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Tottenham Hotspur entered a new era last summer, having thrown an old narrative into the wastebin when defying the odds and beating Manchester United in Bilbao to lift the Europa League trophy.

But Thomas Frank has much to do if he is to succeed at the helm, with the general mood one of disgruntlement after reaching the midpoint of his first campaign in the hot seat down N17.

Those of a Spurs persuasion undoubtedly feel they are cut from the same cloth as those at the top of the Premier League pyramid, but there is a gulf in tangible success that needs to be bridged.

These things take time, but even Frank would admit that his side’s attacking play hasn’t been good enough this year.

Spurs lining up new forward

Tottenham have already waved goodbye to Brennan Johnson, who was sold to Crystal Palace in a £35m deal last week. It was Johnson, 24, who scored the winner in the Europa League final, but he has been well below standards this season, lacking energy and impetus and conviction in his play.

Now, with Mohammed Kudus having trudged off with a hamstring issue during the recent league draw to Sunderland, the need for wide quality has been accentuated. In the creative department, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are still out.

As per transfer insider Ben Jacobs, Tottenham are ready to battle a host of continental superpowers for RB Leipzig prodigy Yan Diomande, having learned that they will have to stump up a bid worth €100m (converting to about £87m) for his signature this month.

However, clubs feel a deal could be struck for a figure closer to €60m (£51m) during the summer transfer window.

Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas has since reiterated Spurs’ interest, stressing that those close to the Ivory Coast international believe he has surpassed the level of many current Premier League up-and-comers.

Why Yan Diomande would thrive for Frank

Frank left Brentford along with Bryan Mbeumo during the summer, though the Cameroonian forward wound up at Old Trafford after a prolific campaign in the Premier League.

The right winger has been one of the brighter sparks of Manchester United’s campaign, but he’s missing Frank’s system, so well-woven at the Gtech. Diomande could become the Danish coach’s new Mbeumo at Tottenham.

He may only be 19, but Diomande has been brilliant in the Bundesliga this term, arriving from Leganes in La Liga last year.

Not just clinical in front of goal, Diomande also ranks among the top 3% of positional peers across Europe for progressive carries, the top 12% for tackles won and the top 1% for ball recoveries per 90, as per FBref.

He’s still so young, but already there are similarities to be drawn between the teenager and Mbeumo, who scored 20 goals in the English top flight but provided Brentford with so much more.

Mbeumo (24/25) vs Diomande (25/26)

Stats (* per game)

Mbeumo

Diomande

Matches (starts)

38 (38)

14 (10)

Goals

20

6

Assists

7

2

Shots (on target)*

2.2 (1.1)

1.6 (0.9)

Big chances missed

9

2

Pass completion

74%

(83%)

Big chances created

17

2

Key passes*

1.8

1.0

Dribbles*

1.4

3.0

Ball recoveries*

4.1

4.1

Tackles + interceptions*

1.7

1.4

Duels won*

4.7

4.8

Data via Sofascore

Mbeumo has been a decent asset for Man United, but he hasn’t yet rekindled his level under Frank’s wing. At Brentford, he was a deadly finisher, but also a strong and unflinching team player down the right channel.

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Diomande shares attributes with him in this regard, capable of bringing the full package to his side. It is this mastery of completeness that he has been hailed as a “generational talent” by journalist Bence Bocsak.

Diomande is still so young. And yet, there is something special about this goalscoring, fleet-footed winger, who might just realise his potential in the Premier League if lifting Frank’s Tottenham set-up, becoming a talisman with a likeness to Mbeumo.

Currently plying his way through AFCON with Les Éléphants, and he has been immense, electrifying as he zips up and down the left wing.

Tottenham won the Europa League last season, but Frank needs to ensure that that victory, under Ange Postecoglou, does not become a millstone around his neck.

Diomande would be the kind of ambitious move to secure Tottenham’s future at the top of the tree, growing into a superstar and not only rivalling Mbeumo as Frank’s biggest star as a manager but surpassing him.

Related Fewer touches than Vicario: Frank must drop Spurs star who lost 11 duels

Tottenham started 2026 with a draw against Sunderland in the Premier League, with home turf struggles continuing.

Posts 1 ByAngus Sinclair

Leeds United didn’t fall victim to a Christmas hangover whatsoever at Sunderland on Sunday afternoon.

