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Players arriving in Sydney from New Zealand won’t need to quarantine for 14 days and will be allowed to move freely

Andrew McGlashan23-Oct-2020The West Indies squad could provide a lucrative source of overseas signings for the BBL, after the competition added scope for a third foreign player in the XIs, if the tournament can take advantage of the travel bubble that exists with New Zealand.West Indies have a three-match T20I series in the country at the end of November followed by two Tests, and since earlier this month it is now possible to travel from New Zealand into New South Wales without needing to quarantine on arrival.The West Indies players will undergo managed isolation when they arrive at the start of the tour next month, but under current regulations, they will then be able to move around freely with the normal population unlike the restrictive biosecure bubbles which are in operation around the world. ALSO READ: BBL clubs to be allowed three overseas players in XIThat could mean they are able to fly directly to Australia to take up BBL deals without the need to quarantine for 14 days, although Cricket Australia (CA) stressed that all overseas players are subject to Australian Border Force approval. The T20I series finishes on November 30 and the second Test ends on December 15 in Wellington. The BBL, meanwhile, is expected to begin in the second week of the month.A significant number of the West Indies squad could be of interest to BBL clubs since it was confirmed there is now room for an extra overseas player, revealed by ESPNcricinfo earlier this week, which will be funded outside of the salary cap.Kieron Pollard is captain of the T20I side which includes Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer, the latter who is also in the Test group. West Indies Test captain Jason Holder is not part of their T20 set-up but is currently at the IPL and could interest clubs as might fast bowler Kemar Roach who has previously played in the BBL.Andre Russell, who would likely gain plenty of interest, Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis opted out of the New Zealand tour so they would need to go through 14 days quarantine to be part of the BBL. Dwayne Bravo recently withdrew due to an injury sustained at the IPL.The BBL is attempting to attract as many big-name overseas signings as possible to help compensate for the potential absence of more Australian internationals to the larger squads that will be needed this season. They’re also looking to ease tensions with broadcaster Channel Seven, although the postponement of New Zealand’s limited-overs tour in January means there is a clear window in the latter part of the competition. However, given the strains on multi-format players this season, it would appear unlikely the likes of David Warner, Steven Smith, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc will feature.Steven Smith and David Warner may not be able to play in the BBL this season•BCCI”It’s such a fast-changing environment with borders and different considerations. Our clubs have been really innovative and agile to be able to adjust their recruitment strategies so that [bubble] is a good example of one that’s opened up recently and I know there’s conversations happening,” Alistair Dobson, the head of the BBL, said. “There’s a unique opportunity to capitalise on it if that’s the way our clubs decide to go, there are a players that are available and suit the contracting strategies. That would be a great result.””I think having the best players in the BBL is always a primary objective of our clubs. You can see by some of the announcements in recent days that they’ve been really ambitious. The third player on the list just adds another dimension, [more] depth and quality to the teams. The types of players we get, there will be some names you know and some up and coming stars. There’s plenty of history in the BBL of players leaving the competition with much bigger profiles than when they arrived.”However, while the bubble exists with New Zealand it could be harder to get their own players involved. Pakistan tour after West Indies and though that series finishes on January 7, there is no more international cricket until late February. When the schedule was announced, NZC made specific mention of having their leading names available for the T20 Super Smash, although some could well be attracted across the Tasman.”One of the silver linings is that our Super Smash competition, which will be played in that window, will now be boosted by the presence of Blackcaps and White Ferns,” David White, the NZC CEO, said last month. “It’s going to be the best Super Smash yet, I’m confident of that.”Dobson said: “I know there’s some players from New Zealand we’d love to have in the BBL if it lines up. I can see a way for them to be part of it. They’ve got their own commitments at the same time, [so] it all comes down to the unique requirements of each club, borders and contract strategies. But it certainly looks like there’s a unique opportunity this year with that bubble opening.”Outside of the potential advantages of the New Zealand bubble, Dobson said that all indications were that other overseas players would still require 14 days hard quarantine including the England contingent who will have come from a biosecure series in South Africa. The WBBL players recently completed the same protocols and were not allowed outside of their hotel rooms for that period, but Dobson added he had not received any significant concerns from the BBL players already signed.The schedule itself is expected to be confirmed shortly after the rubberstamping of the Australia-India fixtures. That tour received government approval on Thursday and is awaiting final BCCI sign-off. On Friday, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated that state borders, expect Western Australia’s, could be open again by Christmas which may give the BBL more flexibility with the fixturing.

AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah is confident his side will get on the right track in Serie A after failing to win either of their first two matches.

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AC Milan beaten 2-1 by ParmaYet to win in Serie A this seasonMusah has faith they can find formWHAT HAPPENED?

AC Milan were handed their first loss of the new Serie A campaign away to Parma on Saturday. Last season's runners-up fell to a 2-1 defeat, despite United States captain Christian Pulisic scoring in the second half. Musah gave an honest reflection after the match and admitted his side must "make corrections" quickly, but is confident the Rossoneri will improve.

AdvertisementWHAT MUSAH SAID

Speaking to the club media after the match, he said: "We were dangerous in attack like we know how to be. As we saw, we have to make corrections in defence. This is a collective effort we have to make. A lot of us were here last season, so have experience in this league. I have a lot of faith in this side, there are loose ends to tie up. We will do better in the future."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Milan finished 19 points behind rivals and title winners Inter last season. The aim over the summer was to build a team that could close that gap but so far, it has been a sticky start for Paulo Fonseca's side.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR AC MILAN?

Milan's start does not get any easier as they prepare to travel to the Italian capital next weekend. They face Lazio and can leapfrog their hosts with a win after they fell to Udinese in their second outing of the campaign.

Mark Wood also handed white-ball contract only after limited Test appearances in 2020

Andrew Miller30-Sep-2020Ashley Giles, England’s director of men’s cricket, believes that Jonny Bairstow still has the hunger to regain his Test place, despite his exclusion from the ECB’s list of red-ball contracts for 2020-21.Bairstow, who turned 31 this week, has played just one Test match in the past 12 months, making scores of 1 and 9 against South Africa at Centurion after being called into the team as a late replacement for Ollie Pope, one of the men who has now taken his place on that contracts list.Bairstow had previously been omitted from England’s Test squad to tour New Zealand last November, after averaging 23.77 in a low-key Ashes series – a far cry from his form in the 2016 calendar year, when he amassed 1470 runs at 58.80 in 17 Tests.ALSO READ: Pope, Crawley, Sibley earn maiden Test contractsHe has instead been awarded a white-ball contract, having reaffirmed his status as one of the world’s premier limited-overs batsmen with a series of commanding displays this summer against Ireland, Pakistan and Australia, against whom he scored his tenth ODI hundred in the final match of the season at the Ageas Bowl.With Jos Buttler tightening his grip on the Test wicketkeeper’s role against Pakistan, and with a trio of young batsmen – Pope, Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley – earning their first Test contracts following their recent breakthrough performances, Bairstow’s route back to the Test side is not an easy one, but Giles backed him to fight for his place nonetheless.”He’s taken it as well as you could expect, because it’s hard news to hear, but I hope it leaves him very hungry to continue, and have a really important part to play in the future of English Test cricket,” Giles said. “It’s a knock for him I’m sure. Johnny’s played one Test match in the year, and we only have so many contracts that we can award.”It’s a tough call to make because Jonny has been very good servant for the team, but he remains a really important part of what we do. He’s a white-ball centrally contracted player and one of our most dangerous players in that format, and that hasn’t changed, but we’ll do everything we can to support him getting back into that Test team.Another notable absentee on the Test list is Mark Wood, who appeared to have confirmed his arrival in red-ball cricket when he was named player of the match twice in the space of three overseas Tests last year, following a pair of searingly quick displays in St Lucia and Johannesburg.ESPNcricinfo LtdDespite his ability to bowl well in excess of 90mph – a trait which makes him one of their most precious assets in the lead-up to next winter’s Ashes tour – Wood featured in just three Tests all told in the past 12 months, including a solitary outing in England’s defeat against West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in July.And, given the financial constraints being imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic – ones which may yet require England’s players to take a pay cut this year – Giles admitted that there were others ahead of Wood in the pecking order for a contract right now.”He’d certainly be my plans and I’m sure he’s in the selectors’ plans,” Giles said. “The impact Mark Wood has is huge when he’s on the field, but in terms of that pecking order, Sam Curran for example, may be seen as someone who’s in and out of the team, but he’s played eight Test matches, and has also impacted every match when he takes the field.”Wood, like Bairstow, has been handed a white-ball contract, and as Giles noted, that will still enable the ECB to keep a close eye on his form and, most pertinently, his fitness, given the frequency of the injuries that have pockmarked his career.”He plays across formats, he’s still under our umbrella,” Giles said. “He’s a fully white-ball contracted player, so we look after him. And we understand his shock ability. When he’s on form and when he’s on the field we need to look after that, and having him available for an Ashes series is really important to us.”England’s winter itinerary remains up in the air, with no confirmation as yet of any plans for their tours of South Africa, Sri Lanka and India. But with Australia’s Big Bash set to take place in December and January, Giles said that Wood may well be free to play a part in that tournament, in spite of the injury risks.”We’ll treat every case as an individual,” he said. “Ultimately we are his employer and paymasters, but it will be a discussion and collaboration. We want to do what’s best for Mark Wood. It doesn’t make any sense him just sitting on the sidelines all the time when he’s fit, but we need to get that balance and workload right.”One continued area of concern for England is the absence of a contracted Test spinner, especially with tours of the subcontinent looming for England. Despite his recent dip in form, Moeen Ali has retained his white-ball contract, but there’s no place on either list for Jack Leach or Dom Bess, who who have been awarded incremental contracts instead.”It is an area that we still need to work on,” Giles said “Jack and Dom have played important roles for us, and Dom made really good progress this summer, but again there are only so many awards to be made. I hope we see one of those guys develop over this next 12 months again, because I’d love to be offering a full contract to one of our spinners, definitely.”England’s outstanding spinner of the past 12 months, albeit in white-ball cricket only, has been Adil Rashid, who appeared to be fully recovered from the shoulder injury that hampered his impact at the World Cup. He has not played Test cricket for England since the first Test in Barbados in January 2019, which was also his most recent first-class appearance, but Giles admitted England had not ruled out considering him for the challenge of beating India overseas.”Those conversations are always ongoing with the coach and selectors,” he said. “We need to give ourselves options. The challenge of winning in India is a big one – I don’t think anyone’s underestimating that – but the more variation we can have in our attack, the better.”We’re lucky with the impact Adil’s had on white-ball cricket particularly, but I hope he still has the desire, and I’m sure he still has the ability, to have an impact in red-ball cricket as well.”

Batsman set to resume partnership with Tom Banton in next summer’s Vitality Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2020Babar Azam, the Pakistan batsman, has signed a deal that will see him return to Somerset as the club’s overseas player for five weeks next summer.Babar, who scored 578 runs at an average of 52.54 to finish as the leading run-scorer in the Vitality Blast last summer, will be available for 12 T20 group-stage games and County Championship fixtures against Gloucestershire and Kent.He will replace Matthew Wade as the club’s main overseas player, and will depart in time for Pakistan’s tour of the Netherlands, which is followed by two T20Is in Ireland, and three Tests and three T20Is against England.Babar is likely to resume his partnership with Tom Banton at the top of the Somerset order, which saw the pair finish as the competition’s top-two run-scorers last summer, with interest in them so high that the county was forced to upgrade its website as the traffic from Pakistan had caused it to crash.”I really enjoyed my time at Somerset, and I look forward to coming back next year,” said Babar. “Somerset has a very good squad and the supporters made me feel very welcome. Hopefully I can help the Club reach the knock-out stages of the Vitality Blast and contribute to winning matches in the County Championship.”Andy Hurry, the club’s director of cricket, said: “Babar Azam is the best IT20 batsman in the world and his return will be a major boost for us. He played a significant role for us in the Vitality Blast last year and his stats speak for themselves.”He made a number of match-winning contributions and he fitted seamlessly into the dressing room. You can’t ask more from your overseas players than that. His batting is so easy on the eye and he is so hungry to evolve his game. He will add significant value to the team, both with his batting and leadership.””He was extremely popular with our members and supporters but also with our playing squad. He is a truly world-class talent and we look forward to working with him again in 2020 in both the Vitality Blast and the County Championship.”

After Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart announced that he'd be retiring at the end of the current season, Brendan Rodgers is searching for a new number one ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

According to recent reports, the Hoops "would love" to sign Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool, who just kept a clean sheet in the Carabao Cup final success over Chelsea, but there are obstacles in the way of a deal.

The first of those is the "big-money fee" Liverpool are likely to demand for the Irishman, one that his Carabao Cup final performance may only inflate, and another is the interest from teams in the Premier League. Kelleher may prefer to stay in England if he can, rather than make the move up north to the Scottish Premiership.

With that in mind, it's wise for Rodgers and the Hoops to start looking at some alternatives, just in case a deal for their primary option doesn't come off, and one potential Plan-B has now emerged.

Celtic laying groundwork for Cakir move

According to Turkish outlet Gunebakis, relayed by Sport Witness, Celtic are interested in Ugurcan Cakir at Trabzonspor. Rodgers has Scott Bain and Benjamin Siegrist at his disposal but he wants to "reinforce" between the sticks with a bigger name.

Celtic have been carrying out a "comprehensive" search for options across the world, and Cakir has earned a place on their shortlist. They value his consistency and his national team career – he's been capped 26 times by Turkey – and they're also aware that "giant clubs" have previously taken notice.

“They weren’t ready” – Sutton rips into Celtic's transfer strategy

Celtic made two signings but didn’t address another priority.

ByDavid Comerford Feb 27, 2024

They could "knock on the door" of the Super Lig club over a potential deal at the end of the season, but they know it won't be easy to reach an agreement because Trabzonspor regard Cakir as "the apple of their eye". Celtic are already working to understand how much they will have to pay to sign the club captain.

Cakir is one of the best 'keepers in Turkey

Cakir, who's been called "highly-rated" by Conor McGilligan back in 2020, has been with Trabzonspor since 2011, amassing more than 230 senior appearances with the club – 29 of those have come this season – with the 27-year-old keeping nine clean sheets for the Europa League chasers.

He's finished either first or second for shutouts in the past three seasons and will hope to make a late run up the leaderboard before the current campaign is out. Trabzonspor are currently the 'best of the rest' in Turkey behind title contenders Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, who have a 24-point advantage over the rest of the division.

Rank

Player

Club

CS

1

Fernando Muslera

Galatasaray

13

=2

Mert Gunok

Besiktas

10

=2

Dominik Livakovic

Fenerbahce

10

=4

Ugurcan Cakir

Trabzonspor

9

=4

Gokhan Akkan

Caykur Rizespor

9

6

Volkan Babacan

Istanbul Basaksehir

8

=7

Erce Kardesler

Hatayspor

7

=7

Bilal Bayazit

Kayserispor

7

=9

Ertac Ozbir

Adana Demirspor

6

=9

Bahadir Gungordu

MKE Ankaragücü

6

Cakir played every minute for Turkey at the last European Championships and will hope to be the number one for this year's tournament too, as the Crescent-Stars, in a group with Portugal and the Czech Republic, try to make amends for their group-stage exit in 2021.

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.

Bailey has retorted to questions about bias by saying “I’m not going to pick myself”

Daniel Brettig25-Nov-2019

George Bailey was named men’s domestic player of the year•Getty Images

Former Australia ODI captain and current Tasmania batsman George Bailey is set to become the third member of the national selection panel alongside chairman Trevor Hohns and head coach Justin Langer, adding the contemporary voice that Cricket Australia has been searching for in their deliberations for the national team.Bailey, who is widely respected in Australian cricket circles, will be a departure from tradition by taking on a selection role while still a player, though numerous cricketers have been selectors either as captain or in the summers immediately after retirement, including Hohns, Peter Taylor and Greg Chappell. It was Chappell’s retirement from his role as selector following the Ashes series this year that opened up the place taken by Bailey.CA had previously flirted with the concept of having a current player as a selector when Hohns floated Darren Lehmann as a candidate prior to his retirement, before the concept was thwarted at board level. Usman Khawaja, the Queensland captain, spoke favourably of the prospect of choosing a current player as a selector when asked about it on Monday.”I think there is always an option there. I think there is no one more involved and more relevant in the game than people who are actually playing the game,” Khawaja said. “I think players are one of the biggest stakeholders, sometimes the most under-utilised and undervalued stakeholders in the game. I think it’s always important to have someone in the skin of the game.”Communication between selectors and players has improved over the years, but it is believed that the players have suggested it can get better still, something that Bailey will be keenly aware of. Equally he will bring along the perspective of a cricketer who has played more or less his entire career in the Twenty20 era, leading Australia to the global tournament in Sri Lanka in 2012 when they reached the semi-finals.Other candidates to make the final three included the former Victoria and South Australia batsman Michael Klinger and also Greg Shipperd, presently the coach of the Sydney Sixers. Langer had also spoken positively of wanting to find a role in Australian cricket for Trevor Bayliss after the conclusion of his time as England coach this year.”Really pleased with the people who put their hat in the ring for that role,” CA’s head of national teams Ben Oliver said on Monday. “There will be some people who are really disappointed no doubt [at missing out on the role] but they should all take great encouragement and they all have a lot to offer. Really looking forward to getting to the end of that process. Not quite there yet, but we’re not far away.”The panel, and all three, will be responsible for all Australian men’s teams. What we’ve tried to achieve in this recruitment process is adding in some complementary skills to support Trevor and Justin, and one of those is a consideration around short-format cricket.”Oliver explained that the national pathways manager Graham Manou, who had previously worked closely with Chappell in his role as national talent manager, would have a major linking role to keep the selectors abreast of developments in junior and pathway competitions, though like the national captains Tim Paine and Aaron Finch he will not be formally added to the panel.”It’s important for our selection panel to be across the talent that’s emerging through domestic cricket,” Oliver said. “Graham Manou as the national talent and pathway manager has a key role to play in connecting the domestic system but certainly we’re looking for this particular role that we’re recruiting for now, to have a close connection to Graham and to our domestic teams and our domestic coaches.”Sticking with three and Graham’s an important conduit between the panel and domestic cricket. He’s been helping throughout this period as well. At the moment sticking with three [selectors].”Bailey has retorted to questions about bias by saying “I’m not going to pick myself”, while Paine revealed during the Gabba Test against Pakistan that he was firmly in favour of the appointment. “In last week’s Shield game he was batting at five, I was batting at seven, so we were both sitting in the change rooms and set up a mock interview,” Paine told ABC radio. “He’s ready to go, so hopefully he gets the nod, I think he’d be ideal.”

Arne Slot explained why he wasn't completely happy with Liverpool's performance during their pre-season tour in the United States.

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• Liverpool beat Man Utd 3-0 on Sunday
• Slot yet to be completely satisfied
• Reds play final pre-season game against Sevilla

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Reds capped off their pre-season tour of the United States with a convincing 3-0 win over rivals Manchester United on Sunday courtesy of goals from Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones and Konstantinos Tsimikas.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  However, despite winning all three of their pre-season games in the US, manager Arne Slot was not completely happy with his team's performances as he pointed out the areas where his players need to improve ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 campaign.

• WHAT ARNE SLOT SAID

  Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com after the United clash, the Dutch coach was asked if he was satisfied with the team's performance to which he replied, "Yes, I was – but not with all of them. We are very happy with the result, we scored some really nice goals. But I don't think we had enough control over the game because United were threatening us more than a few times. It's a 3-0 win but the score could have been different tonight as well."

  When asked about his overall impression of the US tour, Slot added, "Very positive, I think. Of course the results, that's where everybody is looking at. But players stayed fit and they are able to perform in the way we want, so [a] high-intensity game.

  "We saw some great goals during this tour, some great build-up situations and I see them working really, really hard not to concede. Like I said, today I think we gave away too many chances, United deserved more than a 3-0 loss. But it's also our quality that we do score our own chances."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

  The Merseyside club will play their final pre-season friendly at Anfield on August 11 against Sevilla before kicking off the new season on August 17 against newly promoted Ipswich Town.

Wrexham may be undertaking an intense training schedule while on their North America tour, but midfielder Jordan Davies says it could be much worse.

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• Wrexham doing two training sessions per day
• Getting in shape for USA & Canada matches
• Davies says facilities make workload easier

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Red Dragons are in Los Angeles as they gear up for matches against Premier League teams Bournemouth and Chelsea in California before they head to Canada to take on Vancouver Whitecaps to conclude the tour.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Phil Parkinson has his players doing double training sessions to get them back in shape after their summer break – and a glitzy launch party in Beverly Hills hosted by co-owner Rob McElhenney – as they begin preparations on the grounds of the University of Los Angeles. The burden of the schedule has been made somewhat easier, though, due to the quality of the facilities, Davies says.

