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SACA CEO Breetzke terms the Covid-19 pandemic as a ‘convenient excuse for the delay’

Firdose Moonda08-Jun-2020The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) has accused Cricket South Africa’s board of a “lack of will” to conclude suspended CEO Thabang Moroe’s disciplinary proceedings which remain unresolved more than six months after Moroe was put on paid leave. Moroe continues to earn his full salary of R350,000 a month (approx. US $20,809) while acting CEO Dr Jacques Faul has been asked to continue in the role for as long as needed.Faul was seconded from the Titans franchise to head up CSA for what the organisation’s president Chris Nenzani said would be a maximum of six months. That period elapsed last Friday, with Moroe’s case yet to be resolved. At the time of writing, CSA had not yet responded to requests for comment to clarify when Moroe’s case will be concluded.Late on Monday afternoon, CSA issued a statement noting the concerns of “our stakeholders” and called the situation “regrettable”, while promising an update as soon as possible. “CSA would like to assure all cricket stakeholders of our uppermost intention to ensure absolute transparency on the related forensic outcomes once all of the related processes have been concluded,” the statement read.”It appears as if the Covid-19 pandemic is being used as a convenient excuse for the delay, in spite of the fact that CSA is operationally fully functional at the moment,” Andrew Breetzke, SACA CEO, said. “There appears to be a distinct lack of will at board level to deal with this matter, despite the dire need for finality on this material issue for all stakeholders in cricket. It is interesting to note that there were no such delays in dealing with the numerous other CSA disciplinary matters.”ALSO READ: CSA braces for just ‘half a season’ in 2020-21Moroe was the seventh CSA employee to be suspended when the organisation imploded late last year, and the only one whose case has not progressed significantly. Of those, only one has returned to the organisation. Corrie van Zyl, who was working as interim director of cricket before he was suspended, was acquitted of wrongdoing in relation to delayed payments of player’s commercial rights to SACA, and now works under director of cricket Graeme Smith. Chief operating officer Naasei Appiah and head of sales and sponsorship Clive Eksteen were both found guilty of misconduct and are understood to be appealing. However, financial manager Ziyanda Nkuta, procurement manager Lundi Maja, and administrator Dalene Nolan, have all been dismissed.Moroe’s case, which includes charges of credit card misuse, is dependent on the completion of a forensic audit, which is still in progress. CSA confirmed the audit is still to be finalised and the findings will be shared pending board approval. SACA believe CSA are also using the incomplete audit as a reason to prolong Moroe’s case. “CSA will point to the forensic audit that has not yet been completed, despite the fact that the crises that have enveloped CSA over the past 18 months are evidence of a prima facie case against Moroe. It is hard to imagine another professional environment where such vacillation on a matter of such importance would be tolerated by a board of directors,” Breetzke said.SACA have made repeated calls for the CSA Board to step down, and have been at loggerheads with CSA over a variety of issues under the Moroe administration, who they took to court over a proposed restructure of the domestic game. The case was withdrawn in February after the plan was scrapped. Since then, relations between SACA and CSA have improved, and Breetzke made an appearance at a CSA press conference, outlining the organisation’s plans to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. That marked the first time SACA and CSA representatives addressed the media together in the last three years. However, the two bodies continue to clash over the Moroe issue, over which there remains no deadline to resolve.

He was taken to the hospital after a two-vehicle collision in Jamaica

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2020West Indies fast bowler Oshane Thomas has escaped serious injury after being involved in a motor accident in Jamaica late Sunday.According to a statement by West Indies Players’ Association, he was involved in a two-vehicle collision and was taken to a hospital. quoted Thomas’ agent, Mark Neita, saying he was “at home resting” after he was discharged following treatment and scans.”The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) extends best wishes to West Indies and Jamaica fast-bowler Oshane Thomas who was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Sunday, February 16 in Jamaica,” an official statement said.”Thomas was reportedly involved in a two-vehicle collision on Highway 2000 near Old Harbour in St. Catherine and was taken to hospital. WIPA’s executive and staff would like to extend our sympathies to Oshane. We wish for him a speedy and full recovery.”Thomas, who turned 23 on Tuesday and last played for West Indies in an ODI against Ireland last month, was left out of the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. He has played 20 ODIs and 10 T20Is, picking up 27 and nine wickets respectively in the formats.

