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The stakes are higher than ever, and the stage is set for Jonny to be Jonny
Vithushan Ehantharajah04-Jul-2023The international schedule rightly gets a hammering for matches backing up on to one another. But all praise to it for ensuring we only have one more day of “spirit of cricket” discourse.Alex Carey’s Sunday stumping of Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s will have ideally run out of fumes by the time the third Test gets underway on Thursday. The actual cricket could not come back soon enough.That will certainly be how both protagonists feel. And though Carey might be the man in the sightlines of the frothier pearl-clutchers, he has the best insulation. The laws help keep the conscience clear, the 2-0 scoreline gives comfort of a job well done. One win away from enacting Australia’s first overseas Ashes win since 2001 keeping him focused.For Bairstow, things are not quite as clear cut. His mood is said to be pretty much as you would expect. And as such, his England team-mates are getting around him. On Tuesday evening, they head over to his house for a barbecue, which has become a loose tradition when the squad is up in these parts. Having numbers over will provide relief from the noise. But it would not be a surprise if some of them use the opportunity to wind him up a little further. Such is the situation England find themselves in, with three must-win games in a row, they need the angry Bairstow more than ever.Related
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“Jonny does thrive off things like this,” Joe Root said on Tuesday at Headingley, a homecoming for both of them as well as Harry Brook. “Playing at his ground, I’m sure he will want to entertain the local crowd. I think it is set up nicely for him but you have still got to go and do it. You can bet your bottom dollar he will have the bit between his teeth.”When asked of Bairstow’s current mood, Root, who has played alongside Bairstow since Under-12 level at Yorkshire, opted for sarcasm: “No, he has been really placid,” before adding, “you can spot him from a mile off.” No one wears anger as obviously.The general awareness of Bairstow’s frame of mind is a good thing at a time like this. “Jonny is Jonny” is a phrase you often hear when asking after him. Essentially, an answer acknowledging the motivation of the question, with a knowing nod to how things are. Not too dissimilar from “it is what it is”.A rekindling of his talents in 2022 – 681 runs for the summer, four centuries, at an average of 75.66 – was down to Ben Stokes’s empathy, recognising exactly what Bairstow needs to thrive. After an eight-month spell out with a broken leg, Bairstow’s belief and ball-striking remain undimmed. But a reaction is needed from the most pugnacious cricketers going. No one wants it more than him, partcularly against these opponents.Bairstow has one of the more peculiar relationship with Australia. On statistics alone, they are a bit of an oddity, averaging more there (32.29) than he does over here (27.45). Both of his Ashes hundreds have been scored in Australia, a place where few modern English batters have excelled.His first taste of this rivalry came in 2013, playing the first four Tests in a forgettable 3-0 England win. A second, more bitter taste was around the corner during the 2013-14 whitewash. Bairstow, who replaced Matt Prior behind the stumps for the final two matches, was so on the periphery as England’s most successful collection of players of the modern era tore themselves apart that he often got mistaken for a Barmy Army supporter when walking the streets in team stash.Jonny Bairstow is back on home turf at Headingley•Getty ImagesThen there was the “headbutt” that wasn’t to Cameron Bancroft at the very start of the 2017-18 tour. A quieter 2019, saw him pitch in with an underrated 36 during the great Headingley heist, outscoring Stokes in a partnership of 86 for the fifth wicket.And then there was last Ashes, in 2021-22, when Bairstow was heckled and told to lose weight by an Australian fan as he returned to the pavilion at Sydney. He went on to score the only England century of the tour.The on- and off-field incidents of this series could end up trumping the lot. A fine opening knock of 78 was overshadowed by some lacklustre glovework, allowing Australia to triumph by two wickets in the first Test and restarting the Ben Foakes bandwagon.An over into the second, he was carrying a Just Stop Oil protester back to the Grandstand with one hand. Between that and idly strolling out of his crease was another tough spell as keeper, taking his byes this series to 31. He failed to make those runs up in front of the stumps, with an avoidable dismissal in the first inning as he punched Josh Hazlewood to mid-on for 16.Have we ever been more certain that Bairstow is going to do something this week in what will be his 93rd Test cap? His team-mates believe something special is in the offing.”You want to be watching every ball this week,” Root said. “There is always something in these big series and this is it I guess. And it would have to involve Jonny. What a week he had.”It was last year at Edgbaston that Bairstow previously dialled himself up to 11. He walked out against with England 44 for 3 after India had posted 416 in their first innings. Virat Kohli decided to engage Bairstow in some typically frosty back and forth. Bairstow responded with a 72-ball century and followed it up with an unbeaten 114 in the second innings to chase down 378.This time around, the stakes are even higher. An Ashes on the line, Australia and Australians gunning for him, Bairstow will step into his home ground with every corner mimicking the fervour of the Western Terrace knowing his country needs him more than ever before.The stage is set for Jonny to be Jonny.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is certain to leave European champions Paris Saint-Germain after being excluded from their matchday squad that will face Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur in the midweek in the UEFA Super Cup. Donnarumma has been linked with a move away from PSG after refusing to put pen to paper on a new contract and his likely destination is the Premier League.
