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Heading towards the end of what could yet turn into another season with no silverware, Arsenal have already reportedly set their sights on summer targets and are now willing to table an opening offer to sign a La Liga ace.

Arsenal's alarming form after Bournemouth defeat

Arsenal’s Premier League title ambitions may be officially over, but that doesn’t mean that their chase is over in the battle to secure their Champions League place. Mikel Arteta’s side simply wipe their title tears and go again in the Premier League if they are to avoid the ultimate disaster.

Sat second – three points above Manchester City and four above a Newcastle United side who have a game in hand – there’s still every chance that the Gunners drop to fourth in the coming weeks. It’s also worth noting that, should Nottingham Forest defeat Crystal Palace, Arsenal will only be four points in front of sixth place and dropping out of the Champions League places.

Defeat against Bournemouth was the fourth time that Arteta’s side failed to win in the Premier League in their last five games and alarm bells should finally be ringing over their need to swiftly secure European football and end a season full of frustration.

Arteta had his say after Bournemouth came from behind to shock Arsenal at the Emirates, telling reporters: “We started and we did the most difficult one to score the goal. I think after that we had four or five very open situations to score the second one.

“We didn’t kill it and after that, on top of that, you defend the box really poorly, the way we’ve done it in the two set-pieces that we have conceded again. So they’re going to punish you and a team like Bournemouth, they’re going to punish you. And after that the game becomes rushed, very chaotic.

“That’s why they want big spaces. They have more legs than us, especially with sets and plays that were struggling in the final minutes. And we weren’t able to get the result that we wanted, so we’re very disappointed.”

Arsenal willing to table bid to sign Garcia

Already looking to put this season behind them, those in North London have seemingly set their sights on a new shot-stopper. According to reports in Spain, Arsenal are now willing to table an offer worth €30m (£25m) to sign Joan Garcia this summer.

In what would be one of Andrea Berta’s first acts as sporting director, the Gunners could finally get their man a year on from reportedly agreeing personal terms to secure his arrival from Espanyol before a deal collapsed.

At 24 years old, the Spaniard is likely to arrive as a backup for David Raya before one day replacing the 29-year-old Arsenal goalkeeper. Potentially fending off competition from Bournemouth, the North London giants could kick their summer off with the arrival of Garcia.

One of the few takeaways from Sunday’s drab derby was the stark reminder that Manchester United skipper, Bruno Fernandes, is a class above his teammates, with the Portuguese playmaker having again been one of the few bright sparks for Ruben Amorim’s side.

The 30-year-old was at the heart of everything that was good about the hosts at Old Trafford, be it while operating as a number ten or in a deep-lying role, having won eight duels, registered three key passes and recorded a solid 93% pass accuracy rate, as per Sofascore.

Having been the subject of an “offer” last summer – as the midfielder himself admitted – rumours are again rife over the former Sporting CP star’s future, amid claims that Real Madrid are keen on securing a £90m deal ahead of next season.

That would be a sizeable fee considering Fernandes’ age, but can his importance to the Red Devils really be valued at ‘just’ £90m? Is the man who boasts 32 goals and assists this season not arguably ‘priceless’?

Whatever happens in the future, the £300k-per-week talisman has established himself as a rare transfer success story over the last decade or so. The hope will be that such heroics can be replicated with another statement addition this time around.

Latest on Man Utd's transfer search

Fernandes’ impact has, it must be said, been simply transformational ever since his £46m switch back in January 2020, with the all-action star possessing the character and quality to cement himself as a leading presence at the Theatre of Dreams.

Perhaps such a deal could be repeated this summer with the addition of a ready-made Premier League signing – something that has been few and far between at the club in recent years – with the now injury-prone Mason Mount one of the few to have been directly plucked from within the top flight for a fee.

As reported by talkSPORT, that could be set to change amid United’s apparent interest in Wolverhampton Wanderers star, Matheus Cunha, with the report claiming that Amorim’s side have joined Arsenal in the race for his signature.

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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The suggestion is that the Brazilian’s agent is set to fly into England soon for ‘face-to-face talks’ with interested parties, with the Red Devils said to have already made initial contact regarding a potential move.

As the piece also notes, the 25-year-old has a £62.5m release clause in his current contract which could be activated, with it looking increasingly likely that he will depart Molinuex this summer.

Man Utd's biggest deal since Fernandes

As alluded to above, the Old Trafford side have rarely been able to prise the very best that the Premier League has to offer in recent years, instead opting to scour the Dutch market, in particular, during Erik ten Hag’s time in charge.

Since the INEOS regime got underway, the only notable signings from within the top-flight have been that of Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven from Arsenal, albeit with the teenage duo still largely prospects for the future.

