أثار اقتراح رابطة الدوري الإسباني لكرة القدم “الليجا” بنقل مباراة فياريال وبرشلونة إلى ميامي بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية جدلاً واسعاً.
وأبدى كل من برشلونة وفياريال انفتاحهما على الفكرة بدعم كامل من رئيس رابطة الليجا خافيير تيباس، وقد أبدت فرق أخرى معارضتها كما أعربت رابطة لاعبي كرة القدم الإسبان والمجلس الأوروبي عن مخاوفهما.
وأعرب ألكسندر تشيفرين رئيس الاتحاد الأوروبي “يويفا” عن رأيه بشأن نقل مباراة برشلونة وفياريال في الليجا إلى الولايات المتحدة.
وقال تشيفرين في مقابلة لصحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية: “يجب أن تلعب الفرق الأوروبية في أوروبا”.
وأضاف: “سنفتح هذا النقاش أيضاً مع الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم الفيفا وجميع الاتحادات لأنني لا أعتقد أنها فكرة جيدة”.
وواصل: “إذا كان استثناء فلا بأس وإذا كان هناك سبب فلا بأس، ولكن من حيث المبدأ يجب أن تلعب الأندية الأوروبية في أوروبا لأن جماهيرها هنا، إنه تقليد عريق”.
ويأتي هذا بعد تقارير ظهرت في وقت سابق اليوم تشير إلى أن الاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم غير مقتنع بإعطاء الضوء الأخضر لمباراة فياريال ضد برشلونة المقرر إقامتها في 20 ديسمبر في ميامي.
وستجتمع اللجنة التنفيذية للاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم “اليويفا” في 11 سبتمبر في ألبانيا لاتخاذ قرار بشأن مباراة برشلونة ضد فياريال ومباراة ميلان ضد كومو في 6 فبراير في أستراليا.
Over the years, Leeds United has been the home to numerous attacking talents, many of whom have captured the hearts of the fanbase as a result of their impressive stints at Elland Road.
After joining as a teenager, last season Crysencio Summerville burst into life, playing a huge role under boss Daniel Farke, notching 20 goals and nine assists in his 46 Championship outings.
However, the Whites would be unable to keep hold of him after their failure to secure promotion, joining West Ham United in a £25m deal – banking the club a hefty profit in the process.
Leeds duo Daniel Farke and Crysencio Summerville.
Jack Clarke was another player capable of getting supporters off their seats with his dribbling ability, making just 27 appearances for his boyhood side before making a big-money move to Tottenham Hotspur.
However, fast-forward nearly six years on from the youngster’s move to the North London outfit, Farke’s side currently have one player on loan from the aforementioned side, following in the footsteps of the two players and already being a success in Yorkshire.
Manor Solomon’s stats for Leeds United in 24/25
After the high-profile departure of Summerville during the off-season, it was pivotal that the hierarchy provided Farke with the tools to claim promotion at the second attempt.
They dipped into the market and secured a loan move for winger Manor Solomon from Premier League side Spurs, moving to Elland Road until the end of the current campaign.
The Israeli forward has impressed beyond anyone’s imagination, registering seven goals and seven assists in his 26 league outings, registering the third most contributions of any player in the first-team squad.
Solomon’s efforts in the final third have aided the Whites massively, helping them boast the best-attacking record in the division, subsequently allowing them to sit top of the table with 13 games left.
However, despite his impressive form in Yorkshire, he could’ve been further aided with his efforts had the club kept hold of one player rather than prematurely offloading him.
The player who would’ve been perfect for Solomon
Junior Firpo has been a player who has divided the fanbase in recent years, but when given the opportunity this season, the Spaniard has impressed under Farke for the Whites.
The 28-year-old has registered seven assists in just 20 Championship matches, a phenomenal record for a full-back, but he’s out of contract in the summer, with no more deal yet to be agreed.
As a result, it leaves the club potentially facing a dilemma at left-back, something which they would not have faced had they kept hold of Leif Davis a couple of years ago.
Davis joined the club as an 18-year-old from Morecambe, rapidly developing and making the jump into the first team – featuring twice in the Premier League during the 2020/21 campaign.
However, he would join Bournemouth on loan for the following season, but would not return to Leeds after joining Ipswich Town on a permanent deal ahead of 2022/23.
Since his move to Portman Road, Davis has taken his career to the next level, registering three goals and 14 assists in League One, helping the Tractor Boys secure promotion back to the second tier.
He continued his excellent form under Kieran McKenna last year, with 20 combined goal contributions and helping the club make it back-to-back promotions, preventing the Whites in the process.
The full-back, who’s previously been dubbed “sensational” by journalist Stuart Watson, has seamlessly made the jump into the top flight, producing numerous impressive stats that would’ve aided Solomon in attacking areas.
