The topic of Smith leading again came up when Aaron Finch was injured during the T20Is against India
Andrew McGlashan10-Dec-2020
Steven Smith walking off after being dismissed•Getty Images
Steven Smith has indicated that the topic of him captaining Australia again came up when Aaron Finch was injured in the T20I series against India, but is not yet fully aware of the steps that would need to be taken for him to have the role again.When Finch was ruled out of the second T20I in Sydney, Matthew Wade stepped up to captain Australia for the first time, in the absence of vice-captain Pat Cummins, with coach Justin Langer saying there was “a process” that needed to be gone through before Smith could lead again following his loss of the captaincy after the ball-tampering scandal in 2018.The success Tim Paine has had with the Test side, and the indications he wants to take the team through to at least next year’s Ashes series, plus the improvements in Australia’s white-ball cricket under Finch mean there is no rush for the selectors and the Cricket Australia board to make a ruling.”There were discussions sort of taking place,” Smith said. “I think JL [Langer] answered the question when asked about me and captaincy and stuff. There’s obviously a process that needs to be done. For me I just said I’m happy to do whatever is best for the team and that’s the same going forward.”Right now Tim and Finchy are doing really good jobs in both the formats of the game. I’m comfortable where I’m at right now but as I’ve always said I’ll do what’s best for the team.”I think whenever there is a captain chosen, I think you go through a process where you go to the board and things like that, so I’m sure it won’t be too dissimilar. It’s probably more of a question for someone a bit higher up. That’s all that has been said to me and, yeah, we’ll let it rest for now.”One of the challenges Australia could face when replacements for Finch and Paine are eventually needed is the relative lack of captaincy experience among possible replacements other than Smith.Current vice-captain Cummins has not had any chance to captain at state level and would be unlikely to get it given the limited number of games he plays for New South Wales. Marnus Labuschagne, who has been touted as another option, also has yet to have any captaincy experience.Travis Head, who recently lost the joint vice-captaincy position, leads South Australia and captained Australia A in the recent tour match against the Indians. Alex Carey will lead the side in the second match at the SCG starting on Friday.
Unai Emery is leading Aston Villa into an illustrious future. Over the past few years, the Premier League outfit has gone from strength to strength, rising from its struggling spot at the floor of the English top flight and enjoying football on the continent.
Qualifying for the Conference League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign was a momentous moment for a club on the rise, but Villa simply had a taste of success and wanted more.
Now, last season's top-four finish has opened up a world of opportunity, and despite the need to swerve PSR sticking points, cashing in on Douglas Luiz to avoid a financial penalty, the Lions have been active in the market, making a wealth of signings.
Douglas-Luiz-Aston-Villa
Of course, Moussa Diaby's proposed sale to Al-Ittihad is the current story at Villa Park, but Monchi has already identified the dream replacement and is hoping to hijack a top European side's move to bring him in.
Aston Villa transfer news
According to TEAMtalk – as reported earlier this week – Aston Villa have held talks with Nico Williams as they incredibly plot to hijack Barcelona's £46m deal for the Spain star.
The Athletic Bilbao winger has been one of football's hottest commodities after lighting Euro 2024 up en route to winning the trophy, and Villa are seeking to exploit their newfound position in the Champions League to turn the odds in their favour.
With Diaby moving to the Saudi Pro League for around £60m, the coin is in the purse to move ahead with this stunning signing.
What Nico Williams would bring to Aston Villa
Even the most optimistic of Aston Villa supporters might raise an eyebrow at their club's chance of pipping Barcelona and the like to Williams' signing, but the groundwork has been paved.
In January 2023, Villa failed to entice a teenage Williams to move to the Premier League despite meeting his release clause, and while that attempt was botched, it could hold sway as they look to go again.
Nico Williams: Euro 2024 Stats
Statistics
#
Matches played
6
Matches started
6
Goals
2
Assists
1
Pass completion
90%
Key passes per game
2.2
Ball recoveries per game
3.8
Dribbles per game
2.2
Duels won per game
3.3
Stats via Sofascore
He was a superstar for his nation, though frankly, this was just a continuation of the efforts made for Bilbao over the past year, notching 27 goal contributions from 37 fixtures across all competitions last season, instrumental as the Basque side ended a 40-year trophy drought as they conquered the Copa del Rey.
As per FBref, he ranked among the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues last season for assists, the top 7% for progressive carries and the top 6% for successful take-ons per 90, highlighting the imperious athletic ability that journalist Antonio Mango has described as "mind-blowing".
It's so impressive, in fact, that Williams' 3.42 successful take-ons per 90 over the past year rocket above that of Manchester City's Jack Grealish, who employs one of the silkiest ball-carrying games in Europe, though averaged 1.40 per 90 of the same metric.
