Rio Ferdinand has made a huge admission while discussing Bruno Fernandes opting to stay with Manchester United.
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Ferdinand impressed by Fernandes decision
Man Utd captain turned down Saudi Arabia move
Ex-defender admitted he might not have
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Ferdinand suggested that Fernandes has a loyalty to United rarely seen in modern football, revealing that he might have struggled in his own career to make the same decision to turn down the lucrative money on offer in Saudi Arabia.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Al-Hilal were willing to fork over ÂŁ100 million ($136m) for Fernandes and then pay the midfielder himself around ÂŁ700,000 ($950,000) per week to move to the Saudi Pro League. But he said no, explaining that his decision was motivated by wanting to continue playing at a higher level in Europe. That reasoning brought criticism from Ivan Toney, who left the Premier League behind for Saudi Arabia and Al Ahli last summer.
WHAT FERDINAND SAID
"The one thing it says to me, there's a loyalty. And I think that word gets banded about quite a lot, but we don't really see it often from the club's point of view and the players," Ferdinand told the .
"I understand it's a business. But I think he looks at this as pure, 'I've got unfinished business at United. There's stuff I want to do here. Yes, I've been paid well here. The fans love me.' But I think he's in the game of wanting to give back after all he's received. So I've got nothing but respect for him. I would have understood him leaving if he left, 100%. But the fact that he stayed and said there's stuff for me still to do here. I think it's a testament to him as a person, but also another reason why managers comfortably give him the armband.
"If I was him, I think I'd have found it difficult to say no [to Al Hilal]. I've got to be honest."
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WHAT NEXT FOR FERNANDES?
The summer has to be seen as a fresh start for Manchester United. Realistically, the majority of the squad will remain the same, but there is a full summer without the disruption of an international tournament to properly get to grips with Ruben Amorim's philosophy and demands – something there was never the opportunity to do after his appointment mid-season. Fernandes' role as captain will be crucial in turning the page, especially in setting the standard and culture for new signings that come through the door.
Neser century caps mammoth second-innings 737, as Robinson rests ankle injury as ‘precaution’
Alan Gardner21-May-2023
Michael Neser drives through the covers during his final-day century•Getty Images
Glamorgan 123 and 737 (Carlson 192, Labuschagne 138, Neser 123) drew with Sussex 481 (Coles 138, Smith 89, Haines 58) and 1 for 0The sight of Ollie Robinson leaving the Sussex dressing-rooms on crutches and with his left foot in a protective boot summed up the stark turnaround in this match at Hove. Robinson’s celebrations were unrestrained on day one when he removed Marnus Labuschagne with his first ball to the Australian, as Glamorgan were blown away in 37.4 overs. But the visitors batted out more than six sessions second time around to record their second-highest first-class total and fight the game to a standstill.Glamorgan coach, Matthew Maynard, praised his side’s resilience after they overcame a first-innings deficit of 358, with Australia allrounder Michael Neser becoming the third centurion of the innings. After Robinson’s opening salvo, most of the pre-Ashes points-scoring in this match has come from the other side. “He’s contributed really well with the bat this year for us, on top of his outstanding bowling efforts,” Maynard said of Neser. “To top it with a hundred, delighted for him.”Sussex, who recorded their fifth consecutive draw to remain second in Division Two, were left more than a little battered by the effort. Robinson had been off the field since before lunch on day three due to an ankle injury that could affect his England availability and the captain, Cheteshwar Pujara, was absent on Sunday with a stiff neck (although India shouldn’t need to worry about his readiness for the World Test Championship final). Three bowlers – Ari Karvelas, Jack Carson and James Coles – bowled more than 30 overs, with Carson sending down 54 for figures of 2 for 216.An attack missing the services of Robinson was perhaps always going to struggle to take 20 wickets for only the second time this season. They got there in the end, by which time Glamorgan had amassed 737 – the fifth-highest second-innings score in history – and a lead of 379 with nominally 14 overs left in the game. Neser scored the third first-class hundred of his career, and first for Glamorgan, the mark achieved with a mighty slog-sweep for six off the bowling of his Australia team-mate Steven Smith.Smith, bowling offbreaks, picked up a maiden Sussex wicket – exuberantly celebrated after a fine one-handed catch on the boundary rope by sub fielder Sean Hunt – and