Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile was spotted on crutches during the Blues' 4-1 win over Benfica in the Club World Cup Round of 16 clash. The French centre-back started the clash for Enzo Maresca's side but was subbed off in the 70th minute. Following the break in play due to stormy weather, Badiashile was spotted on the sidelines on crutchess as he watched his team win 4-1 after extra-time.
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Benoit Badiashile suffers injury against Benfica
Spotted in crutches on the touchline during win
Linked with a move this summer to Marseille
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Badiashile has surprisingly started Chelsea's last two games at the Club World Cup amid speculation he could move on in the summer. However, the Frenchman had to be subbed off in the 70th minute against Benfica with an apparent injury.
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The injury now appears to be a serious concern for Chelsea as Badiashile was spotted on the touchline in crutches, when the Blues and Benfica returned to the field of play after a storm forced a lengthy break in play. The Blues headed to extra-time after Angel Di Maria's 95th minute strike levelled the game before Maresca's side went on to win 4-1.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Badiashile may have therefore played his final game with Chelsea as he has been linked with a move to Marseille. The Frenchman's future has become future as he has been low on Maresca's list of centre-backs with Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah, taking priority.
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WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?
Chelsea go on to play Palmeiras in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup. As for Badiashile, it is uncertain whether the interest from Marseille may be under threat because of the injury.
سلطت إحدى الشبكات الإنجليزية، المتخصصة في أخبار ليفربول، الضوء على مستوى النجم المصري محمد صلاح خلال الموسم الحالي، وتراجع أدائه بشكل ملحظوظ.
وتعرض ليفربول لهزيمة مساء أمس السبت على يد تشيلسي، بهدفين لهدف في الجولة السابعة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، موسم 2025/26.
وتُعد تلك الهزيمة هي الثالثة على التوالي لـ ليفربول في مختلف المسابقات، والثانية في الدوري الإنجليزي.
من جهة أخرى، يواصل محمد صلاح مستواه الضعيف خلال الموسم الحالي، حيث لم يسجل إلا 3 أهداف حتى الآن، منها هدفين في الدوري الإنجليزي، أحدهما من ضربة جزاء.
وقالت شبكة “liverpoolnews247” الإنجليزية إن بداية محمد صلاح للموسم الجديد مع ليفربول لم تكن جيدة حتى الآن، مع معاناة ليفربول من وضع حرج في الأيام القليلة الماضية بسبب الهزائم الثلاثة.
ونشرت الشبكة تصريحات على لسان الطبيب راجبال برار، المتخصص الشهير في العلاج الطبيعي، حيث قال: “على الرغم من تقدم محمد صلاح في السن، فإن عاداته والتزامه باللياقة البدنية تصل إلى 99 %، هو يستفيد بالفعل من وجود فترات راحة خارج الموسم للتعافي وبناء الفريق بسبب عدم مشاركة مصر في غالبية البطولات الدولية”.
اقرأ أيضًا.. ديلي ميل عن محمد صلاح بعد هزيمة ليفربول أمام تشيلسي: لا يستطيع ضرب باب حظيرة
وأضاف: “ومع ذلك أعتقد أن سلوت قد يكون أكثر حرصًا مع محمد صلاح في بعض المسابقات الأقل مستوى حتى لا يضطر لخوض ثلاث مباريات أسبوعيًا”.
وواصل: “كما أظن أيضًا أن جزءًا من سبب تعاقد ليفربول مع لاعبين مثل فلوريان فيرتز وألكسندر إيزاك هو تخفيف بعض المسؤولية عن كاهل صلاح مع تقدمه في السن”.
وأشارت الشبكة نفسها إلى أنه لا يمكن لليفربول الاعتماد على صلاح كثيرًا هذا الموسم، حيث إنه من الطبيعي أن يبدأ في التراجع مع تقدمه في السن، إذ يفقد سرعته الزائدة وتفوقه على المدافعين.
واعتمد ليفربول بقوة على محمد صلاح الموسم الماضي، وبدأ مستوى الفريق يتراجع مع قلة تهديف نجمهم مع نهاية الموسم نفسه وبدايات الموسم الحالي.
وأكدت أن ليفربول يحتاج إلى البدء في التخلي تدريجيًا عن الحاجة إلى محمد صلاح لإنقاذهم عندما يحتاجون إلى هدف أو لحظة سحرية، وقد أثبتت بدايته في الموسم الجديد ذلك.
