أبدى حازم إمام، لاعب الزمالك السابق، رأيه في قائمة منتخب مصر المعلنة من قبل حسام حسن المدير الفني للفراعنة، استعدادًا لبطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا.
وأعلن حسام حسن، قائمة تضم 28 لاعبًا لخوض المعسكر الأخير، قبل خوض منافسات بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا القادمة بنهاية شهر ديسمبر الجاري.
طالع | قائمة منتخب مصر استعدادًا لـ كأس أمم إفريقيا 2025
وقال إمام خلال تصريحات عبر قناة “أون سبورت”: “أرى أن قائمة منتخب مصر التي أعلنها الكابتن حسام حسن معقولة”.
وأضاف: “تريزيجيه لا يوجد لاعب شبهه، لاعب مجتهد جدًا هجوميًا، يصنع فرصًا كثيرة ويتجه نحو المرمى بشكل متكرر، ويلعب من قلبه”.
وأكمل: “الأفضل لـ أحمد سيد زيزو أن يلعب على الجهة اليمنى، وهو يجيدها، لكن عندما يلعب في وسط الملعب لا يكون كما في الجهة اليمنى”.
وبسؤاله لو خُيّرت أن حذف خمس أسماء من قائمة منتخب مصر من ستختار؟، ورد: “سأحذف محمد صبحي ومحمود صابر ومصطفى فتحي ومحمد شحاتة وصلاح محسن”.
ومن المقرر أن يبدأ منتخب مصر مبارياته ببطولة أمم إفريقيا يوم 22 ديسمبر بمواجهة زيمبابوي ثم جنوب إفريقيا يوم 26 وأنجولا يوم 29 ديسمبر في دور المجموعات.
Celtic head into the final international break of the year off the back of a 4-0 win over Kilmarnock at Parkhead under Martin O’Neill in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
The interim head coach has won both of his league games in charge of the club by a 4-0 scoreline, and those two results have left the Hoops seven points behind Hearts in the table, with a game in hand.
Celtic now have an international break to assess their managerial situation after Brendan Rodgers tendered his resignation last month, following a 3-1 defeat to the league leaders.
The Hoops may decide to go with a longer-term option in their bid to overtake Hearts and claim the Premiership title once again, rather than allowing O’Neill to see out the remainder of the season.
Celtic set to make move for managerial target
In fact, a fresh report suggests that the Scottish giants are making moves to bring in a new head coach to take O’Neill’s place and replace Rodgers at Parkhead.
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According to TEAMtalk, Celtic are set to make a formal approach to appoint Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen as their next permanent boss this season.
The report claims that the Hoops are ready to make a move for the Norwegian tactician after they learned that he is keen on taking a step up in his career, and that a move to the club would match his ambitions, because of their budget and European football.
TEAMtalk adds that his contract at Bodo/Glimt is due to expire in January, meaning that compensation now would be minimal, but it does not reveal whether or not he would want to see out the final two games of the Eliteserien season.
Why Celtic should appoint Kjetil Knutsen
The Hoops should appoint the Norwegian boss, who Johan Mjällby claimed would be the “perfect fit”, because he could come in and crush Hearts with his track record of winning titles.
Knutsen’s Bodo/Glimt side are currently one point behind Viking in the Eliteserien with two matches left to play, and they have won the title in four of the last five full seasons.
Knutsen’s Eliteserien success with Bodo/Glimt
Season
Matches
Points (position)
2025
28
64 (2nd)
2024
30
62 (1st)
2023
30
70 (1st)
2022
30
60 (2nd)
2021
30
63 (1st)
2020
30
81 (1st)
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, the Celtic target knows what it takes to win domestic leagues and to coach a team to achieve success on a consistent basis, which is exactly what the Hoops will be looking for in their next head coach.
The Scottish giants are currently seven points behind Hearts, but that could be four if they win their game in hand, and there is still plenty of football left to be played before the end of the season.
