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Bangladesh’s limited-overs captain Mashrafe Mortaza reached out to the England players with whom, he said, a deeper bond can be developed if the October tour goes ahead

Mohammad Isam24-Aug-2016Bangladesh’s limited-overs captain Mashrafe Mortaza reached out to the England players with whom, he said, a deeper bond can be developed if the October tour goes ahead. The three-member ECB delegation, which recently completed a security assessment ahead of England’s tour to Bangladesh and India, are due to brief the one-day team on Thursday. England are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on September 30 for two Tests and three ODIs.”I would tell all the players to come to Bangladesh,” Mashrafe said. “I can assure you that you can play cricket here wholeheartedly. You don’t have to think of anything else. It will be a competitive series. Our friendship will get deeper if we play in this series. It is not just about the game. There are a lot of things connected to this series. We are hoping that they would come here to play. From what I have heard, our security forces are giving it the highest attention. I have confidence in them since we have hosted many big tournaments in the recent past.”As a player I would urge for cricket to continue. These incidents are happening all over the world and if we postpone playing now, there will be a time when we would have to stop the game. We all have to keep our faith on the ECB team that visited recently as well as the two boards.”Last month, after the ECB said it would follow government advice on touring Bangladesh following the terror attack in Dhaka on July 1, Mashrafe had said he was hopeful of the tour going ahead. He didn’t rule out communication initiated by Bangladeshi cricketers to urge their English counterparts. He also said that England’s participation in this year’s Under-19 World Cup gave them confidence that the tour will go ahead.”If some of the players have a friendly relationship, they may knock each other. But these things are mainly dealt by the boards, on whom we have to depend upon,” he said. “I believe that the ECB is taking it very seriously, and they will be satisfied with our security plan.”England has been with us from day one and I believe they will be with us now as well. They sent their team to the U19 World Cup.”Mashrafe also said that the Bangladesh players’ body, the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), could still play a role in discussing player safety with their counterpart, the Professional Cricketers’ Association.”I think steps can be taken through our players association, because it does have an impact. Maybe our players’ body isn’t the strongest but I still feel that if there’s an opportunity, we can venture into that avenue too. A lot is at stake here.”

A new era is officially underway at Chelsea. Mauricio Pochettino has begun his seemingly insurmountable mission to try and get the Blues back to their best.

As well as new management, the Chelsea squad has also undergone an extraordinary level of change, particularly in midfield.

The departures of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount have all been completed, whilst it has also been confirmed that former loanee Denis Zakaria will not be retained by the club.

Meanwhile, the deal for the coveted Moises Caicedo is shaping up to be an extremely complicated deal as Brighton is poised to demand over £100m for the Ecuadorian's services.

Nevertheless, as this new Chelsea ownership has demonstrated on numerous occasions, they will not be bogged down by one target and have set their sights on multiple other players.

One youngster who has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge is Matheus Franca.

What’s the latest on Matheus Franca to Chelsea?

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have scheduled a new round of talks for the 19-year-old as Flamengo are demanding at least €25m (£21m).

The reputable journalist had [previously expanded on the matter in a YouTube video and said: “We can confirm that Chelsea have an interest in Matheus Franca, one of the best talents in Brazil, born in 2004. Newcastle had a bid rejected for €15m (£13m) plus add-ons, it was in January. Bayer Leverkusen and also many other clubs have always been following him, but now Chelsea are entering the race.

"Chelsea will have a direct contact club to club this week, so Chelsea will speak to Flamengo in the next days and they will try to reach an agreement. Flamengo want around €25m (£21m), Chelsea will offer something around €20m (£17m). The add-ons structure could be important and so keep an eye on Matheus Franca who is keen on the move to Chelsea."

Who is Matheus Franca?

The teen has emerged as one of Brazil’s most exciting and promising players. The buzzing prodigy has scored nine goals in 53 appearances for his current club and has represented his homeland at U16, U17, and U20 levels.

He particularly excelled for the Flamengo youth ranks in 2021, recording 29 goal involvements in 30 outings.

Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig has eulogised over his limitless potential, describing Franca as someone who can “play almost everywhere” and one of the most “exciting teenagers in Brazil.”