eventually yorked Neser to bring the innings to a close. Cricket being cricket, the timing of the dismissal meant that Sussex still had to come out and bat for an over before hands could be shaken on a draw, with Labuschagne bounding eagerly through six deliveries of medium-pace before signing off from county duties.Glamorgan’s monumental effort eclipsed by more than 150 runs their previous highest second-innings score – made at Newport in 1939, against a Gloucestershire team for whom Wally Hammond chalked up 302. Emrys Davies was the bulwark for Glamorgan on that occasion, making a career-best 287 not out. Here the Welsh hero was Kiran Carlson, who also made his highest first-class score – albeit only bettering the previous mark by one run – with notable support from Glamorgan’s two Australian overseas players.As epic rearguards go, you could scarcely ask for more – and after Carlson went early, adding just five runs to his overnight 187, it was no surprise that Glamorgan were uninterested in making a sporting declaration. All that work to go home with 2 points? No thanks. “We were never safe until quite late in the day,” Maynard said. In the end, their second-innings effort outstripped their first by more than 600 runs, which in the language of the Tour de France, that great sporting endurance test, was rather like crashing your bike down at sea level in Bayonne only to then beast your way to the front of the peloton in time to summit the Col du Tourmalet.All results remained theoretically possible at the start of the day, with Glamorgan 141 in front and Sussex hoping to burgle five wickets and set up a chase. They managed two in the morning session, and two more during the afternoon, but the game was already drifting towards somnolence. Smith was called on to bowl – perhaps imitating Labuschagne’s recent tinkering by eschewing his usual legbreaks – and then it was on to the collector’s items: Tom Alsop’s left-arm tweak and the optimistic lob-ups of Ali Orr, for the first time in senior cricket.The day took on a vaguely hallucinatory quality, as the players went through their motions. It brought to mind a quote from Joseph O’Neill’s , which describes “the beauty of cricket played on a lawn of appropriate dimensions, where the white-clad ring of infielders, swanning figures on the vast oval, again and again converge in unison toward the batsman and again and again scatter back to their starting points, a repetition of pulmonary rhythm, as if the field breathed through its luminous visitors.” Except, by this point, we were all waiting for it to take its final breath.Sussex were left to rue having dropped Carlson on 3 midway through the third morning – although given even the Glamorgan No. 11 Jamie McIlroy made a career-best (11 not out), perhaps the combination of surface and opposition would have proved unyielding either way. Five Glamorgan batters faced more than 100 balls, while each of the bottom three batted for more than an hour in support of Neser.Paul Farbrace, who described Robinson’s moon boot as “precautionary”, said that Sussex’s bowling in the second innings had not been consistent enough, and confirmed the club are set to bring in a second overseas bowler for the next block of Championship games, with Pujara and Smith both departing for international duty.”We are getting our bonus points for bowling a team out once, but we’re not capable of doing it twice, and that’s an area we’ve got to improve on,” Farbrace said. “Instead of finishing this little period of Championship games with one win in six, I think we should be finishing it with at least three wins. But we’ve not been good enough to do that.”
Setting their sights on the summer transfer window, Newcastle United have now received a green light from manager Eddie Howe to make their move for a defensive reinforcement worth over ÂŁ30m.
Newcastle readying £30m+ move
The Magpies have been forced to sit out of transfer drama in recent years, but look set to come flying out of their profit and sustainability shackles to welcome a number of key reinforcements. As a result, the rumours have been coming thick and fast over just who Howe and his side could welcome with open arms when the summer arrives.
Names such as Jonathan David, for example, have been mentioned in what would instantly ease any Newcastle fears over replacing Alexander Isak. The LOSC Lille star has matched the Swede for goals this season and could yet replace the Arsenal-linked forward if he decides to leave in the coming months.
Lille'sJonathanDavidcelebrates scoring their first goal with Edon Zhegrov
What Isak’s exit would certainly do is hand PIF their greatest spending power since arriving at St James’ Park, perhaps accelerating the Magpies’ progress under their Saudi owners.
With or without the sale of Isak, however, those on Tyneside have already reportedly set their sights on one summer target. According to The Times, Howe has now given Newcastle the green light to sign Jarell Quansah with PIF now reportedly readying a move worth ÂŁ30m, plus add-ons in the coming months.
