Tottenham Hotspur are in the market for another proven winger to complement Thomas Frank’s current squad, following Timo Werner’s return to parent club RB Leipzig and reports that Son Heung-min may have played his last competitive game for Spurs.

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Despite a fairly promising first six months in north London, Werner ultimately proved to be a flop after chairman Daniel Levy decided to extend his loan spell by a further season, with former boss Ange Postecoglou publicly criticising the German for lacklustre displays.

“He wasn’t playing anywhere near the level he should,” said Postecoglou after Spurs’ draw with Rangers in the Europa League.

Son Heung-min

7.00

James Maddison

6.98

Pedro Porro

6.95

Dominic Solanke

6.84

Dejan Kulusevski

6.83

via WhoScored

“When you’ve got 18-year-olds [playing], it’s not acceptable to me and I said that to Timo. He’s a senior German international.

“The moment we’re in right now, it’s not like we’ve got many options. I need everyone to at least be going out there trying to give the best of themselves. His performance in the first half wasn’t acceptable.”

With the ex-Chelsea forward ending his brief Spurs stay, Frank could be left even more short in the wide area if Son does leave N17 after 10 years.

Saudi sides are expressing a keen interest in the South Korean star, and the Lilywhites may well decide that now is the right time to cash-in on him, taking into account his age and the fact he’s about to enter the final 12 months of his deal.

Spurs did seal a permanent deal for Mathys Tel, who put pen to paper on a £30 million move from Bayern Munich, but the club cannot afford to leave their new manager short of attacking options given their status as a Champions League club next term.

They’ve been linked with a host of big-name forwards in the last week, including Man City’s Jack Grealish, Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and Frank’s former star at Brentford, Bryan Mbeumo.

All of these players are likely to command a marquee price tag, alongside fellow reported target Mohammed Kudus.

The West Ham winger has an £85 million release clause in his contract, which becomes active in July, but Graham Potter’s side could sell for around £65 million.

Tottenham initiate talks to sign West Ham star Mohammed Kudus

That is according to GOAL, who also report that Tottenham have “initiated” talks with West Ham over signing Kudus.

Frank’s side have apparently told the Hammers that they’re keen on striking a deal for the Ghanaian, but both clubs haven’t dealt with eachother when it comes to transfers since Scott Parker’s move to Spurs in 2011.

Both clubs most commonly refuse to do business, and for this reason, it is believed that West Ham would much rather Kudus join Chelsea instead, who are also keen on the African winger.

There is also some negotiating left to do, as Daniel Levy only wants to pay £50 million for Kudus as things stand, so they’re some way short of West Ham’s current asking price.

Only Man City’s Jeremy Doku completed more successful take-ons per 90 in the Premier League than Kudus last season, highlighting his devastating dribbling ability, with the former Ajax star also attempting more shots at goal than Dominic Solanke on average (WhoScored).

He would be a truly excellent addition, but Levy will still need to invest significantly here.

Tottenham Hotspur are in the market for a forward this summer and have now made a formal approach to land a striker who models his game after one of the best forwards in the world, according to a report.

Tottenham Hotspur's hunt for attacking reinforcements

Thomas Frank has already tied up deals for Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel since walking through the door in N17. However, you get the impression there is plenty more to come given they will be playing Champions League football next term.

Looking to provide strength in depth across the front four positions, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo are prominent Tottenham targets, while West Ham United star Mohammed Kudus has also been mentioned in dispatches.

With a managerial change coming into play, Daniel Levy has outlined that he has full faith in new boss Frank to deliver success after carrying out a rigorous search for Ange Postecoglou’s successor.

He explained: “Whenever you have a new coach, it’s always a fresh start. [They] always have different ideas but we want to build on the success of winning a trophy last season.

“One of the things that stood out to me with Thomas was that he is clearly highly intelligent, a great communicator, super human being plus all the technical aspects which are obviously important.”

