Plays of the day from the third ODI between West Indies and Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam25-Aug-2014The repeat offender
Mushfiqur Rahim missed a straightforward stumping chance off Abdur Razzak’s first over, the tenth of the innings, with Darren Bravo having jumped out of the crease and nowhere near within his ground. But the wicketkeeper had fluffed the ball too badly for a second go at the stumps. It was his second error in as many games, having missed Denesh Ramdin off Mahmudullah.The chaperone
Whether it was because of that missed stumping off his bowling or not, Razzak looked completely out of sorts in the rest of the game. In the 20th over, Ramdin had miscued a lofted shot off Mashrafe Mortaza. The ball looped up over Razzak at mid-on but he didn’t get under the ball, and by the time the camera panned on him, it looked as if he was merely ushering the ball.The six-hitter
There was no point in his innings that Ramdin looked uncomfortable, but there was a point when he just looked invincible to Bangladesh. He struck Mashrafe for two successive sixes in the 38th over and then off the last ball, made it three in a row with a belter down the ground. It was obviously hard to measure which of his 11 sixes was hit the hardest but this had an immediate impact on the viewer.The non-wide
Amid all the six-hitting, Sohag Gazi had a moment of bright thinking when he slipped one past Darren Bravo in the 41st over. He couldn’t even reach the ball, beyond the white mark, but the umpire did not signal wide.The catch
Having stretched his legs for four hours, Kemar Roach stretched the rest of his body in an acrobatic manner to take an outstanding one-handed catch in the second over. Imrul Kayes was the victim of his brilliance, having pulled the ball of Ravi Rampaul’s short delivery. It was hard to tell who was more stunned by that catch, Roach or Kayes.The act of charity
Towards the end of the match, Mashrafe Mortaza and Sohag Gazi were involved in a mix-up, one that could have proved fatal considering the stumps were thrown down with Mashrafe’s bat in the air. But umpire Richard Kettleborough didn’t go to the third umpire because, well, no one appealed. As Ravi Rampaul prepared to bowl the next ball and the replay shown somewhere in the ground, Chris Gayle shouted something at the umpire but it was too late.

West Bromwich Albion have stuttered in recent matches in the Championship, with zero wins picked up from their last three clashes in the challenging division.

It’s no coincidence that results have started to go astray as Josh Maja’s goal output also begins to dry up. The ex-Sunderland attacker has now fired frustrating blanks over the last two winless matches.

Carlos Corberan will hope Maja gets back to his best soon, as the Baggies boss goes about trying to breathe life back into his troops during the international break.

The Spaniard will keep his fingers crossed that the striker’s time with the club doesn’t fizzle out after these devastating displays early into the new season, in a similar fashion to Daryl Dike’s injury-prone career.

Daryl Dike's transfer to West Brom

The world was expected of Dike when he made the leap to the Baggies in 2022, linking up with former manager Valerien Ismael to potentially take the Championship by storm for his new employers.

He was even being outlandishly labelled as West Brom’s potential ‘next Romelu Lukaku’ as per US football expert Larry Henry Jr when speaking to the Express and Star at the time, who had been keeping a close eye on his progression since his MLS days at Orlando City.

The bumper £7m fee also didn’t help Dike’s case, but his promising goalscoring record with the Tykes and back in his native America suggested it was an expensive gamble that could pay off, with 18 goals managed from 35 MLS appearances on top of firing home nine goals from 22 appearances for Barnsley.

Yet, the move has never really gone to plan for the imposing 6 foot 2 striker at the Hawthorns, with more time spent in and out of the treatment room at the West Midlands club than proving his worth on the pitch with clinical displays.

He is yet to feature this campaign for Corberan’s men, after suffering this unlucky Achilles injury back in February, with his value tumbling way below his previous £7m price tag consequently.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast's 'First Impressions' series has everything you need.

Daryl Dike's transfer value in 2024

As a result of his injury-ravaged couple of seasons at West Brom to date, Dike’s value has taken a sharp fall to £1.5m – according to Football Transfers – with his minutes very infrequent for the Baggies.

Last campaign, the American attacker was only fit enough to make a meagre four appearances in the league, whilst his debut season saw him pull up with a season-ending hamstring concern only two games into his January move.