Games played
24
Goals & assists
3
Shot-creating actions
3.1
Key passes
1.8
Passes into final third
1.2
Crosses completed
4.7
Progressive passes
1.9
Given his meteoric rise to the top of the English game, there must be an ounce of regret from the Whites’ hierarchy in allowing him to depart the club back in 2022.
At the age of just 25, he has the potential to improve further in the years ahead, but unfortunately for the supporters, it’s a case of what could’ve been had they kept hold of the defender.
Leeds must rue offloading "sensational" talent who's outperforming Tanaka
Leeds United may have made a mistake in allowing one former star to depart Elland Road.
Jo Gardner, Flo Miller share unbroken 49-run stand to set up Sunrisers’ fourth straight win
ECB Reporters Network16-Sep-2023The Northern Diamonds’ title defence in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy is over – their fate sealed during a thrilling final-day group defeat against Sunrisers at Durham.The Diamonds needed to beat the Sunrisers – also eliminated today – at the Seat Unique Riverside to have any chance of progression for the knockout stages next week.But other results also needed to go their way, which they didn’t and were confirmed as the Diamonds were about to start their defence of a revised target of 126 in 18 overs, which came down to the visitors needing 10 off the last over.The Diamonds made 114 for 6 in 18 overs after play was delayed until 2pm and further interrupted. Bess Heath top-scored for the hosts with a quick-fire 37 off 21 balls two days after making her senior England debut, while new-ball seamer Eva Gray impressed with 2 for 24.Sunrisers, who needed a bonus victory amidst a host of other things to go their way to finish in the top three places, then hunted down their Duckworth Lewis Stern target for the loss of four wickets with three balls to spare.Fifth-wicket pair Jo Gardner and Flo Miller were their heroes, sharing an unbroken 49. Gardner finished 30 not out off 21 balls and Miller 20 off 16 as Sunrisers won their fourth successive game.After visiting captain Grace Scrivens elected to bowl, Gray bowled key duo Lauren Winfield-Hill and Hollie Armitage with two beautiful nip-backers, leaving Diamonds at 26 for 2 in the fifth over.The one which bowled Winfield-Hill for 1 uprooted leg-stump and the one which removed captain Armitage for 13 flattened off.The Diamonds, led by Netherlands international opener Sterre Kalis, did pretty well to steady the ship in tricky conditions – a grey sky, floodlights on and definite nip off the pitch. They reached 47 for 2 after 10 overs, with Kalis pulling a couple of crisp boundaries in 28.Unfortunately for her, she fell in the 11th when Kelly Castle took a stunning one-handed catch peddling back from mid-off to help leg-spinner Jodi Grewcock strike – 51 for 3.Heath then came in and showed significant intent and went on to hit three fours and a six – the latter over midwicket.She hammered Grewcock down the ground for her first boundary, and it seemed as if she was trying to up the rate for the Diamonds with the rain having returned.Umpires Hasan Adnan and Gabi Brown called for the covers to return just after 3pm, with the Diamonds 68 for 3 after 13 overs.Play resumed at 4.20pm, with the Diamonds batting for five more overs. Heath hit her for six but was one of three batters who holed out as Castle, Mady Villiers and Scrivens all struck.On-loan seamer Sophia Turner then bowled an attacking Scrivens for 11, leaving Sunrisers at 20 for 1 in the fourth over of their chase.Sunrisers steadied and kept in touch, as opener Ariana Dowse – a centurion earlier this week in victory over Blaze – made her way to 27.But she fell as one of two wickets in three balls to seamers Grace Hall and Phoebe Turner as the score fell to 60 for 3 in the 11th over.Dowse miscued Hall into the covers and Villiers found deep square-leg off Turner. It felt a big moment, but not so. Hall struck again when she bowled Amara Carr for 29, leaving the score at 77 for 4 in the 13th over.Sunrisers kept in touch thanks to some clean hitting, chiefly from Gardner, who hoisted Hall for six over long-on in the penultimate over. The game was then sealed by a Lizzie Scott wide.The Diamonds failing to qualify for the knockout stages means next Sunday’s final at Northampton will be the first time in four years that this competition’s showpiece will be contested by somebody else but the Diamonds and the Southern Vipers. The latter have qualified, though.The Diamonds suffered their seventh defeat, while the Sunrisers won for the sixth time in this competition. They hadn’t won a 50-over in three seasons prior to 2023, so progression for them is obvious.
Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has urged youngsters not to take up smoking, having faced criticism of his off-field lifestyle.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Polish keeper started smoking as a youngster
Has been unable to kick habit down the years
Considers himself a role model in other ways
Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Polish shot-stopper, who stepped out of retirement to answer an SOS call from La Liga giants Barca in October 2024, admits that he has “lost the fight” when it comes to kicking a nicotine addiction.