Eintracht Frankfurt are anticipating offers for €100m-rated Hugo Ekitike, amid interest from a number of Premier League clubs.
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Newcastle, Liverpool and United all interestedFrankfurt want to retain the player€100m-rated striker 22 goals last seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyWHAT HAPPENED?
reports that Frankfurt are preparing to field offers from English clubs ahead of the new season. Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester United are all believed to be admirers of the 23-year-old. Meanwhile, Chelsea's interest has likely cooled following their £60m ($81m) deal for Joao Pedro.
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Die Adler would like to hold onto their superstar striker, as they prepare for Champions League football in the 2025-26 season. The €100m (£86m/$117m) price tag may require chasing clubs to shift players off of their balance sheets before they can mount a serious test of Frankfurt's resolve.
Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?
Ekitike enjoyed a fine season in 2024-25. The 23-year-old notched 22 goals and 12 assists in all competitions last term, coming to the fore after Frankfurt sold Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in January.
WHAT NEXT FOR EKITIKE?
It is a matter of time before Ekitike leaves Germany for one of Europe's top clubs, but Frankfurt are not under massive pressure to sell. With a Champions League campaign to prepare for, and no official bids being lodged, the young Frenchman could well still be at his current club come the start of the season.
The more you watch the Ben Stokes dismissal, the more you break it down, the better it gets
Osman Samiuddin07-Aug-2020We’re running, you may have noticed, a Balls of the Century series at . The top 20 have been picked – and boo, down with recency bias and all that – but we may have to scrap it and restart the whole damn thing after Mohammad Abbas’ intervention yesterday.There’s nothing else that can be done about it because, as with every single ball in that list and in the best way possible, once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it. The more you watch it, the more you listen to it, the more you slow it down, the more you break it down, the better it gets, a little like .WATCH: Ben Stokes b Mohammad Abbas (courtesy ecb.co.uk)The thing about the ball to dismiss Ben Stokes is the impossibility of even imagining it happening. Every single moment in the existence of this delivery exists only to prove that it cannot possibly do what it ultimately ends up doing. If you think that’s hype, Nasser Hussain’s immediate reaction should be proof.Very little that happens on a cricket field is a surprise to Hussain but there’s just the tiniest hint that even he is thrown off by this.”Oh gone!” he lets out, almost involuntarily, before being drowned out by the s. He recovers quickly: “What a beauty… it takes something special to get Stokes out and that is special.” As ever, it is pitch-perfect for the moment, but that bit of surprise at the start is telling: something that even Hussain couldn’t account for has happened.ALSO READ: Abbas transforms contest to leave England’s outlook cloudy”Oh gone!” is not an inarticulate reaction, though this is the man who within eight seconds of it happening had given us the 11 immortal words that both caught a moment and scripted an entire history: “Pakistan cricket at its best, one minute down, next minute up!” (Three years on, my geese remain bumped.)Completely understandable, because bowled was the least likely mode of dismissal when this delivery began. Batsmen take guard outside the crease to Abbas often, which is not to say that it works. Aaron Finch did it in the UAE two years ago and it worked for as long as Abbas allowed it to. But Abbas to Finch is a different game, not only because it is right-arm over to a right-hand batsman. Stokes is a better Test batsman, in better form, and what’s more, had recent history in countering similar conundrums against Kemar Roach and Jason Holder. And unlike Finch, who opened, Stokes had the benefit of starting his innings having seen at least a little of what was happening. He was taking guard well outside the crease from the first ball.
