Jamie Porter and Shane Snater blasted through a brittle Lancashire batting line-up to give Essex victory by an innings inside three days at Chelmsford. The Essex pace bowlers exploited a pitch playing low by taking three wickets apiece as Lancashire capitulated in just 41 overs for the second time in the match.Porter set the ball rolling with the first of nine Lancashire wickets to fall in the session to finish with 3 for 24 before Snater took his match figures to 7 for 59 with 3 for 17 in the second innings. Essex’s second win of the season, worth 22 points, took them further clear at the top of the Vitality County Championship with only three games played.”We have started the season fantastically well,” Essex captain Tom Westley said. “Even that last game against Kent we were a bit unlucky with the weather so potentially, it could have been three wins from three.”We’ve been successful for a while now as a club so every game is a big game and we look to win every single game. We’ve just played some fantastic cricket and I think this is one of our better, most complete performances.”I thought the bowlers bowled amazingly well and I think our challenge is to maintain this momentum and keep the standards as high as they currently are.”We know what a good side Lancashire are, they are always identified at the start of the year as contenders to win the division. So to control the game and win every session is a huge pat on the back for Essex.”Lancashire had started day three on 10 for 1 and requiring another 221 runs to make Essex bat again. They lost five wickets in the first hour and never recovered with the game wrapped up in extra time before the scheduled lunch interval.Essex were forced to field 19-year-old Ronnie McKenna as substitute behind the stumps when Michael Pepper pulled out with a finger injury suffered the night before. The Basildon-born 2nd XI wicketkeeper, the third to do the job for Essex in three Championship matches this season, had four leg byes sail past him down the leg side in the first over from Cook.However, 11 balls into his first-team appearance, he was celebrating a first significant contribution as nightwatcher Will Williams edged Porter into his gloves having hung around for 36 balls.That precipitated a catastrophic collapse with four wickets falling in 16 balls. Josh Bohannon lasted 25 balls before he walked across a delivery from Cook and was lbw, while Luke Wells was beaten all ends up by Snater to be bowled for a 54-ball 21. In the same Snater over George Balderson saw the umpire’s finger go up as he played down the wrong line before Tom Bruce had his off stump sent cartwheeling by Porter.There was a 10-over hiatus while Matty Hurst and George Bell put on 30 runs before the wicketkeeper scooped Snater into square leg’s hands.Offspinner Simon Harmer had not bowled much on this seamer’s paradise, but in his fourth over of the innings he had Tom Bailey walking down the wicket and patting the ball back for a simple caught and bowled. Next over Jack Blatherwick followed Bailey’s lead and gave Harmer more catching practice by chipping the ball back to the bowler.Bell had hung around for 40 balls and appeared to be heading for a third fifty in four innings at Chelmsford when he nicked Cook to Dean Elgar at first slip to wrap up the match.

تحدث الإسباني لويس إنريكي، المدير الفني لفريق باريس سان جيرمان عن أزمة الصراع السياسي بين روسيا وأوكرانيا على لاعبيه ودوناروما.

ويريد الإيطالي دوناروما الرحيل عن صفوف باريس سان جيرمان نظرًا لعدم قناعته بالمقابل المادي الحالي، مع عدم اتخاذ الإدارة أي قرار يخص تعديل عقده وفقًا للأداء الذي قدمه الموسم الماضي باعتباره عاملًا مؤثرًا في تتويج الفريق الفرنسي ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا لأول مرة في تاريخهم.

وقال لويس إنريكي في مؤتمر صحفي قبل مباراة الجولة الثانية من الدوري الفرنسي في تصريحات نقلتها “موندو ديبورتيفو”: “نحن منفتحون، صحيح أننا سعداء بما وقعناه ولكن كما هو الحال دائمًا، نحن مستعدون لأي مواقف قد تنشأ”.

اقرأ أيضًا | جوارديولا يكشف موقفه من تعاقد مانشستر سيتي مع دوناروما

وعن دوناروما: “إنها قرارات صعبة دائمًا، لا مشكلة لدي في اتخاذها، لكنني لن أشرح أي شيء عن لاعبي باريس سان جيرمان، لست مهتمًا بذلك، أتفهم الانتقادات الموجهة لقرارنا وقراري”.

