromsgodset, a Norwegian professional football club.

Odegaard made his first-team debut for Stromsgodset at the age of 15, becoming the youngest player ever to play in Norway's top division.

Odegaard's performances in the Norwegian top division quickly caught the attention of European football's biggest clubs. In January 2015, at the age of 16, he signed for Real Madrid, one of the most prestigious football clubs in the world. Odegaard's signing was seen as a coup for Real Madrid, and he was expected to become one of the world's best players.

Despite his potential, Odegaard found it difficult to break into the Real Madrid first team. He was loaned out to various clubs to gain experience, including Heerenveen and Vitesse in the Netherlands, and Real Sociedad in Spain. It was during his loan spell at Real Sociedad that Odegaard really started to shine. He played a key role in helping the club qualify for the Europa League and was named the team's Player of the Season.

Odegaard is an attacking midfielder who is known for his technical ability and creative flair. He is comfortable on the ball, has excellent vision, and is a great passer. Odegaard is also a good dribbler and is capable of beating players with his quick feet. He is a versatile player who can play in a central or wide attacking midfield position.

Odegaard signed for Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid in January 2021, and he made an immediate impact at the London club. He quickly established himself as a key player in the Arsenal team, impressing fans and pundits with his performances. Odegaard scored his first Arsenal goal in a 3-1 win over Olympiacos in the Europa League, and he has continued to play a vital role in the team's midfield. So much so that the move was made permanent in August 2021.

Odegaard has represented the Norwegian national team since the age of 15, making him the youngest player ever to play for them. He has since become a regular, playing in crucial matches and helping the team qualify for major tournaments. Odegaard played a key role in Norway's Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, scoring two goals and providing four assists.

Odegaard has already achieved a lot in his young career. He has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe and has impressed fans and pundits alike with his technical ability and creative flair. Odegaard's move to Arsenal has been a success so far, and he looks set to continue making a significant impact on the club's fortunes.

Here are 13 fun facts about Odegaard you need to know…!

GettyBorn to become a footballer ⚽

Odegaard was tipped for greatness from a young age owing to his impressive quality with the ball. The Norwegian international is considered one of Europe's hottest properties owing to his ability with the ball at his feet.

Odegaard was born in Drammen, the port city of Norway, on December 1998 and was able to don the famous red jersey of Norway at age 15.

The current Arsenal captain made his debut for Norway in a goalless draw against the United Arab Emirates in 2014 as he showed glimpses of greatness in the fixture.

The midfielder bagged his first goal for the country in a stalemate against Romania in the qualifying rounds of Euro 2020. The current Norway captain has 47 appearances under his belt and would look to guide the team in red to glory someday.

AdvertisementFather and Son Odegaard joined Real Madrid at the same time 👨👦

Odegaard's father, Hans Erik Odegaard, had a less illustrious career than his son, but despite that, the father-son duo joined Real Madrid at the same time. In January 2015, the senior Odegaard was able to schedule a move to Spain as a Real Madrid youth coach while Martin was admitted as a football player.

Despite not enjoying massive success in his playing career, Hans Erik Odegaard was a shrewd negotiator as he was able to pen down a silk-stocking deal with Los Blancos. Martin's father was scheduled to earn more than French legend Zinedine Zidane, who was the coach of Real Madrid's reserve team.

While his father was making big money as a coach, Odegaard was taking his first steps as he had impressed the scouts in Spain's capital before securing a move at an early age.

GettyOdegaard's unusual contract at Heerenveen 👀

Odegaard had quite an unusual clause at Heerenveen doing his loan spell from Real Madrid. After failing to impress in the Spanish capital and finding fewer starts under newly appointed coach Zidane, the Norway international decided to switch ships and joined Dutch club Heerenveen.

The Dutch outfit was the first club on his loan journey as he joined them in 2017 and was often seen starting for the club despite not playing well sometimes.

This was due to a clause in Odegaard's contract that suggested that Heerenveen would pay Real Madrid €40,000 every time their loanee was available for selection but was dropped on the bench.

So instead of shelling out 40,000 to Los Blancos, the Blue and Whites deployed Odegaard in their starting XI on a regular basis.

The Eredivisie club didn't want to be indebted to Madrid and would bring the youngster for a few minutes to avoid losses.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyBarca tried to lure Odegaard before he joined Real Madrid

According to multiple reports, Barcelona was in contention to sign the Norweigan before Real Madrid came knocking.