The only opening Stokes gave to Abbas here was where he took guard, which is on and around leg. This is important because though he may move across the stumps significantly, because of where he starts off, there’s a paper-thin opening. Otherwise, there’s little else he does wrong through this
Abbas began from around the wicket, as part of the vogue or because he thought it made more sense in this situation. Two years ago, at Lord’s, he had trapped Stokes lbw from over the wicket, with a ball that DRS ultimately found to have pitched just in line with leg stump. Stokes was done for length there, one of those that you could stay back to, you could move forward to, but you could be out to in both scenarios.Different Stokes, different Abbas and rather than that dismissal what Stokes was doing here was geared to what Abbas was doing now with a newer ball (at Lord’s the ball was 54 overs old). He was putting Abbas off the lengths he bowls, yes – which is central to Abbas – but also negating what angle Abbas could create from round the wicket.In one of his two dismissals to Jason Holder – of similar pace but not skill as Abbas – Stokes had moved across rather than Holder from around the wicket, and edged behind. Holder was over the wicket for the other, Stokes again moving across to edge to gully.The only opening Stokes gave to Abbas here was where he took guard, which, as the screenshot below shows is on and around leg. This is important because though he may move across the stumps significantly, because of where he starts off, there’s a paper-thin opening. Otherwise there’s little else he does wrong through this.ECBIn other words, what that guard did, possibly, was to allow Abbas to see two stumps clearly and map out a delivery that could beat Stokes: angling in, cutting away, not hitting those stumps but beating him and catching an edge. Even then, the precision required is beyond the 10,000- hours-of-practice rule.Stokes is already well outside his crease but only makes his first move as Abbas’s right arm is beginning its arc to release, moving his back foot across and mostly forward.At the point of release, Stokes is further down and now showing Abbas one-and-a-half stumps. It’s too late for Abbas to adjust, though.ECBAs the ball pitches, Stokes has seen the line, worked out the length, and committed to the stroke, his front foot landing. It also appears as if he’s covering the stumps. This is where the optical illusion begins because just one stump is now visible to the viewer.ECBThe magic frame, as the ball reaches Stokes. The first part is done – Abbas has drifted it in so that the line is very tight. Between the last frame and this one, Stokes’ bat has moved closer to the body, probably accounting for the bit of swing in.And then it’s cut away. Still, there’s no way to see, from this moment on, this ball hitting off-stump. An edge – yes, off stump – no, especially because Abbas has pulled the length back and on this surface, there’s every chance it bounces over the stumps from there.ECBNow it’s gone past the edge. Still no, off stump – no way. Stokes has done most things right still, head in line, not over-balanced, but remember that paper-thin opening?ECBOnly now, a day later, we all know what happened next but on watching it live, the brain’s first reaction was to short-circuit. There’s a sound – is that a stump, an edge? In real time, I first thought the ball must have slipped under the toe of his bat, that Stokes had yorked himself because only that could explain how the ball hit the stumps at all. The expression forming on Stokes’ face below suggests, more than one brain was struggling to comprehend what happened.ECBData breaks down what happens in cricket better than ever before. Cricviz recorded this ball swinging in 0.2 degrees and seaming away 1.8 degrees but that’s like using numbers to explain love.
Watch the dismissal all you want, and if it makes sense, great. If it doesn’t (not unlike Wasim Akram to Rahul Dravid), watch it anyway because there’s no limit to how much you can appreciate something, and appreciating something while not understanding it is perfectly acceptable. As, in fact, a slight paraphrasing of another Nasser Hussain gem shows us: no way, no, no way, you cannot do that, Mohammad Abbas.
Having already sealed the series, India will be hoping to give the likes of Rinku, Samson and Parag more time in the middle
Abhimanyu Bose29-Jul-2024
Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka put on a 54-run stand in the previous T20I•AFP/Getty Images
Big picture: Sri Lanka’s middle-order worries In the first T20I, Sri Lanka lost nine wickets for 30 runs. In the second, they lost seven for 32. This has been the theme for the hosts so far in Charith Asalanka’s first series as Sri Lanka’s full-time T20I captain. Asalanka himself managed just scores of 0 and 14 in the two games.The top three have fired in both matches, with Sri Lanka getting to scores of 140 and 80 at the fall of the second wicket. Pathum Nissanka is the leading run-scorer in the series. Kusal Perera has a half-century, while Kusal Mendis made 45 in the first match. But beyond them, it has been a bleak showing, with Kamindu Mendis’ 26 in the second T20I the highest score from the middle and lower orders.Sri Lanka will need to find a way out of their middle-order muddle and deliver on the platform being set by their top order.India would want some of their batters like Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh and Riyan Parag to get some more time in the middle, and having sealed the series with comprehensive performances, don’t have too much else they need to address.Related