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has said the spot-fixing controversy that resulted in bans being imposed on three leading Pakistan players has been the biggest disappointment of his tenure

Osman Samiuddin08-Jul-2011Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has said the spot-fixing controversy that resulted in bans being imposed on three leading Pakistan players has been the biggest disappointment of his tenure. He said that losing Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif to the spot-fixing scandal hurt him most since taking over as chairman of the board in October 2008.”It hurt a lot, especially when I came to know the details,” Ijaz Butt said. Salman Butt’s involvement, he said, had come as a shock as he was tipped to lead Pakistan for a long time. “He had the educational background, grooming and performances to carry on as captain. He would have solved our captaincy problems.”Butt also spoke on other players who have not played for Pakistan in recent months, because they have not been given clearance by the board’s integrity committee. He said that in his view Shoaib Malik would be a certainty in the team once he gets cleared by the committee.”In my opinion he can walk into the team,” Butt said. “He came to me thrice and I told him that ‘I am giving you brotherly advice – the integrity committee is not against you and it wants to clear you but first you need to give satisfactory answers to what it want to know’.”We still need him for limited-overs cricket as he is an ideal allrounder.”Legspinner Danish Kaneria has taken the board to court over his continued non-clearance. The court has asked the PCB not to make any comments about Kaneria in public. In the interview, recorded before the order, Butt said even if Kaneria were cleared there was no guarantee he would return to the side.In a wide-ranging, hour-long interview broadcast on Thursday night, Butt spoke on a number of issues, including a plan to resume ties with India that was rejected by the BCCI. “We hope the series will be revived and we told them we are ready to play in India but revenue should be shared 50-50, but they did not accept the proposal.”There have been no bilateral series between India and Pakistan following a worsening of political ties in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. According to the ICC’s new Future Tours Program, India are slated to host Pakistan for a full series in March 2012. The FTP also has provision for bilateral series between the two countries in 2013 and 2015, though it doesn’t mention who will host the games in both those years.Butt was also candid when it came to domestic issues, such as selection; the recent report by the ICC’s Pakistan Task Team (PTT) has also been heavily critical of Pakistan’s selection processes, including the right of veto Butt enjoys over selection. “The selection is not just bad, but terrible from grassroots level and we get lot of complaints about the selection. The national selectors also need to spend more time on the field and they can’t just keep on selecting teams on the basis of looking at performances on paper provided to them by the board.”About his own future, Butt said: “This is something I would not like to discuss because the matter is still not clear. I have my opinion, my boss has his opinion and they are at conflict. But shortly before October, one way or the other, it will be decided. I have an interest in cricket, which is why I am working as the chairman of the PCB, but it is also a fact that I have suffered a lot as I hold certain important assignments and they have been affected.”

DS de Silva, the Sri Lanka Cricket chairman, has said that the sports minister has given him an assurance that the present interim committee will continue

Sa'adi Thawfeeq10-Apr-2011DS de Silva, the Sri Lanka Cricket chairman, has said that the sports minister has given him an assurance that the present interim committee will continue, though the minister did not specify for how long. The minister has also appointed a new selection committee, which will be headed by former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis.”First they appointed me to look after the schools and then they appointed me take over as chairman of the interim committee,” de Silva said. “In the past two years I personally think that I have done very good work for Sri Lanka cricket.”I have taken cricket two steps forward building these three unbelievable World Cup venues (at Pallakele, Hambantota and R Premadasa). Everybody not only the locals even the foreigners and ICC officials have sent a letter stating the three venues are one of the best cricket stadiums in the world. That is something that everyone must appreciate ICC also said that we conducted the World Cup very well.”Mendis had been the head of the selection committee before. In addition to Mendis, the five-member committee will comprise four other former Sri Lanka cricketers Brendon Kuruppu, Don Anurasiri, Ranjith Madurasinghe and Chaminda Mendis, and was finalised by the minister in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket.The new selection committee was named after the previous one headed by Aravinda de Silva resigned following Sri Lanka’s defeat by India in the World Cup final.The first task of the new selectors is to pick a captain and the team for the tour of England starting next month. They will also have to pick a Sri Lanka ‘A’ side also which will be touring England concurrently.