Odegaard joined Real Madrid at the age of 15, but the midfielder was scouted by Barcelona while Odegaard was operating in Norway.

The young magician had reportedly trained with the Blaugrana for multiple weeks and was offered to join the Spanish heavyweights in January 2016.

"Barcelonainvited us to La Masia,"Karlsentold Cadena SER. "We were talking to [Andoni] Zubizarreta and he also invited us to watch a game at the Camp Nou.

"I think it was Barcelona-Ajax, so it was a very special night.

"Barcelonaare a great club, but Martin [Odegaard] and his father took into account many things before making a decision.

Unfortunately the Spanish heavyweights were sanctioned with a transfer ban in 2016 which led to Odegaard joining arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh allrounder, was the first pick in the player by choice draft for the Dhaka Premier League, which begins on April 22

Mohammad Isam10-Apr-2016Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh allrounder, was the first pick in the player by choice draft for the Dhaka Premier League. He was acquired by Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, who had won the lottery to determine which Dhaka club would get the first pick of the top 13 cricketers in the country. The tournament is due to begin on April 22.Defending champions Prime Bank Cricket Club chose batsman Sabbir Rahman, while Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club took allrounder Nasir Hossain. Abahani, the 17-time champions, went for Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, who will join the team after his IPL stint with Kolkata Knight Riders.Mustafizur Rahman was the last player picked in the draft, perhaps because he won’t be available to play until July-August. The left-arm seamer will first finish his IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad and then travel to the UK for the NatWest T20 Blast before joining Mohammaden Sporting Club.Bangladesh Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim also went to Mohammaden, Mominul Haque to Victoria Sporting Club, Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Mithun to Legends of Rupganj, Anamul Haque to Gazi Group, Mashrafe Mortaza to Kalabagan Krira Chakra and Imrul Kayes to Brothers Union.Only Kalabagan Cricket Academy and Cricket Coaching School passed the chance to pick players from the top two categories.Players in the Icon category will get Tk 30 lakh, while those in the A+ category will be paid Tk 25 lakh for the entire season. Earlier, each club picked a minimum of 10 cricketers from seven categories over 13 rounds. Each club can also register as many overseas players as they want, but can only field one per game.

After letting England chase down a target of 230, South Africa will be desperate to get back to winning ways in the World T20 and keep qualification to the knockouts in their own hands

The Preview by Firdose Moonda19-Mar-2016Match factsSunday, March 20, 2016
Start time 1500 local (0930 GMT)1:49