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Form guideSri Lanka LLWLL (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first) India WWWWWIn the spotlight – Pathum Nissanka and Rishabh PantPathum Nissanka is the only batter to have gone past 100 runs in the series, and is striking at 154.16. He has been in sensational form in 2024, having scored 753 runs at a strike rate of 154.93 – well above his career strike rate of 123.90. He shone in the Lanka Premier League as well, and was the highest-scoring opener in the competition. With their wobbly middle order, the onus is on him now more than ever to keep producing big performances with the bat.After a life-threatening accident, Rishabh Pant made his return to competitive cricket in IPL 2024, and following a successful campaign, he was picked for the 2024 T20 World Cup. He made 42 off 31 in a low-scoring win over Pakistan, but failed to convert his starts after that, even as India went on to lift the title. In the first game of this series, Pant made 49 off 33, but he had a scratchy start and was dropped on 11. With Sanju Samson behind him in the pecking order, there is pressure on Pant to prove his credentials in the shortest format for India.Team newsSri Lanka are likely to play a similar XI to the one that turned out in the second game. However, one of Avishka Fernando or Dinesh Chandimal could come in for the misfiring Dasun Shanaka, who has three ducks in his last three T20Is. They brought in Ramesh Mendis for Dilshan Madushanka, with Asalanka claiming spin would get more help on a used surface, but in a rain curtailed game, Ramesh was not used at all. However, even though this match will be played on a fresh pitch, Sri Lanka are likely to continue with Ramesh, as he adds batting depth as well.Sri Lanka (probable XI): 1. Pathum Nissanka, 2. Kusal Mendis (wk), 3. Kusal Perera, 4. Kamindu Mendis, 5. Charith Asalanka (capt), 6. Dinesh Chandimal/Avishka Fernando, 7. Wanindu Hasaranga, 8. Ramesh Mendis, 9. Maheesh Theekshana, 10. Matheesha Pathirana, 11. Asitha FernandoHaving played two matches in two days, India may rest one of the fast bowlers, with Khaleel Ahmed waiting in the wings. Washington Sundar could get a game as well, if India continue with the trend of trying to give a match to every squad member on a tour if possible, which was prevalent in Rahul Dravid’s tenure. Shivam Dube also could come in, but with Hardik Pandya not a part of the ODI squad, India may just stick with him so as to not chop and change too much. There is also no news on Shubman Gill, who missed the second game with a neck spasm. With Gill also set to play in the ODIs, India could persist with Samson, who was out first ball in the second T20I.India (probable XI): 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2. Sanju Samson, 3. Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4. Rishabh Pant (wk), 5. Riyan Parag/Washington Sundar, 6. Hardik Pandya, 7. Rinku Singh, 8. Axar Patel, 9. Ravi Bishnoi, 10. Mohammed Siraj, 11. Arshdeep Singh/Khaleel AhmedRishabh Pant will be looking to make more of his opportunities in the shortest format•Associated Press
Pitch and conditionsAfter two matches on the same pitch, this game will be played on a fresh surface in Pallekele. In the first two matches, batting conditions were the best earlier on and got tougher as the match progressed, bringing spinners into play and encouraging changes of pace from the quicks. The new pitch is not expected to play too differently.Stats and trivia Matheesha Pathirana has dismissed Suryakumar Yadav in all three T20 innings he has bowled to him. Sri Lanka could be encouraged to introduce Pathirana to the attack earlier than usual to try and target India’s skipper. Unlike in ODIs, where Sri Lanka are Mohammed Siraj’s favourite opposition, the fast bowler has struggled against them in T20Is. He averages 39 against them in the format, as opposed to 7.68 in ODIs, and has just three wickets in four matches. His lone wicket in this series was of Pathirana, and he would look to improve his numbers on Tuesday. Wanindu Hasaranga’s 15 wickets against India are the most he has taken against any opposition. In this series, he has dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal twice, and he would be a bowler the Indians will be wary of.Quotes”The obvious thing to say is that we don’t have enough power, but that’s not true. If you look at our stats this year, we’re neck-and-neck with other teams for six-hitting. If you hit it out of the stadium or just clear the boundary, it’s still a six. More than skills, I think handling situations and sticking around in tough situations have been the problems. ”
The New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter will be available for the entire BBL
ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2024Melbourne Renegades have signed New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert on two-year deal as a pre-draft BBL signing.Seifert, 29, will have full availability across those two seasons as Renegades look to improve on last season’s seventh place finish. His BBL deal means he will miss at least part of the Super Smash, New Zealand’s domestic T20 tournament, and won’t be in contention for the white-ball series against Pakistan over Christmas and New Year. Last month he turned down a domestic contract with Northern Districts in order to open up freelance T20 opportunities.Related
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Seifert has played three ODIs and 61 T20Is for New Zealand while has also been part of T20 leagues around the world. Overall in the format he averages 27.43 with a strike-rate of 130.12 including three centuries. Last month he finished as the leading run-scorer in the Lanka Premier League with 400 at 57.14 and a strike-rate of 135.13.It appears likely he will form a power-packed top three for Renegades alongside Josh Brown, who joined from Brisbane Heat, and Jake Fraser-McGurk while he also shapes as a frontrunner to take the keeping gloves after overseas signings Quinton de Kock and Jordan Cox shared the role last season.”I’m thrilled to be here for the next two seasons, I’ll be able to enjoy the environment and get to know the club on that deeper level which doesn’t often happen in franchise cricket so I’m excited to call myself a Gade for the next couple of seasons at least,” Seifert said.”That top three spot would be outstanding and if Cam [White] feels like I’m the man to take the gloves I’ll be ready for that too. At the same time, I’m ready to fit in and play whatever role Whitey and the Renegades need me to play.”Renegades general manager James Rosengarten added: “Tim gives us a double threat; we get a powerful and skilled batter plus an established international keeper and regular member of the Blackcaps program, so we’re excited to welcome into the club.”The beauty is Tim has full availability which is extremely valuable for topline overseas players this BBL season and its fantastic for our club to lock in Tim and still retain our prized Platinum pick.”The BBL draft will take place on September 1. Renegades have pick numbers 2, 10, 23 and 26.
