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أعلن المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر سيتي، بيب جوارديولا، التشكيل الأساسي لخوض مباراة اليوم ضد نظيره ولفرهامبتون، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستضيف ملعب “مولينيو” مباراة مانشستر سيتي وولفرهامبتون في الجولة الأولى من الدوري الإنجليزي، موسم 2025/26.

اقرأ أيضًا | موعد والقناة الناقلة لمباراة مانشستر سيتي وولفرهامبتون اليوم في الدوري الإنجليزي.. والمعلق

ويسعى مانشستر سيتي إلى بدء مشواره في الموسم الجديد من الدوري الإنجليزي بشكل قوي، خاصة قبل صدامه ضد توتنهام في الجولة الثانية.

وحسبما نُشر، يتواجد النجم المصري عمر مرموش على دكة بدلاء فريق مانشستر سيتي في مباراة اليوم. تشكيل مانشستر سيتي اليوم أمام ولفرهامبتون في الدوري الإنجليزي

حراسة المرمى: جيمس ترافورد.

خط الدفاع: ريكو لويس، جون ستونز، روبن دياز، آيت نوري.

خط الوسط: نيكو جونزاليس، برناردو سيلفا.

خط الوسط الهجومي: أوسكار بوب، تيجاني ريندرز، جيريمي دوكو.

خط الهجوم: إيرلينج هالاند.

البدلاء: أورتيجا مورينو، ناثان آكي، عمر مرموش، ريان شرقي، إيلكاي جوندوجان، مانويل أكانجي، ماتيوس نونيز، نيكو أوريلي، عبد القادر خوسانوف.

Sam Conners, Zak Chappell share eight wickets to skittle visitors for 100

ECB Reporters Network21-Sep-2023

Brooke Guest had a day to remember as Derbyshire ran through Sussex in the LV=Insurance Division Two County Championship match at Derby.After the first two days were washed out by rain, Guest marked his 100th appearance for the county as a wicketkeeper by taking seven catches to equal the record number of dismissals in an innings for Derbyshire. Sam Conners and Zak Chappell both took four wickets to skittle Sussex for 100 and in reply, Derbyshire closed on 94 for 1 with Luis Reece unbeaten on 50.Only three players made double figures in a flimsy Sussex batting display after Derbyshire took full advantage of winning the toss.After several days under the covers, the pitch offered some assistance although it was an undistinguished performance by Sussex whose promotion hopes were slim at best even before this collapse.The tone was set in the fifth over by Ali Orr who aimed a big drive at Chappell without moving his feet and gave Guest his first victim.Tom Alsop, leading the side in place of the suspended Cheteshwar Pujara, was also guilty of a loose drive at Conners three overs later and when James Coles threw his bat at a wide ball from Anuj Dal, Sussex were 40 for 3.Tom Clark pulled a short ball from Pat Brown for six but when Dal found some late movement to have him caught behind, the innings went into freefall.Dan Ibrahim was drawn into playing at a ball that left him to give Guest his fifth catch, the first time a Derbyshire wicketkeeper had achieved the feat before lunch since Bernie Maher on Royal Wedding Day in July 1981.Oli Carter was cleaned up playing back to a full-length ball from Conners and after Chappell struck twice in successive overs, Sussex went into lunch on 77 for 8.Only three overs were bowled after the interval before heavy rain delayed the game until 4.30pm but the second ball after the restart, Wayne Madsen damaged a finger trying to take a catch at second slip and left the field in obvious distress.Former Derbyshire allrounder Fynn Hudson-Prentice took Sussex to three figures before Jaydev Unadkat pulled Conners to midwicket, and the innings ended in the next over. Hudson-Prentice skied a pull at Chappell to give Guest his seventh catch, which equalled the record set by former England great Bob Taylor in 1966 who then matched it in 1975 before Harvey Hosein achieved the feat in 2014.It was the first time this season a wicketkeeper has completed seven dismissals in an innings in first-class cricket and his assured glovework consigned Sussex to the lowest total by a visiting team at Derby for 25 years.The Sussex bowlers failed to match the consistent lines of Derbyshire’s attack which allowed Reece and Harry Came to add 65 in 18 overs before Came miscued a pull at Sean Hunt to midwicket.That brought Guest back out to the middle and at stumps he had helped Reece take Derbyshire to within six runs of Sussex’s meagre total.

