SLC technical committee chairman Aravinda de Silva shares details of future plans

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Apr-2021Sri Lanka is looking to revive inter-provincial cricket in the latest attempt to create a more competitive first-class structure. Although exact details of the new competition have not been announced, chairman of SLC’s technical committee Aravinda de Silva has hinted that the provincial system will become the premier multi-day competition in the country. The present club system will continue to exist with only minor alterations as well.Provincial cricket has been sporadically attempted in Sri Lanka, but such competitions have largely been short in duration, and have done little to connect with a fan base from the provinces each team is supposed to represent. De Silva suggested the existing first-class clubs (of which there are now 26), may be required to band together in clusters to administer each of these provincial teams. This is an idea that had first been floated in 2015, by Mahela Jayawardene, before a change of leadership at SLC did away with the plan for a cluster system.”We are trying to create another tier in domestic cricket through a provincial tournament,” de Silva said. “What we want to do is make that a stronger four-day competition. In that provincial competition, we will have an “A” tier as well, which will give players opportunities to qualify for development squads. But the main provincial competition will be the feeder for the national team.”We’re trying to create a pathway from the bottom to the top by clustering clubs so that we develop players leaving the school system right to the highest level.”De Silva was adamant that although the existing club system may be trimmed down to three-day matches (at present, clubs play a mixture of three and four-day encounters), and although the number of club matches may be reduced to make way for the provincial tournament, the club system would continue to be an integral part of Sri Lanka’s domestic structure. The club tournament also would not lose its first-class status.”The clubs provide the infrastructure for players who are just out of school, because they get facilities, support and opportunities, to give these players a foundation. Without that foundation – if we get rid of the clubs – it’s like we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. The club system has been the foundation for us to develop our cricketers thus far. If we get rid of that system, it will be very difficult for us to bridge that gap. You need somewhere for the 3000-odd cricketers leaving the school system to continue playing.”SLC has made no official announcements on the exact nature of the new domestic structure yet. De Silva’s technical committee working closely with Tom Moody – Sri Lanka’s new director of cricket – to finalise tournament details.The clubs, however, may need to be won over by these new proposals. They have typically been resistant to accept additional first-class competitions that threaten the club structure’s status as the top domestic competition in the country.

Eddie Howe has some problems to fix at Newcastle United. Ah, but he has solved issues before, smoothing out the creases in his system each year he has been on Tyneside.

Last season, Howe led Newcastle to the Carabao Cup title, their first major domestic honour since 1955. The Magpies have also flown back into the Champions League after finishing fifth in the Premier League.

Important days are ahead. Newcastle currently sit 15th in the Premier League with one win from six attempts. The season, it’s worth underlining, has only just begun, and the Magpies took a time to click into gear during the 2024/25 campaign, mounting a phenomenal run of winter form that carried them through to the finish.

Howe is trusted to bring it all together, with the difficulties of the summer transfer window, defined by Alexander Isak’s deadline-day move to Liverpool for a record-breaking £125m fee, seeping into the season.

However, among the brightest sparks on Tyneside right now is Nick Woltemade, who replaced Isak in August and has kicked off his career in black and white strongly.

Nick Woltemade's start to life in Newcastle

When Woltemade first touched down in Newcastle, he was stepping into big boots. Isak, after all, is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in Europe, with his 27-goal haul last season a testament to that.

But the German, signed from Stuttgart for a club-record £69m fee, has shown promise across these early weeks. Scoring the winner on his debut against Wolves and again against Arsenal on Sunday.

An intelligent and technically gifted number nine, Woltemade has not the same snappy, electric athleticism as Isak, but he is deft on the ball and adept in link-up phases. He’s a towering presence besides, and a clean finisher of the ball.

With Yoane Wissa sidelined with a knee injury, the 23-year-old has pounced on the opportunity to lay down his claim for the starting spot at the front of the ship, even picking up Newcastle’s Player of the Month for September.

Newcastle’s four-goal tally across six Premier League appearances so far this season puts them right at the bottom of the pile, alongside Aston Villa and Wolves.

At the corresponding stage last year, they had scored eight goals, and the fact that that was a middling return in any case perhaps highlights the task Howe has in the final third.

Woltemade, regardless, has been a great signing. His ceiling is high. Moreover, Wissa has yet to touch grass in black and white.

Newcastle's shrewdest summer signing

Central defence was an area in need of shoring up as Newcastle stepped into the summer transfer window, but it wasn’t until August that Howe claimed his quarry, welcoming Malick Thiaw over from Italy.