Forking out for Cunha – who is the same age as Fernandes was when he made the switch from Sporting – could represent the club’s biggest deal in years as such, with the £60k-per-week menace proving himself to be a “world-class” asset of late, as per journalist George Lakin.

1 goal

1 assist

93 touches

86% pass accuracy

1 key pass

1 big chance created

14 total duels won

20x possession lost

5 fouls won

4/6 successful dribbles

That quality was particularly on show when Amorim’s side met Wolves in the Premier League back in December, with Cunha notably netting directly from a corner to open the scoring, before teeing up Hwang Hee-chan late on to help seal the win for the hosts.

Described as a “special player” by manager Vitor Pereira following that 2-0 win, the former Atletico Madrid man showcased the full array of his talents with his relentless, dominant display in that victory, emulating Fernandes in looking like a real talisman for his side.

Like Fernandes too, Cunha is also invaluably versatile due to his ability to feature as a number ten, a striker or even on the flanks, seemingly making him perfectly suited to one of the attacking roles in Amorim’s 3-4-3.

Indeed, the in-demand marksman has been in red-hot form this season for the Old Gold, having registered 13 goals and four assists in his 26 league outings, with no United player having even reached double figures for goals in the top-flight.

Like Fernandes – who was actually sent off in that meeting with Pereira’s side – Cunha does have a tendency to see red, amid his recent four-game suspension, although that passion and full-blooded approach could help to provide a spark to what is currently a lifeless attacking unit at Old Trafford.

Amorim’s ranks are crying out for another Fernandes-like figure who can grab the game by the scruff of the neck and create something out of nothing, with Cunha – who memorably scored a stunner at Anfield from range – seemingly possessing such traits.

With United’s latest outing marking the 12th time they have failed to score in the league this season, something surely has to change this summer.

INEOS can hit gold by selling Man Utd star who's earned over £55m in wages

Ruben Amorim is hoping to overhaul Manchester United’s struggling squad.

ByAngus Sinclair Apr 8, 2025

The likes of Kallis and de Villiers conquered the world in 2012, and all signs suggest the current team, too, is at the very least heading in the right direction

Firdose Moonda30-Nov-20242:56

Takeaways: Coetzee’s injury a real concern for SA

The first job is done. South Africa won the opening match of their four-Test summer in such commanding fashion that it not only suggests some of the ghosts of 2019, when they lost to Sri Lanka at the same venues this series is being played at, are buried; but also that real progression has been made in the last year.Take the simple comparison of their batting numbers. Between the Boxing Day Test of 2019 and the Boxing Day Test of 2023, South Africa played 25 Tests and had eight hundreds between them. Between last year’s Boxing Day Test and the completed Durban Test against Sri Lanka, they have played nine Tests and have nine hundreds in the batting line-up. Eight of those nine hundreds have been scored by different players. A difference as stark as that can be played by a combination of factors, including players gaining experience and confidence and them finding consistency. For Test coach Shukri Conrad the real reason is resilience where runs aren’t coming.”When the conditions are tough, we needed to be better. We can’t just roll over and fold like a pack of cards, like we’ve had the habit of doing,” he said at the post-match press conference. “We saw it in Guyana when it went around around corners there, we were found wanting to a large degree. If it wasn’t for Piedtie (Dane Piedt) and Nandre (Burger’s tenth-wicket partnership of 63) partnership, who knows what that result could have been. For me, the growth is when the conditions are really tough, we’re eliminating whatever potential risks there are and summing up those conditions better and doing the tough graft a lot better.”Related