Jordan Cox led Kent Spitfires to their fourth Vitality Blast win in a row as they beat Sussex Sharks by six wickets at the 1st Central County Ground in Hove.Cox hit an unbeaten 82 off just 44 deliveries, with six fours and five sixes. And he was well supported at the end by Jack Leaning, who made an unbeaten 28 from 26 balls. Spitfires needed 12 runs from the final two overs but Cox saw his side home with eight balls to spare when he hit the otherwise impressive Ari Karvelas to leg for successive sixes.Both the Sharks and the Spitfires had to win this match to sustain their ambitions in the Vitality Blast and both sides had shown some encouraging form in recent weeks after generally disappointing campaigns.The Spitfires, chasing 170, got off to a good start with 25 from the first two overs but then Karvelas came on to bowl the third, bowling Tawanda Muyeye with his first delivery and then having Joe Denly caught behind with his fourth ball. When Tymal Mills came on to bowl the fourth over he had the Spitfires captain Sam Billings caught behind for just 2 and suddenly Kent were on the back foot at 28 for 3.But Cox put Kent on top once more with a fourth wicket stand of 70 in seven overs with Daniel Bell-Drummond. The pair looked in total control before, in the 11th over, Bell-Drummond attempted to work Ravi Bopara to fine leg and got a top edge. Cox, though, carried on, reaching his half-century from 31 balls with five fours and a six. He then celebrated the landmark by hoisting Brad Currie over square-leg for six, before reverse scooping George Garton over third man for another maximum before his final flurry of strokeplay against Karvelas.Sussex had been guided to a total of 169 for 7 by their captain, Bopara, who hit a typically fluent 53 from 39 deliveries, with four fours and two sixes. They must have hoped for more after reaching the end of the 15th with a score of 133 for 3, but they were frustrated at the end of their innings by some fine death bowling from Michael Hogan and Wes Agar, who had come into the side for Kane Richardson, who had a side strain.Harrison Ward had got the Sharks off to a fine start, as they crashed 44 runs from the first five overs. But from the last ball of the fifth over the in-form Ward, who is often overlooked for these matches, was caught on the square-leg boundary off Hogan for a 21-ball 32.Tom Clark again made a good start without progressing, and Oli Carter looked in the mood after lifting Grant Stewart onto the pavilion roof for six. When he was out, well caught by Cox at extra cover, the best chance of a big total rested with the experienced pair of Bopara and Tom Alsop.They added 43 in four overs but then Alsop was caught at long-on by Bell-Drummond off Fred Klaassen and even Bopara was unable to give the innings a gloss finish against some tight bowling and fielding from the Spitfires.

Real Madrid’s plea to delay their La Liga opener has been denied, forcing the club to play Osasuna despite minimal preseason preparation.

• Madrid requested a delay for Matchday one
• RFEF’s sole judge denied the appeal
• Los Blancos return to training on August 4

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to , Madrid’s formal request to delay their La Liga opener against Osasuna on August 19 has been rejected by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). The club argued that they needed more time for preseason preparation following their involvement in the Club World Cup and a mandatory 21-day holiday break.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Los Blancos hoped to push their season start to Matchday two, citing a lack of adequate training time. However, RFEF’s sole referee for professional competitions, Jose Alberto Pelaez, ruled that the reasons provided didn’t meet the "force majeure" criteria. He noted that the Club World Cup was already scheduled and not an unforeseen event, and Madrid were never left with fewer than 11 available players.

• TELL ME MORE…

  Xabi Alonso’s squad is set to resume training on August 4, but with the league opener on August 19, the club claimed they wouldn’t get the minimum three-week preparation window. Despite this, the judge emphasised that the three-week prep is not guaranteed under any collective agreement and that Madrid still had a full squad of 23 players. The appeal was dismissed, and the match will proceed as scheduled at Santiago Bernabeu.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

  Los Blancos now have 48 hours to submit an appeal to the National Appellate Committee. If that fails, the club can escalate the matter to the Spanish Court of Arbitration for Sport (CASA), however the chances of success remain slim based on the current ruling.