The basics worked well for Australia – highlighted by two stunning pieces of fielding – after India gifted them a head start
Daniel Brettig in Adelaide06-Dec-2018This day, and this Test match, were to be all about the shock of the new.A new Australia Test team, recast in the wake of Newlands, with a new captain in Tim Paine and a new batting line-up patched together to cover for the bans imposed on Steven Smith and David Warner. Two new television broadcasters, offering dual coverage for the first time in the history of Australian cricket on commercial television after 40 years exclusive to . And between them a new level of access and attitude, devised to bring spectators closer to the action than ever before.At the first drinks break, conducted a discussion with the Australia bowling coach David Saker, thought to be the first in-play interview in Tests. Not to be outdone, were later to use their spider-cam above Adelaide Oval to conduct drinks break interviews with Travis Head and Peter Handscomb – there can be no doubting the extent to which the Australia team is intent upon “opening up” their world to the public. The new broadcast deals have certainly opened up commentary career paths: a veritable feast of former players walked the halls behind the press and broadcasting boxes, servicing no fewer than six separate outlets.Yet for all this newness, the opening day at Adelaide Oval actually turned out to be quite old fashioned, and a more lasting marker of the things that do not change about Test cricket in Australia. The early passages come loaded with risk for batsmen and opportunity for bowlers, the conditions ease after 20 or so overs, and the sun and heat are unrelenting. Australia’s bowlers prospered because they swam between the lanes offered by such conditions; all but one of India’s batsmen floundered because they did not.Thanks to the BCCI, this was also Adelaide’s first day Test since 2014, requiring attendance to see the first ball at 10.30am and a finish before dinner time. Thanks to the bounce of the ball and the modes of dismissal, there was no glimpse of DRS until the 75th over.By that point, Cheteshwar Pujara had established himself as by far the most composed of the visiting batsmen, sticking to an inherently limited plan and proving himself exceedingly difficult to dislodge by doing so. But for the vastly redeveloped oval and the passage of more than 80 years since his last Test, it might have been the sort of innings Bill “the unbowlable” Woodfull once played here.Watching Pujara play within his limitations, the rest of his batting colleagues had reason to ponder their repeated fishing expeditions in the opening session. Batting first in temperatures as high as 38C, they had the opportunity to stretch Australia’s four-man bowling attack, with the rider that the Kookaburra ball would swing and seam around for an hour or so, while carrying through comfortably, with plenty of pace, to Paine.There were inevitably nerves on both sides after the anthems were played and the day began with Mitchell Starc charging in at KL Rahul. Numerous balls swerving down the line of the stumps were squeezed out hurriedly, giving Australia’s debutant Marcus Harris some early sighters of inside edges from his short leg perch. But the eagerness to get bat on ball extended to the intermittent tempters hurled down wide of the stumps by Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, mixed in with straighter deliveries and bouncers designed to push the batsmen back.Undoubtedly the Australians bowled with great discipline and skill, preying on opponents still getting their bearings in this part of the world. Nevertheless, the procession of Indian outside edges was unbecoming of the world’s top ranked Test team. Rahul began it by slicing a drive at Hazlewood’s sixth ball into the hands of Aaron Finch, and M Vijay continued it by touching Starc’s angled ball through to Paine.ALSO READ – Mitchell Starc rediscovers his 2015 World Cup swingThe high point arrived with Virat Kohli, about whom so much has been written and recorded these past two weeks. Mike Atherton’s laudatory piece in about Kohli’s crispness in the Adelaide Oval nets was barely a day old when he, having been tucked up by tight lines for 15 balls, threw his bat at the first full and wide one offered by Cummins. The edge was thick and fast to the extreme left of Usman Khawaja in the gully. Little more than a month clear of knee surgery, and a day beyond his brother Arsalan’s bizarre arrest, Khawaja’s