Advertisement
Getty Images
THE BIGGER PICTURE
He has never tried to hide the fact that he smokes, with the ex-Arsenal and Juventus star owning the decisions he has made in a professional and personal capacity – even if some of those could be considered questionable.
WHAT SZCZESNY SAID
Szczesny has been caught on camera before lighting up following notable wins, but has told of efforts to ensure that he does not glamorise smoking in any way: "There are some parts of the game where I believe I can be a perfect example for young people or, in fact, for my team-mates.
"And there are some things in my career that you better not follow. In a few aspects, I fail at [being an example], but I try to be the best version of myself, and I try to give the correct example to my team-mates, to young kids who watch us.
"But mentioning the subject of smoking, please do not follow me and don't do it. I've lost the fight. When I was very young, I created a habit that is very negative for me, and I know it is. I just lose against it. So for anybody watching: Don't do what I did."
DID YOU KNOW?
Szczesny went on to say of his willingness to speak on a subject that others may consider to be taboo: "Because I'm not a politician. Maybe that's why. I'm just a goalkeeper. I have to catch a ball and kick it. It's much, much easier to keep up with your previous interviews if you're just honest and you never lie and you're just open.
“"ou ask me a question, I answer the question as honestly as I can. You know, there are things I would rather not talk about. The subject that we mentioned, I would rather not talk about it.
"But if somebody asks me, yeah [I smoke]. But I would rather not have the question asked because I don't want to be a bad example."
da betsul： Reinaldo encerrou sua trajetória no São Paulo neste domingo (13) na vitória por 4 a 0 contra o Goiás. Consagrado como o lateral-esquerdo com mais gols em toda a história do Tricolor, o jogador agradeceu sua passagem na equipe.
RelacionadasSão PauloCeni culpa alto número de lesões na reta final do Brasileirão por perda de vaga na Libertadores São Paulo13/11/2022São PauloLuciano avalia temporada do São Paulo e expõe principais metas para 2023São Paulo13/11/2022São PauloATUAÇÕES: Giuliano Galoppo e Marcos Guilherme desencantam em ‘última dança’ do São Paulo no anoSão Paulo13/11/2022
da supremo： ATUAÇÕES: Giuliano Galoppo e Marcos Guilherme desencantam em “última dança” do São Paulo no ano
Veja tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro
De todos os jogadores do elenco atual, Reinaldo era o atleta mais longínquo.O lateral chegou ao São Paulo em 2013 e é um dos jogadores com mais partidas pelo time, após passagens por empréstimo por Ponte Preta e Chapecoense.
O LANCE! já havia adiantado que o encontro contra o Goiás seria a despedida de Reinaldo, que despertou interesses de Fernando Diniz no Fluminense e recebeu sondagens.
Pelo São Paulo, Reinaldo foi campeão somente do Campeonato Paulista em 2021. Neste ano, ao marcar seu 32º gol,ultrapassou a marca mantida por Gustavo Nery, que atuou no São Paulo de 2000 a 2004 e se tornou o maior lateral-esquerdo da história do clube do Morumbi.
Após seu último jogo, em Goiânia, Reinaldo se despediu oficialmente do clube, deixando explícito seus agradecimentos ao Tricolor paulista.
– Fica o sentimento de gratidão por esse clube que me acolheu, diretores que passaram por aqui, todos do CT me abraçaram de um jeito que é difícil falar, tenho que agradecer, a torcida sempre me apoiou, acreditou no meu trabalho e espero que esse clube continue crescendo e se agigantando ainda mais. São Paulo é muita história e tradição e tenho certeza que ele vai continuar no caminho dos títulos, vou continuar torcendo de longe – disse.
