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Buttler says England must learn from New Zealand’s approach to first Test

George Dobell in Mount Maunganui24-Nov-2019Jos Buttler believes England must learn from New Zealand’s approach in the first Test in Mount Manganui.While England were kept in the field for more than 200 overs as New Zealand amassed more than 600 runs, Buttler felt it was England’s batsmen who had most to learn from New Zealand’s disciplined approach to the game. England were dismissed for 353 in their first innings; a score that looks ever more below par the longer the match progresses.”If we’re really critical, it’s the first-innings runs with the bat [which have cost us],” Buttler said. “New Zealand played a very patient game with the bat. They showed the value of that patient game of batting on flat wickets and setting your sights very high. BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner really set their stall out and batted for a long time. They put a lot of overs into our legs and built that score.”We have to learn to be able to do that. You look at the top sides around the world on flat wickets and they get very, very big scores and bat for a very, very long time.”That’s a big learning point for us. With the bat, just when you think you’re getting to a place where you need to be, there’s a lot more hard work to come to build those big scores.”You can’t fault the bowlers’ efforts. I thought the effort of everyone was outstanding.”Also read: Watling knock raises questions on England’s gameWhile Buttler accepted England had struggled to adapt from the “fast-forward cricket” played in England in recent times, he rejected the suggestion the Kookaburra ball should be adopted in Championship cricket. Instead he insisted the Dukes ball, which generally provides bowlers with more assistance, created more entertaining cricket but suggested the pitches in county cricket should be improved.”Test cricket with a Dukes ball in England is fantastic,” he said. “It’s very watchable. It’s a good contest between bat and ball. I think most people talk about introducing a Dukes to the rest of the world as opposed to the other way around.”The product we have with Test cricket in England is up there with the best product in the world so I wouldn’t want to tamper with that very much.”One thing potentially we can do in England is play on better batting wickets. The Dukes ball still offers the bowlers enough, especially in England if you get the overhead conditions. But we could look at playing county cricket on better batting wickets.”But we have played a lot of Test cricket in different conditions over the past year where it’s been fast-forward cricket. We have to be adaptable. There’s some education for all of us as batters.”What had looked a docile pitch when New Zealand batted suddenly looked full of danger when England began their second innings. But Butter suggested that was a reflection of the match situation and the pressure England were under as much as it was anything to do with the pitch. And, he said, it was another area England had to learn from New Zealand.”We have to learn about scoreboard pressure as well,” he said. “If you have got those runs on the board, if you have put miles into the legs of batsmen who have to field for 200 overs, it puts those guys under a lot of pressure when they come out to bat 10 minutes later.”Scoreboard pressure is massive. If we had made 450-500-plus in the first innings, it would have been a completely different outlook for the team batting second.”Buttler also defended Jofra Archer from any criticism, providing a reminder that he is only five Tests into his career.”I think you all forget Jofra is very new to international cricket,” he said. “It’s his first overseas tour and the first time he’s bowled with a Kookaburra ball. He is a very special talent but he is only five games into his Test career. You can’t ask too much of him too soon.”He’s a very special talent and we’ve got to look after him. He’s a fantastic guy and has a great attitude as well. He’ll learn from this and he’s a great attribute to us.”

Celtic are well underway regarding their transfer business and have now reportedly opened talks to bring a striker to Parkhead this month as Brendan Rodgers looks to bolster his squad.

Celtic's transfer priorities…

Scottish Premiership champions the Hoops will be optimistic that they can retain their crown this campaign by the time all is said and done in May; however, Rodgers will know that his side's activity on the transfer front this month will go a long way to deciding the destination of the Scottish title.

In all honesty, the Hoops have been quiet in the market so far, like is the case with many clubs at this stage in the campaign, though Rapid Vienna winger Nicolas Kuhn looks set to be their first addition of the window. Finer details of the deal are currently under discussion and the 24-year-old has missed out on a mid-season camp friendly against Weiner SC to keep himself fit before moving to Glasgow.