Bodo/Glimt had never won the Eliteserien before Knutsen took charge of the club, and now they are serial winners who have dominated the league for the past five or six years.
Celtic would be hiring a proven winner who can lead a team to glory, even in difficult circumstances, given that his club had never won a league title before his arrival, which is why he could be the dream appointment to crush Hearts this season.
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Therefore, the Bodo/Glimt tactician could be the perfect man to come in and win the league title for the Hoops, despite the position they find themselves in, because of his impressive track record when it comes to winning league titles.
PCA refuses to rule out strike action amid concerns player welfare is being disregarded
Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Sep-2025 • Updated on 25-Sep-2025The Rothesay County Championship will remain a 14-match competition next season after counties rejected a proposal to cut the number first-class games to 13.The decision to retain the existing structure, with 10 and eight teams in Division One and Two respectively, came after the alternative option failed to receive the two-thirds majority backing from the 18 Professional County Cricket Clubs (PCCs) required for change. Voting opened on Friday and concluded on Tuesday, prior to the final round of the 2025 campaign.The conclusion comes at the end of a county-led review into the domestic structure which the England and Wales Cricket Broad (ECB) announced on the eve of the Championship season. Several parties within the game, namely the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), felt the schedule was asking too much of players, and urged counties to reassess a packed fixture list.Speaking to the BBC on Thursday, PCA chief executive Daryl Mitchell refused to rule out the possibility of strike action*, although he said it was not something the players’ union “would look to encourage” at this stage.”We will be led by the players,” he said. “The WhatsApp group last night was pretty animated and there were some high emotions.”We are a union. I don’t think any union would rule out the possibility of strike action if their members wanted it. We are completely at the behest of our members on that. We will have those conversations if they are deemed necessary by the player reps and our members.”I don’t think that’s where we’d like to get to. It would have a negative impact on the counties and a negative impact on the game, and that’s not something we’re seeking to do.”It’s not something that has been discussed in great detail. It’s also something that is very easy to say and more difficult to execute because there are implications. Players not being paid is one, the amount of members that would need to vote is another. At this stage I don’t think it’s something we would look to encourage.”In an earlier vote in July, counties agreed to cut the Vitality Blast men’s competition to a 12-match group stage (currently 14), moving to three regional groups of six teams each. However, the PCA have lamented the lack of meaningful change, believing their concerns about player welfare have not been heeded.”Unfortunately, the decision-makers have failed to ensure our premiere red-ball competition remains a standout in world cricket by evolving,” Mitchell said in a statement released by the PCA. “Not just to meet the needs of modern professionals, but to provide a product that captures the imagination for all.”Players appreciate the small tweak to the Vitality Blast schedule, however, we are yet to see a fixture list. At the very least, we expect to see a significant reduction in back-to-back fixtures.”With the continuation of a 14-game Championship season, an indicative schedule for 2026 we have seen suggests there will be two games in nine days following The Hundred, this cannot be acceptable. We now need to ensure the best possible schedule can be created in a structure that remains not fit for purpose.”PCA chair and Warwickshire seamer Oliver Hannon-Dalby added: “The players’ voice must be heard and while we recognise scheduling concerns go well beyond county cricket with a cluttered international calendar and similar issues in other sports, we cannot relent in our ambition to create minimum standards to allow for a safer schedule.”This week’s second, final, vote featured a 13-match County Championship proposal which would have split the 18-clubs into a top tier “Championship” of 12 teams divided into two conferences. The top three of each conference would then be pooled to compete for the title, with the bottom six determining the two sides relegated to a “Championship Two” made up of the remaining six counties. That option also included increasing the One-Day Cup to 10 group-stage matches.The retention of the existing structure does at least mean players, staff and supporters know what is at stake in the final round of the season, which began on Wednesday.Yorkshire, Durham and Hampshire are fighting against joining Worcestershire, whose relegation from Division One was confirmed last week. Leicestershire and Glamorgan have already secured promotion from Division Two.*September 25, 1.30pm BST – This story was updated with Mitchell’s comments
Italy captain says when he is asked about the plan for the 2026 World Cup, his reply is, they’re planning to “win every game”