“I feel that 21-24 is a good age to get a debut for the Indian team and I’m just trying to give my best,” Kumar Kushagra says
Deivarayan Muthu24-Aug-2025After recovering from a back niggle that had prevented him from training during the last month, Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra has returned to action with a fifty and a hundred in the first two rounds of the ongoing Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. Ahead of the Duleep Trophy, which will kick off on August 28 in Bengaluru, Kushagra has declared himself fully fit for the domestic grind.”Last month, I was not practising [my batting] or keeping, but I’m totally fit and good now,” Kushagra said on the sidelines of the Buchi Babu tournament. “While going into the Duleep Trophy, this [Buchi Babu] is a good match for us Jharkhand players and for me as well. The facilities, grounds and environment are a good preparation for the Duleep Trophy.”A separate back injury had earlier forced Kushagra to miss a chunk of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy and the Emerging Asia Cup last October. In the lead-up to a new domestic season, Kushagra has prioritised fitness, having worked hard with his father Shashikant, his de facto trainer, back at home, and with the BCCI’s medical team at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.Related
After career of 'more lows than highs', Jagadeesan hopes to build on recent gains
Aayush Pandey and Sanjeet Desai do their bit to put Chhattisgarh on the cricket map
IPL star Priyansh Arya sets sights on Ranji Trophy
Rahane steps down as Mumbai's Ranji Trophy captain
Kishan ruled out of Duleep Trophy opener
“Before this tournament, I was at the NCA [CoE] and before that I was working with my dad,” Kushagra said. “I was going early in the morning at 4.30-5am to work on my fitness and batting and keeping. Being at the NCA also helped because there are good coaches and physios there. I gave my yo-yo test and was ready for the Buchi Babu tournament.”Missing the [Emerging] Asia Cup was a setback because it was important ahead of the IPL auction. The one who helps me is my dad. Even when I’m not with him, like when I’m in Tamil Nadu now, he gives me inputs on the phone and sends batting videos of players who are playing at the international level.”Kushagra, 20, has been part of a wider pool of targeted players shortlisted by the CoE in recent times. He made his India A debut in February 2024, scoring a run-a-ball 40 in the second innings against an England Lions attack that included Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts. That knock gave Kushagra the belief that he could succeed at the top level too.”At that moment, I was sold in the IPL for [INR] 7.2 crore [to Delhi Capitals] and I was a bit confident to play for India A as well because I had scored a [Ranji Trophy] hundred against Services in Delhi. I scored 40-odd against England, so I was confident that I could score runs here also.”Kumar Kushagra has played for India A already, suggesting he is in the wider pool of players the BCCI is looking at•PTI Kushagra, who is set to play for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, sees the tournament as a springboard for higher honours.”Yeah, it definitely helps being in the eyes of the selectors,” he said. “If you perform in these matches like Buchi Babu and Duleep Trophy, it can take you to the Indian team, but you have to be consistent at the same time.”I’m keeping things very simple at the moment and I want to go there and express myself. I feel that 21-24 is a good age to get a debut for the Indian team and I’m just trying to give my best.”With Jos Buttler being Gujarat Titans’ frontline keeper, Kushagra didn’t get a game during IPL 2025 [after moving from DC], but he used the training sessions to pick the brains of Buttler, Matthew Wade (GT’s assistant coach) and Parthiv Patel (who is also part of GT’s backroom staff).”I was not playing matches, but I thought I should keep because in domestic tournaments you bat a lot [during training] but don’t keep much. Parthiv sir, Matthew Wade and Jos Buttler helped me a lot,” he said. “Actually, I was not that comfortable when keeping to fast bowlers when the ball was wobbling too much. I [learnt] how I can tackle that [wobbling ball] in windy conditions like in England and all that.””I’m keeping things very simple at the moment and I want to go there and express myself”•PTI Jharkhand had a poor start to the 2024-25 Ranji season, having no outright win to show for in their first five games. Then they beat both Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu at home to close out the season with back-to-back victories. Kushagra said the team had drawn confidence from toppling a strong Tamil Nadu team.”We were brilliant in the last two matches at the Keenan Stadium [in Jamshedpur],” Kushagra recalled. “Our spinners were all over the batters, and we were performing above the Tamil Nadu team, which was good for us.”The last time Jharkhand’s senior men’s team won a domestic title was back in 2010-11, when their current association secretary Saurabh Tiwary had led them to glory in the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy.”I just want my team to win a particular format, and we also discuss these things about winning a tournament in my home, also because every day my mom says that you should win because Jharkhand have so many talented players,” he said. “So, in my mind, there is always one thing: I want to win a trophy for my team and do whatever the team wants from me.”
He was 5 off 13. He finished 53 off 31. This innings made you want to believe that the tide can turn. Even in T20s
Sidharth Monga28-Sep-20205:59
Making sense of Tewatia’s ‘freakish’ knock
Among all the content IPL teams produce thanks to their access, “Dressing Room Talks”, Ricky Ponting’s debriefing after any Delhi Capitals game, is absolutely must-see. Players circle around Ponting, who often refers to his big black notebook, and listen to him break down the game. When Capitals win, it is done amid raucous laughter and applause. It is a rare window into how a team works.Ponting also introduced to Capitals a concept of “Change Room Man of the Match” to appreciate the support acts that don’t get spoken about during a match. He hands them badges for their contribution.Ponting debuted this at the start of the 2019 season, which they began with a big win after losing the toss at Wankhede against the winningest IPL team of all. Rishabh Pant had scored a scarcely believable 78 off 27 that night, but Ponting commended Colin Ingram for his 47 off 32 from 29 for 2, Shikhar Dhawan for a forty, and Ishant Sharma, Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada for their bowling. He said he didn’t care that Axar Patel went for 42 in his three overs because the conditions were unfavorable for spinners. He spoke of the fielding. He called Capitals a “f*cken good” team. He chalked plans for the next day, and then began to walk off.On his way, Rahul Tewatia stopped him. The conversation between the two wasn’t audible because of the noise, but Ponting turned around and patronisingly said, “Boys, Tewatia took four catches, and wants a pat on the back.” To the sound of mocking laughter. And walked off with an even more patronising smirk on his face.Oh the ignominy of being forgotten.A tender coconut in his hand, Axar immediately walked to Tewatia to mock him. “Who begs for recognition, bro?” Axar asked Tewatia in Hindi.”Bro, you have to fight for what you are owed,” Tewatia replied earnestly.