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Boca Juniors striker Miguel Merentiel could also be on Spurs’ radar after an excellent start to the Club World Cup, signalling that eyes and ears will be on all potential markets from the Lilywhites this summer to extract a fair rate of value for money.

Fundamentally, bolstering the offensive areas will give Frank the depth required to progress his side, so it won’t come as any surprise to hear Merentiel isn’t the only South American star the club is seeking to add.

Tottenham launch formal approach for Ian Subiabre

According to reports in his homeland via Sport Witness, Tottenham have launched a formal approach for River Plate’s Ian Subiabre to ascertain details about his current situation.

Chelsea previously had a meeting with his agent, Claudio Caniggia, though they eventually baulked due to his release clause that is mooted to amount to around £22.4 million.

Ian Subiabre at River Plate – how has the youngster fared since breaking through?

Appearances

16

Goals

1

Assists

0

Mainly used as a substitute, Spurs haven’t been deterred and could look to make an offer that includes a future sell-on percentage for the Argentina Under-20 international, who has scored three times in six matches at that youth rank.

Describing Julian Alvarez as a player he models his game on, it remains to be seen whether his release clause will be met or if a transfer fee would be structured via alternative means.

River may entertain bids after the Club World Cup and haven’t ruled out a departure in this case, meaning Spurs could well add another talented youngster to the ranks.

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus felt his team had enough runs but lacked intent in the field

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-20242:15

Leask: No surprise to us Scotland are top of the table

Scotland’s Michael Leask is confident the team can maintain their push for a Super Eights berth at the T20 World Cup 2024 despite still having Australia to play as they sit top after half of their group campaign.Leask was part of the match-winning stand with Richie Berrington which took Scotland over the line against Namibia from a position where it appeared they might struggle. It meant they had three points from their opening two matches following the washout against England where they had been well placed at 90 for 0.Related

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“We’ve got a hell of a squad. It’s no surprise to us [that we top the table]. It might be a surprise to some,” he said. “England will probably say it was a surprise to them the other day that we’re 90 off 10 overs. It doesn’t surprise me. This team’s got great depth. We’ve played together for a number of years, a number of us. We’ve got some new fresh blood so it doesn’t really surprise us that we’re in this position. We’ve got two more huge games and why can’t we top the group at the end of it then?”To maintain hopes of progression they will likely have to beat Oman before facing Australia in their final group match in what could yet be a clash with huge significance over who progresses to the next stage. Leask was well aware that Oman, who lost a Super Over contest against Namibia and had Australia 50 for 3, could cause them problems.”Those two games could put us bottom of the table,” he said. “There’s still 80 overs of cricket to play and there’s still a lot of other teams to do a lot of other things as well. We’ve got Oman on Sunday which is a huge fixture for us and then we go again.”George [Munsey] and Michael [Jones] showed up top that they’ve got the skill and ability to face the best in the world [against England],” he added. “And the rest of us didn’t get that opportunity on the day to show how good we are.”I’m not going to sit here and say Australia is not going to be a difficult game. I’m not going to sit here and say Oman is not going to be a difficult game. Because I know how tough the associate game is, Oman is yet to fire, it could be against us.”Meanwhile, Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus was left to rue a defeat where he felt his team had not been at their best in the field having fought to a total he believed should have been defendable.”I thought we had enough runs,” he said. “It sort of followed that formula that we wanted to win this game by winning the toss and batting [in] a day game. [We] felt it [the pitch] slowed down towards the latter end of our innings. Throughout the innings there was a little bit of turn and a little bit of inconsistency of bounce when you put some energy on the ball, but unfortunately [it was] a bit of an off-colour display with the ball and perhaps an almost lack of intent in the field.”Namibia’s draw means they now face England and Australia in their final two group matches. “We’ve come to play all four games evenly hard,” Erasmus said. “There’s four more points [available], and we’re going to play our best game against the English and the Australians. Two very good white-ball teams…so what a great honour for us to share a field with that and compete with that.”

Chelsea are expected to part company with a host of senior players during the next summer transfer window, as BlueCo look to trim the wage bill and reduce Enzo Maresca’s bloasted squad.

