Category Uncategorized

Inter chiefs are heading to London to hold talks with Tottenham over two defenders swapping clubs.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Inter to discuss Tottenham swap
• Two defenders could swap clubs
• Cesc Fabregas targeted as new boss

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bosses are already in the English capital as they discuss their vacant managerial position with former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas – but they will also meet with Spurs to negotiate swapping defenders Radu Dragusin and Yann Bisseck, report CalcioMercato.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Bisseck is wanted by several Premier League clubs, according to the report, including Aston Villa, West Ham and Manchester United. Spurs have been pushing the hardest for his signature, however, and Inter may be prepared to let him go after an inconsistent 2024-25 campaign. Inter could ask for Dragusin to head the other way to fill the void.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The talks to appoint Fabregas could hold any deal up, with the report stating that Inter's new coach will have the final say on whether to allow Bisseck to leave the club. Dragusin made 28 appearances in all competitions last season for Tottenham but is stuck behind Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in the pecking order and could be allowed to leave.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR INTER?

  Inter hope to have a new coach in place in time for their Club World Cup campaign, after Simone Inzaghi left for Al-Hilal. They begin against Monterrey on Wednesday June 18.

The allrounder who has recently returned from India hauled his team out of early trouble in Mackay

AAP14-Oct-2023Matt Short’s stellar year continued with a century that roused Victoria from the brink of outright collapse on day one of their Sheffield Shield match with Queensland in Mackay.Victoria threatened to fall in a heap twice after being sent in, first falling to 40 for 4 in the morning and then losing two wickets in the same Mitch Swepson over late on Saturday.But Short was their anchor through it all, steadying the visitors after they fell to 19 for 3 and then bringing up a fourth first-class century that helped them finished the day all out for 253.Related

Will Pucovski to miss Victoria's Shield clash with Queensland

Khawaja rested from Sheffield Shield under Cricket Australia workload management

'I've paid my dues' – Bancroft confident the past won't impact Test future

Gurinder Sandhu bowled the 27-year-old with the third ball he faced after posting his ton.The performance continued a stellar year for Short, who was named the Big Bash League’s player of the tournament in January and made his T20I and ODI debuts in the respective tours of South Africa and India.Queensland had managed 26 without loss in reply at stumps in the absence of opener and captain Usman Khawaja, who was rested in preparation for the Test summer.Victoria were 0 for 1 when Marcus Harris edged Mark Steketee to former Test opening partner Joe Burns in the slips, and further off the pace after Travis Dean and Campbell Kellaway fell in consecutive overs.Of the first four Victorians dismissed, three edged pace deliveries behind and were caught, with captain Peter Handscomb the third of those as the visitors went to lunch at 64 for 4.No. 5 batter Short copped a ball to his right hip in the second session and appeared hampered but played through the pain.He went on to forge a 104-run partnership with fast bowler Mitchell Perry that salvaged Victoria’s innings.The lone six of Victoria’s innings, hit off Jack Wildermuth’s bowling over deep midwicket, was a highlight of Short’s time at the crease.After working his way patiently through the 90s, Short slapped Swepson up the ground to mid-on for a quick single that confirmed his hundred from 172 balls.

New Zealand beat Sri Lanka to all but lock up another semi-final with India while Allan Donald is issued a please explain from the BCB