The Magpies initially wanted the central defender last summer when Liverpool came in for Anthony Gordon and it seems as though their interest in the Anfield academy graduate has remained.
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He could form quite the partnership with Isak…
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One year on, a deal could be far easier to advance, given how Quansah has struggled to make his mark under Arne Slot. In the face of those struggles, Newcastle reportedly hope to lure the defender to St James’ Park using the prospect of consistent game time.
"Complete" Quansah needs Newcastle move
After flying under Jurgen Klopp, Quansah has seen his wings clipped by Slot since the Dutchman’s Anfield arrival. Having started against Ipswich Town on the opening day of the season, the defender’s struggles started from the very first game of the campaign with Slot deciding to haul him off for Ibrahima Konate at half time.
Since then, things haven’t improved. The England defender has started just one Premier League game since that frustrating afternoon at Portman Road, ironically coming in a 3-3 draw against Newcastle. Having been dubbed “complete” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig last season, Quansah desperately needs a move if he is to rediscover that level.
Newcastle could certainly do with a young defender too. As things stand, Howe has just one central defender below 30 years old in the form of Sven Botman, who has endured plenty of injury struggles in the last two seasons.
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Na última terça, o Galo eliminou o Emelec com um placar agregado de 2 a 1 para garantir sua vaga na fase seguinte, enquanto o Verdão bateu o Cerro Porteño-PAR com um agregado de 8 a 0 para confirmar o confronto diante dos mineiros, valendo lugar na semifinal.
O primeiro jogo da disputa será no Mineirão, no dia 3 de agosto (quarta-feira), às 21h30, com transmissão da ESPN.
Tottenham Hotspur will attempt to sign an England star who Real Madrid were pushing to sign last year, with chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange showcasing some ambition already before the summer transfer window.
Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham players despite Man City loss
Spurs’ brief winning streak came to an abrupt end against Premier League champions Man City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday evening.
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Postecoglou would greatly benefit from his arrival.
4 ByEmilio Galantini Feb 26, 2025
Erling Haaland’s eventual winner proved the difference between Ange Postecoglou and Pep Guardiola’s sides, but the former still found positives to take away from the 90 minutes, despite it being their fourteenth top flight loss of the campaign.
Tottenham’s next five Premier League fixtures
Date
Bournemouth (home)
March 9th
Fulham (away)
March 16th
Chelsea (away)
April 2nd
Southampton (home)
April 5th
Wolves (away)
April 12th
“Yeah I think so. First half we were just a little bit too eager to get forward with the ball,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s positive second-half against Man City.
“I thought we were really wasteful and when you are (like that) against City it allows them to get into a rhythm of their game. They can pick you off at different times and we just didn’t handle that part of the game well. They scored and had a couple of good chances to get further ahead.
“I certainly felt second half we dominated the game and territory. We were pretty relentless. Much better with the ball and a lot calmer but just missing a goal and ultimately fell short.
“It did look more like us today. At least from my perspective. We were really relentless. We played aggressive football. We took it to a very good opponent. We never tapered off at all. If anything, like you said, bringing the guys on made us stronger towards the end of the game. Disappointing to lose but I think you see the benefit of us being refreshed and going into a game well prepared. That level of performance in the second half, if we can begin to get consistent with that then we will be able to push on.”
Overall, it’s been a disappointing second campaign in charge for Postecoglou, who is relying on a good run in the Europa League to end Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought.
Preparations are already underway to bolster the squad ahead of next campaign, with Tottenham believed to be targeting a new centre-back this summer.
Tottenham set to attempt move for Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite
According to CaughtOffside, Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite is on their transfer shortlist in that regard, following the Lilywhites’ repeated shortages at centre-half throughout 2024/2025.
Everton's JarradBranthwaitein action with Manchester United's Harry Maguire
Tottenham are ready to rival Man United in the race for Branthwaite this summer, as per this report, and it is believed even Real Madrid were once pushing to land the England international, though a move failed to materialise.
The 22-year-old will apparently command a price tag of around ÂŁ70 million, though, so Levy will need to invest heavily in his acquisition. That being said, he currently stands out as one of the country’s most promising centre-backs.
“Branthwaite has been outstanding,” said Jamie Carragher last year. “I think this lad is pretty special. He’s a big part of why Everton in my eyes have a good chance of staying up, him and his partnership with [James] Tarkowski.”