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The opposite was evidenced in Durban. In muddy weather, with the ball moving around, South Africa were reduced to 117 for 7 in the 35 over after being put in to bat. They could have been 130 all out, and under serious pressure. Instead, South Africa made 191, thanks to Temba Bavuma’s 70 and small but vital contributions from the lower order, and still had enough time to bowl in helpful conditions.Bavuma’s first-innings score will slip into the footnotes of his career, especially after he went to score a second-innings hundred, but it was the one of the performances that had the biggest say on the final outcome. It was quintessential Bavuma with very few flashy shots (apart from that ramp off Lahiru Kumara which is an image Bavuma should frame) and oodles of patience. It was not recognised as the player of the match performance, and Bavuma did not receive the award at all after Marco Jansen took the best figures by a fast bowler in Durban, but he did put a personal best in number and sentiment. He had not crossed fifty twice in the same match before this one, and he has never had such a decisive say in a crucial win.”I thought this was his best Test match that he’s played, given what’s gone before,” Conrad said. “He’s come off a long layoff, and the way he’s battled through stuff, that really epitomises Temba. He was exceptional in this Test match. That 70 went a long way to give us something respectable to build to. Temba was super special this Test.”But he wasn’t the only one. Conrad lavished praise on the injured Wiaan Mulder for “suggesting that he walk in early because he still wants to contribute” on the second day and showing “mental and physical toughness I want to build this team around.” And he showered Tristan Stubbs with superlatives after his second Test hundred in two matches. “He celebrated his hundred the way he celebrates when any bowler takes a wicket as well,” Conrad said, referring to the signature Stubbs’ leap. “And that makes him so special. He just loves playing cricket. He loves playing for South Africa. He’s the heartbeat of this team.”Shukri Conrad on Tristan Stubbs: “He just loves playing cricket. He loves playing for South Africa”•AFP/Getty ImagesThe words being used to describe this South African team are very different to the vocabulary of eras gone by when being tough was a defining characteristic. Before the Test, Bavuma was asked about being “decent,” and said both the players and the coaching staff see that as a quality they were with pride. Afterwards, Conrad called them “an authentic group,” where “nothing is artificial,” and explained their bond beyond the boundary.”We continually encourage guys to be themselves, both on and off the field,” he said. “Winning obviously helps. Let’s not undervalue that. But they’re just a great bunch of guys that get on with it. Just you do you and be you, and we’ll make this whole thing work.”If that sounds more like relationship advice rather than team building, you may be glad to hear there was only a little more. Conrad described Stubbs as a “guy that you want your daughter to bring home,” but then quickly went back to cricket-speak. The coach is under no illusions that sporting success is not judged on the cute and cuddly, but is cut-throat. “At the end of the day, we get judged on cricket results and performances, not the type of characters we are.””We continually encourage guys to be themselves, both on and off the field,” he said. “Winning obviously helps. Let’s not undervalue that. But they’re just a great bunch of guys that get on with it. Just you do you and be you, and we’ll make this whole thing work.”So far, under Conrad, so good. The understrength team in the New Zealand series aside, South Africa have not lost a series under him and though the sample size is small at just four it is a sign that something is working. South Africa are no longer a team of superstars. Apart from Kagiso Rabada, they don’t have any record holders or names that could appear in all-time XIs, and they don’t seem to mind.When Bavuma name-dropped comparisons between AB de Villiers and Stubbs (“He kind of reminds me a little bit of batting with AB, who was always intense, always reminding you what your plans are, making sure that you’re in tune with what you’re doing”) and Jacques Kallis and Mulder (“I’m not saying he’s Jacques Kallis, but I think he has the characteristics. He’s got the skill to be able to emulate a little bit of what Jacques did.”) it sounded more like he was making the point that eras change and things move on than an attempt to equate some of his younger players with the legends they look up to.That team, the de Villiers-Kallis (and Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel) team became No.1 in the world in 2012. This team is trying to do the same thing. They have to win three more matches, with significant injury concerns in the bowling attack, to give themselves a chance. Whatever happens, one thing is clear: they are moving in the right direction.

The Afghanistan spin ace had a bad day, but his team-mates Josh Little and Noor Ahmad covered for him beautifully

