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Everton are now believed to have made an approach to complete the signing of a “world class” player who knows the Premier League well but has fallen out of favour at his current club.

A host of players continue to be mentioned as options for the Blues in the summer transfer window, including Sheffield United goalkeeper Michael Cooper. The 25-year-old Englishman started all 46 of the Blades’ Championship matches last season, helping them reach the playoff final, but defeat to Sunderland at Wembley ruined their chances of promotion, and he may like the idea of heading to the top flight.

Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is another player who could want to remain in the Premier League, following his side’s relegation to the second tier, and Everton have been backed to snap him up, amid their search for more quality in the middle of the park.

Meanwhile, Millwall forward Mihailo Ivanovic is another reported target for the Merseysiders, with the Serb potentially seen as a strong replacement for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Just 20 years of age, he scored an impressive 12 goals in 23 Championship starts last term and could serve as the old fashioned number nine alongside the more elusive Thierno Barry.

Everton make approach for "world class" midfielder

According to La Gazzetta Dello Sport [via Goodison News], Everton have made an approach for Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz, seeing him as an excellent choice to bring in this summer. The Blues are said to have asked for information regarding the 27-year-old, but it is added that no offer has been tabled for him yet.

He joined Juventus for around £42m last summer but was once worth a much higher figure, with Neil Moxley even claiming “somebody’s just having a bit of a laugh” when he was quoted at £60m while thriving at Aston Villa, pointing to Declan Rice’s £105m move to Arsenal as a benchmark.

Indeed, albeit out of form and out of favour in Turin last season, Luiz is a player who has proven his worth at the highest level for many years now, having been such an influential performer for Villa, so he could be a brilliant signing for Everton.

The Brazilian has 175 appearances to his name in the Premier League, as well as 20 goals and 18 assists, with John McGinn heaping praise on his ability, describing him as “world class”, and Jermaine Pennant calling him better than Rice in the past.

“Any team would dream to have Rice, but there are better sixes in the Premier League at the moment. I would say Douglas Luiz of Aston Villa, I think he can do everything that Rice can do and better. I think he assists more, he chips in with goals more than Rice. Creativity-wise he’s better, flair is better, he can put in a tackle just like Rice, break up play just like Rice. So I think if someone said to me you can have Douglas Luiz for £60m or Declan Rice for £100m, easy every day of the week, Douglas Luiz.”

Everton now ready to pay £5m+ to sign new star with same agent as McNeil

The Toffees are ready to take advantage…

1 BySean Markus Clifford Jul 7, 2025

Luiz is still in his prime, so this wouldn’t be a case of Everton splashing out on a player who has peaked, and his box-to-box style could be a great asset for David Moyes.

Manchester United's ongoing crisis encapsulates the demise that has occurred at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

During his glittering and long-serving tenure, the Scot brought unparalleled success to the club and spearheaded their dominance, scooping 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions Leagues in his 27-year spell.

Since his departure, United haven't come close to reaching the heights that were achieved under Ferguson, as mismanagement at the top and consistently poor recruitment in the transfer window has led them on a downward spiral in the decade that followed.

In his near three-year spell at the club between December 2018 and November 2021, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became the longest-serving manager in the post-Ferguson era, demonstrating that the managerial position at Man United really has transformed into a poisoned chalice.

Although he didn't manage to win a trophy as manager, the Norwegian did enjoy a certain degree of success in the transfer window, bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo for his second spell, Edinson Cavani, Raphael Varane and perhaps their most successful signing of the past decade, Bruno Fernandes.

While those additions achieved success in their own right, the 50-year-old also brought in his fair share of players who have gone on to endure an underwhelming time at the club, including Daniel James, Odion Ighalo, Alex Telles while Jadon Sancho and Donny van de Beek were the highest profile of his failed transfers.

Van de Beek arrived in the summer of 2020 from Ajax, joining the club on a five-year deal and was a player they trusted to become a fulcrum in their midfield for several years to come.

How much did Man United sign Donny van de Beek for?

In a season that saw Amad Diallo, Facundo Pellistri and Telles join the club for a combined total of £37m, Van de Beek became their marquee signing at a cost of £35m after chalking up eight goals and six assists in the Eredivisie.