Rohit Sharma’s team are clear favourites, although they will know not to underestimate a World Cup opposition
Nagraj Gollapudi26-Oct-20224:01
Kumble: ‘Not fair’ to leave Ashwin or Axar out against Netherlands
Big PictureThursday will be the first instance of India and Netherlands contesting in a T20 international. While India will enter as clear favourites, they will also be the first to point out the danger that Scott Edwards’ team poses. Netherlands are the only Associates in the Super 12s. They have worked hard to earn their place and now their players want to enjoy playing alongside the big boys, a long-cherished dream. India, Pakistan and South Africa are in their group, and the Dutch want to ensure they push themselves to create an upset.Exposure – that has been the catchphrase Associate coaches and players have holding up outside the gates of the ICC and bigger countries. Playing better teams will make them better has been the punch line. And Netherlands have proved that this season: in 2022 they have played ODI series against England, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies and Afghanistan along with the twin T20Is against New Zealand as well as the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe before arriving in Australia.Related
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Equipped with that experience, Netherlands believed they could beat Bangladesh in their first Super 12 match on Monday and nearly achieved that aim, if not for a couple of unnecessary run-outs, the reason behind the eventual nine-run defeat. Netherlands know India are on a whole other level and on an almighty high after a dramatic win against Pakistan. While their bowlers have executed the plans every match, Netherlands’ batting has been a virtual one-man show named Max O’Dowd. He needs support from Vikramjit Singh, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper and Edwards.The Netherlands captain could tell his players, ‘we have nothing to lose so let’s just enjoy’. Such an attitude, Paul van Meerkeren, Netherlands’ strike bowler, said, has the potential to help players raise the performance bar. And given their history of shocking big teams at T20 World Cups – England in 2009 and 2014 – India will want to be on high alert.Bas de Leede has been turning a lot of heads at the T20 World Cup•AFP/Getty Images
Form guideIndia WLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first) Netherlands LLWWLIn the spotlightAs a captain Rohit Sharma has been loud, clear and fearless. He is one of the best tacticians in the game and is more than capable of thinking on the fly too. But Rohit the batter has been flying low recently: in his last five T20Is, Rohit has scored just 64 runs including two ducks at a strike rate of 103. This dip in form is in contrast to the stroke-filled 46 he hit against Australia in the rain-shortened match in Nagpur which earned him the Player-of-the-Match award. His last fifty came in a losing cause, seven matches ago, against Sri Lanka, in the Asia Cup. Rohit knows he needs to dictate with the bat and show consistency.Multiple World Cup-winner Ricky Ponting likes to keep an eye on young talent and he thinks Netherlands allrounder Bas de Leede has something special about him. Ponting feels de Leede has the tools to grow bigger, and his local BBL team Hobart Hurricanes could be thinking about having him on their roster. Other T20 franchise scouts have also tracked de Leede, who was recently picked up by MI Emirates for the inaugural season of the International League T20, starting in the UAE from January 2023. De Leede, who is 22, was also Player of the Match in Netherlands’ two victories in the first round of this World Cup and their second-highest run-maker in the World Cup Qualifiers that preceded it.Team newsWith just one left-hander in the Netherlands’ top eight, India could be tempted to bring in Yuzvendra Chahal, but their bowling coach Paras Mhambrey pointed out on Wednesday that they prefer the balance R Ashwin brings to their batting and may continue playing with him.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 R Ashwin/ Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Arshdeep SinghIndia are coming off a massing emotional high from their last game•ICC via Getty Images