Thiaw, 24, joined from AC Milan in a deal worth £35m, and while his technical quality and strong defensive skillset have long suggested there is a place for him in the Premier League, an injury record that leaves plenty to be desired came attached as a caveat.

But he’s looking well worth the money, so far. Thiaw, let’s not forget, has long been regarded as a top talent, and over the past year, he ranks among the top 7% of centre-backs across Europe for pass completion and the top 18% for progressive passes played per 90, as per FBref.

The last-minute defeat against Arsenal at the weekend stung, all right, but Thiaw’s performance was a positive, with the Chronicle Live awarding the German with an 8/10 match rating post-game.

Thiaw, after all, stood his ground against arguably the best team in the Premier League, with Sofascore recording that he made eight clearances and won five duels across the afternoon.

Alongside Sven Botman, Howe may well feel he has a new central defensive partnership to guide Newcastle through the next chapter, fit to last and with the capacity to challenge for the biggest prizes, against the biggest hitters that the Premier League and Europe can offer.

At a fee of just £35m, this may well prove to be a steal for Newcastle. Thiaw has always been among the most talented centre-halves of his age bracket, merely impeded across the past several years by regular trips to the infirmary.

Still, the early signs are promising in the Premier League. Thiaw has been hailed as a “monster in the air” by journalist Martino Puccio, and with Fabian Schar and Dan Burn and Jamal Lascelles all vying for starting berths of their own, Howe has the means to enforce healthy rotation across the season as Newcastle look to stay competitive across four fronts.

While Woltemade has started on the right track as he looks to smoothly replace Isak, it’s not outrageous to say that he is not, and that plenty of work over a number of years must be completed before the lanky goalscorer reaches the same level of fluency and snap as his predecessor at St. James’ Park.

However, it’s also fair to say that Thiaw boasts more completeness than Newcastle’s defensive crop, Botman notwithstanding, and that, for about half the price of the unpolished striker, he might prove to be the pick of the bunch when assessing Newcastle’s summer transfer window at a later date.

Newcastle's "true legend" looks like he's on borrowed time under Howe

Newcastle’s modern “legend” may well be phased out before too long.

By
Will Miller

Sep 29, 2025

Allege numerous improper procedures, five fellow board members and CEO Iain Higgins sued

Peter Della Penna20-Mar-2021

Two USA Cricket board members have filed a lawsuit against other board members as well as the chief executive of the organisation, alleging numerous improper procedures tied to the latest cycle of delayed elections. ESPNcricinfo has obtained a copy of the lawsuit, filed on March 8, in which Venu Pisike and Srini Salver filed the claim, and also listed USA Cricket as a co-plaintiff, but in which they have sued five fellow board members along with CEO Iain Higgins.USA Cricket issued a statement late on Friday evening, calling aspects of the suit “meritless” and arguing that fighting the suit could affect plans for the year: “If… it is required to further divert some of those limited resources into defending the organization from meritless legal claims and protecting the rights of its new membership, the Board will have no choice but to consider cutting some of its planned cricketing activities and developmental activities for 2021 and is scheduled to meet early next week to consider which activities must be scaled back.”Related