24/25

0

0

23/24

5

1

22/23

25

7

21/22

2

0

It’s been the very definition of a stop-start period of his career, when looking at the table above, with the hope that he can start bang in the goals soon for West Brom when fully back up to speed with his fitness.

His 2023/24 output did indicate that he has a similar deadliness in front of goal to that of Lukaku in his back pocket, with seven goals managed from 25 games during his best patches of games to date in Baggies strip, as the Belgian registered an impressive 17 strikes from 38 games on loan at the Hawthorns before further exploding into life elsewhere.

Of course, West Brom’s patience will be wearing very thin with their injury-prone striker, who does seem to be edging closer to being back in contention for some starts soon according to reports.

But, it will be an almighty risk to throw him straight back into the deep end, with his value in danger of decreasing even further if he isn’t back on a pitch shortly to try and resurrect his Baggies career.

Left for £10m: West Brom struck gold selling star now worth millions less

West Bromwich Albion will be glad they sold this star on when they did.

1 ByKelan Sarson Oct 8, 2024

Héctor Herrera returns to Liga MX after his contract was not renewed with the Houston Dynamo

• Héctor Herrera signed with Toluca as a free agent
• A controversy with a referee marked the end of his time in MLS
• Back in Liga MX after 11 years away

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• IMGAN
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Héctor Herrera is back in Liga MX after concluding his contract with MLS side Houston Dynamo. His departure from MLS was marked by controversy involving a referee incident, effectively closing his chapter in American soccer and forcing the midfielder to consider his future elsewhere.

  Toluca, now managed by Antonio Mohamed, identified Herrera as a key piece for their 2025 Clausura project. Reports suggest Mohamed specifically requested the former Atlético de Madrid midfielder, aiming to bolster the team's midfield with Herrera's leadership and playmaking ability.

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• THE OUTLOOK

  Herrera's position as a free agent made it easier for Toluca to negotiate directly with the player without having to pay a transfer fee.

  For Toluca, having the Pachuca youth product in their ranks represents a high-caliber addition for the upcoming tournaments, strengthening their midfield with a player of international experience and proven leadership.

• Getty
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Herrera has had a notable 11-year career in European football, where he played for top-level clubs like FC Porto in Portugal and Atlético Madrid in Spain. On FC Porto, he became one of the key figures in the midfield, eventually becoming captain and winning titles such as the Primeira Liga and the Super Cup of Portugal.

  Subsequently, he moved to Atlético Madrid, adding the La Liga championship to his achievements in the 2020-2021 season, establishing himself as a reliable player in manager Diego Simeone's rotation. His experience and successes on the old continent position him as one of the most outstanding Mexican footballers in recent history.

• WHAT'S NEXT?

  Now that Herrera is back in Liga MX, he will seek to bring trophies to and return to the Mexican National Team.

Manchester City are considering tabling a huge £83m+ offer for an “exceptional” new attacker, according to an eye-catching new transfer report.

Man City still top after Arsenal drama

Pep Guardiola’s side played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, as they just about managed to stay top of the Premier League table. Having taken the lead through a brilliant Erling Haaland goal, things unravelled for City when Rodri picked up what looked like a serious injury. Goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel turned the game on its head, but thankfully, John Stones equalised in the dying seconds after a painful second half.

It means the Cityzens top the pile by a point ahead of Liverpool and Aston Villa, as well as retaining their two-point advantage over Arsenal, with Guardiola’s men still very much the team to beat in the title race this season.

Away from the on-pitch action, players continue to be linked with moves to the Etihad, with 17-year-old Sporting CP ace Geovany Quenda reportedly being eyed up as a long-term replacement for Bernardo Silva. Meanwhile, Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo has been backed to move to City in a swap deal involving Haaland, but it would surely be a shock if the striker left any time soon.

Man City considering £83m+ bid for Musiala

According to TEAMtalk, Manchester City are weighing up making an £83m+ bid for Bayern Munich superstar Jamal Musiala, having been linked with him during the summer transfer window.

The Premier League champions are said to be “firmly in the race” to snap up the Germany international, with Real Madrid providing stern competition. It is the Blues who are described as the “most informed” team in the report, however, suggesting Txiki Begiristain stands a good chance of getting his man.