View this post on Instagram
This. Is. New. Delhi. Coach Ricky Ponting out there giving us all the #MotivationalFeels with his speech after the #MIvDC game The boys are ready for #DCvCSK at #QilaKotla! #ThisIsNewDelhi #DelhiCapitals
A post shared by Delhi Capitals (in ) (@delhicapitals) on Mar 26, 2019 at 5:48am PDT
**Tewatia had probably done all that was asked of him that night. He came out to bat with 16 balls remaining in the innings, made sure Pant got the strike for 12 of those, and also hit a six in the four he got. He was taken for 12 by Kieron Pollard in his first over before he took the wicket of the last batsman in his second. In between he took four catches; he had to dive for one, the other three were more regulation.You could see why Ponting didn’t choose him for the honours. More than that you could feel what Tewatia would have gone through that night. He was a proper journeyman. He had played only six first-class games, 18 List A games and 32 T20 ones. And he was about to turn 27. His T20 debut came in the IPL, for Rajasthan Royals in 2014, but he was soon traded to Kings XI Punjab. He next played in the IPL in 2017, only to be traded to Capitals (Daredevils back then) next year.Rahul Tewatia was the centre of attention after his spectacular innings•BCCITewatia would have known he was never going to be the star player. He wasn’t a good enough legspinner to play for his bowling alone, and he hardly got to bat. This was a night he had made contributions in every small window of opportunity he had been given. He was in the midst of possible heroes – Ponting, Sourav Ganguly, his team-mates, including Haryana legspinner Amit Mishra – and would have spent every second of that debriefing hoping to hear his name and the applause and the recognition to go with it.It never came. When he asked for it – not outside but within the team – the derision that did come wasn’t entirely unexpected in a cricket change room full of alpha male egos. Tewatia bowled 38 balls, and batted 22 that season. He was soon traded back to Royals. It was a sensible move. Tewatia wasn’t a finished product, and they didn’t have a slot where they could develop a player.**Tewatia is the kind of player who will not get a lot of opportunity. His legspin is not classic, his batting unproven. It shows in how his home state Haryana struggled to find him a regular spot in their sides. Twenty20 cricket brought cricketers such as Tewatia a chance to build a career. They could super-specialise to such an extent they could get a game for a certain match-up to contain just one batsman. The short duration of the format means you can even afford to waste one player in case you don’t get your desired set-piece. However, when you get that chance, you have to be precise and efficient with executing the skill you have been brought on to execute.Tewatia is also the kind of player who will be more at home at a team with budget constraints so that it is then in their best interest to develop such a player. Apart from being one of those teams, Royals also needed Tewatia’s super specialisation as the only Indian left-hand hitter anywhere near their first XI. Through this trade, Tewatia had come back to his spiritual home.**In his first match back for Royals, Tewatia managed to annoy the biggest fanbase in the IPL. Not only did he take three Chennai Super Kings wickets, he also brought out the “fingers in ears” celebration to mark one of those wickets. Later in the night he posted his photo with fingers in ears on his Instagram page. The comments section was inundated with abuse primarily from CSK fans. Some of them unimaginatively told him of alternate places to stick his fingers, some mockingly asked what noise he was blocking in empty stadiums, but the gist of the abuse was: “We have seen Philippe Coutinho celebrate this way for Barcelona, who are you? A walk-on player in a walk-on team.”The comments section was about to get busy in five days again.**Rahul Tewatia took two wickets in two balls•BCCITwenty20 cricket has freed batsmen up. They actually prepare to hit sixes. Earlier batsmen only used to practise in the nets, which could be claustrophobic. You didn’t quite know and watch for yourself how far you were hitting balls. A Lance Klusener, who would hit just sixes in a training session, was an exception. Now they have intra-squad contests to see who hits more sixes. Royals had one such in their camp to see who hit most sixes in an over. According to Sanju Samson, the six-hitting machine, Tewatia hit four or five sixes in that over.That day onwards, Andrew McDonald, the coach, and Zubin Barucha, the director of cricket, began to work on Tewatia’s batting. A potential move to open the innings had also been considered, according to Samson. The same Samson was reduced to turning down a single with Tewatia at the other end.