وبسؤاله عن التوترات المحتملة التي يمكن أن تنشأ بين الأوكراني زابارني وحارس المرمى الروسي ماتفي سافانوف، أتم: “الرياضة وخاصة كرة القدم، هي أفضل وسيلة لجمع الناس لا لتفريقهم، الرياضة واللاعبون يتفوقون على المصالح السياسية والاقتصادية للسياسيين”.

Andhra slipped in pursuit of maiden semi-final berth; Saurashtra bowed down in innings defeat

Shashank Kishore26-Feb-2024 • Updated on 27-Feb-2024Vidarbha progressed to the Ranji Trophy semi-final with a resounding 127-run win over Karnataka in Nagpur, where they will meet Madhya Pradesh.Victory was achieved courtesy an outstanding spell of left-arm spin bowling early on the final day by Aditya Sarwate. The two-time Ranji winner picked up the key wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey early to hasten Karnataka’s meltdown. He ended with figures of 4 for 78 to take his match haul to seven wickets.Karnataka began the day with dreams of a heist. At 103 for 1, they needed a further 268 runs. There was hope because Agarwal had battled superbly late on the fourth day during his 101-run opening stand with R Samarth, but he fell for 70, tamely chipping one to mid-on after being deceived in flight.Nikin Jose, who top scored with 83 in the first innings, fell two balls later for a duck, and Pandey was out lbw by an arm-ball that skidded through to crash into the pad. From 127 for 1, Karnataka slipped quickly to 131 for 4.Seeing the amount of turn on offer on a final-day surface, Vidarbha then turned to Harsh Dubey’s left-arm spin, and he removed Hardik Raj after a brief 40-run partnership with KV Aneesh. Replays however seemed to suggest the ball may have missed leg.The lower-order collapsed without a fight, with two run-outs further rubbing salt into Karnataka’s wounds. Right towards the end, Vyshak Vijaykumar and Vidwath Kaverappa swung their way to cameos that only reduced to margin of defeat.Karnataka were always up against it right from when they were bowled out for 286 to concede a 174-run lead. The cushion meant Vidarbha had the edge even though they collapsed to 196 all out in their second innings, with Kaverappa triggering the slide with an inspired spell with the old ball on either side of tea on the third day. He took 6 for 61.Dhruv Shorey, Vidarbha’s Delhi import, top scored with 57 in the second innings, while their first-innings effort was headlined by Atharva Taide’s 107 and Karun Nair’s 90. Taide’s runs will be all the more pleasing for the management considering they will need to find a strong opening combination following Faiz Fazal’s retirement after a two-decade-long first-class career.Vidarbha will now run into MP, a familiar opponent with a familiar coach – Chandrakant Pandit – who guided them to back-to-back titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

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Madhya Pradesh knock Andhra out in thrillerThe Madhya Pradesh player break into wild celebrations after their thrilling win•MPCAIn a game that wildly swung both ways in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, champions of 2021-22, held their nerve to inflict heartbreak on Andhra to enter the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. Playing a key role in their defence of 170 was fast bowler Anubhav Agarwal, who picked up career-best figures of 6 for 52 as Andhra were bowled out for 165 while chasing 170.Andhra’s dreams of a maiden semi-final berth looked possible at 112 for 4, before Agarwal cracked opened the game with wickets in consecutive overs. He first had Karan Shinde lbw and then dismissed Hanuma Vihari, the captain, caught behind. Until then, Vihari had looked assured in defence to make a stonewalling 55 off 136 balls. When Agarwal dismissed Shoaib Khan for a first-ball duck, Andhra were 118 for 7, still 52 away.Ashwin Hebbar, the allrounder, kept fighting and added 32 for the ninth wicket with fast bowler Girinath Reddy. The pair batted out 13 overs to frustrate MP before Agarwal returned to dismiss Girinath.The final wicket was picked up by their new import, Kulwant Khejroliya, the left-arm fast bowler, when he dismissed Hebbar for 22 as MP pulled off a heist that looked a tad difficult when they were shot out for 107 in the second innings.That total, as modest as it may seem, was only possible because Himanshu Mantri, the wicketkeeper, batted with tremendous grit to score 43. In the overall context, his scores of 49 and 43 in the match were massively significant, even though Agarwal was named Player of the Match for his haul of 9 for 85.Andhra would reflect upon several moments where they seemed to have the upper hand, only to let it slip. In the first innings, they bundled out MP for 234, but couldn’t capitalise with the bat as they fell behind by 62 runs.Then they came storming back through Nitish Reddy and KV Sasikanth, who picked up seven wickets between them, as MP were skittled for 107, before they collapsed in the second innings again.

