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South Africa are looking to rotate the gloves with Quinton de Kock rested for the series, and Matthew Breetzke and Donovan Ferreira might get a go later on

Firdose Moonda29-Aug-2023Tristan Stubbs will keep wicket for South Africa in the opening T20I against Australia in Durban as the hosts look to rotate the gloves in the absence of the rested Quinton de Kock. Stubbs is one of three options for the three-match series and has been chosen to start in the position ahead of Matthew Breetzke and Donovan Ferreira, who have both yet to play an international match.”He has been working really hard over the last couple of weeks and those that know Stubbo well, know he is the kind of guy that will never really leave a stone unturned,” Aiden Markram, South Africa’s T20I captain, said at the pre-match press conference. “He has spent hours and hours practicing his keeping and it’s been great to see.”This will be just the second time that Stubbs is the designated wicketkeeper in an official match after he also did the job in a first-class match between Warriors and Boland last summer. In that encounter, which Warriors won by 168 runs, Stubbs took two catches in the first innings and six in the second. He also scored 52 in Warriors’ second innings to help them set Boland a target of 343.Related

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Add to that the fact that Stubbs also bowls offspin – most regularly in T20 cricket – and South Africa have a “real all-dimension player”, as Markram put it. “From his personal game, it adds another element for him to take forward in his cricketing journey,” Markram said. “We’ve seen him do well with the ball and we all know what he can do with the bat, now all of a sudden he has got the gloves.”But he may not keep them for all three matches. Prior to the series, South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter confirmed the wicketkeeping role will be rotated while de Kock is rested and one or both of Breetzke and Ferreira will also get an opportunity. The first thing would be to get them in the starting XI and Markram could not confirm whether either would debut immediately. “We’ve not finalised our team completely. We will be having our team meeting at 6pm [on Tuesday night] and if there are debutants, we will make it a special ceremony for them, to remember for the rest of their lives.”Also in line for their first T20I caps are Dewald Brevis, who is expected to bat in the middle order, and Gerald Coetzee, who has played at the Test and the ODI level for South Africa.Keshav Maharaj had injured himself earlier in the year•AFP/Getty Images

Not in line for Wednesday’s match is left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who is making a comeback from a ruptured Achilles’ ahead of schedule. Maharaj tore the ligament in a Test against West Indies in March and was expected to be out for the rest of the year but has been included in the South Africa squad for the second and third T20Is and the ODI series that follows.Maharaj spent Tuesday playing his first competitive match since his injury, a warm-up match between Dolphins and Tuskers. “It’s fantastic to see him back on the park,” Markram said. “He has been incredibly committed and motivated to get ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery and today is probably a very special day for him. It’s huge for his career and it’s something he can be incredibly proud of, to get back on the park this soon.”If match fit, South Africa will consider Maharaj for their 50-over World Cup squad, which will be announced on September 5, with alterations permitted until September 28. With those dates in mind, both the T20I and ODI series against Australia are auditions of sorts and though Markram said the squad is focused on results first, there’s no doubt the World Cup is at the back of their minds.South Africa prepared to take on Australia with a two-day camp in Kruger National Park, with all their white-ball hopefuls. “It was fantastic,” Markram said. “Being a bush lover, I was in my element. There are certain guys for whom it was outside their comfort zone. You also have to appreciate that. But all in all, the guys loved it. We camped out, in the middle of the Kruger, had rangers and trackers around us. The camp was a tracking camp, so being able to track animals, follow animals, go on bush walks, things like that, which is quite a rare thing to be able to do in the middle of Kruger. The boys loved it.”