Musiala is one of the world’s most exciting young players currently, so the idea of him joining Guardiola at City is so exciting. The 21-year-old already has three goals in four appearances in the Bundesliga this season, while Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund has heaped praise on him.

“Jamal Musiala is a world-class player, an exceptional player. Jamal is a player that spectators go to the stadium for because of the way he plays. He can decide games, he’s an absolute team player. He is an exceptional player. He can become one of the best players in the world. Both FC Bayern and Germany are lucky to have him.”

Meanwhile, Ilkay Gundogan is believed to want Musiala with him at City, following his return to the club on loan from Barca, and there really are few negatives to them snapping him up.

Worse than Dias: Pep must drop 3/10 Man City star who had a "stinker"

The Cityzens defender could find himself out of the team after that performance.

1 ByDan Emery Sep 22, 2024

Assuming he avoids serious injury, there is no reason why the Bayern maestro can’t go on to have a legendary career, and he would be an upgrade on the likes of Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish on the left wing, given his status as a truly world-class footballer with years ahead of him.

Heartbroken batter wants to stay with the team and play their final Ranji Trophy league match on March 3

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Feb-2022Baroda batter Vishnu Solanki has decided to carry on playing the Ranji Trophy despite the heartbreaking loss of his father and his day-old daughter in a span of two weeks.On February 11, while in quarantine in Cuttack with the rest of Baroda squad, Solanki received the news that his wife had given birth to a girl. Being a first-time parent Solanki, 29, was ecstatic. The batter had made headlines in the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when he hit 16 runs off the final three balls of the quarter-final to stun Haryana in a photo finish. He was ready for the Ranji Trophy, which had returned after a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.However, on February 12, Solanki was woken up close to midnight by the Baroda team manager Dharmendra Arothe, who told the player that his day-old daughter had died. The next day, a distraught Solanki packed his bags and flew back home. He missed Baroda’s first match of league phase, against Bengal, which was played between February 16 and 19.Solanki returned to Cuttack on February 17 to prepare for Baroda’s second match, against Chandigarh. Having swallowed the pain of his newborn’s death, Solanki showed even greater powers of resilience by scoring an unbeaten 103 at the end of the second day of the match.”He said he had dedicated the century to his daughter,” team manager Arothe told ESPNcricinfo on February 25. Solanki did not even get to hold his little girl while she was alive.Then, on Sunday morning, Solanki was once again struck by tragedy. Around 8.40am, Arothe received a call that said the player’s father had died. With the match, in its final day, starting at 8.45am, Arothe relayed the information initially to Baroda captain Kedar Devdhar via Ninad Rathwa, the 12th man. Rathwa, who is a good friend of Solanki, then told him the news and watched him leave the field. According to Arothe, Solanki’s dad, who was 75, was ailing for a while and in hospital for about two months.Chandigarh and Baroda wore black arm bands on Sunday. The match referee Amit Pathak also gave Solanki permission to use the phone in the dressing room to talk with his family. “He saw the funeral of his dad virtually from the dressing room,” Arothe said. Both teams along with the match officials also observed two minutes’ silence in the memory of two family members Solanki had lost.The Baroda Cricket Association has promised him all the help he might need, including flying him back home, but Solanki informed the team management he wants to stay and play their last league game of the season, against Hyderabad, starting on March 3.Former Mumbai captain and current BCA chief Shishir Hattangadi paid tribute to Solanki, tweeting, “A story of a cricketer who lost his new born daughter a few days ago. He attends the funeral and gets back to represent his team to get a hundred. His name may not make social media ‘likes’, but for me #vishnoosolanki is a real life hero. An inspiration!”

يشهد اليوم الخميس، الموافق 1-5-2025، إقامة عدد من المباريات ضمن منافسات الدوري المصري والسعودي، وكذلك بطولتي الدوري الأوروبي ودوري المؤتمر، وكذلك بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا للشباب.

ويلتقي الزمالك أمام المصري في إطار لقاءات الجولة الثالثة من المرحلة النهائية للدوري الممتاز.