Chelsea players who could be sold this summer

Some big names are currently surplus to requirements and haven’t been named in Chelsea’s squad for the Club World Cup.

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This includes Renato Veiga, Lesley Ugochukwu, Raheem Sterling, João Félix, David Datro Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ben Chilwell, Armando Broja and Axel Disasi, who are all facing the prospect of having to find new clubs this summer (The Athletic).

Sterling is back from a lacklustre stint at London rivals Arsenal on loan, while Felix also failed to impress during his temporary spell at AC Milan over the second half of 2024/2025.

Cole Palmer

7.33

Moises Caicedo

7.02

Enzo Fernández

6.95

Nicolas Jackson

6.88

Noni Madueke

6.82

via WhoScored

Chilwell is on around £200,000-per-week and has returned from his loan move to Crystal Palace, so Stamford Bridge chiefs will be keen to find him a new landing spot sooner rather than later.

Given their backlog of goalkeepers, and reports Chelsea could still sign Mike Maignan despite their failed June 10 deadline day move for the France international, uncertainty also surrounds the futures of Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic.

Djordje Petrovic wants to leave Chelsea as agent fields calls

According to journalist Simon Phillips, as he’s previously reported, both keepers are indeed up for sale, and Petrovic is now seeking to leave Chelsea in a bid to kickstart his career.

The Serbian enjoyed an impressive spell on loan at sister club Strasbourg last season, with many clubs now blowing up his agent’s phone as they attempt to enquire about his services.

“The club and Enzo Maresca do not believe he is good enough with his feet to be Chelsea number one, that’s it. And for that reason, he’s up for sale,” said Phillips, via his Substack.

“And on Petrovic’s side, he is 25-years-old now and will turn 26 early in the winter. He does not want to play second fiddle, and he knows if he stays at Chelsea then there is no guarantee that he will be a regular starter. So he also wants to leave the club if he cannot be guaranteed this.

“So right now, both parties want the same thing and that is for Petrovic to move on this summer, and I’d be very surprised at this point if he’s not sold this summer. He has many clubs phoning his agent right now to ask about a move.”

A section of Chelsea supporters actually saw the deal for Maignan falling through as a blessing in disguise to hand Petrovic a route into the first team, but it appears Maresca doesn’t see a role for him at all due to a perceived lack of effective distribution in his game.

This is despite real praise from his manager at Strasbourg, Liam Rosenior, who called Petrovic a “world-class” shot-stopper.

“We have seen huge progress from Petro,” he said.

“He is a world-class goalkeeper. We see it every day, and it is still paying off today.”

Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta’s most imperative task of the summer window is finally ending the club’s long wait for a prolific natural striker, and it’s been widely reported that two names are at the top of his shortlist.

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The men in question, of course, are Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.

Over the last few weeks, many reliable media sources have shared that Berta is simultaneously working on deals for both Sesko and Gyokeres – before deciding which move would be best suited to Arsenal’s needs.

19/20 – winter

£0

20/21 – summer

£81.5m

20/21 – winter

£900k

21/22 – summer

£156.8m

21/22 – winter

£1.8m

22/23 – summer

£121.5m

22/23 – winter

£59m

23/24 – summer

£208m

23/24 – winter

£0

24/25 – summer

£101.5m

24/25 – winter

£0

However, given the sheer size of these transfers, talks are proving complex and don’t appear likely to be done any time soon.

Gyokeres is very keen on joining Arsenal and prioritising a move to the Emirates, according to Fabrizio Romano, but his situation at Sporting has grown toxic recently amid a public fallout with their club president, Frederico Varandas.

Sesko, meanwhile, is also eager to link-up with Mikel Arteta, as per recent reports, but there are discrepancies surrounding the cost of a potential deal – with Sky Germany even reporting he could be priced up to £85 million despite the presence of a release clause.

