Category Uncategorized

Liverpool could replace Salah with Saka

by rastrear-estafeta.com Uncategorized

Liverpool are having a phenomenal season already winning the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, with the chance to win both the Premier League title and Champions League over the next few weeks too, so it will surely be an exciting time to be a player or a supporter of the club.

With that being said, to stay on top you must keep strengthening, improving and developing the squad and with many of Liverpool’s side already in or entering their 30s this year, it would be a good idea for Jurgen Klopp to start considering the next generation of talent he can develop into superstars.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane all have contracts ending in just over 12 months, with the Egyptian winger’s contract, in particular, being a highly speculated subject ahead of the summer transfer window.

Liverpool’s top goal-scorer has been one of the side’s best players over the years but it seems that his contract is at a stalemate, with Caught Offside reporting two weeks ago that a source has told them the negotiations have not progressed any further and the Reds are not interested in budging when it comes to their strict wage structure.

If the powers at Anfield and Salah can’t come to an agreement it could see the player leave the club, whether that means he will be sold for a profit this summer or allowed to see out his last 12 months at the club and leave on a free transfer next summer.

Regardless of the outcome, Klopp must start preparing for the worst-case scenario and could be eyeing up his replacement who already plays in the Premier League with Bukayo Saka heavily linked with Liverpool for a while now.

The £150m ace who was hailed a “wonderkid” by journalist James Benge has been impressing for Arsenal and England over the last 12 months, playing his part in the Euro 2020 final last summer and being part of Arsenal’s impressive season that has kept them in the top four race for months.

Saka has scored 11 goals and contributed six assists for the Gunners in 37 Premier League appearances, creating eight big chances, making 1.8 key passes and 1.1 tackles, proving how effective and creative he can be in attacking play.

Podcaster Ian McGarry even claimed back in January that the youngster fits into Liverpool’s system in an interview with talkSPORT:

“Saka is someone who is a player who suits Liverpool’s style.

“Liverpool would provide the opportunity and platform for him to play and compete at the highest level. And that would certainly be something that I’m told he and his representatives are very interested in.”

Ultimately, Saka will likely want to continue to play first-team football and get regular game time whether he stays at Arsenal or moves on, so if FSG are seriously interested in the young talent they will need to sacrifice a position in the attacking rotation to provide him with a regular spot in the team.

Perhaps they ought to wait until Salah really has had enough of Merseyside before making a move.

AND in other news: Huge boost: James Pearce delivers four-word injury update that’ll delight supporters

'A true fighter, a champion player'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Former team-mates led the tributes to Gautam Gambhir following his retirement announcement

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2018

Trott's story emerging with happy ending

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Jonathan Trott will leave the game with a smile on his face and many good memories. From the position he was in not so long ago, that is something to be cherished

George Dobell at Lord's17-Sep-2016By the time Jonathan Trott trudged off the pitch at the end of England’s Caribbean tour in 2015, it seemed his days in the sun were over.What once had come so easily had become torturous. He admits to have a sense of relief when he was dismissed in the second innings of that final Test in Barbados: relief he would never have to put himself through the torment again. When Alastair Cook suggested he review the lbw decision, he apparently replied “Nah, I’m out of here” and walked off to one of the more unusual standing ovations you will witness. Everyone knew his international career was over but, despite scores of 0 and 9 in that last Test, the Barmy Army proved they had longer memories than some sports fans when they rose to applaud him off.The months that followed were not easy. Trott didn’t just struggle to score runs in the 2015 season – he averaged 25.05 in the Championship – he struggled to muster any enthusiasm for the game. Maybe he even started to resent it.For Trott was a boy brought up to bat. He didn’t have a teddy, he had a sawn-down cricket bat. He didn’t go on holiday, he went on tour. So while he never much bothered with education – why did he need qualifications when he was going to score centuries? – he learned to express himself through runs. Want to make his parents happy? Score a century. Want to impress new team-mates? Score a century. Runs made everything all right.But, somewhere along the way, batting become too important to him. It wasn’t just a game: it was his profession; his identity; his means of providing for his family and making them proud. By the time it all came crashing down – unmasked and, in his eyes, humiliated in public in Brisbane – he felt he had nothing left. He has a book coming out in the coming days (I must declare an interest; I helped him write it) which will surprise a few by revealing the depths to which he sunk and how early in his career the demons started to take control. In short, cricket had become agony to him and he really didn’t have anything else to fall back upon.It has taken a long time to recover. But somewhere, maybe through the faith shown in him by Warwickshire, maybe through the hours spent with the psychiatrist Steve Peters, maybe by simply keeping on buggering on (as Winston Churchill memorably put it) he seems to have emerged through the other side of the storm.Oh, yes, the game defeated him in the end. Brisbane and Barbados still happened. Mitchell Johnson was still too good. Nothing will ever change that.But, as he showed at Lord’s, the experience has not destroyed him. It has scarred him, yes. But he has recovered sufficiently not just to re-emerge as a fine player at this level, but to have rediscovered his enjoyment for this great game. Maybe there is a happy ending to his story, after all.