The Netherlands international, who was 23-years-old at the time, was chased by several clubs following his impressive displays in the Champions League in 2018/19, helping Ajax reach the semi-finals against Tottenham.

Real Madrid were said to be battling it out for his signature, but a deal broke down, leaving van de Beek feeling "angry" as United swooped in to land the highly-rated Dutchman.

What was the reaction when Van de Beek signed?

Lauded as the "next Paul Scholes" by United legend Edwin Van der Sar, the hype surrounding the signing of Van de Beek was unprecedented as the Dutchman was met with waves of expectation upon arrival with many believing he had the ability and football brain to thrive in the Premier League.

In full, the ex-United stopper said: "He can play in different positions in midfield – he can be a six or an eight or a 10, he has a great eye for a goal. His technique is brilliant, he can go box to box.

"I’d compare him a little bit to Scholesy, although Scholesy had a cracker of a shot from 30,40 yards out and that’s not Donny’s strength, but he likes to come into the box and chip in with goals."

Rio Ferdinand was another who enjoyed what he saw, as the former Manchester United defender waxed lyrical about the player.

Speaking in 2020, shortly after the signing was announced, he said: “He brings goals, he brings assists, he runs into the box, [he has] a good work ethic and an unbelievable brain. [As an] Ajax guy, he knows how to play good football.

“Imagine van de Beek alongside the likes of Bruno Fernandes, being fed.

"In the last three seasons, if you put him up against any of the midfielders in the Premier League, in terms of goal involvements, he's second, only to Kevin de Bruyne."

With 40 goals and 29 assists in his last three seasons at Ajax, it's clear to see why rivalling De Bruyne for goal contributions would have people salivating over the prospect of seeing him play at United, and Solskjaer echoed that sentiment, saying:

"Donny has all of the technical attributes needed to perform in this team and has the personality required to succeed at Manchester United.

“His ability to see space, time his movements and read the game will really complement the qualities that we have in midfield and his arrival really strengthens the depth of talent we have in that position."

Ultimately, having promised so much hype upon arrival, the Dutchman's career has gone on a downward spiral since joining the club and the 2019 Ballon d'Or nominee is desperate to leave after a rotten three years in Manchester.

What has gone wrong for Van de Beek at Man United?

In three years, the midfielder has only managed six Premier League starts and two goals, one on his debut and one in Solskjaer's last game in charge with a further 30 games coming from the bench.

During his time at the club, the 26-year-old has failed to impress any of his United managers which led to a loan move to Everton in January 2022, although he hoped this would be the catalyst to resurrect his career, the confidence shot midfielder failed at the Toffees too, managing just seven appearances in the league.

With his confidence on the ground, Van de Beek's last hope of rekindling his Man United career was the arrival of his former manager, Erik ten Hag, in the summer of 2022.

The Dutchman would get a few chances last season but struggled to impress, failing to score in ten outings, before suffering a knee injury in January that ended his campaign.

Any hopes of him featuring this season were quickly halted by his exclusion from their 25-man squad for the Champions League group stages while in their opening five Premier League fixtures, van de Beek hasn't even made the bench.

From becoming one of the most productive midfielders on the planet, it's a shame how the talented midfielder's career has unravelled at United but at 26-years-old, there is still time for him to resurrect his footballing powers elsewhere and showcase why he was initially branded the "next Scholes".

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery may have a problem on his hands after one of his new summer signings took to the media to deliver a fairly strong assessment of his perceived lack of game time at Villa Park, according to reports.

What's the latest news involving Aston Villa?

As per Aston Villa's official account on social media platform X, Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho has completed a season-long loan move to Qatari side Al Duhail.

The Villans are in an intriguing period and sit tenth in the Premier League table, having taken six points from a possible 12 available so far; however, they also happen to have conceded the joint-second most goals in the division, tied with Luton Town.

Journalist Dean Jones has indicated GIVEMESPORT that in the midst of Aston Villa's defensive woes, new signing Pau Torres has struggled to get to grips with life in English football so far, as he stated: "I think Pau Torres has definitely struggled a bit with the transition into the Premier League, which is really interesting because one of the reasons that a few of the bigger clubs sat off Pau Torres in the end was because there were reservations around his physicality and adaptation to the Premier League, and how long it might take."