**In his second match back for Royals, Tewatia’s 31-ball stay at the wicket brought forth the best and worst of T20 cricket the format. Its crunched nature leaves little room for personal struggle. Coaches tell batsmen if they are struggling, chances are others will too, so don’t give up the ghost, but what if your side has scored 100 in nine overs chasing 224 and you, promoted to do a job, are unable to get the ball off the square? It happened, most infamously, to Yuvraj Singh, one of the cleanest strikers cricket has ever seen, in the World T20 final of 2014. It happened to a young Ravindra Jadeja when he was promoted up the order in a 2009 World T20 game. It keeps happening to someone or the other.The essence of sport is to fight through tough situations. The crunched nature of this sport doesn’t allow for it. Those crunching numbers have been egging coaches on to pull back the batsman who is sucking the momentum out of an innings. You have only so many deliveries and 10 wickets to make use of them. Personal struggle is a nicety best left for the nets. The kindest of people wanted Tewatia to commit the less dramatic version of stepping on his wicket: just leave the crease and swing so that you can at least get stumped when you hit. At one point, even Samson asked him to do the same: run down the pitch and hit hard.4:02
Manjrekar, Chopra bat for ‘retired out’ concept
Tewatia didn’t want to. This is where the philosophical essence of sport comes into question. I once goaded Stephen Fleming to say retiring-out people should be normalised. He wouldn’t have any of it. I gave him the example of Yuvraj in the 2014 final. “That’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? Not let someone get away with it just because they can tap out. ‘Not my day today, I am out.'”Fleming has played a lot of international cricket and now coaches a successful T20 franchise. To him, the philosophy was clear: you do not give up the struggle. Tewatia never tapped out. He kept doing the right thing. He kept picking the wrong’uns, kept trying to go over long-off, but kept getting beaten. With every dot and single, the walls kept closing in, the asking rate kept rising, and Samson kept getting frustrated. Imagine the abuse that awaited on his Instagram page.You wonder how Tewatia felt when Samson nearly holed out, playing a frustrated shot because of all the momentum loss. Or when Samson refused to take a single lest Tewatia get back on strike. This is where you saw T20 at its practical best. That match-up – Tewatia against Maxwell – was proving to be the worst, and Samson had just hit two sixes off the same bowler. Ego or pity was taken out of this decision making. “How will Rahul feel if I push him further into the dumps by not taking the one?” No sir, not the time to think that.That also showed how over-rated singles and rotating strike in T20s can be. On the night Kings XI Punjab hit 11 sixes, Royals cleared the ropes 18 times to make up for all the lack of rotation of strike. It happens in 80% of the matches: score more in boundaries, and win the game.The commentators rightly questioned the wisdom of promoting Tewatia on a night when orthodox hitting produced more and easy runs. Cameras kept panning to the dugout and kept showing worried faces. Tewatia kept the noise out. He kept trying to hit that one six to get him going. In the timeout, at 5 off 13, having failed to get the better of the legspinner, Tewatia told his captain, Steven Smith, he was still in it, that he could hit three sixes each of Sheldon Cottrell and Mohammed Shami, international bowlers both. A bemused Smith said, “Mate, that is great self-belief.” Was there some derision in that?In the end, the sensational turnaround – six sixes in the last eight balls Tewatia faced – didn’t prove any of the rationalists wrong. He was perhaps not the right choice to send at No. 4, but you have also got to look at the shallow batting line-up. Stepping on your wicket is perhaps the better solution if an Andre Russell is waiting in the dugout. There is no way this kind of an effort is repeatable. In hindsight, if Kings XI had bowled M Ashwin – remember Tewatia’s struggle against non-turning legspin earlier – instead of Sheldon Cottrell, this might not even have happened in the first place.This innings was not about all that. It transcended tactics. It went into the larger essence of sport. How can you be an elite competitor and just give up? This innings made you want to believe in the romance of the struggle. That the tide can turn. Even in a duration as small as T20 cricket. That tapping out, in life as in sport, is not really the option after all.”You have to fight for what you are owed.”