If a move to the West London outfit materialises, Franca could link up with his compatriot Andrey Santos, who has begun pre-season training with Pochettino, who will assess if he’s ready for regular first-team action.

The midfielder emphatically rose to worldwide prominence when he played a starring role for Brazil, as he captained the U20s to an undefeated South American Championship, having netted a joint-tournament high of six goals in the process.

South American Football expert Tim Vickery has labelled the titan as a “strong, box-to-box midfielder” and there must be a future vision to have him sitting behind the wondrously nimble attacking threat of Franca.

Liverpool could soon wrap up a deal for Benjamin Pavard according to a report from CalcioMercatoWeb, via Paisley Gates, with the club already having a winning offer for the player.

How many games has Benjamin Pavard played for Bayern Munich?

The 27-year-old has been with Bayern Munich for four seasons now and has helped the German side to win the Bundesliga title in every campaign that he has featured in. In 2022/23, he was still a regular in their first team, playing on 30 occasions in the league and managing his best goal contribution total since he first arrived at the club (four goals and one assist).

He is now a member of the Bayern 100-club, having played in 111 top flight outings in total during his time there.

With the player still impressing at the very top of the Bundesliga, it has led to interest in his services from elsewhere. Most notably, Premier League side Liverpool have been keeping tabs on the situation. A recent report though suggested that Pavard himself is open to a switch to England, with the Reds, Chelsea and Man City all listed as potential landing spots for the defender.

Are Liverpool signing Benjamin Pavard?

However, it looks like the Anfield outfit are leading the way for the player – and may even get a deal done "imminently". According to a report from CalcioMercatoWeb, via Paisley Gates, Liverpool have already got a "winning proposal" ready to go to bring Pavard to the club.

FSG apparently have the ability to match the demands of Bayern Munich and the player himself – meaning a deal could happen very quickly. It doesn't mention any talks over personal terms yet but it seems as though the Reds owners have got a bid ready to go – and that Bayern are happy to accept it.

Pavard is clearly still well capable of producing the goods at the highest level too, so a deal could certainly benefit Liverpool. During a recent international game for France, football journalist Josh Bunting labelled a goal from the defender as "stunning" and "top class," adding that it is what the Bayern Munich man is "capable of".

He has the ability to play at both right-back and centre-back, so one would assume he could be the perfect fit to slot into that hybrid RCB role, which is required if Trent Alexander-Arnold continues pushing forward in the new system we saw towards the end of last season.

Rising Pune Supergiant’s middle order froze on sluggish Chinnaswamy track, losing five wickets for three runs, but their bowlers bailed them out of trouble in emphatic fashion

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu16-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:10