Among others, Emiliano Martinez, Jhon Duran, Matty Cash, Boubacar Kamara and Viljami Sinisalo are all currently on international duty and all managed to help inspire their respective nations to victories during the break from club football.

What has Youri Tielemans said about Unai Emery?

Earlier in the summer, Youri Tielemans arrived at Aston Villa on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract at now-Sky Bet Championship side Leicester City.

Nevertheless, he looks to have grown disenfranchised with life in the West Midlands and has spoken about his struggles in a bizarre fashion to Belgian outlet DH, cited via Sport Witness.

The Belgium international said: “The situation is not pleasant. I told the manager that I came to Villa to play. He understands me, but at the moment, he prefers to play with the two midfielders from last season. He told me that soon, there will be a succession of games and I’ll get more playing time. I know that answer doesn’t get me anywhere, but what should I do? As soon as I get the opportunity, I want to take it. So far, I’ve started once, in the Conference League.”

Will Tielemans get opportunities to shine at Villa?

It seems likely that Tielemans will get a run in the Aston Villa side at some point; however, it does seem a little strange that he would be willing to go public with his grievances over game time this early into his career at Villa Park.

Overall, the 26-year-old has made six appearances in total for the Villans since joining, with his only start arriving in their 3-0 victory over Hibernian in the Europa Conference League, as per Transfermarkt.

Tielemans has been neat and tidy in possession across his four Premier League appearances for Aston Villa so far, maintaining a pass success rate of 92.2%, according to WhoScored.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how Emery will react to his comments and whether they will have altered his future plans for the Belgian midfielder at the club.

The discarded Australia opener scored a 218-ball 170 to put his side in control against Victoria on the first day

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2018Discarded Australian Test opener Matt Renshaw made a statement to the national selectors with a commanding 170 to put the Queensland Bulls in control on day one against Victoria at the MCG.Renshaw had endured a lean period after being dropped from the Test squad prior to the Ashes series but has found some form in the last two Shield matches.He struck 12 fours and four sixes in a fluent 218-ball innings that ended at the hands of Fawad Ahmed with more than 20 overs remaining in the day. Renshaw was well supported by Sam Heazlett during an 89-run stand. Heazlett cruised to an unbeaten 63 by the close with Jack Wildermuth racing to 42 not out.The Victoria bowlers toiled hard but only broke through four times on a surface that has yielded a lot of runs this summer.

Replacing Harry Kane will not be an easy task at Tottenham Hotspur, but the North London club are willing to break their transfer record in an attempt to do just that, according to reports.

Spurs have been left without a talisman as the Premier League season gets underway.

What's the latest Tottenham Hotspur transfer news?

So far this summer, Ange Postecoglou has welcomed six fresh faces, with James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Alejo Veliz, Manor Solomon, and Ashley Phillips all walking through the door. And, now, according to Football Insider, Spurs, and by extension chairman Daniel Levy, are ready to break their transfer record to sign an A-list replacement for Kane this summer.

Their club record currently sits at a reported £63m, which went on Tanguy Ndombele, who has since had a mixed spell, with loan moves elsewhere attempting to get his career back on track.

After welcoming a number of players, Spurs would have been ready to get themselves back into Europe in the coming season. Kane's exit to Bayern Munich appears to have somewhat halted those plans, however.

Losing their talisman has left them short in the forward department, and, such is Kane's talent, they could now suffer the consquences of departures in the summer transfer window.

As things stand, it will likely be Richarlison who takes up the striker role, with the Brazilian handed the chance to claim a crucial role in Postecoglou's first season in charge.

With time remaining in the transfer window, Spurs could yet find themselves an adequate replacement for Kane this summer. And that could come in the form of Gift Orban, who reportedly dreams of playing in the Premier League.

Ben Jacobs told Team Talk:

“Gift Orban has said that his dream is to eventually play in the Premier League.

“But at the moment, we have to bear in mind that Gift Orban is only 20 years of age and still developing, and is very happy at Gent. So he’s not desperately trying to force his way out come summer, and therefore that type of transfer barring a very healthy offer, and maybe even a Premier League club taking a risk, because he’s so early in his development, might be more one to watch in 2024."