Stand-in captain, who is just one away from 10,000 Test runs, will rather look to “focus on job at hand”
Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Jan-2025Sometimes it spins. At other times it goes straight. Be ready for both. This is stand-in captain Steven Smith’s advice to Australia’s less-experienced batters, as he prepares to lead them in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle. Of Australia’s batters on tour, Smith understands the challenge ahead more than most – he has two hundreds in Sri Lanka, and averages 49.75 on the island.”We have spoken about the differences in the surfaces,” Smith said on Tuesday, the eve of the first Test on Australia’s ongoing tour of Sri Lanka. “Last time we came, we played on one that spun from ball one and the other one was pretty flat in the first innings, and then spun a lot in the second innings.”So it’s important to have plans for both kind of surfaces. Then if it is extreme from the outset, then you need to be proactive and follow different methods to score runs. You just have to adapt as quickly as possible to what you get.”Related
Australia, Sri Lanka and a touch of the dramatic
Head to replace Konstas as opener against Sri Lanka
'Be brave': Australia consider mid-match flexibility to batting order
In 2016, Smith had overseen a tour in which Australia’s batters largely failed to pick the slider from the one that turned off the surface, thus going down 3-0 in the series. In 2022, however, their batters fared much better, even winning a Test on the more spin-friendly surface in that series.Among the more recent trends in countering the kind of spin often seen in Galle has been to focus on run-scoring, rather than on defence. Smith’s own 145* the last time he was at this venue was memorable for how quick he was to move around the crease to create scoring opportunities. Reverse sweeps, slogs, paddles around the corner, and more frequent trips down the pitch – these have all become much more commonly employed.”I think the game has changed a lot since I first came to the sub-continent,” Smith said. “Guys play different shots to put pressure on the bowlers. The game has evolved a lot in the last ten years, and it’s good to see some of the shots these guys play to take the game forward.”For Smith, this is a series that will almost certainly feature a major career milestone. He is one run away from becoming the fourth Australia batter to 10,000 Test runs. Smith only needed 38 more runs from the last Test of the home summer – in Sydney – to get to the landmark, but fell for 33 and 4 against India.”I’ll just try to put it out of my mind, to be honest,” Smith said of the milestone. “I probably thought too much about it in Sydney. This time I’ll just try to forget it and focus on job at hand.”
تحدث الإعلامي أحمد شوبير، عن أداء النادي الأهلي خلال الفترة الماضية، مشيدًا بالمدير الفني الجديد ييس توروب، وبالتطور الذي يظهر على الفريق رغم التغييرات الكثيرة في التشكيل الأساسي.
وقال شوبير في تصريحات إذاعية صباح اليوم الأحد: “كنت قد ذكرت في حلقة الخميس الماضي أن النادي الأهلي سيُجري تغييرات عديدة في تشكيلته، وحددت بعض الأسماء التي قد تغيب عن اللقاء، وقد أشرت أيضًا إلى وجود عدد كبير من الغيابات عن الفريق”.
وتابع: “بعض الجماهير ظنت أنني أتحدث عن إصابات، بينما اعتقد آخرون أن الغيابات لأسباب أخرى، لكن من الواضح أن المدير الفني يمتلك أسلوبًا ونهجًا محددًا يجب على الجميع أن يدركه جيدًا، وقد ظهر ذلك بوضوح بعد تصريحاته عقب المباراة”.
وأضاف: “المدير الفني ييس توروب، رغم أنه قاد الفريق في ثلاث مباريات فقط، وليست مباريات قوية جدًا، إلا أنه حقق الفوز في جميعها، وهناك حالة من الرضا لدى الجماهير تجاهه، فقد فاز في مباراة الدوري، وكذلك في مباراتي الذهاب والإياب في دوري أبطال إفريقيا، وبنفس النتيجة (1-0)”.
وأوضح: “كنت قد ذكرت أيضًا أهمية أن يمنح الأهلي اهتمامًا أكبر بتلك المواجهة، ومن سوء حظي أنني لم أكن في مصر وقت المباراة الأولى، فشاهدت ملخصها لاحقًا، وشعرت أن الفريق يقدم كرة جيدة ولكنها تفتقر إلى الفاعلية الهجومية، الفريق حاول اللعب على الأرض، لكنه لم يكن يمتلك الخطورة الكافية، حتى أن الهدف الذي دخل مرماه جاء بصعوبة، وكان نتيجة خطأ من اللاعبين أنفسهم تقريبًا”.
وتابع: “المدرب أجرى بعض التغييرات التي كانت غريبة بالنسبة لي؛ فقد دفع بتريزيجيه بدلًا من بن رمضان، وهو تغيير لم يكن متوقعًا، كما أشرك محمد هاني بدلًا من عبد القادر، ودفع بعمر كمال في مركز هجومي ثم أعاده إلى الخلف، وبعدها أخرج عمر كمال ودفع بياسر إبراهيم، ليزيد من عدد المدافعين خوفًا من الكرات العرضية التي بدأت تُشكل خطورة على دفاع الأهلي”.