diving take was breathtaking.At drinks, Saker was able to summarise the classicism of Australia’s approach, and the team’s glee at how India were drawn towards it like, as Richie Benaud used to say, a moth to the flame. “We are most likely to get results if we do bowl a fuller length. It’s been very good this morning but we’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “We got the wickets the way we thought we might get the wickets, we’ve bowled a fuller length and some bouncers to get them back in the crease.”It was encouraging for both Mitch and Josh that they got the ball to swing. It’s about getting Josh’s body position right … he’s bowled beautifully this morning, as has Mitchell Starc, and it is really encouraging that they are swinging the ball. The other thing very encouraging is Nathan’s first over. We know he’s a big weapon for us and knowing it is spinning on the first day, we can have him at one end and roll the quicks through at the other end.”Lyon did indeed bring an additional threat, and after Ajinkya Rahane added his flashing drive to the series of edges and cordon catches, the spinner’s wiles kept momentum with Australia. Paine had referred to the looming “chess match” between both sides in terms of attacking spin bowlers in order to press the quicks back into service, and Lyon found himself on the receiving end of a few choice blows from Rohit Sharma in particular, on the way becoming the first bowler in Test history to concede more than 200 sixes.Rohit, however, is not exactly known for his judgment in Tests. The ball after a flick to the leg side boundary managed just to travel far enough to prevent Harris from completing a catch on the rope, a harebrained charge down the wicket and swing – feet nowhere near the pitch of Lyon’s drift and drop – had Rohit offering the debutant another, far simpler chance. He wandered off with 37 to his name and more question marks about Test match temperament than ever.Rishabh Pant suggested little more permanence in his innings, veering between telling hits and eye-watering misses, but he was at least to be dismissed by the best delivery of the day so far. From around the wicket, Lyon extracted turn and bounce from the live grass on the drop-in pitch, extracting the thinnest of edges for Paine to hurl skywards in celebration. After some delay, Kumar Dharmasena raised his finger. These wickets kept Australia in charge despite an ageing ball and the unrelenting heat, even as Pujara crept closer to a meritorious first hundred in Australia.Amid lengthening shadows and confirmation of 23,802 well-catered spectators, Cummins and Starc whittled down India’s remaining wickets. It was Cummins, alert as ever, who ended Pujara’s stay with a direct hit run out from side on that spoke volumes for the levels of fitness the Australians have cultivated under the coaching of Justin Langer. Every member of the home attack finished the day with two wickets apiece, demonstrating in their teamwork another old fashioned virtue on this day of new beginnings.
da luck： Glasgow Rangers have already confirmed that Barry Ferguson’s time as interim manager of the Ibrox club came to an end after the Scottish Premiership season concluded.
da imperador bet： The Light Blues were held to a 2-2 draw at Easter Road on the final day of the league season, as Rangers cemented their second-placed finish behind their city rivals.
Ferguson’s interim spell ended with six wins, five draws, and four defeats in 15 matches in all competitions, which was far from impressive on paper for the inexperienced Scottish coach.
It has now been confirmed that he will not be in contention for the job on a full-time basis, as the Gers are now looking elsewhere for a permanent successor to Philippe Clement, who was relieved of his duties in February.
There have already been plenty of interesting names linked with the vacant managerial position at Ibrox, ranging from British coaches, foreign coaches with British experience, and left-field coaches with no experience in British football.
One of the names who has been mentioned alongside the Rangers job in recent weeks is Real Madrid assistant first-team coach Davide Ancelotti, the son of Carlo Ancelotti.
Why Rangers should avoid Davide Ancelotti
There have been some contradicting reports on the club’s interest in the Italian tactician of late, with talk of an offer from the Gers and then a report saying that was false and that he wants to join his father with the Brazil national team for a year.