From the unthinkable to the inevitable. Pakistan became the first team in Test history to lose by an innings having scored 500 in their first attempt, as England wrapped up victory inside the morning session on day five at Multan. Jack Leach finished with four wickets, a century stand between Salman Agha and Aamer Jamal not enough to save Pakistan from an unwanted record.Their fate had been effectively sealed when they slumped to 82 for 6 in blameless conditions on the fourth afternoon, any sense of fight crushed beneath the weight of England’s 823 for 7 declared. Salman and Jamal did their best to salvage some pride, putting on 109 for the seventh wicket – but Pakistan were so far adrift, despite posting an imposing 556 in the first innings, that it was not enough to make England’s batters put on their pads again.Defeat extended a horror run for Pakistan under the captaincy of Shan Masood to six in a row, and twisted the knife into an abysmal home record that has seen them winless since February 2021.With Pakistan a man down in the absence of the hospitalised Abrar Ahmed, England only had to remain patient and wait for an opening. Leach provided it with his fourth ball, after Ollie Pope had opted to bowl pace for much of the first hour, Salman trapped lbw by one that would have gone on to hit leg stump. Two wickets in the space of four balls then completed the victory, only England’s second by an innings in Asia.Jack Leach claimed the final three wickets to seal victory•Getty Images

It was set up by a record-breaking performance with the bat, Harry Brook’s triple-hundred and 262 from Joe Root helping England to post the fourth-highest total in Tests. And while the pitch continued to play pretty well even into the fifth day, with just the occasional assistance from the widening cracks, Pakistan’s initial collapse in the face of a 267-run deficit left the outcome a formality.Resuming on 152 for 6, there was more gutsy resistance from Salman and Jamal. Memories of Salman’s first-innings hundred, when he skipped along close to a run a ball as Pakistan’s total mounted, had been eroded by the match situation but he showed an ability to apply himself in more straitened circumstances, a tickled boundary off Gus Atkinson taking him to fifty for the second time in the match.At the other end, Jamal found himself in the crosshairs of Brydon Carse’s short-ball attack. A blow to the helmet required a visit from the physio and a concussion test but he continued to front up, putting several bumpers away to the boundary on the way to a second Test fifty. Carse kept coming, with a gloved pull flying over the head of Jamie Smith, before Pope put down what should have been a regulation catch after Jamal top-edged to square leg.In between, Leach had provided the breakthrough when he beat Salman’s inside edge, the dismissal confirmed on review. Shaheen Afridi was in no mood to hang around, flat-batting his third ball, from Carse, down the ground. But Leach clung on to a sharp return chance and then Naseem Shah walked past one to be stumped, as England closed out one of their most remarkable wins – not just of the Bazball era, but of all time.

There was evidence when the India-Australia schedule was announced that there would be doubts over the venue

Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Feb-2023Siddhartha Nanda, a cricket fan who works in a consulting firm in Bengaluru, holidayed in Dharamsala last winter. On the morning of December 22, he visited the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, and took the photograph you see below.

Work in progresspic.twitter.com/G1esYXGAxZ

— Sid (@sid_2893) December 22, 2022

At the time, the HPCA was relaying the stadium’s outfield as part of its plans to revamp the ground’s drainage.On December 8, the BCCI announced that the HPCA Stadium would host the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, from March 1 to 5. Looking at the state of the outfield on December 22, Nanda wondered if it would be ready in time.And he wasn’t alone.Luke ‘Sparrow’ Gillian made two trips to Dharamsala, in October and January, to scope out the logistics of bringing a large group of travelling fans to watch the Test match in March. Gillian is an Australian cricket superfan who has travelled to more than 200 Test matches since 1995, and organises tours for large groups of fans under the banner of Australian Cricket Tours (ACT).Related

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Third India vs Australia Test shifted from Dharamsala to Indore