Given the deals for Sesko and Gyokeres are miles from straightforward, it is wise for Berta to have alternatives, with journalist Duncan Castles sharing a left-field striker who’s also on Arsenal’s radar.

Arsenal eyeing "surprise" Nicolas Jackson move

Speaking on The Transfers Podcast, Castles reports that the man is Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson.

The Senegal international enjoyed an excellent start to 2024/2025, scoring nine goals in his first 15 Premier League games, but has tailed off since the turn of the year, partly due to injury.

Jackson was also sent off in Chelsea’s 3-1 Club World Cup defeat to Flamengo recently, just minutes after replacing Liam Delap, and the consensus is that he could be sold this summer.

Chelsea will demand up to £51 million to sell him (Fabrizio Romano), though, so he won’t be a cheap option.

In any case, Arsenal have identified Jackson as a “surprise” striker target, with Castles explaining exactly why.

“There’s one more name that I’ve become aware of this week, which may come as a surprise, which is Nicolas Jackson, the striker who’s had an interesting time in his two years at Chelsea,” Castles revealed, when discussing Arsenal’s striker plans.

“Chelsea have always been looking for either adding someone else in that position or replacing him totally. Chelsea say they’re not actively looking to sell Jackson in this window, but he’s not one of the untouchable figures within their squad.

“The guidance I have on where Arsenal are on this is that this broad range of options is deliberate. They want to ensure that they get a centre-forward for Arteta in this window and don’t feel like they did last summer.

“They will do one of these deals. They’re telling the representatives of the players involved that what it will come down to is the deal that they believe makes the best sense to the club.”

Southampton are looking to bounce back to the Premier League and could be set to pounce for a talented star if they lose one of their higher-profile assets this summer, according to a report.

Southampton look to build with Kamaldeen Sulemana funds

With the window underway at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton have sold Kamaldeen Sulemana to Atalanta for £18 million as they begin to clear the decks ahead of returning to competitive action.

Will Still’s men have also inserted a sell-on clause in the agreement, which will see the Ghana international link up with Ivan Juric after the pair worked together last season.

Joshua Quarshie has come in from Hoffenheim and there will be more signings to come at Saints, with FC Köln striker Damion Downs reported to be on their list.

Previewing how his potential arrival could unfold, German journalist Constantin Eckner has pleaded for caution as the United States international continues to develop.

He stated: “He’s still an up-and-comer with little experience but has developed into an interesting striker. He’s more of a project rather than a finished product.”

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Bobby Clark is reportedly keen on a move to Southampton after being left out of RB Salzburg’s squad for the Club World Cup, and he has all the hallmarks of a smart acquisition that could add some fresh legs in the engine room.

On the other hand, any fee for Downs would likely sit just below £7 million, which would represent good value for money after his return of 11 goals and six assists last campaign.

Making tracks, Southampton could now swoop for a reliable stopper between the sticks who has proven pedigree in the EFL Championship.

Southampton enter race to sign Anthony Patterson from Sunderland

According to Football Insider in conversation with former scout Mick Brown, Southampton are in contention to sign Anthony Patterson from Sunderland as a potential replacement for Aaron Ramsdale.

He explained: “Patterson is a top young goalkeeper and he’s got a good reputation. I personally still have some doubts about him, and it looks like Sunderland might share those.”

Anthony Patterson in 2024/25 – Sky Bet Championship

Appearances

45

Goals conceded

45

Clean sheets

14

Save percentage rate

70.3%

Shots on target against

128

He added: “I’m told Southampton are one of the clubs looking at him because they expect Ramsdale to leave. He’s got a release clause in his contract and clubs have been looking at him.”

Labelled “excellent” by Simon Moore, the Black Cats seemingly do hold conerns over Patterson as they close in on Djordje Petrovic, making first-team minutes difficult to come by at Sunderland, who are worried by his lack of top level experience.

Brown made it clear the ball will be in his court, but Southampton will hope they can convince Patterson to make the move south if Aaron Ramsdale indeed does leave the club for a new challenge.