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The dispute, a throwback to the days of the expelled USA Cricket Association (USACA), stems from a series of administrative decisions from November 2020 in which the five board members are alleged to have voted in favour of approving a membership referendum to change voting procedures for the next election. The referendum called for an exception to be made in this election to allow new members to register to vote and grant immediate voting rights rather than allowing voting rights to be given after a 12-month membership, as required in the constitution.The plaintiffs allege that the five board members violated the constitution and claim that the referendum – sent out to USA Cricket’s 725 members at the time in November 2020 – did not receive the 67% supermajority as required. The five are alleged to have voted to approve the referendum with a simple majority (between 51% and 66%) of individual member votes. The lawsuit also alleges that Higgins tampered with the referendum voting process by having access to in-progress tracking of votes electronically submitted ahead of the final voting deadline, and that he directly contacted members who had yet to vote to encourage them to vote in favour of the referendum.In December, USA Cricket claimed that the referendum was approved by the board of directors “alongside independent legal advice that had been obtained from its expert legal counsel”, but didn’t state that it had passed with a 67% supermajority. USA Cricket refused to make public full voting results when asked by ESPNcricinfo, saying it was a “confidential” matter.The consequence of the resolution has been to expand the voting base from 725 members to nearly 20,000. Higgins has previously stated that passing of the referendum was to ensure “a more inclusive governance structure moving forward”. At least 141 leagues were subsequently listed by USA Cricket in which clubs and leagues were eligible to align themselves as part of the expanded individual membership sign-up period ending on March 15.A successful lawsuit could potentially be beneficial to someone like Pisike. Of the 725 members, 232 (32%) were based in Georgia, which is Pisike’s home territory and was a significant factor in his re-election. Expanding that would dilute a power base.In contrast, a board member like Ajith Bhaskar of New York, might gain from expanded membership. Bhaskar, a defendant in the suit, is currently up for reelection and New York is one of several areas believed to have experienced a strong surge in new membership registrations since the referendum was approved.Separately, the lawsuit also alleges that the process to reappoint Paraag Marathe to a second term as board chairman was unconstitutional. Marathe’s first term began following the August 2018 elections, in which seven newly voted-in board members chose him from among three independent directors – Marathe, Catherine Carlson and Rohan Sajdeh – to become the inaugural chairman. Marathe’s initial two-year term on the board technically came to an end last August, but prolonged delays have resulted in another election not yet taking place.The lawsuit claims that by the constitution a new chairman may only be elected following the Annual General Meeting after a constituent election. Currently, the terms of three board members – Suraj Vishwanathan, Bhaskar and Nadia Gruny – are up for re-election. But the lawsuit claims that multiple board members, whose terms have expired in August 2020, were allowed to vote in violation of the constitution to reappoint Marathe, rather than waiting for election results in which potentially different replacements on the board may vote differently.The suit also claims that USA Cricket violated the constitution by not having the current elections and an AGM by November 30, 2020. The constitution states an AGM and elections must be held by the end of November every year. However, there was no AGM or election in 2019, instead delayed to February 2020.The question likely to arise is whether or not a legal interpretation would determine that the February 2020 elections should retroactively be regarded as the 2019 election.Regardless, Pisike and Salver are seeking an injunction to block the current election process from allowing it to continue. Instead, the suit argues that the 725 USA Cricket individual members that were in place as of November 2020 should be the ones allowed to vote and that they have since been disenfranchised by having their memberships, stripped and required to go through a fresh registration process. The suit also seeks to remove Marathe pending the results of the upcoming election.

Moghees Ahmed had his registrations as an agent suspended by the ECB in March

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2025An appeal by a prominent player agent against his five-year ban from cricket-related activity has been dismissed by an independent arbitrator, which upheld the original finding by the Cricket Regulator in March, that he had made a corrupt approach to the head coach of an English county.Moghees Ahmed, who fronts the International Cricketers Association and represents a number of prominent Pakistan players, was found to have proposed an arrangement whereby a coach would receive a share of his commission in exchange for selecting certain players he represents in franchise leagues.The coach reported the approach later that day, and after a tribunal had been satisfied that the case met the necessary criteria, he was found guilty of four charges of breaching the ECB’s anti-corruption code and had his registration to act as an agent suspended in August.He was “declared ineligible” for five years from March 26, 2025, with the first 30 months served in full and the remaining 30 suspended on condition of no further offences and the completion of an anti-corruption education programme.Ahmed told ESPNcricinfo at the time that he categorically denied all allegations made against him and rejected the decisions of the ECB tribunal. His appeal was lodged on the grounds that the Cricket Discipline Commission had reached a decision on the evidence that no reasonable tribunal could have made and had misdirected itself as a matter of law as to the interpretation of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.However, an independent arbitrator, Raj Parker, dismissed the grounds of the appeal, stating that the tribunal’s verdict had been reached “after careful examination of the evidence and an assessment of the credibility of the complainant and Mr Ahmed”.Chris Haward, the managing director of the Cricket Regulator, said: “We welcome the decision of the Sole Arbitrator dismissing the appeal and upholding the decision of the CDC.”The decision of the Arbitrator reinforces the position that the actions of Mr Ahmed can correctly be described as corrupt conduct. The Cricket Regulator will ensure that where there is corrupt conduct suspected it will be investigated and those responsible held to account.”

Add to that board dysfunction, a key injury and a few out-of-form players, and that would sum up why Pakistan struggled at the tournament

Danyal Rasool13-Nov-20232:33

Do Pakistan leave the World Cup with any positives?