Instead, Daniel Farke’s Whites battled well throughout against the Black Cats, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin popping up with yet another Premier League strike to hand the West Yorkshire outfit a well-earned 1-1 draw on the road.

On another day, Leeds could well have picked up all three points to dish out a first home defeat of the season to Regis Le Bris’ stern side, with Calvert-Lewin thankfully in the right place at the right time to steer home Brenden Aaronson’s incisive pass to, at least, snatch a share of the points.

Although both the ex-Everton attacker and Aaronson stood out when combining for the crucial equaliser, there were also some underperformers in the Leeds ranks that would have worried the German, ahead of more fixtures to come across the bumper winter fixture schedule.

Notable Leeds underperformers vs Sunderland

Away from the Sheffield-born menace, collecting his blistering seventh league strike across his last six encounters, other performers failed to leave their mark on proceedings.

Jayden Bogle, in particular, would have trudged off at the end a little disappointed with what he offered up, as he was caught out for Simon Adingra’s opener, after Granit Xhaka cut open the Whites’ defence with ease with a killer through ball.

The Ivorian would then curl home this tremendous effort past Lucas Perri, with Bogle also failing to register a single accurate cross or key pass when marauding forward, as per Sofascore.

The aforementioned Perri might also feel somewhat flat about his individual display, as another clean sheet passed him by, with a second Sunderland goal nearly beating him when Brian Brobbey ran through with pace to burn at the end of a lively first half.

Thankfully, the bulldozing Dutchman wouldn’t put Sunderland two goals ahead, as the Brazilian breathed a mighty sigh of relief.

There is another out-of-sorts Leeds performer who surely must be in line to be dropped for the Whites’ next league clash on New Year’s Day away at Liverpool.

The Leeds flop who must be dropped

Farke will almost certainly have to replace Joe Rodon for the trip to Anfield to start 2026, with the Welshman having to come off during the first half with a nasty injury sustained to his ankle.

Joining him out of the starting XI could also be Noah Okafor, with the former AC Milan attacker going yet another league game without a goal or an assist for Leeds at the Stadium of Light, as his last goal contribution in Premier League action fell all the way back in early October versus Tottenham Hotspur.

It just isn’t working for the number 19 at the moment, lining up alongside Calvert-Lewin up top, with his 77-minute cameo against Crystal Palace – which saw Leeds storm home to a comprehensive 4-1 win – also seeing him register zero shots at a shaky Eagles goal.

He was equally inaccurate in front of goal against Le Bris’ hosts, with his three efforts all being blazed off-target. Moreover, Okafor would only complete one of his four attempted dribbles on the day, as his grip on a starting spot has surely gotten weaker.

Okafor’s performance in numbers

Stat

Okafor

Minutes played

77

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

38

Shots

3

Accurate passes

16/18 (89%)

Key passes

2

Accurate crosses

2/4

Successful dribbles

1/4

Total duels won

5/12

Stats by Sofascore

The table above doesn’t exactly show off the low-on-confidence 25-year-old in a better light, with Okafor weak when coming up against a combative Sunderland side, resulting in him losing seven of his 12 duels.

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This timid approach also saw Okafor only amass 38 touches of the ball, with Perri in between the sticks for the away side, even managing more, when finishing the match with a superior 54 touches next to his name.

With Wilfried Gnonto picking up an assist against Brentford when coming on for Okafor, it could be time for Farke to reintroduce the Italian into his starting XIs, rather than mainly utilising him as an impact substitute.

Moreover, there is Lucas Nmecha at the German’s disposal, who has four Premier League strikes next to his name, with the number 19 surely aware that he will be replaced soon, if he continues to offer very little.

All in all, Leeds do have plenty of positives to latch onto after this entertaining draw on Wearside, but when it comes to Okafor, he might soon be axed by his manager, as 2026 slides into view.