Aston Villa are leading the race for a promising young defender, who is expected to cost over £17m, and they are now pushing to get a deal over the line, according to a report.

Villa set to sell women's team amid PSR concerns

Premier League teams are having to come up with inventive new ways to get around PSR, and Villa now appear to have followed in Chelsea’s footsteps by agreeing to sell their women’s team.

As a result, Unai Emery should hopefullyhave more money to work with in the transfer window, and the manager is particularly keen to bolster his options in the middle of the park, with a £17m bid being made for Galatasaray’s Gabriel Sara.

According to a report form France, Aston Villa are also leading the race for versatile Toulouse player Jaydee Canvot, who is able to play at both defensive midfield and centre-back, and they are now pushing to get a deal over the line.

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Toulouse are undecided about whether they are willing to cash-in on Canvot this summer, but should the French club choose to sanction a departure, it is expected that they will hold out for a fee of €20m (£17m).

The Villans are said to have had a scout at the Maurice Revello tournament, which was won by France U20s, and they were clearly impressed by the defender’s performances, although it remains to be seen whether they are willing to stump up £17m.

Canvot could be excellent long-term signing for Villa

The Toulouse ace is only 18 years old, so it is an impressive feat that he has already managed to force his way into the first team, making 20 appearances in all competitions last season, which indicates he may not be too far off Villa’s first-team level.

One scout was also left impressed after watching the teenager in a midfield role, praising him for his ability in possession of the ball.

It is too early to say definitively whether the youngster would be a success at Villa Park, but he is certainly displaying good signs, and the Frenchman’s versatility is an added bonus.

As such, it is promising news that Villa are pursuing a deal, but £17m would be a large fee to pay for a player yet to prove himself over a sustained period.

The board also announced that a “technical method” would be established for issuing NOCs

Danyal Rasool15-Jul-2024The PCB is considering “several key changes” to the nature of international cricketers’ obligations to Pakistan cricket, with potential implications for the ability to obtain NOCs, participation in domestic cricket and a change to central contracts agreed last year.What those key changes contain, however, remains shrouded in mystery. A 500-word statement that was light on detail – and not released through official channels or uploaded to the PCB’s official website – stated that domestic cricket “is now compulsory for players”. The board also announced that a “technical method” would be established for issuing NOCs, and only players meeting the criteria of that method would be granted NOCs. It would appear that the tenure of central contracts has been reduced to one year, an apparent rollback of the landmark three-year contracts announced last year.However, despite the potentially wide-reaching implications of such changes, no specific information was provided on what these changes would entail and how they would come into effect. Mohammad Rafiullah – a spokesperson for the board chairman Mohsin Naqvi – told ESPNcricinfo that committees would be formed to work out the fine print: devising the technical method for the NOCs, the tweaking of the central contract, and how much domestic cricket international players would be required to play.Related

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The original statement made no mention of the establishment of any committee, and it is not yet clear whether one committee will be tasked with all three responsibilities, or three separate committees will be formed to handle one task each. Rafiullah told ESPNcricinfo the committees – which have not come into existence yet – would submit their findings for implementation within 15 days.The statement did clarify that the centrally contracted players’ remuneration would not be reduced, a punitive move that initial reports suggested was being considered in the wake of Pakistan’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign. It also said “the inclusion of players in various categories of the central contract would follow a defined procedure” without information on how this procedure was to be defined.It was also announced that Test head coach Jason Gillespie and white-ball coach Gary Kirsten had been added to the selection committee, though once again, it has yet to be clarified whether that means both coaches will make selectorial decisions across formats, or only sit on committees relevant to the formats they are respective coaches for.The issue concerning player NOCs is perhaps the prickliest one in Pakistan cricket at the moment, with some players understood to feel the spirit of the agreement to allow players two overseas leagues per year was not being respected . Last week, ESPNcricinfo reported Naseem Shah had been refused an NOC to play the Hundred on a contract worth GBP 125,000, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam are also expected to have their NOCs for the Global T20 League in Canada turned down. There is no international cricket that clashes with either of these leagues, but the PCB is likely to cite workload management as a reason for their refusal.In a separate statement, one that was uploaded to the PCB’s official website, Australian pitch curator Tony Hemming was appointed the head curator on a two-year contract. He comes in ahead of a busy home season for Pakistan, which includes seven Test matches, a tri-series and the ICC Champions Trophy.