Babar Azam was set, and there was a certain inevitability to the ease with which he’d brought up the 50-run partnership with his trusty team-mate Mohammad Rizwan at the other end. Pakistan’s semi-final hopes were over, but there was still a World Cup game to be won, and Pakistan’s captain would need to be there if that was to happen.Gus Atkinson, the least experienced international cricketer in England’s squad ran in and banged one in short. Adil Rashid had been stationed at short midwicket to put Babar off the pull, and yet Babar pulled anyway. His timing was nowhere near good enough, and just like that, off his 45th delivery, Babar’s World Cup campaign ended with a whimper. Pakistan’s campaign overall, too, would end equally meekly, as they succumbed by 93 runs to a side that had been beaten by all but Bangladesh and Netherlands.Babar had begun the tournament with that dismissal, falling to Netherlands’ Colin Ackermann, and Adam Zampa had laid the same trap Babar would walk headfirst into halfway through Pakistan’s campaign. Perhaps fittingly, in a tournament that has seen Pakistan repeat old mistakes, their captain would epitomise that, ending the tournament as he started it.Related

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Comparing any ICC event to the 1992 World Cup has become a cultural touchstone of Pakistani cricket, though by now, that comparison is invoked more in jest than in earnest. As Pakistan began to drop down the table after a historic four successive defeats early on in the tournament, Excel sheets and probability trees were passed around, Pakistan’s improbable path to the semis clearly delineated. It couldn’t, could it?It couldn’t indeed. Pakistan’s median age is under 21 years old; more than half the population wasn’t even born when New Zealand last missed a World Cup semifinal, let alone remembering this side’s magical run to the 1992 title. What they could remember more distinctly, however, was a tournament much more recent, much more relevant. Similarities with 1992 might be coincidental glitches, but those with 2019 aren’t quite explained as easily.

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The field was understandably up; Pakistan needed just one run to win in 11 balls. Dilshan Madushanka bowled something of a half-volley, and Rizwan only needed to lean into the drive, placing it through a gap as it raced away for four. The ball hit the rope, but the game was already over before that. Rizwan and Iftikhar had jogged across for a single, and it was one, not four, that counted in the record books – and, more importantly, in the net run rate (NRR) calculations.It may perhaps have been inconsequential, but for a side that missed out on NRR in 2019, one might have expected them to take advantage of every possible marginal in that department. Especially since New Zealand, the team who pipped them that year, had begun the World Cup by smashing England in a win that gave their own NRR an early headstart, something they’d prioritized after it became apparent victory was certain. After the final drinks break, they smashed 49 off the last 20 balls, winning with 82 balls to spare. It was the first game of the World Cup, who knew how important NRR would be? For a side that had seen it prove to be their saving grace in 2019, they were taking no chances.And in the end, it was recent rather than ancient history which would repeat itself. In a World Cup where realistically, only five teams mustered up enough of a challenge to qualify for the semi-finals, all that mattered was ensuring not to finish bottom of that little mini-group. And with India, South Africa and Australia pulling away, perhaps it wasn’t so surprising that New Zealand and Pakistan were left battling it out for fourth again. And while New Zealand had cared for their NRR like a first-born child, Pakistan treated it as their spare early on. Just like 2019, that cushion Pakistan had allowed them to build was just enough to keep Babar Azam’s side at bay.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe fallout from an early World Cup exit will never be measured or proportionate in Pakistan, particularly while the board itself finds itself in a farcical wrangle between two opposing political factions that have few ambitions for Pakistan cricket but huge ambitions for their own selves. It was evident in a statement the PCB issued while the team was at a particularly low point halfway through the campaign, effectively hanging Babar and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq to dry. At the same time, they would distance themselves from any operational calls made towards assembling the team, promising that “looking ahead, the board will make decisions in the best interest of Pakistan cricket”.But if board dysfunction could explain all on-field performances, Pakistan cricket would have no achievements to call its own. The core of this Pakistan squad is the same as the one that so narrowly missed out in 2019 – Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi – are all four years more experienced, and close to their primes. It was not unreasonable to expect that to reflect in performances, especially now that Babar is, considering how brief Pakistan captains’ stints tend to be, a fairly experienced leader.And while some things – like Fakhar’s sudden loss of form, Babar’s inability to convert his starts, Haris Rauf’s distinctly ordinary World Cup, or Naseem Shah’s injury – could arguably be put down to bad timing, the stagnation in evidence is also getting harder to deny. Imam is that rarest of things, an ODI specialist, but though his consistency of accumulation matches up to most of his contemporaries, he remains one-paced to the extreme.He has faced more deliveries with the first 10 overs’ fielding restrictions than any Pakistan batter besides Fakhar since he made his debut, and boasts a lower strike rate in that period than Abid Ali, Fakhar, Haris Sohail, Babar, Abdullah Shafique or Shan Masood. The last time he struck at over a run a ball came in March 2022. Throughout his career, he has achieved a strike rate in excess of 100 just five times in 71 innings, two of them against Zimbabwe. None of those innings came in a World Cup match, either in 2019 or 2023, and his average dropped in the last World Cup to 38, more than ten runs below his career average, and to 27 this one.ESPNcricinfo LtdShadab also may find his ODI career at a crossroads. It is possible he may never develop into an ODI spinner of the quality of Adam Zampa or Adil Rashid, but comparisons with the two previous ICC events he played illustrate how precipitous the decline has been. His showings in the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup are reasonably faithful to his overall numbers in terms of economy rate and average, but at this tournament, the average ballooned to nearly 120, and the economy rate to nearly a full run over his career average. And the eye test arguably looked worse; where his next ball would land was something of a prediction lottery, long hops and full tosses peppering the occasional balls that found lengths legspinners usually find success around.Pakistan did have the foresight to take an extra spinner and the courage to use him, but found little luck with Usama Mir either. It combined to make Pakistan the worst spin-bowling side in the tournament; only Sri Lanka took fewer spin wickets than Pakistan’s 12, and while no other side’s spinners conceded more than a run a ball, Pakistan’s combined for an economy rate of 6.20. Pakistan supporters insisted Abrar Ahmed should have been in the squad, but as Shadab pithily put it, “whoever’s not in the side becomes a great player.” Abrar might indeed have cleared the low bar of outperforming his legspin counterparts, but for a man who has played just 12 List A games, the last of which came in March 2022, this is a prediction based very much on vibes.Shaheen’s lack of early menace hasn’t helped either, though a few crossroads moments make you wonder how easily the tournament could have gone differently. David Warner being dropped by Usama early on in an innings that would ultimately overwhelm Pakistan stands out for its importance, though Pakistan’s woeful showing in the field means there is no shortage of examples to pick from. His loss of pace may have underlying fitness issues, though it is worth noting his left-arm contemporary Trent Boult, too, has generally struggled for early breakthroughs this tournament, and the window in which the ball moves around is vanishingly small at the top.Ultimately, though, if blood in the water is smelled, it is Babar who needs to be checked for scrapes and bruises. Speculation around his captaincy is only likely to become more fevered, and though he told Michael Atherton after the England defeat he wanted to lead the Pakistan rebuild, that decision may well be taken out of his hands. As the visible face of Pakistan’s disappointing time in India, he may come in for more heat than is fair, though if people were hoping he was evolving as a captain, it didn’t show at the World Cup.In-game management, and the ability to stem the tide of momentum once it shifts, remains something Babar shows little evidence of becoming sharper about, something that was on display most conspicuously in the losses to Australia and Afghanistan. As captain for more than three years, it may be the right time to give way as Pakistan rebuild for the 2025 Champions Trophy, though with few obvious uniting presences to take over from him, merely anointing someone else is unlikely to bring transformational change.For a side that was ranked atop the ODI charts just a few weeks ago, Pakistan are finding that the drop down is always quicker than the climb up top. At a World Cup they entered with such initial optimism, they will now see teams they looked down the table at contest for the prize it was all heading towards. And now, perhaps, they face their greatest challenge of all: a rebuild that is constructive rather than vindictive.

