A “celeb-fest” is being predicted when Wrexham face Birmingham in League One, with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney coming up against Tom Brady.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Mikel Arteta provided updates on Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard's condition ahead of crucial Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Arteta's update on Saka and Odegaard Arsenal skipper left the pitch against Aston Villa First leg against Bayern ended in a 2-2 draw WHAT HAPPENED?
The Arsenal captain had to be subbed off around the 80th-minute mark due to a leg injury in the club's 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa in the Premier League during the weekend, while Saka was found limping towards the end of the match.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Now ahead of the club's crucial second-leg encounter of their Champions League quarter-final clash against Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena, the Gunners boss opened up on the condition of the duo and whether they would be able to play on Wednesday.
WHAT MIKEL ARTETA SAID
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Arteta said, "Yeah hopefully. Today we had only less than 48 hours to recover from the game. We have done very little training. We will assess them tomorrow and see how they are."
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?
After facing the Bavarian giants in the midweek, the North London club will be back in action in the Premier League on Saturday as they take on Wolves in a crucial game.
Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps could not hide her disappointment following England's 1-1 draw with Sweden in their opening Euro 2025 qualifier.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
From starts to stops to pauses, the pandemic season has been the most unpredictable in recent memory. Couple that with the most unpredictable month of the season, in any year, and it’s the perfect storm for history-making runs as 68 teams prepare to duke it out in Indianapolis for the men's NCAA title.
Since 1997, only two teams below a No. 3 seed (No. 4 Arizona and No. 7 UConn) have won the tournament, but in a year when practices are scarce and fans are limited (25% capacity), the stage is set for a lower-seeded veteran-laden squad to make it to April.
Yes, we know all about Gonzaga being undefeated, Baylor’s toughness and Illinois’s inside-outside dominance, but which lesser-known teams have the personnel and pedigree to dole out multiple upsets en route to a Final Four berth?
Here are the five most likely candidates.
It is understood that the players decided the retention order themselves
Nagraj Gollapudi31-Oct-20241:06
Mumbai Indians make Bumrah their top retention
How did Mumbai Indians (MI) manage to retain their core group of four superstars in Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav – as well as Tilak Varma – within INR 75 crore, the minimum retention amount assigned by IPL for five players?ESPNcricinfo has learned that while MI’s senior management, including Mahela Jayawardene, who recently returned as head coach, was thinking of paying Rohit, Bumrah, Hardik and Suryakumar equal amounts, the players decided the retention order themselves.But the details, as well as the individual amounts, were far from finalised when Jayawardene, along with Mumbai’s senior management including owner Akash Ambani, met the players in early October to review what was a poor IPL 2024, where the five-time champions finished last.Related
Takeaways: Indians and batters dominate retentions
LSG wanted to retain 'players who have a mindset to win'
IPL 2025 – MI retain their big four; Klaasen retained for INR 23 crore
IPL 2025 retentions: Pant, Rahul head to auction; Russell retained by KKR
The players and the management met twice during this period. The idea was to talk openly about how the previous season had gone. Part of the conversations involved everyone opening up on what they felt had worked and what hadn’t. The players in question were also asked to seek clarity on whatever they wanted before the retentions were finalised.It is understood that Suryakumar wanted to know what plans the franchise had for him for the future. Having replaced Rohit as the India T20I captain after the T20 World Cup, Suryakumar is keen to lead MI, too, at some point. The franchise has told him that when Hardik replaced Rohit as captain ahead of the 2024 season, the plan was to see him continue in that position at least for the foreseeable future.The franchise is believed to have asked Suryakumar if he had any conditions before retention and also that they wouldn’t be able to promise him anything. Suryakumar told the franchise, later, that he wanted to stay with MI. He is also believed to have told the franchise that he does have captaincy aspirations. This was on October 4, about four weeks before the retention deadline.1:01
Hardik to continue as Mumbai Indians captain
It is understood that the senior group was told at these meetings that the franchise would retain Hardik as the captain as it would be unfair to judge Hardik on last season’s performances where he struggled with form both with bat and ball and made questionable strategic calls in the field. The understanding was that if the right sort of environment was created, it would help both Hardik and Mumbai succeed. The players agreed.Rohit, along with Hardik and Suryakumar, agreed that Bumrah deserved the top retention as well as the top price. Rohit also said he was happy to be the fourth retention behind Bumrah, Suryakumar and Hardik considering he had retired from the T20I format.At the meetings, it was agreed that if the team’s fans were not given clarity about the future the franchise was headed in, there was a danger of the team losing its support base. At one of the meetings, Suryakumar is understood to have said: ” [I will create the atmosphere].”
Derby County are now plotting a summer move for a record-breaking defender, whose contract is set to expire next month, according to a report.