Difficult questions are coming for Australia, but not just yet

“I’ve been to Dharamsala twice now,” Gillian says. “Went in October last year for two weeks, and I came out again three weeks ago when I did another lap of every venue [hosting the Test series].”I thought we would be lucky to play in Dharamsala, because there just wasn’t enough grass, and that had been growing for about two months to that point, and I thought, ‘if that’s all they’ve got after two months, they’re not going to have enough in the next three weeks, no way’.”Nanda and Gillian were right to have their doubts. On Monday, the BCCI announced it was shifting the Test match from Dharamsala to Indore.Like all BCCI press releases, the one that made this announcement, signed by secretary Jay Shah, was a masterclass in brevity and carefully curated detail. It summed up the reason for the venue swap in one line: “Owing to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks sufficient grass density and will need some time to develop fully.””Lacks sufficient grass density” was certainly one way of saying that the outfield, as ESPNcricinfo has reported, still had bare patches where grass cover had not yet taken hold, when the BCCI inspected the ground on February 3 and 11.The release did not mention the relaying of the outfield either. The BCCI must have known what stage this process was at when it announced the venues for the series, a full 14 days before Nanda took his photograph.Perhaps the BCCI expected the HPCA to have the ground ready in time for the match. Perhaps the winter in Dharamsala – a town situated in the upper reaches of the Kangra Valley in the Western Himalayas – was harsher than usual.But the BCCI must have known this was a possibility, and that there was some risk to choosing Dharamsala to host the Test match. The board went ahead and made that choice regardless.It may have done this knowing its capacity to shift venues swiftly, if needed. The BCCI has twice moved the IPL overseas when it has coincided with the Indian general elections, and once, midway through the tournament, during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the 2016 men’s T20 World Cup, the BCCI, as hosts of the tournament, helped the ICC shift the India-Pakistan match from Dharamsala to Kolkata at short notice, over security concerns.When that happened, then ICC chief executive David Richardson said this, among other things, while addressing the media: “The decision was not taken lightly. The ICC and the BCCI understand the disappointment that is likely to be felt by many over the decision to move the match.”There was no mention of fans’ concerns in the BCCI’s statement on Monday. This wasn’t unexpected, considering the experience the board puts spectators through at any given day in any of its stadiums, but the absence of any recognition that fans exist, never mind an apology to them, felt particularly galling in this instance.This was a Test match in March for which the board had announced the dates and venue back in December. This was a venue where the board knew – you would hope – that the state of the outfield could be an issue. And the venue was Dharamsala, which is almost unique in Indian cricket for the number of travelling fans it attracts.Luke Gillian is leading an Australian tour group in India•Getty ImagesThe HPCA Stadium is easily India’s most picturesque ground, backdropped by the snow-capped Dhauladhar range. Dharamsala, and nearby McLeodganj, are major tourist centres. Matches at the HPCA Stadium often coincide with visits from hundreds if not thousands of travelling fans, some driving there from Delhi or other nearby North Indian cities, some travelling from more distant parts of India, and others visiting from overseas, all there to experience the joys of cricket and hill-station tourism.The draw of Dharamsala becomes clear when you speak to Gillian. He says 12 Australian fans travelled with ACT to watch the Nagpur Test, and around 60 will be at the second Test in Delhi, while “55 at the moment” are set to travel to Ahmedabad for the fourth Test.A total of 152 fans signed up for Dharamsala.”People would come to Dharamsala for it being Dharamsala, before the cricket,” Gillian says. “Cricket is a byproduct and a time-filling entertainment.”Gillian is on his seventh tour of India, and is used to the changes in tour schedules, but he says he’s never had to deal with one happening so close to the match.

“If there was a 1% probability that you couldn’t host the match there, you could have picked another venue. You could have given the match to Eden Gardens – Eden Gardens has not hosted an Australia match for 20 years, for heaven’s sake”Mahesh Sethuraman, who was due to travel for the third Test

“I’ve been watching cricket in India since 1996,” he says. “I was celebrating that this was the first Indian cricket tour in all these years [where the schedule] has not changed before the first ball. But even worse, it’s changed after the first ball.”For now, he says there have been no cancellations. “They’re all heading down [to Indore]. They’ve realised that they’ve paid to come this far, and I’m doing my best to limit the damage.”The damage has been extensive.”Flights, hotels, match tickets have all gone. I’ve paid deposits to the hotels, because I said [to them], ‘you will need 1000 bottles of beer. We’ll have parties on day zero, day one and day five – there’s 150 of us and we’ll drink you dry’. So I had to pay a deposit, which is fair enough. That is gone, unfortunately. If we get something back from the hotels, it’s only up to my agent in Delhi to argue on our behalf.”Other fans, travelling individually or in smaller groups, have had to pay heavy prices too. What irks a lot of them is the feeling that the situation was avoidable.”They could have at least said it’s tentative when they announced it,” says Bishen Jeswant, a fan from Bengaluru who had made flight and Airbnb bookings along with a group of friends from within and outside India. “They could have said it was subject to the ground being ready. Then we wouldn’t have made our bookings.”Murali Satagopan, a product-marketing manager based in Lisbon, had travelled to Chennai to meet his family, and pushed back his date of departure by a month – from February 10 to March 10 – to attend the Dharamsala Test. It would have been his first match at an Indian stadium since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.”The financial loss is not the biggest loss for me,” he says. “But this was about the excitement of seeing five days of a Test, and it’s also a key third Test – where we could see India win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and qualify for the WTC final.Australia featured in the ground’s one previous Test in 2017•Associated Press”There are many emotional things attached to it too. Virat Kohli and I are pretty much the same age, and all these guys, guys like [R] Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja, seeing their careers coming towards the end, we don’t know if this kind of team will come together again. A new crop may come, but I want to tick this off and say I saw an iconic Test in Dharamsala when India sealed the WTC [final spot] and went on to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”Mahesh Sethuraman, a Singapore-based banker and one of the hosts of the podcast, was due to fly out to Dharamsala too. He asks why it was so essential to schedule the match in Dharamsala when India has so many other venues to choose from.”I’m not offended by the fact that they didn’t apologise to the fans,” he says. “I’m offended by the fact that they finalised the schedule two months back, and if you were remotely in doubt [about Dharamsala], even if there was a 1% probability that you couldn’t host the match there, you could have picked another venue. You could have given the match to Eden Gardens – Eden Gardens has not hosted an Australia match for 20 years, for heaven’s sake. You could have given it to Chepauk, or Chinnaswamy. The scale of how much the BCCI takes the fans for granted is mindboggling.”At a time when what it earns from ticket sales is a fraction of a fraction compared to its revenues from selling broadcast rights, the BCCI probably doesn’t have much of an incentive to prioritise spectators at its grounds.1:48