Sreshth Shah29-Apr-20232:33

Moody: Little is getting better and better with experience

On most days, Rashid Khan’s performance mirrors the performance of the team he represents. But this time it didn’t. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, he conceded 54 runs in his four overs – 23 in his first spell and 31 in his second. And still ended up on the winning side. There were two reasons for this, and their names are Noor Ahmad and Josh Little.Knight Riders will be hard pressed to explain how it all happened. Rahmanullah Gurbaz had got on top of Rashid early. He was in the form of his life, actually charging towards a hundred. But the problem was, nobody stuck around to help him, and in the end, after being put in to bat, they could only muster up 179 for 7.Titans were thrilled, and once again they had unheralded talents working incredibly well together. Noor and Little bowled eight overs for 46 runs and four wickets. That combined economy rate of 5.75 and the quality of the Knight Riders batters they dismissed effectively bailed Rashid out, and despite his off day, gave Titans the upper hand at the end of their bowling innings. It was an advantage they held on to right till they hit the winning runs 90 minutes later.It started off with Little frustrating Gurbaz by getting length balls to go across the right-hander. While Gurbaz was timing the other Titans bowlers beautifully, he struggled against the Irish left-arm seamer who did well to mix his cutters and stock deliveries. Little gave away only ten runs in his first two overs, and by the time he came onto bowl his third, he had frustrated the Knight Riders batters enough that they began taking a few risks. A couple of them didn’t come off – Venkatesh Iyer lbw attempting the scoop and Nitish Rana finding the fielder at point – and suddenly he had two wickets in four balls.Even though Little conceded 12 in his final over later on, his match haul of 2 for 25 earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.”I just spoke to Hardik [Pandya] before we played and just talked about keeping it as simple as possible on this pitch, just bowling hard lengths,” Little said after the game. “Just smashing it back of a length and let the ball do the talking.”Noor Ahmad goes up in celebration•AFP/Getty ImagesNoor was having an even better day because everyone, including Gurbaz, struggled for fluency against him. He got length balls to fizz across right-handers’ bodies after pitching on leg stump, and teased left-handers with deliveries that tested both edges.One such delivery even picked off Rinku Singh, but the moment of the innings was when Noor ended Gurbaz’s blitz on 81, caught in the deep by a sliding Rashid in what was an all-Afghan affair. Gurbaz was on his knees, having thrown away a great opportunity to continue hitting, while Noor ran across to Rashid to celebrate.”Noor and Rashid have a very good rapport,” Vijay Shankar told reporters after the game. “They communicate very well in their own language.”Rashid had an off day but Rashid was still communicating with Noor today. And Noor was doing it for the team. The communication that Rashid and Noor had actually helped Noor come out and do well on this type of surface. The best thing about our team is that even last game Abhinav [Manohar] came in and batted brilliantly. That’s the biggest plus point we have. Everyone is stepping up when the game is in a difficult situation. Noor and Little did exactly what the team needed.”Shankar’s own 24-ball unbeaten 51 showed that the pitch offered enough rewards for those willing to play good shots. The rest of the Titans batters – plus Gurbaz and Andre Russell for Knight Riders – showed evidence of that too. But when Iyer, Rana and Rinku faced Little and Noor, they struggled. Even Gurbaz struggled when Little and Noor operated, even though his overall strike rate was 207.”I felt Noor and Little… they bowled really good lengths,” Shankar said. “In any format, especially T20s, good length is a good option. That’s why they call it a good length. It was just an off day for Rash. He has been the No. 1 bowler for whichever team he has played for. This is a great learning for us, to know what lengths to bowl on this kind of pitch. It was good to see someone else – Noor and Little today – step up.”Last season when Titans won the IPL title, eight different squad members picked up Player-of-the-Match awards. This season, in six wins, they have five different award winners already, with three of them bowlers. And when Titans cruise to victory with Rashid having one of his worst days, it only spells trouble for the teams they are up against next.”I feel that’s the biggest strength we have,” Shankar said. “We have five-six regular bowlers who are doing it again and again. If someone is going for runs, there is another guy coming in and getting you wickets. In most games, we are taking at least six wickets. That has been our strength.”It is just about finding ways to come out good in every situation. The amount of practice we do is a lot. We actually do it for hours and hours. We find ways to come out good in difficult situations.”

Given the challenges 2020 has thrown at everyone, it is refreshing just to talk about cricket again

Daniel Brettig16-Dec-2020At the end of a year blighted by Covid-19, Australia and India find themselves facing off at the same venue where they began their previous bout in 2018 – in the august surrounds of Adelaide Oval.The reassuring sight of the old scoreboard and the Moreton Bay figs at the northern end of the ground provide a sense of continuity intrinsic to Test match cricket, and will be a striking background for the teams of Tim Paine and Virat Kohli in the first ever day/night Test for the Indian side away from home.Yet there will be so much more to cherish about the meeting of two of cricket’s most powerful nations than just about any other time they have crossed paths since beginning a pattern of almost constant contact 20 years ago. Not least the fact that the series is happening at all.Without disregarding the enormously influential financial forces that have driven India and Australia to play no fewer than 12 Test series against each other since 1999 – the same number of encounters as Australia have had Ashes series against England over the same period – all participants and spectators will have had moments this year when they were not entirely sure the series would happen.In the hard months of March, April and May, where the world was almost entirely without sport, there was plenty of time to ponder that grim possibility, and more recently the issues at hand were largely to do with obstacles to staging the series even as so much goodwill existed between Cricket Australia and the BCCI to make it happen. In a year when its leaders have faced pitched battles with state associations, state governments and rights-holding broadcasters, CA has been grateful that India’s administrators and players never raised significant hassles about the tour.Instead, the hurdles for CA’s interim chief executive Nick Hockley and chairman Earl Eddings were largely to do with finding a port of entry for the charter plane carrying the touring team. From initial plans to land in Perth, the blueprint was shifted to Adelaide and then Brisbane before finally being scooped by Sydney, Canberra, the New South Wales government and the SCG Trust. Anxiety levels were never higher than during a lengthy and ultimately fruitless negotiation with the Queensland government.Even after the Indians arrived, there was a chance the series would be turned on its head by a Covid outbreak in Adelaide. For a long time, Adelaide Oval had been slated to host at least one and possible two Tests, given the extended lockdown faced by Melbourne for most of the year that kept a cloud over Boxing Day until as late as October.Related

