Nik Anand

About Me

I am a sports journalist based in Manchester mainly focussed on football and cricket, currently working towards my NCTJ at News Associates. 

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My Work

Mancunian Matters •

Salford local election 2023: Labour keep control of council

Labour maintained control of Salford City Council as the final votes were counted today at the AJ Bell Stadium.

There were 21 seats available across the 20 wards, and needing just one seat to keep control Labour won 18.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “It was a fantastic set of results for the Labour Party this evening here in Salford.

“We have retained all of our seats; obviously we have not made any gains but going into this we knew we were fighting on a number of key wards.

“Overall
Mancunian Matters •

Watch: Belle Vue Aces prepare for the speedway season

Ahead of the start of the British Speedway season Belle Vue Aces are finalising their preparations.

After success last year winning the Premiership Grand Final against Sheffield Tigers, the Manchester-based team will be looking to get off to another flying start.

For those who are not aware, speedway is a form of motor racing where riders race bikes capable of reaching 80 mph, with fixed gears and no brakes.

The Premiership has teams all over the country, with each meeting involving 15 heats
Wisden •

Southee's Start, The Birth Of Broaderson And A KP Classic: Revisiting The Last Time England Won A Test In New Zealand

The birth of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson’s partnership, the emergence of Tim Southee, and Kevin Pietersen doing what he does best – a look back at England’s victorious Test series in New Zealand in 2008.

The series was the last time England won a Test match in New Zealand and came after a slightly disappointing home summer in which England had won 3-0 to West Indies but lost 2-0 to India. Led by Michael Vaughan, they headed to New Zealand aiming to turn their fortunes around. They did that
Wisden •

From Warne To Warner: Six Great Australia Test Cricketers Who Never Conquered India

After Australia collapsed to 177 all-out in the first match of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur, Nick Anand looks back at some of the great Australian players who never quite conquered India.

The fact that there are so many legendary names on this list, names that would ordinarily appear on an all-time great Australian players list, shows how difficult it is to succeed in India – particularly in the era of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where India boasted had some of the best Test players
Wisden •

Duds And Studs: How Visiting Australian Spinners Have Fared In India

Ahead of the start of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the most pressing Australia selection dilemma revolves around the makeup of their spin attack.

With injuries to Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, Australia look set to play a four-bowler attack with two spinners. Ashton Agar, Todd Murphy and Mitchell Swepson are all vying to partner Nathan Lyon in the side.

With this in mind, here’s a look back at how Australia’s spinners have fared in Australia since 1998. Absent from this list, shocking
Stretford Paddock NEWS •

Manchester United 2-0 Burnley: Rashford racing ahead

Marcus Rashford scored a brilliant solo goal as Manchester United beat Burnley 2-0 in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

Christian Eriksen opened in the first half after a great assist from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, before Rashford doubled the lead after the break at Old Trafford.

The Clarets looked strong at points and had late chances to get back in the game, but United’s defence stood strong.

Erik Ten Hag went for a rotated side, particularly in defence, with Casemiro starting at centre back and Wa
Mancunian Matters •

Steve Borthwick to turn around England's win ratio, data suggests

Steve Borthwick could turn around England’s win ratio after poor form under Eddie Jones, according to data.

In just his second full season in charge at Leicester Tigers, the head coach achieved an 83% win ratio in the Premiership – a huge increase on the two seasons directly before his appointment, when they won around 30% of their matches.

If he were to carry this form over from club level to the international stage then England should be set for vast improvements.

This came after the RFU an
Mancunian Matters •

Andy Burnham calls for boost in women's football in Greater Manchester schools

Andy Burnham has called for a boost in women’s and girl’s football in schools across Greater Manchester.

The Greater Manchester mayor has partnered with former England and Manchester City goalkeeper Karen Bardsley as well as the Manchester Football Association.

Together they have called for schoolgirls across Greater Manchester to have the right to play two hours of football a week in timetabled PE lessons.

This comes off the back of a similar call made by the Lionesses after their triumphant
Mancunian Matters •

How the modern fast fashion industry is killing our environment

“Close to 87% of waste clothing ends up incinerated or dumped in landfill,” says an environmental campaigner – but what can you do about it?

This issue stems from the dangerous practices of the fast fashion industry and the overconsumption of modern consumers.

Fast fashion is a term used to describe a business model in the clothing industry of high turnaround often at extremely low cost.

George Harding-Rolls is the campaign manager at the Changing Markets Foundation, a non-profit organisation
Mancunian Matters •

Gareth Bale 'gutted' as Wales lose 2-0 to Iran

Gareth Bale felt ‘gutted’ as he failed to deliver in Wales 2-0 World Cup loss to Iran.

On the day he became Wales’ most capped player (110) the captain managed just one shot on target as Rob Page’s side’s hopes of progressing to the round of 16 begin to dwindle at the bottom of Group B.

As the game looked set for a goalless draw, Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey was sent off late for a reckless challenge, and then Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian netted late in injury time to give Carlos Queiroz

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