Michael Kasprowicz joins the Cricket Australia board as an unapologetic advocate of sweeping change to the governance of the game

Daniel Brettig09-Aug-2011Australian cricket’s newest decision maker, Michael Kasprowicz, joins the Cricket Australia board as an unapologetic advocate of sweeping change to the governance of the game.Kasprowicz is among the most amiable men in cricket, and as a Test match fast bowler was among the most stout hearted and resourceful of practitioners. But he is also a sharp observer and thinker, and little more than three years ago he was out of favour with Cricket Australia as one of the senior players to decamp to the Indian Cricket League.His promotion to the CA board is itself the product of reform, as Queensland Cricket last year revised its constitution to prevent state board members from holding national directorships. Kasprowicz had no hesitation declaring more was needed at CA headquarters.”I don’t think [my views] will change too much,” Kasprowicz told ESPNcricinfo. “At some stages there will be different arguments presented, but one of the big ones is the corporate governance in the game.”Look at what the AFL [Australian football] have done through their consultants in David Crawford and Colin Carter and the way that AFL has just blossomed because of the changes in making an independent commission running the game and looking after the welfare of the game. Now there is a review by Crawford and Carter of cricket, we’re in a position where there are going to be some real benefits for cricket by adopting those kinds of changes.”Walking onto the board from the presidency of the Australian Cricketers Association, Kasprowicz has over the past year augmented his own playing, business and study background with a working knowledge of Australian cricket’s administrative and financial landscape.”One thing I think I can bring to the board is some freshness, freshness of ideas, but also to use the cliché – a blend of youth and experience. That means a lot now,” he said. “In the 19 years I played cricket for Queensland and the years since, being involved as a broadcaster in the commentary box but also as the ACA president, I’ve seen a whole change in Australian cricket. Right from the days when I began to where we are today.”So I’ve been involved with the game the whole way through and I can bring that experience to the board. What I’ve always found is the one thing the game has always had and always needs is passion, passion for the game.”There’s no segment of the cricket community more passionate than the players, the people that have actually represented their state or represented their country because there’s a passion for keeping the game current, keeping it at the top where it needs to be, and that’s what I can certainly bring.”That passion includes T20, but unlike his board predecessor Matthew Hayden, Kasprowicz expressed a more even view of the balance between T20 and the game’s longer forms. Test cricket, he believes, will benefit from new audiences brought to it through T20.”Having played the first season in England when it first came out [in 2003], I’ve been involved in the game and seen where it’s come from,” Kasprowicz said. “I think it’s a wonderful vehicle, a re-branding of the game of cricket and putting it on the shelf to a whole new marketplace. That’s what it is designed to do.”It’s not designed to take over, that’s one thing I don’t think we can do, but what it is going to do is introduce the game to new people, to new customers, so they come along and enjoy the game, enjoy the outing. In that introduction they get to appreciate the skill of the game.”For those lovers of the game of cricket, of which I’m certainly one, we all know the best test of skill in cricket is Test cricket, so ultimately I would hope that [T20 converts] will become customers of the game of cricket in the long term. That’s the challenge cricket has at the moment, is capturing that young market.”Cricket’s task in Australia is to capture the young without losing sight of the old, and Kasprowicz did not hesitate to say the resources provided by former players had been under utilised. As an ICL participant, Kasprowicz was ostracised for some time in a manner similar to Jason Gillespie, and said the loss of that generation of players had contributed greatly to the Australian team’s parlous state today.”Have a look at the times when Australian cricket went through a trough, and how it all correlated to rebel tours, if you like,” Kasprowicz said. “We had World Series Cricket and went through a slump, rebel tours to South Africa and there was a slump, and then all of a sudden IPL/ICL as well.”And I think the reason that happens is you’re still losing your best players but it’s your next rung players, senior players in domestic cricket. I just reckon there’ve been three distinct times when that has happened. The ICL was one of those things where a wealth of experienced players in our domestic game were told not to come back and not to be involved.”One of the greatest resources that our game possesses is the players, and the ex-players as far as experience, coaching and opinions, that’s what we have. From a player’s point of view that’s something that I don’t reckon we’ve captured as well as we could have, or we should.”Kasprowicz has a few plans to re-arrange first but intends to be present at CA’s next board meeting on August 18 and 19, when the findings from the Don Argus-led review into the performance of the Australian team are expected to be tabled.”There’s a number of reviews being conducted at the moment in Australian cricket, one on corporate governance, also the Don Argus cricket review and also one with finances,” Kasprowicz said. “So there’s going to be some findings out of that, and you’d think there’s going to be some good results there and ways to take cricket forward.”

Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan allrounder, has backed his team to come up trumps in the World Cup semi-final against India, who, he claimed, would be up against the “strongest bowling attack in the world”

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2011Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan allrounder, has backed his team to come up trumps in the World Cup semi-final against India, who, he claimed, would be up against the “strongest bowling attack in the world”. Pakistan’s bowlers, led by Shahid Afridi, the tournament’s highest wicket-taker, have set up wins for their team in six of their seven games so far in the World Cup.”We believe that we have the strongest bowling attack in the world at the moment,” Hafeez said. “That is the key. Our bowling is our strength and our batsmen are just supporting them in whatever way is required.”Hafeez, who bowls offspin, opened the bowling in Pakistan’s quarter-final win against West Indies and is part of an attack that has shaped up to be among the most threatening this tournament. Umar Gul had been successful in the late overs, Afridi’s variations have proved difficult to deal with, left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman have chipped in while Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Razzaq have also been effective. Shoaib Akhtar, who will retire from international cricket after the World Cup, is also waiting his turn in the knockouts.”At the moment, we definitely rely on our bowling but we know we are capable enough as batsmen to achieve any total,” Hafeez said. Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka in their chase to 266, faltered against New Zealand in their only defeat thus far in the competition, and stepped up against Australia and West Indies to bowl both of them out for under 200.The surface in Mohali, the venue for the semi-final, has traditionally been favourable for fast bowling, though Hafeez said Pakistan were prepared for anything. “We really don’t care about the pitch; whatever it will be, we are good enough to perform to the best of our ability.”Pakistan haven’t played in India since 2007 and the build-up to this high-profile clash has been massive. “For me this is the best cricketing opportunity as an individual player, to perform in such a pressure game, the semi-final of a World Cup and especially Pakistan-India.”Pakistan have played India on four occasions in World Cups and have been beaten each time. History, though, mattered little to Hafeez. “Yes, Pakistan has not defeated India in the World Cup, but in the last 12 years, Australia also had not lost a single World Cup game. But then they lost to us (by four wickets) and to India.”There is no point thinking about the past. We think about the day; whoever the opponent is, we try to win on the day.”

The tall paceman will travel to Melbourne on Wednesday as a replacement for Lockie Ferguson

