Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has shaken off the mockery about his hairline as the Egyptian sensation sported a brand new haircut.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
A major chunk of that figure will have been spent on bringing the World XI team to Lahore. It is thought the players are being paid in the region of $100,000 each, and the rest is made up mostly by the logistic costs involved
Osman Samiuddin in Lahore12-Sep-2017The PCB will end up spending anywhere between US$ 2.5-3 million for the staging of the three-match T20I series against World XI, as it bids to build on unprecedented international goodwill and bring more cricket back to Pakistan.A major chunk of that figure will have been spent on bringing the World XI team to Lahore. Nobody has spoken publicly about how much the players are being paid but it is thought to be in the region of $100,000 each. The rest is made up mostly by the logistic costs involved.The PCB will not, at least, have to pay for the entire costs of the security apparatus for the series. Two international security consultants – Reg Dickason and Nicholls Steyn and Associates – have been engaged, with the $1.1 million cost picked up by the ICC. That is a result of efforts by the PCB over the last year to seek some kind of assistance from the game’s governing body from their projected loss of revenues from the absence of international cricket at home.Although the total spend on the series may appear hefty for a board that hasn’t hosted an India series in well over a decade and has hosted one international series at home since 2009, the PCB’s financial health appears to be better than has been often thought.The board has made a profit every year since 2011 and has, in fact, tripled it in the three years to June 2016 – for the year 2015-16, according to its annual report, the PCB made a profit of $14.5 million dollars.That is one reason a member of the board’s governing body said he would be happy even if they manage to just break even over the course of this week. Since this series was not part of Pakistan’s original FTP schedule, it does not come under the five-year broadcast deal they signed with Ten Sports in 2013, thought to be around $150 million.Instead, the PCB has crafted the same deal they did for the PSL, whereby they buy airtime in bulk and sell advertising space, taking a majority share of the revenues that generates.Ordinarily, the rest of their revenues would come from various series-specific commercial deals and ticket sales. But the talk around Lahore over the last few days has been of disappointing ticket sales, a result of a pricing policy that has not quite worked out. Hours before the game, the PCB chairman Najam Sethi took to Twitter calling on fans to not wait to see how the series develops and instead buy tickets now. Ten overs into the first game on Tuesday evening, the 25,000-capacity Gaddafi Stadium was nearly but not entirely full.What they end up making, the investment, as the board member pointed out, is a longer-term one. If this series goes off without incident, it paves the way for Sri Lanka to play a solitary T20 in Lahore on October 29 and, potentially, West Indies to visit for a three-match series of T20s in November.With more games of the PSL due to be played in Pakistan next season, this period becomes a critical one in determining the future extent of international cricket in Pakistan.
A new era is officially underway at Chelsea. Mauricio Pochettino has begun his seemingly insurmountable mission to try and get the Blues back to their best.
As well as new management, the Chelsea squad has also undergone an extraordinary level of change, particularly in midfield.
The departures of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount have all been completed, whilst it has also been confirmed that former loanee Denis Zakaria will not be retained by the club.
Meanwhile, the deal for the coveted Moises Caicedo is shaping up to be an extremely complicated deal as Brighton is poised to demand over £100m for the Ecuadorian's services.
Nevertheless, as this new Chelsea ownership has demonstrated on numerous occasions, they will not be bogged down by one target and have set their sights on multiple other players.
One youngster who has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge is Matheus Franca.
What’s the latest on Matheus Franca to Chelsea?
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have scheduled a new round of talks for the 19-year-old as Flamengo are demanding at least €25m (£21m).
The reputable journalist had [previously expanded on the matter in a YouTube video and said: “We can confirm that Chelsea have an interest in Matheus Franca, one of the best talents in Brazil, born in 2004. Newcastle had a bid rejected for €15m (£13m) plus add-ons, it was in January. Bayer Leverkusen and also many other clubs have always been following him, but now Chelsea are entering the race.
