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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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“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

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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.”

Ireland seamer returns record haul to help Manchester Originals qualify

Matt Roller01-Sep-2022Midway through Ireland’s T20I series against Afghanistan in Belfast, Josh Little noticed a notification on his phone. Phil Salt, who he had spent three weeks with Dambulla Giants at the Lanka Premier League last Christmas, had messaged him on Instagram to say that Simon Katich was keen to sign him as a replacement player for Manchester Originals in the Hundred.”He said that Kat was keen to get me in,” Little recalled, speaking to the BBC. “I said, ‘good one’. But then I got a call the next day and headed down after playing Afghanistan and came here.”Little, 22, has only bowled 44 balls for Originals since replacing Sean Abbott but is already their joint-highest wicket-taker, featuring in three consecutive wins and returning the competition’s best-ever figures, 5 for 13, in Wednesday night’s effective quarter-final against Oval Invincibles.It has been an improbable rise, one which has epitomised Originals’ unlikely run to the knockout stages after starting the tournament with three consecutive defeats. They have lost their star players – Abbott to Australia, Andre Russell to the CPL and Jos Buttler to injury – but unlikely match-winners have emerged in the form of Wayne Madsen, Paul Walter and Little.Related

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The planning behind Little’s record-breaking spell on Wednesday night was remarkably simple. Originals had discussed a theory that Invincibles’ top order was susceptible to short balls and with one boundary at Old Trafford significantly longer than the other, Little looked to bang the ball into the pitch and use the dimensions in his favour.”It was just about keeping it simple and trying to get them hitting towards the big side,” Little explained. “One side was short, one side was long, so I just tried to keep it as simple as possible. The wicket was offering a little bit so I was trying to use my pace up and then my skills at the end: slowies and yorkers.”He struck twice in his three balls in the powerplay, as Jordan Cox and Will Jacks pulled hard-length balls to deep square leg and short midwicket respectively, then turned the game back into Originals’ favour with the crucial wicket of Sam Billings, well-set on 53 off 32 and looking to pull him over the shorter boundary.”Laurie [Evans, their captain] said to me he would try to sweep my first ball,” Little explained. “I saw him walk across and tried to push it a bit wider.” Rushed by Little’s extra bounce from just short of a good length, Billings picked out Tom Hartley, running in from long-on. In his final set, Hilton Cartwright toe-ended through to Salt while ducking a bumper, and Matt Milnes miscued a short ball to mid-off.Little has already appeared in the LPL and the Abu Dhabi T10, and earlier this year spent two weeks at the IPL as a net bowler for Chennai Super Kings. His main takeaway, he told the Irish journalist Nathan Johns’ podcast earlier this year, was “to keep it simple and be good at what you’re good at”.”I’m just delighted to be a part of it,” Little said, after he had helped to secure Originals’ spot in Friday night’s eliminator against London Spirit at the Ageas Bowl. “It’s a great bunch of lads and I’m enjoying every minute. When things are going well, you want to run with it. I’m just hoping we can get another win down in Southampton after a long drive tomorrow.”Josh Little came into the Hundred on the back of strong T20I performances against Afghanistan at home•Sportsfile/Getty ImagesThere has been plenty of scepticism about the accuracy of the speed guns in the Hundred – Richard Gleeson, who has occasionally touched 90mph/145kph for England, was clocked at 93mph/149kph on Wednesday night – but Little has clearly rushed batters for pace during his walk-on role in the Hundred.”Someone like that is relatively unknown to franchises and overseas players,” Evans said. “He turned up and bowled with some real pace at me in the nets on his first day and I thought, ‘he’s not bad’. To come in and perform like he has… he’s got a lot of pace, and a lot of talent.”He has found an extra yard this year as the result of a technical change implemented while working with Ryan Eagleson, Ireland’s fast-bowling coach: looking to drive his back leg through straighter than he had been to help him maintain his momentum. The whip of his wrist on release can make him difficult for batters to pick up, and he has always been a hostile, aggressive bowler: England supporters may remember him bouncing Eoin Morgan out on his ODI debut in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup.And while Little’s success in the Hundred has been brief, it could yet be a significant moment for Ireland. Since they became a full ICC member, their players have been unable to appear as locals in English domestic cricket and have struggled – with the notable exception of Paul Stirling – to win opportunities as overseas players.As a result, Ireland have been forced to develop their own young players without relying on the county system; Little’s performances suggest that they are managing to do so. With a quiet international schedule next summer, do not be surprised to see much more of him in English domestic cricket in the near future.