Related Rutter 2.0: Leeds battling to sign "exceptional" talent in January

This potential signing can strengthen Leeds ahead of their relegation fight

Posts ByJoe Nuttall

Bhargav Bhatt’s four-for dismantled Tamil Nadu•Sivaraman Kitta

Baba Aparajith’s half-century was the sole innings of prominence for Tamil Nadu as they were dismantled for 176 by Andhra’s bowlers in Chennai. Bhargav Bhatt and Y Prithvi Raj shared seven wickets between them to run through TN’s batting line-up, while Bandaru Ayyappa and Shoaib Md Khan picked the rest.TN’s India players, M Vijay and R Ashwin, were both dismissed for single-digit scores, making 4 and 9 respectively. Vijay was the first wicket to fall, in the seventh over, and in the next over, Prithvi Raj dismissed Abhinav Mukund to leave the score at 15 for 2. Kaushik Gandhi and B Indrajith attempted to steady the innings with a 26-run partnership for the third wicket, but Bhatt thwarted them by dismissing Indrajith. Aparajith, meanwhile, anchored one end to take TN to 140, after which the tenth-wicket pair of Rahil Shah and Krishnamoorthy Vignesh helped lift them to 176.Andhra ended the day at 8 for no loss, with Prasanth Kumar (1*) and Srikar Bharat (7*) at the crease.A 199-run fifth-wicket partnership between Devendra Bundela and Shubham Sharma propelled Madhya Pradesh from 69 for 4 to a solid 268 for 5 against Baroda in Indore. Bundela was dismissed on 99 by seamer Atit Sheth off the last ball of the day.Madhya Pradesh were in the midst of a wobble after losing openers Waseem Ahmed (4) and Rajat Patidar (4) within the first ten overs, and slipped further when Naman Ojha (24) and Harpreet Singh (32) were dismissed before lunch. A middle-order charge from Bundela and Shubham made Baroda’s bowlers toil without reward until the end of the day, when 40-year old Bundela was caught by wicketkeeper Pinal Shah, thus missing out on his 27th first-class hundred.The first day’s play between Odisha and Tripura was washed out without a ball being bowled in Cuttack

Three days of cricket saw Gujarat and Baroda flexing their battingmuscles in the West Zone Under-14 Tournament at the Sardar PatelGujarat Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad. The match ended as a draw onSaturday with Gujarat taking five points to Baroda’s three.Electing to bat after winning the toss on Friday, Baroda batsmen heldthe centre stage for the best part of a day and half to declare at428/8 in 132.4 overs. Mrunal Pandey with 4/93 excelled with the ballas the Baroda kids had a good time with the bat. Two of them got totheir hundreds. Captain Aditya Bochare made 132 and Priyank Barnda139. Opening the innings, Bochare was in punishing form smashing theball for 20 fours in his 151 ball innings that lasted for a littleless than 3 hours. Barnda played a sedate innings facing 295 balls ina little over five and half hours, striking the ball for 3 sixes and 9fours. Barnda added 149 for the sixth wicket with Sahil Patel who madean unbeaten 75 off 133 balls hitting 7 foursIt must have been a brave declaration by Baroda captain Bochare. Withthe all important first innings lead at stake, Gujarat went about withtheir batting with consummate ease. Three centuries were scored asGujarat made 482/6 in 167 overs at the close of match. Sunny Patel andMrunal Patel put on 149 for the second wicket. Sunny made 110 off 149balls hitting 12 fours. Mrunal was more in a compiling mood as he made178 in 490 balls. He struck 23 boundaries in his eight hours and 49mintues long innings. He was also involved in a partnership of 179 forthe sixth wicket with Kuldeep Gadhvi who made an impressive 111 offjust 142 balls. Gadhvi struck 18 boundaries as he along with Mrunalpushed the Gujarat first innings past Baroda’s.

	Matthew Hayden was not at 100% at Australia’s training session in Perth on Sunday © Getty Images

Chris Rogers is one step closer to a dream international debut on his home ground after he was added to Australia’s squad for the WACA Test as cover for Matthew Hayden, who has a hamstring injury. Hayden trained with his team-mates in Perth on Sunday but doubts remain over his ability to recover in time for the Test, which begins on Wednesday.If his right hamstring does not heal it will end a streak of 86 consecutive Tests – Hayden has not missed a game since March 2000, which puts him seventh on the all-time list. It would also give Australia one of their least experienced opening pairs in recent memory with the uncapped Rogers set to join Phil Jaques, who himself has only just established his place in the side.Alex Kountouris, the team physio, is doing what he can to get Hayden ready for match day and Michael Clarke believes Rogers, 30, might have to wait for his Test debut. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for Chris Rogers to come into the squad and prepare like he’s going to play,” Clarke said.”But the type of guy Haydos is you’d have to chop his leg off to not see him out there this game. With Alex’s magic and Haydos’ discipline and the type of person he is I’m pretty confident we’ll get to see Matty Hayden out there.”Kountouris said it was still far too early to make a call on Hayden. “Matthew has taken part in training today,” Kountouris said. “We will continue with the program on his hamstring and make a decision about Matthew’s fitness and availability much closer to game time.”Like Hayden and Jaques, Rogers is a left-hander, and he would come to Test cricket with more than 8000 first-class runs to his name. He was named State Player of the Year for last season after posting 1202 runs at 70.70 for Western Australia, and he would have some idea of the opposition attack after making 60 against the Indians in the recent tour match in Canberra.Australia also have a decision to make at the other end of their order, with Shaun Tait trying to impress the selectors at training as they consider leaving out Brad Hogg and using a four-man pace attack. Tait was a standout at the World Cup last year and is hoping to add to his two Test caps, both of which came on Australia’s doomed Ashes tour in 2005.”He looks like he’s bowling pretty quick and swinging the ball away,” Clarke said. “It’s going to be tough for the selectors because if they’re talking about Hoggy not playing, his form in the last game was fantastic with bat and ball. He might have been disappointed not to pick up that many wickets in the second innings but I thought Hoggy did a great job and I think Taity is itching to get his opportunity.”