Matt Roller12-Jul-2025At least one will play at a next year. Italian football is in chaos: their men’s national team have a proud World Cup history but have failed to reach the last two, and sacked their manager after losing the opening match of their qualifying group for the 2026 edition. But in a small Dutch town on Friday, their cricketers created their own legacy.Italy lost by nine wickets to Netherlands in Voorburg, but Jersey’s win over Scotland earlier in the day – and their own results over the previous week – meant that it did not matter. Instead, Italy wrapped up one of the two spots available at the European Qualifiers for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, the first time that Italy have reached a major ICC event.”It’s still very surreal,” Joe Burns, Italy’s captain, told ESPNcricinfo on Saturday morning. “We’ll probably take a few weeks to get home and decompress a bit to fully realise the impact that the occasion will have on so many people. It was an emotional moment that we’re going to try and reflect on as a group as much as we can over the next few months.”The crucial result for Italy was their 12-run win over Scotland on Wednesday. It was launched by Emilio Gay, the Durham opener, who cracked 50 off 21 balls; set up by Grant Stewart, the Kent allrounder, who hit 44 not out off 27; and sealed by Harry Manenti, who has played a couple of BBL games for Adelaide Strikers, and took 5 for 31 with his medium pace.Those names are reflective of a disparate group of players who are based all over the world, but their heritage provides a common thread. Burns’ own story is typical: his roots are in Calabria, in southern Italy, but his grandfather was a prisoner-of-war in North Africa during the second world war and the family relocated to Australia. He has always felt a connection with Italy, and made his debut for them last year.
“I think we had six Australian-born players in our team yesterday… If we do play Australia and I’m on the field, it’ll obviously be a very special occasion”Joe Burns
It was a long way removed from his first international career, which saw him hit four hundreds in his 23 Tests for Australia. “When you play for Australia, there’s such a history to the baggy green that you’re honouring the past and representing the people that have gone before,” Burns said. “When you’re playing for Italy, it’s very much a blank canvas, trying to shape the future.”Burns first reached out to Cricket Italia in 2009, when qualification rules were stricter, and had to undergo a three-year cooling-off period from his final Australia appearance, in 2020, before he became eligible. But he has thrown himself into his new challenge, taking over the captaincy this summer, and has worn the number 85 shirt in tribute to his late brother, Dominic.”A lot of our grandparents left Italy after World War II, so it’s very much a shared story to come together and to represent past generations,” he said. “I know my grandparents would be very proud, and I know mum and dad have been following the games really closely. There are Italians dispersed all over the world, and I hope this team is a beacon for Italians everywhere.”Burns admires his medal•International Cricket CouncilItaly ramped up preparations for the qualifiers last month with a training camp in Rome, and Burns has demanded the full focus of his team-mates: “I told the guys that I don’t care if we’re playing Luxembourg in the sub-regional qualifiers or India in a T20 World Cup final: I want our team to be the most prepared team in world cricket for every game that we play.”This has all come together on the back of a lot of planning. People ask me what the goal for the World Cup is and I say, ‘Look, we’re planning and preparing to win every game – so we’re planning to win the World Cup.’ I want the guys to enjoy the experience and play with freedom – but you have to earn the right to play with freedom on the back of really solid preparation.”Cricket is a niche sport in Italy, but World Cup qualification will unlock new sources of funding. “It will go a long way for us,” Burns said. “We don’t have any turf facilities, and very little facilities in general, but this gives us an opportunity to develop the game. We’ve had a lot of support from CONI (the Italian Olympic Committee) which keeps building in the background.Time to celebrate after Italy qualified for the T20 World Cup for the first time•International Cricket Council”Associate cricket is very much the grassroots of international cricket, so for us, it’s about trying to unlock funding and build facilities to create opportunities for future generations to come. It’s very rewarding. At different stages in your career, you have different motivations, and I think this came at a really good time for me. It really reinvigorated my love for the game.”Italy will welcome back Wayne Madsen – a man with more than 20,000 runs in county cricket to his name – for the World Cup after he missed the qualifiers due to his Derbyshire commitments, but Burns hinted that he himself may step aside before the main event. “This [qualification] was such a big goal for me,” he said. “It’s probably going to take me a few months to think about it.”But if Burns, 35, does play on, there is one team he would relish the chance to face next year. “We’ve said briefly as a group that we want the big stage. We want to be drawn against the best in the world, and we want to take it on. I think we had six Australian-born players in our team yesterday… If we do play Australia and I’m on the field, it’ll obviously be a very special occasion.”