Most people have experienced failure and fear at some time; they can respect a man who has faced his and, if not defeated them, at least not allowed to let them defeat him

There should be. While his international career ended in failure – they nearly always do – there were some great days along the way. There were Ashes wins at home at away. There was the rise to No. 1 in the Test and ODI rankings. There was the highest ODI batting average of any regular England batsman. It would be a shame if all that was overshadowed by the ending. It would be a shame if his second Test in Brisbane was remembered but his first not.It looks, at least, as if he will be able to look back with a sense of proportion and pride. To have paid the club he loves back with a Man-of-the-Match performance in a Lord’s final will ensure he leaves the game – and that departure is not especially imminent – with head held high and good memories outweighing the bad. He finishes as the competition’s second-highest run-scorer (only team-mate and imitator Sam Hain scored more) with three centuries and two half-centuries from seven innings. You didn’t have to be a Warwickshire supporter to celebrate his success.For maybe the first time in his career, Trott is playing the game for fun. He still puts himself under pressure to perform – “as an ex-international player you want to set the standard” he said – but he is not driven by the same desperation to prove himself. He knows there is more to life than cricket now. He knows it’s not everything.For maybe the first time in his career, Jonathan Trott is playing the game for fun•Getty ImagesThere were many heroes in this Warwickshire performance. There was Laurie Evans, who owed his selection over Ireland captain William Porterfield to an impressive display in a fielding training session earlier in the week and took what may have been a match-defining effort to dismiss Jason Roy. There was Oliver Hannon-Dalby, who gained seam movement absent to Surrey’s hugely talented quartet of pace bowlers. There was Chris Wright, who bowled with intelligence and control to tighten the grip on Surrey’s nervous batsmen. There was Tim Ambrose, who shrugged off injury to keep magnificently on a tricky surface and completed a stumping off a leg-side wide as if it was easy. There was Dougie Brown, who remains under pressure, but deserves time to lead this team through a tricky transition; the club will not find a coach who works harder or cares more. And there was Jeetan Patel who, with his quicker pace and greater turn, easily out-bowled Surrey’s two spinners. As Ian Bell said afterwards: “He is the standout spinner in county cricket.”But most of all there was Trott. The limited-overs game may have moved on from the time he took England to the brink of their first global ODI trophy – he still refers to the Champions Trophy final defeat at Edgbaston in 2013 as the biggest disappointment of his career and the moment his decline began – but if you need a man to chase a relatively modest target, there is nobody better. There might never have been anyone better. He was never going to let a chase of 137 bother him.”If there’s one bloke in world cricket who I would want to knock off a small total – or a total where you can pace yourself – it is Jonathan Trott,” Bell said.That is not faint praise. This was a surface – a poor surface for a showpiece final, really – on which nobody else in the match passed 40. Only one man reached 30. Not even Roy scored at such a strike rate. It required a man with a calm head and masterful technique to conquer it. It was a reminder of the high-class player he once was.It was noticeable at the end that the supporters of Surrey, as much as Warwickshire, stood to applaud him. As cricket crowds become more partisan such moments become ever less frequent. But maybe there has been something in Trott’s public struggle – and his public attempts to overcome it – that struck a chord with spectators. That has endeared him to them in a way that runs and records never can. Most people have experienced failure and fear at some time; they can respect a man who has faced his and, if not defeated them, at least not allowed to let them defeat him.It was noticeable, too, that with the game won and the rest of the players leaving the pitch, Trott paused for a while and marked his guard one more time. It was a ritual that once seemed to infuriate, but now appears a more endearing quirk. Trott will leave the game with a smile on his face and many good memories. From the position he was in not so long, that is something to be cherished.

Ricey remembers

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

A South Africa and Nottinghamshire colossus, now beset by illness, looks back at his career

Luke Alfred30-Jun-2015″We’re in the departure lounge,” says Clive Rice about himself and his old mate Graeme Pollock, who recently had a pin put into his fractured hip because he fell getting out of the bath.At first you think he might be exaggerating, but as he goes on to detail his physical trials, you sense that he might not be that far from the truth. First came the malaria, nasty at the best of times, but in Rice’s case it caused him four fits because it had become cerebral. Combine this with a cancerous growth cut out of his leg and lesions in each lung – two in the right, three in the left – and Rice has been in the wars.”To deal with the lesions they cut you open down your ribs, pull the ribs apart and collapse the lungs,” he says matter-of-factly. “I was in unbelievable pain. I’d rather play rugby against the All Blacks. Then there were four treatments of chemo. That was in November. I’ve slowly been trying to regain my strength and fitness. It’s not easy, I can tell you.”Fortunately Rice had something to look forward to. He has always been involved in racing modified cars and Porsches and he was about to take possession of a Chevy Cobra in stunning magnetic blue when the malaria struck. It’s a beautiful machine, down to the low growl of its V8 engine, with Rice’s name being stencilled in white paint down the side and the team’s name – Team Grumpy – appearing on the bonnet. “I wasn’t dying before I could race that thing,” he says, as he tells the story of his son and son-in-law driving it up from the KwaZulu-Natal South coast for him because he was too weak to do so.It’s moot as to whether Rice was the sleek Corvette, the sturdy family saloon or the low-riding muscle car. He was probably a bit of all three. Rather than his lines, however, it was his engine that powered him into the memory and the imagination – not bad for a cricketer whose pomp coincided almost too neatly with the period of South Africa’s isolation.