Celtic to spring out of nowhere for “flamboyant” £3.4m target – report

It’s been quiet on the transfer front for months, but Celtic could now come alive.

By
David Comerford

Jan 13, 2024

Taking to social media platform X, Football Scotland journalist Mark Hendry has indicated that reinforcements at left-back and centre-forward could be next on the agenda at Parkhead.

Reports elsewhere claim that Bologna will look to part ways with Dutch striker Sydney van Hooijdonk after they take on Cagliari in Serie A on Sunday and Celtic have been mentioned as his potential next destination. Now, another striker has entered the frame as a source of goals Rodgers could look to acquire in the January transfer window, according to a fresh report.

Celtic open Mathias Kvistgaarden talks…

According to Football Insider, Celtic have opened talks with Brondby regarding striker Mathias Kvistgaarden amid their need to add further attacking options due to Oh Hyeon-gyu, Daizen Maeda and Yang Hyun-jun being away on Asian Cup duty.

The outlet claim the versatile 21-year-old has emerged as an option due to his standout performances in Denmark this campaign and could be accompanied by a central midfielder in Glasgow, with Rodgers keen to also boost his options in the engine room.

Labelled "fantastic" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the Denmark Under-21 international has registered seven goals and seven assists in 21 appearances across all competitions this term (Kvistgaarden statistics – Transfermarkt).

Celtic are in need of a different avenue to utilise in attack over the next few weeks and Kvistgaarden could provide some firm competition for Kyogo Furuhashi if he does indeed move to Glasgow this month, making this one to watch.

Pep Guardiola has been warned that his Manchester City have lost their "fear factor" after an underwhelming start to their 2025-26 Premier League campaign. After finishing 13 points behind champions Liverpool in third position last season, City have gotten off to a poor start, losing back-to-back league games against Tottenham and Brighton before the international break.

• Guardiola warned about Man City's form

  Premier League legend Alan Shearer claimed that Guardiola's City are no longer invincible as their opponents now believe that they can beat the former champions. The downfall started last season, following Rodri's ACL injury that kept him out of action for the majority of the 2024-25 campaign. The midfielder's absence deeply hurt the Cityzens as they lost nine league games, the most in the Guardiola era, and finished 13 points behind champions Liverpool. 

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  City's poor form continues in new season

  After making major changes to the squad in January and the summer transfer window, City hoped that they would kick off the new season with renewed enthusiasm. They started the campaign with a thumping 4-0 win over Wolves in their season opener, but faltered against Spurs and Brighton.

• What did Shearer say about Man City?

  Speaking to , the Newcastle icon said: "I wouldn't say Pep has lost his touch, but I'd say his team have lost that rhythm of winning. There's no doubt that last season has hurt and damaged them and they're easier to get through than they were two seasons ago. We saw what the injury to Rodri did to them last year and there's no doubt their confidence took a hit. I also think that the fear factor may have gone because of what happened last year. Teams have realised that they're not unbeatable, they can win if they attack Man City, you can score goals if you have the belief that you can take them on. Maybe 18 months ago, teams were scared of City, reluctant to go at them and prepared to sit deep and soak up pressure. Now, teams believe that they can go up against Man City and beat them."

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  When are Man City playing next?

  The Cityzens will be back in action in the Premier League on Sunday as they host rivals Manchester United in a derby clash at Etihad Stadium. It could be an early-must win match for Guardiola and Co.

Soumya Sarkar also returns for the three-match T20I series in India following a request from Russell Domingo

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2019Left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny and paceman Al-Amin Hossain have been recalled to Bangladesh’s T20I squad for their three-match series against India next month. Both of them had last played a T20I in 2016.