Andrew McGlashan17-Dec-2019Kyle Jamieson, the uncapped Auckland pace bowler, has been called into New Zealand’s Test squad as a replacement for the injured Lockie Ferguson.Jamieson, 24, is tall pace bowler and useful lower-order batsman who played for New Zealand A earlier in the season against England.Although he only has five wickets in three first-class matches this season, his overall record is 72 at 27.93 and his height, with the potential to extract bounce from Australian wickets, has helped earn his call-up.”It’s an exciting opportunity for Kyle who has impressed in the Plunket Shield domestic four-day competition,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “We’ve also been really encouraged by his progress in the NZC winter camps and his performances for New Zealand A.”Standing at over two metres tall he obviously gets good bounce and brings something different to our other pace bowlers.”Describing himself as “a bit tall and a bit gangly maybe”, Jamieson said he received the call from selector Gavin Larsen as he was gearing up for a nets session as part of his preparation for Auckland’s game against Canterbury in the T20 Super Smash.”It was a pretty special moment,” he said, adding, “it was pretty hard to concentrate [on his training]” after the call, and that the prospect of making a debut in Australia’s backyard is at once daunting and exciting. “I think it’s a great, challenging stuff, but I think most kids growing up would say that a Boxing Day test against the Aussie’s would be pretty special.”He admitted to “never ever [having] set foot [in Victoria] outside the Melbourne airport,” and that he has not received any indication of playing at the MCG or the SCG for the third Test.”Whether I play or not, basically just to be a sponge and soak up the atmosphere and just the whole trip itself and just learning off some of those world-class guys in that squad,” he said.His height – “a gift from my parents” – is an advantage he is hoping “to make the most of” to get healthy bounce on the Australian tracks. “It’s just about doing your role for the team and I guess whatever that looks like for me, I’m happy to do that,” he said. “So whether that’s bowling full, or it’s bowling wide or it’s whatever it is.”Jamieson will play in the Super Smash match against Canterbury Kings on Tuesday before heading to Melbourne to link up with the squad on Wednesday to prepare for the Boxing Day Test.Ferguson, who made his Test debut in Perth, has been ruled out for up to six weeks after suffering a calf strain on the opening day.”We’re all absolutely gutted for Lockie,” Stead said. “He’d worked really hard to earn his Test debut and to have it cruelly halted by injury was truly unlucky. He’ll return home to begin his recovery with an eye to India’s tour of New Zealand starting in late January.”On Monday, Stead admitted that they would not be able to find a like-for-like replacement for Ferguson’s pace. “I can’t promise you that I can pluck out guys that can bowl 150kph from New Zealand and bring them over here because I’m not sure we necessarily have them that are fit and available. We’ll consider everything we’ve got but there’s still some positives for us that we can go to Melbourne with and work out how to put Australia under pressure.New Zealand head to Melbourne with a number of issues to resolve as they aim to bounce back from the 296-run defeat in Perth. Jeet Raval’s poor form continued with scores of 1 and 1 while Mitchell Santner went wicketless through 41 overs and conceded 3.56 runs per over.They have two days of match practice against a Victoria XI on December 20 and 22 – split over three days with a training day in the middle – before the second Test when those who weren’t part of the XI in Perth will get their chance.That will likely include Trent Boult who is on track to return for Melbourne after it was decided he was too much of a risk to play in Perth as he recovered from his side strain.Tom Blundell, who is the reserve wicketkeeper on the tour but also the spare batsman, would be the player to replace Raval if he was dropped – leading to a potential reshuffle of the batting order – while legspinner Todd Astle could put pressure on Santner.

Teenager Pooja Vastrakar also returns to the T20I squad led by Harmanpreet Kaur, while D Hemalatha is back for the ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2019India women have named uncapped 15-year-old batsman Shafali Verma in their T20I squad for the first three – of five – games of the series against South Africa, which starts on September 24 in Surat. Another teenager, 19-year-old allrounder Pooja Vastrakar, who debuted in 2018, has been recalled to the team that will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur.Alongside that of Harleen Deol, the selection of Verma and Vastrakar seems to signal a decided move towards youth as they come in to replace the likes of Ekta Bisht, Komal Zanzad and Mithali Raj, who retired from T20Is on Tuesday.Raj will continue to lead the ODI squad, where D Hemalatha returns after having missed the ODIs against England earlier this year.Verma, who has never played at the senior level, was among the brightest players in the Women’s T20 Challenge in May, impressing the likes of Dani Wyatt, her team-mate at Velocity, with her hitting ability at the top of the innings. She had previously rocked the domestic T20 scene with Haryana during the 2018-19 senior women’s inter-state T20 tournament, making 186 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 187.87, including a tournament-high 128 off 56 balls against Nagaland.For Vastrakar, it’s a first stint with the team since June 2018, with an injury keeping her away from Women’s World T20 last year. The seam-bowling allrounder scores at a rate of 137.09 and has taken 12 wickets at 18.50 in a career of 11 T20Is, and could partner one of Shikha Pandey and Arundathi Reddy in India’s seam attack. Mansi Joshi is also in the mix with a return to the squad, while the spin options remain largely the same as the one that lost the series to England, with the addition of Harmanpreet, who had missed that series.For the three-match ODI series, which starts on October 9 in Vadodara, Mona Meshram has been left out of the squad following a dip in performances in recent times. Meshram made ducks in both her innings against England, and was among the batsmen who copped criticism during India’s below-par Asia Cup in 2018. Tamil Nadu’s Hemalatha takes her place in the squad, while Deol has been left out, having previously been named for the England series. Kaur returns to the ODI set-up as vice-captain.Veda Krishnamurthy continues to miss out from the ODIs, but has retained her spot for the T20Is despite her three single-digit scores in her last four innings. Taniya Bhatia is the wicketkeeper in both squads.India squad for first three T20Is: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Harleen Deol, Anuja Patil, Shafali Verma, Mansi JoshiIndia squad for ODIs: Mithali Raj (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, D Hemalatha, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Priya Punia