Rohit Sharma: ‘A blessing to have spinners of this quality’

But by not prioritising them, it could be missing a trick. Gillian says the BCCI could be doing a lot more to use cricket as a means to bring more foreign tourists to India.”The fact that the BCCI never confirm a schedule more than four weeks before [a series] makes it impossible to get the inbound tourism that cricket deserves in India,” he says. “Cricket deserves it, and that is cricket across the country. Indore deserves to have 500 Australians or more come to visit. So too does Ranchi or Rajkot or Visakhapatnam, wherever they do it, but without the time [for fans] to prepare to visit, it’s a lot of foreign investment that’s not coming.”The BCCI are so invested in money and earning money, yet they ignore this element.”It would take a seismic shift for the BCCI to embrace this sort of thinking. It gets by perfectly well, financially, without having to. And its relationship with the paying spectator remains what it is. The situation is perhaps best summed up by Sameer Mohan, a product manager from Bengaluru who is one of a group of fans who host the podcast, whose planned and fully-booked Dharamsala plans came to nothing.”The best way to enjoy cricket in India as a cricket fan is on your own couch,” he says. “Take a holiday, order takeout, get your poison of choice, huddle with your loved ones, and then just watch.”

Don’t forget, the pair does not comprise the totality of concerns raised by the hearings; to benefit from the process, South African cricket must delve into a lot more

Firdose Moonda12-May-2022South African cricket’s relationship with race does not start or end with Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher. The pair has been in the eye of the storm generated by the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) report, but Smith was cleared last week and charges against Boucher were dropped less than a week before his disciplinary hearing was to begin. The word “finality” is doing the rounds. Except that the SJN hearings were never about individuals or drawing a line in the sand. And Cricket South Africa (CSA) now has the opportunity to move the discussion away from two, influential figures and onto the game as a whole.It’s easy to see why Smith and Boucher became the epicentre. As director of cricket and national men’s coach, the pair held the two most powerful positions in South African cricket and the manner in which they came to occupy them – in a matter of a few frenzied days in December 2019 – sparked questions of favouritism and fears of a “white takeover”.Related

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But how they came to illustrate the totality of concerns raised by the SJN is another matter. Their names were mentioned on the very first day of testimony, when former board member Dr Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw, who conceptualised the SJN, questioned the process of their appointments. Though CSA has acknowledged the flaws which led to positions being filled without advertising or interviews, it also pointed out that those processes were ratified by the previous board and no further action can be taken.Subsequently, Smith and Boucher were named by several people who testified at the hearings. Occasionally, the ombudsman’s assistants asked witnesses whether Smith and Boucher, in particular, were involved in incidents of racial discrimination. But the pair’s prominence only become part of the dominant narrative with the filing of the SJN report, in which ombudsman Dumisa Ntsebeza said he felt they could have engaged in racially discriminatory behaviour. He encouraged CSA to investigate further.Though titled “Interim Report”, it is the only document CSA has received from the ombudsman and because it was unable to make definitive findings it left CSA in an impossible position. The board could not responsibly act on “tentative findings”, but it also could not ignore the report, having thrown its weight behind the process. The only solution was to follow the ombudsman’s advice and embark on a formal process against those named within; and the only processes the board could embark on was against people who worked with CSA. Which is how we come to Smith and Boucher.