Liverpool have been warned they may have completely destroyed their hopes of signing long-term target Marc Guehi after failing to close a deal in the previous summer window. With interest rising across Europe and Crystal Palace holding firm, the Reds are now being told they “blew their chance” and face an uphill battle to revive talks with the England international.
Liverpool's failed Guehi move
Liverpool’s failed pursuit of Guehi has become one of the defining storylines of their defensive planning over the past year. The Reds believed they were close to securing the Crystal Palace captain in the final hours of the summer window, only for the move to collapse when the Eagles backed out after failing to sign a replacement. Guehi had reportedly agreed on personal terms and begun the initial stages of a medical, but the London club refused to validate the deal sheet once it became clear they would be unable to bring in a defender.
The breakdown left Liverpool short of the reinforcement they had targeted, particularly as they entered a season where Ibrahima Konate’s contract situation and fitness concerns were already complicating squad building. With Giovanni Leoni suffering a season-ending injury shortly after deadline day, the need for Guehi became even greater. His inability to move due to Palace’s refusal to sell ensured Liverpool were forced into a campaign relying on a thin group of centre-back options.
The frustration inside Anfield has reportedly lingered, with internal figures acknowledging that the decision to wait until the final hours of the window made the club vulnerable to exactly this outcome.
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Liverpool told they missed their shot at signing Guehi
Ex-Liverpool star Don Hutchison was unequivocal when assessing Liverpool’s failure to get the deal done, insisting the club had only themselves to blame for missing what he viewed as an essential signing. Speaking to Sportscasting.com, he said: “They’ve blown their chances of landing him. One million percent. I mean, I'd love to be a fly on the wall at Liverpool when they didn't get the Guehi deal done. Let's just say Crystal Palace wanted £45 million. Liverpool should have given them £50m, because they're going to have Marc Guehi for six years. They should have just paid the money.”
Hutchison stressed how transformative the England international could have been for a squad that already contains major leaders at the back. He added: “When I compare Liverpool to Arsenal, I see two proper men and two proper guys that won't be bullied in Calafiori and Timber, alongside Saliba and Gabriel. So you've got four centre-backs across there. If Marc Guehi was at Liverpool now he'd be playing at left-back and you'd be Konate, Van Dijk, Bradley and Guehi, and you’d be thinking crikey, that’s pretty versatile.”
He concluded that delaying the investment had placed Liverpool in a weakened position for future negotiations. “Liverpool should have just paid Palace whatever they wanted. I think it was a poor move. They were so focused on signing Isak. I understand that, because you can’t turn it down, but Guehi had to be the other priority. This January has to be the marker with Guehi if they want to finish in the top four.”
Guehi free to start talks with European clubs in January
The collapse of the Guehi deal is now seen as even more damaging given the unique contract situation looming ahead of the defender’s final months at Crystal Palace. His deal expires in June 2026, meaning that from January he can negotiate a free-transfer pre-contract agreement with any club outside England. This creates a major disadvantage for Liverpool, who must wait until the summer to make a formal approach while European heavyweights gain a five-month head start.
Bayern Munich and Barcelona have already positioned themselves as leading contenders, each viewing the England international as an elite, cost-effective solution. Their ability to offer huge signing-on bonuses and early certainty could sway the defender long before Liverpool re-enter the race. Palace are believed to prefer losing him for free rather than accepting a reduced January fee, ensuring the player will almost certainly control his next move.