MatériaMais Notícias

da aviator aposta： O Corinthians ainda está focado na reta final do Campeonato Brasileiro para garantir sua vaga direta na fase de grupos da Copa Libertadores, mas ao mesmo tempo já começa a se planejar para a temporada 2022. No entanto, de acordo com o presidente Duilio Monteiro Alves, não será um ano de grandes contratações, nem de Dentinho, mas sim de reforçar posições carentes.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFutebol NacionalFPF define os grupos do Paulistão 2022: veja como ficou o chaveamentoFutebol Nacional09/11/2021CorinthiansRenato Augusto treina em campo, e Corinthians fecha preparação para pegar o Galo; veja provável timeCorinthians09/11/2021CorinthiansCom a volta de Roni, Corinthians divulga relacionados para enfrentar o Atlético-MG; confira a listaCorinthians09/11/2021

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> Veja classificação e simulador do Brasileirão-2021 clicando aqui

> Conheça o aplicativo de resultados do LANCE!

GALERIA
>Veja até quando vai o contrato de cada jogador do Corinthians

Em evento após o sorteio dos grupos do Paulistão de 2022, na sede da Federação Paulista de Futebol, o mandatário do Timão falou com a reportagem da TNT Sports e foi questionado sobre uma possível volta de Dentinho ao clube, após o atacante deixar o Shakhtar Donetsk, da Ucrânia. A resposta foi direta sobre o não interesse do clube, neste momento, em repatriar o atleta.

-Dentinho é um grande amigo, trabalhamos juntos de 2009 a 2011, na minha primeira passagem, quando ele ainda estava no Corinthians, mas é uma posição que a gente entende que não tem carência. A gente pretende manter e aumentar cada vez mais o espaço para os nossos garotos, que vêm subindo da base e feito grandes jogos. Então essa é a nossa ideia, são reforços pontuais, e nesse momento o Dentinho não faz parte dos planos – declarou o dirigente.