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-20231:19

Harmison: All the pressure now on India for the semi against New Zealand

–Fixtures | Squads | Points table | Tournament IndexTop Story: Boult all but leads New Zealand into semi-finals; SL’s Champions Trophy hopes fadeNew Zealand all but booked their place in the World Cup semi-final against India with a dominant five-wicket win – with 160 balls to spare – against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. The result took them to ten points, and a net run rate (NRR) of 0.743, leaving Pakistan needing to beat England by 287 runs, while Afghanistan need an even more fantastical 438-run win over South Africa, if they are to surpass New Zealand’s NRR.If Pakistan were to chase, they would have no chance of qualifying.As for Sri Lanka, the margin of defeat against New Zealand left them languishing in ninth place, thus out of qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy. They now need one of England or Bangladesh to suffer defeats – while Netherlands also need to lose to India – to the extent that their respective NRRs drop below Sri Lanka’s.Click here for the full reportMatch analysis: How Santner slows it up to get the drop on battersMitchell Santner is pumped up after snagging Angelo Mathews•Associated PressIt won’t go down as the ball of this World Cup. Or even the best ball bowled by a left-arm orthodox spinner at this World Cup. Or even the best ball bowled by Mitchell Santner at this World Cup – that honour, surely, will go to the pitch-leg, hit-off ripper he bowled to Mohammad Nabi in Chennai.This ball wasn’t that kind of ball, the kind that becomes instant social-media fodder. This was different, a ball less about its own magnificence than what it revealed about the bowler’s craft in totality. This was the kind of ball that made you wish you had paid more attention to every preceding ball this bowler had sent down, and resolve to pay extra attention to every subsequent ball.Read the full piece from Karthik KrishnaswamyMust Watch: Sri Lanka’s batting has been a massive letdown2:35

Maharoof: Sri Lanka’s batting has been a massive letdown

News headlinesThe BCB has sought an explanation from Allan Donald, the Bangladesh team’s fast bowling coach, for his comments on Angelo Mathews’ timed out dismissal following the World Cup match in Delhi on November 6. In an interview with CricBlog.net, conducted soon after the team returned to their hotel in Delhi, Donald had said “it was disappointing to see” that kind of a dismissal and he found it “really difficult to watch that unfold”.
Ben Stokes never countenanced the possibility of leaving the World Cup early to bring his impending knee surgery forwards, despite England’s Test tour to India looming in two-and-a-half months’ time. Going home, he said, would have been “the easy way out”.Match previewAfghanistan vs South Africa, Ahmedabad (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEDT)5:31

Harmison: Chance for SA to go into semi-finals with momentum

Afghanistan were so close to achieving their most important ODI win. Against Australia. For a shot at the World Cup semi-finals. Almost there. Before a Glenn Maxwell-sized meteorflattened them.They are now in Ahmedabad to play their final league game and will bow out of the World Cup at the largest cricket stadium in the world. Having only ever beaten Scotland once in 2015 and 2019, Afghanistan have beaten three former champions – England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan – this time, as well as Netherlands, but the 438-run victory they need against South Africa to push New Zealand out of fourth place on net run rate is impossible. An exit with ten points, as many as the team that qualifies fourth, however, will be a massive win in itself.In all seriousness, England would be all too happy to walk away from this miserable campaign right now.Full previewFeature: Clinical, risk-assessed, productive – Afghanistan’s batting evolution unlocks new highsIbrahim Zadran’s ramp against Australia would have been remembered as one of the shots of the World Cup on any other night•ICC/Getty ImagesDo you still remember that shot? The shot before the shots that you’re not going to ever forget. The shot before Glenn Maxwell pulled off shots that even Glenn Maxwell might think were a little bit too much.That shot came off the bat of Ibrahim Zadran earlier in the game and on any other night, it would have been recognised and remembered as one of the shots of the tournament. A ramped dab – or was it a dabbed ramp? – dead straight over the wicketkeeper, off Pat Cummins, to the boundary on the bounce: written out like this, it sounds a little prosaic.Read the full piece from Osman Samiuddin

“It’s a fine line. I might be tight but I’m trying my best to make it work for that day”

Andrew McGlashan06-Jan-2024

David Warner is hopeful that he will able to helicopter in for Sydney Thunder’s BBL derby against Sydney Sixers on Friday so that he can play after attending his brother’s wedding.Exact plans are still being worked through, but flying to the SCG will be Warner’s only option if he is to make the game with the wedding taking place in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney.”I’ve got a couple of aircrafts booked, pending weather,” Warner said after his final Test in Sydney. “It’s a fine line. I might be tight but I’m trying my best to make it work for that day.”Related