While the defeat to Aston Villa has taken the wind out of their sails somewhat, Arsenal are still having an excellent season.

Mikel Arteta’s side are top of the Champions League table, having won five of five, and still sit two points clear atop the Premier League table.

However, while most of the team are playing at the level expected, a few stars aren’t quite where the manager would want them to be.

This latter camp includes one of Arteta’s most significant signings, who, if he doesn’t start improving, could become Arsenal’s new Nicolas Pepe.

What went wrong for Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal

In the summer of 2019, after Unai Emery’s first season in the dugout, Arsenal decided to go big in the transfer market, spending what was then a club record fee of around £72m to sign Pepe.

While the figure did raise a few eyebrows at the time, it wasn’t considered too outlandish as, in 41 appearances in the 17/18 season, the winger racked up a sensational haul of 23 goals and 12 assists.

Unfortunately, the Emirates faithful would never see the talented international reach that level during his time in North London.

In his first campaign in England, the former LOSC Lille star managed a reasonable, if a little underwhelming tally of eight goals and ten assists in 42 appearances.

However, as it was his first season in a new league, and he produced a goal involvement in the quarter-final, semi-final and final of the FA Cup, fans gave him some leeway.

Unfortunately, he also failed to hit the heady height of his Lille numbers the following season, ending it with a tally of 16 goals and five assists in 47 games, with ten of those goal involvements coming in the Europa League.

The 21/22 campaign would prove to be his last in red and white as Bukayo Saka was now well and truly Arteta’s first-choice right winger.

The 30-year-old spent the next two years on loan, first with Nice in France, and then with Turkish outfit Trabzonspor.

Arsenal finally agreed to terminate Pepe’s contract in the summer of 2024, and the player who was supposed to be the club’s superstar attacker left with a middling tally of 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 appearances.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Since then, the Gunners have been a bit better at spending money, but there is one of Arteta’s signings who could end up following the Ivorian’s path, lest he improve, and quickly.

Arsenal's new Nicolas Pepe

Now, it’s still early in the season, so making any concrete predictions about Arsenal’s summer signings would be unwise.

However, as things stand, the attacker who has somewhat underwhelmed since his big-money move, and could go down a similar route to Pepe, is Viktor Gyokeres.

Like the Ivorian, the Swedish international joined the Gunners for a fairly sizable fee off the back of a truly sensational season in a weaker league.

For example, the “absolute steam train,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 54 goals and provided 13 assists in just 52 appearances.

Moreover, while nobody expected him to recreate those numbers in England, fans would have expected more than what he has delivered thus far.

For example, even though he hasn’t been a total flop like some other striker signings this season, the 27-year-old’s return of just six goals in 17 appearances is underwhelming.

Furthermore, all four of his Premier League goals have come against relegation candidates, and in games against the big sides earlier in the season, he looked somewhat out of his depth. As Gary Neville said earlier this term, he’s a bit of a “misfit.”

Appearances

52

17

Minutes

4248′

1130′

Goals

54

6

Assists

13

0

Finally, with Mikel Merino contributing up top, Gabriel Jesus back in matchday squads and reports that Kai Havertz is set to come right back in as Arteta’s first choice before Christmas, it’s not difficult to see a world in which the Stockholm-born powerhouse becomes a rotation option.

That was evident against Aston Villa. Arteta relied on the Swede to make a difference, bring him on at half-time for Merino. Yet, in his 45 minutes on the field, the centre-forward only had 11 touches of the ball and completed just four passes. He didn’t even have a single shot.

With all that said, there is still plenty of time for the former Coventry City star to come good, especially if he starts the next two games against Club Brugge and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ultimately, the next six months will be vital in determining whether Gyokeres becomes Arsenal’s next superstar striker or their next Nicolas Pepe.