Donnarumma left out of UEFA Super Cup clashItalian goalkeeper likely to join an English clubPSG face Spurs on WednesdayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
According to , Donnarumma has been left out of PSG's matchday squad by manager Enrique for their upcoming UEFA Super Cup clash against Spurs. The Italian goalkeeper will not travel to Udine in the midweek with the rest of the first team squad for the club's 2025-26 season opener.
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reports Donnarumma's exclusion from the squad is a clear sign he will exit the Ligue 1 giants, either this summer or next season. The relationship between the club and the player is completely broken after he refused to sign a new contract.
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While there is no clarity on Donnarumma's future yet, Romano further claims he is likely to head to England and join a Premier League team amid strong interest from Manchester United, who are looking for Andre Onana's replacement.
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After the heartbreak in the Club World Cup in the US this summer, Enrique's side will aim to bounce back and claim another European title on Wednesday when they face Spurs.
Australia will give captain Alyssa Healy as long as possible before the match to determine whether she is fit for their T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa.Healy pulled up with a foot injury while running between wickets during Australia’s win against Pakistan and she watched their final group-stage game against India in a moon boot and on crutches.Healy didn’t take part in an optional training session at the ICC Academy on Wednesday night.Ellyse Perry, who helped stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath during that match to great effect as Australia won a thriller, said on the eve of the semi-final that Healy would be given as much time as possible to recuperate before a decision was made on her availability.Related
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“As it stands, it’s the same thing for Midgie [Healy], the medical staff and the team are going to give her every opportunity and possibility of playing tomorrow night,” Perry said. “I don’t think anything’s changed in that respect. We’ll just have to see in the next 24 hours.”Perry said little had changed in the Australia camp since Healy’s injury, which happened the same night as fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck dislocated her shoulder. Vlaeminck was replaced in the squad by Heather Graham but has remained in the UAE to support the team.”When stuff like that happens and you see things bringing your mate down like injury, it probably just strengthens that resolve to get around each other and be supportive,” Perry said. “But it’s really important to stay consistent and stick to the same processes that we’ve got and maintain that level of emotional consistency. Midge is such an important leader in our group and is still contributing just as much. So not too much has changed.”Laura Wolvaardt: “If we play our best cricket, Australia are beatable”•ICC/Getty Images
The pressure-cooker of Sharjah stadium where a sold-out pro-India crowd of nearly 15,000 saw their side defeated by just nine runs provided Australia with a timely challenge ahead of the knockouts. Afterwards, McGrath made a point of mentioning the on-field support she had received from Perry and Ash Gardner.”It’s always really helpful to be exposed to that kind of pressure and that kind of challenge from an opposition and it felt like a bit of a step up the other night, particularly with the full crowd there and probably not totally supportive of us,” Perry said. “It was a situation we’ve been in before but probably hadn’t been exposed to in this World Cup so far, so I thought the way we rose to that and just adapted to the challenge was awesome and hopefully that holds us in good stead for the time that we’ve got left in this tournament.”South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt, meanwhile, dubbed the replay of the last T20 World Cup final, which South Africa lost at home by 19 runs, as “a massive game for us”. Since then, South Africa have beaten Australia in a T20I, in Canberra this January.That win, Wolvaardt said, had given South Africa confidence, not to mention their three victories in the group stages of this tournament, which were all played in Dubai, where Australia have played just once. South Africa’s only defeat was in Sharjah, to England, who then made a shock exit after losing their last game to