Khawaja, Labuschagne and Carey available for BBL cameos

Warner retires from ODIs but leaves door ajar for Champions Trophy

Warner: I want to be remembered as exciting and entertaining

Warner signs off from Test cricket with a medley of his greatest hits

Thunder are hopeful that Warner will be available for their final three regular-season matches, with games against Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades to follow the Sydney Smash.Warner’s current two-year deal with Thunder concludes this season, but prior to his final Test he said he was keen to continue in the tournament next season if it can fit around his new commentary role.”I definitely am keen to pursue playing Big Bash next year,” he said. “There’s going to be conversations behind the scenes to allow me to do that. Obviously, I’ve joined the Fox commentary team next year during the Test series against India, which I’m looking forward to.”There’s a BBL window that we’re able to play…so I would like to play that in and around the commentary stuff. I’ve just got to make sure that I’m, one, playing to the best of my ability and, two, not hindering the team’s performances or upsetting the balance of the team.”Thunder are currently seventh in the table with a solitary win in six games and unlikely to make this season’s finals, although Warner would probably have been unavailable for them as he is expected to be granted a No Objection Certificate [NOC] to play in the ILT20 for Dubai Capitals.That tournament will mean Warner will also miss the T20I series against West Indies early next month, but the current expectation is that he will be available for the three-match series in New Zealand.Warner added that the T20 World Cup in June would “definitely” mark the end of his international career, although when announcing his ODI retirement last week he kept the door ajar for a comeback at the 2025 Champions Trophy if Australia needed him.”That [the T20 World Cup] was my finishing goal if I wasn’t getting to here [to Sydney],” he said. “That was my last hurrah, the Twenty20s. I started my career in Twenty20 cricket and will finish my career in Twenty20 cricket. Think it’s fitting. I really enjoy the game but most importantly I want to win another World Cup for Australia.”