****

Sai Kishore spins Tamil Nadu to semiR Sai Kishore took nine wickets and made 60 runs in the game•PTI R Sai Kishore picked up a match haul of 9 for 93 along with a combative half-century in the first innings to help Tamil Nadu trounce defending champions Saurashtra, the defending champions, by an innings and 33 runs. Their quarter-final win in Coimbatore now gives TN their first semi-final entry since 2016-17.Sai Kishore, with impressive numbers of 47 wickets at an average of 18.78, rose to the top of the wickets tally for the season. He has also managed two half-centuries with the bat.It was his exploits with the ball that made a massive difference in the semi-final though. He picked up 5 got 66 to restrict Saurashtra to 183 in the first innings, 83 of those by Harvik Desai.TN were wobbling at 134 for 4 when Sai Kishore was dismissed. However, Baba Indrajith and Boopathi Kumar, in only his maiden first-class season, hit half-centuries during a 119-run stand and powered TN into the lead. Key contributions from the lower order then gave them a 155-run cushion.Saurashtra’s second innings started poorly as they were reduced to 20 for 2 courtesy fast bowler Sandeep Warrier. Cheteshwar Pujara held the innings together briefly to top score with 46, but Sai Kishore ran rampant again, and when Pujara became the eighth batter to be dismissed, an innings defeat was inevitable.

****

Deshpande, Kotian tons deflate BarodaTushar Deshpande and Tanush Kotian, batting at Nos. 11 and 10 for Mumbai, scored centuries•PTI Mumbai marched into the Ranji semi-finals after Baroda fell apart in the third innings of a game that was on an even keel for three days.For the record, the game ended in a draw with Mumbai progressing on the basis of a first-innings lead. Up next in their path is Tamil Nadu, who’ve made their first semi-final since 2016-17.Having made 384, Mumbai saw Baroda mount a serious challenge as they serenely progressed to 239 for 2, as captain Vishnu Solanki and Shashwat Rawat hit hundreds. But just with a first-innings lead looming, they collapsed as Mumbai’s spinners took control.Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian and Musheer Khan, who struck an unbeaten double century in the first innings, picked up seven wickets between them as Baroda were bowled out for 348.Having pocketed a 36-run lead, Mumbai were in trouble at different stages. At 214 for 5, with the lead still within grasp, Baroda sniffed a slim chance of a win. And then they blew it.From 339 for 9, they saw Tushar Deshpande and Kotian add 232 for the tenth wicket, the second-highest for the 10th wicket in Ranji Trophy history behind Ajay Sharma and Maninder Singh’s 233-run partnership vs Bombay in 1991-92 semi-final.Deshpande made 123, the highest by an Indian No. 11 in first-class cricket, surpassing Shute Banerjee’s 121 against Surrey in 1946. During the course of their record stand, Kotian and Deshpande became only the second Nos. 10 and 11 to score 100s in the same first-class innings, after Chandu Sarwate 124* and Banerjee 121 for Indians vs Surrey in 1946.All this allowed Mumbai to ransack 569 before they were bowled out on the fifth morning, which reduced the result to a mere formality. The captains shook hands after tea with Baroda on 121 for 3.