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But the outbreak that forced a hard if brief lockdown in South Australia had contingencies flipping to start the Test series with a day/night Test at the MCG and then go on to play a more traditional game from December 26 onwards. All these permutations were at the forefront of the mind of Adelaide Oval’s curator Damian Hough, who has reckoned with rock concerts and football fixture turnarounds in the past, but this year has prepared a Test match strip with a Christmas pageant rather than Sheffield Shield games as a lead-in.”One thing we have learned with Covid is to be more in the present,” Hough said. “We like to plan months in advance. We still had plans but had to live in the moment a little bit more,” he said. “[A U2 concert last year] was a much bigger challenge than what we’re going through this year. I never thought I’d see a Christmas pageant at the Adelaide Oval, so it’s just a unique year.”We’re fortunate to be able to give Australia centre-wicket [training] on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so that was our only preparation, and it seemed to go really well, the feedback was positive. We have got the recipe that seems to work … we’re just sticking to the game plan.”More than anything else, those centre-wicket sessions loom as a priceless competitive advantage for the members of the Australian squad who arrived earlier than those who played for Australia A against the Indians on a different surface at the SCG, something Paine had little hesitation in asserting.There is something refreshing about tactical discussions on the eve of a Test series, rather than those of Covid protocols•Mark Evans/Stringer”We’ve been really lucky to come to Adelaide early,” he said. “We trained three nights in a row on the centre wicket at Adelaide Oval, which I think is going to be a huge advantage for our team. It’s the hardest thing about the pink-ball Test; you normally get it once a year. Sometimes with a Shield game, this time without one. So you’re learning pretty much on the job, in real time, when you walk out to the middle.”To try to adjust to conditions that are just so foreign to us – with the lights on and a pink ball. So it is foreign. But we’ve managed to get three nights on the centre wicket at the Adelaide Oval, which has been terrific for our group – batters and bowlers – to get a sense of what it is like again. Re-jog your memory from last year – it’s going to be a huge advantage for us come tomorrow.”Kohli’s adjustment, having not even played in the SCG warm-up game, will be as critical as any other factor to the outcome in Adelaide. It will be heightened, too, by the fact that this is Kohli’s only Test match for the series, making it still more of a one-off event before Ajinkya Rahane takes over as captain for the remaining three games.With artillery such as Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, the Australians have enjoyed considerable success in dismissing Kohli early in each of the past two series. Get through that phase, though, and Kohli has proven he can hurt even this most vaunted of attacks.”Everyone’s got great plans of getting all the best players out don’t they, but that’s why they are the best, they can adapt, they can change with what you’re doing, and Virat is certainly one of the best players if not the best player in the world,” Paine said. “There’s going to be a time in this, well actually there’s only one Test so hopefully it doesn’t, but when you play against players as good as Virat, at times they do get away from you, that’s just the game.”But certainly we’ve got plans in place that have worked ok against him in the past; hopefully they work early enough this week, but if not, yeah, we’ve got a couple of different plans. the great thing with our attack is they’re all different, we’ve also got Nathan Lyon and now you throw in Greeny, we’ve got some different angles, some different speeds and obviously Nathan’s spin as well as Marnus, so we’ve got lots of different options to throw at him if he was to get in and set.”There is something refreshing about tactical discussions and plans on the eve of a Test series, rather than those of Covid protocols, border restrictions and the financial shocks of the year to date. Paine, who appreciates his Test career more than most after coming within a phone call or two of retiring from cricket altogether in 2017, had no notion of “bubble fatigue” at this point in time, when asked whether such considerations might shorten what is left of his time at the summit of the game.”Absolutely not. I’m loving it to be honest,” Paine said. “I don’t think this hub has been as strict as maybe the IPL or the one in England. I’m getting a great night’s sleep; my kids are both at home – which is good in one way but I certainly miss them. But I’m sleeping better here and feel fresher here than I did at home, so hub life might actually make me play longer if anything.”You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. If there has at times in recent years been a touch of fatigue about the frequency of meetings between India and Australia, the events of 2020 have ensured this latest chapter will be as vivid as any sporting contest can be when so many around the world remain cooped up by a pandemic.

أعلن الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم، فيفا، عن قرار جديد يخص بطولة كأس العالم نسخة 2026، والتي ستُقام الصيف المقبل في كل من الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، كندا والمكسيك.

وتستضيف الدول الثلاثة المذكورة نهائيات كأس العالم في الفترة بين 11 يونيو و19 يوليو 2026، حيث أجرى فيفا مراسم القرعة يوم الجمعة الماضي.

وذكرت شبكة “nbcnews” الأميركية أن الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم أعلن أنه سيُدرج فترة راحة، لمدة 3 دقائق، في شوطي كل مباراة في كأس العالم، وليس فقط في اللقاءات التي تُقام في الطقس الحار.