Match Day: SA’s class should show against Afghanistan

Big PictureThis was the game South Africa glossed over when the fixtures were announced. They were focused on the three former champions they would be facing and not on Qualifier B1. But then they did not know how much would hinge on that seemingly throwaway match-up.South Africa find themselves in the same situation England were two days ago. Defeat in their opener means that they cannot afford another slip-up if they want to ensure the progression to the knockouts remains in their control. If they respond the way England did, they will have nothing to worry about.Faf du Plessis will demand that they do, especially after he spent the latter part of the home summer explaining that South Africa were much-improved under pressure. For that to hold true, the captain will need to look at himself first. His own strike-rate has come under scrutiny, even though it remains in excess of 125 at this level. Mohammad Shahzad’s tops 135. Those small differences can matter.For Afghanistan, it is the big difference they are after. Advancing to the Super 10s was one thing, taking down a big name while they are there will be another. They had Sri Lanka in an awkward position, but too many mistakes in the field allowed the defending champions to escape. Afghanistan will not want to let South Africa get away with similar. At the same time, Afghanistan’s own outcome hangs in the balance. Although few expect them to reach the knockouts, they will want to keep themselves in with a chance for longer than two matches.Form guide (last five completed games most recent first)
South Africa LLLWW
Afghanistan LWWWWIn the spotlight The biggest secret in South Africa’s camp is out: AB de Villiers will not open the batting as originally planned. Despite de Villiers spending the months in the build-up in that role, leaving Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock to battle for one spot, South Africa have realised all three are too valuable and so de Villiers will hover near the top instead. With Amla and de Kock in form, it means de Villiers has the advantage of a platform to take off from and after failing against England, he will be hungry to make amends in front of an adoring crowd.Afghanistan’s spinners Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan lead the wicket-takers’ list with sevens scalps each but are likely to find the going tougher on a surface without much grip or turn. But, against a South Africa middle-order that has historically gotten itself in a spin, they may eye an opportunity to add to their spoils. Even if they don’t, their economy rate of 5.73 and 5.56 respectively could make things difficult anyway.Team news Chris Morris, the bowler, has continued to misfire which may force a change in the lower middle-order. South Africa’s only other allrounder is David Wiese but if they include him, they may also need to strengthen the batting with the inclusion of Rilee Rossouw or Farhaan Behardien, which may lead to Kyle Abbott missing out.South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Chris Morris/Rilee Rossouw, 8 David Wiese/Kyle Abbott 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran TahirAfghanistan brought in the experience of Karim Sadiq for Gulbadin Naib, who has struggled after the Zimbabwe series in January, but Sadiq did not do much better. He was out for a duck, which could see Gulbadin brought back.Afghanistan: (probable) 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Noor Ali Zadran, 3 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 4 Mohammad Nabi, 5 Gulbadin Naib, 6 Samiullah Shenwari, 7 Shafiqullah, 8 Dawlat Zadran, 9 Najibullah Zadran, 10 Rashid Khan, 11 Hamid HassanPitch and conditions The Wankhede Stadium has already produced 824 runs in four innings, so it is fair to say the pitch is packed with runs. There is no assistance for seamers or spinners but it may be kinder to fielders with this fixture. This being a day game, dew will not become a factor which should take the emphasis off the outcome of the toss, which favoured the chasing side in the previous two matches.Stats and Trivia South Africa and Afghanistan have met once before, at the 2010 World T20. South Africa won that match by 59 runs. Interestingly, Charl Langeveldt, who is now South Africa’s bowling coach, was a star performer in that game with 3 for 12. While South Africa lamented the 26 extras they gave away against England on Friday – the most in a T20 innings this year – Afghanistan have had a similar problem. They conceded 23 extras against Zimbabwe in January.Quotes “You can’t take any team for granted. We saw how they played against Sri Lanka and in the shorter the format, the minnow teams are more in the running. We have to play our best players to beat them.””We will play South Africa like we play every country, with our own cricket. We give a tough time to every team; we not only play with them, but want to beat one or two of them as well. As long as we play more cricket with Full Members we are getting more experience, and identifying the weak areas we need to work on to compete at the elite level.”

India have put the Bangladesh defeat behind them and are concentrating on playing to their strengths said stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane

Liam Brickhill in Harare08-Jul-20153:06

Agarkar: Players have to impress for one or two spots

Bangladesh’s epochal series victory over India is just a few weeks old but Ajinkya Rahane, India’s stand-in captain for their trip to Zimbabwe, insisted that his team has already moved on. Given the sting that another series defeat would inflict, India won’t be taking the hosts lightly and Rahane said that they are here “to win games”.”Bangladesh is in the past now for us,” Rahane said. “We’re thinking about the present series and our plan will be to back our strengths and back our games, rather than looking at Zimbabwe’s strengths. Give our best and play to our potential. We’re here to win games.”India cruised past Zimbabwe in all of their matches on their last visit in 2013, but there is a completely different complexion to their current squad and despite limited success, Zimbabwe played positively in Pakistan in May and shouldn’t be push-overs.”We all know that Zimbabwe is a good side,” Rahane said. “They’ve been playing pretty well recently and we’re expecting a good series here. The boys are looking forward to the series and we’re not taking Zimbabwe lightly. We’re respecting them, and respecting their cricket. We’ve got to play good cricket.”Zimbabwe have got a pretty balanced side. They played pretty well in Pakistan, and they’ve good, experienced batsmen these days. Good allrounders and bowlers. And they’re getting better day by day. So we respect them, but at the same time we’ll play our own cricket.”With new playing conditions coming into effect, particularly with regard to field restrictions, this series will also give India a chance to field-test potential changes to their gameplan in the relatively safe environment of a low-key series. Rahane suggested that they would take a wait-and-see approach to any changes.”We have to wait and watch here, because it’s the first game [with the new playing conditions]. After the first game we’ll develop an idea about what sorts of strategies we need to use for the new rules. But it’s quite exciting, with new fielding restrictions and free hits off all no-balls. It is very exciting, but we have to wait and watch how these new rules will go forward.”Having been dropped from the playing XI against Bangladesh, Rahane is one of the seven batsmen in the squad who will be hoping to showcase his talent and lock down a position in the middle order. He’s also got the added responsibility of captaining the side. Although he has only led twice at senior level, he said he was looking forward to the challenge.”It’s a new challenge for me in my career. I’m looking forward to it. I normally visualise the situation when I play the game, whenever I get the opportunity to play. So I’ve brought a few ideas with me, and I’ve got my own style of captaincy, but I’ve learned a lot from Dhoni under his captaincy. So I’m looking forward to bringing this talented bunch of guys here and doing well as a captain.”In a positive way, it’s a good opportunity for all of us to express ourselves. We’re taking Zimbabwe very seriously. This is a good platform to showcase our talent here, do well at the international level. Everywhere we go, we take every opponent very seriously. We want to play our game and back our strengths.”