Bangladesh T20I squad

• Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Aminul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Mohammad Saifuddin, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam

• IN: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain

• OUT: Sabbir Rahman, Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Najmul Hossain

Along with them, Tamim Iqbal, who had taken a break from the game, will return to action in India, as will Soumya Sarkar, who was dropped midway through the T20I tri-series at home against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in September.Meanwhile, Sabbir Rahman, Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain and Najmul Hossain, who were all in the squad for the tri-series, were left out.Sunny was the top wicket-taker for Rajshahi Kings in the 2018-19 Bangladesh Premier League, taking 16 wickets in 12 matches at an economy rate of 7.68. Al-Amin had an underwhelming BPL stint, managing just three wickets in five games, but chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that his fitness had tilted the scales in his favour.”Al-Amin is in good shape and one of the few fit pace bowlers currently,” he said. “We want to make use of his experience of playing in the 2016 World T20 in India. For our spin options, we picked Sunny as a back-up, since Taijul will only play the Tests.”Minhajul also explained that Soumya had been picked following a request by the coach, Russell Domingo. “We didn’t pick him, but we selected him because of the coach.”Soumya was recalled despite scoring just 60 runs in the two innings he played for Bangladesh A and Khulna Division after being dropped from the national side. Soumya had struggled in the World Cup, too, managing only 166 runs in eight innings at an average of 20.75.As for Tamim, who had missed the one-off Test against Afghanistan and the subsequent tri-series, he is understood to be recovering well from a rib injury, and proved his fitness in the four-day National Cricket League by making 30 and 46 for Chittagong Division.

The England star faces plenty of competition at the Gunners from Chloe Kelly, Olivia Smith and Caitlin Foord, but still has a big part to play

One can only imagine what Jocelyn Precheur, head coach of London City Lionesses, was thinking when Beth Mead came off the Arsenal bench last weekend and killed any chance of his team getting anything out of their first game in the Women's Super League. Just a few weeks prior, Precheur had spoken with the England forward about a potential move. Now, having decided to stay with the Gunners, here she was showing just why the club was interested, producing two assists within just 83 seconds of each other to put victory at the Emirates beyond doubt.

London City made a bigger splash in the summer transfer window than perhaps any other side in Europe – and certainly within England – by signing Grace Geyoro for a world-record fee on deadline day to cap several months of impressive business which had brought established names like Nikita Parris, Katie Zelem and Danielle van de Donk to the newly-promoted club. For a while, it looked like Mead would be added to that list, with the ambitious outfit, backed by the billions of Michele Kang, offering her a move that would surely bring with it more game time.

Off the back of a summer in which she largely played the role of substitute as England retained their European Championship crown, having also found herself on the Arsenal bench more often than not in the second half of last season, few would've questioned Mead's decision had she opted for a switch. But her incredibly impactful cameo on Saturday was evidence that she still has plenty to give in north London, as well as for England.

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  Competition for places

  In some ways, Saturday's performance encapsulated Mead's 2025. Since Chloe Kelly's arrival at Arsenal at the end of the January transfer window, in a loan deal that would be made permanent this summer, the 30-year-old has struggled for consistent starts at club level.

  Indeed, since Kelly's second Arsenal debut, Mead has started just six times for her club and has appeared as a substitute on eight further occasions. Kelly, meanwhile, has made 10 starts and three sub appearances. Only twice have the pair started together, with head coach Renee Slegers preferring to combine the two with the other wide options in her squad, rather than with each other.

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  Making the most of minutes

  Yet, despite her opportunities becoming more limited than she is used to, Mead has remained effective. She scored three goals and provided three assists in that period after Kelly's arrival last season, for an average of one direct goal contribution every 102 minutes, with the biggest of that half-dozen being her classy assist in the Champions League final, setting Stina Blackstenius up for the goal that made Arsenal champions of Europe.

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  Changing roles

  It was a similar story at Euro 2025. Mead went into that tournament with England as a starter, having featured from the get-go in each of the Lionesses' last five outings before the competition got underway in Switzerland. She'd justified her place, too, despite reduced minutes at Arsenal, producing three goals and two assists in that spell. When Sarina Wiegman picked her first XI of the tournament against France, Mead was in.