Tropical Cyclone Favio has hit the eastern highlands town of Mutare, Zimbabwe and has made it virtually impossible to hold cricket matches. Cyclone Favio killed at least 10 people, injured 70 and left tens of thousands homeless in central and southern Mozambique in the past week.Manicaland provincial manager Samuel Mutsutsururu said: “The cyclone is wrecking havoc on our match schedule and on the pitches. Every time we take to the field it starts pouring, so for the time being our cricket league is on hold, as soon as the weather clears we hope to get back on track.”Matches have continued smoothly in Bulawayo. In the latest round of the Metropolitan League, Zimbabwean allrounder Gregory Strydom clubbed a massive 177 as Queens Sports Club 259 all out (36.4 overs) beat Bulawayo Athletic Club 240 (40 overs) by 19 runs on Saturday. Gavin Ewing top scored for BAC with a well-crafted 53 and Charles Coventry made 39.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

Malinga Bandara took 4 for 31 to sink South Africa’s chances of reaching the VB Series finals© Getty Images

Malinga Bandara proved he really was a super sub with a stunning performance against South Africa that spun Sri Lanka into the VB Series finals. South Africa were travelling in relative comfort at 3 for 87 when Bandara was called from the dressing room in the 20th over, but he responded with 4 for 31 to floor his opponents and secure a 76-run win.A regular Supersub during the preliminary rounds, Bandara has cemented the role for the best-of-three finals against Australia starting at Adelaide on Friday, and he will enter the match backed by 13 tournament wickets. South Africa started the match with a three-point lead, but the pressure of a winner-takes-all game showed throughout the contest on a cool day in Hobart, which began with snow melting on the nearby Mt Wellington.There were a number of hot performances but none could match Bandara’s legspin. He warmed up with the important dismissal of Graeme Smith, whose first half-century of the tour ended in a disappointing early exit from the competition. Smith has had an awful run in Australia, but he looked to have benefited from a dropped chance on 42 by Tillakaratne Dilshan until he aimed a wild sweep in Bandara’s second over.After 25 overs South Africa needed to score at a run a ball to reach the target of 258 that grew in difficulty as the match progressed. Smith displayed some refreshing touches, although he would have preferred more boundaries in his 67 from 76 balls. His mood worsened when he and Justin Kemp departed in the same Bandara over, Kemp pushing gently forward to be trapped lbw, and he then lost the double threats of Ashwell Prince and Shaun Pollock. Prince was forced into a limp return catch to Bandara, who was also the bowler when Pollock received an unlucky caught-behind decision, departing at 7 for 146.”It’s very difficult to be in for the second half of the session in the field,” Bandara said as he walked off, “but I’m enjoying myself.” Tom Moody, the coach, also praised Bandara’s nine-over effort. “He’s bowled very well all series, but particularly today on a pretty good batting pitch.”After Bandara’s spree Johan van der Wath was outclassed by Muttiah Muralitharan, who spun the ball wickedly, and the final two wickets went to catches in the deep. It was a fine display set up by Chaminda Vaas’s double strike in the seventh over and strong batting performances from Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara.