Their new Ozil: Arsenal ramp up move to sign £88m "generational talent"

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2 ByJack Salveson Holmes 2 days ago

MatériaMais Notícias

da dobrowin： Ser rebaixado de divisão é um dos piores cenários possíveis para um clube de futebol. Neste processo, as equipes enfrentam uma considerável queda no faturamento anual e perdem prestígio, seja com sua torcida ou com o público geral.

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+ Tem promoção exclusiva de boas-vindas pra você! Aposte a partir de R$10 e receba até R$200 de bônus na Lance! Betting

Um dos maiores orgulhos de torcedores espalhados ao redor do mundo é o fato de poderem se vangloriar das seguidas temporadas consecutivas na elite de seus respectivos campeonato nacionais.

No futebol brasileiro, apenas quatro clubes que já disputaram o Brasileirão e estão atualmente na primeira divisão nunca foram rebaixados: Cuiabá, Flamengo, Santos e São Paulo.

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+ 5 fatos que colocam o Santos perto de um inédito rebaixamento

O Dourado, equipe do Mato Grosso do Sul, conseguiu seu acesso à elite do futebol nacional em 2021. Apesar de não ter a mesma longevidade do trio na Série A, a equipe entra no seleto grupo de times que nunca caíram.

No futebol mundial, gigantes como Atlético de Madrid (Espanha), Bayern de Munique (Alemanha), Manchester City (Inglaterra), Milan (Itália) e River Plate (Argentina) enfrentaram em, ao menos uma ocasião, as consequências do rebaixamento.

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CONFIRA OS PRINCIPAIS CLUBES QUE NUNCA FORAM REBAIXADOS

The Argentine midfielder arrives at The Herons at 31 after spending four seasons with Atlético de Madrid.

• Played 187 matches for the Spanish side
• Scored 14 goals
• Joins initially on loan through the end of the year

Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games now

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rodrigo De Paul’s arrival at Inter Miami is already making headlines – and not just in MLS circles. The Argentine midfielder, a key piece in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph, has joined on loan from Atlético de Madrid, a move that has generated negative reactions in his home country just months before the 2026 World Cup.

  "Does De Paul want to play with less pressure and in a second-tier league just to enjoy himself alongside Messi? Is he not concerned about joining a tournament with little prestige, where winning or losing doesn’t really matter to anyone? Is he thinking about leaving the national team, or does he simply feel he’s completed a cycle under the demanding Diego Simeone and now wants to play with less stress?" wrote Argentine journalist Alejandro Fabbri for

  “De Paul’s departure from Atlético Madrid to play for Inter Miami, in a league considered to be of a lower level, surprised both insiders and outsiders alike, as he joins his friend Lionel Messi,” reads an article in the renowned Argentine outlet

  News of De Paul’s departure didn’t sit well with Atlético de Madrid fans, either. The midfielder played 187 matches for the club over four seasons and was named to La Liga Team of the Year last season. After the club made the move official on social media, many users flooded the post with insults and backlash over his decision. Comments like “Thanks for leaving and never coming back,” and “Just go and don’t return,” were among the more common – and milder – reactions from Aleti supporters.

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• AFP
  

  WHAT RODRIGO DE PAUL SAID

  “The excitement that brought me to Inter Miami is the desire to compete, to win titles, to help write this club’s history,” said Rodrigo De Paul in an official statement released by the team. “It’s a club that is being built to become great, to create a legacy, and for many people to follow this incredible team,” he added.

• AFP
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Rodrigo De Paul will become the third 2022 World Cup winner to play in MLS, following in the footsteps of Thiago Almada and, more recently, Lionel Messi. He will be the 18th World Cup champion in history to join MLS.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR INTER MIAMI?

  The Herons will host FC Cincinnati this Saturday in a match where they’ll be without Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, both suspended after skipping the All-Star Game.