الزمالك يدخل اللقاء وهو في المركز الثالث بجدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 38 نقطة، جمعها من 11 انتصارًا و5 تعادلات، مقابل 3 هزائم.

على الجانب الأخر، يتواجد المصري بالمركز الرابع في جدول الدوري، ولديه 34 نقطة، بعدما حقق 9 انتصارات و7 تعادلات، وتلقى 3 هزائم فقط.

طالع | تشكيل الزمالك المتوقع أمام المصري في الدوري

كما تلعب 3 مواجهات قوية في الدوري السعودي مساء اليوم في افتتاح منافسات الجولة الـ30 من عمر المسابقة.

كما تٌلعب مباريات ذهاب نصف نهائي بطولة الدوري الأوروبي والتي تشهد إقامة مواجهتين وهما لقاء مانشستر يونايتد أمام أتليتك بلباو، وتوتنهام ضد بودو/ جليمت.

ويأمل توتنهام في تحقيق لقب بالموسم الجاري، ويُعتبر الدوري الأوروبي فرصة مثالية لإنقاذ موسمه بعد أداء مخيب في الدوري الإنجليزي.

في المقابل يواصل بودو/جليمت مفاجآته في البطولة، بعد تخطيه عقبة فريق لاتسيو، ويطمح للوصول إلى النهائي لأول مرة في تاريخه.

يخوض أتلتيك بيلباو هذه المواجهة بمعنويات عالية، خاصةً وأن النهائي سيُقام على ملعبه “سان ماميس” في 21 مايو، مما يمنحه دافعًا إضافيًا للتأهل.

أما مانشستر يونايتد، فيسعى لتعويض موسمه المحلي المتعثر بتحقيق إنجاز أوروبي، مستفيدًا من عودة لاعبيه المصابين مثل أماد ديالو وماتياس دي ليخت. ​

وعلى مستوى بطولة دوري المؤتمر الأوروبي، تقام 4 مواجهات كذلك في إياب ربع النهائي للمسابقة، وفي الصدارة مباراة تشيلسي أمام ليجا وارسو.

ويخوض نادي ديورغاردن السويدي أول نصف نهائي أوروبي في تاريخه، بعد فوزه المفاجئ على رابيد فيينا بنتيجة 4-1 خارج أرضه، ولديه أمل في تحقيق مفاجأة أمام تشيلسي، الذي يُعتبر المرشح الأبرز للفوز بالبطولة. ​

من جانبه، يسعى تشيلسي بقيادة المدرب إنزو ماريسكا لتحقيق أول لقب له في هذه المسابقة.

ويواجه فيورنتينا تحديًا جديدًا أمام ريال بيتيس الإسباني، في ظل سعى الفريق الإيطالي للاستفادة من خبرته الأوروبية، بينما ريال بيتيس لتحقيق إنجاز تاريخي بالوصول إلى النهائي.​

وفي سياق متصل، تتواصل لقاءات الجولة الثانية من مرحلة المجموعات لبطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا تحت 20 عامًا.

وتستضيف مصر بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا للشباب، خلال الفترة من 27 أبريل وحتى 18 مايو 2025. مواعيد مباريات اليوم الخميس 1-5-2025 والقنوات الناقلةمواعيد مباريات الدوري المصري اليوم

سيراميكا كليوباترا ضد البنك الأهلي، وتنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 5 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتذاع على قناة اون سبورت1.

الزمالك أمام المصري، وتنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 8 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتذاع على قناة اون سبورت1. مواعيد مباريات الدوري السعودي اليوم

الأخدود أمام الوحدة، وتنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 7 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع على SSC Extra 2 HD.

الرياض ضد العروبة، وتنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 7 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع على SSC Extra 1HD.

الشباب أمام الفتح، وتنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 9 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع على SSC Extra 1HD. مواعيد مباريات الدوري الإنجليزي اليوم

نوتينجهام أمام برينتفورد، وتنطلق المباراة في الساعة 09:30 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “beIN Sports HD 5”. مواعيد مباريات الدوري الأوروبي اليوم

مانشستر يونايتد أمام أتليتك بلباو، وتنطلق المباراة في الساعة 10 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “beIN Sports HD 1”.