The failed summer transfer has also raised questions about Liverpool’s strategic planning under Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes. Their decision not to prioritise defensive reinforcements earlier in the window, despite concerns about Konate’s contract and the squad’s ageing profile, is now being reflected upon with regret. Liverpool understand that Guehi’s market is expanding by the month, making a once-achievable signing exponentially harder.
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Liverpool line up defensive targets
If Liverpool miss out again, the club will be forced to pivot toward other major defensive targets. Alessandro Bastoni, Nico Schlotterbeck and Willian Pacho are among the names being monitored, but each presents the kind of financial and competitive challenges that underline why Guehi was viewed as the ideal option.
A motorcycle accident prevented his IPL dream from taking flight, but he is working harder than ever to make it happen now
Rajan Raj12-Nov-2024The first Adivasi [tribal] player to play in the IPL – you must have read the headlines just under a year ago.It was all about to happen for Robin Minz after Gujarat Titans (GT) shelled out INR 3.6 crore for the wicketkeeper-batter till a motorcycle accident just before the start of the IPL 2024 season took him away from cricket. He is back now, putting the pieces back together, 22 years old but already having to make up for lost time.”When I had the accident, the first thing that came to my mind was… how will I play cricket now, what will happen to the IPL,” Minz told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of Jharkhand’s Ranji Trophy game against Chandigarh in Jamshedpur a few days ago, his comeback game.Related
Meet Robin Minz, the quiet boy who lets his bat do the talking
“IPL was the first step, through which I had to move forward. But everything seemed to end. But after the accident, my family and coaches [Asif Haque and SP Gautam], my friends, and [GT coach Ashish] Nehra sir helped me a lot. Nehra sir called me several times and kept assuring me that I would be back.”During the IPL, I got a call from Titans that I have to stay with the team and do rehab with their physio [Rohit Salavkar]. I went there. Whenever there was a home match, I used to go. Rohit sir and the entire team helped me a lot. Even though I was not playing IPL, I enjoyed being with the team.”GT did what they could, but the opportunity of IPL was gone, and it wasn’t easy to deal with. It wasn’t easy for his family either. Once upon a time, they had to think many times, count their savings, before buying Minz a new cricket bat. That was about to change, but it didn’t.
****
Sometime between the accident and Minz travelling to Ahmedabad to be with his GT team-mates, he turned up at Ranchi’s Sonnet Club, where he trained under Haque and Gautam.”One day I was in my academy, I saw that Robin had come. I was shocked – he was supposed to rest,” Haque said. “I asked him what he was doing. His reply was, ‘I know that I will not be able to play right now but let me sit here, I want to spend some time here’.”Perhaps the first steps towards the inevitable comeback.
“What will I do thinking about what has happened and what will happen; whatever has to happen will happen. But I will play good cricket. I have to score more runs, and I have to hit more sixes and fours”Robin Minz
“It is normal to be scared and nervous about an incident like this, but we knew that his condition was not very serious,” Minz’s father, Francis Xavier, said. “I knew this was a big shock for Robin. You may call it a lesson or something else. We do not think so much about money, but the bigger concern was that the cricket ground had been taken away from him. Playing the game was more important than the money.”Ever since he started playing, I have never seen him step away from cricket. We thought we would see him playing in the IPL, but that didn’t happen.”Minz is back playing cricket, but has been released by GT, and while he is in the IPL 2025 mega auction longlist – with a base price of INR 30 lakh – franchises are likely to be cautious even if he had come with a big reputation before the last auction.”Cricket is his life, but it is not as if his life will end if he doesn’t get a chance in the IPL,” Xavier said. “Our entire family has taught him to fight difficult situations. He will work hard again, play well again, and try again next time. Whatever happens after that will happen.”