Wyatt half-century, Bell and Moore three-fors as Superchargers fall well short

Matt Roller27-Aug-2023Anya Shrubsole signed off from professional cricket by lifting the Hundred trophy at Lord’s, captaining Southern Brave to their first title in their third final. After successive defeats to Oval Invincibles, they comprehensively outplayed Northern Superchargers in front of a record 21,636 crowd at Lord’s.Brave’s batting let them down in their first two finals and they were 8 for 2 after nine balls on Sunday, Smriti Mandhana and Maia Bouchier falling cheaply after Superchargers opted to bowl first. But they recovered to set a target of 140, Danni Wyatt making 59 off 38 and Freya Kemp contributing an invaluable 31 off 17 from No. 5.Lauren Bell struck twice in her first eight balls in Brave’s defence, including removing Superchargers’ leading run-scorer Phoebe Litchfield who was well caught by Kemp at deep cover-point, and Superchargers were always behind the game.Rhianna Southby, Brave’s 22-year-old wicketkeeper, has played a crucial role for them despite not facing a ball this season: she effected three stumpings in the chase, and finished the Hundred with a tournament-high 11 dismissals.Jemimah Rodrigues opened the batting for Superchargers and was starved of the strike: when she was caught at extra cover for 24, she had faced just 14 of the first 73 balls bowled. Bell and Kalea Moore took three wickets each, and the winning moment came when Bell whipped off the bails to run No. 11 Grace Ballinger out after a mix-up.Shrubsole had been due to bowl the final five balls but Superchargers were bowled out with six to spare. Having left international cricket after last year’s World Cup, she opted to play on as Brave captain this year and her impending retirement has been a source of motivation for the squad throughout the season, who were determined to send her off with a trophy.Shrubsole looked uncharacteristically emotional in the aftermath of the final wicket, and admitted her overwhelming emotion was one of relief. “We feel like we’ve played some brilliant cricket,” she said, “coming into this we’d won 20 out of 25 games which is an unbelievable record. Not to have won the trophy was tough to take so it felt like this was just deserts.”For Charlotte Edwards, their coach, this was a third short-form trophy this year, after success in the Women’s Premier League with Mumbai Indians and with Southern Vipers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup. Brave have been the best team across the three seasons of the Hundred, and lifted an overdue trophy as the fireworks were set off at Lord’s.Danni Wyatt notched the first half-century in a Women’s Hundred final•ECB via Getty ImagesAfter walking around the boundary from the stage in the Compton Stand, Shrubsole was given a guard of honour by both teams as she walked back towards the pavilion, holding the H-shaped trophy aloft as she did so. It was a fitting send-off for a great of England women’s cricket.Mandhana hit the first ball of the final for four through point but slashed the second to gully, and when Bouchier skied Kate Cross to extra cover, they were forced to rebuild through Wyatt and Georgia Adams.They had 45 off the first 43 balls of the final before Wyatt cut loose with back-to-back boundaries off Lucy Higham, at which point Superchargers became ragged in the field. Wyatt, who finished the tournament as leading run-scorer, swept Higham for four to bring up a 35-ball 50 and lofted Georgia Wareham for the first six of the game.She was primed to accelerate at the death when she was on the wrong end of a freak dismissal: Adams drove the ball straight back at her at the non-striker’s end as she started to take a run, and Cross executed a simple run-out as it popped up into her hands. When Adams holed out to midwicket after a chancy 27 off 28, Superchargers had an opening.But Kemp added 31 with a streaky cameo, hitting five boundaries to keep Brave on track. She eventually chopped Cross’ cutter onto her stumps; while Cross fumbled both a catch and a run-out chance off the penultimate ball, she was the pick of Superchargers’ attack with 3 for 21 off her 20.Bell thought she had struck with the first ball of the chase, trapping Marie Kelly on the pad only for her to successfully review the on-field decision. It hardly mattered: Kelly was dismissed by the next delivery she faced, with the ball ricocheting off her pad and onto the base of the stumps.When Litchfield lofted into the deep, Brave had two early wickets and were in control of the game. Southby’s sharp work gave Moore a wicket with her first ball, stumping Hollie Armitage, and her fast hands accounted for Bess Heath soon after, Chloe Tryon making amends for a drop on the square-leg boundary by beating her on the outside edge.Shrubsole had Alice Davidson-Richards lbw to leave Superchargers five down, and a brilliant catch by Bouchier – running in off the long-on boundary, then diving forwards at full stretch – meant Rodrigues was their last hope. Having tried and failed to build partnerships by knocking singles, she looked to loft Moore over extra cover but picked Adams out.Southby pulled off her third stumping as Leah Dobson charged Moore and missed, and Bell administered the last rites, having Higham caught at short fine leg then completing a straightforward run-out at the bowler’s end to cue the celebrations.

Australia looks set to welcome back Travis Head from injury while the Netherlands need some runs from their top-order

Alex Malcolm24-Oct-20232:12

Would Netherlands rather beat India or Australia at the World Cup? We asked Scott Edwards

Big picture: The shared history of Australia and NetherlandsThere has long been a connection between Netherlands and Australian cricket. It is perhaps not quite as strong as South Africa’s connection to the current Dutch team. But their captain Scott Edwards is an Australian citizen, having grown up in Melbourne and played second XI cricket for Victoria. He has introduced a Netherlands team song that is a shameless rebrand of the song of his favourite Australian Football League club Richmond. From Edwards to former Dutch coach Ryan Campbell, to Tom Cooper, Timm van der Gugten, Michael Swart and Dirk Nannes, among others, plenty of Australian domestic players have had an impact on Netherlands cricket.But there will be no love lost in Delhi on Wednesday. Netherlands are gunning for another big scalp, having already taken down South Africa and potentially missed an opportunity against Sri Lanka. Australia are looking to continue their momentum. They will not be taking the Netherlands lightly, but they would love a statement win having been tested at times against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.For all the links between to the two nations as far as players and coaches are concerned, Australia and Netherlands have only met twice in ODI cricket. Both matches were at World Cups, in 2003 and 2007, and Australia were ruthless, claiming big wins while tinkering with their line-up. In fact, nobody could beat them in either of those tournaments.These two sides did meet in a rain-affected warm-up game in Thiruvananthapuram prior to this World Cup. Mitchell Starc claimed a hat-trick in a game Australia did not take seriously at all. Steven Smith and Josh Inglis opened the batting with Alex Carey at three and Mitchell Marsh did not bat but instead opened the bowling while Marnus Labuschagne also bowled four overs and picked up the wicket of Edwards.Australia won’t take this game as lightly with coach Andrew McDonald confirming on Monday that they would not be resting any of their players. They know the Dutch will be well planned and the dual spin threat of Aryan Dutt in the powerplay against possibly two left-handed openers in David Warner and Travis Head if he is passed fit, plus Roelof van der Merwe against Australia’s vulnerable middle-order could certainly cause problems. Netherlands’ biggest challenge will be getting top-order runs. But Australia’s new-ball bowlers have not taken a powerplay wicket in the last three games, and Delhi has been an excellent batting strip.Form guideAustralia WWLLW (last five ODIs, most recent first)Netherlands LWLLL1:48