Germany have won the 2023 U17 World Cup after a narrow penalty shoot-out victory over France in Indonesia.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Germany win maiden U17 World CupFrance made a comeback from being 2-0 downWent down in an intense penalty shootoutWHAT HAPPENED?

Germany dominated the early exchanges, with Max Moerstedt coming close to scoring in the opening moments. However, it was Paris Brunner, a standout player from Borussia Dortmund, who opened the scoring from the spot to hand Germany the lead. In the second half, Noah Darvic extended Germany's lead with a goal on 51 minutes.

Saimon Bouabre struck first for France to ignite a comeback before Mathis Amougou found the leveller just five minutes from regulation time which forced penalties.

Tidiam Gomis missed his attempt while Almugera Kabar scored for the Germans to be crowned global champions.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Brunner was awarded the Golden Ball for his stellar performances throughout the tournament. He rose to the occasion when the stakes were high as he netted a brace in the semi-final against Argentina and also in the title decider.

Agustin Ruberto won the Golden Boot after scoring eight goals. Meanwhile, French goalkeeper Paul Argney was awarded the Golden Glove for his safe hands between the sticks.

DID YOU KNOW?

Brunner showcased his exceptional talent as the joint-top scorer of the U17 Euros, earning him the prestigious gold Fritz Walter medal – the highest youth award in Germany for his age group. In the U19 Bundesliga, the 17-year-old has demonstrated his goal-scoring prowess, netting 10 times in just eight games this season.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

@fifaworldcup_esWHAT NEXT?

The U17 World Cup often gives fans a glimmer of future superstars. Brunner and Ruberto have definitely stolen the spotlight with their performances in the attacking third and it remains to be seen if any of the European elites go after their signature in the upcoming winter transfer window.

Jehan Mubarak’s fielding has caught the eye of Jonty Rhodes, who is in Sri Lanka to conduct a 10-day training camp. Rhodes said Mubarak could be an asset to Sri Lanka in the field in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Jun-2015Jehan Mubarak’s fielding has caught the eye of former South Africa batsman Jonty Rhodes, who is in Sri Lanka to conduct a 10-day training camp. Rhodes has been training national A team and Under-19 players, and said Mubarak could be an asset to Sri Lanka in the field in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan.Mubarak, 34, hasn’t played a Test since 2007, but is in firm contention for a place in the squad after an outstanding run in first-class cricket. He surpassed 1000 domestic runs in each of the two past seasons, and averages 81.78 in the Premier League Tournament since the beginning of 2014.SLC’s invitation to Rhodes had in part been prompted by Sri Lanka’s poor catching during the Test tour of New Zealand, and their World Cup campaign. Rhodes said Mubarak could be among the men who help reclaim Sri Lanka’s reputation for being a safe fielding unit.”Mubarak for me is a guy who will be very, very useful in the gully or backward point area in Test cricket,” Rhodes said. “He’s only 6 foot 2 I think, but his arms make him about 6 foot 7. Too often taller players stand there and move their arms, but Mubarak can move as well and that’s key.”If I give players five catches and they catch four out of four, they know the fifth one is a rocket. I don’t want a player to catch all five. I’m very competitive. So I tell them: ‘I’m going to go past you’. Whichever country I’m working with, I set up five metre goal posts, and this guy was catching balls a metre past the goal post. Nothing got past that I’ve seen – and I tried.”Rhodes found Sri Lanka fielders more naturally athletic than other South Asian cricketers, but said the surfeit of spin bowlers presented fielding challenges that were common throughout the region.”From a throwing point of view, you want to be able to get your body weight behind the throw. If you’re a fast bowler, you’re naturally able to get your body weight going towards the direction of the throw, but spinners are bowling thousands of balls when they are pivoting as they release the ball. In the ten days that I’m here, I’m not going to change that completely, but a player might be in the middle of the throw and he remembers what I’ve said, and puts his weight behind it. That’s half a throw, and at least I know he’s thinking about it.”But I’ve always had great respect for the way Sri Lanka teams have fielded. It’s not very far as the crow flies, from India, but there most of the boys only play cricket. Here, there’s talk of rugby and football, and the players really are foremost athletes. If they can get to the ball, I can teach them to catch it.”Rhodes has two more days’ training scheduled with the Sri Lanka players. He is also working with the local coaching staff to teach more effective fielding techniques and coaching methods.

