Germany could only draw 0-0 with Ukraine in the first of two Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies, but Maximilian Beier's debut is a reason to get excited.
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The New South Wales government appears more likely to allow players to train during quarantine
Daniel Brettig20-Oct-2020Sydney and Canberra are firming as the venues for the white-ball matches to commence India’s looming tour of Australia, with an agreement between Cricket Australia and the New South Wales state government possibly only a matter of days away.Though CA continues to talk with authorities in both Queensland and South Australia about options around India’s tourists arriving for quarantine and training, New South Wales has swiftly taken over as favourites for the start of the tour and its first block of matches prior to the Test series.The state’s sports minister, Stuart Ayres, has confirmed receipt of a proposal from CA and its considerations by relevant authorities including police and health officials. After several weeks of gridlock between the governing body and Queensland Health, the combination of the New South Wales border to South Australia being opened on September 26, plus the obvious eagerness of the SCG Trust and also the ACT government, where Canberra’s Manuka Oval is located, for international cricket appears to have been the circuit-breaker required.”Cricket Australia has approached the New South Wales government about quarantining the Indian cricket team and returning Australian cricketers in Sydney,” Ayres said. “That proposal is currently being assessed by NSW authorities including health and police. Fixtures for the Indian tour will be determined by Cricket Australia and won’t impact our assessment of the quarantine proposal.”Should CA and the state government reach agreement, the revised plan would then be submitted to the BCCI for approval, with fixtures announced and the unveiling of Australia’s extended white-ball squad for the six games – three ODIs and three T20Is – to follow.Queensland Health’s prevarication alongside the state government, which is facing an election in a matter of days, is understood to have focused on objection to CA’s desire to allow the Indian squad to travel from the Brisbane city centre hotel they had booked in its entirety to training facilities at Allan Border Field. This disagreement had come as a surprise to CA and its government relations team, after initial airing of the plan had not met with any reservations.By contrast, New South Wales appears more likely to allow the combination of hotel quarantine and supervised training sessions that is the preferred option for the both the Indian touring party and the Australian cricketers also returning home from their stints in the IPL. From there, the two white-ball series would share fixtures between the SCG and Manuka Oval, most likely four fixtures in Sydney and two in Canberra.CA has already unveiled plans in collaboration with Cricket NSW and the state government to host the WBBL in Sydney in its entirety, and the tournament will require only minor tweaks should the India series begin in the same city. Neither the SCG or Manuka had been set down to play a role in the WBBL, apart from tentative plans to possibly use the SCG for the final in late November.
The offspinner is understood to be out of danger, although a concussion report is yet to be completed
Mohammad Isam in Southampton23-Jun-2019Mehidy Hasan is understood to be out of danger after being struck on the side of a head by a ball during a net session in Southampton. The incident occurred while Mehidy was giving an interview, on the sidelines of the practice session, on the eve of Bangladesh’s match against Afghanistan. A concussion report is yet to be completed, though.Mehidy apparently wanted to continue batting in the nets but was not allowed to, according to the Bangladesh media manager Rabeed Imam.The injury to the offspinner is the latest concern for a Bangladesh team riddled with fitness worries. Mohammad Saifuddin and Mosaddek Hossain missed the game against Australia due to a back spasm and hurt shoulder respectively, while Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza are all carrying injuries as well.
Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe was the subject of an awkward interview with Formula One reporter Martin Brundle before the Monaco Grand Prix.
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The Dutchman could yet end this harrowing season on a high, but an unlikely win over Manchester City will not mask the team's dire state
The FA Cup's history is steeped in shock results, but the last real upset in a final came in 2013 when Manchester City were stunned by soon-to-be-relegated Wigan Athletic. If City are beaten by Machester United in Saturday's showpiece at Wembley, it will be the greatest final shock to take place since then.
Both sides have just recorded historic seasons, but for very different reasons. City became the first team in 135 years of English football to win four consecutive league titles. United, meanwhile, have just posted their lowest finish in the Premier League while also ending with a negative goal difference.