Marvan Atapattu’s 80 helped Sri Lanka make 257© Getty Images

At first look Sri Lanka seemed to have wasted a fine 123-run stand between Atapattu and Sangakkara as they stuttered to 9 for 257. They were on track for a 300-plus total and a collapse of 8 for 79 in the final 15 overs could have been terminal. In the end it didn’t matter and as the pitch slowed and the spinners closed in the goal was a hopeless one for South Africa.Atapattu, who left the field in the second innings with a back injury, returned to the top of the order after winning the toss and played a solid hand with 80 from 122 balls while Sangakkara was more fluent with his 62 from 77. They guided Sri Lanka to the strength of 1 for 175 before van der Wath (2 for 41) and Andrew Hall (3 for 50) combined to up-end the innings. Wickets continued to fall to mis-hits and it took a scrambling 30 from 24 balls by Dilshan, including two fours in the final over, to push Sri Lanka past 250.The innings also began in a flurry as Sanath Jayasuriya blazed into Dale Steyn’s nervous offerings and crashed him for 32 from three overs. Steyn was subbed for Johan Botha in the 18th over, but the danger of Jayasuriya had already disappeared after he played-on to Pollock. South Africa deserved to feel pleased, but after seven preliminary matches they still under-estimated the impact of Bandara.The first two finals venues at Adelaide and Sydney offer surfaces to suit Sri Lanka’s bowlers and Moody was confident of a strong showing. “There’s no question Australia are world leaders in one-day cricket, but we’re very excited,” he said. “We’ve beaten them once and we’re confident of giving them a shake.”

South Africa
Boeta Dippenaar lbw Vaas 9 (1 for 19)
Herschelle Gibbs c&b Vaas (2 for 19)
Mark Boucher b Fernando 24 (3 for 77)
Graeme Smith c Muralitharan b Bandara 67 (4 for 113)
Justin Kemp lbw Bandara 0 (5 for 114)
Ashwell Prince c&b Bandara 22 (6 for 137)
Shaun Pollock c Sangakkara b Bandara 15 (7 for 146)
Johan van der Wath b Muralitharan 0 (8 for 147)
Johan Botha c Kapugedera b Jayasuriya 17 (9 for 178)
Charl Langeveldt c Mubarak b Dilshan 1 (181)
Sri Lanka
Sanath Jayasuriya b Pollock 25 (1 for 52)
Kumar Sangakkara c Dippenaar b van der Wath 62 (2 for 175)
Marvan Atapattu c Hall b van der Wath 80 (3 for 190)
Mahela Jayawardene lbw Hall 11 (4 for 207)
Jehan Mubarak c Prince b Hall 14 (5 for 212)
Chamara Kapugedara b Botha 3 (6 for 220)
Chaminda Vaas c Botha b Langeveldt 5 (7 for 229)
Muttiah Muralitharan c Botha b Langeveldt 1 (8 for 241)
Tillakaratne Dilshan b Hall 30 (9 for 254)

Jimmy Rayani: reported to be trying to broker a deal© ICC

Ochilo Ayacko, Kenya’s sports minister, is in London to meet with Ehsan Mani and Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s president and chief executive, to discuss how to resolve the stand-off blighting Kenyan cricket. Ayacko has travelled with Isaac Kalua, the interim chairman of Cricket Kenya (CK), the new body established in February to take over the running of cricket in place of the embattled Kenya Cricket Association (KCA).Although CK has the backing of almost all Kenya’s clubs, players and supporters, as well as the government, the KCA is still officially in charge of cricket in the country despite being virtually bankrupt. There have been reports that the ICC, under its own ruies, cannot recognise CK until June 2006 at the earliest, but Ayacko will try to persuade the ICC that common sense should prevail rather than the rule book. Were the KCA to remain the officially recognised body for another 15 months, the harm to Kenyan cricket could be irreparable.The ICC is known to be concerned about the management and governance of the KCA, and Kenya’s government are also carrying out investigations into the way the board has been run. At the end of February, bank records were seized as part of an ongoing investigation into claims made against the KCA.In light of the significant issues facing the KCA, it would seem to be self-defeating for the ICC to adhere to the letter of the rulebook. Ayacko is thought to be hoping to explain the situation to Speed and Mani ahead of the ICC meeting in New Delhi on March 17 where the subject is sure to be raised.While the ICC cannot become involved in domestic issues, this crisis now threatens the very future of one of the last World Cup’s semi-finalists , and it may feel it has to act.In today’s Nation, Chris Tsuma, who is well informed on the operations of the KCA, reports that Jimmy Rayani, the former KCA chairman and a man under the spotlight himself, is attempting to broker an honourable exit for senior KCA officials. But many opponents of the board feel that this situation has gone too far and the time for negotiation has passed. They are also demanding answers to questions regarding what they claim are holes in the KCA’s accounts.Rayani’s proposals also include keeping some existing officials on any new KCA board, and to many inside Kenyan cricket that is entirely unacceptable. "We have to get rid of the whole lot of them," one opponent told me. "We need a completely new start and not a reshuffling of the same old faces who have got us into this mess."