The SJN was a flawed report because it was not definitive. It left the door open for only two figures to become the main characters and while their levels of seniority means they may always have been part of the story, they are not the entirety of it

We must remember that Smith and Boucher were not the only people named in the report. AB de Villiers, for example, was one of the most prominent persons to be named, along with a string of former and current players, some of whom supplied written affidavits to the SJN (such as de Villiers) and others who did not. Naming (and shaming, as it were) cannot be the point of an exercise like the SJN because it then loses any chance at real meaning, which involves addressing the macro-issues.The testimony shared at the SJN covered a period from pre-readmission (Omar Henry’s memories of being ostracised by both communities of colour and white is one example) to the present day. But the focus was largely on the national men’s team, from readmission to the mid-2010s. That is a period in which Boucher (in his affidavit) said players were unprepared because CSA did not do enough to equip them with how to deal with “the legacy of Apartheid… the additional pressures placed on them by the country and the media, how we ensure that there is equality, respect, empathy and inclusiveness in the team”.There’s some naivety in Boucher’s statement – which may extend to other players at the time – which suggests they did not assume responsibility for being part of a changing world, and perhaps did not see the need to change with that world. At a professional level, cricket remained a white-dominated sport, even as it began to operate at the intersection of old South Africa and new. In fact, it had more of a foot in the old, simply because more of the people involved were from that side of history and could establish their way of doing things as the norm.For a better understanding, we need to look a little deeper into the dominant sporting culture at the time, which came from the elite schoolboy system of hierarchy. To this day, the top schools in the country operate in this way, where there is bullying, unpleasant rites of initiation and unspoken rules of who can do what and when. Coming through it is a rite of passage for many young people, who are taught to be tough and have to learn that the hard way.The current crop of South Africa players have been through several culture camps•AFP/Getty ImagesThat’s why we get statements like “this is a man’s environment” and “harden up” from current Test captain Dean Elgar. It’s why it was acceptable for South African fans to taunt David Warner with his wife’s intimate history. This is a place where overt displays of masculinity are celebrated and any form of vulnerability is not, and it was even more stark in that immediate post-readmission period.As a young player, and especially a young player of colour, coming into that space was difficult. Challenging it was unthinkable. Neither Paul Adams, nor Boucher would have been able to say if they found the songs at fines meetings inappropriate. No one would have. Interestingly, no one else who played with Adams or Boucher has said anything about their experience. Adams has subsequently realised he was the target of a racial slur; Boucher has since said he understands the seriousness of the offence caused.So the actual question we should we ask is whether anything has changed?Boucher, in his statement on Tuesday, maintains that the team environment is “inclusive”, something which players including white-ball captain Temba Bavuma have confirmed. The current crop of players have been through several culture camps and have established three pillars which they consider the core of their approach: respect, empathy and belonging. In terms of buzz-speak that sounds good.They still hold fines meetings, they still sing songs, and they still use stereotypes in a half-jest, half-mocking way. Is that just part of the bonding exercise all teams go through? Or is it something that needs deeper consideration and more thought, especially in a society like South Africa’s? Those are the questions this current group of players needs to answer as it seeks to move forward, from the old days where Boucher and his ilk were unsure how to deal with each other, to a time when it can embody the idea of unity.The SJN has made us think and talk about this, beyond just cricket’s circles. It gave a voice to the likes of Adams, who said that he had never before had the opportunity to talk about his experience, while providing a platform for those accused to reply. Smith and Boucher chose not to do that in person, instead providing written submissions. That was their right, but it may have robbed the process of a necessary level of humanity, or the opportunity to allow people to understand each other better.At the same time, the SJN was a flawed report because it was not definitive. It left the door open for only two figures to become the main characters and while their levels of seniority means they may always have been part of the story, they are not the entirety of it. Only once we start to confront the offshoots – the issues around development, the women’s game, school structures, support staff concerns and everything in between – will see the full benefit of a process such as the SJN. That was the firestarter; now the flames must catch.

The team is in flux and the SLC in chaos, but the captain has hung around to try and rescue them from no-win situations