Hogg: Pune’s inexperienced quicks mixed things very well

Rising Pune Supergiant’s middle order froze on a sluggish Chinnaswamy surface, losing five wickets for three runs, but their bowlers bailed them out of trouble in emphatic fashion. Their combined effort set a new record for the lowest total defended by a visiting team at this venue in the IPL – 161 – as Royal Challengers Bangalore crumbled to 134 for 9 on a pitch they thought was a belter. But it really wasn’t.Pune understood the surface had become quite slow midway through the first innings. Ben Stokes, who took 3 for 18, said they took that into consideration, concentrated on their changes of pace, and stuck to a good length which was the hardest to hit. All of that contributed to Pune winning their first IPL game after batting first.Help yourself
The ball came onto the bat nicely in the early exchanges, and Pune sprinted to 50 for 0 in five overs. Rahul Tripathi regularly hit over the top, while Ajinkya Rahane used the pace and worked the ball square or behind square on both sides of the wicket. For the first time this season, Pune did not lose a wicket in the Powerplay.Dhoni, Smith don’t help themselves
While Rahane and Tripathi enjoyed themselves, Steven Smith and MS Dhoni couldn’t. They faced a total of 49 deliveries out of which 22 were dots. The only notable moment in their partnership was Dhoni’s six that hit the roof of the stadium. And when it was broken, Pune went from 127 for 2 to 130 for 7.Smith, struggling to both rotate strike and hit the boundaries, slogged across the line and was bowled. Dhoni fell in much the same way and now he has the lowest strike-rate (87.14) among all batsmen who have faced a minimum of 70 balls this IPL.Then Adam Milne, playing his first T20 in over a year, took two wickets in two balls and ended with 2 for 27.Tiwary cleans up the mess
That Pune mustered 161 was down to Tiwary’s sparkling cameo. He smashed six boundaries in the last two overs, hitting through the line over the off side as opposed to across the line over the leg side. He scored 27 of the last 30 runs and his strike-rate of 245.45 was his highest in an IPL innings of 10 or more balls. Pune rise again
Shardul Thakur struck in his first over, having Mandeep Singh caught behind for a duck. He found Virat Kohli’s edge as well but Tiwary shelled a regulation catch at slip. The RCB captain, however, could not capitalise and was dismissed by a Stokes bouncer that got stuck in the surface.Stokes played a vital role in AB de Villiers’ downfall as well. He along with Dan Christian bowled 15 balls at de Villiers for only six runs, denying the batsman any room to hit through the off side. Perhaps realising he had to get his runs elsewhere, de Villiers tried to target Tahir and was stumped for 29 off 30 balls.Taking the pace off
Christian, Stokes, Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat all bowled an assortment of slower balls, but the key was their lengths. They tried not to pitch the ball up too much and instead hit the deck as often as they could to exploit natural variation – some balls were misbehaving by keeping low.Pune also did well by not giving the batsmen any room to work with. When RCB got desperate for runs, and began swinging wildly, the wickets came. Five out of nine RCB batsmen were bowled going for the slog.

Australia allrounder James Faulkner will return to county cricket next season, having played a vital role in Lancashire’s 2015 NatWest Blast triumph

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2017James Faulkner has signed a two-year T20 deal with Lancashire. The Australia allrounder will return to county cricket next season, having played a vital role in Lancashire’s 2015 NatWest Blast triumph.Faulkner, 27, has played 94 times for his country, predominately in the white-ball formats, and was Man of the Match during the 2015 World Cup final. His stock of left-arm seam and slower balls has also made him a regular performer at the IPL.”I’m absolutely delighted to be returning to play for Lancashire Lightning in the T20 Blast for the next two years,” Faulkner said. “I absolutely loved my time with the club in 2015 and Finals Day at Edgbaston still lives very long in the memory for me.”I’m very excited to come back and work with Glen Chapple and the rest of the squad who are an extremely talented and exciting group of players. Emirates Old Trafford is an amazing place to play cricket and I can’t wait to reunite with the squad next summer. I’m determined to win the T20 Blast trophy back for the club.”Since lifting the trophy for the first time in 2015 – when Faulkner took 25 wickets and scored 302 runs – Lancashire have twice failed to get out of the group stages. Now in his second season as Lancashire’s head coach, Chapple has turned to a proven competitor to try and improve their T20 fortunes.”I’m really pleased to have secured the services of James for the next two years in the T20 Blast. He is a world-class cricketer and he played an important role in our success in 2015 when we won the competition,” Chapple said.”Signing James on a two-year contract gives us some continuity and stability in terms of our T20 overseas player which is what we were looking for so we’re thrilled to bring him back to Emirates Old Trafford. He’s a great individual to have in the dressing room and his experience at international level will really benefit the squad.”Faulkner’s previous experience of playing in England wasn’t all positive, however. He was given a two-year driving ban and fined £10,000 after being caught nearly three times over the alcohol limit, a transgression that also cost him his place in Australia’s limited-overs squads for the 2015 tour.

Arsenal play host to Steve Coopers Nottingham Forest in the team's opening fixture of the new Premier League season.

Mikel Arteta's men will be hoping to get their new campaign off to a winning start should they want to mount another challenge for the league title.

Whereas Cooper's side will be looking to avoid another late-season relegation scrap.

Here is Football FanCast's official preview for the game…

When is the match, and is it on UK TV?

The match is set to be played on Saturday 12th August at 12.30pm GMT, the first early kick-off of the season.

UK viewers can watch the clash on TNT Sports, formerly known as BT Sport.

The last meeting between the sides resulted in a serious contrast in emotions between the teams.