"Chelsea will have a direct contact club to club this week, so Chelsea will speak to Flamengo in the next days and they will try to reach an agreement. Flamengo want around €25m (£21m), Chelsea will offer something around €20m (£17m). The add-ons structure could be important and so keep an eye on Matheus Franca who is keen on the move to Chelsea."
Who is Matheus Franca?
The teen has emerged as one of Brazil’s most exciting and promising players. The buzzing prodigy has scored nine goals in 53 appearances for his current club and has represented his homeland at U16, U17, and U20 levels.
He particularly excelled for the Flamengo youth ranks in 2021, recording 29 goal involvements in 30 outings.
Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig has eulogised over his limitless potential, describing Franca as someone who can “play almost everywhere” and one of the most “exciting teenagers in Brazil.”
If a move to the West London outfit materialises, Franca could link up with his compatriot Andrey Santos, who has begun pre-season training with Pochettino, who will assess if he’s ready for regular first-team action.
The midfielder emphatically rose to worldwide prominence when he played a starring role for Brazil, as he captained the U20s to an undefeated South American Championship, having netted a joint-tournament high of six goals in the process.
South American Football expert Tim Vickery has labelled the titan as a “strong, box-to-box midfielder” and there must be a future vision to have him sitting behind the wondrously nimble attacking threat of Franca.
The president of the USA Cricket Association claimed that the ICC’s main motivation behind the expulsion was to tap into the financial potential of the USA market
Peter Della Penna25-Jun-2017USA Cricket Association president Gladstone Dainty has urged USACA and its members to “continue to fight” after the organisation was expelled by the ICC on Thursday as the Associate member governing body in America.”USACA is disappointed by the vote of the ICC membership to expel USACA but not surprised,” Dainty told ESPNcricinfo via email. “The ICC has spent years trying to find a basis to expel USACA and replace it with an organisation the ICC controls.”USACA had made a desperate final plea last Monday by sending a letter to the ICC’s member boards asking them to vote no in the resolution that had been tabled for USACA’s expulsion. Both in that letter and in Dainty’s statement to ESPNcricinfo, the organisation says the ICC’s initial claims of “financial irregularities”, which were a contributing factor to USACA’s suspension in 2015, “were false”. According to Dainty, even though USACA acquiesced to some of the demands made by the ICC regarding the shape of a new constitution, he says USACA should have had the autonomy to make its own final decision rather than bow to the ICC.”The ICC tolerates no dissent,” Dainty said. “They made it clear that if USACA did not do as the ICC wanted and adopt a new constitution exactly as written by the ICC, USACA would be expelled. This week the ICC made good on that threat, with the backing of an arbitration process governed by rules the ICC wrote and an arbitrator it picked and paid for.”Dainty also claimed the ICC’s main motivation for chucking USACA out was to exploit the financial potential in the USA. However, Dainty says that rather than USA benefiting, it is only the outside entrepreneurs who are doing so.”The US cricket community is diverse and noisy – two things the ICC does not understand and cannot tolerate,” Dainty wrote. “The ICC is spending $2.4 million this year to set up a new national governing body – that is 8 times the annual budget the ICC previously allotted for USACA. What are the ICC’s motives all of a sudden to throw so much money at the US? The only purpose of this money is to buy loyalty, to stifle dissent and to ensure that the ICC staff – few of whom look like, or even come from, the US cricket community – remain firmly in charge of US cricket.”The USA is the largest untapped market for cricket in the world. The ICC wants to make sure that the ICC and its powerful Full Member nations control and profit from that community – at the expense of those of us who are actually here.”USACA had previously threatened to take the ICC to court in the event of expulsion. Although Dainty did not explicitly state that those plans will be followed through, he hinted that USACA will not give up just yet.”USACA will continue to fight for the US cricket community and its diversity,” Dainty wrote. “We urge all members of the US cricket community to do the same – to insist that those who lead US cricket going forward reflect our diverse community and are committed to US cricket – and not the ICC and its allies.”