Whether he is a serious candidate for the job or not, the 49ers and Kevin Thelwell should look elsewhere in their search for a new head coach because of the job facing the next manager ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Rangers have finished second in the Premiership in each of the last four seasons, watching their city rivals lift the trophy each year, and need a head coach who can bring success back to Ibrox.
Whilst Ancelotti is an exciting prospect, because he has yet to manage at first-team level and is full of untapped potential, the fact that he is an unknown quantity as a manager also counts against him for this particular job.
Davide Ancelotti’s coaching career
Club (role)
First-team manager
Matches
Real Madrid (Assistant manager)
Carlo Ancelotti
233
Everton (Assistant manager)
Carlo Ancelotti
67
Napoli (Assistant manager)
Carlo Ancelotti
73
Bayern Munich (Assistant manager)
Carlo Ancelotti
60
Real Madrid (Fitness coach)
Carlo Ancelotti
119
PSG (Fitness coach)
Carlo Ancelotti
77
Stats via Transfermarkt
The 35-year-old coach, as shown by his career path above, has not been a first-team manager to date, as he has only worked as part of his father’s coaching staff, as either a fitness coach or as an assistant manager.
Whilst there is a lot of brilliant experience in some of the best leagues in Europe at some of the biggest clubs in the world there, Ancelotti has not proven himself as the main man and that is why Rangers, in their current situation, should look elsewhere.
Rangers want to appoint new manager this week
As per a fresh report from the Daily Mail, Rangers are looking to appoint a more experienced manager as they are set to hold talks with English boss Steven Gerrard.
The report claims that the club are planning to hold talks with the Liverpool legend within the next 48 hours to discuss a potential return to Ibrox, having left the job to join Aston Villa back in 2021.
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It states that Gerrard, who is currently without a club, is currently the frontrunner to land the role, and that Rangers want to have a deal wrapped up by the end of this week if possible.
All going well, the English manager could be holding up a Gers scarf for the second time before next Monday, although there is no mention of how interested he is in making a return to Glasgow.
Steven Gerrard
With this news in mind, the club must convince Gerrard to return to Ibrox before the end of the week during these talks that are due to take place within the next 48 hours because he would make supporters forget about wanting Ancelotti.
Why Gerrard would make Rangers forget Ancelotti
As aforementioned, the Real Madrid assistant manager would arrive at Ibrox as a huge gamble by the club, given his lack of senior managerial experience, but that would not be the case with Gerrard.
In fact, the English head coach may be the safest possible appointment for Rangers to make, given that he is the only Gers manager who has won the Premiership in the last decade.
StevenGerrard
The former England international lost more games than he won at Aston Villa (19 vs 13) and Al Ettifaq (20 vs 19) after moving on from Ibrox in 2021, but there is no mocking his record during his time in Scottish football.
After being given time to build a squad in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns, Gerrard won the Premiership title in the 2020/21 season with 32 wins and zero losses in the top-flight, an achievement that was described as “unbelievable” by journalist Leanne Prescott.
Gerrard’s last 50 Premiership games at Rangers
Stat
20/21
21/22
Matches
38
12
Wins
32
8
Draws
6
3
Defeats
0
1
Points
102
27
Points per game
2.68
2.25
League position
1st (Champions)
1st
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, the 4-3-3 manager only lost one of his last 50 matches in charge of the club, and left the team at the top of the table before Giovanni van Bronckhorst failed to follow up with another title success.
Gerrard, once dubbed “amazing” by Glen Johnson, has proven that he can deliver a successful style of football at Ibrox, given his incredible record across his last 50 games and the title that he won in the 2020/21 campaign.
Nathan Patterson, Steven Gerrard
Rangers have failed to win the Premiership in the last four seasons, and they need a head coach who can bring the title back to Ibrox next term. So, who better than the only man to have done it in the last decade? That is why appointing Gerrard could make fans forget about the exciting potential of bringing Ancelotti in for his first managerial job.