Pakistan are favourites chasing 131 for victory, but they were three down at stumps on the fourth day

Danyal Rasool19-Jul-2023

A stirring fightback from Sri Lanka left the home side in with a sniff of stealing a sensational win in the first Test against Pakistan in Galle. On a day where Pakistan looked like shutting the door on Sri Lanka’s chances, their bowlers prised that door back open in a frenetic final hour during which Pakistan stumbled to 48 for 3 in pursuit of 131.Pakistan’s batting approach through much of their first innings suggested they might attempt to polish off this chase without drama in as few overs as possible, but committing to that approach and executing it against Sri Lankan spinners in the fading Galle light were two different things. Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis bogged them down right from the outset, finding prodigious turn and combining it with unerring accuracy.It paid off in the seventh over, when Abdullah Shafique was drawn into pushing at one that spun away and kissed the edge. Shortly after Shan Masood succumbed to Jayasuriya’s wiles, sharply adjusting his line as he spotted the batter coming down the track. Masood could only pop one up to short leg, and Sri Lanka moved in for the kill.Pakistan sent in Noman Ali as nightwatcher before losing him in farcical circumstances. Eager to keep Imam-ul-Haq off strike, he hared back for a second that was never on, and a sharp pick-up and throw from Mendis on the midwicket boundary caught him well short of his crease. It dragged Babar Azam out for a shaky final few overs, but though Sri Lanka pushed, Pakistan allowed no further bloodletting.Through much of the day, it was Dhananjaya de Silva that stood between Pakistan and a straightforward victory. A half-century, and crucial partnerships with Dinesh Chandimal and Ramesh Mendis helped Sri Lanka wipe off the deficit, and surge into the lead during the middle session. The Sri Lankan innings though, was hampered throughout by Pakistan picking up wickets at crucial intervals, and never allowing them to extend their lead into truly dangerous territory.While Pakistan relied on their pace bowlers for early breakthroughs in the first innings, Galle’s reputation for spin-friendliness – especially towards the back end of a Test – finally began to become apparent as Noman and Abrar Ahmed shared the wickets.Dhananjaya de Silva brought up a half-century, to go with his first-innings century•AFP/Getty Images

Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka provided Sri Lanka with a solid start, having seen off a few overs in the fading light the previous day. There wasn’t much rotation of the strike; it wasn’t until the 10th over and the 39th run that the first single was taken, but Sri Lanka picked up a boundary each over, and despite some probing lines from Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, looked generally comfortable.But Abrar’s introduction had an immediate impact, as an uncharacteristically loose shot from Karunaratne was caught sensationally by Salman Ali diving low. Madushka and Kusal Mendis returned calm to the innings even though the run rate slowed, seeing off the fast bowlers and looking reasonably assured against spin. But a pair of strikes in the last half hour from Noman turned things around, first trapping Mendis in front of his crease, before a lovely delivery spinning away from Angelo Mathews’ outside edge was pouched smartly by Babar at first slip.Madushka remained solid at the other end but he fell to a careless shot off Noman shortly after getting to his half-century. As in the first innings, though, the fifth wicket partnership was productive for Sri Lanka. De Silva and Dinesh Chandimal attacked Afridi, forcing him out after just four overs. They were more measured against spin, but clever shot selection and regular manipulation of the field kept the runs flowing as they honed in on the lead.They brought up the 50-run partnership, but no sooner had Sri Lanka edged ahead that Chandimal chipped one to midwicket off Agha Salman, where Imam took a sharp catch. Pakistan’s catching across this Test has stood out, and that was more evident in the grab at short leg from Abdullah Shafique that dismissed Sadeera Samarawickrama. Initially wrong-footed by the edge, Shafique adjusted to dive to his right to snare a one-handed diving catch to leave Sri Lanka on the brink.Pakistan hoped for a quick finish, but Mendis and de Silva stood firm for a 76-run partnership across 23 overs. It was slow going at times, but they never looked uncomfortable against the spinners either side of the tea interval until Abrar finally struck, a missed sweep from Mendis catching him plumb in front.Thereafter, Pakistan used Afridi and the new ball to burst through the flickering remnants of Sri Lankan resistance. A bit of extra bounce and seam movement finally dismissed Dhananjaya after a brilliant 82. Shaheen then fooled Jayasuriya with a slower ball before Kasun Rajitha scooped one up to Masood at point.Pakistan had made quick work of the tail, but Sri Lanka made sure the same could not be said of the paltry target. A year to the day after Pakistan chased down 344 at this very venue, pursuit of 131 looks anything but a formality.