West Indies’ limited-overs stars could be back in the ODI team if the WICB considers a proposal to revisit the eligibility criterion for selection
ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2017
Dwayne Bravo hasn’t played ODIs since October 2014•WICB Media/Brooks LaTouche Photography Ltd
West Indies could have their limited-overs stars in the fray for national selection, particularly for the 50-over format, after Courtney Browne, the chairman of selectors, hinted at the possibility of the WICB revisiting the eligibility criterion.Currently, the WICB has followed a stringent policy of considering only those players who have featured in the domestic 50-over competition, one that goes back to 2010, under the regime of Julian Hunte and Ernest Hilaire.The current criterion has ruled out a bunch of senior players including Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. None of them were part of West Indies’ most recent series against Pakistan, which they lost 2-1, falling further behind in their race to be among the top eight teams in the ICC rankings and so qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup. But if this change in selection policy is cleared, West Indies could significantly boost their chances of fielding a full-strength team leading up to the showpiece event.”There is some discussion going on about revisiting the eligibility rule,” Browne told , a Barbados-based network. “I know it’s with a working committee. That will then go to the board. But we have to understand our domestic cricket is key.”Players coming out of domestic cricket and showing they can perform at the international level is important. Yes, we have to look at it [the eligibility rule] but also be mindful that we have to develop our own domestic product, a stage where we can have a very good standard of regional cricket.”However, Browne also made it clear he would rather not have a situation where young players who have come through the regional system are ignored. Vishaul Singh and Shimron Hetmyer, who captained West Indies to the Under-19 World Cup title last year, are two examples he cited while explaining the need to maintain continuity. The pair gave modest returns – 159 runs in 12 innings between them – having played their first three Tests over the last couple of months.”We have a lot of young developing players, they’re all bunched together in terms of number of Tests, that’s par for the course. When you have a bunch of people you’re exposing to international cricket, you will tend to get these sorts of performances. But the good thing about it is, you have the coaching team and you have to give them some time to develop players.”There’s no regret [in giving them opportunities]. They came through the system, we understand they’re young players and need time to develop. When you’re looking at development process, it’s going to be a slow process. We’re not going to find a sensation overnight.”Browne was pleased with the enthusiasm of the new recruits. “They’ve shown the fans here’s a bunch of young people who are showing fight. It has shown the players too that with determination and passion like that, you can be competitive.”Bravo had recently said he was available for T20 selection but would not give up his contracts around the world to play domestic cricket in the West Indies because playing in those tournaments did not guarantee selection. He had also said things could change if “structure changes or something different happens”.
The offspinner believes India’s spin-friendly wickets mean that Australia’s batsmen stand no chance during their four-match Test series against India later this month
ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2017Harbhajan Singh said Australia don’t stand a chance in the four-match Test series against India, especially if spin-friendly pitches are laid out. He also felt Australia’s inexperienced batsmen lacked the quality of their predecessors like Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist.”If Australia play well, India will win 3-0. That is Australia play well. Otherwise, 4-0,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by the . “I don’t think the wickets [in India] are going to be that easy for them. If the ball starts spinning from the first ball, I don’t think they will survive for long.”Players like [Matthew] Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting, [Damien] Martyn, [Michael] Clarke were all top-class batters. This team – apart from [David] Warner and [Steve] Smith – I don’t think they will be able to play the game they play in Australian conditions, here in India. It is going to be a tough series for them.”Australia’s spin attack is led by Nathan Lyon, who has 228 Test wickets, but the rest of the group – Steve O’Keefe (four Tests), Ashton Agar (two) and uncapped legspinner Mitchell Swepson – are thin on experience. While R Ashwin felt Australia’s spinners couldn’t be taken lightly, Harbhajan said they would find it difficult to bowl the right speeds on Indian pitches.”I don’t think they have the quality to do so. It is different bowling here and bowling there [Australia],” he added. “The speed [off the pitch] is different – they will have to adjust to that.”You don’t get that in Australia but here you get a lot of help, so from the first ball you need to bowl that correct speed. Not many spinners have done [that] in India for the last 15 years. Only [Monty] Panesar and [Graeme] Swann did it but nobody else.”Upon Australia’s arrival, Smith had said he would let individuals decide if they wanted to engage in verbal jousting with India on the field.”If they want to sledge, then they better be prepared for a lot of stuff from this Indian side,” he said. “This Indian team is not going to sit back and listen. All I can say is good luck to Australia if they want to play that way.”Harbhajan, who last played a Test in 2015, is India’s most successful offspinner. With 95 wickets from 18 Tests, including a breakout series in 2001 where he claimed 32 wickets to engineer India’s historic triumph, he was for a long time Australia’s bête noire.