The 1-0 victory for Forest meant they were guaranteed another year of Premier League football, whereas, for Arsenal, the loss meant that Manchester City were crowned champions without having to kick a ball.

Premier League: Every Opening Day Fixture

Who is Arsenal's key player?

The Gunners are currently blessed with an abundance of quality players, who could all be the deciding factor in a game like this.

However, it's their young captain, Martin Odegaard, who will be the deciding factor against Nottingham Forest.

The Norwegian has just had a fantastic year for the north London outfit and shows no sign of slowing down, quite the opposite in fact.

With an impressive 15 goals in the league last year, the midfield maestro will be looking to get off the mark early at home.

Who is Nottingham Forest's key player?

The end of last season saw a number of players step up for Cooper, but the man most synonymous with their uptick in form is Morgan Gibbs-White.

Notching up five goals and an impressive eight assists in the league last season proved vital in their battle against the drop.

The ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers man will be their key player going into next season, and an opening fixture at the Emirates Stadium is certainly a great platform to showcase his skills.

How will Arsenal line up?

The home side's lineup is likely to be quite different from the one that faced Forest in May if the rumoured transfers are to happen.

The big one looks to be the departure of Granit Xhaka and the arrival of Declan Rice.

Another player likely to feature is defender William Saliba. Arsenal were without their outstanding centre-half during the recent meeting between the two clubs due to injury, but it looks like he will be fit to return.

At this stage, the lineup for the Gunners will probably be:

Arron Ramsdale; Oleksandr Zinchenko – William Saliba – Gabriel – Ben White; Thomas Partey – Declan Rice – Martin Odegaard; Gabriel Martinelli – Gabriel Jesus – Bukayo Saka

How will Nottingham Forest line up?

Whilst there will undoubtedly be changes to the Forest lineup going into their season opener, it won't be anywhere near as drastic as the changes going into last season's opener.

The club have already announced that loanee Chris Wood has been made a permeant addition to the club, but a few players have also been released.

The most notable names to depart the club are Jesse Lingard, Jack Colback and Andre Ayew.

At this stage, the lineup for the Reds is likely to be:

Keylor Navas; Joe Worrall, Moussa Niakhate, Felipe; Serge Aurier, Ryan Yates, Danilo, Orel Mangala, Renan Lodi; Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi.

What were the last five Premier League meetings between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest? Nottingham Forest 1 – 0 Arsenal Arsenal 5 – 0 Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest 0 – 1 Arsenal Arsenal 2 – 1 Nottingham Forest Arsenal 2 – 0 Nottingham Forest

Looking at their last five Premier League meetings paints a picture of domination for the Gunners, with their only loss coming in their most recent match away at Forest.

However, due to Forest's long absence from England's topflight, these five results are perhaps not the best way of judging how the teams have performed against one another.

Before the game at the Emirates, which Arsenal won 5-0, the sides had played two FA Cup games and a League Cup game since January 2018.

In those three games, the Midlands outfit has come out on top, beating the Gunners twice.

So with that added context, the last five games in all competitions see Forest as the most dominant.

Who is going to win?

Despite Arsenal's campaign completely falling apart towards the back end of last season and Nottingham Forest pulling off a great escape, the Gunners should have enough to claim all three points at home.

That home advantage, plus the addition of Rice, will prove to be just too much for Steve Cooper's side in their first game of the season.

It won't be a walk in the park for Arsenal, though. Expect this to be a tightly contested affair with hopefully a few goals to boot.