Grealish, moreover, succeeded with 62% of his attempted dribbles in the Premier League last term but averaged 0.9 per game. While this is principally due to the system that Pep Guardiola implements, restricting such freedom of movement, it's hard to argue against Williams on current ranking – especially when considering that the 21-year-old averaged 2.8 dribbles per outing in La Liga.
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers
Signed, he would unquestionably walk right into Emery's starting 11, and while this would come at the expense of Morgan Rogers' hopes to solidify a regular starting berth, it would only serve to lift Villa even higher in their fight to reach the pinnacle of European football.
How Williams compares to Morgan Rogers
Villa signed Rogers, 21, in a deal rising to £16m in January, plucking the talented winger from Middlesbrough after being coloured impressed by his electric, snappy performances. A product of Man City's unrelenting academy belt, the England U21 international "developed hugely in less than three months" following his move – as per The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell – now a crucial part of Emery's first-team plans.
Rogers scored three goals and added an assist in the Premier League last season, starting eight times, and caught the eye with his dribbling skills, averaging 1.5 per game.
His tactical fluidity is a big bonus. He's nicely rounded, creative and combative, ranking among the top 8% of positional peers for assists and the top 17% for tackles per 90, but he's simply not on Williams' level, who eclipses him in both regards. Take note of the Spaniard's aforementioned goal contributions.
Morgan Rogers
This is not to say that signing Williams would preclude the £20k-per-week winger's chances of succeeding in the Midlands, rather, relegate him to a second-class standing on the flank, albeit with plenty of time and opportunity to make his mark and continue his remarkable rise.
Let's not forget, having sanctioned Diaby's sale and previously swerved the ire of PSR after cashing in on Luiz and academy graduates Tim Iroegbunam and Omari Kellyman, such a deal is firmly within the realm of possibility.
Villa, if there is a chance to do so, have to sign Williams this summer. It could be the watershed moment in Emery's quest to take the club back to the most golden of one-time glory days.
Cole Palmer tells Aston Villa star to join Chelsea with swap move possible
He wants him to quit Villa Park for Stamford Bridge.
A CBF confirmou as datas e horários dos confrontos do Campeonato Brasileiro na 26ª e 27ª rodada. No período, o São Paulo enfrenta Ceará e Corinthians, ambos no Morumbi.
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A sequência começa contra o Vozão, no dia 14 de outubro, uma quinta-feira, às 19h, no Morumbi. Quatro dias depois, no dia 18, uma segunda-feira, o São Paulo joga o clássico contra o Corinthians, às 20h, novamente em casa.
Vale destacar que depois da partida contra a Chapecoense, o Tricolor recebe o Santos, no próximo dia 07 e depois viaja ao Mato Grosso para pegar o Cuiabá, na próxima segunda-feira.
>> Confira a tabela do Brasileirão e simule os próximos jogos
VEJA OS JOGOS DO SÃO PAULO NA26ª e 27ª RODADA DO BRASILEIRÃO Quinta-feira, 14 de outubro 19h – São Paulo x Ceará – Morumbi, São Paulo
Segunda-feira, 18 de outubro 20h – São Paulo x Corinthians – Morumbi, São Paulo
Sri Lanka “let it slip in one disastrous session”, says coach, after second Galle defeat
Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jan-2021
Angelo Mathews was bowled attempting to sweep Dom Bess•Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka threw it away. Their hyper-aggressive approach to the second innings wasn’t part of the plan. And their 126 all out ruined three days of good work.These were Mickey Arthur’s takeaways after the dispiriting 2-0 loss against England. Sri Lanka had established a 37-run first-innings lead on the fourth morning, with England due to bat in the fourth innings. And yet, their batsmen crumbled to 66 for 6 before lunch – five of those players dismissed playing attacking shots. That phase of play essentially handed England the match, even if they eventually had to chase 164 for victory, thanks to a late 40 from No. 10 Lasith Embuldeniya.”We fought and fought and fought for three days and got ourselves in a really good position, and in two hours we proceeded to throw it away,” Arthur said. “It was poor batting. It’s something I’m going to sit and talk with the players about now. When we lead the game, we’ve got to be able to put our foot on the neck of the opposition and we didn’t do that. That today just wasn’t good enough. We’ve got to learn to be ruthless.”Related
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Such was Sri Lanka’s commitment to wanton aggression in this innings, that there were questions whether the team had agreed that all-out attack was their best way forward in this Test. Arthur said, however, that the plan had actually been to progress more gradually, and to bat time, as they had in the second innings of the first Test, when Sri Lanka made 359 in 136.5 overs.”That was nowhere near our gameplan. Our gameplan this morning was to absorb pressure, grind away, and grind out a couple of sessions to make sure that we got ourselves into a very good position to push for the win tomorrow. That was our strategy. We had a long chat about that this morning. We used the blueprint of our second innings in the first Test match as something that we wanted to base our innings on. Somewhere it’s gone horribly wrong. That’s something I’m going to dig up and find tonight.”The first Test was lost due to a similar collapse, in the first innings of the match that time. Sri Lanka were skittled for 135, again playing with extreme aggression.”This isn’t the first time that it’s happened, and it’s something I need to look into with the team,” Arthur said. “We let it slip in one disastrous session. Much like in the first Test when we let slip in the first innings again. We can’t afford as a team to have those poor sessions. We’ve got to get our good and our bad closer together. The game was there for us to take and we didn’t take it. Extremely disappointed with that.”Among the only bright spots for Sri Lanka for this series was the bowling of Embuldeniya, who took 10 for 210 in this Test, and also produced his best first-class score with the bat. Embuldeniya had not been selected for the Tests against South Africa several weeks earlier, but through the course of this series has presented a case for being considered Sri Lanka’s premier Test spinner.”I was very excited for Lasith Embuldeniya,” Arthur said. “He works so hard at his game. When you get those rewards, in his ninth or tenth Test match, it’s unbelievable. I always tell him he’s got the gift of the fingers – he’s able to spin the ball. I think he’s got a wonderful future. He really is a very impressive young man and spin bowler. I’m very excited to be working with him in future, because I think he’s going to be very special.”