They’ve met four times since 2018 – and Sri Lanka have won all four Test matches

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Dec-2020Galle, 2018. Sri Lanka won by 278 runs
On their previous trip to Sri Lanka in 2014, Dale Steyn had twice scorched his way through the Sri Lanka middle order with the old ball, and delivered his team a series-defining win. This time, he was coming back from injury, and some distance from his best. But it wasn’t really South Africa’s bowlers that failed. Batting first, Sri Lanka made a respectable – but hardly imposing – 287. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne had made 158 of those runs off 222 balls, remaining not out as all of his teammates perished for 26 or fewer runs.South Africa’s response was to collapse, as they took their first step in what became a series-long commitment to zealously and spectacularly sucking against spin. Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers shared seven wickets while South Africa nosedived their way to 126 – Faf du Plessis a figure of lone but insufficient competence with 49. After Sri Lanka got back out and made 190, the visitors plummeted with even more dedication, getting out for 73 inside 29 overs.Karunaratne by himself made 217 through the course of the match; South Africa, 199.Colombo (SSC), 2018, Sri Lanka won by 199 runs
Where Galle has a reputation for taking turn fairly early in the game, there was not a lot wrong with the pitch at the SSC. Sri Lanka made 338 batting first, as South Africa’s quicks had a modest first innings, and Keshav Maharaj was left to pick up 9 for 129. But then, the batting. Dear god, the first-innings batting. Several members of the visiting top order seemed like they would struggle to make contact with a hangar door, let alone a bat. They were all out for 124, and seemed to be heading for a similar score in the second innings, when Theunis de Bruyn and Temba Bavuma came together at 113 for 5 and put on a 123-run partnership – de Bruyn going on to triple figures.Rangana Herath took his customary fourth-inning five-wicket haul, claiming 6 for 98. Some would later comment that despite there only having been two Tests, Sri Lanka basically won 3-0.Sri Lanka’s miracle man: Kusal Perera took Sri Lanka to a one-wicket win•Getty ImagesDurban, 2019, Sri Lanka won by one wicket
The most dramatic and compelling of the matches in this list. Almost two years later, it is still difficult to quite believe what transpired on the fourth day. Although South Africa were in control for much of the game, Sri Lanka vitally scrambled their way back into the match repeatedly. Some half-decent contributions from the lower order enabled the visitors to get within 50 runs of South Africa’s first-innings 235. Then, whenever a South Africa batting pair threatened to bed down for a big partnership, either the left-arm spin of Lasith Embuldeniya, or the left-arm swing of Vishwa Fernando, provided a breakthrough.But even with all that, this was still a crazy chase – Sri Lanka requiring 304 to win. In the 38th over, they were 110 for 5, with Steyn seemingly in scorching touch. But then Kusal Perera produced the greatest Sri Lankan innings, and arguably the best of all time. He quelled Kagiso Rabada, muted Duanne Olivier and, at times, laid into Steyn. When the ninth wicket fell, Sri Lanka still needed 78 and their chances of victory were vanishingly slim. Perera, though, lurched Sri Lanka closer by bludgeoning boundaries at the start of each over, before almost routinely taking the single off the fifth or sixth ball to protect his No. 11 Fernando. The second new ball became due with more than 30 still to get, but Perera squeaked Sri Lanka home sensationally, finishing on 153 not out.Port Elizabeth, 2019, Sri Lanka won by eight wickets
Where the pitches in Sri Lanka suited them, and the Durban match was won on the back of a once-in-a-lifetime innings, this victory perhaps represents Sri Lanka’s best team effort of the lot. Though shaken by the loss at Durban, South Africa were again in control early in this game, taking a 68-run first-innings lead.As had been the case in the first Test, though, Sri Lanka’s bowlers kept picking away at the South Africa batting order insistently, never letting the hosts establish a partnership greater than 60. And in the second innings (which started on the second day), the bowlers imposed themselves on South Africa to devastating effect, dismissing the opposition for 128, to set up a fourth-innings chase of 197.As 19 wickets had fallen on the second day alone (nine of those Sri Lanka’s across the first and second innings, with South Africa’s second dig sandwiched in between), the match seemed like it was headed for a thrilling finish. Sri Lanka needed 137 further runs on the third morning, with eight wickets remaining. Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando, however, batted with bracing freedom, and turned a tough chase into a cakewalk. They hit frequent boundaries off each of the home side’s vaunted quicks, and scored those 137 runs off 178 balls without losing a wicket. Mendis finished on 84 not out off 110; Oshada on 75 off 106.