Gujarat Giants head coach opens up about WPL auction strategies, transitioning into coaching, working with Mithali Raj, and more

Ashish Pant25-Feb-20235:16

Haynes: ‘Mithali has certainly given me a lot of guidance’

February 3, 2023 – Rachael Haynes joins Adani Sportsline-owned Gujarat Giants as head coach.February 13, 2023 – The inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction is held in Mumbai.Ten days! That is all the time Haynes, the former Australia captain, had to put together an 18-member squad for Gujarat Giants ahead of the inaugural WPL. At a time when IPL teams have elaborate mock auctions, scouting and round-the-year player trials, Haynes, alongside Giants mentor and advisor Mithali Raj and bowling coach Nooshin Al Khadeer, had the challenge to set up a WPL team from scratch in just over a week. All this, in her first assignment as the head coach of a professional team.It might sound a lot of pressure, but what is pressure for a player who has won six world titles and a Commonwealth Games gold medal as part of the Australian team? That might be a reason why Raj, who played against Haynes a number of times, reached out to her for a coaching role with the Giants.”Given the time that everything came together, how little time there was, we sort of just had to get rolling straight away,” Haynes told ESPNcricinfo. “We had to have open and forthright conversations with each other to make sure that we were on the same page and could move forward and make decisions when they needed to be made.Related

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“I leant on Mithali and Noosh [Nooshin] a lot for the local players. They know the game in India very well so we spoke a lot about the local talent and who they thought could really fill valuable roles for us in our side. That’s really how we went about putting our squad together; thinking about the roles that we needed to be filled in our team and then who the players were that we could target to do that.”Giants bought a good blend of Indian and overseas players. There is an obvious Australian influence in the overseas contingent, with four of the six spots going to Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Georgia Wareham and Annabel Sutherland. Deandra Dottin and Sophia Dunkley are the other two overseas players in the side. Among the Indian names, Giants have Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, S Meghana and Sushma Verma among others.

“There are lots of different elements that hopefully can come together through the WPL and hopefully, Indian cricket can be richer for it.”Rachael Haynes