“They cut you open down your ribs, pull the ribs apart and collapse the lungs. I was in unbelievable pain. I’d rather play rugby against the All Blacks”

After making his debut for Transvaal in 1969 as a 20-year-old, he was chosen to go to Australia on the cancelled tour of 1971-72. Twenty years later, just as South Africa were readmitted to the international game, he became the subject of a fevered debate about the composition of South Africa’s first ever World Cup side. He had led the team in India four months previously and was so certain of the World Cup captaincy in ’92 that he made detailed plans about the composition of the side and how they were going to approach the competition. In the end he was left behind, told he was past it at 42. He compensated for his hollowness by working as a television commentator for his old mate Kerry Packer, a job he found unfulfilling and repetitive.”My respect for Peter van der Merwe [the convenor of selectors in 1992] was zero from 1985, when Kim Hughes brought his rebel Australians out,” said Rice. “I was summoned to a selection meeting before the one-dayers. We argued for two hours and at the end of it I told van der Merwe that he could tell Peter Kirsten and Kenny McEwan and Alan Kourie that they weren’t playing because they wanted some guy from Natal.”Anyway, so we were playing down in Durban and had just won the Test series and the champagne is flowing and the Aussies are in our dressing room. Carl Rackemann sees this piece of paper and grabs it out of van der Merwe’s hand and sees Kirsten’s name isn’t in the one-day squad. Well, pretty quickly the chairs are thrown around and van der Merwe is heading out in disgrace. We lost the first two and then the selectors allowed me the side I wanted. Van der Merwe was so gutless that he wouldn’t tell the guys to their faces that they’d been dropped. He said they could hear it on the radio.”With his merry band back in the fold, Rice’s team went on to win the one-day series 4-2. As a captain he probably lacked, say, Mike Brearley’s thoughtful, easy finesse but Rice was tough, generally loathed administrators and stood his ground on matters of principle to the point of being stubborn. When he was sacked as a player and professional from Nottinghamshire in 1978 for signing Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket deal, he took the county to the Old Bailey and, backed by no fewer than seven Queen’s Counsels funded by Packer himself, won the case.”In the interim the board had signed Richard Hadlee, so now they had four overseas professionals and only two could play,” said Rice. “When I was sacked as captain they reappointed a guy called Mike Smedley; he was worse than useless. The only thing he worried about was whether we finished one point above Derbyshire and if he scored 1000 runs in the summer. Halfway through the following season Smedley was sacked again and I was the captain.”Summer of ’79: Rice gets Ian Redpath out in the WSC Supertests final against WSC Australia•Adrian Murrell/Getty ImagesThe decision to hand the captaincy to Rice again ushered in a golden age for the county. He formed a formidable combination with Hadlee, wonderfully supported by the evergreen Eddie Hemmings, and helped by the emergence, in later years, of players like Tim Robinson, Bruce French and Chris Broad.The pitch at Trent Bridge always had a covering of grass, and in 1981, their first Championship-winning season since 1929, Rice won the toss on all but one occasion and asked the opposition to bat; in the game where he lost the toss, Leicestershire decided to bat anyway, and they were beaten by eight wickets, Rice and Hadlee sharing eight wickets between them.After a sluggish start, with draws away to Kent and Middlesex, and the abandonment of the game in Derby against Derbyshire, the season was funnelled to a dramatic end. Notts needed to win their final match, against Glamorgan at home to take the title. As usual there was a good lick of green on the wicket, the pitch having carry and bounce.”To this day I remember their overseas professional, Norman Featherstone [a fellow South African], looking at the pitch and saying: ‘Jesus, how are we going to face Rice and Hadlee on this?’ They were 60 all out and we won inside two days by ten wickets. That was a huge moment. I remember Reg Simpson [the former England opener from the 1950s] coming into the dressing room. He shook Richard’s and my hands. He couldn’t say a word. There were just tears rolling down his cheeks. It was the moment where you suddenly realise what you’ve achieved.”The season is worth looking at more closely, so large were the deeds. Nottinghamshire were regularly winning at home by eight and nine wickets, with Hadlee finishing top of the bowling averages (105 wickets at 14.89) and Rice in seventh place (65 wickets at 19.20). Rice was fifth in the batting averages, sandwiched between Viv Richards and Peter Kirsten, having scored 1462 runs at 56.23. Hadlee scored his 745 runs at 32.39, including a priceless big hundred against Yorkshire in Bradford. They frequently took the new ball together and presumably bossed their fellow players like teenage brothers herding a group of snotty younger urchins. It must have been demanding to play in the glow of their radiant egos.

“Reg Simpson came into the dressing room and shook Richard’s and my hands. There were tears rolling down his cheeks. It was the moment where you suddenly realise what you’ve achieved”

