Brentford agree deal for set-piece coach Keith Andrews to step up as manager
Brentford have agreed a deal with their set-piece coach Keith Andrews for the former Republic of Ireland midfielder to replace Thomas Frank as the manager.
Andrews is understood to have impressed Brentford's hierarchy when interviewed for the role after Frank's departure for Tottenham. Frank's former assistant Justin Cochrane had been a candidate to step up before he follow Franked to Spurs.
Brentford are believed to have considered a number of external candidates including Ipswich's Kieran McKenna and Francesco Farioli, who left Ajax last month. But Andrews, who was appointed by Brentford in July 2024 having been on the coaching staff with Sheffield United, Ireland and MK Dons, is poised to be handed his first senior managerial role.
The 44-year-old's appointment would be a risk for Brentford, who are facing a fight to keep hold of last season's top scorer, Bryan Mbeumo, after Manchester United made an improved bid worth £60m for the Cameroon forward, for whom the owner, Matthew Benham, is thought to be holding out for £65m.
But Andrews, who won 35 caps and served as Stephen Kenny's Ireland assistant between 2020 and 2023, would again represent continuity after Frank was promoted from his role as an assistant to replace Dean Smith in 2018. Frank had managed Brøndby for almost three years and Denmark youth teams before joining Brentford.
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Damien Duff has been linked with a role as an assistant to Andrews, a former Ireland teammate, after his shock departure from the Irish champions Shelbourne this week, although Brentford and Duff have distanced themselves from those reports.
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Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Ben Duckett is now the best all-format batsman in the world
That was a truly incredible win for England. The mindset England have is potent. The captain and coach have fostered a belief that they can win from any situation, no matter how bleak it might look. India controlled the game, and played well for three-quarters of it. They scored five individual centuries and Jasprit Bumrah looked utterly unplayable at times. They were 430 for three on day two, and 339 in front, five wickets down on day four, and lost. If they had held some simple catches, they would have been out of sight on first innings. At the heart of this win was Ben Duckett. He doesn't get the credit he deserves in this team. Pound for pound, I reckon he is the best all-format batsman in international cricket right now. There may be players who are better at one of the formats, but none of them are as good at all three. Others in the conversation would be Travis Head or Aiden Markram, but on current form I'd have Ben over them, especially as he does it in such a tough position, opening, across all formats. Duckett is unique, and there is a bit of genius about him. His reverse-sweeping of Ravindra Jadeja in this game was staggering. It's his smile and relaxed manner, allied with an incredible eye for the ball and clever strategies, that make him so brilliant. He sets the tone for a batting order that is very settled at the start of a massive year. I've been working on Indian TV this week, and my colleagues there, including Harsha Bhogle, think England have the best batting line-up in the world. Keep that going Ben Duckett, what a shot! 🏴 — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 24, 2025 They are stronger than this India team, despite four different players scoring hundreds here (and the brilliant Rishabh Pant doing it twice), and they will definitely go Down Under for the Ashes with the stronger and more settled batting order, based on the one Australia are fielding against the West Indies tomorrow. One thing I will say, is that Australia will not be nearly as forgiving with the drops as India were here. All the noise has gone around the batting order, from No 1 to 7. I have been critical of Ollie Pope, but that was a super hundred. He is starting his innings more calmly, and he is lining up Bumrah better than any of the other right-handers, including Joe Root. That is what allowed him to bat for such a long period of time. Zak Crawley was also under a bit of pressure, but he looked a class act. He played the anchor role for Duckett. In the first innings, he had a slightly closed bat-face to Bumrah, which can happen with his angles. But the little and large, left- and right-hand partnership is ideal. Teams don't know how to bowl at them, and their lines and lengths do awry quickly. What I most liked about how they chased was they looked like they were having fun, and relishing the challenge. A few times over the Bazball era, England's batsmen have been their own worst enemies. Take the fourth evening, when they had six overs to get through. They could easily have come out and tried to put a dent in the score, but they just dug in, and got through. Same again when Bumrah had the new ball in the morning; they knew that they couldn't win the game in that hour, but they could lose it. So they just gave India that period, and waited for others to come on. There were other moments in the game when that joy of playing the game was obvious. India were 430 for three on the second day, but you couldn't tell from the body language. That is an amazing strength to have, and it is a mentality that means you can do great things. We are starting to see the pieces come together for this massive year of Test cricket. I didn't agree with Stokes's decision at the toss, because there were easier ways to get ahead of this game, despite the statistics about Headingley as a chasing ground. But they got there in the end. I've said there are no questions about the batting order, and I was actually very impressed with England's ability to take 20 wickets on a pitch like this, especially given they didn't get last use of it. Brydon Carse looks every inch a Test cricketer, capable of hitting the pitch hard at tough moments, or pitching it up and swinging the new ball. Body language is so important at this level, and he is such a competitor. I'd have loved him in my attack. And they've been crying out for years for someone to quickly clean up the tail, and Josh Tongue has done it twice. There's a bit of chatter floating around that England are planning to bring Jofra Archer straight back in for Edgbaston, and are already planning to play Gus Atkinson at Lord's. I really hope they aren't pencilling in names this early. Don't rotate for the sake of it. What's the rush, when these guys have been injured and will have played so little cricket? And for who? Carse is a shoo-in, and Tongue needs to play if he is to continue to improve at this level. He played a single Ashes Test two years ago, then was taken out of the side. Don't make that mistake again. After this, another Headingley classic, England will believe they can win any game any way. Of all their crazy wins, this was different. They weren't in charge at any point, then pulled off a massive chase in controlled fashion. It was Bazball with brains.