They went into the auction with one clear strategy: to not get overly attached to any player. Barring Gardner and Mooney – two of the three most expensive overseas buys in the auction – there was not a lot of incessant bidding from the Giants table.”We didn’t get too attached to one particular player, I think that can sometimes end in a little bit of heartbreak if you want one player and you are sort of holding off for them in the auction and then potentially you miss out on them,” Haynes said while explaining their auction strategy. “We honestly went in with the philosophy of making sure we were clear on the roles we wanted filled in the side. Who we thought could open the batting, bat through the middle order, who those allrounders could be to fill different roles in the side as well.”It was obvious that we wanted Ash Gardner given how aggressive we were in bidding for her and getting her over the line.”First-hand knowledge is another important aspect that Haynes brings to the table. As someone who retired less than six months ago, the 36-year-old shared the Australian dressing room with Sutherland, Mooney, Wareham and Gardner. She has also watched a lot of the players who had registered at the auction from close quarters.Haynes played with Mooney and Wareham for Australia•Cricket Australia via Getty ImagesGiants bought Wareham for INR 75 lakh (US$ 91,000 approx) and at the time of the auction, she had not played a T20I in over a year having undergone a knee construction surgery after rupturing her ACL in the WBBL in October 2021.”I had the benefit of having seen her first hand in Australia and just seeing how well she completed her rehab and how well she has presented since,” Haynes said on Wareham’s selection. “The tough thing being out of that international spotlight in terms of an international player, you are relying on a little bit more first-hand local knowledge in that respect. To draw people back to the player she was when she was playing before that injury, she was very much a core part of that Australian line-up, she was a fantastic player in big moments too if I think of the occasions she stood up under pressure and took key wickets for Australia.”Haynes’ transition from a player to coach is a natural one. She finished her Level 3 coaching accreditation – the highest in Australia – last year, alongside former team-mates Elyse Villani and Meg Lanning. By the time Haynes hung up her boots in September 2022, drawing the curtains on a 13-year-long international career, she was ready to enter the next phase of her professional life.She credits Matthew Mott, the former Australia women’s head coach and current white-ball coach of the England men’s side, for being the driving force behind her taking up coaching.”Matthew Mott certainly was really instrumental in making sure that particularly us senior players completed our coaching accreditation while we were still in the game,” Haynes said. “He was instrumental in really encouraging us to do that but also providing us opportunities in the Australian programme to create sessions, to run and lead different scenarios around the teams.”It [coaching role] is going to be a challenge, certainly a change of gear from playing and being a player in an environment to being a coach and trying to create a really positive space for our players to perform and also learn. I am looking forward to that challenge and, yeah, we can bring it together at the right time in the WPL.”Mithali Raj, Nooshin Al Khadeer and Rachael Haynes at the Gujarat Giants auction table•BCCIThe WPL is expected to be the next big thing for women’s cricket. The tournament has already been in the spotlight for being the most lucrative in the women’s game. In January, Viacom18 won the media rights for the WPL for a whopping INR 951 crore (US$ 116.7 million approx.) for a period of five years and a few days later the BCCI sold the five franchises for INR 4669.99 crore (US$ 572.78 million approx).Then at the auction, a number of players had massive paydays. Gardner was the most expensive overseas buy alongside Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians) fetching INR 3.2 crore (US$ 390,000 approx.). Mooney was bought by Giants for INR 2 crore (US$ 244,000 approx.).While the influx of money is a huge part of it, Haynes also expects the tournament to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket for Indian players, like it has for the Australian players at the WBBL and the England players through the Hundred.”First and foremost, it [WPL] is going to draw so many different people to the game, hopefully, who will get to experience and come to know some of the female players which we’ve all known for some time,” Haynes said. “It will also create really good opportunities for the domestic players in India. We’ve seen how positive that is in terms of creating depth in international sides around the world. If I think of the Australian system in the WBBL and what’s that done for Australian cricket, the same happens in the Hundred as well, albeit in a different format.”There are lots of different elements that hopefully can come together through the WPL and hopefully, Indian cricket can be richer for it.”So, did she at any stage think of coming out of retirement to try her hand at playing in the WPL?”I got to that point where I knew I was ready to step away and experience a new challenge. I just knew that I probably got the most out of myself and I was happy with where I’d got to and had the sense of fulfilment,” Haynes said. “I certainly wasn’t sitting there in envy wishing that I was playing or anything like that. I am very happily retired.”

In two of India’s chases against England, they promoted Axar Patel, and that left KL Rahul with little to do

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2025India beat England 3-0 quite comprehensively, but two irregularities in the batting department raised a few eyebrows, and both might have something to do with coach Gautam Gambhir’s preference for right-left batting combinations. In two of the chases, Axar Patel was promoted, which left KL Rahul with little to do. It attracted criticism from commentators, but it was in no way an assessment of Rahul’s batting abilities.”That’s the way cricket is meant to be played,” Gambhir said of Axar’s promotion. “I know a lot of people talk about it, but that’s the way we got to play the game, and that’s the way cricket should be played. It’s not about the batting order, it’s about who can create what impact. And it’s about just if you have the option of putting a quality left-hand batter in the middle; why won’t you do that?”Why would you want to have top five as right-handers? We don’t look at averages and stats and all that stuff. We look at who can deliver more at that number. And Axar has done fabulously well. Both the games [in which] he got the opportunity, he delivered for us. I know there will always be talk – there will always be people talking about it – but I think that’s the way we want to go in future as well.”Related