وأوضحت أن الحكم سيوقف المباراة بعد 22 دقيقة من بداية كل شوط حتى يتسنى للاعبين فرصة التقاط الأنفاس وشرب المياه، بغض النظر عن درجة الحرارة أو الدولة المضيفة، أو ما إذا كان الملعب مزودًا بسقف ومكيف هواء أم لا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تقارير: فيفا قد يورط مصر وإيران في كأس العالم بقرار صادم

وأشارت إلى أن ذلك القرار قد يُلاقي استحسانًا لدى هيئات البث، لأنه يُسهل من عملية التنبؤ بجدول المباريات، وتم اتخاذ ذلك القرار من جانب فيفا عندما حضر مانولو زوبيريا، كبير مسؤولي البطولات في الهيئة الحاكمة لكأس العالم 2026، اجتماعًا مع هيئات البث.

وأفادت بأن الحكام قد يتمتعون ببعض المرونة في حال توقف اللعب قبل الدقيقة 22 بقليل بسبب حالات الإصابة.

ويأتي هذا التغيير بعد أن أثرت الحرارة والرطوبة على اللاعبين خلال بعض مباريات كأس العالم للأندية الأخير في الولايات المتحدة، حيث عانى اللاعبون من مختلف الفرق، من تأثير الطقس بشكل سلبي.

The symbolism was striking. During India’s main training session ahead of the first ODI against Australia, Virat Kohli was having a typically intense hit with Rohit Sharma to his left in the next net at Optus Stadium.Shortly after, India’s last two Test and ODI skippers were joined in the nets by their successor Shubman Gill, who started preparation ahead of his ODI captaincy debut as a new era begins.Having set such a commanding tone launching his Test captaincy against England, where he finished as the highest run-scorer with 754 runs at an average of 75.40, Gill has suddenly become the face of Indian cricket.Although his predecessors, especially Kohli, still hog most of the attention publicly as gleaned by a strong Perth media presence and smattering of fans around Optus Stadium following their every move.Related

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• Green ruled out of ODI series against India with side soreness, Labuschagne called up

• Kohli finds rhythm, Rohit shakes off the rust in India's first training session

It could be viewed as an awkward balancing act amid a transition for this India team after Kohli and Rohit dominated the leadership over the past decade, a particularly fruitful period across formats.But their presence will undoubtedly deflect some spotlight off Gill, who can ease into the role with the support of his sage team-mates as India make their first steps towards the 2027 World Cup.”This is a great experience for Shubman too. Rohit are here and Shubman is doing the captaincy. It will help in Shubman’s growth as a captain. It’s good if young and experienced play together.”While typically steely in the nets, Kohli has been notably jovial during the first couple of days of the Australian white-ball tour.After his 40-minute net session on Friday, Kohli clearly enjoyed himself bantering with several team-mates leading to much laughter all around. India’s training sessions have had a relaxed vibe around them, perhaps a sign of things to come in this new era.But much focus of this three-match ODI series will be on the performances of Rohit and Kohli, almost certainly their farewell on Australian soil, at the top of the order.Shubman Gill won his first Test series at home as captain•BCCI

“If you look at their form, the way the two of them have prepared – they trained at the BCCI Centre of Excellence and also played practice games – I think they are ready performance-wise,” Axar said.”They look in good touch in the training sessions. And if you talk about their physical fitness, of course everyone has passed their fitness tests, I think they are ready to go.”The series is a chance for Gill, 26, to start moulding a XI in a bid to put his stamp on the ODI team. Axar, 31, looms as an intriguing player, whose versatility makes him so appealing in the shorter formats.Having been picked ahead of Ravindra Jadeja for this tour, there will be pressure on Axar who is set to bat at No.5 and will be India’s leading allrounder with Hardik Pandya on the sidelines due to injury.”I am very confident about this series,” Axar, who last played in Australia during the 2022 T20 World Cup, said. “In the Asia Cup, I did well with bat and ball. I am ready for the challenge.”If you look at my growth – I came here in 2015 for the first time during the World Cup – I have been with the Indian team regularly in recent years.”I know what I have to do. The team relies on me now – ‘it’s Axar, he can get us the results’. If you perform continuously, you get the confidence too.”I am more confident now and I know and I can do my bit to win games for my team.”