West Indies.”It brings back a little bit of dĂ©jĂ vu, just a year ago having to face them in the final,” Wolvaardt said. “A lot has happened since then, though obviously we had the two wins against them earlier this year [one in ODIs, one in T20Is], so I think that just gives a bit of a positive energy in the camp knowing that if we play our best cricket, they are beatable.”And she said her side had grown since then, not just personnel-wise with the retirement of Shabnim Ismail, the departure of long-time coach Hilton Moreeng, and allrounder Annerie Dercksen coming into the side, but through experience also.After the tour of Australia, South Africa lost a T20I series at home to Sri Lanka 2-1, drew 1-1 in India and beat Pakistan 2-1 away.”It’s been a bit of an up and down year for us,” Wolvaardt said. “We’ve played some really good cricket in beating Australia and had a few disappointing series as well. But I feel like we have really hit our stride in this World Cup.”
England vs South Africa at the Oval was a bowler-dominated Test and here are the numbers to prove it
Sampath Bandarupalli12-Sep-2022909 Balls bowled by England and South Africa before the result at The Oval, making it the fourth-shortest completed Test match in England and the shortest there since 1912.It is also the shortest completed Test to have ever gone into the fifth day. The previous one was the 2001 Hamilton Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh, completed in 1090 balls (excluding the 2000 Centurion Test match where two innings were forfeited).3 Previous instances of a five-day Test match ending with a result despite no play on the first two days. England’s innings win against New Zealand in the 1958 Leeds Test came after the first two days got washed out. New Zealand recorded innings wins in similar fashion twice against Bangladesh – the aforementioned Hamilton Test in 2001 and then at Wellington in 2019.
774 Balls taken to secure all 30 wickets across the first three innings of this match, which is a new Test record beating the 788 balls it took for… the same teams to knock each other out at the same ground in 1912.28.9 The fast bowlers’ strike rate in this match, the third-best in a Test match where they picked up 30-plus wickets behind the 1959 Dhaka Test between Pakistan and West Indies (27.4) and the 2019 Lord’s Test between England and Ireland (24.9).2 Century partnerships for Alex Lees and Zak Crawley in successful fourth-innings chases. They are only the second opening pair with multiple century stands in successful fourth-innings chases in Test cricket. Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge had three such partnerships between them.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var t=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var a in e.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();
1 Number of fifty-plus scores for South Africa in this Test series. It is only the fifth instance of a team with no more than one fifty-plus score in a Test series (minimum of five team innings). All five instances have come against England with the last of the previous four dating back in 1912 (South Africa again)37.9 Balls per wicket in this series between England and South Africa. It is the third-best bowling strike rate in a Test series of three or more matches. The 3411 balls bowled in this series are also the third-fewest in a three-match Test series (where all three Tests had a result).
Celtic will be in the market to add to their options in the wide department after Nicolas Kuhn officially completed a permanent transfer to Como for a reported fee of ÂŁ16.5m.
The German forward racked up 13 goals and nine assists from the right flank in the Scottish Premiership last season, which shows the kind of quality that Brendan Rodgers has lost.
On top of that, Portuguese winger Jota may be out until January or February with a knee injury that was sustained against Dundee United back in May.
This means that the Hoops are short out wide, even with the addition of Benjamin Nygren this summer, which is why they are reportedly keen on adding another winger to their squad.
Celtic place star at the top of their wishlist
The Scottish Premiership champions are looking to dip into a rarely-utilised market, for them, as they plot to repeat the masterclass they played with Victor Wanyama by signing another star from the Belgian Pro League.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
According to the Daily Record, Royal Antwerp forward Michel-Ange Balikwisha is at the very top of their wishlist to replace Kuhn during the summer window.