“We dragged them up from their bootlaces,” says Rice with his customary growl. “We made them all believe they could play a bit better.”Such were the bellicose boys from Trent Bridge that they took on all incoming tourists as well, beating Australia (by an innings), Sri Lanka and India in the time Rice was there, and only losing to West Indies after giving them an early fright. Rice remembers an “embarrassed” West Indies cranking up the heat after being bowled out cheaply, Michael Holding bowling to six slips and a forward short-leg. “I thought if I could just get into line and hit it in front of the wicket, I’d be okay, there were runs on offer – not that it turned out that way.”Without doubt the most punishing cricket Rice ever played was against those self-same West Indians in World Series Cricket. It was hard, unforgiving, and always played under Packer’s harshly appraising eye.”I remember one game at VFL Park in Melbourne – it was one of those drop-in pitches,” said Rice. “We won the toss and batted. It was the quickest pitch I’ve ever played on. They had [Wayne] Daniel, [Joel] Garner and Andy Roberts. We had [Garth] Le Roux, Proccie [Mike Procter], Imran [Khan] and myself. Majid Khan suffered a depressed cheekbone after being hit by Andy Roberts and the ambulance didn’t even have time to get a look at him before Greigy ordered us back on again after we were out for just over a hundred. ‘We’re going to get them back for that,’ says Greig, and before you can look, they’re 30 for 5. In no time at all, Garner is batting, and we just want to ping the living shit out of him.”Derek Underwood, who is on for Majid, says to Greig that we don’t need two guys out after Majid has been hurt, but no one is listening and I just bounce him. He’s like a wounded bear. Not even Collis King, who is the non-striker, is comfortable to ask how he’s feeling, and he’s the last man ‘retired hurt’ as they get to about 70 for 9, and we win by 30-odd runs. As we’re walking off, I think to myself, ‘Now you’ve done it, Packer’s going to be waiting for you in the dressing room, you’re out, on the next plane home.’ He’s there all right but it’s to congratulate us: ‘That’s the best game in the World Series so far,’ he says. ‘You’ve put us on the map.'”Rice (second from bottom), with Hadlee, Kapil, Botham and Marshall at an allrounders’ competition in Taunton, 1984•PA PhotosRice found himself on the map in every way but the most important one, never playing a Test for South Africa. He won three out of four World Allrounder competitions, only losing against Imran Khan in Kowloon, while winning in Arundel, Taunton and Hong Kong. His old mate Hadlee could never beat him, despite giving it a good bash. “I know it bugs him,” says Rice with a smile.Such is the curse of his generation that Rice, along with many others, is being touted as the possible recipient of a Heritage Blazer, Cricket South Africa’s latest public relations initiative. The very thought of it makes him incandescent. “They give me one of those and I’d just hand it to the waiter at the function,” he says, and you have no reason to disbelieve him.Rice has more important things to think about, after all. He is bald because of the chemotherapy, and on the balance of probabilities it’s fair to suggest that his struggles with cancer aren’t yet over. Indeed, it recurred again recently, necessitating a dash to Bangalore to receive a cutting edge form of radiation treatment called CyberKnife. All indications are that the treatment in India for Rice’s brain tumour was a success, but he will need all his courage and legendary belligerence to fight off a foe easily the equal of anything he ever experienced on the field, whether at Trent Bridge or the Wanderers.For the time being, there are compensations, whether they come in the form of his wife’s love, his cars, or golf. As it happens, his bottom garden abets onto a fairway at his local golf club. “I hate it when they hit a Pinnacle [golf ball] into the garden or the pool by mistake and not a Pro V1x,” he smirks. “A Pro V1x is just so much better for my game.”

Talented yes, but where's the nous?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

West Indies’ reckless batting granted India a huge advantage on the first day

Sidharth Monga at Eden Gardens06-Nov-2013Is there an experience more frustrating in cricket than watching West Indies bat in Tests? So beautifully they bat, so hopelessly they collapse. Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo and Darren Sammy should be kicking themselves after wasting their starts irresponsibly to be bowled out for 234 on the first day of a Test in India after they had the big advantage of winning the toss.Some of the shots West Indies played today might have been worth the gate money alone, but they were followed by a severe lack of Test-match temperament or cricketing intelligence. Powell started the day nearly perfectly. The two punches – back-foot drives, if you will – defied a slightly two-paced pitch. First he rose with the bounce of a Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivery, rode it, faced it in front of his chest, and placed it wide of cover and watched it travel to the boundary on this quick outfield. Soon he repeated the dose, only this time he punched it straight back into the pitch, after which it bounced over the bowler’s head for four. That’s a signature Chris Gayle shot that they say people used to drive to Kingston to watch. Down-the-road punch, they call it.Between them, they are the two most difficult shots to play. To ride the bounce, to keep the ball down, to get enough timing to send the ball to the boundary, to place it, is a clear sign of skill that warrants a healthier Test average than 30. He also laid down the gauntlet for R Ashwin by going after him effortlessly, punching him down the ground for a six and driving him over mid-on for a four in his first over. It was all settling down beautifully for Powell when Mohammed Shami came back and bowled a bouncer. The idea was good, but it was directed well wide outside off. And, mind you, it was the first bouncer of the day. Powell reached out, and played the hook to get out.Unfortunately, those who saw him end his innings in similar fashion all over Karnataka during the A tour last month weren’t surprised. In Shimoga, he had looked similarly good in scoring 33 before chipping the left-arm spin of Bhargav Bhatt down deep midwicket’s lap. This was not a mis-hit, he never tried to hit it for a six. This was either a break in concentration or lack of match awareness.I asked the West Indies A coach Junior Bennett what does he tell batsmen when they get out in this manner. This, after all, is no technical flaw that can be corrected in the nets. Bennett said he had waited for a day, and was now going to take Powell aside for “a one-a-way”, show him the video, and ask him to explain what just happened there. Powell later spoke in a press conference about the need to concentrate harder. Not just him, other West Indies A batsmen too: there were 11 scores of 60-99 during that tour and just one century, that too in the second innings of a match certain to be drawn.Whatever Powell might have gleaned from that one-a-way he didn’t bring it back to India. It could well have been a break in concentration behind Powell’s shot to get out, but West Indies also need to break their boundary concentration. Until Shivnarine Chanderpaul came in to bat, 112 of their 138 runs had come in boundaries, but their overall run-rate despite such a high boundary count was little over three. It was all block-block-block-block-block-boom. And back to block.In India, not looking for the single plays right into MS Dhoni’s hands. He loves employing in-and-out fields: four men catching and others protecting the boundary. And it allows his spinners to bowl continuously at one batsman and build pressure. Bravo was a willing party to these tactics. His 23 runs came in 10 shots yet his strike rate was 24. On nine occasions, he played out maidens. And then scored in spurts through shots that once again reminded you of Brian Lara in his pomp.All this is no excuse for his headless running and then looking back repeatedly at Chanderpaul as he walked back as if it wasn’t his fault, and his fault alone. The ball had been played behind square, pretty much straight to the fielder, it was Chanderpaul’s call, and he never showed an inclination to run. Like Powell, Bravo turned out to be just another tease.It might sound a little harsh to criticise Sammy for his holing out to long-off when some of his specialist batsmen sold their wickets at a garage sale, but this was a Test, if ever there was one, for the captain to put a price on his wicket. His being neither this nor that disturbs the balance of the team. If West Indies play six batsmen, they are left with three specialist bowlers and Sammy, who is a great trier and pretty accurate but is hardly a strike bowler. It can work in seam-friendly conditions but here in India you need an extra spinner. So today the captain made the choice to play the fourth specialist bowler, which should automatically call for more responsibility with the bat from the man who made that decision.And Sammy had Chanderpaul to bat with. Dhoni spread the field out for Sammy, brought the field up, put spin on, and basically gave him singles all around the dial if he so fancied. Sammy, though, fancied clearing long-off. He failed, and Chanderpaul was left stranded. Surely the easiest bit of captaincy Dhoni has done?Except for Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin, none of the West Indies players expected to make runs can claim they got a special delivery or a special set-up or incredible pressure. It was good steady bowling from India, but hardly deserving such a massive advantage on day-one pitch. In all likelihood, West Indies are in store for a long day and a half in the field. Sometimes a leather hunt in the sun can teach lessons the best of the coaches can’t.