BCCI president-elect says the question should be posed to the prime ministers of both countries

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2019Sourav Ganguly, who will take charge as BCCI’s next president on October 23, has said that resumption of bilateral cricket with Pakistan is subject to the permission of the Indian government. Ganguly said that the decision could only be taken by the prime ministers of the two countries: Narendra Modi and Imran Khan, who also happens to be the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).”You have to ask that question to Modi and the Pakistan Prime Minister,” Ganguly said at a media briefing in Kolkata on Tuesday. “Of course we have (to take permission), because international exposure (tours) is all through governments. So we don’t have an answer to that question.”Ganguly had led India on the historic tour of Pakistan in 2004, the first bilateral series since the Kargil war in 1999 and India’s first visit to Pakistan since 1989.The last time both neighbours featured in a bilateral series was in late 2012, when India hosted Pakistan for a limited-overs series comprising two T20Is and three ODIs.In February, the BCCI asked the ICC in an e-mail letter “to sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates”. That letter was sent at the behest of the three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), which was appointed as the supervisory authority of the board till fresh elections were held. The previous day the CoA had mulled over asking the ICC to boycott Pakistan from the World Cup.At the time the BCCI and CoA were reacting to the terror strikes in Pulwama in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in which more than 40 paramilitary troops were killed.

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Newcastle produced a stunning comeback to upset the champions on Tuesday night, and Fabian Schar once again proved he is one of the best signings of the season.

Newcastle United’s transfer business is always the subject of much controversy and rightly so, as owner Mike Ashley has simply not injected enough cash into a squad bereft of any real pace or quality.

Rafael Benitez has managed to bring in some gems despite the shoestring budget though, and Schar looks to be an absolute steal from the former Real Madrid and Liverpool manager.

Which Man Utd star got fed by Salt Bae this week? Check out the video below to find out…

The 27 year-old defender was highly regarded as one of the best young prospects in Europe when he broke though at FC Basel, but moves to Germany and Spain did not pay off before he eventually landed on Tyneside.

The club paid a measly £3m to secure his services, per BBC, and after a match-winning display against Cardiff he showed the gritty, hungry side to his game on Tuesday night.

Benitez’s side looked set to get absolutely trounced when Sergio Aguero opened the visitors’ tally just 24 seconds into the match, but the organisation, toughness and leadership of Schar, Jamaal Lascelles and Florian Lejeune was truly incredible to witness.

Schar in particular had a superb showing, throwing his body on the line whenever necessary with two aerial duels won and six clearances made.

He also read the game superbly, something he has done to a high level since arriving on Tyneside, making a whopping six tackles as well as three interceptions.

For just £3m the club has managed to sign a versatile, ball-playing centre back with the speed and physicality to thrive in the Premier League, and at 27 the Swiss international still has plenty of room to improve.

He may well be the bargain of the season.