Netherlands, too, are unlikely to tinker but remain concerned by the injury to Roelof van der Merwe. Edwards said a final call on would be taken based on how the left-arm spinner holds up after the training on Wednesday.Netherlands (possible): 1 Max O’Dowd, 2 Vikramjit Singh. 3 Bas de Leede, 4 Colin Ackermann, 5 Tom Cooper, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Tim Pringle, 8 Timm van der Gugten, 9 Fred Klaassen 10 Paul van Meekeren, 11 Shariz Ahmed/Roelof van der MerwePitch and conditionsNew Zealand blasted 200 in the tournament opener at the SCG on Saturday. So it is fair to expect runs to flow once again. There was some threat of rain, but it looks pretty clear on match eve.Stats and trivia Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene is the only batter to have scored 1000-plus runs in T20 World Cups. Jayawardene scored 1016 runs in 31 innings across five World Cups. But that record is set to be surpassed by Kohli, who is 73 runs adrift of the 1000-run mark. Kohli, who is playing his fifth T20 World Cup, is currently the third-highest run-maker, but has the highest average 84.3 (min. seven innings played) alongside 11 half-centuries (a tournament record). Oh, and the SCG is his favourite venue when it comes to T20Is as no batter has scored more than his 236 runs which have been cracked at an average of nearly 79 and a strike rate of 146. Van Meekeren needs one more wicket to go past Pieter Seelaar to become Netherlands’ leading T20 wicket-taker. Currently, van Meekeren has 58 wickets in 52 innings with an average of 21.5 and economy rate of 6.9Quotes”The discussion we always had was every game in a tournament like this is important. Yes, the first game [was against Pakistan and] we knew the hype around it. We knew it’s always going to be a high intensity and big clash, but having such games done and dusted in the first phase itself, it’s good. Had this game been maybe the third or fourth game, it would really sometimes take that effect on the following games, but having this game out of our group, it’s good.” “Yeah, it’s huge. You always dream of playing World Cups, and the SCG is one of the most famous grounds in the world. And then add in you’re playing against arguably one of the best teams in the world, yes, it’s pretty surreal. The boys are looking forward to it.” on how keen his team is to face India.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over Chelsea, there has been plenty of investment into all areas of the squad, with significant funds being allocated to the midfield area.
But despite spending hundreds of millions on midfield signings, it could be one of their other investments that prove to be the heir to Kante’s throne, and the Blues could really do with him this season.
N'Golo Kante's time at Chelsea
Kante left the club in the 2023 summer window, with his contract expiring, therefore allowing the Frenchman to leave on a free.
That may not have been a colossal blow at the time given his age but he was a stalwart of Stamford Bridge nonetheless. The 33-year-old made 269 appearances for Chelsea in his seven years at the club, scoring 13 goals, providing 16 assists and totaling 20,742 minutes played.
Throughout his time at the club,the great Frenchman won the Premier League once, the UEFA Champions League once, the FIFA Club World Cup once, the UEFA Super Cup once, the UEFA Europa League once and the FA Cup once.
His ability to cover ground, win duels and protect the team in transition were the special qualities that made him one of the best midfielders in world football, and the Blues could have their next Kante-like figure already in the pipeline.
Chelsea's new Kante
Chelsea signed a certain Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama for around ÂŁ13m in the January 2023 window, before loaning him back to Brazil for the remainder of the 2022/23 season. Since then he’s only gone from strength to strength.
The Brazilian was taken on the pre-season tour in2023/24, before being loaned to Nottingham Forest, where he only made two appearances.
Due to his lack of game time at Forest, Santos was recalled from loan in January 2024, and sent to Strasbourg (Chelsea’s sister club) where he played the second half of the campaign.
Chelsea decided one more loan move in the 2024/25 season would be the best route for Santos and his development, so he is yet again spending the year in Ligue 1, where he has been been simply phenomenal.
Santos vs Kante comparison
Stats (per 90 mins)
Santos (24/25)
Kante (20/21)
Goals + Assists
0.49
0.10
Progressive Carries
1.02
1.95
Progressive Passes
4.87
5.31
Passes Attempted
48.6
61.7
Pass Completion %
87.2%
85.8%
Key Passes
0.91
0.97
Passes into Final Third
3.96
3.99
Tackles
3.74
2.80
Interceptions
0.92
2.37
Ball Recoveries
6.42
8.40
Stats taken from FBref
When comparing the underlying metrics of Santos so far this season to the UCL winning season of Kante, you can see how closely they rank in certain metrics, both loving to get stuck in to recover the ball for their team, contributing with progressive passes and even adding extra output from midfield areas.
The 20-year-old’s Strasbourg manager, Liam Rosenior, has waxed lyrical about the Brazilian midfielder, stating he is set for a “magnificent” career, who already plays years beyond his age, stating “Andrey plays like he’s 32”.
That’s certainly seen in the stats. A box to box machine, Santos has made 21 appearances for Strasbourg so far this season, scoring eight goals and providing three assists. Meanwhile, only three players in Europe’s top five leagues this term have won more tackles than the Brazilian (47).