Yorkshire breeze to eight wicket win after Worcestershire dismissed in 16 overs

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2024

Left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty made life easy for Yorkshire’s star-studded batting line-up with a career best 4 for 25 as the Vikings brushed Worcestershire aside by eight wickets at Headingley to make a flying start to their Vitality Blast campaign.Moriarty, making his Yorkshire T20 debut, put the skids under the Rapids with all four wickets during the first half of an innings which saw them bowled out for 101 in 15.4 overs. Ethan Brookes, one of only two visiting batters to reach double figures, top-scored with a middle order 42 off 32 balls.It was little surprise when a Yorkshire top five, including current internationals Donavan Ferreira, Dawid Malan, Shan Masood and Joe Root, made light work of the meagre target. Ex-England Test opener Adam Lyth top-scored with 55 not out off 33 balls, the win sealed inside 12 overs. Root finished unbeaten on 13.Moriarty came to Yorkshire over the winter in search of more game time. Last season, he only made one T20 appearance for Surrey – their quarter-final win at Lancashire. His only wicket was England white-ball captain Jos Buttler.This evening, he struck twice with the new ball and returned just outside of the powerplay to add two more to ensure Yorkshire secured their first win of 2024 in all cricket, doing it in front of an 8,231 crowd.Having been asked to bowl, the Vikings made a dream start as the Rapids slipped to 15 for 3 in the first 20 balls, including the loss of captain Brett D’Oliveira bowled trying to scoop seamer Dom Leech after four balls.Moriarty had ex-Viking Matthew Waite stumped in the next over and debutant Josh Cobb caught at deep midwicket in the fourth.Leech also struck twice in the powerplay – Adam Hose was caught at midwicket – and Worcestershire were in serious trouble at 21 for four in the fifth over.Things didn’t get any easier for the 2018 champions. Moriarty returned to get Tom Taylor caught behind, leaving the Rapids 33 for 5 in the seventh. Now it was just about batting 20 overs on a pitch showing signs of turn, but Worcestershire failed to do it.Yorkshire’s seam bowling stocks have been depleted by injury, so they opted to pack their side with spinners. Moriarty, Dom Bess twice and Jafer Chohan all struck.Moriarty struck again in the ninth over, bowling Nathan Smith – 49 for six – to claim his fourth wicket. All-rounder Brookes did at least settle things down for the Rapids with his 42 filled with sweeps, reverse sweeps and ramps. He shared 43 for the seventh wicket with Gareth Roderick, who chipped in with 25.But both men were caught at cover off Bess’s off-spin in the 14th over, Worcestershire now 95 for 8. Leg-spinner Chohan then had Hayden Walsh Junior caught at long-on and Ed Pollock was run out to wrap up the innings.Unfortunately for Worcestershire, their task from there was forlorn. Lyth and Malan shared 43 inside five overs for the first wicket. And by the time the latter fell caught at short third for 25 off Adam Finch’s seam, it was nothing more than a consolatory strike.Cobb had Masood caught at long-on shortly afterwards, before Lyth and Root eased their side home with few dramas. Lyth reached his fifty off 31 balls and hit the winning runs.

MatériaMais Notícias

A busca doVascopara encontrar o goleiro ideal de seu retorno à Série A levou a atual diretoria a selar um acordo com Ivan. Aguardado nesta quarta-feira (11) para fazer exames médicos e assinar contrato, o jogador de 25 anos, que foi emprestado pelo Corinthians, desembarcará em São Januário com a expectativa de, com a camisa cruz-maltina, retomar seu espaço no futebol nacional e mostrar o valor que tem.

+ Missa e enterro de Roberto Dinamite: veja imagens do adeus ao ídolo do Vasco

O goleiro começou a chamar atenção por suas atuações nas categorias de base. Após ter iniciado sua trajetória no sub-17 do Guarani, rapidamente “migrou” para a Ponte Preta, onde teve uma ascensão meteórica.

RelacionadasOnde AssistirEstaduais, futebol europeu e mais… Onde assistir aos eventos esportivos desta quarta-feiraOnde Assistir10/01/2023Campeonato CariocaConfira o guia dos clássicos da primeira fase do Cariocão 2023Campeonato Carioca10/01/2023VascoCom reverência a Roberto Dinamite, Vasco bate Osasco Audax e termina fase de grupos da Copinha com 100%Vasco10/01/2023

Designado como substituto de Aranha em 2018 na Macaca, Ivan logo em sua estreia defendeu um pênalti de Jadson em uma vitória por 1 a 0 sobre o Corinthians. Com reflexo para pegar pênaltis e fazer defesas, chamou atenção do técnico André Jardine e foi crucial na campanha da Seleção Sub-22 no Torneio de Toulon. Coube a ele defender o pênalti que deu o título da equipe canarinha.

+ Prefeitura do Rio inaugura Av. Roberto Dinamite, em frente ao estádio de São Januário

Sua sequência pela Ponte fez com que o técnico Tite o convocasse para jogos da Seleção Brasileira nas Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo. Ivan chegou a ser cotado como titular da Olimpíada de Tóquio, mas o adiamento em virtude da pandemia de Covid-19 trouxe também uma mudança de planos.