توتنهام ضد بودو/جليمت، وتنطلق المباراة في الساعة 10 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “beIN Sports HD 2”. مواعيد مباريات الدوري المؤتمر الأوروبي اليوم

ريال بيتيس أمام فيورنتينا، وتنطلق المباراة في الساعة 10 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “beIN Sports HD 3”.

تشيلسي ضد يورجوردين، وتنطلق المباراة في الساعة 10 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “beIN Sports HD 4”. مواعيد مباريات كأس أمم إفريقيا للشباب اليوم

نيجيريا أمام تونس، وتنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 6 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “beIN Sports HD”.

المغرب ضد كينيا، وتنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 9 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “6 beIN Sports HD”.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنــــا

da heads bet： Leeds United fans would have been reasonably pleased with the summer business in through the door, as the Whites did leave it late in the transfer window, but have snapped up some potentially quality new additions.

da leao： Largie Ramazani is now off the mark for his new employers after costing £10m to get into the building from Almeria, with his goal last time out setting the Whites on their way to a confident 2-0 win over Cardiff City, whilst the likes of Manor Solomon, Ao Tanaka and Isaac Schmidt have also looked equally exciting when they have featured.

Away from these signings that managed to just about get over the line, Leeds have also been cursed many a time by deals going awry at the last minute, with the West Yorkshire giants once in the running to sign a top-class striker in the same year in which they ended up doing the dreaded Jean-Kevin Augustin deal…

Augustin's time with Leeds

Leeds must have wished they hadn’t bothered pursuing Augustin when all was said and done, with the French striker proving himself to be a hassle more than a plus for his side.

Joining initially on loan in January 2020, with an obligation to snap him up on a permanent deal for £18m if promotion was secured, the ex-RB Leipzig man ended up just looking largely out of his depth lining up for Marcelo Bielsa’s men, after so much hype had greeted his signing.

In the end, the 27-year-old flop would only make three first-team appearances in total during his brief but damaging stint in England, with zero goals picked up.

Augustin would just return to Leipzig after the initial loan move expired, therefore, despite Leeds stating that they would sign him permanently, as the German club then ended up ordering the Whites to cough up £24m last year after that alleged breach of contract.

Leeds never got to see these skills on display from Augustin at Elland Road, having also had to endure the frustration of missing out on what would have been a centre-forward upgrade later in 2020.

The man Leeds missed out on

Amazingly, Ollie Watkins could well have joined Leeds over Aston Villa during the summer after Augustin had joined on loan, having revealed this fact during a tell-all interview with Sky Sports in 2021:

“There were quite a few [interested],” he revealed. “Leeds were interested in me, but they signed Rodrigo.”

As Watkins stated, Leeds instead plumped for Rodrigo on a £26m deal that summer to bolster their centre-forward ranks, while Watkins moved on to Villa Park for £33m and has never looked back, with an England call-up even coming his way off the back of his outstanding goalscoring exploits in the Premier League.

Aston Villa’s top scorer in the PL – last 4 seasons

Player

Season

Games

Goals

Watkins

23/24

37

19

Watkins

22/23

37

15

Watkins

21/22

35

11

Watkins

20/21

37

14

Sourced by Transfermarkt

The £54m star – as per his transfer valuation on Transfermarkt – is now Villa’s top scorer in the Premier League four seasons on the trot, having amassed a mightily impressive 73 goals from 175 games for Unai Emery’s men to date, with three strikes already registered from six games in all competitions this campaign too.

One that got away

The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.

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Watkins was even a hero for his nation during the recent Euros tournament this summer, with this beautiful finish right at the death sending England through at the expense of the Netherlands in a finely poised semi-final match-up.

In another reality, Leeds could well have played a part in the “spectacular” – as he was labelled by football journalist Ryan Adsett this year – ace’s rise to stardom.

But, the pull of Villa, with Dean Smith as manager who took the 26-year-old under his wing at Brentford, swayed the move in that direction.

Ultimately, the Whites messed up, with the Augustin saga leaving a real sour taste in the mouth, even more so now with the development that Watkins could have been signed in the same year as that shambolic move.

Leeds will just pray they have learnt from their errors, with the signings of Ramazani and others this summer hopefully success stories, over going down as costly flops as well.