His all round quality, leadership – which has even been shown by captaining the French outfit at just 20-years-old – and solidity could make him Chelsea’s next Kante.
He lost the ball 21 times: 4/10 Chelsea dud was as bad as Nkunku v Brighton
Chelsea were poor in the FA Cup fourth round as they slumped to defeat against the Seagulls.
Wicketkeeper-batter embraces challenge against India after show of faith from Nat Sciver
Valkerie Baynes12-Sep-2022
Amy Jones speaks to her team in the huddle•ECB via Getty Images
Amy Jones is the first to admit that captaincy doesn’t come naturally to her.So when she was thrust into the role on the international stage because Nat Sciver had chosen to step away for mental health reasons, it was Sciver who initially helped convince her she could do it.”It’s definitely not something I’ve been gunning for quietly for a while at all,” grinned Jones on the eve of Tuesday’s second T20I against India in Derby. “But when I was having chats with Nat, sort of getting an inkling that she might go home, we did have a conversation where we were like, ‘this could be you, Amy,’ and it was very daunting.”I’d say on the pitch, definitely not something that comes naturally to me. I like to lead off the pitch in my own way, how I go about things, but when it comes to being vocal and speaking in front of the group or management of the game, all of this is all pretty new to me.”But, after leading England to a resounding nine-wicket win in the first match on a damp evening in Durham on Saturday, Jones – the wicketkeeper-batter who is set to make her 150th appearance for England in Thursday’s third fixture in Bristol – admitted she rather enjoyed herself.”One of the most pleasing things about the other night was just how everyone came together,” she said. “They know it’s not natural for me, but everyone’s been really supportive and just helped whenever they can. So it was, yeah, I’d go as far to say I enjoyed it, actually.”England announced last Thursday that Sciver had withdrawn from both white-ball series with India and returned home from the team’s camp in Durham to focus on her mental health and wellbeing. Sciver, who had been standing in for injured regular captain Heather Knight since July, said that she was “very emotionally fatigued” after a busy nine months which included an Ashes tour of Australia, the World Cup in New Zealand, a home series with South Africa and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the host nation finished a disappointing fourth.”She’s one of my closest friends as well as a team-mate,” Jones said. “The first couple of days in Durham, she obviously wasn’t herself.”So when she did, with the help of our support staff, decide that she shouldn’t be there, I think it was almost a relief for me as a friend to know that she was going to go back home and get herself right before she joins back up with us, so definitely the right decision for her and everyone’s right behind her.”Related
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Jones felt she had Sciver’s full support in taking on the captaincy, as well as that of Sciver’s wife, Katherine Brunt, who is being rested from the T20Is and subsequent three-match ODI series with India.”She was being really reassuring, she said I’d do a great job,” Jones said of Sciver. “And Katherine has also messaged me as well and they’ve been very supportive. It felt like they thought I was the right person, which definitely gave me a bit of confidence.”Jones captained Birmingham Phoenix through the inaugural season of the Hundred last year before the arrival of Sophie Devine, the New Zealand skipper, at the franchise this year.”For me, it was daunting, purely because I did a year at the Hundred obviously and nothing either side of that, so it’s just the unknown really,” Jones said. “That’s what I was stressing about the most leading up to the game.”It’s obviously a lot of responsibility and with a young side… I wasn’t sure if some of the bowlers would need more help than they did, but everyone just really stepped up, knew their game, and it was a lot simpler than I thought.”In the absence of three senior players, Jones was hugely impressed with her side’s performance on Saturday, particularly leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, who took a career-best 4 for 23, including three of India’s top four in Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha and Harmanpreet Kaur.”Leading into this, missing three key players for us, it would have been easy for us to sort of go into our shell in that first game with a bit less confidence,” Jones said. “It just really felt like everyone came together and stood up in a time where we could have gone the other way, so that was really pleasing.”It was definitely a challenge. I was very nervous. I think for the couple days leading up to it, it was a lot of thinking and it’s quite hard to switch off. But now, having played the first one, I can relax a bit more and know that we can get through a game and with the girls helping you it just made it so much easier.”Alice Davidson-Richards was called into the England squad for the remainder of the T20I series as cover for allrounder Sciver. The squad – and captain – for the ODIs starting on Sunday at Hove is yet to be named.”I’m not sure I’d be throwing my hat in the ring,” Jones said. “I think fifty overs is a whole other ball game. But, in saying that, obviously if they think I’m the right person for it then it’s something I would never turn down.”I’m happy just to focus on the T20s now. As always, I would never turned down an opportunity like that, but I’m definitely doing just a little stand-in.”