O jovem sofreu uma lesão no ligamento do punho direito e foi submetido a uma cirurgia em setembro de 2020, o que afetou sua sequência. Ivan retornou penas no decorrer da Série B de 2021.

No início do ano passado veio uma nova esperança com a mudança de ares para o Corinthians. No entanto, o forte rendimento de Cássio fez com que tivesse pouquíssimas chances e acabasse cedido ao Zenit. No futebol russo, porém, também faltaram oportunidades. Foram quatro jogos no Zenit, todos pela Taça da Rússia. Com um longo tempo inativo, o goleiro terá alguns obstáculos no Vasco.

Ivan chega ao Rio de Janeiro com a missão de se firmar como titular de um clube que volta à elite. Seu concorrente na posição será Thiago Rodrigues, que conseguiu uma sequência na Série B e acirrará a luta pela meta, em especial diante da nova realidade no Cruz-Maltino em campo. O jogador de 25 anos ainda terá o desafio de retomar seu ritmo de jogo.

Em meio a tantos desafios, Ivan terá de mostrar fôlego para honrar tantas expectativas.

Sporting CP are set to submit a new bid for Nottingham Forest striker Jota Silva, who is eager to make a return to Portugal.

• Sporting interested in Silva
• Forest ask for €15m
• Lisbon side to make a new offer 

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to , Sporting, who initially proposed a loan with an option to buy Silva, are now prepared to sign him permanently for a fee below Forest’s €15 million (£10m/$18m) valuation. Porto are also interested in the Portuguese forward but Sporting are confident coach Rui Borges can help convince Silva, who wants to return to Portugal after a year in England, having worked with him at Vitoria Guimaraes in 2023-24.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Silva enjoyed a strong 2023-24 season with Vitoria Guimaraes under Borges, scoring 15 goals and registering seven assists in all competitions. His form earned him a Portugal call up from coach Roberto Martinez for matches against Sweden and Slovenia. This rise led Premier League side Nottingham Forest to sign the winger, but he struggled in England, managing just three goals and two assists in the league.

• TELL ME MORE

  Coach Borges gave little away when asked about the player in a press conference on Wednesday, saying "He's not a club player, I'm not going to talk about him. One thing is certain, we've always been aware of what we want, what we need."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR SILVA AND SPORTING ?

  Sporting will aim to complete the deal before Porto can step in for Silva. The striker looks forward to reuniting with Borges, who brought the best out of him two seasons ago, and with the World Cup less than a year away, Silva is eager to secure a place in Portugal’s squad.

أشارت تقارير صحفية موثوقة أن ليفربول تلقى دفعة معنوية قوية في سعيه للتعاقد مع المهاجم السويدي ألكسندر إيزاك من صفوف نيوكاسل يونايتد هذا الصيف.

ويرغب ليفربول في التعاقد مع إيزاك لدعم خط هجومه في الساعات الأخيرة قبل إغلاق سوق الانتقالات الصيفية على الرغم من ضمه هوجو إيكتيكي من صفوف آينتراخت فرانكفورت.

ووفقاً لصحفي سكاي سبورت “فابريزيو رومانو” فإن نيوكاسل يونايتد أنهي صفقة التعاقد مع نيك فولتمايد المهاجم الألماني والذي يلعب مع نادي شتوتجارت.

أقرأ أيضاً.. سلوت: القرعة وضعت ليفربول في مواجهات “صعبة ومثيرة”.. وننتظر مباراة ريال مدريد

وتوصل نيوكاسل لاتفاق مع شتوتجارت لضم اللاعب مقابل ما يتجاوز 80 مليون يورو بجانب إضافات وسيخضع فولتمايد للفحوصات الطبية خلال ال24 ساعة القادمة.

وسيوقع فولتمايد لعقد طويل الأمد مع نيوكاسل يونايتد والذي يقوم بترتيبات السفر للاعبه الجديد حالياً.

وأكد رومانو أن ليفربول مستعد في هذه اللحظات لتقديم كل ما لديه والتقدم بعرض جديد لضم ألكسندر إيزاك والذي لم يقم بتغيير موقفه بعد.