The Red Devils also lost 14 matches, another unwanted club record in the Premier League era. In all competitions, they have lost 19. By way of contrast, City lost just four, excluding penalty shootouts. They last tasted defeat more than five months ago on December 6. And with Rodri in their side, as he will be at Wembley, they have not been beaten since February 2023.
The difference between the two teams, which Erik ten Hag had the cheek to describe as "small margins" after the last Manchester derby, is colossal. City finished with 31 more points than United while scoring an extra 39 goals and conceding 24 goals fewer.
Despite Australia’s battery of quicks, the legspinner believes the two slower bowlers can play a vital role together in the World Cup
Melinda Farrell20-May-2019Australia’s attention turned to spin in their build-up to the Men’s World Cup, with Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon the focus of the second training session in London. While Australia’s bowling strength in the 50-over format has undoubtedly been pace in the post-Shane Warne era, legspinner Zampa believes spin will play a key role in their upcoming campaign and revealed how he and Lyon – who were both part of Australia’s recent eight-game undefeated streak against India and Pakistan – have worked closely on their partnership.”I think it was a few months ago where we actually spoke to each other and said, ‘I reckon we can play a huge role coming up in the World Cup together so let’s do everything we can to make sure we’re both there’,” Zampa said. “So we’ve communicated really well over the last few months. We speak a lot in the nets, we speak a lot in the field, just about whatever – anything – spin bowling, field settings or how the ball’s going to come out. Just anything. So we communicate a lot and really well.”Zampa, who averages 35.45 at a strike rate of 38.00, has been the first-choice spinner for Australia in ODIs after a string of options were used with varying success while Lyon, who came to prominence in T20 cricket after a breakout season with South Australia, has been preferred in Test cricket and has often been overlooked in white-ball formats. But while Australia rarely opt for two spinners outside the subcontinent, Zampa believes that could change in England.”It’s definitely going to play a role with the smaller grounds,” Zampa said. “I think the way we have been playing lately, we’ve been loading up a little bit towards the back end, so to have those wickets in hand is really important. So I guess stopping the [opposition] spinners from getting wickets in the middle overs is really important and obviously vice versa for us, for me and Nath to bowl well.”I love playing with Nath. We play two different roles. He’s so accurate, beautiful offspinner. Bowls to his field really well, bowls really tight, and it means I can attack from the other end. So I really, really like bowling with ‘Gaz’. I think it’s going to play a huge role for us sometime throughout the World Cup. I don’t know if it will be every game but I definitely see us playing a huge role together.”Nathan Lyon appeals successfully•Getty Images
Zampa was overlooked for Australia’s ODI tour of England in 2018, which they lost 5-0, but picked up a contract playing T20 cricket in The Blast for Essex, an experience he hopes to draw from in the coming months.”I absolutely loved my time there,” he said. “It was really tough and I think the added pressure of being an overseas player, you’ve got to really perform. So I found playing under those conditions and that pressure really good for me. Small ground. Chelmsford is probably the smallest ground in the world if you’ve ever been there, so yeah, that was enjoyable.”As the role of spin has developed in ODI cricket, so has Australia’s use of spinners. Zampa believes he has more licence to be attacking during the middle overs under captain Aaron Finch, even if it means leaking runs. That’s the kind of confidence he admires in the England camp and he views Adil Rashid as something of a role model.”Adil Rashid is someone that, you know, I could almost base my career around his,” Zampa said. “He’s been in and out of the team when he was a lot younger, he’s probably a little bit of a different bowler than I am but England have really backed him in. From looking from afar they’ve almost said to him, ‘you’re playing every game for the next couple of years until the World Cup is over.’ So he goes 1 for 80, 3 for 80, he’s a genuine wicket-taker for England and he’s probably had some ups and downs in his career too, but he’s someone I’ve really enjoyed watching bowl and he’s had a lot of success in England.”Australia’s first World Cup match is against Afghanistan in Bristol, a match that will likely pit Zampa against another player he admires and has observed closely, Rashid Khan. The pair spent time together during the most recent BBL series in a session that Zampa found both informative and humbling.”I had a bowl with Rash after a [Melbourne] Stars versus [Adelaide] Strikers game this year and I was always intrigued with Rash,” Zampa said. “I was like, ‘I love watching this guy so I’m going to pull him aside and have a bowl with him’ and, to his credit, he spent about 45 minutes with me and at the end of it I was so glad I did that because now I know that I would never ever be able to bowl like Rashid Khan.”Perhaps not, but Australia will undoubtedly hope that bowling like Adam Zampa is good enough to help them win a World Cup.