Should Spurs sign Gift Orban?

Orban wouldn't exactly be a bad piece of business for Spurs, who need to replace Kane's output for years to come, rather than finding a short-term solution.

The KAA Gent forward scored 20 goals in just 22 appearances last season and is still just 21-years-old. Of course, at such an age, Orban may take time to settle in the Premier League, but those numbers suggest that it is more than worthwhile in the long run.

It remains to be seen whether the player is among Spurs' options, however, as they look to replace Kane before it's too late in the summer transfer window, with the transfer deadline fast approaching.

Tottenham Hotspur are "informed on the conditions" required to land an exciting forward described as being "born to score", per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.

Tottenham Hotspur news – what is the latest?

It has been a real summer of ups and downs for the Spurs faithful this year, with brilliant signings and painful departures.

On the positive side of things, the club have been able to genuinely improve elements of the first team with the signing of the ever-exciting James Maddison and the Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

The arrival of Manor Solomon, whilst not necessarily improving the first eleven, is clearly still a positive addition and should help to strengthen the squad as a whole.

Read the latest Tottenham Hotspur transfer news HERE…

However, for as good as those three are and as convincing as Ange Postecoglou has been, the exit of club talisman Harry Kane is an enormous blow to the side's attacking output, an output that the current crop of forwards do not seem equipped to replace.

With that in mind, it appears that Spurs have identified one of Europe's most exciting and prolific goalscorers as the man who could potentially come in and help the team find those 20-plus goals a season they are bound to lose in the absence of Kane, Gift Orban.

According to transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, the north Londoners have "appreciated" the youngster for some time now and are well aware of what is required to bring him to N17 this summer.

He explained the situation on his Here We Go podcast, saying:

"Orban is appreciated, Tottenham are informed on the conditions of the deal so let's see if they decide to bid. At the moment, they have not sent any bid. I saw some rumours saying it's close or something like that; no, there is no bid yet. It can't be close without a bid.

"Tottenham know the conditions of the deal, [they have] been following the player for a long time. I told you this two weeks ago on here that they like Gift Orban, but at the moment nothing else evolved yet."

How many goals has Gift Orban scored?

It has been a rapid rise to fame for the 21-year-old former Stabæk striker, with prolific form propelling him to the forefront of transfer lists across the continent.

So far, the Nigeria under-23 star has scored 44 senior club goals and provided nine assists in just 50 appearances in Belgium and Norway, which is only 37 fewer than Richarlison's 81 career goals at club level.

In his 16 league appearances for Gent last year, the "superb finisher" scored 15 goals, provided two assists, won four Man-of-the-Match awards and averaged a genuinely impressive match rating of 7.40, per WhoScored.

With a goal involvement on average every 85 minutes in senior football, it isn't hard to see why Spurs are interested in the player that football talent scout Jacek Kulig described as "born to score."

With Kane out the door and their current crop of forwards struggling in front of goal, the Lilywhites need to do what they can to secure Orban's services before he inevitably joins one of Europe's super clubs and continues to score for fun on the biggest stage.

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

• Salah showed off new hairstyle
• Star was mocked for receding hairline
• Reds hero off to AFCON with Egypt

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The forward missed a penalty in Liverpool's 4-2 win against Newcastle on Monday and was mocked by spectators about his receding hairline. The 31-year-old has since had a trim and is looking sharp as he showed off his new style on Instagram.

  Instagram/mosalah

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Despite missing the penalty against Newcastle, he struck twice and grabbed an assist. Liverpool fans, then, will be gutted to be without their star attacker as they take on Arsenal in the FA Cup third round at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Salah is Liverpool's top scorer this season with 18 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions. His 14 strikes in the Premier League makes him the second-top scorer behind Erling Haaland, but no one has been involved in more goals in the English top-flight than Salah as he also has eight assists to his name.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR SALAH?

  The attacker will soon be heading to Ivory Coast to compete in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. His team will start the competition with a match against Mozambique, followed by clashes with Ghana and Cape Verde to round off the group stage.

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.”