The report adds that the Belgian winger is out of contract at the end of next season and that Antwerp sporting director Marc Overmars has opened the door to sales for players in that situation.
It has previously been claimed that the Hoops have been in talks with the Pro League side to discuss a deal for ÂŁ5m-rated attacker, and this latest update now suggests that he is a priority target for the Scottish giants.
Why Balikwisha could be a Wanyama repeat
As per the Daily Record, Rami Gershon from Standard Liege in 2013 was the last player the club signed from the Pro League, whilst the last notable signing was the deal to bring Wanyama to Parkhead from Beerschot in 2011.
The Kenya international went on to score 13 goals in 91 appearances for Celtic in all competitions as a central midfielder, before Southampton signed him for a reported fee of ÂŁ12.5m in the summer of 2013.
Balikwisha could be the first player to become a star at Parkhead after moving from the Pro League since Wanyama made that successful transition between 2011 and 2013, based on his form for Antwerp over the past two seasons.
The 24-year-old forward, who was described as a “creative” talent by analyst Will Glavin, racked up 14 goals and nine assists in 59 games in all competitions between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns combined.
Starts
27
12
xG
6.46
2.65
Goals
7
4
Big chances created
6
7
Key passes per game
1.5
1.6
Assists
5
3
As you can see in the table above, Balikwisha has delivered 11 goals and eight assists in his last 39 games in the Pro League, outperforming his xG as a finisher in both of those seasons.
These statistics show that he is an efficient finisher who could thrive in a dominant Celtic team, which has won the Premiership in each of the last four years, that creates plenty of chances for him from the wing.
His creative numbers, with at least 1.5 key passes per game, also show that he has the potential to create opportunities for his teammates on a regular basis on the flank, if the youngster can translate his form from Belgium over to Scotland, as Wanyama did over a decade ago.
It is fair to say that Celtic hit the jackpot when they signed Wanyama, who was a key player on the pitch and made the club a fortune, and Balikwisha appears to have the qualities to follow in his footsteps next season.
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Therefore, the Belgian whiz could be a shrewd addition from a market the club rarely looks to explore if they can wrap up a deal for him this summer.
The dues will be paid in three instalments of 25% each on February 3, 7 and 10, the sports minister said in a statement
Mohammad Isam03-Feb-2025Bangladesh’s sports ministry said on Monday that Durbar Rajshahi owner Shafiqur Rahman has vowed to clear the team’s dues to players by February 10. Rahman had earlier said that the dues would be cleared by February 2.On Saturday, Asif Mahmud, the government advisor on matters of sports and youth affairs, said that he had spoken to Rahman, warning him of the consequences if the dues were not cleared. The Bangladesh government has also formed a fact-finding committee to look into the non-payment of players.The ministry issuing a press statement on a matter of the BPL – a tournament organised by the BCB – is unprecedented.Related
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“He [Rahman] accepted his fault and promised to clear all dues of the team in three instalments of 25 percent each on February 3, 7 and 10,” the release said. “He also assured that alongside the players, everyone involved with the team would also receive their payments in each instalment. Otherwise, whatever necessary legal actions will be taken against him.”Even as the franchise continued to miss payment deadlines, the team’s overseas players were left stranded in the team hotel in Dhaka. Mohammad Haris (Pakistan), Aftab Alam (Afghanistan), Mark Deyal (West Indies), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe) and Miguel Cummins (West Indies) were all waiting for some portion of their payments to come in. A couple of them had been paid 25%, while some haven’t been paid at all. To make things worse for the players, the Rajshahi team bus driver has allegedly said in interviews that he was holding cricketers’ kit bags as ransom as he too hadn’t been paid.Burl was the first to get an air ticket and he left early on Monday. According to a message from the Rajshahi franchise, Haris is scheduled to leave on Monday afternoon while the others have flights scheduled in the next two days.Rajshahi have been dogged by financial problems from the start of this BPL season.Anamul Haque had first claimed that the local players hadn’t received any payments prior to the start of the tournament – they are usually played 25% before the tournament starts. They boycotted a training session in Chattogram last month, while the overseas players boycotted a match. Burl and Haris eventually made themselves available to play and helped them stay in contention for a playoff finish, but they fell short on net run-rate.