FFC predicts: Arsenal Win

Victorian team-mate Peter Handscomb is also willing to keep wicket “if it’s good for team balance” in Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Aug-2017Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell has altered his bowling technique, shortening his delivery stride to generate more dip and drift, ahead of the tour of Bangladesh. He has done so in a bid to strengthen his case as the squad’s fourth genuine spin-bowling option, behind Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar.”I’ve shortened my bowling stride a little bit to make sure that I’ve got that drop on the ball and that I’m getting the shape that I actually want,” Maxwell said at Australia’s training camp in Darwin. “It’s obviously one of my skills that I can bring to the side, and something that’s going to help me try and nail down that No. 6 position, having that extra string to my bow.”Maxwell is Australia’s incumbent No. 6 after his comeback century against India in Ranchi in March – his first Test since 2014. However, Maxwell bowled just six overs in two Tests on spin-conducive surfaces in that series.”I could understand why I wasn’t bowling at certain stages,” Maxwell said. “I suppose coming into this tour, I’m hoping that I can show that I’ve put a lot of work into my bowling and I can get that opportunity.”Australia are likely to go in with two specialist spinners and Maxwell, but could consider the option of three genuine spinners if the pitches favour spin from the outset. To open that spot, Maxwell’s Victorian team-mate Peter Handscomb could be asked to keep wicket. Matthew Wade is the designated wicketkeeper in Australia’s squad for Bangladesh.”I guess it’s an interesting one. I was doing some white-ball keeping for Yorkshire in England as well,” Handscomb said. “Ultimately I’m happy to do it if it’s good for team balance, if it opens up another position for a batter or a bowler to come into the side. But first and foremost I’ve always said that batting is my No.1.”In the tour of India earlier this year, Handscomb scored 198 runs in four Tests at an average of 28.28, including a match-saving 72 not out in the third Test in Ranchi. “I felt really good in India, obviously, like I said, getting starts, getting into the game, and then just not converting as many times as I would have hoped to.”

Legendary Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes appeared to weigh in on the latest sexism storm surrounding Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers.

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Rodgers criticised for "good girl" commentCeltic boss branded a "dinosaur" over remarkScholes tells world to "f*ck off" in apparent response(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

The Hoops boss has come under fire for saying "good girl" to reporter Jane Lewis after his side's late victory over Motherwell on Sunday. Rodgers has been urged to apologise to Lewis by women's organisations in Scotland, who have branded the Northern Irishman a "dinosaur" for his remarks. It was that news, presented by , that Scholes appeared to be reacting to while sitting in the bathtub.

AdvertisementWHAT SCHOLES POSTED

The Red Devils legend gave a blunt response, seemingly in reference to the Rodgers sexism storm, writing in an Instagram story that has since been deleted: "This world needs to f*ck right off… bye!"

IG: paulscholesaaaTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The incident in question came after Celtic's 3-1 over Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday. That victory took the Hoops to within two points of arch rivals Rangers at the top, although Rodgers strangely claimed that the title race story "has already been written about this group, but we will write our own story”. Lewis then pressed that cryptic answer but was met with a cold "You know exactly what I mean" and a repeated "No, no no", before Rodgers shut down the interview. It is these words that have drawn most ire from women's groups, as the Celtic boss said condescendingly: "Okay, done. Good girl. Well done, cheers.”

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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAS BEEN SAID

Both Lewis and Rodgers have since spoken out about the incident, with the BBC reporter quoted on as saying: "Clearly, the interview on Sunday has become a talking point. I don't believe there was any offence meant by Brendan Rodgers – and for my part, there was none taken."

Rodgers pointed to a wider problem in society and echoed Lewis' thoughts of no offence being meant, saying on Tuesday (via ): "I will address it because I have been obviously aware of it. Sadly for me in society now we are either looking to offend or find something that is offensive to try to pin onto people. I have spoken to Jane, she wasn't offended, we had a laugh about it, she will continue to ask me awkward questions. But I see here every week and we have good relations, like I have with most people in my life, whether that is professional or social."

The former West Indies batsman is not among the 33 players invited to camp to be held from June 21-24 in Texas. Former USA captain Steven Taylor, however, has made the cut

Peter Della Penna20-Jun-2018Xavier Marshall, the former West Indies batsman who made his USA debut in January during the CWI Regional Super50 tournament in Antigua, has been left out of a list of 33 players invited to a senior-team selection camp to be held from June 21-24 in Houston, Texas. Marshall is the only player from the 15-man squad that toured the West Indies to not receive an invite to this weekend’s camp.USA selection camp invitees