****
Minz’s cricketing journey started at Sonnet Club. It was there that he got the nickname ‘Chris Gayle of Jharkhand’. Minz spent a lot of time at the club while recovering from his injuries – the big ones were to his shoulders and legs. As he got better, his work on the field doubled, and then tripled.”Robin was very disappointed with himself, he blamed himself for what had happened,” Haque said. “But we spoke to him, and he channeled his disappointment into the desire to make a comeback, be even better.”Anyone who saw him training, he was at a new level. I have worked with him for the last eight-nine years, but I had not seen this. He was adamant that he had to make a strong comeback on the cricket field.”Robin Minz has lost a year of his career, and now has to find a way to make up for lost time•Francis Xavier MinzThen came the Col. CK Nayudu trophy, and Minz was in the Jharkhand XI for their first game, the only one he played. He scored 77 runs in 80 balls against Haryana from No. 4, his innings included ten fours and three sixes. And then, with Ishan Kishan away in Australia with the India A side, Minz’s first-class debut happened. That hasn’t been too dramatic. So far, he has scores of 12 and 16 against Chandigarh and 8 and 39 against Saurashtra. That 39, though, came in a match-saving 84-run stand with Anukul Roy for the sixth wicket.”A lot has changed in the last one year,” he said. “I never thought that so many people would know me and worry about me. After the accident, I don’t know how many messages came, everyone was trying to console me. I was a little sad, but now I know that I will come back.”Questions about the IPL auction were to be expected – even fans who stopped him to take selfies during the Chandigarh game asked him about it.”I am not thinking anything,” he said. “I just want to play cricket – this is my life. What will I do thinking about what has happened and what will happen; whatever has to happen will happen. But I will play good cricket. I have to score more runs, and I have to hit more sixes and fours.”I am back… Minz is back.”
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been handed a fresh boost over Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović, with the player now ready to take one drastic action to leave Turin.
While summer signing Liam Delap is now ready and available once again after weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, the Englishman’s absence somewhat exposed Chelsea’s lack of striker options.
Chelsea'sLiamDelapreacts after sustaining an injury
BlueCo were forced to cut short Marc Guiu’s loan spell at Sunderland and bring the Spaniard back to Stamford Bridge as cover for Delap, with Joao Pedro, an arguably more natural number 10, also handed the task of playing up front by Maresca.
Guiu was handed his first Premier League start of the season for Chelsea in their 2-1 loss to the Black Cats last weekend, but failed to make the desired impact, despite scoring against Ajax a few days prior.
While Chelsea forked out nearly £300 million in the summer transfer window, placing them among England’s most lavish spenders, Maresca still finds himself short in key areas.
Rank
Club
Gross Spend
Sales
Net Spend
20.
Bournemouth
£136.7m
£202.5m
+£65.8m
19.
Brighton
£67.7m
£127.5m
+£59.8m
18.
Brentford
£92.8m
£152m
+£59.2m
17.
Wolves
£105.6m
£126.5m
+£20.9m
16.
Chelsea
£296.5m
£314.4m
+£17.9m
Find the rest here…
This is particularly the case at centre-back, and reports suggest that Chelsea are set to prioritise a new defender in January as a result.
The likes of Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi, who could reportedly re-join his former club on a cut-price deal in the winter, and Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano have both been discussed as options by Chelsea in that regard (Graeme Bailey).
Further forward, Chelsea are believed to be considering a new striker as well, as journalist Simon Phillips has reported, but any deal would be in the ‘cheaper’ bracket.
Phillips mentions Vlahovic as one option, and this is backed up by other media sources.
It is believed that Chelsea have already held talks with the Serbia international’s agents given his contract expires at the end of this season, and there’s now been another update.
Chelsea given fresh Dusan Vlahovic boost amid fresh stance
Speaking to The Chelsea Chronicle, reporter Graeme Bailey says that Maresca’s side have been offered the chance to do a deal in January.
Juventus' DusanVlahovicduring the warm up
Vlahovic, who apparently earns a staggering £370,000-per-week at Juve, is also ready to take a pay cut after renewing his stance in that regard — coming as a boost for Chelsea.