Marcus Rashford's journey to Barcelona was "disrupted" by the Gallagher brothers, as Oasis booked out private travel from Manchester airport.

Forward en route to complete medicalOasis' homecoming shows finished on SundayRashford forced to depart from East Midlands airportFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

reports that the departing Rashford had hoped to travel from Manchester airport by private jet, ahead of his medical in Barcelona. He was unable to book a slot, as Liam Gallagher had a jet on standby, to whisk him back to his home in the south of France. The Gallaghers played the last of their Oasis homecoming gigs in Heaton Park on Sunday night.

AdvertisementGetty Images EntertainmentTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Rashford and his advisors had to drive 80 miles to East Midlands airport. The 27-year-old was eventually able to depart, and arrived in Barcelona shortly after 8 pm on Sunday evening. He is due to undergo a medical on Monday ahead of a season-long loan move from Manchester United, with an option-to-buy clause worth €30m (£26m/$35m).

WHAT SOURCE SAID

A source told : "Marcus’ travel plans were disrupted so it was all a bit stressful but he would have walked to Barcelona to sign for them.

“Noel and Liam can have a laugh that they accidentally put a spanner in the works.”

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

Despite the disruption, Rashford remains on course to sign for La Blaugrana. He will likely be unveiled on Tuesday, pending the result of his medical, and could join Hansi Flick's squad for the club's pre-season tour of Asia.

The allrounder called Suryakumar’s leadership skills “amazing” for thinking out of the box

Andrew Fidel Fernando31-Jul-20241:44

Washington lauds Suryakumar’s ‘amazing leadership skills’

Sri Lanka needed nine to win off the last two overs in the third T20I. India still had the bowling of Mohammed Siraj to call on (Siraj had conceded just 11 off his first three overs). They also had one over from Khaleel Ahmed, who could have bowled the 20th.But with Kusal Perera still at the crease, captain Suryakumar Yadav went to the offspin of Rinku Singh, which had never before been seen in a T20 international. It worked out brilliantly – Perera first top-edging a cross-batted shot so badly, Rinku himself could get under it. Later in the over, Ramesh Mendis also holed out, to deep midwicket.Having watched Rinku concede only three runs and claim two wickets in a pressure over, Suryakumar made the decision to bowl his own offspin in the final over, taking two further wickets himself, and conceding only five to win the match.Related

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After the match, Washington Sundar, the frontline offspin bowler in the team described this spell of captaincy as “amazing”. The pitch was taking big turn, and Sri Lanka were struggling hugely against the slow bowlers. Suryakumar gambled on two rank part-timers.”It was amazing from Surya and his leadership skills,” Washington said. “I think he felt given the situation if he bowled more spinners we’d have a good chance to win the game. Given the wicket and the situation, he took one or two options, and it did wonders for us.”There were only 12 balls to go and Kusal Perera was batting. Rinku got him out and Surya himself came on in the last over and almost won the game for us. We all know he has a big heart when he goes out there to bat, but he also has a big heart in leadership as well.”Washington himself then played a key role, bowling a Super Over in which he conceded just two runs, but took two wickets. In regular play he had taken 2 for 23.”Honestly, I had no idea I was going to bowl. It was after the batsmen walked out that Surya turned behind and said: ‘Washy, you’re on.’ I was very happy, to be honest. When the captain wants you to bowl especially in tough situations, in a Super Over. I thought it was a great opportunity for me to step up and win games for my country. Thank God it went well.”Although India didn’t seem capable of defending 137 for the vast majority of the chase, Suryakumar never lost hope, Washington said. Sri Lanka, at one stage, needed 28 runs off 28 balls, with nine wickets in hand. India would then set in motion a huge collapse.”Surya kept teling us that one or two wickets, and the game would definitely change,” Washington said. “In these kinds of wickets, in low-scoring games, even run-a-ball could be a lot of pressure on the batsmen because there’s something for the bowlers in the wicket.”He said one or two wickets in the middle overs would get us in the game, and that’s exactly what happened. I hope the audience enjoyed it because you will only see such games every now and then. To be a part of this game feels great.”