ويرغب المهاجم السويدي في ارتداء قميص ليفربول فقط وفي حالة قرر نيوكاسل يونايتد فتح باب الرحيل أمام اللاعب فإن الريدز جاهز للحصول على خدماته.

Australia’s new T20I captain Mitchell Marsh has confirmed his recovery from a hamstring “is on track” despite initially taking longer than expected, although he admits he can’t afford a setback in the build-up in Australia’s first World Cup match against Oman on June 6 in Barbados.Marsh has not played since his last appearance for Delhi Capitals in the IPL on April 3 due to a right hamstring strain. He was flown home from the IPL to Perth on April 12 to do his initial recovery with Australia team physiotherapist Nick Jones, who is also based in Perth.Two weeks later, Capitals confirmed he would miss the remainder of the IPL after Marsh’s initial recovery from the injury had taken longer than anticipated.Related

• McDonald confident Marsh will be fit to bowl for start of the World Cup

• 'Where do you fit him in?' – Hazlewood says Fraser-McGurk's time will come

• Mitchell Marsh to miss remainder of IPL 2024 with hamstring injury

• Takeaways: Why Fraser-McGurk and Smith missed out on T20 World Cup selection

• Fraser-McGurk and Smith left out of Australia's T20 World Cup squad

Speaking in Perth on Thursday after being confirmed as Australia’s captain for the World Cup, Marsh said he was still working back to full fitness but was confident he would be right for the World Cup.”The hammy is good, it’s coming along really well,” Marsh said. “It’s pretty much exactly where we want it to be. It’s one of those things. Just got to get it right over the next three weeks and get on the plane.”If we had to play tomorrow, I would be in a bit of trouble. Still a couple of weeks away, and the timing probably sits perfectly barring any setbacks.”Marsh’s hamstring concern is part of the reason why Cameron Green has been included in the 15-man squad ahead of the in-form Jake Fraser-McGurk. If Marsh needs to play as a batter only or needs to be managed early in the tournament and anything were to happen to the other injury-prone pace-bowling allrounder in Marcus Stoinis, Australia would not have had a pace-bowling option to bat in their top seven.”Anytime there’s a World Cup team picked, there’s only 15 and some guys have to miss out,” Marsh said. “But I think we’ve got a really great squad that we’ve picked, we’ve got a lot of versatility, a lot of experience. And that brings a lot of excitement.”Australia T20I captain Mitchell Marsh poses in their new jersey for the T20 World Cup•Cricket Australia

Australia are holding two separate training camps in Brisbane across each of the next two weeks for the players who aren’t playing in the IPL. Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis and Marsh will head there to get some nets and fitness preparation done before heading to the Caribbean. Marsh is a chance to be at both camps but would likely be on light duties for the first one. Others who missed out on the squad but could still be taken as a travelling reserve, including Xavier Bartlett, are also likely to be involved. Bartlett is set to head to England for the T20 Blast at the end of May.Australia’s other major fitness concern heading to the World Cup is David Warner, who is still recovering from some deep bone bruising in his finger after copping a blow on the hand while batting against Lucknow Super Giants on April 12. He missed a game and then returned to play against Sunrisers Hyderabad but was still experiencing soreness and hasn’t played since. It is understood he could return to batting later this week but Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey was unsure when he would be pain-free again.”It’s still causing him a fair bit of discomfort,” Bailey said on Wednesday. “So obviously we’ll monitor that. Hopefully, he can get back and play a couple more games in the IPL to finish off, but I think it’s just one of those ones, just some deep-seated bone bruising and is going to take a little bit of time.”But I don’t think anyone’s going to be able to give him a really definitive answer on how long that’ll be.”Marsh has backed Warner to be a vital cog in Australia’s campaign in what will be his swansong from international cricket after retiring from Test and ODI cricket earlier this year.”It’s been a long last hurrah, hasn’t it for Davey?” Marsh said. “We’re always really excited to have him in the team. Just the experience that he brings. I think if we look back at his career. There’s been so many big moments that you need your big experienced players to stand up and Davey has always been one of those. So we’re lucky to have him.”