The batter, who averages nearly 70 in first-class cricket, has been picked in the Zimbabwe squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2025

Antum Naqvi has a triple-century to his name in first-class cricket•Zimbabwe Cricket

Batter Antum Naqvi is in line for a Zimbabwe debut in their upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan after being named in their 16-man squad. Fast bowler Tinotenda Maposa, who has played 14 white-ball internationals for Zimbabwe, is another potential debutant.Left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava and allrounder Brad Evans, both of whom were not part of Zimbabwe’s most recent Test series against New Zealand in July-August earlier this year, returned to the squad. Evans, 28, has played a solitary Test so far, which came in February 2023.Of Indian and Pakistani descent, Naqvi was born in Brussels, Belgium and moved to Australia when he was four, where he earned a commercial airline pilot’s license. He put his aviation career on hold, as per BBC Sport, to pursue cricket. He has recently qualified to represent Zimbabwe, according to a statement from Zimbabwe Cricket.Related

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Naqvi is one of the brightest emerging talents in Zimbabwe, boasting an average of over 60 in both first-class and List A cricket. In January 2024, he became the the first player from a Zimbabwean team to hit a triple-century at any level of representative cricket. Overall, he has racked up 1626 runs in 26 first-class innings at an average of 67.75 and strike rate of 72.65.In his most recent first-class fixture, he scored 68 and 108, his sixth hundred in the format, for Zimbabwe A against MCC in Harare last week.Sean Williams, Trevor Gwandu, Newman Nyamhuri, Clive Madande and Vincent Masekesa all were left out from the previous Test squad. It is understood that Williams missed out due to personal reasons.Craig Ervine will captain the team, with Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Blessing Muzarabani lending more experience to the team.Harare will host the one-off Test against Afghanistan from October 20 to 24. This will be Zimbabwe’s first international assignment since they secured qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.Zimbabwe squadCraig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Tanaka Chivanga, Ben Curran, Brad Evans, Roy Kaia, Tanunurwa Makoni, Wellington Masakadza, Tinotenda Maposa, Blessing Muzarabani, Antum Naqvi, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Brendan Taylor, Nick Welch

After their batters got only around 20 overs of crease-time across their first two games against UAE and Pakistan, India batted first for the first time in the Asia Cup and posted 188 for 8 against Oman. All their batters got a hit in the middle except their captain Suryakumar Yadav, who did not come out to bat despite India losing eight wickets. Though Oman made a creditable impression with both ball and bat, they could not overcome India’s might and depth.Abhishek Sharma did Abhishek Sharma things, clattering 38 off 15 balls. He was the only India batter with a strike rate of over 200 on an Abu Dhabi pitch that offered grip and turn. Sanju Samson, who slotted in at No.3, was less fluent, but moved to a 41-ball fifty. Cameos from Tilak Varma (29 off 18), Axar Patel (26 off 13), and Harshit Rana (13* off 8) then pushed India up towards 190.India had rested their bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and newly minted No.1 T20I bowler Varun Chakravarthy, but Kuldeep Yadav befuddled Oman’s batters with his variations. Oman openers Aamir Kaleem and Jatinder Singh struck up a 56-run partnership but by the time Kuldeep broke it in the ninth over, the asking rate had shot up to 12. Though Kaleem and No.3 Hammad Mirza made battling half-centuries, they could not find the higher gears that could have hurt India. In pursuit of 189, Oman finished with 167 for 4.Having applied so much scoreboard pressure on Oman, India could afford to experiment with their bowling too. Tilak and Abhishek were among eight bowlers India used on Friday.2:20

Abhinav Mukund: This is how Abhishek should always bat

Abhishek’s opening salvo

Left-arm seamer Shah Faisal dealt India an early blow when he castled Shubman Gill for 5 with a sharp inswinger in the second over. However, that didn’t stop Abhishek from lining up Oman’s bowlers in the powerplay.Abhishek claimed 38 of the 60 runs India had scored in the first six overs. Left-arm fingerspinner Shakeel Ahmed got away with the first ball he bowled to Abhishek, but the batter took him for two fours and a six in the third over. Shakeel tried to drag the ball away from Abhishek’s reach with his sharp angle from left-arm around, but the left-handed opener still found a counter.Oman’s seamers then took pace off, but nobody can take Abhishek’s power away. When Mohammad Nadeem bowled a slower ball into the pitch, Abhishek forayed down the track and scythed it over point. Then, when Jiten Ramanandi dug a 104kph delivery into the pitch, Abhishek pumped it for a straight six.He got a reprieve on 21 when he tickled Nadeem down the leg side, but Vinayak Shukla, the Oman keeper, shelled the catch and umpire Raveendra Wilalasiri eventually deemed it as a wide ball. Abhishek added 17 to his tally before nicking another one behind, Shukla making no mistake this time.2:07