Hayley Matthews knows West Indies Women’s cricket has fallen off the pace in recent years but, as their captain, she isn’t afraid to do “double the work” of opposition sides to catch up.The 2016 T20 world champions are now ranked sixth, just two months out from the next edition of the tournament, but Matthews, who takes pride in leading her side by example, believes they are on the right track.”The reality of it is that we probably dropped behind a bit in the Caribbean,” Matthews tells ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. “But it’s also something that Cricket West Indies have noticed and I do see them making and taking steps in order to get that growing again.”There’s so many programmes that are starting to form in the Caribbean. We have an academy team in the West Indies now and, within the islands, islands are starting to do their own thing.Related

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“In Barbados, the Barbados Royals were able to just start a girls’ camp, which is really good, free of charge for every single girl who wants to come out in Barbados and just learn the game.”The most important thing is falling in love with the game. That’s what it was for me. I was able to grow up as a young girl just on cricket fields falling in love with the game and that fire still burns bright in me up to this day.”Matthews took over as West Indies captain in 2022 from Stafanie Taylor, who had held the post for seven years and led the side to T20 World Cup victory. Since winning that crown, West Indies have been on the decline, struggling to build depth amid a lack of resources.In 2021, CWI increased the number of women on retainer contracts by three to 18 and in 2022 introduced the Women’s Rising Stars Under-19s programme.In 2023, CWI launched the West Indies Women’s Academy and increased the senior team’s budget by USD500,000 so players could fly business class and be accommodated in single rooms for all international assignments, bringing their travel arrangements into line with the men’s team.While the central contracts and improved travel conditions can bring almost immediate benefits, the U19 and academy programmes will take longer.In the meantime, Matthews is determined to continue inspiring her team off and on the field.Not only is she a regular on the international franchise circuit – she was leading wicket-taker in the inaugural WPL in 2023 when her Mumbai Indians side won the title and is currently enjoying her fourth year with Women’s Hundred side Welsh Fire – but she also has a breath-taking record for West Indies over the past 18 months.Last year in Australia, she smashed 132 off just 64 balls as West Indies chased down 212 to win the second of three T20Is between the sides. She also scored 99 not out and 79 and took five wickets in the series, including 3 for 36 in that second game.This year, she scored three half-centuries as West Indies won their series in Pakistan 4-1 and two centuries in a 3-0 ODI sweep during the same tour. She was also Player of the Series in a 2-1 T20I victory in Sri Lanka.”One thing I learned from a player like Stafanie Taylor with her captaincy is the way she was able to go out and set an example on the field,” Matthews says. “She played a massive role in every big performance that we had and she led by example, scoring runs, taking wickets.”I’ve tried to emulate that part of it and just being at the front of the team and setting an example on the field specifically, but off the field as well, creating a culture where we can all be one, we all have one goal that we want to go towards.”At the same time upholding standards as well, upholding professionalism and just holding each other accountable and understanding that at the end of the day we probably are behind the rest of the world and understand that to catch up as well, we need to be doing double the work.”Hayley Matthews on song again•PCB