Apesar de ter sido agressivo no mercado ao trazer quatro grandes reforços neste ano, os planos serão outros para 2022. De acordo com Duilio, a prioridade será contratar jogadores que possam suprir as carências do elenco atual. Dessa forma, as contratações devem acontecer em menor número e com menos grandes nomes do que foram trazidos nesses últimos meses.

-A gente vem se preparando, fazendo um planejamento para que a gente tenha um time forte no ano que vem. Iniciamos esse ano de 2021 fazendo uma reformulação grande no time, no elenco, agora a gente pretende reforçar um pouco em posições que a gente entende ter carência, mas nada de muitos reforços, é seguir essa linha que a gente vem fazendo para que o Corinthians tenha sucesso no Campeonato Paulista e em toda a temporada.

Segundo apurou o LANCE!, Paulinho é um reforço bem encaminhado para 2022 e já tem treinado no CT Joaquim Grava, mas sua oficialização deve ocorrer no fim deste ano ou no início do próximo. As partes não têm pressa para fechar o acordo. Outro alvo da diretoria é trazer um centroavante, seria a prioridade para suprir uma carência no elenco. Um novo zagueiro também pode chegar.

ELOGIOS A SYLVINHO

Para fechar a entrevista com a reportagem da TNT Sports, Duilio Monteiro Alves avaliou o trabalho de Sylvinho no comando do Corinthians. Para o presidente, a posição alcançada na tabela pelo treinador fala por si só. Além disso, ele pediu paciência e tem certeza que isso ainda vai trazer mais frutos para o clube.

-A velocidade das cobranças no futebol brasileiro é exagerada, a gente é questionado a cada derrota com a troca do treinador e agora até em um tempo do jogo, a cada 45 minutos, então a situação só piora, mas ele vem fazendo um grande trabalho, o Corinthians está em sexto lugar, tem condições de chegar em quarto nas próximas rodadas, então a gente entende que é um trabalho bem feito – disse Duilio antes de completar:

– Como eu coloquei, a gente fez esse ano como ano de reformulação, para que o Corinthians voltasse muito forte no ano de 2022, iniciamos o ano com todos falando que o Corinthians iria brigar para não cair e hoje a gente está brigando lá em cima na tabela, então enxergo que é um bom trabalho e entendo a cobrança pelo tamanho do Corinthians, mas a gente tem que ter um pouco mais de paciência no futebol e deixar com que os profissionais trabalhem, porque o resultado não tenho dúvida que aparece – finalizou.

continua após a publicidade

Plus, Alex Carey is a secret agent, and Bazball is a doomsday cult

Alan Gardner14-Jul-2023It was the bucket hats that should have warned us. England’s players rocked up for the start of the summer looking like they had just returned from a music festival, complete with the wide-eyed intensity that comes from having spent all night sitting in a muddy field discussing the healing power of, say, crystals or Test match scoring rates of 4.50 RPO and above.Bazball is many things – including golf and living your best life – but there’s always been a hint of rock’n’roll around its iconoclastic approach. While John Lennon famously declared the Beatles bigger than Jesus, Ben Stokes’ England are coming in more like the Stone Roses shortly after the release of their eponymous debut album. “I am the resurrection,” sang Ian Brown, to which England have simply tagged on “of Test cricket” and continued shuffling around and bopping their heads to the tunes on Brendon McCullum’s boom box.Brown, of course, was most recently in the news for spouting conspiracy theories around the Covid vaccine, which tells you a bit about the dangers for those of a messianic persuasion. And after a psychedelic couple of weeks for the Ashes, some might be beginning to worry about how much of a headache the inevitable post-Baz comedown is going to be for English cricket.Related

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The near-diplomatic incident at Lord’s over Jonny Bairstow’s stumping was another moment for those charting the journey from inspirational sportsters sportsing their hearts out to doomsday cult ready to barricade themselves in for the final firefight. As Stokes and McCullum spoke to their post-match interlocutors with glassy-eyed zeal about the spirit of cricket, the logical thought was: what level of proof is this spirit and did somebody mix it into the dressing-room Kool Aid?Meanwhile, down in the Long Room, some MCC members had started behaving like they’d just got back from whatever the shoes-and-slacks equivalent of a rave is, attempting to twist the melon of any passing Australian – thereby adding to the increasing number of legitimate reasons people have for wanting to knock the old ground down and replace it with a community outreach project.Alex Carey’s role in all this should not be underestimated. Carey is like one of those CIA agents sent undercover in the 1970s to infiltrate the counterculture movement, sowing confusion and discord at every turn (including, allegedly, on trips to the barbers). Perhaps Australia’s wicketkeeper succeeded in flipping his opposite number, with Bairstow wandering blindly out of his crease as a message to the authorities that he is ready to come in. Some might argue that pretty much his entire output during the series has been a cry for help.Either way, what goes up must come down – as anyone who has accidently set fire to their tent at Glastonbury and spent the rest of the night with their head between their ankles knows. And if the Bazball Ashes reduces the English game to rubble in the process, at least it would mean not having to watch the Hundred. Now that’s a suicide pact the Light Roller could sign up to!