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Apr-2021Being men’s Sri Lanka captain can occasionally feel like a no-win situation. To begin with, you’re in charge of a side that has failed to seriously arrest a six-year decline. (It’s been said for ages that Sri Lanka are “in transition”, but as they are seventh on the Test rankings six years after their last great batter retired, maybe the transition is complete, and they are now just a much worse team).Such has been the turnover of the captaincy across formats, you’ve also got to watch your back at all times. The previous Test captain, Dinesh Chandimal, was dumped – not just from leadership, but from the team altogether – following a bad tour of Australia. Not long before that, Angelo Mathews was sacked from the limited-overs job for (and this is honestly the official reason) being too chonky and running out too many partners he was chonky.And then, there is elite cricket’s premiere manufacturer of industrial-strength buffoonery to deal with, aka SLC. Maybe you’re a new captain and you want to build a productive relationship with the coach? Look, this board is big on their hiring-and-firing. The coach will be out of here soon enough. Or maybe you want some consistency in selection? Hard luck, friend. Try again. Or perhaps you’re hoping that whenever a player gets injured, there’s a decent Test-ready substitute waiting to take his place? Lol. Have you seen the first-class system? Disciplinary hearings, embarrassing media releases, player names spelled wrong on jerseys, shouty press conferences, greasy politicians, money being skimmed on broadcast deals – this is life.Into this infuriating set of circumstances, drop a man who seems almost impossible to infuriate. Affable. That’s Dimuth Karunaratne. When his keeper insists on a terrible review, he smirks. When catches go down; no wild gesticulations. Wry smiles, pats on the back, a quiet word – these are the signature Karunaratne moves. When you’re operating in the upper reaches of a system as maddening as this, to be this inoffensive is not far from being an achievement.Related

• No control, no problem: Crafty Dimuth Karunaratne conjures his own luck

• Karunaratne holds fort as Bangladesh bowlers make crucial inroads

• 'Cut down runs, fence them in' – how SL kept Bangladesh quiet

Perhaps most importantly, the man has just stuck around. He’s kind of made it his thing. Years before he led the team, he was constantly on the verge of being dropped, but dusted off a 64 here, a 77 there, and made himself difficult to be parted with. This has gone on for so long that when he has lean spells now, it almost seems inevitable that a score is coming. In South Africa, in December and January, he began with 22, 6 and 2, before signing off with 103 – at The Wanderers no less. Similarly, in the West Indies, he’d hit 12, 3 and 1, then an important 75 as Sri Lanka strove to draw the second Test.In this innings on Friday, he made the least convincing start out of the five Sri Lanka batter to come to the crease, scratching around, playing and missing, failing to pierce the field, making only 16 from his first 65 deliveries (in the same period, opening partner Lahiru Thirimanne had made 43). There was almost a return catch, big lbw shouts (one of which was given out and overturned), running stutters, and periods under which bowlers put him under substantial pressure. But oh, look, end of day, there’s an 85 not out on the scoreboard, and, well, who should it belong to but this guy? That it was made at the relatively sedate strike rate of 40 should surprise no one.As with his batting, his tactical nous as captain has never been spectacular, but neither has it been terrible. He attacks with the field, but has the misfortune of captaining a profoundly fragile bowling attack (Lahiru Kumara seems to have tweaked a hamstring and may be out of the series). When it became clear that the pitch was offering his bowlers less than nothing in this match, Karunaratne changed tack and got them bowling dry – attempting to frustrate the opposition since they could not be blown away. Captaincy that is far from inspired, and yet, not completely unfruitful.He’s no one’s idea of perfection (as opener or captain), but right now, he’s what they’ve got, and like a good stepfather, or a substitute teacher trying to get the class through the syllabus, the guy is making a fist of it. When Bangladesh made 541 in the first innings, Sri Lanka were essentially in a no-win situation. And bless him, Karunaratne hung around.

Cricketers around the world congratulated James Anderson on becoming the first fast bowler to 600 Test wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2020Pacers sang praise.

Champion bowler James Anderson! Congrats on reaching the first-ever 600 wickets for a fast bowler.. hard work, passion and never-day-die approach have been the hallmark of your career.. doyen of fast bowlers, best wishes for the rest of your career @jimmy9

— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) August 25, 2020

Just take a moment to appreciate how good Jimmy is
600! You’re amazing bro! @jimmy9 #600

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) August 25, 2020

Congratulations for your remarkable achievement @jimmy9! Your passion, fortitude and drive are exceptional, cheers and best wishes for the future. #600TestWickets

— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) August 25, 2020

Slow and steady gets the milestone?

Incredible 600 by @jimmy9 . What an amazing achievement. Playing 156 Test Matches for a medium fast bowler is no less achievement. Cheers mate. #JamesAnderson #600TestWickets #England pic.twitter.com/dVFMqPvuwA

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) August 25, 2020

Anil Kumble welcomes Anderson to the 600 club.

Congratulations @jimmy9 on your 600 wickets! Massive effort from a great fast bowler. Welcome to the club

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) August 25, 2020

Former batsmen spoke of Anderson’s longevity and perseverance. He’s bowled the most among pace bowlers in Test cricket.