Ever since his breakout campaign in 2020/2021, Vlahovic has managed at least 14 goals per season, often far more.
The ex-Fiorentina “superstar” has also scored in big Champions League games against the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Man City in the last two campaigns, so the prospect of signing him for below £20 million is a pretty enticing one.
If Chelsea do make a move, Vlahovic’s potential wage cut will be key, as Chelsea’s current highest earning first-team player is Reece James on £250,000-per-week.
This doesn’t include ‘bomb squad’ member Raheem Sterling, who takes home roughly £325,000-per-week.
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On day two, just as on day one, Australia bossed the twilight zone in Adelaide
Alagappan Muthu07-Dec-2024Rohit Sharma looked like the most lonesome person in the world as he trekked back to the dressing room. It’s a good thing they’re square of the wicket in Adelaide. Shorter walk.Australia picked up five wickets in the night session. Were it not for Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland overstepping, they could have got them earlier and built on them further. Sometime in the lead-up to Travis Head’s century, it felt like they might be trying something like this. Bowling with the new pink ball in twilight. It’s almost the be-all-end-all of this format.Related
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India found themselves in a similar situation on day one when they found themselves with a seven-over-old pink ball at sunset. They were able to take only one wicket.”Yeah, I think for me if I can just rewind the clock to the first Test match, I thought our lines and lengths were exceptional and I think that was sort of the blueprint for us going into this series,” bowling coach Morne Morkel said, “We wanted to bring the stumps into play as much as possible and I felt last night with the ball moving around a little bit we missed that.”In their day-night practice match in Canberra, India discovered that the pink ball responded more when you hit the pitch on a good length. So that’s what they did when they got the new ball under lights last night. According to ESPNcricinfo ball-by-ball data, 104 of their first 198 deliveries landed exactly where they wanted it to. But only around 15% of those good-length balls ended up in line with the stumps. Many of the rest behaved a little more erratically than they were prepared for, and by the time they could recalibrate, Australia had seen off the toughest of the conditions to bat in.”Thirty overs seems to be about the mark at Adelaide Oval that for my whole career, that’s the sort of, red ball, pink ball, that’s the time where you sort of have to put in and invest and then it feels like the wicket gets slightly easier to bat on.” Travis Head, an Adelaide native, said.1:07
Where did India’s bowlers go wrong in Adelaide?
India’s second innings began with them 157 runs behind. They were under siege by an amped-up crowd and in the crosshairs of a revved-up bowling unit. Pat Cummins picked up the first wicket and the team-mates he didn’t high-five were probably the luckiest people on earth. Those he did might be sneaking ice-packs into their hotel rooms.Australia also targeted the good-length area. It accounted for 78 of 144 deliveries, and 24% of them posed a threat to the stumps because, ironically enough, in their hands the ball wasn’t moving as much. In their hands, it did just enough to beat the middle of the bat, leaving both edges and the stumps in play.One of them was the ball that had Rohit’s name on it, leaving him with two single-digit scores in his first outing after leading India to a 3-0 defeat at home. He moved down to No. 6 so as not to disrupt the opening combination that had won them the first Test. It also offered him a chance – if everything went well – to come in against the old ball, which sounds like the kind of leg up a batter who hasn’t had as much time to acclimatise to the conditions might find useful. It could be argued that Rohit dropping down the order was as much a concession as it was strategic. And it still didn’t work. He was adjudged lbw off what turned out to be a no-ball on 0, though there was a suggestion of an inside edge and an immediate gesture to review, and bowled neck and crop on 6.A few days ago Mohammed Siraj spoke about how the pink ball, when it was pitched up, didn’t really do a lot. Australia saw virtue in that. They ran the risk of being driven and flicked for four, which Shubman Gill did quite well, but given the vagaries of the pink ball, the magic of the night session and a first-innings lead, they could afford to take those hits. They could gamble in search of what happened in the 18th over when Gill was clean bowled. Starc got that ball to swing in late, seam in further, and beat the closed face of the bat to crash into the stumps.India had to spend a lot of time to home in on the line and length that accounted for the seam and swing. Eighty of their first 198 deliveries were left alone. Australia could settle in a lot quicker. They only allowed India to leave the pink ball 29 times in the window when it tends to do the most damage. This, as much as anything else, has led to the game being where it is. The night session of a day-night Test, it’s influence is irresistible.