To Africa, with kit and a message

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Cricket Without Boundaries is a UK initiative that takes cricket, and a message of AIDS awareness, to an entire continent

Firdose Moonda15-May-2012Ed Williams, Andy Hobbs and Chris Kangis spent seven months in as many African countries, taught over 3000 children to play cricket, and trained 175 others to become coaches. They carried kit from Kenya to Namibia, via Tanzania and Zambia, on a two-day train journey. They stayed everywhere from seedy hotels to the home of a one-legged British Defence attaché. They played football on a beach in Malawi, taught in schools in Zimbabwe, became better acquainted with the terrain of Africa than most people who live on the continent, and then had an experience that would become Williams’ most treasured memory.In a slum in one of Kenya’s industrial towns, Thika, they met a group of young girls in the final stages of AIDS. One of them, Eva, was too frail to get out of bed and rarely played with the other children. The day Williams met her, she was able to join in, and not only did she take part in the match, Eva also hit the winning runs. “That image has been on the homepage of my phone for the last six years,” Williams says.Travelling into the heart of Africa had been in Williams’ plans since he was 15 years old. “I wanted to do a Cairo to Cape Town trip ever since I watched former Monty Python Michael Palin do it in his television show.”Playing cricket and teaching others to play it was also part of his plans. “My passion for cricket comes from a lifetime of playing it and later coaching it,” Williams, who describes himself as a pretty average schoolboy cricketer who went on to play village cricket in Sussex and eventually for a University team, says. “I love the way in which cricket forces teams to work together in more subtle and personally interactive ways than say rugby.”In Hobbs, Williams met someone whose plans seemed similar to his own. The pair played for the same University of Nottingham team, and both played league cricket. Together they discussed growing the game, having a positive social impact, and seeking out an adventure. Africa was the ideal place to do all three.They found work in Zimbabwe, coaching cricket and teaching at two schools, but something did not feel quite right. “It was fun but a very private school, and we were not exactly making a difference,” Williams said. It was while playing football in a local village game on the shores of Malawi that they made up their minds to focus on those with lesser opportunities.Noble as that intention was, it would take an inordinate amount of planning to make it a reality. Both had professions to get back to in the United Kingdom. Williams was a barrister, and Hobbs worked for the ECB in Berkshire. Kangis, a corporate lawyer friend of theirs, turned out to be keen on their idea.It was during that phase that they discovered how unavoidable the problem of HIV/AIDS was. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most infected region in the world, with an estimated 22.9 million people carrying the virus – nearly equal to the population of Mozambique. The three decided that AIDS awareness was going to have to be part of their message.Williams and Kangis had to quit their jobs to go on the first trip, in 2006, a sacrifice they decided was worth it. They called their mission Cricket Without Boundaries (CWB) and in a symbolic gesture, set off from Lord’s. It would be a journey Williams calls the biggest adventure of his life and “probably one of the things I am most proud of”.

“My favourite country was Uganda. It was like Sussex but with no one cutting the lawns, and lots more banana trees. They are mighty impressive at cricket too, with a really strong development angle, particularly with girls”Ed Williams, co-founder of Cricket Without Boundaries