Derby looking to kick on after final-day survival
After securing promotion back to the Championship in the 2023-24 campaign, Derby’s main aim last season was always likely to be avoiding the drop, and they just about managed to get the job done.
A goalless draw against Stoke City on the final day ensured the Rams will remain in the second tier for another season, with manager John Eustace taking the time to praise his players’ efforts after avoiding an instant return to League one.
“What a fantastic effort from everyone connected with the football club. The players have been outstanding every day in training they have dedicated themselves to getting to this moment and I couldn’t be any more proud of them.”
After securing their Championship status, however, Eustace’s side will be looking to kick on next season, and plans are being made for the summer, with the manager recently confirming he would like to sign loanee Nat Phillips on a permanent basis.
Alongside the centre-back, Derby could also look to make an addition at left-back, with a report from Football League World revealing they are now plotting a move for Charlton Athletic’s Thierry Small, whose contract is set to expire next month.
As such, Small could be available for a low fee, with compensation required seeing as the defender is just 20-years-old, although his current employers are still hopeful of keeping hold of him, should they secure promotion via the League One play-offs.
There is widespread interest in the youngster, with the Rams joined by Championship rivals Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and Oxford United in the race for his signature, having caught the eye in the third tier this season.
The 15 most expensive signings in EFL Championship history
The second tier has had its fair share of mega-money deals.
ByRoss Kilvington Feb 3, 2025 Small could be "fantastic" long-term signing
Back in 2021, the left-back broke Jose Baxter’s record by becoming Everton’s youngest-ever player, and while he didn’t manage to kick on by becoming a regular starter for the Blues, there are signs he could be capable of reaching the Premier League.
The full-back has been a vital player for promotion-chasing Charlton this season, making 39 appearances in League 1, and he has proven himself to be useful on the front foot, picking up two goals and three assists.
Not only that, but Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes the starlet has “bags of potential”, while manager Nathan Jones has described him as a “fantastic athlete”, perhaps in part due to his pace.
Small’s performances in the third tier this season indicate he could be more than capable of making the step-up to the Championship soon, so it is promising news that Derby are now plotting a summer move.
The laundry list of records broken during the Quadrangular series between India, South Africa, Ireland and Zimbabwe
Annesha Ghosh21-May-201716 Successive victories for India between February 2016 and May 2017, equalling the second longest winning streak in women’s ODIs. In this period, opener Deepti Sharma was Player of the Match on five occasions.188 Deepti’s score against Ireland. It is the highest by an Indian and second-highest in women’s ODIs, after Belinda Clark’s unbeaten 229 against Denmark in 1997. Deepti, 19, became the tenth youngest centurion, surpassing Charlotte Edwards’ unbeaten 173 to claim the second spot on the list of highest individual scores in ODIs. She also bettered Jaya Sharma’s 138 not out against Pakistan in 2005 as the highest score by an Indian.6 Consecutive half-centuries for Mithali Raj. She equalled the record for the most back-to-back fifties by Australia’s Ellyse Perry and Lindsay Reeler and England’s Edwards, with her 79-ball 62 against South Africa in the final on Sunday.27 Fours hit by Deepti in a single innings – a world record. She took over from New Zealand’s Rachel Priest (23 fours). Deepti’s 188 was also the highest score among maiden centuries in women’s ODIs.File photo: The 18-year old Laura Wolvaardt hit 149 and took South Africa to 337, their highest total in ODIs•Getty Images320 Runs put on by Deepti and Punam Raut in partnership against Ireland. It was the highest in women’s ODIs for any wicket and only the second 300-run stand across formats.13 years 360 days Louise Little’s age when she became the youngest player – male or female – born this millennium to feature in an ODI. Little is the third youngest debutant for Ireland and fifth youngest to play women’s ODIs.50 Fifty-plus scores for Raj in ODIs. She became only the second woman, after Edwards, to achieve the feat. While Edwards got to the milestone in 160 innings, Raj took 157.100 ODIs as captain – Raj became only the third player to do so after Edwards (117) and Clark (101).181 Wickets for Jhulan Goswami – the most by anyone in women’s ODIs. She trapped South Africa’s Raisibe Ntozakhe on May 9 to surpass Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick.249 India’s largest margin of victory, in terms of runs, in ODIs, registered on May 15 against Ireland. Their previous best was the 207-run win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup in 2008.53 Catches for Goswami – the most by a non-wicketkeeper in women’s ODIs. She moved past Edwards and Lydia Greenway’s tally when she helped dismiss Sune Luus in the final against South Africa on Sunday.Deepti Sharma, in making 188 off 160 balls, hit the most fours by a batsman in an innings in Women’s ODIs•Associated Press89 Catches for South Africa’s Trisha Chetty, equalling the record for a wicketkeeper in women’s ODIs. In her 88th innings behind the stumps, she caught Ireland’s Jennifer Gray to draw level with former New Zealand wicketkeeper Rebecca Rolls, who needed 101 innings to set the mark.100 ODI wickets for fast bowler Shabnim Ismail – the second among South Africans, after Dane van Niekerk, and the second-fastest after Australia’s Fitzpatrick to reach the milestone. She bowled India’s Sushma Verma on May 17 to earn her 100th scalp and became the 17th player in women’s ODIs to bag as many wickets.337 South Africa’s highest total, against Ireland, was piloted by 18-year old Laura Wolvaardt’s run-a-ball 149 on May 11. South Africa’s bowling attack stifled the opposition to 159, completing a 178-run win – their fourth-largest margin of victory in terms of runs. A game later, South Africa recorded their second-highest total, 323, against the same opponents.358 India’s highest total and the tenth-highest in women’s ODIs. India became the sixth team to reach the 350-run mark.