Jaffer: Wasn’t a fluent innings from Samson

Samson’s stop-start innings

After having chalked up two DNBs, Samson had a slow start – he was on 13 off 14 balls at one point – but a six and a four off Madhya-Pradesh-born wristspinner Samay Shrivatsava got him out of first gear. Samson proceeded to crash Zikria Islam for a straight six in the tenth over, but slowed down once again thereafter.Having got to 42 off 32 balls, he took a further nine balls to bring up his half-century. Then, when he looked to turn up the tempo, he holed out to deep midwicket for 56 off 45 balls in the 18th over.India cobbled together 21 off the last three overs and managed to find the boundary just once during this period – off the last ball of the innings when Harshit scythed Faisal for six over point.2:00

Jaffer: Inspired performances from Kaleem and Hammad

Oman’s spirited chase

After bagging the wickets of Axar Patel and Shivam Dube, Kaleem, who will turn 44 in November, stood up to India’s bowlers. He was cagey during the powerplay – he scored only 15 off 13 balls during the period – but then laid into Dube’s medium-pace, taking him for 18 off nine balls.Kaleem’s knock ended on 64 when Hardik held onto a screamer at the long-leg boundary off Harshit, putting a smile on fielding coach T Dilip’s face. Mirza also showed his batting chops with a half-century of his own, giving Oman hope for the T20 World Cup Asia & East-Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier, a tournament they will host next month, even if they bowed out of their maiden Asia Cup with no wins in three matches.For India, Arshdeep Singh, who was playing his first game of the tournament, picked up his 100th T20I wicket when he had Shukla holing out in the final over. Arshdeep became the first India bowler to the landmark and closed out the game for them, with Bumrah and Varun applauding the effort from the sidelines.

Phil Foden has been forced to sell his £3.25 million mansion for a cut price, with the Manchester City star parting with said property having previously attracted complaints from neighbours. The England international has not been able to get the full asking price for his sprawling family home, but will not be left too far out of pocket after agreeing terms on a sale.

• Foden forced to drop asking price

  The four-bedroom property boasts a cinema, indoor swimming pool and five bathrooms. Foden has been looking to shift it for more than six months. He initially listed it at £3.25m, but struggled to attract a buyer.

  Having put the house in Prestbury, Cheshire up for sale in April 2025, it has taken until mid-November for suitable interest to be found. It is being claimed, by the , that Foden is selling for around £2.9m – having dropped the price to that mark in a bid to move on.

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• Foden lived next door to ex-City team-mate Walker

  The home was marketed by estate agents Jackson-Stops and is now "sold subject to contract". Barring any unfortunate mishaps, Foden will be cleared to offload a modern mansion that has its own gym, bar, hot tub and extensive gardens – which currently feature a swing and trampoline.

  The luxury dwelling is set down a private road with an electric security date and also has a ground-floor leisure suite. It has served Foden well since he acquired it – as he set up camp next to ex-City team-mate Kyle Walker and antiques expert David Dickinson – but the 25-year-old has also generated unwelcome headlines.

  He has already moved to a more secluded area of the countryside with girlfriend Rebecca Cooke and their three children. Foden remains within easy commuting distance of City’s training complex at the Etihad.

• Good neighbour? Foden lives with girlfriend & their three children

  Foden and childhood sweetheart Cooke are understood to be engaged, after she was seen sporting a huge diamond ring following a romantic New Year trip to Paris. They continue to build their life together away from surroundings in which their presence was largely embraced.

  A neighbour has told the : "They are a lovely family and Phil and Rebecca seem devoted parents. It's a shame they moved out as it was nice to see a Premier League footballer walking around.

  "I saw them take Ronnie out on a bike he'd been given for Christmas and they seemed just like a young family having fun. There have been a couple of loud parties but none of the disruption caused by Walker and his wife with their shouting rows."

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  Noise complaint: Foden has already set up camp elsewhere

  One such party took place in August 2024. The police were called at one stage after locals complained that the Foden residence was "louder than Glastonbury" and was "like being in a nightclub". Cheshire Police confirmed that they had received a noise complaint, but did not send officers to the house in question.

  Foden and Cooke were said to be enjoying a kids party that started around 4pm and went on until nearly midnight. They had music blaring from a sound system as kids screamed and dogs barked. In March 2022, Foden sparked another noise complaint during a Mother’s Day "music festival" that he played host to.

  Foden lived next door to England colleague Walker and his wife Annie Kilner for two years – during which they experienced much-publicised marital issues. Walker – who fathered two children with former Love Island contestant Lauryn Goodman – is now on the books at Burnley.

  Foden has spread his wings a little further, having sold one house and acquired another. The home that he bought for his parents in the same village that he recently vacated is also now on the market.

  Foden and Cooke are raising son Ronnie elsewhere, alongside daughter True and youngest child Phil Jr – who was welcomed into the world during Euro 2024. His father is hoping to grace another major international tournament with England next summer having forced his way back into Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions plans ahead of the 2026 World Cup.