  But it quickly became apparent that a change was needed to balance the England team out. After a flattering 2-1 loss in that opener, Wiegman moved Lauren James from the No.10 role to the right wing, meaning Mead dropped to the bench. Despite that, she would still play a crucial role in the Lionesses' second-successive continental triumph via impressive cameos off the bench throughout the knockout stages.

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  'Tough club to walk away from'

  No senior player ever really wants to be a super-sub, especially not one with Mead's pedigree. It thus made total sense for London City to try and prise her away from Arsenal this summer, with more minutes sure to give her a greater shot of returning to that England XI. But it was always going to be hard for her part ways with the club she has grown into a superstar with over the last eight years, especially when she didn't have to.

  "It’s a tough club to walk away from," Mead told last week. "When you’ve been somewhere this long it holds a very precious place in your heart. I have another year left on my contract, I still think I’m more than good enough to compete and be able to play in this team and I know I bring something different."

Australia’s T20 captain reveals he is touch and go for the Marsh Cup match against WA on Wednesday

Alex Malcolm19-Oct-2019Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is battling a side strain and may not play for Victoria in the Marsh Cup ahead of Australia’s opening T20I against Sri Lanka in Adelaide next Sunday.Finch did not play in the Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia which started on Friday despite flying to Perth with the squad. He suffered what was initially diagnosed as back spasms during the opening Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Melbourne last Friday while batting.But in an interview with radio on Saturday, Finch revealed he is struggling with a side strain and is in doubt for Victoria’s one-day match against Western Australia on Wednesday.”It’s actually a little side strain,” Finch said. “It started out as a little back niggle and it’s just a little tear in my side. So hopefully not too long. It’s been a week since I did it.”Hopefully I’ll be back pushing to be touch and go for the one-dayer on Wednesday against WA but hopefully ready to go on Sunday for the T20 against Sri Lanka.”Finch was unsure how it happened but he did not think it was related to any of his back issues in the past.”It could a combination of a lot of things,” Finch said. “Recently having flown a bit, playing quite a bit. With the Shield game in Melbourne, sitting down for a day and then coming out and trying to slog a few over the rope doesn’t help either. It can be a combination of things but hopefully, there’s nothing too serious or nothing related to my back. I haven’t had too many issues in the past. Just a few niggles here and there.”Australia plays six T20Is in 12 days against Sri Lanka and Pakistan starting next Sunday in Adelaide. As a result, Finch will only play for Victoria in the Marsh Cup clash on Wednesday if he is confident his side has fully healed.”That will be a combination of myself and the medical staff with an eye to the T20s of course,” Finch said. “If it progresses well this week I’ll play. If I can still feel it and it’s a little niggle there I think the medical staff will probably take the conservative route. It could the morning of the game that that is decided or it could be the night before. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The Premier League winter break could not have come at a better time for Arsenal this season, as despite spending Christmas Day in first place, losses to West Ham United and Fulham have seen them drop down to fourth.

Worse yet, their defeat to Liverpool last week also saw them ejected from the FA Cup in the third round, and while the attack's inability to finish their chances has taken most of the blame, there is another area of the team that hasn't reached the same highs of last year – right-back.

Ben White was spectacular for the Gunners last season, but so far this term, he has been underwhelming, and with the latest piece of transfer news, his place in the team could now be under threat, as the north Londoners have been linked with Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong.

Arsenal transfer news – Jeremie Frimpong

According to a report last week from the German publication BILD, Arsenal are interested in and currently 'chasing' Leverkusen's exciting young full-back, Frimpong.

The report also reveals that he will be allowed to leave the Bundesliga outfit in 2024 for a 'fixed' fee of €40m, which is about £34m.

While the fee is very much attainable for Arsenal, the much more significant barrier to them completing this deal is the reported interest of Manchester United. However, it does seem that the Gunners are leading this particular race at the moment.