In his first innings since July 2016, AB de Villiers helped himself to an unbeaten 134 off 103 for Northerns in the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge
ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2017In his first innings since July 2016, AB de Villiers helped himself to an unbeaten 134 off 103 for Northerns in the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge. The knock comes as he prepares for a likely South Africa return in the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Cape Town.At the end of a week where de Villiers’ plans for his international future have been a major topic, he was finally able to return to run-scoring after overcoming the elbow injury he picked up at last year’s CPL.Even taking into account the lower standard of his comeback match, it was a notable return for de Villiers given his lack of cricket. Batting at No. 3, he was given the maximum chance for a lengthy innings when opener Jonathan Vandiar was lbw first ball of Northerns’ chase.De Villiers proceeded to reach a century off 87 deliveries – his second fifty needing 37 balls – and finished the match with consecutive sixes. In total he struck 19 fours and three sixes in just over two hours in the middle.The final T20I against Sri Lanka had been earmarked for de Villiers’ return ahead of the one-day series and the limited-overs leg of the New Zealand tour. He has already made himself unavailable for Test cricket for most of 2017, suggesting a comeback will come at home against India late in the year should that series be confirmed.Morne Morkel, who has been out of action as long as de Villiers with a back injury, was also due to play in the game but doubt was cast on his availability when he showed some symptoms of the same issue last week. Morkel did not play the match and there is continued uncertainty over when he will make his return.
Mashrafe Mortaza has said Bangladesh’s upcoming tour of New Zealand offers a tough challenge for the team which has mostly played at home in recent years
Mohammad Isam10-Dec-2016
AFP
Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh’s limited-overs captain, has said their upcoming tour of New Zealand offers a tough challenge for his side because they have played mostly at home in the last two years. That better-ranked teams have often struggled in New Zealand, Mashrafe said, meant that Bangladesh were likely to find it hard as well.”In the last couple of years, we played mostly at home and won many of those matches too,” Mashrafe said. “We have been successful, now it’s a different challenge to play outside home. It’s a challenge even for established teams to do well in New Zealand. So from that aspect, it is a bigger challenge for us. The New Zealand weather is different from other areas, but we can take the momentum. We can take good memories, which will give us confidence.”Several players from Bangladesh’s preliminary squad will leave Dhaka on Saturday for Sydney, where they will have a ten-day training camp before heading for their first tour of New Zealand in nearly seven years.Mashrafe said the camp, during which they are scheduled to play T20s against BBL sides, will be helpful, similar to their 15-day stay ahead of the 2015 World Cup, and camps in Chittagong and Khulna before the 2016 Asia Cup and World T20.”It will be good for us to work in Australia. We will live like a family. We will discuss all the problems. This makes it easier to work.”For example, we did a 15-day camp before the 2015 World Cup in Australia, which helped us a lot though we lost the four practice matches,” he said. “Before the World T20s, we trained in Khulna and Chittagong, and that helped us in the first round.”Mehedi Maruf has been added to the preliminary squad. After Maruf had initially done well in the BPL, BCB president Nazmul Hassan had publicly asked the selectors to include him and Shahriar Nafees in the squad.Bangladesh will play three ODIs, three T20s and two Tests in New Zealand from December 26 to January 24.