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
The genius behind Ben Duckett and an England innings that twisted reality
Ben Duckett reverse swept once, twice, three times. And eventually twelve. A modern man, conquering the most traditional role in Test cricket - opening the batting - in the least traditional of ways. With that shot alone, he made 31 runs. In total, he made 149 as he guided England to their second-highest run chase in history. Duckett, whose highest score remains 182 against Ireland in 2023, has quietly, and consistently, built a record that places him in the upper echelons of England's greatest ever openers. In a batting line-up where Joe Root 's and Ben Stokes ' legends are already made. Where Harry Brook is the next generational talent elect, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope spend their lives under a microscope. Duckett's consistency at the top of the order has gone, if not unnoticed, underappreciated. Since his return to the Test side in 2022, he has averaged 47 with a strike rate of 88. In terms of average, it is higher than either Sir Alastair Cook or Sir Andrew Strauss managed. The last two men to nail the role of opener in an England shirt both ended up taking one knee in front of the Queen, knighted for their efforts. As a strike rate, it is higher than Virender Sehwag's. The man widely considered to be the greatest aggressive opener in history. In 2025, it may seem too early, hyperbolic even, to put Duckett's name in the same bracket as the greats. But continue as he has been since his return to the side, and by 2035 it'll have been there for years. Brendon McCullum's team have twisted reality to the point that arriving at Headingley on day five, with 350 runs still required for victory, England's pursuit of their second highest ever run chase felt eminently possible rather than the opinion of a madman. These run chases didn't happen even three years ago. The dial has been changed. And this England team is the reason. Along with Crawley, Duckett gave England their dream start. The fifty partnership between the two came in the seventeenth over of the innings - the slowest they have ever shared as a pair - but in murky, bowler-friendly conditions, it was perfect. Duckett, watchful, punched the ball airily off the bowling of Mohammed Siraj. It dropped just in front of the fielder before skipping past him and away for four. Duckett celebrated with a mini fist pump to himself. Duckett's strength lies in his versatility. Against fast bowlers, he hits the same ball in three different directions. And against the spinners, he has an arsenal of sweeps to call upon. Sometimes he keeps his hands the same on the bat. Sometimes he swaps them over. Sometimes he steps forward with his right foot. And sometimes he swaps round and leads with his left. The crowning shot of Duckett's innings was his reverse sweep for six off Ravindra Jadeja that sailed into the East Stand. But his best was his on-drive against Jasprit Bumrah. The greatest bowler in the world, greeted with a perfect technique. People often talk about footwork when it comes to batting. But as the pace goes up in cricket, the opportunity for players to make large movements either forwards or backwards disappears. At the highest level, there simply isn't time. Instead, batting becomes about weight transfer. Subtle shifts that allow batters to manipulate their stance and access all areas. Duckett, short in stature, rarely, if ever, moves his feet. Crouched low in his stance, he cuts anything slightly wide. He pulls anything slightly short. And drives anything remotely full. He is a call and response cricketer with the answers pre-loaded before the ball has even arrived. His talents have made him an all-format England opener, and furthers the case that Duckett is one of England's most complete batters. Only he and Harry Brook command a spot in all three XIs. In ODI cricket, Duckett's average is even higher than it is in Tests, standing at 49. And since becoming the undisputed first-choice opener in 2024, it is 56. Headingley is the home of the run chase. One of the very first Bazball chases happened here in 2022 when England blitzed 296 for three against New Zealand; Shai Hope's twin tons downed England in 2017; and a little-known cricketer named Ben Stokes made 135 not out two years ago against Australia when England hauled in 362. Today, Duckett added his name to that list with one of the greatest innings played in an England shirt. 18 months ago, England went one-nil up in a series against India after Pope made 196 in the Heist of Hyderabad. That innings felt like a miracle. The perfect combination of a thousand factors coming together. Duckett's innings today, rather than a miracle, felt like a coming of age. The next step for a player who is making his legend in front of our eyes. In India's history, they have only failed to defend a target of north of 350 twice. The first time was in England in 2022 when the home team chased in 378. And the second was today in their very next match on these shores. In total, four of England's ten highest successful run chases in Test history have come during the Bazball era. And the man leading from the front is Ben Duckett.