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That Gambhir likes right-left combinations is no secret. When he came back to Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor, their right-left partnerships went up from 58% in 2022 and 2023, to 74% in 2024. Having said that, it doesn’t seem to be an unhealthy obsession. For example, it doesn’t penalise Rahul, who has done his job in the middle order well, just for being a right-hand batter.”At the moment, KL is a No.1 wicketkeeper for us, and he’s delivered for us,” Gambhir said when asked about Rishabh Pant’s chances. “And see, when you’ve got two wicketkeepers in this squad, you can’t play both the wicketkeepers with the kind of quality we’ve got. Hopefully, whenever he gets that opportunity, he should be ready for it. That’s all I can say at the moment. Right now, KL is the one who’s going to start.”

Gambhir: Wanted to see what Jaiswal can bring to the table

Then again, India did flirt with the idea of introducing Yashasvi Jaiswal, a left-hand batter, to the already packed line-up. After the first ODI, Shreyas Iyer revealed it was him who was going to sit out to accommodate Jaiswal, but an injury to Virat Kohli afforded him the opportunity to play a match-winning innings, which halted the Jaiswal introduction for the Champions Trophy at least. When asked if Iyer was going to miss the whole series had Kohli not got injured, Gambhir answered in the negative.”He wasn’t supposed to be benched throughout the series,” Gambhir said. “We wanted to give Yashasvi a go in the first game and see what he can bring to the table because he was in really good form in Australia. So we wanted to see what kind of an innings can he play. I know you can’t judge someone by one innings, but we always knew that Shreyas is going to be an important player for us. What he’s done at No. 4, be it the World Cup or forget about even the World Cup, he’s just an important player.”So sometimes when you’ve only got three games, you want to try and rotate your squad as well. See, like for today, we could have easily played Shami but we wanted to give Arsh a go. We could have played Jadeja as well, but we gave Washi a go as well. So when you’ve got Champions Trophy around the corner, you want to try and maximise these three games and try and give everyone an opportunity. Shreyas was always in the scheme of things, and good that he played all the three games.”

تحدث إنزو ماريسكا مدرب تشيلسي قبل لقاء ديربي لندن أمام توتنهام هوتسبر في الجولة العاشرة من منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويحتل تشيلسي المركز التاسع في جدول ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز برصيد 14 نقطة من 4 انصارات وتعادلين و3 هزائم.

ويحتل توتنهام المركز الثالث في جدول ترتيب الدوري الانجليزي برصيد 17 نقطة من 5 انتصارات وتعادلين وهزيمتين.

وسئل انزو ماريسكا مدرب تشيلسي عن حالة كول بالمر في المؤتمر الصحفي لمواجهة توتنهام، ومزح بأنه يريد عودته الأسبوع المقبل.

أقرأ أيضاً.. كامب نو ينافس ويمبلي على استضافة نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا

وقال ماريسكا في تصريحات نشرتها “TRIBUNA”: “التقيت به للتو في الكافتيريا لتناول الإفطار”.

وأضاف :”لقد قلت له، سأقول لك إنك ستعود خلال أسبوع، وكان يضحك، الآن مع كول بالمر نفس الخطة تماماً، انتظر ونأمل أن يعود قريباً”.

وواصل حول سجل توتنهام على ملعبه: “أعتقد أن توتنهام يقدم مستوى جيدا، فازوا بالدوري الأوروبي وبدأوا الموسم بشكل رائع، إنها مباراة ديربي وستكون صعبة”.

da imperador bet： Tottenham Hotspur are in the market for another new forward this summer after sealing a permanent deal for Mathys Tel, with Thomas Frank reportedly eager to reinforce his brand-new squad ahead of the tactician’s debut campaign in the Champions League.

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Posts 1 ByEmilio Galantini Jun 21, 2025

da brwin： It will be Frank’s first-ever season managing in Europe’s most illustrious competition, and far more eyes will be on the Dane in comparison to his successful stint at mid-table Brentford.

The pressure that comes with leading a ‘big six’ side will be very new to the 51-year-old, but it is something that Frank will need to take in his stride over the course of this three-year contract.