Bukayo Saka hailed Arsenal fans' after they mocked Burnley supporters with brutal chants as the Gunners sailed to a 5-0 trouncing at Turf Moor.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Saka scored a brace in Arsenal's 5-0 winFans humiliated home support with chantForward loving their songsGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Saka continued his remarkable form with another Premier League brace, marking the second consecutive weekend where he showcased his prowess on the road. Following his two goals against West Ham last Sunday, Saka replicated his performance with another double in Arsenal's emphatic victory over Burnley.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The atmosphere was electric as Arsenal fans revelled in the team's success. In a moment of jubilation and to taunt the Burnley supporters, Arsenal fans unveiled a new chant that resonated throughout the stadium: "Who put the ball in the Burnley net, half our f*cking team did."

WHAT SAKA SAID

Saka was elated to hear the Gooners taking a dig at the opposition fans and said: "Yeah it was a lot of fun out there. I really enjoyed it and it's nice to see the fans coming up with new chants and stuff. I just loved it, so I enjoyed it."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

SAKA CAN'T CALM BEFORE UCL

Arsenal will be competing in Europe's marquee club competition when they take on Porto in the Champions League. After a strong start to the domestic season, Saka can't wait to replicate that form against the Portuguese outfit on Wednesday night.

"The boss has told us we’re the first Arsenal team to win five in a row at the start of the year, so it's a nice achievement and we'll definitely build momentum going forward," he said. "Definitely now that, not only that I'm playing well, the team's playing well, we're scoring a lot of goals because we've got some really important fixtures coming up, starting on Wednesday and I can't wait to go there. I'm really excited. So yeah, looking forward to it and hopefully we can take this form into that game as well.”

As the ex-ManchesterCity man turns 29, we remember six Nigerian strikers who never realised their potential

DepophotosOlarenwaju Kayode

Currently featuring with Sivasspor in the Turkish top flight—on loan from Ukraine giants Shakhtar Donetsk—it doesn’t seem that long ago that Kayode was signing for English giants ManchesterCity.

It was an odd move at the time, with Kayode then approaching his mid-20s and not the kind of youth prospect with time to develop on his side.

He had enjoyed an excellent scoring record with Austria Vienna before that move, but has struggled to score consistently since—barring a decent scoring run on loan at Gaziantep.

The Nigeria caps have dried up after he featured four times for the national side in 2017.

AdvertisementGettyIsaac Success

Watford’s record signing when he signed for the Hornets from Granada for a fee estimated to be around £12.5 million in 2016, it’s fair to see that deal never truly worked out for player nor club.

The striker’s time in Hertfordshire was mired by injury, loss of form and off-field controversies, and he ended his spell at the club with a miserable three goals in 63 league games across the Premier League and the Championship.

This season, on loan at Udinese, he’s registered his career best tally for goal contributions, although don’t expect him to add to his two Nigeria caps any time soon.

Getty ImagesJulius Aghahowa

Broke onto the scene at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, where he was the tournament’s joint top scorer and caught the eye with his somersaulting celebrations.

He proceeded to win a trio of Ukrainian titles with Shakhtar Donetsk, although Aghahowa’s career took a wrong turn in his mid-20s when he signed for Wigan Athletic.

He failed to net in the Premier League, wouldn’t represent Nigeria again after 2007, and even a return to Shakhtar—wither another domestic title—couldn’t quite reignite his career.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty.Josh Maja

Contrary to others on this list, Maja still has time on his side to realise his potential and fulfil the hype that accompanied the early stages of his career.

However, he is running out of time and it increasingly appears as though we won’t live up to the immense expectations that accompanied him at Sunderland.

Currently with StokeCity in the Championship, he’s scored just once on loan this season, struggling to impress in the second tier, and in fact, has netted just 13 goals with Girondins de Bordeaux, Fulham and the Potters since leaving Sunderland in 2018.

Nonetheless, the 23-year-old is skilful, impresses in the build-up play, and can still be a hit—he just needs the right move this summer.

Charlie Morris reached a new milestone in a fast-developing career as Worcestershire dismissed Somerset for 250 on the opening day of the County Championship meeting between teams who each lost their first two matches of the season.