With that last line in mind, Matthews strikes a balance between being optimistic and realistic when it comes to ambitions for her team at the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October, where West Indies are in Group B with England, South Africa, Bangladesh and Scotland.”We’re going in as underdogs again and there’s no doubt about that.” Matthews says. “I think we’re in a pretty good group at the moment looking at the two of them, but look, we obviously do want to get out of that group stage and it would be great to win.”One thing we could be looking at is the fact that a T20 game can be won through a performance and it only takes one really big one on a day. We saw that when we went to Australia. No one, probably ourselves, would’ve ever thought that we’d be going down there and chasing 212 to win a match.”That puts us in pretty good spirits going into a T20 World Cup knowing that if one of us or two of us can bring our A game each day, we can probably do a lot of damage.”Another player capable of turning a match single-handedly is Deandra Dottin, who last week reversed her international retirement following an acrimonious departure in 2022 citing reservations about the team environment. It remains unclear whether she will be in line for T20 World Cup selection but the timing of her announcement is notable.”With Deandra, one thing I can say for sure is she is someone who, when she steps onto the field, she is going to give 100 percent every single time,” Matthews says. “It’s quite fresh news for us, this has only come about over the last few days or so.”I want to have discussions with her and with the team as well. Obviously that’s really important and I think that’s the most important thing for us right now. Until I’ve had those conversations I probably prefer not to make any more comments.”But look, she’s someone who’s always going to be able to be there to give a hundred percent on the field no matter what and I think that’s something that would definitely be wanted in any team.”

Pair delayed because of Hurricane Beryl; it is understood Motie landed in London on day one of the game, while Shamar will arrive on day three

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Jul-2024

Shamar Joseph shot to fame during the Brisbane Test in January•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Fast bowler Shamar Joseph and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie were late to link up with the West Indies Test squad in England after their flight from Guyana was cancelled because of Hurricane Beryl, which has left the Caribbean in distress over the past few days. Shamar and Motie, subsequently, were absent from the visitors’ line-up for the three-day warm-up game against the First Class Counties XI, which started in Beckenham from Wednesday.It is understood that Motie landed in London later in the day, while Shamar will arrive on Friday. This means they will be good to go for the first Test, which starts at Lord’s on July 10.Shamar had grabbed the headlines in January after a fantastic spell to stun Australia in the Brisbane Test and help West Indies draw the two-match series 1-1. He is expected to play a key role for West Indies in England too, as part of a fast-bowling unit which will be led by Alzarri Joseph after Kemar Roach pulled out due to injury recently. Jayden Seales is likely to be the third fast bowler West Indies utilise in the three-match series, keeping in mind the strong form he has displayed in the second division of county cricket where he is among the leading wicket-takers with 24 wickets in six matches at an average of 24.25 including two five-fors.Kavem Hodge shines on day one of tour gameJuly might be summer in England but Wednesday in Beckenham was overcast and windy, forcing both locals and visitors to put on their hoodies and tuck their hands into their pockets. The nippy weather, though, didn’t have any impact on the West Indians: on the back of a spirited 112 from Kavem Hodge and half-centuries from Alick Athanaze, Kirk McKenzie and Mikyle Louis, they posted 339 in their first innings after electing to bat in front of 1200-odd fans, including a healthy Caribbean contingent.Hodge, who is on his maiden England trip, said he found it cold but enjoyed his first outing and cannot wait to get to Lord’s.Kavem Hodge celebrates getting to his century in the tour game•Kyle Andrews

“It’s always a dream to play that at Lord’s,” Hodge said after the day’s play. “Something growing up as a kid that you sit and dream about, you watch a lot of cricket at Lord’s. It’s something I am looking forward to: getting the opportunity to sit and watch the game, play there with the crowd, the prestige, the home of cricket, it’s something that every cricketer aspires to do.”Like Shamar, Hodge – who at 31 has played only two Tests – was part of the memorable win at the Gabba win in January, scoring 71 and 29. Hodge said the character shown by West Indies in the Australia series could keep their self-belief high in England too.”It [the Gabba win] has played a big role in the sense of belief that we have as a team. Going into a Test match against Australia with [several] debutants [on the tour], I don’t think much people give us a sniff, but it proved to everybody that the belief that we have as a team, we prepared well.”I must big up Andrew Coley [head coach] and his backroom staff, they put in a lot of work and a lot of work that people don’t see, but it showed there on the field. So it’s something that really pushed us and we just continued to ride off that.”