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Lancashire pile up 639-9 against Kent
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Stanley Park, Blackpool (day three)Kent 374: Compton 135; Balderson 3-54, Anderson 2-61Lancashire 639-9: Turner 154, Wells 152, Bohannon 124Lancashire (6 pts) lead Kent (4 pts) by 265 runsMatch scorecard Centuries by Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon and Ashton Turner on debut have given Lancashire a chance of defeating Kent on the final day of the County Championship match at Blackpool and thereby securing their first red-ball victory of the to the visitors' 374, Lancashire were 639-9 at the close after a day in which their batsmen savaged Daniel Bell-Drummond's made 152, Bohannon 124 and Turner a career-best 154 on a day when their county amassed the highest total in matches between the will go into the final day with a lead of 261 and the decision facing stand-in skipper James Anderson is whether to declare overnight or club a few more runs before trying to force a win on a docile surface. The latter seems a first session slightly curtailed by a light shower, Lancashire added 105 runs in 30.5 overs for the loss of nightwatchman Tom Bailey, who had made 25 untroubled runs before he was lbw on the front foot to Joey the highlight of the morning was Wells reaching his third first-class century for Lancashire against Kent when he reverse-swept Jack Leaning to the third man boundary. The Red Rose opener had faced 195 balls and hit twelve fours and a the first session proved to be merely the prelude to an even more severe assault on the Kent bowling in the next two sessions. After taking 24 balls to get off the mark, Bohannon reached his fifty off a further 78 deliveries with an on-drive off Evison. In the next over Wells lost the ball when he walloped Matt Parkinson for a six over the wall at the South End to bring up his own ball, however, the former Lancashire leg-spinner applied to balm to his wounded pride when Wells tried to repeat his previous stroke and was well caught by Wes Agar at long off for 152. That dismissal ended the opener's enterprising 136-run stand with Bohannon and it left his side still 71 runs shy of Kent's first innings having made his runs in a minute short of six hours during which he hit 17 fours and three sixes, Wells' dejection at his dismissal clearly suggested he thought he had missed a big opportunity to make an even bigger contribution. The cricket that followed supported that joined Bohannon and the pair put on a further 174 runs either side of tea, with Turner making an immediate impact in his first innings for Lancashire, reaching his hundred off 117 balls with six fours and four sixesBohannon had earlier reached his century off 191 balls with a square cut off his old team mate Parkinson, having hit nine fours and three sixes but he was eventually caught by Agar off Jack Leaning's off-spin for 124, having hit 10 fours and four sixes in his 210-ball in the day, Matty Hurst was bowled for 21 by Evison, who took his third wicket and finished with 3-61 from 21 overs on a day when he had plainly been the pick of the Kent overs before the close Turner was caught at long off by Leaning off Parkinson and Michael Jones fell to the same combination for 41, leaving the leg-spinner with figures 3-188 from 35 overs. Jaydn Denly took two late problem now for Anderson and his bowlers is that this Stanley Park pitch still looks very flat and it will take all of Anderson's wiles and a shrewd rotation of his bowlers to take ten wickets in one day, given that only 19 have fallen in the first three, five of today's dismissed batsmen perishing to catches in the Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay
