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They will live under biosecure conditions and can be signed by any of the clubs

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2022

The BBL has introduced a roster of replacement players to fill gaps in teams who are hit by Covid-19 cases in the latter stages of the competition.Each player will live under BBL protocols and be assigned a ‘home’ club while part of the central pool but can then be contracted by any club as a replacement player. The WBBL used a similar model in the 2020-21 season when the tournament was played in a Sydney-based hub.There are currently eight players on the list with more expected to be added: Nicholas Bertus (Sydney Sixers), Jake Carder (Perth Scorchers), Iain Carlisle (Hobart Hurricanes), Daniel Drew (Adelaide Strikers), Jake Doran (Melbourne Stars), Lachlan Hearne (Sydney Thunder), Lachlan Pfeffer (Brisbane Heat – currently in Heat 18-player squad), Brayden Stepien (Melbourne Renegades).Related

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Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat have been forced to field almost completely new-look teams in recent matches having had Covid-19 sweep through their squads with a number of players called up from grade and premier cricket. It led to Adam Zampa saying that it had threatened the integrity of the tournament.The back-up pool means there is now a chance of more players following Justin Avendano in representing multiple clubs in the same season. Avendano was recruited by Stars and played two matches for them before being called up by his previous side Sydney Sixers and playing against Perth ScorchersAll eight clubs have now been hit by cases following confirmation that Matt Renshaw from Adelaide Strikers is isolating after a positive PCR result. On Sunday, Colin Munro of Scorchers tested positive.Any replacement players already signed by clubs can stay with those teams and if they are no longer needed when original squad members are able to return they will join the new pool of reserves if approved by the tournament’s technical committee.”The local replacement player pool is another example of the league and clubs working together to address the challenges of the season with innovative solutions,” Alistair Dobson, the general manager of Big Bash Leagues, said.”The player pool provides clubs with increased options should injury, illness or other circumstances affect availability of players, while also streamlining the process of integrating LRPs into the group from a biosecurity perspective.”The tournament has been moved into a Melbourne hub for the closing weeks of the regular season to try and keep Covid out of the league as much as possible by limiting travel and providing flexibility if fixtures need to be rearranged at short notice.However, some teams will still play matches in their home states under a fly-in, fly-out model. There is expected to be clarity this week on what will happen for the finals series.

Tottenham are reportedly aiming to hijack Wolves' deal for Lens centre-back Kevin Danso after Fikayo Tomori turned down a move to north London.

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• Wolves and Spurs to fight for Danso
• The defender was set for a medical at Molineux
• However, Spurs seem to be the frontrunners now

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Wolves had been on the verge of completing a deal for the 26-year-old Austrian international, with agreements in place and a medical scheduled for Sunday. However, in a late twist, Danso’s representatives informed Wolves on Saturday night that the move was off, citing Tottenham’s interest as a key reason for the change of plans, according to

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  The centre-back, who had a brief spell in the Premier League with Southampton in 2019-20, has been a regular fixture for Lens, making 128 appearances across four seasons. His solid performances in Ligue 1 had attracted attention from multiple clubs, but it now appears that Spurs are leading the race for his signature.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Initially, Spurs attempted to bring in Fikayo Tomori from AC Milan, but the English defender rejected the move, forcing the club to explore alternative options. They had also expressed interest in Chelsea’s Axel Disasi, but their focus now appears to have shifted entirely to securing Danso.

  For Wolves, losing out on Danso presents a major setback. Strengthening their defensive ranks has been a priority following the summer departure of Maximilian Kilman to West Ham United and the long-term ACL injury suffered by Yerson Mosquera, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR TOTTENHAM?

  With the deadline fast approaching, Spurs will need to move quickly to finalize a deal for Danso. They have been actively searching for reinforcements throughout the January transfer window with key players like Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, and Destiny Udogie all injured.

Reports from the UK indicated that Joe Root has confirmed he will captain the side

AAP05-Oct-2021The men’s Ashes is set to go ahead this summer with England’s players reportedly agreeing to tour in a move that will green-light the A$200 million series.England’s cricketers spoke with Cricket Australia (CA) bosses again on Tuesday evening, to thrash out their concerns over strict Covid-19 protocols. Players have been given until the end of this week to make a decision by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), with the team only set to tour if an adequate number of front-liner players agree to travel.However, those fears have now seemingly been allayed with the UK’s reporting that captain Joe Root has led a group of players committing to the series.According to the report, wicketkeeper Jos Buttler could be the only England player not to agree to tour. He had previously indicated his concerns over the tour and potential time away from family.Related

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Allrounder Moeen Ali will be unavailable after he recently retired, while Ben Stokes is taking a break from the game and Jofra Archer is out injured.CA are yet to officially be informed but will no doubt be breathing a massive sigh of relief given the magnitude of the decision.In a series of two separate meetings with England players in recent days, it’s understood fears over snap lockdowns and quarantine conditions for families were the chief concerns.But CA CEO Nick Hockley stressed to England players that conditions in Australia were improving, with the country’s vaccination rate on the rise.Likewise, it’s believed a move to have a second group England’s players’ families arrive before Christmas to quarantine in Melbourne has also been crucial.Players had feared that families would only be able to arrive with them in November, meaning a hard quarantine before a long tour.But the move to let a second group into Victoria would be welcome news, given they do not need to spend as much time away from home. There could be some freedoms for families in regional Victoria.That deal is not officially over the line with the state government, but would be in line with the road map out of COVID-19 as Victoria edges closer to 70 and 80 percent double dosage rates.The last concern for CA will now be the Perth Test, with officials adamant they will be granted clearance to play in Western Australia just days after being in Sydney. If that does fall through, Canberra or Hobart could seize their first Ashes Test. Alternatively, the match could be held as a second fixture at the SCG or MCG.

Surrey face Durham in semi-finals on Tuesday, a day after Glamorgan play Essex

David Hopps15-Aug-2021

It would be tempting to call Tim David’s match-winning hundred against Gloucestershire contemptuous, such was its mastery, but that would only cast more aspersions on standards in a 50-over tournament which is racing stout-heartedly towards its climax like a diminished Speed Dating event with the nation’s sexiest stars commandeered for the inaugural season of the Hundred.Surrey’s five-wicket win in this play-off against Gloucestershire gives them a semi-final against Durham at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, 24 hours after Glamorgan face Essex. The final, at Trent Bridge, is a floodlit affair on Thursday and tickets for what was once the pinnacle of the season are only a tenner. Some Hundred players might theoretically be available, but whether they play in place of the young thrusters (some, not all, of them quite exciting prospects) who have kept the tournament alive is a different matter.David’s 102 encompassed 72 balls, with 11 fours and five sixes. He keeps things extremely simple: he sees things and deals with them. Vigorously. Maybe he should be in charge of the fixture list. He also figured in two run-outs, one of them his own, which fleetingly brought back memories of Surrey’s capitulation against Gloucestershire in the 2015 RL final, but in between he smote the ball to all parts to enable Surrey to surpass Gloucestershire’s modest 242 for 7 with five wickets and 44 balls to spare.He might also be the overseas player who the Hundred missed, a bear of a man shrewdly snapped up by Surrey for the Royal London Cup and the latter stages of the Blast. The Hundred deal never came for this Australian by way of Singapore, despite a big season for Hobart Hurricanes. He took a while to come to life, as if coming out of hibernation, but back-to-back hundreds at Kia Oval have left him with an average of 84.25 (outdone only by Durham’s Graham Clark among recognised batsmen) and a strike rate of 152.48 which is second to Dane Vilas among top run-getters. Anyway, it is as good as it gets although doubtless there may be a Batting Impact algorithm somewhere that suggests otherwise.David’s follow-up hundred was not quite as destructive as his remarkable 140 from 70 balls, with 11 sixes, against Warwickshire on Tuesday, but arguably it was no worse for that. His first wild shot probably came on 101 when he tried to put Matt Taylor onto the surface of Mars, but otherwise he just flayed balls that needed hitting. Gloucestershire’s bowlers have carried a weak top order all season, and that should be respected, but they asked him few questions.Jamie Smith was captaining Surrey at 21 in the continued injury absence of Hashim Amla, who fulfilled 12th man duties. Smith also made a controlled unbeaten 69 in a match-winning stand of 102 in 19 overs for the fourth wicket. The stand began after the run out of Ryan Patel, who pushed the ball straight to Chris Dent at short midwicket and was run out at the bowler’s end. It ended when Dent collected David’s push to short extra cover and attempted a lumbering return to his ground. Neither throw hit direct, but neither needed to.Gloucestershire’s total had owed almost everything an unbroken 105-run partnership in 111 balls from the pit of 137 for 7 between George Scott and Tom Smith. Scott, a former Middlesex all-rounder, produced a List A best while Smith’s unbeaten 51 not out was his second List A fifty.Smith swept particularly strongly against the spinners while Scott produced the stroke of the innings, a pick up six off Matt Dunn that sailed far over the mid wicket boundary, before also top-edging a high full toss from the same bowler over the fine leg ropes. With umpire Ian Blackwell rightly signalling for the no ball, that shot earned Gloucestershire eight runs.A slowly turning pitch disguised Surrey’s mediocre seam resources which could cost them dear in the climax to the competition. Dan Moriarty’s left-arm slows curbed the rate and Cameron Steel’s leg spin, although expensive, deserved better than his 1 for 55: he turned his googly substantially and his 33 county wickets in 61 matches smacks of under-utilised potential, even allowing for the standard of the competition.It was hard to find a wicket in Gloucestershire’s first seven that did not fall to batsman error. James Bracey, whose season began with England recognition, chipped back one of two wickets for David’s offspin off a horrible leading edge; Graeme van Buuren, playing as an overseas player while he waits to see if he can stay in England post-Brexit, was the only other batsman to threaten until his checked drive against Moriarty saw him fall at short extra on 37.Surrey’s reply also involved a brief and somewhat sad appearance from Ollie Pope who recovered from a thigh injury while in the England fold but who was released from the Test squad to play for Surrey in a competition that it can safely be assumed did not exactly smack, in its current guise, of career development. One does not have to look hard this summer to find a young England batsman looking glum in anything other than T20 (or its inferior substitutes) and here was another example.Pope made a single from three balls, the third seeing him leg before to a straight one from Taylor, a left-arm quick coming around the wicket. There was a time when it would just be recorded that Pope played across a straight one, but now off stump guard is all the rage so to avoid being drawn into another tiresome generational clash it is safest to observe that he missed it and whatever his mildly disapproving look at the umpire, Ian Blackwell, replays suggested that it would probably have shaved leg stump. Disapproval should best be aimed elsewhere.

Hayley Matthews, the West Indies allrounder and T20 World Cup winner, has signed for Welsh Fire, while Colin de Grandhomme will continue his stint at the Ageas Bowl after replacing Andre Russell on Southern Brave’s list of overseas players.Matthews, who was Player of the Match when West Indies won the 2016 World T20 in Kolkata, was unveiled by Welsh Fire after it was confirmed that Suné Luus has returned a positive Covid-19 test and is not able to travel.Meanwhile de Grandhomme, who made a career-best 174 not out for Hampshire on his LV= Insurance County Championship debut, and was part of the New Zealand squad that claimed the World Test Championship mace against India last month, takes over from Russell who has been ruled out due to international commitments and Guyana’s status on the UK red list.Marchant de Lange will start the competition for Trent Rockets after Wahab Riaz’s arrival was delayed by visa issues, while the New Zealander Glenn Phillips will now play the entirety of the tournament for Welsh Fire in place of Kieron Pollard, who has pulled out due to injury.Adelaide Strikers batter Katie Mack has been signed by Birmingham Phoenix as a replacement for Ellyse Perry who has withdrawn from the competition due to personal reasons. Amy Jones will now captain the side.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It has also been confirmed that Ollie Pope will miss the start of the Hundred as he recovers from a quad injury, while Alice Monaghan replaces Hannah Jones at London Spirit.”When I got the call to join Southern Brave it was an easy decision,” de Grandhomme said. “I’ve settled in really well at Hampshire and I’m hoping to create some more fantastic memories at the Ageas Bowl. I’m really looking forward to linking up with Devon Conway again and all of the guys can’t wait to get going.”Hayley Matthews added: “I’m thrilled to be taking part in The Hundred this summer. It’ll be a lot of fun to play in Cardiff alongside the like of Sarah Taylor in front of big crowds. The Hundred can help move women’s cricket forward and it’ll be great to take part.”Beth Barrett-Wild, Head of The Hundred Women’s Competition said: “I’m gutted for Suné Luus, I know how excited she was about playing for Welsh Fire in The Hundred this summer, but we all wish her a very speedy recovery. In Hayley Matthews we have a big stage player, in brilliant form, coming in, and I’m sure she will be looking forward to the opportunity to show off her skills.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Após ter conquistado aCopa Rio OPG, a equipe Sub-20 do Botafogo teve um recesso de 10 dias. Com a proximidade do início da Copa São Paulo de futebol júnior- no dia 2 de janeiro – os meninos retornaram aos treinamentos na quarta-feira e iniciaram a preparação para uma das competições mais importantes da categoria.

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Depois de um hiato de um ano em virtude da pandemia global de Covid-19, a competição retorna em 2022. Nela, osatletas nascidos em 2001 poderão estar em campo, o que transforma o torneio, excepcionalmente nesta edição, em Sub-21. Em entrevista ao site oficial do Glorioso, o coordenador geral das categorias de base, Bruno Hanek destacou a importância da Copinha:

+ Confira a classificação final da série B do Campeonato Brasileiro

– A Copa São Paulo é uma competição dificílima e de grande visibilidade para os atletas e para o clube, já que não temos nenhuma competição profissional ocorrendo ao mesmo tempo. Com isso, o olhar fica todo nos atletas que estão disputando este torneio. Assim, uma boa preparação é fundamental – disse, e emendou:

– Viemos de uma temporada longa e desgastante, com mais de 50 jogos na categoria. Esse tempo de preparação é essencial para recuperarmos os atletas, ajustarmos os últimos detalhes para realizarmos uma excelente competição e buscarmos o título, finalizando uma temporada de grandes conquistas para o Sub-20 e toda a base. Além disso, neste ano conseguimos melhorar bastante a estrutura de trabalho para a categoria. Então, a gente espera fazer uma boa competição e voltar com o título – completou Hanek.

Com os bons resultados conquistados em 2021 (vice-campeão da Copa do Brasil, título da Copa Rio OPG e quartas de final do Brasileirão, o Sub-20 do Botafogo procura novas conquistas. O comandante alvinegro, Ricardo Resende traçou os objetivos da comissão técnica neste mês de dezembro:

+Campanha Gloriosa: com seis representantes, Botafogo domina seleção da galera da Série B

– Foi uma temporada de alto nível da categoria Sub-20 e agora vamos disputar a Copa São Paulo, um torneio muito tradicional e importante para formação dos atletas. Teremos o mês de dezembro inteiro para fazer a preparação para a Copinha. Já foi montado com comissão técnica e diretoria um planejamento para os treinos e logística para preparar os atletas da melhor forma possível. Vamos fazer vários amistosos para fazer os ajustes necessários e manter o ritmo de jogo para que possamos representar muito bem o Glorioso na Copinha – afirmou o treinador.

An "incredible" Rangers ace has been withdrawn from international training through injury, suggesting he could be a doubt for the visit of Dundee United later this month.

Rangers stinging after Celtic defeat

It hasn't been a fun few days for anyone of a Gers persuasion, following Sunday's 3-0 defeat away to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. The result has given Philippe Clement's side a huge amount of work to do in the title race, even at this early stage of the season, with a five-point deficit to claw back already.

There is no need for a huge overreaction to the result, especially as Rangers actually started the game well, but there was so much hope for an even stronger title charge this time around, which currently feels unlikely.

That being said, it is still extremely early days and the Scottish giants should only improve as the new signings grow accustomed to one another. There have also been a few injury concerns for Clement to contend with in recent times, with Nicolas Raskin and Ridvan Yilmaz both sidelined currently. Now, a fresh worry has arisen regarding a key Rangers player.

"Incredible" Rangers ace suffers injury blow

According to The Daily Record, Rangers attacker Rabbi Matondo has been withdrawn from international training with Wales, having picked up a hamstring injury against Celtic.

The 23-year-old "missed training for his country ahead of their Nations League clashes with Turkey and Montenegro", with the report adding that he "sat out the Tuesday morning session and it's unclear if he'll be able to play any part in their games". Not only that, but Matondo's involvement in the Scottish Premiership clash with Dundee United on September 15th is now believed to be "looking tight".

Not having Matondo available for the Dundee United game would be an undoubted blow, considering what an important squad player he has become since arriving from Schalke back in 2022. The Welshman already has two goals and assists apiece to his name in the league this season, coming in only two starts, while Micah Richards lavished him with praise last season, following his stunning strike at home to Celtic.

"I am coming back from London, watching it on SkyGo, and I am thinking, ‘The game is done here’. I was thinking, ‘What are you doing? You are showing him the wrong way’. When he hit it, I just knew it was going in. It was an incredible finish, it really was."

The hope is that Matondo's withdrawal from training is nothing more than precautionary, ensuring that the attacker doesn't aggravate the issue further down the line, and that he will be in the mix to face Dundee United later this month.

Rangers could forget Ezodie by signing "unbelievable" free agent at Ibrox

The Light Blues missed out on the Premier League attacker on deadline day.

ByDan Emery Sep 3, 2024

The game will feel like a must-win for Clement and his players, and having the 12-cap Wales ace in contention will only aid their chances of sealing three precious points.

The Premier League is just over two weeks away, and while Tottenham Hotspur have looked good so far in pre-season, they still need to strengthen to ensure Ange Postecoglou can lead them up the table this year.

The club have been linked to a plethora of talented players this summer, from Eberechi Eze to Jonathan David, but at the moment, the only signings Daniel Levy and Co have made have been Archie Gray and Yang Min-Hyeok.

However, that could be about to change, as recent reports have revealed that the club are making progress towards signing an incredibly talented attacker who has been compared to Dejan Kulusevski in the past.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from Football Transfers, Tottenham have maintained their interest in Pedro Neto and have 'intensified their efforts' to secure his services this summer.

The report claims that the Lilywhites have now held further talks with the winger, who remains high on Postecoglou's wish list this summer.

A potential fee for the £50k-per-week star is not mentioned in the story, but previous reports from this month indicate that he could cost as much as £50m to £60m.

From a purely financial perspective, that might be too high a fee for Spurs to stomach, but considering how talented Neto is, maybe Levy and Co should splash the cash a little bit on this one – his comparison to Kulusevski is just a nice bonus.

Why Neto would be a great signing and his comparison to Kulusevski

Okay, so before we look at Neto's impressive output and why he'd be so good for Spurs, let's first examine this comparison to the Lilywhites' Swedish international and where it came from.

Well, aside from their obvious positional similarity, this comparison stems from FBref, which compared all attacking midfielders and wingers in the 2022/23 Premier League season, created a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and concluded that Kulusevski was the most similar to the Wolves ace in the entire competition that year.

The way they came to this conclusion is by looking at their underlying numbers and then comparing how closely they rank in several key metrics, including non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive carries, passing accuracy, crosses into the penalty area, through balls, goal-creating actions, tackles won, clearances and carries, all per 90.

However, while it's a nice bonus and interesting to think about, Levy and Co are obviously not going to base their decision to sign the Portuguese star soley on his similarity to the former Juventus ace. Instead, they'll focus on his impressive form last season.

For example, in just 24 appearances for the Old Gold, the Viana do Castelo-born "monster", as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, found the back of the net on three occasions and provided 11 assists for his teammates, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.71 games.

Moreover, this haul of 14 goals and assists would have made the 24-year-old the fourth most productive Spurs player last season, despite the lack of games he played. This brings us to the one significant drawback in signing him: his fitness, or lack thereof.

Across the entirety of last season, the former Lazio winger missed 23 games for club and country, and while that is certainly something to consider, the upside of him moving to Tottenham is that, with the brilliant wide talent already at Postecoglou's disposal, he may well get more time to rest, thus minimising his injury risk.

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Ultimately, Neto is an undeniably talented player who could light up the Premier League with the Lilywhites, and while his fee and injury history are significant, so is the potential upside. Therefore, the North Londoners should push ahead and bring him to N17 this summer, as it may just be a gamble that pays off.

Glamorgan recover from 132 for 7 through van der Gugten and Dan Douthwaite fifties

David Hopps08-Apr-2021There has surely never been a bleaker start to the Championship season than this, well, not since last year anyway. Cricket took place at Headingley, but it was cold comfort, staged stoically in front of empty stands in the hope of better times ahead.Perhaps Yorkshire can be grateful the stands were empty. As Glamorgan played with startling enterprise to turn 132 for 7 into 310 for 8 by the close, Headingley was not quite the same without a few derisive cries of “Rubbish, Yorkshire!” and “Call yourself Champions!” (They’re not but that’s just unnecessary detail). They’ll all be watching on in-house streaming services and can be trusted to store up resentment for when the crowds finally return.Timm van der Gugten was Glamorgan’s unlikely batting stalwart. His career-best 80 not out at No. 9, from 134 balls, was an innings of optimistic muscularity and only the fourth time he had passed 50. A rebellious stand of 122 in 33 overs with Dan Douthwaite was followed by some hearty wind-ups by Michael Hogan, who walked off with 40 and will have visions of his fourth first-class fifty in the morning.Batting mayhem from the lower orders is hard enough to bear on the hottest days when the pitch is flat and the sun beats down, but somehow it is crueller still when a fast bowler can’t feel his fingers and a pitch he imagined might be his friend has lost interest.Douthwaite produced the most considered resistance in that late spree. He failed to break through at Surrey and Warwickshire and was given his chance at Glamorgan during studies at Cardiff University. After a decent all-round season in 2019, he had a stint at No. 6 last summer, but he was back at eight, at least for now.Douthwaite was finally silenced with the second new ball five overs old when he allowed a delivery from Ben Coad to strike his off stump. He will relish memories of a hooked six against Duanne Olivier which was high enough to have required stepladders. Telling Olivier it’s not a pitch for bouncers is like advising Piers Morgan to avoid publicity.Even Douthwaite’s belligerence came with moments of fortune, most notably in a wild slog against Matthew Fisher which careered over slips. As the seamers flagged, he deposited the offspin of Joe Root over long-on for six in a manner that informed Root that part-time offspin might have its moments in international cricket, but it had no place on a freezing day of the Championship in April.Six years have now passed since Yorkshire’s back-to-back Championships under the stewardship of Jason Gillespie, and Mark Arthur, Yorkshire’s chief executive, has told the annual meeting on Zoom that the county can boast its strongest squad in his near-decade in charge.In these parts that represents title talk – and leaving out David Willey did suggest either strength in depth, misguided selection or a little bit of both. Willey appeared as 12th man at one point in a hi-vis jacket, Yorkshire woolly hat and face mask which was not how it used to be done in the days of Lord Hawke.Douthwaite’s misjudgement extended the disastrous leave-alones to three, one in each session. Without them, Glamorgan’s situation could have been even better. Fisher, who, at 23, needs to kick on this summer to justify the expectations of his teenaged years, tailed the ball in slightly to hit the off stumps of David Lloyd in the morning and Callum Taylor after lunch.Glamorgan’s gusto brought life to these strange, slightly artificial proceedings. Infection rates may be falling fast, but Yorkshire is now Covid Central according to figures from Centre for Cities, which suggests that seven of the top eight towns and cities for new infections are in the county. The storm is not yet weathered.Nevertheless, Championship cricket has withstood jokes for at least half-a-century about how nobody watches it, which suggests it is perfectly designed to play to quarter-full grounds from May 17. Even those who do turn up tend to prefer their own company so much that they inventing social distancing long before anybody had even heard of the phrase.Before van der Gugten and Douthwaite wrested attention, pre-match interest had centred upon only the second cricket meeting of the Root brothers, the previous being a Royal London Cup tie four years ago. “I’ve not seen him since September,” observed Billy, who has been locked down in Wales while Joe pushed his Test batting average towards 50 with impressive shows in Sri Lanka and India.Reintroductions were made from third slip as Billy reached the wicket at 29 for 3. He fashioned Glamorgan’s early resistance with a workmanlike 43, and narrowly survived being run out by Joe on 38 when he pushed Fisher into the off side, chanced a single and was short of his ground when the throw missed the stumps. Coad eventually dismissed him, from around the wicket, leaving him for Jonny Tattersall to hold a low catch to his left. There was a flirty half-century, too, for Kiran Carlson, who seems to like a square drive.Yorkshire will need to be more resourceful when they are up against it if their imagined title challenge is to materialise. The new-ball pair of Fisher and Coad can sustain them, but the captain, Steve Patterson, is 37 now, and Olivier must dream on days like this of the hot sun and fast, bouncy pitches of his native South Africa.