The league is also planning to expand from the current six teams to 10 in the coming seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2024Major League Cricket (MLC), the season-old T20 tournament in the USA, has become the second Associate-run franchise competition to acquire List A status from the ICC, following on from the UAE’s ILT20 earlier this year.The status means that MLC will now be recognised as an official T20 league, with tournament playing records now counted as official format statistics. “We are really excited for the news as it’s a recognition of the standard and high quality of players taking part in the tournament,” tournament director Justin Geale told ESPNcricinfo. “By awarding MLC List A status for the upcoming season, it assists to acknowledge the strength and growing stature of the tournament and ultimately will help to enhance the credibility of the sport in the USA on a global scale.”The most important part for me though is it ensures the performances of some of the world’s best players alongside their peers are adequately reflected in their career statistics.”Really thankful to the ICC for taking the time to look at it as cricket in the USA doesn’t always fit into a template. We are an Associate nation and proud of that, one with a unique opportunity in front of us. It’s our hope that on the back of the upcoming World Cup and a successful season we can continue to build a platform for the sport to grow and ultimately succeed in the USA.”The 2024 edition of MLC will start on July 5, a week after the T20 World Cup ends on June 29 in Bridgetown. The T20 World Cup begins, however, in Dallas, USA on June 1, in what is an important season in the game’s continuing efforts to crack the US market.The , which reported on the awarding of List A status on Monday, also revealed MLC’s plans to expand from the current six teams to 10 over the next few years, jumping from 19 games in 2023 to 34 by 2025. Twenty-five games have already been scheduled for this season.”It was always intended to be a 10-team league,” MLC’s chief executive, Vijay Srinivasan, told the . “Studies show that we are a big enough country, with a big enough demographic to support 10 teams, so that’s our plan. We had 19 games in our first season, will have 25 in our second. I think we want to get to 34 next year, and just gradually keep expanding.”Srinivasan said they wanted the league, which clashes with the Hundred in 2024, to start in early June in 2025.”Ultimately for us, our ideal calendar is to start much earlier, in the late spring or early summer,” Srinivasan said. “With the Indian Premier League ending in late May, I think our sweet spot would be to start in early June, which is when we have the school holidays in the US, and go into July. That’s how we would like to establish our window.”An early June start avoids a clash with the Hundred’s July-August window, but it could mean an overlap with the T20 Blast. This scheduling clash became a major talking point in the last English summer when Jason Roy opted out of his ECB contract to play in the MLC and went on to represent LA Knight Riders, who have the same owners as that of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who won their third IPL title on Sunday.Last year, MLC ended two days before the start of the Hundred, though this time there will be an overlap of six days between the two leagues, with the MLC ending on July 28 and the Hundred starting on July 23. As a result, as many as half of the overseas players in the Hundred could arrive in the UK late after the MLC ends. Twelve out of the 24 overseas players under contract in the men’s Hundred have already been announced as signings or retentions in MLC and more could follow before the tournament starts.Four of the six teams in the MLC are owned by IPL team owners – Mumbai Indians, KKR, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.The first season ran from July 13 to 31 with 15 group-stage games followed by four playoff matches, and ended with MI New York lifting the trophy under the captaincy of Nicholas Pooran. The second season will be played across the same two grounds which hosted the first season – the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas and the Church Street Park Stadium in Morrisville.

Tottenham explored a move to sign Marc Casado from Barcelona this summer, as Chelsea and Atletico Madrid continue to explore a potential move.

Spurs eyed Casado swoopHeld talks with BarcaChelsea and Atletico monitoring playerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Per Sport, Spurs were interested in signing Casado from Barcelona this summer. The club approached the Catalan side over a deal to secure the 21-year-old's signature, but Casado was not keen on making the move to north London. He has made a total of 41 first-team appearances for Barca.

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The youngster is valued at around €30 million (£26m/$35m) and both Chelsea and Atletico Madrid are also keeping tabs on developments. Barca are said to be hopeful that a deal can be reached for the midfielder to leave, but Spurs are unlikely to come back to the negotiating table, having secured Joao Palhinha on loan from Bayern Munich as defensive midfield depth. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Casado is a full Spain international, having won two caps for his country, but has yet to nail down a spot in Hansi Flick's starting XI. Last season, he made 20 La Liga starts and also had to deal with a ligament injury that saw him miss over a month of action towards the end of the season. 

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Casado has a contract until 2028 and Barca are willing to do business. It remains to be seen if Chelsea or Atleti will make a formal bid.