Egypt and South Africa would be among the seven countries they visited. They donated equipment, which CWB had flown out to them at various stages of their trip, in four countries, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya and Namibia. “In addition to bags of kit, we carried the rest of our stuff in a backpack. So we had lots of long bus journeys with far too much stuff,” Williams remembers.He recalls using means of transport they would normally have avoided as too precarious, and staying in some “pretty awful” places. But what far outweighs all of that is the thought of what they achieved. “We genuinely did what we set out to do,” Williams says.”My favourite country was Uganda. It was like Sussex but with no one cutting the lawns, and lots more banana trees. Perhaps it was because English was their main language, but I fell in love with the place and the people. They are mighty impressive at cricket too, with a really strong development angle, particularly with girls.” Uganda has proved Williams right recently, with impressive showings in events such as the World T20 qualifiers and World Cricket League tournaments.In their short time in Africa, the three men built what they consider the platform for a legacy. Although real life summoned them once they reached the United Kingdom, they did not want to let CWB disappear. The organisation expanded to become a full-fledged charity.CWB goes on four visits to Africa a year, taking volunteers along. People interested in making the trip are interviewed (for five years some of these interviews took place at The Oval, but they had to move to the BBC World Service headquarters this year because of costs) and have to fund their own trips. First-time volunteers raise £750 to cover the cost of the project, and also pay for their flights. Returning volunteers pay £500 but only travel for a week. The money is used for equipment, transport and accommodation on the tour.Each mission consists of at least eight people, who spend two weeks on tour. Once in a country, the plan is two-fold. Cricket coaching – the group includes an ECB Level 3 tutor – is done in co-ordination with the country’s cricket association, and if possible the national team, such as in Rwanda. Along with teaching children how to play the game, CWB also trains adults to become coaches, a qualification that is endorsed by the ICC. The hope is that the coaches will be able to continue growing cricket in the country once CWB leaves.”Our core is to use cricket as an enabler,” Dave Terrace, a CWB volunteer, says. In addition, the sport facilitates the campaign for AIDS awareness. “We teach the ABC: Abstain, Be faithful, use a Condom. There are also other messages like knowing your status and inclusiveness [boys and girls playing together] that we use,” Terrace says.Cricket Without Boundaries with kids in Rwanda•Cricket without BoundariesCWB are aware that most of the countries they visit will never play cricket at the highest level, but they are content simply spreading the game and waiting for success. “The goal is to have at least one national team player in each of our partner countries to have been through a CWB programme as a coach or player,” Terrace says. So far, CWB has coached 35,000 children on the continent and trained 2000 coaches.Williams, Hobbs and Kangis still oversee the activities of CWB and lend a hand in between. For Williams, the best reward has already been bestowed upon them. A year after they returned from their African adventure, the British High Commission visited Thika. They found a few children playing cricket, including one who Williams had hoped would still be there.”They sent me a picture of a smiling, much chubbier little girl who was Eva,” Williams said. “I am not sure if she is still alive but we understood she got anti-retrovirals shortly after playing cricket with us on that day. We like to think we helped her get better in some small way by giving her the incentive to get out of bed and come and play.”

India have tough questions to tackle

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Are India looking more at the past – in Kumble’s great record, in the old two-spinner theory – than looking to play the four best bowlers available?

Cricinfo staff16-Oct-2008
Will Anil Kumble be fit, and will India play two spinners? © AFP
The biggest question India grappled with a day before the start of the second Test was the fitness of Anil Kumble, their captain and an integral part of a two-spin, two-pace attack. The answer, about 21 hours before the captains walked out for the toss, was the same as it was in Kanpur earlier this year. He was troubled by a bad shoulder then, as he is now. “If I can bowl, I will play…So I will assess how I feel in the morning,” Kumble had said a day before the Kanpur Test. “It’s 24 hours before the match, so we’ll just wait and see how it responds,” he said on Thursday. He didn’t play in Kanpur, and we’ll know only at the toss tomorrow if he does here.”It’s a lot better than what it was yesterday,” he said. Yesterday he hadn’t even bowled at the nets. Today he said he did, in the privacy of the indoor nets.India go into an important Test match with more questions than answers, in contrast to their opponets. Stuart Clark, one of Australia’s main bowlers, was injured during the Bangalore Test. He didn’t bowl yesterday, took a fitness test today, during which he bowled around 30 deliveries, and didn’t look fit enough to play a Test. As a result the man who will take his place, Peter Siddle, knows a day in advance, and has time to settle his nerves before his Test debut.The replacement for Kumble, if needed, both as player and captain, will get to know about an hour before the match. It’s an academic thought but India don’t have a designated vice-captain either. Going by the Kanpur precedent, Mahendra Singh Dhoni should lead the side if Kumble is not fit to play. Australia have always gone after the opposition captain; here, the captain has left himself open to being a target.The weather, and its effects on the pitch, could also have a bearing on the combination. The rains have meant the pitch has stayed under the covers for too long, and hasn’t had the desired amount of sunlight. As a result, it is expected to retain some of the moisture underneath the top surface, which looks pretty dry. The curator expects the pitch to be sluggish until, as he hopes, the sun beats down on it consistently.Again, there are two ways of looking at the sluggish pitch. The spinners might not get the kind of bounce they enjoy in Mohali – as Kumble has done here, with two Man-of-the-Match performances. The pace bowlers might not get the kind of carry. In such a scenario, Munaf Patel sounds a better option than Amit Mishra, going by recent form and experience. This is also the venue where Munaf made his promising debut two years ago. He has gone through a lot since then, and is back with the same promise, perhaps more.Kumble’s fitness and the ideal combination in his absence has left a lot of doubt. But there is a larger question India need to come face to face with, sooner or later and regardless of Kumble’s fitness. Are they ready to – and it’s not as bold a move as it sounds – play three fast bowlers in home Tests? Especially when there are three pace bowlers close to pretty much the best they have been?Are India looking more at the past – in Kumble’s great record, in the old two-spinner theory – than looking to play the four best bowlers available?And if they choose to go with five bowlers, it will involve another emotionally detached decision, the kind India are not known for. Playing five batsmen would mean dropping either Sourav Ganguly or VVS Laxman. One of them is in his last series, the other is three Tests short of 100. Even though the batsmen did enough in Bangalore to save the Test and their places in the side, the bowling attack didn’t look potent enough to force the issue. This pitch here is expected to be better for batting.The last time India went with three fast bowlers, when not playing five bowlers, in a home Test, was against Pakistan in 2004-05 – incidentally, at the same venue. L Balaji, Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan had done well then to bowl Pakistan out on the first day but in the second innings, when the pitch became easier to bat on, India couldn’t bowl Pakistan out. Pakistan started the fifth day 53 runs ahead with four wickets in hand. Kumble managed two wickets on the fifth day, but the match was saved by Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal.The pitches in India have, however, changed since. It’s hard to find a track – Kanpur was an underprepared exception – that of late has been a typical Indian minefield. Are India looking more at the past – at Kumble’s great record, at the old two-spinner theory – than looking to play the four best bowlers available?