MatĂ©riaMais NotĂcias
da cassino online： A manhã deste sábado (30) trará um gosto especial para os torcedores do Botafogo. O reencontro com a torcida será marcado com um treino aberto no Estádio Nilton Santos, sinalizando que a mobilização do grupo se estende à arquibancada.
da dobrowin： Vindo de trĂŞs resultados abaixo do esperado, a equipe de Bruno Lage tem um estĂmulo a mais para acreditar em uma reação no Campeonato Brasileiro. O mais recente treino aberto para os torcedores culminou em uma reação alvinegra.
+ Garanta a sua vaga no curso que formou craques como Pet, Dante e LĂ©o Moura! Cupom: LANCE1000
O Botafogo vinha fazendo uma campanha entre altos e baixos até que, antes da partida com o Corinthians, decidiu abrir a atividade para seus torcedores no Niltão. A reação em campo aconteceu prontamente: com gol de Rodrigo Lindoso, a equipe venceu o Timão por 1 a 0.
Depois, vieram mais vitórias nos confrontos com Flamengo, Chapecoense, Internacional e Paraná, além do empate em 1 a 1 com o Santos. Uma sequência que o Alvinegro precisa para retomar sua confiança no Brasileirão.
Porém, o desfecho da edição de 2018 deixa o alerta: na última rodada a equipe perdeu por 2 a 1 para o Atlético-MG e o sonho de classificação para a Libertadores escapou. O técnico Bruno Lage tem de deixar seus jogadores com atenção redobrada até o final.
LĂder do Campeonato Brasileiro, o Botafogo vai a campo contra o Goiás no dia 2, uma segunda-feira, Ă s 20h, no NiltĂŁo.
Sir Alex Ferguson is arguably the greatest Premier League manager of all time and one of the best that European football has ever seen. But he didn’t get to the very top by being football’s nice guy.
The Scot was ruthless yet brilliant all at the same time, and that’s how his Manchester United side dominated the Premier League for over a decade.
Responsible for creating the so-called hairdryer treatment, Ferguson didn’t just instil fear into opposition players. He created discipline through his fear factor in a Manchester United dressing room full of some of the very best, even if at times that resulted in a stray boot flying across the room before leaving an unforgettable mark on David Beckham’s head.
Even United legend Wayne Rooney couldn’t escape Ferguson’s rule. He recalled how brutal a dressing down from his former manager felt in his 2012 autobiography ‘My Decade’, saying: “There’s nothing worse than getting the “hairdryer” from Sir Alex. When it happens, the manager stands in the middle of the room and loses it at me. He gets right up in my face and shouts.
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“It feels like I’ve put my head in front of a Babyliss Turbo Power 2200. It’s horrible. I don’t like getting shouted at by anyone. It’s hard for me to take, so sometimes I shout back. I tell him he’s wrong and I’m right.”
Whether some saw Ferguson’s fury as harsh or not, it got the job done. By the end of his managerial career, the former Manchester United boss went down as one of the most successful managers that English football has ever seen.
Premier League titles
13
Champions League titles
2
FA Cups
5
League Cups
4
Club World Cup
1
Despite winning everything there is to win and instilling a fear factor around the Premier League, however, there was one Chelsea star who did not fear Ferguson or his Manchester United side.
Sir Alex Ferguson: Zola was one of my toughest opponents
It’s a testament to how good he was that Ferguson named Gianfranco Zola as one of his toughest opponents despite squaring off against Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and many others in an illustrious career. It’s praise that the Chelsea legend deserves, though. Unlike others, Ferguson admitted, the Italian didn’t fear him or his side.
Zola only managed to get the better of Ferguson three times throughout his career, but also scored three times against the Red Devils to remain a thorn in their side. Dubbed “fantastic” by the legendary manager, Zola will struggle to find higher praise.
Poland's new boss Jan Urban is determined to rectify the mistakes committed by his predecessor and vows to restore Robert Lewandowski's place in the team.
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