Tottenham Hotspur are back in Premier League action today, as they travel to face Leeds United in a clash that could have huge repercussions at both ends of the table.
Whilst Ryan Mason will be seeking to ensure his side's presence in the Europa Conference League for next year, the best possible finish he could secure for whoever the new manager might be, instead Sam Allardyce is seeking to demolish the Lilywhites in order to secure survival. Even then they would remain reliant on Everton dropping points, making the day a dismal-looking one for the Yorkshire outfit.
Many of the travelling fans will likely welcome the end of this abysmal campaign, which has seen three different managers grace their dugout and many of the playing staff reveal their true colours.
It is clear to many that this is a squad far from capable of leading the club into a brighter future, and for Daniel Levy, this summer represents a time to thin out those far from the requisite level to return them that level.
As such, this clash could even mark a farewell game for some, with Ben Davies being one who should be shown the exit door.
Will Ben Davies leave Tottenham Hotspur?
Pundit Jamie O'Hara summed it up perfectly when he noted that the Welshman was part of a back three that was "not good enough" for the club only in March.
However, with few other viable options within the squad, today might have to be his last start.
The 30-year-old moved to north London back in 2014 as one of Mauricio Pochettino's first signings, and has since gone on to feature 310 times for the Lilywhites, marking him out as a mainstay throughout his period at the club.
However, as has been the case with many this term, under the scrutiny this season has commanded, the former Swansea City full-back has wilted.
A 6.81 average rating is indicative of his consistently underwhelming displays, with only one of his last five league games surpassing a 6.7 rating. Such figures are only maintained when delving deeper into his statistics for the year, as an 83% pass accuracy alongside 0.6 interceptions and 0.8 tackles per game are hardly stunning for someone often deployed at centre-back, via Sofascore.
Although it was some time ago now, the £80k-per-week dud was even branded "embarrassing" by pundit Noel Whelan for one particularly poor passing display, with the aforementioned accuracy from this campaign suggesting that little has changed since then. He remains the average asset he has always been, never offering anything outstanding, but seldom letting the side down.
It is no surprise that such mediocrity has seen his future already questioned, with Levy reportedly open to offers for the defender. As part of a revolutionary summer, this kind of dead weight must be binned and improved upon, thus making today what should be his final game in a Spurs shirt.
Mitchell Johnson is set to play BBL cricket for the first time after signing with the Perth Scorchers for the 2016-17 season
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2016Mitchell Johnson is set to play BBL cricket for the first time after signing with the Perth Scorchers for the 2016-17 season. Johnson, 34, announced his retirement from international cricket during last summer and has only played in the IPL since then, but the lure of staying involved via the BBL was appealing.”I was never going anywhere else and always wanted to stay here and be part of the community,” Johnson said. “To be able to play for the Perth Scorchers, where I live and where I’m based, is perfect for me.”It’s exciting to be able to play Twenty20 cricket. A lot of the boys have told me about the Big Bash and how good it’s become, not only from a spectators’ point of view but also from a player’s point of view. It’s really good to play and it’s only getting bigger and bigger.”Johnson’s signing comes after the Scorchers lost a key drawcard with spinner Brad Hogg defecting to the Melbourne Renegades. Johnson said he would enjoy working with the Scorchers’ talented group of young fast bowlers, including fellow left-armers Joel Paris and Jason Behrendorff.”I’ll hopefully be able to guide these young guys in the right direction,” Johnson said. “I want be a mentor and bowl alongside these guys. I want to be involved in the coaching side of things which has become a bit more of a focus for me. I also want to enjoy it and have some fun.”