Remarkable achievement to play 156 Tests as a Batsman .. To do it as a quick bowler & then achieve 600 wickets is nothing short of extraordinary .. Well done @jimmy9 .. England’s greatest ever bowler .. #TestCricket

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 25, 2020

What an incredible achievement @jimmy9! Many congratulations on your feat.

wickets in Test Cricket over a span of 17 years for a fast bowler is a testament to your grit, perseverance and accurate bowling. pic.twitter.com/nQok5bgbOG

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 25, 2020

Never thought I’d see in my lifetime a fast bowler take 600 test wickets! It’s not just the quantity but the quality with which he has bowled – be it slow or fast wickets, bounce or no bounce, seam or no seam, for him conditions never mattered! Sir @jimmy9 you are the #GOAT pic.twitter.com/ADrrW7m3zp

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) August 25, 2020

Well done james Anderson @jimmy9 .. this milestone is just greatness ..156 test matches as fast bowler is just unthinkable..u will make every young fast bowler believe that greatness is achievable .@bcci @ECB_cricket

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) August 25, 2020

For a fast-bowler to play 156 test matches is an incredible achievement, a testament of his endurance. And becoming the first fast bowler to 600 test wickets is a just reward for the hard-work & the passion with which @jimmy9 has played his cricket. Many congratulations #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/RGOdReZXuL

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 25, 2020

Words of appreciation from current opposition batsmen followed.

Congratulations @jimmy9 for this outstanding achievement of 600 wickets. Definitely one of the best bowlers I've faced.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 25, 2020

Congrats James Anderson @jimmy9
First fast bowler in history to take 600 Test wickets.
You are a nightmare for any openers in world cricket….. #ENGvPAK

— (@IamDimuth) August 25, 2020

A true ambassador of the game.

Congratulations @jimmy9 600 Test wickets1st Fast bowler to achieve this Milestone U r a Great Ambassador of this beautiful game of cricket Stay Blessed

— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) August 25, 2020

#600JA Couldn’t be a greater ambassador for Test Cricket than James Anderson! He’s an excellent example to young kids that to win a Cricket Oscar be great in Test Cricket!

— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) August 25, 2020

Congratulations @jimmy9. What a splendid record to have. More power to you https://t.co/EmpxuBzdrL

— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) August 25, 2020

West Ham United find themselves in the hunt for new attacking options and could look to steal a march on Everton to land a striking target, according to a report.

West Ham look to bring attacking flair to the London Stadium

The Hammers struggled for goals last term and weren’t helped by Michail Antonio’s unfortunate injury struggles, while Niclas Fullkrug and Evan Ferguson weren’t able to deliver often enough in his absence. Danny Ings has also left under freedom of contract.

Addressing potential targets, former manager Martin Allen believes Aleksandar Mitrovic would be an upgrade on West Ham’s current striking options if they are to push forward in a bid to sign the Serbia international from Al-Hilal.

He explained: “West Ham certainly need somebody up front. Mitrovic was at Fulham and did so well there. Can West Ham afford £40m for him? I’m not sure they can. Would he fit into their team and do well? I personally think he would, he’d be an improvement on what they’ve got.”

West Ham are reportedly keen on adding Mitrovic to their forward line, even if his former club Fulham and the might of Manchester United stand in the way, though he is far from the only name linked with a move to the London Stadium.

Approach made: West Ham now in contact to sign "incredible" £20m defender

The Hammers have come forward for a centre-back, who they are now seriously interested in signing.

By
Dominic Lund

May 25, 2025

Tammy Abraham could move to the Hammers after a frustrating loan spell at AC Milan, albeit that would depend on whether parent club AS Roma feel now is the right time to let the England international return to more familiar surroundings.

Speculation is beginning to mount with the window now open and West Ham are looking to brush Everton aside in the race for a talented young forward, per recent developments.

West Ham hold talks to beat Everton to Adama Bojang signature

According to The Express, West Ham are eyeing a move for Gambian striker Adama Bojang, who spent the entirety of last campaign on loan at Grasshoppers Zurich from Stade de Reims.

Coming in with a return of six goals and two assists in 27 appearances across all competitions, he has previously attracted interest from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City before settling on a £3m move to France.

Labelled “The Gambian Hurricane” as his rise to prominence continues, Everton and Brentford are also interested in his services, but the Hammers hold a key advantage after initiating talks over a potential deal.

Reims are hesitant to let him depart. Nevertheless, their relegation to the second-tier could mean they have to sell players to balance the books.

Bojang is unlikely to be a first-team starter straight away, though any notion of an agreement could see West Ham bring down the age of their strikeforce further after they brought in Daniel Cummings from Celtic to kickstart their summer business.