• WHAT DAVIES SAID

  "Two sessions a day and the facilities probably make those sessions a little bit easier when it gets tough because the facilities are brilliant," he told . "Chappell Hill University was one of the highlights of the trip last year, I thought it was a special place. It is UCLA this time around so it will be a similar experience. "It is brilliant and it probably gives you that five per cent more – it is better than running around a cow field I suppose! "You are over in LA, working hard and enjoying your job which is what it is about."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Beating Premier League opposition in the United States may be a tall order for the Red Dragons, but they will be hoping to lift their confidence ahead of their first season back in League One following their second consecutive promotion.

England captain unbeaten on 75, Joe Denly reaches fifty with hosts chasing another 203 runs at Headingley

The Report by Valkerie Baynes24-Aug-2019Josh Hazlewood beat Joe Root’s bat by a lick of paint with a ball that buzzed outside off stump just inside the last hour of yet another dramatic day of this Ashes series. The hint of a smile at the corners of Root’s mouth spread into a nonchalant grin as he eyeballed the fast bowler who was following up his leather-bound assault with a little verbal one.The pair were locked in battle, just as their respective sides were, playing out a scene that had seemed so very unlikely just hours earlier at the start of play on day three of the third Test at Headingly and certainly after the lunch break.Root and Joe Denly – two England batsmen needing big scores as much as any – had dug in and turned the match on its head, a recurring theme in a series that has seen momentum swings , twists and turns throughout. The pair put on a 126-run partnership, Denly reaching his second Test fifty, and Root unbeaten on 75 at the close.The 67 all out England coughed up in their first innings had heaped more pressure on England’s batting line-up and these two hadn’t escaped – far from it. Questions swirled over the influence Root’s role as captain and his move one place up the order to No. 3 was having on his batting performance and Denly was struggling to establish himself as a Test player in his sixth match.But the pair came together after England had stumbled again to 15 for 2 in their second innings chasing a lofty target of 359, set when Australia resumed on 171 for 6 and Marnus Labuschagne, who was not out on 53, proceeded to reach 80 and top score for the tourists for the third time in as many innings as he guided them 246 all out.In reply, England lost their openers cheaply, Rory Burns to a Hazlewood delivery he should have left but which he prodded to David Warner at first slip and Jason Roy to a gem from Pat Cummins which zeroed in on off stump. It looked like Australia, who lead the series 1-0, would have retained the Ashes by the end of the day.But some dogged batting from Root and Denly frustrated Australia’s bowlers, as demonstrated in that exchange between Hazlewood and Root, which didn’t end there. Hazlewood followed up immediately with another ball that beat Root’s bat moving away slightly off the seam, and then a length ball that had the batsman shouldering arms and copping another earful.It was an intense and important spell from Hazlewood, who had taken 5 for 30 in England’s first innings. Nathan Lyon kept Denly on his toes in the next over, with a big appeal for a catch at short leg which came off the pads, an appeal to the DRS for leg-before, which was sliding down, and an attempted run out – all of which Denly survived.Hazlewood struck on the third ball of his next over though, pummelling Denly with a short ball that hit the glove and looped to Tim Paine behind the stumps. Denly had faced 134 balls for his 50 and 21 more without adding to his score but he had produced an innings sure to boost his confidence and secure his place for now, his delicious pull through midwicket off Hazlewood for four midway through the second session one for the highlights reel.Likewise, Root went a long way towards answering his critics after scoring consecutive ducks in his previous two innings with his 57 at Edgbaston his only knock of note in this series before now. He is still far from Mark Butcher’s unbeaten 173 which allowed England to chase down 315 against Australia at Headingley in 2001, but the England captain will have his sights set on producing something special at his home ground.Denly’s exit brought in Ben Stokes, who scored fifty in the first Test and was Man of the Match with an unbeaten 115 in the second, bolstering England’s hopes this time around.Australian skipper Paine, trying to keep his troops pumped up late on the third day, yelled from behind the stumps: “We’ll get two more tonight boys, two more in the morning”. They didn’t get the former. They will need the latter and more. But, with the second new ball due after eight overs on day four, they will fancy their chances every bit as much as Root and Stokes. With England’s first innings hardly erased from memory – despite the best efforts of Root and Denly – probably even more so.