Robin van Persie does not believe that he will ever work at Arsenal as the Dutchman fears that bridges were burnt with his Manchester United switch.

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Van Persie played for Arsenal from 2004 to 2012Man Utd move made him a villain at the Emirates Ruled out a return to Arsenal in the futureFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

During his tenure as a player, Van Persie dazzled fans at Arsenal from 2004 to 2012, before making the high-profile switch to Old Trafford – a transfer that turned him into a villain to the Gooners. Although it has been more than a decade since the infamous transfer, the former striker believes that it is still a "sensitive" topic in North London and it will be better if he kept that chapter closed for good.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT VAN PERSIE SAID

Now 41 years old, the Dutch football icon transitioned to management in 2024, taking charge of Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen. Speaking about his future aspirations, Van Persie candidly acknowledged that returning to Arsenal in a coaching role is improbable.

"I don’t expect to work at Arsenal. I think that door is closed," he admitted in an interview with . "Because of my switch to Manchester United, that is my assessment. You never know in football, but that is my assessment.

"It is still sensitive for them, not for me. It is especially sensitive for the Arsenal fans. I have learned that planning so far ahead makes no sense at all. I don’t want that either. I mainly live in the here and now. I really enjoy it here and I am very proud to be the coach of SC Heerenveen. I feel I feel very welcome within the club and among the fans. I also think that is important that you feel welcome."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Van Persie enjoyed remarkable success during his time with Arsenal, scoring 132 goals and providing 56 assists in 278 appearances. He played a crucial role in securing the FA Cup for the club in 2005, marking a memorable chapter in his career. However, his decision to join Manchester United in 2012 altered his relationship with Arsenal fans. Nonetheless, at United, Van Persie continued to shine, contributing 58 goals and 15 assists in 105 games and led the Red Devils to the Premier League title in 2013.

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AFPWHAT NEXT?

For many Arsenal supporters, Van Persie’s legacy remains a complex one. His years of brilliance at the Emirates are often overshadowed by his controversial departure. However, his achievements as a player are undeniable, and his current stint as a coach hints at a promising future in football management – just not one likely to involve Arsenal.