Press Association03-May-2015
ScorecardCharlie Morris took five wickets to dismiss Somerset for 250•Getty ImagesCharlie Morris reached a new milestone in a fast-developing career as Worcestershire dismissed Somerset for 250 on the opening day of the County Championship meeting between teams who each lost their first two matches of the season.Despite their grilling by a young quick bowler, Somerset may feel they have a workable total and it looked this way when Alfonso Thomas and Lewis Gregory had the home side on an uneasy 35 for 2 at stumps.Last year Morris, the latest in a line of young cricketers to come out of Somerset territory at King’s College, Taunton, marked his first full campaign in county cricket by taking 52 wickets as Worcestershire achieved promotion for the fifth time since 2003. Now the Hereford-born six-footer, a strong, reliable bowler with the pace to hurry batsmen, has captured five wickets for the first time in a Division One match.For a young bowler, he has maintained impressive form in 19 consecutive Championship appearances from his debut. The pitch for this game, more an old-style New Road surface with bounce and good carry, gave Morris something to work with.An opening spell of 4 for 34 in 11 overs would have been what his captain, Daryl Mitchell, wanted on deviating from his usual policy of batting first at county headquarters. Marcus Trescothick, already in good form with a hundred against Middlesex last week, gloved a catch to Ben Cox – the first of five for the wicketkeeper, four off Morris and one off Joe Leach.After losing Trescothick in the fourth over, Somerset were beginning to make some headway until Morris scythed through the top order with three wickets in 15 balls. Johann Myburgh, and Tom Cooper edged to Cox and Jim Allenby was neatly held by Mitchell at second slip.Worcestershire’s progress was halted for a time by a predictable source. James Hildreth, another century-maker last week, played with some assurance for 41 from 78 balls and Alex Barrow was a willing assistant in a partnership of 61. This was only broken when Barrow propped forward and found second slip and in the following over Leach, deputising for Gareth Andrew, as he did for much of last summer, added Hildreth to Cox’s list of dismissals. Andrew is again out after a recurrence of a back injury.Peter Trego was taking evasive action when inadvertently deflecting a lifting Leach delivery to second slip but Worcestershire missed a big chance when Craig Overton might have been out before he had scored in his first Championship innings after injury. The cost was measured in a stand of 52 with England new boy Gregory until wickets again fell in successive overs, Gregory driving Leach to cover and Overton scooped up by the Cox-Morris combination. This gave Morris a full return of 5 for 71 but he was denied a new career-best when Abdur Rehman was dropped before helping Somerset to a second batting point.Paceman Morris could not disguise his delight at his performance: “It was fantastic to bowl Somerset out. It was doing a bit but I think it’s a good cricket wicket. There’s enough there if you get the ball in the right place, and certainly enough bounce and movement. Having said that, if you miss your line and length, it’s a pretty true track.”Hildreth, meanwhile, had few complaints over Somerset’s score: “Looking at the pitch it seems quite good, but there has been lateral movement off the seam and it’s a bit up and down. All in all, we’ll take 250. It could be enough to work with. You always aim for 400 and maximum batting points but sometimes you have to adjust according to the wicket. Tomorrow could be a bit boring, bowling in the channels and not trying to do too much. Wickets will come.”

VVS Laxman has been named batting consultant by the Cricket Association of Bengal as part of its Vision 2020 project, which aims to help Bengal players progress to the national team

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2014VVS Laxman has been named batting consultant by the Cricket Association of Bengal as part of its Vision 2020 project, which aims to help Bengal players progress to the national team. In March, Muttiah Muralitharan had been named as Bengal’s spin bowling consultant.”Over the period of next year, I’ll be coming here for at least 30 days. We’ll work out what’s best for myself as well as the youngsters,” Laxman told reporters at the Eden Gardens. “The ultimate aim for a batsman is to score runs. Run making is also a technique along with the skill. I’m looking forward to contribute.”Laxman said he was working with Bengal mainly due to Sourav Ganguly, who is currently joint secretary of the CAB. “It’s because of him that I’m here. He persuaded me to take up this role. Really excited to see the young talents on display.”Ganguly said that Laxman will be working with Bengal players at all levels. “He’s here for the Vision 2020 not for the senior (Ranji) side,” Ganguly said. “Ashok Malhotra is there for the senior team. Everybody who’s there with the senior team are also associated with Vision 2020. Laxman is for the development of players of Bengal.”