Ethan Nwaneri is ready to become Arsenal's new star boy – but what will wonderkid's role be following Gunners' summer spending spree?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The 18-year-old is set to play a new position at the Emirates Stadium after the club's busy transfer window

This is a busy time for anyone working in Arsenal's communications department. New sporting director Andrea Berta is securing signings at a pace almost unprecedented in the club's modern history, and the social media team must be remonstrating with higher-ups that there are only so many ways you can unveil a player online.

Arrivals and acquisitions aren't the only pieces of business that Berta has had to attend to, however. Having formally taken up his role on March 30, replacing former 'Invincible' Edu, he has also has to play a major role in tying players down to new contracts. Gabriel Magalhaes and Myles Lewis-Skelly have already committed their long-term futures to the Gunners, and Ethan Nwaneri is next in line.

After entering the last 12 months of his contract, there was concern in north London that Nwaneri would run down the remainder of his deal and look for a move away, but he is instead set to put pen to paper and extend his stay.

Nwaneri's talent is obvious to anyone who has watched him play, though what isn't as clear is how he fits into Mikel Arteta's setup. Even though the pathway to a starting role is a tricky one to navigate, there's plenty of reason to believe the 18-year-old can make a splash this coming season and beyond.

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Nwaneri was a hot topic on the youth football scene even before he became the youngest debutant in Premier League history back in September 2022, aged only 15 years and 181 days. To put that into perspective, he had to hand in English GCSE homework 24 hours later.

After introducing the teenager for his first appearance in that 3-0 win at Brentford, Arteta said: "The first day I met him I looked him in his eyes and everyone was telling me about him, Per [Mertesacker, academy manager] was telling me about him, and because of the injuries we only have 12 or 13 senior players yesterday to put in the squad and we decided to bring him, and that's it.

"It's one step, one experience, so enjoy it and congratulations! It's just one step and all the steps in your career are not forward and you have to know that. You can go forward then backwards and then forwards. You fall, you go back – that's, unfortunately, this industry and the football career of any player."

As Arteta alluded to, playing first-team minutes at such an age doesn't necessarily mean you will be fulfil your potential or hit the highest heights. Here are the names of the other nine players who make up the list of top 10 Premier League youngest debutants: Jeremy Monga, Harvey Elliott, Matthew Briggs, Izzy Brown, Aaron Lennon, Jose Baxter, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Gary McSheffrey and Reece Oxford. It's not exactly a group of A-listers.

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Arteta is, nevertheless, impressed by Nwaneri and has vowed to handle his progression personally. The Gunners boss said back in November: "I will try to educate him, raise him, and give him the pathway that we believe is the best. His family, his agent, his friends, they will be very important as well. Don’t listen too much to the noise, focus on what he does which is to play football and he loves every minute of it, and good things will happen to him for sure."

Indeed, Nwaneri ended 2024-25 with a whopping 37 appearances across all competitions, registering nine goals and two assists, while he secured a nomination for the PFA Young Player of the Year award to boot. There was also buzz over a potential England call-up given his fine form over the winter when the Arsenal first team was hit by an injury crisis. His standout moment came when he fired in his side's fifth goal in a 5-1 drubbing of Manchester City, cutting inside and blasting into the back of the net in a style that is starting to become trademark.

"I knew I'd do something if I got the ball," he told last month of that goal. "Then Dec [Rice] luckily saw me. You don't really think, you just do it. You think about it afterwards. (That finish comes) from a young age, practising in the park for ages. I've always been playing on the right more, so I've always kind of been cutting in on my left foot. So I've just developed over the years, it's really just come from me, naturally."

This is experience that should only prove helpful to Nwaneri's development and adjustment to the adult game. He's already developed a jink and ability to create a yard of space on the edge of the 18-yard box, while his shot is amongst the most powerful in the entire Arsenal squad already. There's a reason he was ranked sixth in the 2025 NXGN list.

Getty ImagesNew position

When it was reported by that negotiations between Arsenal and Nwaneri over a new deal were at their closing stages, they made sure to mention that the plan moving forward would be to test the youngster in a more central role as opposed to on the wing.

The signing of Noni Madueke from Chelsea also suggests that there will be more limited opportunities coming in place of Bukayo Saka on the right, and Nwaneri's proficiency in central areas make him an unnatural fit for the left wing spot that remains up for grabs in Arteta's strongest XI. It's a proposition that Nwaneri is ready for.

"You can see sometimes I'm a natural midfielder," he said last month. "But I think if the manager wants you to play in a position, you have to do it to the best of your abilities. I don't mind playing there because anywhere for the Arsenal first team I'll be happy playing, and trying to do a good job for the team. I've played false nine before a few times, actually. I think I can do a role anywhere that the manager needs me."