طالع أيضًا | مستند | مدة إيقاف جراديشار المتوقعة بعد طرده في مباراة الأهلي وإيجل نوار
وأضاف: “مصطفى شوبير تعامل ببراعة مع الكرات العرضية، وأنقذ تسديدة قوية في الوقت بدل الضائع، كانت مباراة مهمة له من أجل استعادة الثقة، وكان بحاجة إلى تحقيق مباراة بشباك نظيفة، خاصة في إفريقيا، حيث يمتلك رقمًا قياسيًا بالحفاظ على نظافة شباكه في تسع مباريات متتالية”.
وشدد: “الغريب أن الإعلام الخاص بالنادي الأهلي لم يمنح هذا الإنجاز الاهتمام الكافي، وهو أمر عجيب بالفعل، لكن الأمر الأهم بالنسبة لمصطفى لا يفرق معه، المهم هو الأداء داخل الملعب، وأنا أرى أنه كان يحتاج إلى هذه المباراة لاستعادة ثقته بنفسه”.
واختتم: “أُعجبت كثيرًا برد المدير الفني عندما وُجه إليه سؤال حول إمكانية إجراء مداورة بين محمد الشناوي ومصطفى شوبير، حيث قال: (لم يطرح عليّ أحد هذا السؤال من قبل، لكن لديّ هذه الميزة وسأستفيد منها وقتما أشاء، من دون أن أحدد متى، أحب أن أمنح الثقة لجميع اللاعبين، وقد كنت شجاعًا بالأمس عندما بدأت بهذه التشكيلة المتنوعة)”.
The ICC Women’s Championship has expanded to 11 teams with Zimbabwe’s inclusion, and a new T20 Champions Trophy has been introduced
Shashank Kishore04-Nov-2024
The WPL will move to a new window from 2026•BCCI
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be played in January-February from 2026, while the Hundred (August) and WBBL (November) have been allotted dedicated windows in the new women’s Future Tours Programme for the 2025-29 cycle.The BCCI moving the WPL has resulted in Cricket Australia pushing back its women’s marquee summer fixtures from mid-January to February-March to avoid a clash with the most lucrative women’s franchise league.The 2024-25 women’s Ashes, which begins on January 12, will be the last international matches Australia will host in January until 2029. The first of Australia’s marquee home series in their new window is a tour by India for one Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is after the WPL in January-February 2026.The ICC Women’s ODI Championship has been expanded to 11 teams in the new FTP with the addition of Zimbabwe. This follows the addition of Bangladesh and Ireland to the ongoing cycle that will culminate with next year’s ODI World Cup in India in October. Zimbabwe’s inclusion means all of ICC’s Full Members except Afghanistan, who don’t field a women’s team, are part of the championship.With the expansion of the Women’s Championship, each country will play four teams at home and four away over a three-year cycle. In their maiden appearance in the upcoming cycle, Zimbabwe will host South Africa, West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka and will tour India, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Pakistan.As expected, India and Pakistan will only play each other in world tournaments in the new FTP, and not in bilateral series.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
In another addition that has been largely members-driven, teams have scheduled tri-series as part of their preparation for ICC events during this cycle.”Ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, England will host India and New Zealand for such a three-team T20I tournament while Ireland will host Pakistan and the West Indies,” ICC general manager Wasim Khan said. “Sri Lanka and the West Indies are among other Members scheduled to host tri-series, in 2027 and 2028, respectively.”A T20 Champions Trophy for womenThe ICC has introduced a T20 Champions Trophy – to be held in Sri Lanka in 2027 – as part of its strategic plan to have at least one women’s global tournament each year. This new tournament will feature six teams and will comprise 16 matches. The addition of this tournament to the women’s calendar means there will be three global events – including the LA Olympics (August 2028) and T20 World Cup (September 2028) – over a 12-month period.This takes the count of all ICC senior women’s events in the new FTP cycle to five: two T20 World Cups (2026 and 2028), two ODI World Cups (2025 and 2029), and a T20 Champions Trophy in 2027.The ODI World Cup will have 10 teams playing 48 matches from 2029 (up from eight teams, and 31 matches, till 2025), the T20 World Cup will be expanded to 12 teams playing 33 matches from 2026 (up from 10 teams and 23 matches till 2024).Women’s FTP – Test cricket•ESPNcricinfo Ltd
West Indies to play Tests after 20 yearsA total of 15 women’s Tests have been included in this cycle, with West Indies set to return to the format after more than 20 years. They host Australia for one Test as part of a multi-format series in March 2026, play England in another at home in April 2027, and will play a Test in South Africa in December 2028.West Indies last played a Test in 2003-04, against Pakistan, and have only played 12 women’s Tests in all. India, meanwhile, will play Australia and South Africa in away Tests in 2026, while also hosting Australia and England later in the cycle.Having toured Australia for what was only their second women’s Test in nearly a decade, South Africa will host Australia for a Test for the first time in March-April 2027. The new FTP concludes in 2029 with the ODI World Cup, the venue for which is yet to be announced.