Javier Tebas, the outspoken president of La Liga, has launched a scathing attack on the newly-expanded Club World Cup, expressing his intent to see the month-long tournament scrapped altogether. With the 32-team event currently underway in the United States, Tebas has voiced strong opposition, particularly regarding its disruptive impact on domestic schedules and player welfare.

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Tebas vows to shut down CWCWill not allow Real Madrid to have extra restLa Liga will commence on August 16Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Spain’s two representatives in the Club World Cup, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, have had very different trajectories in the competition. Diego Simeone’s Atletico exited in the group stage, limiting the disruption to their preparations for the upcoming campaign. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have progressed to the quarter-finals and could be in action until the tournament’s conclusion on July 13.

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Should Los Blancos reach the final, it would consume nearly all of their usual rest period. With just over a month before the new season begins, Madrid's players face the risk of limited training time and no warm-up friendlies ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Watch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowWHAT TEBAS SAID

Tebas has made it clear that neither Real Madrid nor Atletico Madrid will receive any special scheduling allowances due to their Club World Cup participation.

"I will do everything possible to ensure it [the Club World Cup] doesn't happen again," he said, as reported by "The Club World Cup has created a competitiveness problem with the money that goes to those clubs involved. The competition is damaging the calendar for all teams. They ask for more days to rest, but they can earn €140 million (£121m/$165m) from the Club World Cup – double Alaves' budget – and then ask for time to prepare."

AFPDID YOU KNOW?

The upcoming domestic season has already been mapped out by La Liga. The campaign kicks off on the weekend of August 16–17, with Real Madrid beginning at home to Osasuna. The season is scheduled to end on May 24, 2026, allowing for a short break before the start of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Central Sparks ended their 50-over hoodoo against the Blaze with an emphatic 78-run victory on the opening day of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy season at Edgbaston. Eve Jones’ side had never beaten Blaze in the 50-over format but took advantage of the visitors’ long absentee list due to injury and international commitments to start the season in style.After choosing to bat, Sparks made a total that was decent rather than imposing after numerous batters made a start but didn’t build on it. Only Abi Freeborn, with 53 from 87 balls, stayed long enough against a disciplined attack led by Grace Ballinger and Sophie Munro.Blaze’s reply was then hit by a superb opening spell of 7-4-5-2 from Emily Arlott as they lurched to 14 for 3 in ten overs. Nadine de Klerk, just hours after landing in the UK from South Africa, resisted with 43 off 65 but was one of three victims for spinner Hannah Baker as Blaze’s depleted team subsided.Sparks’ innings started slowly in the face of a fine new-ball burst from de Klerk who conceded just four runs in her first four overs. When Jones tried to shed the shackles, she was bowled trying to flick Ballinger to leg.Chloe Brewer greeted the left-arm spin of Kirstie Gordon with a crisp reverse sweep for four but paid a high price for trying to repeat the shot to a ball which was too far up, falling lbw. Munro maintained the pressure for Blaze with an opening spell of 7-1-18-1 which included the removal of Davina Perrin, bowled off stump.Former Warwickshire allrounder Marie Kelly drifted a beauty past Ami Campbell to have her stumped but Freeborn advanced to a composed 82-ball half-century before missing a swipe at Munro and perishing, stumped by Ella Claridge. Katie George provided some late impetus with a 30-ball 32 with five fours before she was yorked by de Klerk.Sparks started superbly with the ball as Arlott and Issy Wong both conceded just two from their first two overs. Arlott opened with 5-3-4-2 after removing Teresa Graves, caught at mid-on, and Kelly, bowled behind her legs. Wong beat Munro for pace to win an lbw decision and when Claridge missed a slog at Bethan Ellis and was bowled, Blaze were 39 for 4 in the 18th over.De Klerk and Daisy Mullan, making her debut on a five-match loan from Thunder, halted the slide and added 51 in 77 balls before the introduction of Baker ended the revival. The spinner removed both in five balls, each time defeating an attempted cut as Mullan nicked to the wicketkeeper and de Klerk was bowled middle stump.Baker added a third wicket when Michaela Kirk ladled to deep midwicket where George, having shelled two earlier chances, this time held on.