Related Sold for £7m: Leeds played a blinder with star who's now worth just £800k

The Whites seemingly cashed in on the centre-forward at the perfect time.

Posts 2 ByDan Emery Sep 26, 2024

Senior figures from UK Sport, FA and Manchester City also invited to give input

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2022

Andrew Strauss says that England’s ambition is to become the “best in the world at all formats of the men’s game within the next five years”, after announcing a panel of experts for the ECB’s high-performance review that includes Sir Dave Brailsford, the former head of the British Cycling team that topped the medal tables at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.Writing in a blog post on the ECB’s website, Strauss reiterated his intention to be “bold” in assessing the failings that have left England’s Test team with one victory in 17 matches since March 2021, and with their lowest ICC ranking since 1995. His aim, he added, is to have solid proposals for the game to vote on by September, in order for the restructuring to begin in time for the 2023 season.”Over the past 42 years, England’s Men have been the number one ranked Test team in the world for a total of 12 months, and 50-over number one for 64 months,” Strauss wrote. “In T20 cricket, we have held the top spot for 748 days since the inception of those rankings in 2011.”At the moment, we aren’t top in any format. So we want to set an ambitious and clear goal – to become the best in the world at all formats of the men’s game within the next five years.”It’s extremely ambitious because we’ve never done it before. But why can’t it be achievable? What’s stopping us – and what else could help us get there? That’s what I want our high-performance review to consider.”From within cricket, the ECB’s panel includes Rob Key, England men’s director of cricket, and Durham’s Marcus North, alongside Daryl Mitchell from the PCA and Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director.From outside the game, Strauss has also secured the expert input of Kate Baker, director of performance at UK Sport; Simon Timson, Manchester City’s performance director; Dan Ashworth, the former FA director of elite development, and Penny Hughes, the ex-chair of Aston Martin.However, Brailsford – who is currently the director of the professional cycling team Ineos Grenadiers – is arguably the most prominent name on the panel. Strauss has long been an admirer of his “marginal gains” philosophy, and adopted many of those principles on England’s victorious Ashes tour of 2010-11.Brailsford’s reputation within cycling was recently tarnished, however, when his ex-colleague, Dr Richard Freeman – the former doctor at British Cycling and Team Sky – was found by a medical tribunal to have ordered testosterone “knowing or believing” it was to be used to improve the performance of one of the team’s riders.”I wanted to find experts in high performance whatever that field, some who’ve been in the spotlight, others who’ve been in the background generating high-performance programmes or systems,” Strauss added. “Some with cricket knowledge and expertise, others from a wider sporting background. People with different experiences, who have undergone different journeys, but all of whom we can learn from. And people who are all keen to help cricket.”Strauss added that views would also be sought from cricket’s supporters, and that the whole process would have oversight from a group of first-class county chairs. The remit of the review will not, however, take in the international schedule, nor will it tackle the specifics of the domestic calendar until the remodelled structures have been put in place.”I read a lot of speculation about the domestic competition structure. Of course, this is an important part of the picture, but it’s not the only part,” Strauss added. “The review is designed to look at the high-performance system in its entirely, including the England men’s pathway and our high performance set-up.”And let’s be clear – we have no pre-built solution. At this stage the project is only just starting. There are no hidden agendas. I wouldn’t be bothering to carry out a review if I was already sitting here with specific proposals for change.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table currently, having experienced a nightmare opening six clashes.

The Old Gold weren’t exactly handed a kind fixture list though, with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all ticked off in quick succession early on, leaving Gary O’Neil’s men still searching for their first victory of the campaign.

O’Neil won’t be completely distraught when it comes to his side’s slow start, however, as there have been some notable bright sparks at Molineux this season, away from the doom and gloom of the West Midlands outfit being rock bottom.

Top performers for Wolves this season

Unfortunately for Wolves though, when it rains it pours, as one of their top early season performers in Yerson Mosquera is now sidelined for the rest of the season, owing to a serious knee injury picked up versus Aston Villa.

Before that untimely development, Mosquera was excelling in the centre-back spots at Molineux, with his display at Villa Park – prior to his injury – sticking out, as the exciting Colombian defender registered six clearances on top of only misplacing two of his 50 passes.