While the relatively modest fee will come as music to the ears of Arsenal's higher-ups, it might just make White sweat if his performances don't improve.

Jeremie Frimpong could be the perfect upgrade for Ben White

As mentioned earlier, White was an instrumental part of Arsenal's impressive title charge last season, so while he has been well below par this season, there is still clearly a talented player in there.

That said, compared to Frimpong, whom talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed "one of the best wing-backs in Europe", things don't look great for the Englishman's position at the club.

Arsenal can sign perfect Saliba partner in "rock-soild" ace who idolised Henry

The 26-year-old could help Arsenal end their title drought.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jan 9, 2024

The first thing to note is that at the halfway point of the season, the former Brighton & Hove Albion man has just a single goal and one assist to his name in the league.

In contrast, the young Dutchman has scored five goals and notched up six assists in just 16 league starts – and he was just as deadly last season.

The case for the former Celtic prospect grows even more substantial when comparing their underlying numbers.

In almost all attacking metrics aside from progressive passing, the Leverkusen star has his potential new teammate beaten. He creates a significantly higher non-penalty expected goals and assists figure, hits the target more often and produces over twice as many goal-creating actions per 90.

The young dynamo even completes more ball recoveries than White, and while he wins fewer tackles per 90, it is not by very much, and if U23 scout Antonio Mango's assessment that Frimpong "has no ceiling", then he could even surpass the Englishman in the defensive side of the game.

Ultimately, for a fee of £34m, Edu and Co should be going all out to get this deal over the line, and who knows, it could be the catalyst to get White back to his very best as well.

Second season of league to be held in 2020 after ACB terminates agreement with Snixer Sports

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2019The second season of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) has been postponed to 2020 after the league’s commercial partner failed to pay the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) rights money. The ACB has terminated the agreement, also citing concerns about the integrity of people associated with Snixer Sports, the partners. The tournament had been scheduled for October this year.”The failure by Snixer Sports to pay the complete rights fees of the first edition as per the fees and payment schedule of the agreement, and concerns about risks for integrity of the league posed by people connected to Snixer Sports are the reasons for termination that form material breaches of the agreement,” the ACB said in a statement.The allegation around the integrity of the people involved is especially pertinent, given the talk swirling around the league in its first season. Mohammad Shahzad reported an approach and it was one of the leagues the ICC’s ACU was keeping an especially close eye on: there were, it is understood, a number of other approaches made that were reported by players to the anti-corruption body.The ACB has written to the Attorney General’s Office of the Government of Afghanistan to “fully investigate the administrative allegations of corruption in the league” and that it remained committed to “ensuring transparency in all its affairs and is accountable to all stakeholders.”Following the signing of the tournament’s MoU in January last year, the first edition of the league was held between October 5 and 21 in Sharjah, UAE and featured a host of international names. Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Andre Russell, Brendon McCullum and Rashid Khan were picked as icon players by the five franchises, representing Paktia, Kabul, Balkh, Nangarhar and Kandahar.A tender for commercial rights to the second season of the league will be issued in due course.The league is the second T20 league to run into problems in as many months. In August, the inaugural season of the Euro T20 Slam was cancelled, only two weeks prior to its scheduled start. The Euro T20 Slam organisers, led by Gurmeet Singh’s Bombay Sports Limited and Woods Entertainment, the same group in charge of the Global T20 Canada, had run into increasing financial difficulties. The Global T20 Canada, too, faced issues, with player protests over unpaid wages.

Leeds United will hope they can put back-to-back losses firmly behind them with a big victory when Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City come to town on New Year's Day, the Whites stuttering of late in the Championship even after convincingly beating Ipswich Town 4-0 before Christmas.

Daniel Farke's men will hope 2024 is the year the West Yorkshire club immediately return to the Premier League, stringing together a sequence of results that sees them challenge for the top two in the second tier and ultimately ends in the glory of promotion.