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Meanwhile, more signs that woke nonsense has infiltrated Australia’s cricket culture. After defeat to England in the second T20I, at The Oval last week, Australia captain Alyssa Healy shockingly revealed: “We’re allowed to lose games of cricket.” As if that wasn’t enough baggy-green blasphemy for one evening, she added: “It’s the game of cricket. You win some, you lose some.” Rumours that none of the England players were invited to prepare for “broken f***ing arms”, and that some of Healy’s team-mates don’t even drink beer, are yet to be confirmed – but a CA-commissioned review can’t be far away.

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July 5: Bangladesh lose first ODI against Afghanistan by 17 runs (DLS method).July 6: Tamim Iqbal makes tearful retirement announcement. “This is the end for me. I have given my best. I have tried my best. I am retiring from international cricket from this moment.”July 7: Tamim reverses decision after meeting with Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. “The honourable prime minister invited me to her residence this afternoon. We had a long discussion after which she instructed me to return to cricket. I am withdrawing my retirement.”July 8: Bangladesh, led by Litton Das, lose second ODI by 142 runs.
Which is certainly an elaborate way to ensure that Afghanistan’s first bilateral ODI series win over Bangladesh doesn’t go against your captaincy record, but fair play to Tamim. That, people, is what they call 4D chess.

If Major League Baseball's postseason began today the New York Yankees would be in the American League field. That's the good news for pinstripe supporters. The bad is that they have to hang on to a one-game advantage for the final Wild Card spot for several weeks and their recent play has left a lot to be desired.

The spotlight is always brighter in New York and this year Aaron Boone is taking even more criticism than usual for failing, to this point, to capitalize on the golden opportunities his roster provides to sail into the playoffs without much stress.

Chris "Mad Dog" Russo joined with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman to talk hardball this week and the conversation drifted over to Boone. Thankfully, the legendary radio host had his list of top-10 MLB managers handy and ticked through them.

"Rank Boone as a manager," Russo said. "He's not better than Cora, he's not better than Bochy, he's not better than Francona, he's not better than Dave Roberts, he's not better than Luvello, he's not better than A.J. Hinch. He's probably not better than Counsell, although postseason's been spotty. How do the Yankees have a manager who's the eighth-best manager?"

"He is barely in the top 10," Russo said of Boone. "These are the New York Yankees."

It's unclear exactly how scientific this list of managers is upon review. Being in the top-10 would still put Boone in the top third of dugout generals in the league, so there is a bright side. And despite what a lot of people would have you believe, the Yankees are not guaranteed to get the absolute best person at every position even if they have a storied history.

Russo conceded that some might have Boone higher in the rankings, yet a lot of Yankees fans would happily put him lower if they had the time and energy to make their own list.

He also added that the Yankees could have pulled the trigger on Francona, who is leading a resurgent Cincinnati Reds team this year, during the offseason.

"Did the Yankees put a call in to see if Francona — ‘Hey, Terry, we had a bad World Series, our manager killed us in Game 1.’ He killed them in Game 1 guys, that was awful. And Francona ends up in Cincinnati. Everybody loves Boone and he’s not a bad manager, but he’s been there a long time with one World Series win and, in my opinion, seven or eight managers are better than he is."

The only thing about that is Francona was hired by the Reds last year on October 7 and the Yankees played baseball up until they lost Game 5 of the World Series the day before Halloween—so it would have been a pretty wild move to replace their manager mid-playoffs.

Lionel Messi was reportedly left feeling “deceived and betrayed” by Barcelona after seeing his dreams of making an emotional return to Camp Nou as a player cruelly dashed. The Argentine superstar was forced out of Catalunya in 2021, as he headed to Paris Saint-Germain, but saw an agreement lined up two years later that would have allowed professional steps to be retraced.

• Messi reached out to Barcelona after winning 2022 World Cup

  Having seen Messi – alongside his wife Antonela and their three children – endure a tough time in France, with the South American icon struggling to settle when stepping off his career-long comfort zone, Barca explored the option of re-signing a fan favourite.