Now, Wolves will have to play the long game over their unlucky number 14, but will hope the likes of Joao Gomes can also perform in games to come to help lift the Old Gold off the foot of the league.

The 23-year-old struggled against Liverpool last match – with just one meagre duel won from eight attempted – but he has shown grit this season in other clashes having won five tackles against Newcastle United last month.

Amazingly, however, despite both players being consistently picked week in week out by O’Neil – before Mosquera’s injury – they both earn less combined than reserve goalkeeper Jose Sa.

Sa has found his minutes to be irregular in the Wolves first-team recently, with Sam Johnstone now preferred in-between the sticks as the number one ‘keeper, over the Portuguese shot-stopper.

Jose Sa's wage at Wolves

Currently, despite not featuring for his side since they were humiliated 6-2 by Chelsea on their own patch, Sa rakes in £40k-per-week, as he now grows accustomed to warming the substitutes bench at Molineux.

On the contrary, both Mosquera and Gomes earn less combined at £8k-per-week and £30k-per-week respectively, despite both players making 11 Premier League appearances in total this season next to Sa’s paltry two.

Stat

Johnstone

Minutes played

90

Saves

4

Successful run outs

1/1

High claims

2

Touches

51

Accurate passes

26/34 (76%)

Away from Sa, who did leak those dire six goals against Enzo Maresca’s Blues, Johnstone was a valiant performer versus Liverpool as his side fell to a slim 2-1 defeat, with the former Villa ‘keeper making four saves in total to deny the likes of Mohammed Salah and Luis Diaz for the visitors.

Also confident on the ball with 26 accurate passes registered, with Sa only making 17 in that disastrous 6-2 loss, Johnstone is likely to be the main shot-stopper O’Neil goes with long-term, over the now reserve ‘keeper.

Costing the Old Gold a hefty £6.85m back in 2021 too, the former Porto man could be moved on soon with Sa arguably too costly to have on the roster as a mere back-up.

Wolves will hope they can turn their season around shortly, away from who is the preferred option in goal, with Brentford away their next fixture that hopefully starts their October off on a better footing.

Got Vallejo instead: Wolves wanted to sign £57m star who then won PL POTY

The Old Gold were reportedly interested in signing the central defender in 2019.

ByDan Emery Sep 30, 2024

Janneman Malan and Keegan Petersen are the new faces in CSA’s list of contracted men’s players for the 2022-23 season. The two from last year’s list to miss out are left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks and wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen.Malan and Petersen have been rewarded for making excellent starts to their South Africa careers in white- and red-ball cricket respectively. Malan has been outstanding at the top of the order in ODIs since his debut in February 2019, scoring 759 runs in 13 innings at an average of 69.00, with three hundreds and a best of 177 not out against Ireland. Those run-scoring feats also won him the ICC’s award for Emergin Men’s Cricketer of the Year for 2021.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Petersen, meanwhile, was Player of the Series in South Africa’s 2-1 comeback win over India at home earlier this year, contributing 276 runs at 46.00 and scoring three fifties in six innings in consistently difficult batting conditions. In the process, he caught the eye of numerous observers including AB de Villiers, who took to Twitter to enthuse about the “composure, skill and technique” Petersen had shown “against one of the best attacks in the world.”In five Tests so far, Petersen has scored 320 runs at an average of 35.55.”It has been an exceptional season for the white-ball team that has not lost a series under the leadership of Temba Bavuma,” CSA’s newly appointed CEO Pholetsi Moseki said. “One of the biggest upcoming highlights for us is the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia and we are looking forward to supporting Temba and his men as they look to make history later this year.”The Test team has grown and shown significant improvement under the strong leadership of Dean Elgar. This season will see the Proteas play even more Test cricket, which is vital for the growth of the players, the format in our country, as well as the accumulation of points towards the ICC World Test Championship.”We at CSA are big advocates of rewarding excellence and I am pleased to be the first to congratulate Janneman Malan and Keegan Petersen on their newly awarded contracts.”The contracts for South Africa’s women’s players will be announced after the conclusion of the ongoing ODI World Cup in New Zealand.