The German manager in the Elland Road hot seat might well look to recruit some fresh blood into the building this January to help his side in their hunt for such a prestigious end goal, with one attacker in particular catching Farke's eye.

Leeds could well swoop in to sign David Brooks when the transfer window reopens, the AFC Bournemouth winger renowned at Championship level for being a top talent previously in his career.

Leeds transfer latest – David Brooks

talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook took to social media to confirm Leeds' interest in the Cherries forward recently, stating that the Championship side were keen on signing the 26-year-old on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Leeds won't be alone in their pursuit of the Bournemouth attacker, with second-tier rivals Southampton also throwing their hat into the ring over a potential transfer according to Crook.

This isn't the first time the West Yorkshire titans have reportedly been interested in Brooks, the dangerous Wales international was once on Marcelo Bielsa's shopping list at Elland Road allegedly with former Leeds footballer Danny Mills revealing to Football Insider in 2020 that the Bournemouth player's style and ability on the ball made him very much a "Bielsa-type player."

Farke will hope that the allure of Leeds in the present is enough for Brooks to make the switch to the Championship for the second half of the campaign, with Brooks potentially slotting in and becoming a dream partner in attack for Georginio Rutter in Leeds' frightening forward places.

Brooks' style of play

Brooks would fit Leeds' gung-ho approach perfectly if he was signed this January, adding competition to the ranks consequently.

Easy on the eye to watch – gliding effortlessly around the pitch with a killer finish in his arsenal also – the 26-year-old would give the likes of Daniel James at Elland Road a run for the money in the crunch months to follow.

He could well get the best of Rutter also, played as a second striker on occasion for the Cherries and ex-employers Sheffield United as a tricky supplier of chances to the sole forward option.

In that role for Bournemouth and the Blades in the second tier, the dynamic 26-year-old picked up six assists and helped himself to three goals of his own – the Leeds target excelling in the second tier for the south Coast outfit and United before then traversing choppy waters to make the step-up to the Premier League.

This adaptability to switch from playing down the flanks to through the centre could prove to be crucial for the Whites, Brooks going toe-to-toe with the likes of Joel Piroe and displacing them from the lineup potentially if the Dutchman or any other player in that spot experienced a drop-off in form.

At the peak of his powers, Brooks was even being lined up for a major money move away from the Vitality Stadium to a team higher up the Premier League – Aston Villa rumoured to be in for the slick attacker back in 2021.

Lee Hendrie was a fan of this potential deal, the ex-Villa player and current football pundit speaking to Football FanCast at the time about Brooks' game and the "bags of ability" the 5 foot 8 Cherries man possessed that impressed him.

Farke will want to add strength in depth this January to help his team consolidate a push for promotion and not fall away under immense pressure, Brooks an ideal addition therefore to strengthen the side without having to break the bank to potentially enhance Rutter in the process.

Streameast, known as one of the world's largest illegal sports streaming platforms, has been shut down, per a new report.

• Streameast shut down after sting 
• Investigation lasted over a year
• Had over 1.6 billion views a month

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Athletic reports that a United States-based anti-piracy organisation has claimed that Streameast has been shut down after a year-long investigation. The network had over 80 unauthorised domains through which users could watch live sport for free, including matches in the Premier League, the Champions League and the NBA, among others. Over 1.6 billion users are said to have visited Streameast over the last 12 months. 

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The operation to "disrupt" Streameast was led by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, which is a coalition of multiple streaming services, and Egyptian police. Two men have been arrested in Cairo and detained. Amazinly, LeBron James may have played a role in the shutdown, as he was seen courtside watching an NBA game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks on Streameast.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  A separate sting operation, led by La Liga, took place in Argentina this week, with multiple streaming services also disrupted in Latin America amid the ongoing fight against piracy. 

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Such is the nature of these services, it is possible that more streaming channels will open up, but they are likely to be chased just as doggedly by law enforcement.