  Having left as a free agent, he dropped back into that pool when reaching the end of his contract at Parc des Princes in the summer of 2023. Messi had become a World Cup winner by that point and was on course to collect a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or.

  Shortly after capturing a global title in Qatar, Messi is reported to have reached out to close friend and former team-mate Xavi – who was Barcelona’s head coach at the time. Contact was made on January 6, 2023. A day later, the Liga giants are said to have “got to work”.

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  Messi left stunned as deal never materialised

  With Messi expressing a desire to head back to his spiritual home, the Blaugrana were confident that a deal could be lined up. Both sides of those discussions were said to be “excited” about a possible reunion. Over the course of six months, Barca were able to gain approval for Messi’s return – with the all-time great prepared to take a sizable wage cut.

  According to , the day after Barcelona won the Liga title at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, the Messi family “received a call from the highest levels” at Camp Nou. They were informed that a “transfer couldn’t be done”. That led to “total devastation” in the Messi camp, with the Argentine GOAT left “deceived and betrayed” for the second time – having previously believed that an extension could be agreed at Barca prior to his tearful departure for PSG.

• Messi return to Barcelona as a player ruled out

  Messi is said to have accepted that he “would never play for the club of his life again”. That remains the case in 2025, with the 38-year-old now on the books of MLS side Inter Miami. He has agreed fresh terms there through 2028.

  Barca president Joan Laporta has said of the club’s all-time leading scorer – who has 672 goals to his name – returning in a playing capacity: “Out of respect to Messi, all the club staff and the club members, it's not right for me to speculate on something that would not be realistic, and it's not the moment to do it.”

  Spanish journalist has reiterated that stance, posting on social media: “Leo Messi, under no circumstances is considering a return to Barcelona as a footballer. That chapter is closed. He has a long-term contract in Miami. He goes season by season. If he returns, it would be more for the offices, in the sports area. He is Barcelona's heritage and hopefully he returns someday.”

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  MLS star Messi will move back to Barcelona in retirement

  Messi has admitted as much, telling of his plans to move back to Catalunya once he has finished chasing the American dream: “I really want to go back there, we miss Barcelona a lot. My wife and I, the kids, are constantly talking about Barcelona and the idea of moving back. We have our house there, everything, so that's what we want. I'm really looking forward to going back to the stadium when it's finished because since I left for Paris, I haven't been back to Camp Nou, and then they moved to Montjuic.”

  Messi recently took in a secret visit to Camp Nou, as that iconic venue undergoes a serious redevelopment project. Even Laporta claims to have been unaware that the mercurial No.10 was back in familiar territory, with it still being suggested that a friendly or exhibition game could be lined up that allows Messi to grace the field in Barcelona one last time.

Barcelona began their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 loss to Monaco after Marc-Andre ter Stegen's horror show and Eric Garcia's early red card.

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Barcelona lose 2-1 to MonacoGarcia and Ter Stegen disappointYamal scores thunderous goalTELL ME MORE

Barcelona are almost a decade without a Champions League title and they are hoping that 2024/25 will finally be the season where they break their duck.

However, the start of their campaign did not get off to a very good start after Eric Garcia was forced to take a red card as the last man after captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen's loose ball right in front of Barcelona's box. It wasn't too long afterwards that Maghnes Akliouche opened the scoring for Monaco as the French side peppered Barcelona's goal with shots due to a man advantage.

It was Lamine Yamal yet again who managed to bring a rather dull Barcelona back into the game with a thunderous goal from outside the box.

The second half saw Monaco's dominance continue as Barcelona failed to create chances of their own and threaten Philipp Kohn.

Monaco then took the lead yet again as George Ilenikhena scored on the counter with 20 minutes left to give Monaco the win.

AdvertisementAFPTHE MVP

Adolf Hutter made the choice to play right-back Vanderson on the left for the match against Barcelona as he trusted him to contend with Yamal's threat. His choice paid off as the 23-year-old was superb all night in dealing with both Yamal and Jules Kounde, barring the 17-year-old's wonder goal in the first half. Vanderson was hardly to blame there.

AFPTHE BIG LOSER

As he has so many times before on European nights, it was ter Stegen who was the biggest issue for Barca as the German struggled through the 90 minutes. It was ter Stegen's very poor ball through the middle of the field that caused Garcia's red card before the German failed on his near post on Monaco's first goal. He was then very soft on Monaco's winner, as Ilenikhena's shot went straight through him as he dived early.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Barcelona will now look to dust off the result quickly as they will take on Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday, September 22.