Com as lesões de Lucas e Rato, o técnico Tiago Carpini deve apostar em Luciano no duelo decisivo do São Paulo contra o Cobresal-CHI, pela segunda rodada da fase de grupos da Libertadores.
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Luciano saiu do banco e marcou o único gol do São Paulo na derrota contra o Talleres. Luciano possui 71 gols pelo Tricolor, sendo 53 quando o atacante iniciou como reserva.
No total, ele balançou as redes 27 vezes no primeiro tempo e 44 vezes na etapa final pelo São Paulo. Dos 15 jogos disputados por Luciano na temporada, o atacante iniciou no banco em cinco ocasiões.
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A partida contra o Cobresal será também uma oportunidade para Luciano reafirmar sua fama de carrasco de equipes chilenas. O camisa 10 soma três vitórias, um empate, cinco gols e duas assistências contra times do Chile atuando pelo São Paulo.
CARPINI PRESSIONADO
A pressão sob Carpini aumentou após a derrota do São Paulo diante do Talleres. Embora o presidente Júlio Casares tenha bancado a permanência do treinador, qualquer resultado diferente de uma vitória no Morumbis pode tornar a situação do técnico insustentável no Tricolor.
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➡️ Veja tabela com datas, horários dos jogos da Libertadores
Manchester United are now planning a move for Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, amid the uncertainty surrounding his future at Spanish club.
Despite their struggles last season, Man United proved they still have pulling power in the summer transfer market, winning the race for the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo, even though both forwards attracted interest from a number of clubs playing in Europe.
However, it has been a long time since United have been able to make a real statement signing in the transfer window by signing one of the world’s best players, given the decline since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 season.
It was recently revealed that Sir Jim Ratcliffe actually stepped in to prevent a move for FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, despite Ruben Amorim being very keen to sign the Poland international.
The INEOS chairman has concerns about Lewandowski’s age and wage demands, which means the move wasn’t given the green light, despite the 37-year-old being regarded as one of the best strikers in the world.
Vinicius, on the other hand, is still in the prime of his career at 25-years-old, and the Red Devils have now joined the race for his signature…
Man Utd now planning move for Vinicius Junior
That is according to a report from Spain, which states Man United now intend to make a move for the Real Madrid forward if the opportunity comes up, with it emerging that his future at the Spanish club is up in the air.
The Brazilian’s contract is set to expire in 2027, meaning rumours of a possible departure are now swirling, amid widespread interest from some top clubs, with Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Manchester City also named as potential suitors.
However, United may have to shell out a massive fee to tempt the La Liga giants into a sale, with it recently being revealed they are unwilling to sanction a departure for less than €250m (£220m).
Having identified one of the best wingers in the world as a target, INEOS clearly mean business, and the left-winger’s goal catalogue alone suggests he could be capable of taking Man United’s forward line to the next level.
Throughout the 2024-25 campaign, the former Flamengo man was a constant threat in front of goal, chipping in with a whopping 41 goals and assists for Real Madrid in all competitions, finding the back of the net eight times in the Champions League.
Amorim will no doubt be pleased with his summer acquisitions in attack, with Mbeumo making an instant impact, bagging a brace in the 4-2 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, and Matheus Cunha is also now off the mark.
However, Vinicius Junior, who has been lauded as “spectacular” by journalist Tom Allnutt, is a proven top-level forward, and Man United should not pass up the chance to sign him if the opportunity arises.
Vinicius Junior is currently in the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or Power Rankings Ballon d'Or 2026 Power Rankings
Who will be lifting the individual honour in 2026?