Here’s how ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary captured the chaos towards the end of the Women’s T20 challenge game in Jaipur
ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-201916.5 Gayakwad to Wyatt, OUT, full on middle and finally, Trailblazers hold onto a chance. Wyatt played an excellent knock here but hit that one straight to mid-offDN Wyatt c Sharma b Gayakwad 46 (35b 5×4 2×6) SR: 131.4216.6 Gayakwad to Krishnamurthy, OUT, length outside off, she comes down the wicket and slices it to point where it falls short of the fielder, Mithali called for the run, Veda also took off but was ball watching and in the end, both of them were stranded mid-pitch as the throw came in to the keeper, who removed the bails. After a few replays, it’s Veda who has to walk back as they hadn’t quite crossedV Krishnamurthy run out 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.0017.1 Sharma to Raj, OUT, another one! Mithali yorked herself there, came down the wicket and played all around it as it crashed into middle stumpM Raj b Sharma 17 (22b 1×4 0x6) SR: 77.2717.2 Sharma to Pandey, no run, full outside off, pushed to cover17.3 Sharma to Pandey, OUT, swings across the line and she’s cleaned up! An innocuous length ball on off, spun back in slightly as she tried to drag it to the leg side on the slog sweep and missedS Pandey b Sharma 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.0017.4 Sharma to Kerr, no run, full on middle, gets an inside edge onto the pad, there’s a massive appeal turned down17.5 Sharma to Kerr, OUT, that’s five without a run added to the score! Another swing across the line to a straight ball and another one crashes into the stumpsAC Kerr b Sharma 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.0017.6 Sharma to Pradhan, 2 runs, full on off, squeezed down to short third-man and after making this incredibly hard for themselves, Velocity get over the line
Lionel Messi sat out Inter Miami’s goalless draw at Orlando City with a knee injury, but Tata Martino expects him to face D.C. United on Saturday.
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Real Madrid-bound wonderkid Endrick sparked a mass brawl during his latest outing for Palmeiras when breaking out a ‘King Kong’ goal celebration.
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Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, reversed their scoring trend of 2018 by taking off after the Powerplay, whereas Rashid Khan got his bunny again
Nagraj Gollapudi and Srinath Sripath29-Mar-20194:41
I’ve grown in confidence but far from being over-confident – Vijay Shankar
From best to worst – Bhuvneshwar’s fall at deathBhuvneshwar Kumar is counted among the best death bowlers in limited-overs cricket. Is that fact in danger of fast turning into a myth?This IPL, Bhuvneshwar has been the most expensive bowler in the final four overs: 17-20. He has leaked 72 runs in two matches at an economy rate of 18, including 13 boundaries. Three of the five most expensive overs of the tournament have been bowled by him.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe contrast between his numbers with the new ball and death is vast: in Powerplays, batsmen have found it hard to dominate Bhuvneshwar: 20 runs in four overs, conceding just three fours.On Friday, Bhuvneshwar had just given 10 runs in his two-over spell in the Powerplay. With Rashid Khan bowled out, Bhuvneshwar was their key bowler at the death. However, Sanju Samson took advantage of the slow speeds, the faltering in execution of the yorkers, to punch inside-out strokes and pick 24 runs in the 18th over. Then Ben Stokes, who struggled to get going early on, found his range in the final over. Bhuvneshwar’s death overs read 2-0-45-0.Since the 2018 IPL, Bhuvneshwar has given away 210 runs from 103 balls at the death, making him the third-most expensive bowler in the tournament. Compare that with an economy rate of 8.95 in the previous two seasons, and you can get a sense of Bhuvneshwar’s steep fall.Sunrisers max out Powerplay again to set up chaseESPNcricinfo LtdDot balls. Gold dust for bowlers. Gold for batsmen if they can keep the dot-ball count minimal. So far this IPL, Sunrisers have played out the least number of dots in the first 10 overs. It was little surprise then that they are the only team to string together consecutive century opening partnerships.On Friday, in the first half of their innings, barring the fourth over from Jofra Archer which went for three runs, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow hit at least one boundary in every over, backing it up with a single or two, to disrupt Rajasthan Royals’ plans. ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster had Sunrisers’ win probability up at 74%, only going down to 58% at the fall of Bairstow’s wicket.In their opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders, the Warner- Bairstow combine had compiled 92 runs at the halfway stage. There were 20 dots, 23 singles and 12 boundaries. Against Royals on Friday, they were even better: 115 runs, playing out just 14 dots, 21 singles, and racking up 18 boundaries.In the face of a steep target, Warner exploded against every bowler, as Sunrisers blasted 69 runs in the Powerplay, the highest for the season. They also happen to be the only team to not have lost a wicket in the first six overs. Their run rate of 10.25 in the Powerplay against Royals is vastly higher than the rest of the pack, who have all hovered around the 8.5 mark.Royals reverse 2018 trend, switch on after PowerplayESPNcricinfo LtdRajasthan Royals’ first four overs got them just 22 runs, with the loss of Jos Buttler early on to Rashid Khan. That became 45 by the end of the Powerplay, usually the point when their slowdown began last season. Ajinkya Rahane would struggle to get going with the field spread out, and the rest of their middle order would get choked as a result.Those holes were plugged to a large extent by promoting Buttler to the top of the order, a pivotal point in their season’s turnaround. Buttler made half of Royals’ runs since then, and his five fifties were two more than the rest of their batsmen put together. On Friday night, all that changed. Buttler went cheaply, and it was Rahane who stepped on the gas after six overs. He smashed 50 off 29 after the Powerplay, a strike rate of 172 that was his third-best in IPL history in that period.When Rahane perished going for quick runs, Sanju Samson took it to a whole new level against the lacklustre Bhuvneshwar Kumar, carting him for 24 runs in the 18th over, before Ben Stokes found his range in the final over to raze 21 more against the same bowler.A total of 198, 63 of which came in the final four overs. The complete antithesis of Royals 2018.Rashid Khan comes in early, strikes gold
ESPNcricinfo LtdDuring the warm-up before the match, Rashid Khan was spinning the football on his index finger as if it was a needle. Commentator Harsha Bhogle went to check if the finger and the football were glued together. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s most valuable player is used to doing unthinkable things.A short while later, Rashid walked in to bowl the fourth over of the match. It is rare to see him bowl so early in the Powerplay. In fact, only once in IPL history has Rashid bowled before the fourth over of an innings. Before Friday, he had five Powerplay wickets from 96 balls at an economy rate of 6.90.However, the one main reason Rashid came on early was to eliminate the threat of Jos Buttler. Rashid had dismissed the England batsman thrice before in T20s, twice in IPL, while giving away just four runs off eight balls. Add to that the fact that Buttler has faced a fair bit of Sunrisers’ other bowlers, without ever being dismissed against any of them.Buttler was not surprised seeing Rashid though. The first ball was a googly which he read well. The next one, Buttler moved outside the line, attempting a slog sweep, and was bowled around his legs. The ball had pitched on middle and leg, and it held its line to break the stumps. Two balls was what Rashid took to eliminate the most dangerous opposition batsman. Job done, Kane Williamson didn’t bowl Rashid any further in the Powerplay, saving him for tougher overs ahead.