Capped players: Camilus Alexander, Alex Amsterdam, Fahad Babar, Adil Bhatti, Elmore Hutchinson, Nosthush Kenjige, Ibrahim Khaleel (capt/wk), Ali Khan, Jaskaran Malhotra (wk), Prashanth Nair, Saurabh Netravalkar, Mrunal Patel, Nisarg Patel, Sagar Patel, Timil Patel, Usman Rafiq, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Sunny Sohal, Steven Taylor
Uncapped players: Usman Ashraf, Sachin Asokan, Shaheer Hassan (wk), Akshay Homraj (wk), Jannisar Khan, Keshav Pabisetty, Monank Patel (wk), Tirth Patel, Kyle Phillip, Srinivas Raghavan, Srinivas Salver, Arjun Thyagarajan, David Wakefield
Junior players: Amrut Pore, Ali Sheik, Sanjay Stanley, Yasir Syed, Tejas Vishal, Shashank Vittaladevaram.

Marshall, 32, began his USA career with scores of 40 and 51 in his first two innings of the Super50 against Leeward Islands and Guyana, but only managed 46 runs combined in his last six innings of the tournament. Ahead of the Super50, Marshall had told ESPNcricinfo that one of his goals was to gain a contract in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Even though it is mandatory for each of the six CPL franchises to draft a USA player – or retain a Canada player from 2017 – Marshall was not one of the six USA players taken in the 2018 CPL draft.All 33 players invited to this weekend’s camp took part in one of eight regional combines organised through the spring by USA Cricket. Marshall had attended the New York Combine that took place from May 31 to June 3, top-scoring with a half-century in the T20 trial match that was held on June 1. However, he failed to show up the following two days to participate in two 50-over trial matches.Instead, Marshall chose to play two club matches over that weekend, in New Jersey for Somerset Cavaliers and New York for Villagers Social & Athletic Club. Marshall’s absence on the final day of the New York Combine in particular was a hot-button issue. According to USA Cricket officials who were on site at the regional combine in New York, Marshall called in the morning to say he was on his way to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx where the trial was being held, but allegedly called back later to say he could not get a ride from his home in Long Island. However, he showed up later in the morning at Roy Sweeney Park in Queens to play for Villagers.Gajanand Singh was another noteworthy name to not receive an invite to the final squad trial this weekend in Houston. The 30-year-old former West Indies Under-19 batsman played last season for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL, scoring 151 runs in 11 matches to finish fourth on the team’s run-scorers’ list, and was retained by Warriors for 2018 after being taken in the 13th round. Gajanand is understood to be a US resident and attended the New York trial, top-scoring for his side in the T20 trial match. However, like Marshall, he no-showed on the last two days, choosing instead to play club matches for Somerset Cavaliers in New Jersey on each day.American batsman Steven Taylor drives for a single on his Amazon Warriors debut•Peter Della PennaFormer USA captain Steven Taylor, who is currently contracted with Jamaica in the West Indies first-class franchise system, has been invited to the squad camp in Texas. Taylor, 24, attended the New York Combine but has not played for USA since 2017 WCL Division Three in Uganda, after which he and USA Cricket administrators came to a mutual decision to have him step down from captaincy following his decision to relocate to Jamaica upon taking up a professional contract.Four uncapped players who rose to prominence during the regional combines and received invites to the USA squad camp for the first time are Tirth Patel, Akshay Homraj, Kyle Phillip and David Wakefield.Tirth, 20, was one of the leading wicket-takers at the New York Combine and is a former Ahmedabad Under-19 left-arm spinner currently attending university in Ohio. Tirth played for Ahmedabad Under-19 as recently as June 2016 and, as a result, it is unclear if he will be eligible to qualify under the ICC’s three-year residency rule to play for USA this year at their next two assignments – the 2020 ICC World T20 Regional Qualifier from September 16-23 and WCL Division Three later in the year. Homraj also competed at the New York Combine and formerly represented Guyana Under-19s in 2014.Phillip, 21, is a tall fast bowler currently residing in Florida after migrating from Trinidad & Tobago in 2016. He impressed at the regional combine held at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida from May 3-6. He was recently signed up by Winnipeg Hawks in the Global T20 Canada draft, one of the only three USA-based players to be roped in along with captain Ibrahim Khaleel and fast bowler Ali Khan.Wakefield, 23, was born in North Carolina but raised in New Zealand and played for Canterbury Under-19s. The right-hand batsman is still based in Christchurch but paid his own way to attend the USA Cricket regional trial in Florida this May where he scored a pair of half-centuries in the two 50-over trial matches. He would qualify to play for USA automatically as a US citizen and passport-holder from birth.In addition to the 33 senior men’s players invited to the camp, six junior players have also been given the opportunity to attend the camp in order to immerse them early on into the national team set-up. The players will take part in a series of T20 and 50-over trial matches at Smart Choice Moosa Stadium in the Houston suburb of Pearland. A 14-man squad is expected to be chosen following the camp for USA’s next assignment, the World T20 Regional Qualifier that USA is hosting in September where they will take on Belize, Canada and Panama.