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Here come the IPL 2024 playoffs. It took a thriller on Saturday to decide which of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) or Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would complete the playoffs line-up, and till the very last league game – a washout in Guwahati last night – to know who would play whom exactly, but now we know. And it’s a completely different playoff line-up from last season, with none of 2023’s top four making the cut here.Qualifier 1: KKR vs SRH, May 21, AhmedabadKolkata Knight Riders (KKR) come into the first qualifier as table-toppers, the first time they’ve finished the league phase at No. 1. They finished three points clear of anyone else on the table, despite having their last two games washed out. Will they be refreshed, or rusty? If SRH are any example to go by, a break from the cricket is a good thing: they came in after a 10-day break – partly down to the schedule and partly down to the weather – and aced a chase of 215 on Sunday against Punjab Kings. This was only the second time in IPL 2024 that SRH won a game chasing.Related
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Previous meeting: They’ve played each other only once this season, both team’s first game of IPL 2024. It was a high-scoring thriller that ended in a last-ball four-run win for KKR at Eden Gardens.Player availability: The England players who will be going to the upcoming T20 World Cup have withdrawn early from the IPL, and among them is one of KKR’s lynchpins this season: Sunil Narine’s big-hitting opening partner, Phil Salt.Weather forecast: “Very hot with plenty of sunshine” – that’s the forecast for Ahmedabad on May 21, and the heat will hardly relent as the lights come on for the evening match: it’s a minimum of 31C on the day. The forecast says there’s a 0% chance of rain.Eliminator: RR vs RCB, May 22, AhmedabadOn April 22, RR were top of the table, flying high, having won seven of their first eight games. At the other end of the table, RCB were languishing, having lost as many as RR had won, six of those defeats coming in a row. Fast forward to May 20, and the turnaround is stunning: RR have since won one in six and lost four in a row before Sunday’s washout. RCB have won six in a row, and thus go into this knockout encounter with all the momentum on their side.Previous meeting: They’ve played each other once this year, a convincing win for RR in Jaipur, where Virat Kohli hit a century only to be outdone by Jos Buttler.Player availability: This time, RR will be without Buttler, who’s part of the English T20 World Cup contingent that’s left the tournament. RCB will be without Will Jacks and Reece Topley for the same reasons.Weather forecast: The forecast doesn’t change much from Qualifier 1. Ahmedabad should remain hot and dry for the Eliminator.After a blazing start to IPL 2024, things have gone downhill for Sanju Samson and Co•BCCIQualifier 2: Loser of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of the Eliminator, May 24, ChennaiWeather forecast: Some clouds are forecast during the day, but only a 5% chance of rain. A low of 29C, so another hot, sweaty evening in store for the players.Final: Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Qualifier 2, May 26, ChennaiThere’s a possibility of a first-time winner: RCB, ending a 16-year drought in the same season that their women’s team knocked off the Women’s Premier League title in its second edition.Is this, finally, RCB’s year?•Getty ImagesOr RR could win their first title since the inaugural season when Shane Warne’s relatively unfancied team saw off MS Dhoni’s Super Kings in the final.For KKR it would be a first title since 2014, and their third overall. Quite the homecoming for Gautam Gambhir, that would be – he had captained KKR to both their previous titles, and played for them till 2017. This season, he shifted from Lucknow Super Giants back to KKR as team mentor.SRH’s only title (not to confuse them with the other franchise from Hyderabad, Deccan Chargers, who won it in 2009) came in 2016 – can they add to that?Weather forecast: Not much change from Qualifier 2, but slightly hotter even (min. 30 C) and even less chance of rain (4%).
Issy Wong, the England fast bowler, has joined Western Storm on loan for the Charlotte Edwards Cup after she was left out of the Central Sparks team for their first two matches of their T20 campaign.Wong, who turned 22 last week, played for England as recently as September and featured for Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League in March. But after a quiet start to the season in the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, she was not selected by the Sparks for their opening T20 fixtures and has pursued a move away.The ECB – who are Wong’s primary employer, as a centrally-contracted player – have approved her loan move to ensure she will be playing competitive cricket. Storm said in a statement: “The ECB have sanctioned the move to ensure fast bowler Wong is able to maximise her playing time over the coming weeks.”Wong played all three formats for England in the 2022 summer at the age of 20 and was one of the stars of the inaugural season of the WPL, taking 15 wickets to help Mumbai Indians to the title – including a hat-trick in the eliminator. But she has struggled for consistency since and has lost her place in England’s squads.This season, she has taken three wickets at 56.33 in five Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixtures and has also featured for an ECB Development XI against the touring Pakistan squad. She was a surprise omission from the Sparks’ T20 side, though they have won their opening two fixtures.Wong is likely to play a more prominent role for a Storm side who have lost their opening two matches and are currently without Lauren Filer, who is on England duty. She will also target more opportunities with the bat, having spent most of this season batting at No. 8 in 50-over cricket.