Does Smith have a weakness against the ball coming in?

In the spotlight: Smith and O’DowdSteven Smith was considered vital to Australia’s chances in this World Cup given his experience in India and his prowess against spin. But Australia’s long-time No. 3, who is set to play his 150th ODI against Netherlands, is battling for form in ODI cricket this year and now may well find himself pushed to No.4 with the return of Head. Smith is averaging just 23.22 in ODIs this year from nine innings, including three ducks, and striking at just 81.64. His move to No. 4 may not help his search to find some form. He has only batted there once since the 2019 World Cup and that was against Pakistan in the last match, having slid one spot due to the promotion of Glenn Maxwell because of the game situation. He has batted No. 3 in his previous 29 ODI innings. He averages just 34.31 across 24 career innings at No. 4 compared to 52.60 at No. 3. His strike-rate is slightly higher at No. 4, but nonetheless, it is not his favoured spot.In a World Cup where the openers have dominated across the board to this point, Netherlands’ top two have simply not got going. Max O’Dowd has really struggled, making just 55 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of just 57.89. He has battled to get off strike facing 72 dot balls out of 95 in total, with 38 of his 55 runs coming in boundaries and just 11 singles. He did not play any List A cricket between the World Cup qualifiers in July and the World Cup itself, with his only match practice coming in Netherlands club cricket, some of which was played on artificial pitches. It is a huge ask to jump from that to facing some of the incredible new ball pairings he has so far this tournament and the task only gets tougher against Starc and Josh Hazlewood on Wednesday. But the Netherlands need some runs from their openers if they are to put pressure on Australia.Team news: Will Head play?Head arrived in Delhi on Saturday having been at home in Adelaide for Australia’s first four matches of the tournament, nursing his broken hand. He was optimistic he could play on Wednesday after a net session on Saturday. He faced bowlers for the first time on Monday and got through the session. If he plays he is set to open alongside Warner which will break up the in-form Warner-Marsh pairing. Labuschagne would be the likely batter to make way.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam ZampaTravis Head is back with the Australia squad•Getty Images

The Netherlands look set to stick with the same combination that beat South Africa and tested Sri Lanka.Netherlands (probable): 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Bas de Leede, 5 Teja Nidamanuru, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Logan van Beek, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van MeekerenPitch and conditions: Another sweltering dayThe three games in Delhi thus far in this World Cup have produced two very different results, although the common thread is that the side batting first has won easily. South Africa piled up 428 against Sri Lanka and won although Sri Lanka made 326 in reply. India galloped to their 273-run against Afghanistan, who then defended 286 easily against England on the back of a masterful bowling performance by their spinners. It will be warm in Delhi and the air quality will be poor.Stats and trivia: Starc on the prowl Starc (55) needs two wickets to go past Lasith Malinga (56) to third all-time on the ODI World Cup wicket-takers list. Glenn McGrath leads with 71 and Muttiah Muralidaran is second with 68. Australia are the only team to have gone wicketless three times in the first powerplay in this World Cup. Only Bangladesh (38.90%) have had a higher percentage of runs scored by Nos. 5,6 and 7 in this World Cup than the Netherlands (35.82%)