As part of World AIDS Day 2003, cricket teams playing international matches on or around 1 December have committed to wearing red ribbons as a sign of support for the millions of people around the world living with HIV and AIDS.Teams participating in the following matches will be supporting the initiative:30 Nov – Zimbabwe v West Indies, One Day International match
1 Dec – Pakistan v New Zealand, One Day International match
2 Dec – Sri Lanka v England, Test matchWorld AIDS Day is commemorated around the globe on 1 December. It celebrates progress made in the battle against the epidemic — and brings into focus remaining challenges.This year’s World AIDS Day highlights `Live and Let Live’ — the theme of the World AIDS Campaign 2002 -2003. The campaign focuses on eliminating stigma and discrimination, the major obstacles to effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care.The Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with people living with HIV/AIDS and it unites people in the common fight against this disease.In September this year the International Cricket Council (ICC) entered into a strategic alliance with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to take up the fight against HIV/AIDS in cricket-playing countries.”The threat of HIV/AIDS in many of the countries in which cricket is played is acute and it is in keeping with the spirit of cricket that the ICC exercises this social responsibility,” said ICC President Ehsan Mani.Of the estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, over 12 million live in cricket playing countries. In India and South Africa alone, over 9 million people are living with HIV or AIDS.Despite the current low HIV prevalence in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the potential for HIV to spread is high if prevention efforts are not scaled up rapidly.In Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, current trends indicate a rise in sexually transmitted infections and unsafe sex, increasing the risk of HIV. In the cricket playing Caribbean countries (which play collectively as the West Indies), HIV is spreading rapidly.”By sporting the red ribbon, the cricket teams of England, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and West Indies have shown solidarity with the millions of people affected by AIDS world wide. The ICC-UNAIDS campaign to run out AIDS will play a vital role in the fight against AIDS in cricket playing countries,” said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.The International Cricket Council and UNAIDS will also be auctioning a full set of ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 signed bats from 1 to 10 December 2003 on eBay.co.uk to raise funds for a HIV/AIDS project in India. Visit www.icc.cricket.org/unaids to find out more and place a bid.The partnership with UNAIDS is supported by all of the ICC’s Full Member countries. For more information about World AIDS Day visit www.unaids.org.ICC media contacts:

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It hasn’t been developed as a firm policy yet but if it should Marcus Trescothick, England’s utility wicket-keeper, is prepared to put the work in to give his side options for matches.Trescothick was the choice when full-time ‘keeper was given a rest in Saturday’s National Bank Series game against New Zealand in Wellington.For the moment he still regards himself as a specialist opening batsman, but he admitted he was enjoying redeveloping the ‘keeping skills that he employed until he was about 17 years of age when he made the choice to concentrate on his batting.He found on Saturday that the task of ‘keeping for 50 overs had not tired him out for batting and his only frustration was that he didn’t spend longer at the crease to see just how much more it would have taken out of him in a full match situation.No decision has been made by England yet on their team for the all-important One-Day International which will decide whether the tourists can get back into the series.He said he had felt his muscles after he first did the job in one game on the tour of India.”But I have done a little bit more practice since then so the muscles are starting to get used to it.”If it gives the extra option of getting another key player into the team then fine, at the moment I don’t see it as being a massive option unless things change dramatically, I don’t foresee it being a long term development.”If I wanted to do it I would have to do a lot more work, I haven’t done it for years. There would be a lot more work involved and a lot more practice,” he said.Trescothick has been working with James Foster in rekindling his skills and he may have a chat with former England ‘keeper Bob Taylor later in the week.His New Zealand counterpart Chris Nevin didn’t practice his batting at the training session today. He took three blows on both hands from England fast bowler Darren Gough in the first game in Christchurch and was not batting today as a precaution.The blows did not affect his hands for wicket-keeping, just batting.Chris Harris also had the afternoon off with a bruised right wrist. But there was no doubt about his availability for Wednesday’s game.