The England midfielder scored another two goals to ensure Pep Guardiola's side came from behind to see off their local rivals

Manchester City might not be playing at their scintillating best at present, but they remain just one point off Premier League leaders Liverpool after Phil Foden inspired the defending champions to come from behind and beat local rivals Manchester United 3-1 on Sunday.

City dominated the early proceedings, but found themselves behind at half-time after Marcus Rashford's stunning eighth-minute strike was followed by an impressive rearguard from the visitors, as well as an incredible close-range miss from Erling Haaland.

But just as he has so many times already this season, it was Foden to the rescue, as he first cut inside to lash a left-footed drive into the top corner from 20 yards, before netting the winner after trading passes with Julian Alvarez. Haaland then added gloss to the scoreline in stoppage-time after United gave the ball away on the edge of their own penalty area.

The win keeps Pep Guardiola's side within touching distance of Liverpool, whom they visit next Sunday in what may now prove to be a title-decider at Anfield.

GOAL rates City's players from the Etihad Stadium…

Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence

Ederson (6/10):

Had no chance with Rashford's stunning strike. Largely a spectator thereafter, but did rush out to challenge Garnacho well shortly before Foden made it 2-1.

Kyle Walker (7/10):

Did well to track back against Rashford and snuff out counter-attacks on a couple of occasions. Otherwise offered himself as the spare man in attacks on numerous occasions.

Ruben Dias (5/10):

Potentially could have done better up against Fernandes in the build-up to Rashford's goal, but otherwise his game was limited to keeping the ball ticking over as City built from the back.

Nathan Ake (4/10):

Played Fernandes onside for the opening goal and never looked wholly comfortable from a defensive point of view.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield

John Stones (6/10):

Took up his now usual position in central midfield and kept City ticking over while getting involved physically on the rare occasion the ball was turned over.

Rodri (7/10):

At the heart of City's best attacks, with Stones' positioning meaning the Spaniard could move further up the pitch for the most part. Tested Onana with a volleyed effort in the first half and got the assist for Haaland's late goal.

Bernardo Silva (5/10):

Couldn't control the game in the same way he did at Old Trafford earlier in the season. Lacked any real cutting edge to his passing on the edge of the box.

Kevin De Bruyne (4/10):

Probably his most disappointing performance since returning from injury. United crowded him out for the most part, while to say his finishing was wayward would be kind.

Getty ImagesAttack

Phil Foden (10/10):

City's best player throughout, and by some distance. Always dangerous in attack, and after twice being denied by Onana in the first half, found the equaliser with a stunning strike after the break. Superb give-and-go with Alvarez then settled it. In the form of his career right now.

Erling Haaland (5/10):

Not for the first time in recent weeks, the Norwegian missed the target when it looked easier to score from Foden's headed cross late in the first half. Struggled to get fully into the game throughout, but did get his goal in stoppage-time with a well-taken finish.

Jeremy Doku (4/10):

A box of tricks as usual, but the Belgium winger's final product left a lot to be desired. Replaced by Alvarez before the hour-mark.

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Getty ImagesSubs & Manager

Julian Alvarez (7/10):

Gave City's attack a different dimension after replacing Doku, and provided the all-important assist for Foden's winner.

Oscar Bobb (N/A):

On for Foden in stoppage-time.

Pep Guardiola (7/10):

Can't be blamed for some of the missed chances in the first half, and the introduction of Alvarez meant Bernardo and Foden could then switch flanks and cause confusion. It was Foden popping up on the left that ended up settling the game.