Nepal knocked out, even as Max O’Dowd fell for 90 in the 168 chase to miss out on his first ODI hundred
Ekanth24-Jun-2023
Logan van Beek finished with career-best figures•ICC/Getty Images
Netherlands progressed to the Super Sixes by bouncing Nepal’s batters, and later belting their bowlers in Harare. The loss knocks Nepal out of the World Cup Qualifiers, and also confirms West Indies and Zimbabwe’s progress into the next stage. Put in to bat in bowler-friendly conditions, Nepal folded for 167, unable to navigate a middle-overs crisis caused by Vikramjit Singh and furthered by Logan van Beek.Van Beek found movement in the air and off the seam early on. He had Aasif Sheikh chop on in the third over of Nepal’s innings, which brought Kushal Bhurtel and Bhim Sharki together and they fought their way through even if they didn’t always look in control. They miscued a lot of their horizontal bat shots.Bhurtel welcomed Vikramjit with a cut that went through cover for four and a punch through mid-on for three. But Vikramjit found his lengths to firstly dry up the runs, and then dismiss Bhurtel and Aarif Sheikh in the 15th and the 17th over, respectively. That started Nepal’s slump from 46 for 1 to 91 for 5, and they could not recover thereafter.Extra bounce and seam movement from Vikramjit accounted for Bhurtel (caught behind) and Aarif (caught at gully). Sharki, who saw out the new ball, started aiming for the boundary after Bhurtel’s wicket. He mistimed a hook, and almost cut Bas de Leede to the fielder. His luck ran out when he sliced Clayton Floyd’s first ball to point.Kushal Malla’s characteristic positivity led to the first six of the game when he slog swept Floyd over midwicket in the 21st over. But his aggression didn’t work against Aryan Dutt, who bowled back-to-back maidens and then got Malla to mistime a slog to long-off.Nepal captain Rohit Paudel pounced on Aryan in the 29th over, taking him for a six and a four. That led to van Beek’s return, and the full-fledged deployment of the short-ball tactic. Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee were out to the pull in the space of two overs.Despite Sandeep Lamichhane impulsively making room to open up gaps and Gulsan Jha working the ball around to build a steady 32-run stand for the eighth wicket and thus give Nepal some respectability, it was only a matter of time till the bouncers fetched Netherlands wickets. This time it was de Leede, who got Jha and Karan KC in the 42nd over. Lamichhane got a couple of streaky boundaries before also succumbing to the pull. He was the last man out; Nepal’s innings closed out with 33 balls to spare.Max O’Dowd started the modest chase with a clear plan: get across the line and hit the spinners to the leg side. He swept and pulled Lalit Rajbanshi, Lamichhane, and Airee to end the first powerplay with Netherlands up to 58 without loss.Vikramjit offered steady support at the other end, and by the time Lamichhane trapped him lbw in the 13th over, Netherlands had already broken the back of the chase with an 86-run opening stand.Two overs later, Lamichhane having Wesley Barresi out reverse sweeping to short third led to a minor slowdown. But new batter de Leede settled in thereafter, and combined with O’Dowd to rotate strike and find regular boundaries to take Netherlands close.With ten runs left to win, O’Dowd was knocked over for 90 by Jha. Despite O’Dowd missing out on what would have been a match-winning first ODI century, Netherlands had no trouble powering through to a seven-wicket win with as many as 137 balls remaining.
Manchester United have received a rare boost in their 2024-25 campaign, with a positive injury update being delivered on Amad Diallo.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Ruled out since FebruaryNursing ankle problemSet for training returnFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The 22-year-old winger has been absent since early February, when he picked up an ankle problem in training ahead of a Premier League clash with Tottenham. There were suggestions at that stage that his season could be over.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Amad had been a bright spark for the Red Devils in an otherwise disappointing campaign, with nine goals and seven assists recorded across all competitions. He had shown promise in a wing-back role under Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim.