Madueke's arrival will no doubt have an impact on how Nwaneri is used, but so too will Martin Zubimendi, the metronomic playmaker signed from Real Sociedad. In theory, the Spaniard should be able to alleviate the No.10, be that Martin Odegaard or Nwaneri, from creative responsibilities in deeper areas and allow them to probe higher up the pitch, even making them more of a goal threat. In this advanced role, Odegaard hit 15 Premier League goals during 2022-23, but has scored just 11 combined in the two seasons since after being dragged back into build-up more often. Nwaneri, a more fierce ball-striker and powerful dribbler, could take advantage of such a tactical tweak if Zubimendi is a consistent starter.

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Getty Images SportRival interest

Arsenal themselves are known for promoting youth, not least given the fame of their Hale End academy. But when Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea are among the clubs who are looking to sign you, that's when you know you're an elite prospect.

The Blues and BVB were more strongly linked with Nwaneri over the last couple of months when contract talks appeared to be going awry, or at least not according to Arsenal's plan. Nevertheless, despite the temptation of perhaps a more coherent roadmap into the starting XI elsewhere, Nwaneri has decided to stay in north London, and his family have hit back at suggestions he held the Gunners to ransom in contract talks.

After suggesting that Nwaneri had 'done nothing in the game' to make demands to Arsenal, ex-Wales striker and pundit Dean Saunders clarified earlier this week: "I was on the putting green at Effingham and Jay Bothroyd went to school with his [Nwaneri's] dad. He said, 'Can you put Dean on?' So I spoke to his dad, and fair play to him, he said that [demanding more game time] never happened.

"I said, 'If it's true, we were reacting to what was said in the newspaper'. So he should take it up with the newspaper as they wrote the story. They're all Aston Villa fans and he said, 'We've had the criticism off [Jamie] O'Hara and [Jason] Cundy, but when it comes from you, it hurts'. I said, 'I'm not criticising him, he's a great young player but if you're demanding game time off Arteta…' which apparently he didn't, so there you go. I spoke to his dad and he was a lovely bloke."

Lamine Yamal told Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo comparisons are 'too much' with Barcelona wonderkid at risk of 'erasing his personality'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Florent Malouda has warned against hyping up Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal, saying Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo comparisons are "too much".

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  • Yamal suffered heartbreaking UCL defeat
  • Ex-France international comments on youngster
  • Warns Messi comparisons are 'too much'
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    WHAT HAPPENED?

    Speaking to Racing Tipster, former France and Chelsea star Florent Malouda praised Barca and Spain's young winger but resisted the temptation to hype him up too much. He said that comparing the 17-year-old to Messi and Ronaldo is "too much right now" and emphasised the importance of not "erasing his own personality".

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  • WHAT MALOUDA SAID

    Asked what Yamal needs to do to reach the level of Messi or Ronaldo, Malouda said: "That's too much right now, and that's also in a kind of way erasing his own personality. He’s probably inspired by a mix of both, but you can see has his own touch. He has his own personality. Of course he’s still young, but so experienced. I’m not sure that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did what he did at his age. Now it's more about longevity and how he not only maintains this level but improves. We will be able to compare the three players if he sets goals to achieve and is able to maximise his talent. He should not be just happy with what he's doing because now it feels like he's comfortable. If he sets himself a high standard that matches his talent, I think he can be compared to those two, who are in a league of their own. But there’s a lot of years and games ahead of him to confirm he can meet his potential."

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    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Malouda's comments come in the wake of a gut-wrenching Champions League semi-final defeat for Barca and Yamal, who has been a hugely influential performer for Hansi Flick's side this campaign but ultimately could do nothing to stop Inter's stunningly dramatic advance to the final.

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  • WHAT NEXT FOR YAMAL?

    Yamal and his team-mates will have to pick themselves up quickly, as they have the small matter of a La Liga title to win. Positioned four points above arch-rivals Real Madrid, Barca are closing in on the league title and face the prospect of winning it in a derby match against Espanyol that could be played in front of no fans. However, before that, they must navigate an enormous Clasico match that will go a long way towards deciding who gets their hands on this season's La Liga trophy.

Nico Paz reacts to transfer saga as Tottenham bid rejected

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Spurs target Nico Paz was asked about the noise surrounding his future after starring in Como's opening Serie A win of the season.

  • Paz focusing on Como
  • Scored & assisted in first game
  • Spurs facing an uphill battle
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    After scoring and assisting in Como's 2-0 win over lazio to top the Serie A standings by the end of Sunday, demonstrating just why clubs are keen on having him, Paz denied paying any attention to the transfer market in recent months. He is, the player says, purely focused on spending 2025-26 with Como and not actively looking to leave.

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    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Tottenham turned onto Paz after Arsenal hijacked their attempted capture of Eberechi Eze. But after seeing an opening offer rejected, Spurs were also rebuffed with a significantly improved €70 million (£61m/$82m) bid. Real Madrid have a matching rights clause this summer and a €10m (£9m/$12m) buyback clause that becomes active next summer, with the player thought to want to head back to the Bernabeu in the long-term.

  • WHAT PAZ SAID

    Asked about his future after the win over Lazio, Paz replied, via : "The transfer market? I didn't listen to anything, I stayed focused on preparing for the season. Let's hope everything goes well and that we can reach the highest possible level."

    Team-mate Lucas da Cunha said: "It's not my place to talk. I'm very calm, I know he's very happy. He dreams of becoming a top player, he has to keep going like this, with matches like this."

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    WHAT NEXT FOR SPURS?

    After missing out on Eze, and having James Maddison ruled out long-term, Spurs are running out of time to boost their 'number 10' depth and cover. The club is also in the market for a centre-back, identifying Bayer Leverkusen's Piero Hincapie, but have seen Arsenal again jump in. The Premier League transfer window closes on September 1, in a week's time.

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