After more than 17 months of delays, USA Cricket’s 2020 general elections finally concluded this week
Peter Della Penna04-Aug-2022After more than 17 months of delays, USA Cricket’s 2020 general elections finally concluded this week with Atul Rai and Kuljit-Singh Nijjar prevailing in a stacked field for the club director and individual director positions respectively. Nadia Gruny was also reelected for the female elite-athlete director position in a candidacy that was unopposed.Rai, the southern California administrator who also served as president of the since-expelled USA Cricket Association (USACA) in the early 2000s, returns to the board after being league director from 2018 to 2020. He replaces the incumbent club director, Ajith Bhaskar of New York, after receiving 51.30% of the votes of club officials.Related
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USA Cricket general elections to begin on July 8
Delayed elections – USA Cricket board members file lawsuit
According to a USA Cricket press release, approximately 77% of the 558 club officials eligible to vote wound up casting ballots, though no official vote total was released.Nijjar, of Dallas, Texas, replaces the incumbent Suraj Viswanathan of northern California, who had also been serving as the USA Cricket board secretary during his tenure. Nijjar eventually won 52.40% of the vote after three rounds of preferential voting, in which the candidate with the lowest vote total is eliminated after each round and votes retabulated until a 50% majority for the winner is achieved.As for the individual vote, the number of voters who submitted officially verified ballots was a tiny fraction of the eligible voting membership base of 12,381 members. According to USA Cricket, approximately 34% of those members wound up submitting a ballot during the two-week voting period that ran from July 8 to July 22, once again highlighting the apathy within theUS cricket landscape.The voting period was marred with issues symbolic of the 17 months of delays. The initial email ballots that were commissioned on July 8 wound up being nullified after a technical issue in which the election service, ElectionBuddy, sent ballots out to all voters to be able to vote for both the club and individual director positions instead of just the category they were eligible to vote for. It meant that anyone who did not submit a second ballot did not have their vote recorded.Another issue that arose during the voting period itself was the discovery of fraudulently registered individual members to various clubs. After voting began, USA Cricket’s nominating and governance committee sent out an emergency email asking club leaders to confirm and self-verify by the election deadline all true members that had previously been deemed legitimate members of their clubs by the NGC. It resulted in three clubs reporting fake voters claiming to be affiliated with their clubs, and subsequently those votes were cancelled.
At an event in the United States to promote the 2025 Club World Cup, which will be held this summer, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that he supported FIFA's decision to expel Club LeĂłn from the competition after violating a regulation that prohibits teams with the same owner from participating.
According to the governing body, Club LeĂłn is part of Grupo Pachuca, which was deemed sufficient grounds for their exclusion from the tournament, which will feature a new format with 32 teams.
"We need to see the dates for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where we obviously have no decision-making power," Infantino said. "But in my opinion, a final decision should be made by the end of April or early May."
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
At the moment, Club LeĂłn, the team for whom former Real Madrid star James RodrĂguez plays, will be excluded from the Club World Cup, which will take place from June 14 to July 13.
Pending the CAS resolution regarding Leon's status at the end of April, FIFA said this week that it "can confirm it is considering one playoff match between LAFC and Club America for the right to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025."
"We have made a decision from FIFA's Appeals Committee, which, according to the regulations, has made that determination," Infantino said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "Now, the case will surely proceed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will also make its decision in a very timely manner. Everything has to be decided in the coming weeks to ensure certainty and security for the 32 teams, as we currently have 31."
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DID YOU KNOW?
This will be the first time the Club World Cup is held in the United States and under a 32-team format. The tournament will last for one month, and the qualified clubs will have the opportunity to sign up to six new players for the competition.
Previously, the Club World Cup was only contested by the champions of each confederation and was held in Asia or Africa. The most successful club in the history of the competition is Real Madrid, with five titles.
The only editions in which the Champions League winner did not win the trophy were in 2012, 2006, 2005, and 2000. In those instances, all the teams that won were Brazilian clubs.