DID YOU KNOW?
It may be that Amad comes back into contention for more minutes over the coming weeks. United’s Premier League season has become a write-off, as they languish in the bottom half of the table, but they remain in contention for Europa League honours.
Getty Images SportWHAT FABRIZIO ROMANO SAID
Fabrizio Romano has said of Amad’s efforts to play again this term: "Amad Diallo, set to be back in training with Manchester United squad already next week! Despite initial expectations for season to be over after injury, he’s recovered in record-time…and so Amad will be available for training from next week."
That Chris Rogers’ batting and leadership will be missed to the game is beyond dispute. But it is equally easy to conclude that the lessons learned over the past 18 years will be rare gold for Rogers in coaching ranks
Daniel Brettig23-Sep-2016Perhaps it was the need to push on for runs and a fourth-innings target, perhaps it was something deeper. Either way, some uncharacteristic flourishes in Chris Rogers’ final innings for Somerset this season tended to indicate these were the parting shots of a prolific and valuable career.Most first-class hundreds by Australians
117 – Don Bradman
86 – Justin Langer
82 – Darren Lehmann
82 – Ricky Ponting
81 – Mark Waugh
79 – Matthew Hayden
79 – Steve Waugh
79 – Stuart Law
76 – Chris Rogers
For many a year, Rogers had been crease-bound against spin, leaning heavily on advice conveyed by Lance Klusener in their time together at Northamptonshire: build a solid defence against spinners and wait for the bad ball. But here he was, dancing down to Samit Patel and lofting over long-on.More recently, Rogers had been haunted by the threat of the short ball, his fears exacerbated by the death of Phillip Hughes then maintained by numerous head knocks over the course of his last few Test assignments for Australia. Yet the last scoring stroke with which he moved to a 76th first-class hundred – only eight Australians have more – was a hook shot.Proof, then, that Rogers always had these shots in his locker, and perhaps a flightier personality would have used them more frequently. Instead, these moments in innings No. 554 were the exceptions that prove the rule: by knowing his limitations and working within them, Rogers carved out a batting method that stood up to more examinations than most. He also earned the belated validation of a memorable stint in the Australian Test side, years after he had given up hope of getting there for longer than his earlier solitary appearance.To finish in England was fitting, for it was largely on those northern shores that Rogers sculpted his way of batting. When he first travelled to play there his technique was more or less classically Australian: back and across to cover bounce and be in position to play cross bat strokes on the hard and true expanses of the WACA Ground.But the means by which Rogers would become a consistent and heavy run scorer were to come later, via help from the likes of Paul Nixon and Klusener. A double hundred against the touring Australian Ashes team of 2005 was significant not only as the innings that put Rogers on the map back home, but also as the first sign his English lessons were starting to take root. In the simplest terms, he worked on playing in straight lines down the pitch, and covering off stump without letting the bat get outside his eyeline to adjust for lateral movement.Combined with a flinty determination at the batting crease and an agile mind eager to make adjustments for the challenges posed by different bowlers, teams and circumstances, those fundamentals led Rogers to major run-making feats. Over the past decade only twice – once through injury and once through international commitments – did Rogers fail to top 1000 runs for the English season, sharing his runs and expertise with Northants, Derbyshire, Middlesex and Somerset.These sides, plus Australia, benefited too from Rogers the thoughtful leader, and Rogers the sociable after-hours organiser. At both Derbyshire and Middlesex he did not arrive as captain but was effectively promoted to the rank in the field. By the time he signed on to play at Taunton this year there was expectation of the battling club being given the “Rogers touch”, characterised by example with the bat, sound ideas in the field, dedication in training and yarn-spinning in the dressing room.An attentive brand of leadership has found its greatest 2016 exemplar in the growth of the left-arm spinner Jack Leach, proficient in his craft but also shy and reticent in a way Rogers doubtless recognised in his younger self. The following words were spoken after Leach had bowled Somerset to victory over Yorkshire at Headingley, as blunt as they were empathetic:”I am still a big believer that you need more than one good season to play for England. With Jack, I think his game’s in order, I think emotionally he still has a bit of a way to go and I don’t think he’d be upset with me saying that. He is still a young guy, he has only ever been in Somerset and the challenges in international cricket are a lot more difficult. If they pick him then good luck to him but they’d better look after him.”Protective of his men but honest with them also, Rogers’ parting gift to Somerset was to drive them to within a day’s good fortune of the club’s first ever County Championship. That his batting and leadership will be missed to the game is beyond dispute. But it is equally easy to conclude that the lessons learned over the past 18 years will be rare gold for Rogers in coaching ranks.