“Thomas Frank has done a brilliant job at Brentford, but this is a whole different kettle of fish,” said BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Chris Sutton.

Tottenham’s best-performing regulars in the Premier League – 2024/2025

Average match rating

Son Heung-min

7.00

James Maddison

6.98

Pedro Porro

6.95

Dominic Solanke

6.84

Dejan Kulusevski

6.83

via WhoScored

“Because of the expectation at Tottenham, Frank won’t get time to get his feet under the table. He will be under pressure from the off. Postecoglou has just won them their first major European trophy for 41 years and has gone. So already you have to wonder what does Frank need to do this season to keep his job?

“The aim for Frank will be to keep them in the Champions League, and whether that is by making the top four or five, that is not going to be easy. That is a big ask for this squad, to compete on both fronts. We know this Tottenham team is better than 17th place, because they finished fifth in Postecoglou’s first year, but other Premier League teams have improved since then.”

Above all, Frank will need backing in the transfer market, and their indefinite deal for Tel simply won’t be enough.

Son’s very possible move to Saudi Arabia, which would put an end to his legendary 10-year stay at N17, has exacerbated Frank’s need for another proven winger, with Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo among their key targets in that regard.

Tottenham make contact over signing Antoine Semenyo

Tottenham have already been tipped to make a £65 million bid for Semenyo, but that won’t be enough, as journalist Pete O’Rourke explains to Football Insider this week.

According to the reporter, Spurs have made contact over a deal for Semenyo, with the Cherries having placed a £70 million valuation on their star front man. However, if Frank’s side meet this price tag and make the Ghanaian their club-record signing, Bournemouth are confident they can sign a “swift” replacement and have a “contingency plan” in place.

O’Rourke adds that there is a “real possibility” that Bournemouth could lose Semenyo amid Spurs’ approach, and he could be their fourth high-profile exit of the window after Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and potentially Illia Zabarnyi, who’s in advanced talks to join PSG.

The 25-year-old bagged 13 goals and seven assists in all competitions last season, playing a decent mixture of roles on the left and right-hand side.

Semenyo’s versatility and proven Premier League experience would be invaluable for Frank, but Daniel Levy will need to dig deep into his pockets.

Since 2018, Ishant has been a different bowler, and he has racked up some impressive stats too

Gaurav Sundararaman01-Oct-2019Ishant Sharma’s career started on a strong note after he got the India call-up when just 18. He troubled more than one batsman away in Australia, and was effective in home conditions as well. But it started to go downhill after that, the ride largely a bumpy one. But, ten years on, Ishant has finally hit a peak, and since 2018, he has been one of India’s premier Test bowlers.ESPNcricinfo LtdIshant 2.0Ishant’s career has had an interesting progression graph.In his first 11 Tests, he took 34 wickets at an average of 31.17 and a strike rate of 57.3. This remains Ishant’s best average to date. After a long, hard grind, his average fell back below 35 for the first time only in mid-2018. He was the second slowest to 250 Test wickets (86 Tests) and while more or less regular in the Test XI, was never quite first choice.

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Between 2010 and 2017, Ishant played 60 Tests and took 172 wickets at an average of 37.22, striking once every 68 deliveries. However, fortunes turned after that. At the start of 2018, India played Jasprit Bumrah in the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town. Ishant did get his chance in the second Test in Centurion, though, and bowled a crucial spell late on the first day to trigger a collapse by dismissing AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, playing 13 Tests for 52 wickets at an outstanding average of 19.78.Ishant’s average in this period is better than that of Kagiso Rabada, James Anderson, Trent Boult, Stuart Broad and Josh Hazlewood. With all the limelight on Bumrah, Ishant has slipped under the radar somewhat, but his average, strike rate and economy rate are at par with those of Bumrah since the start of 2018. Along with Mohammed Shami, Ishant and Bumrah form a potent pace attack that has been doing exceedingly well around the world over the last two years.