عُقد المؤتمر الصحفي الخاص بمباراة الزمالك وبلاك بولز الموزمبيقي ضمن منافسات بطولة الكونفدرالية الإفريقية، حيث تحدث كوشتوديو جوني، القائم بأعمال المدير الفني للفريق، عن استعدادات فريقه للمباراة المرتقبة.
ويستضيف الزمالك نظيره بلاك بولز، غدًا الأحد، على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي، ضمن منافسات الجولة الخامسة من دور المجموعات لكأس الكونفدرالية.
وافتتح كوشتوديو جوني حديثه بتوجيه الشكر لنادي الزمالك على حسن الاستقبال، قائلاً: “في البداية، أشكر فريق الزمالك على الاستقبال الرائع قبل مباراة الفريقين، ندرك الصعوبات التي ستواجهنا في المباراة، ونتطلع لتحقيق نتيجة إيجابية على العكس من نتيجة لقاء الذهاب”.
وتطرق المدرب إلى موضوع إقامة المباراة في القاهرة بدلاً من موزمبيق، حيث قال: “سنبذل قصارى جهدنا لتحقيق نتيجة جيدة في لقاء الغد، ونريد أن نستغل إقامة المباراة في القاهرة لخلق دوافع وحوافز لدى اللاعبين لتحقيق الفوز”.
طالع أيضًا | جروس: شكوك حول مشاركة ثنائي الزمالك أمام بلاك بولز.. ومصطفى شلبي موهوب
وأكد كوشتوديو جوني أن كل مباراة لها ظروفها الخاصة، قائلاً: “كل مباراة مختلفة عن الأخرى، وقد تكون الأفضلية للفريق صاحب الملعب، والهدف الأساسي لنا أن نقدم مباراة جيدة ونستطيع أن نخالف التوقعات”.
وعن لاعبي الزمالك، قال: “كل لاعبي الزمالك لديهم قيمة مرتفعة، ونحترمهم ولا نخشاهم في نفس الوقت، وعلينا أن نؤمن بقدرتنا على تحقيق نتيجة إيجابية”.
وفي ختام حديثه، تحدث كوشتوديو جوني عن تأثير المدرب الجديد للزمالك، قائلاً: “جروس المدير الفني الجديد للزمالك يعطي فريقه حافزاً وقام بتغيير طريقة اللعب ونحن مستعدون لجميع السيناريوهات في اللقاء”.
ومن جانبه، قال فيكتور جاسينتو جونيور لاعب فريق بلاك بولز: “مباراة الزمالك ستكون صعبة، نواجه حامل لقب بطولة الكونفدرالية، ونسعى للظهور بصورة مختلفة عما ظهرنا عليه في لقاء إنيمبا النيجيري، ونتطلع لتحقيق الفوز”.
وأتم: “جميع اللاعبين يحبون اللعب أمام الجماهير وهذا أمر سيكون دافع قوي للاعبي بلاك بولز للظهور بأفضل صورة، ومسألة الملعب لم تعد مؤثرة في كرة القدم والأمر يتعلق بمستوى الفريق في المباراة”.
كشف بارتيليمي قسطنطين، المدير الرياضي لنادي سيون السويسري عن حقيقة المفاوضات مع الأهلي من أجل انضمام إلياس شوارف إلى القلعة الحمراء.
وترددت أنباء في الأونة الأخيرة، تفيد بوجود رغبة من النادي الأهلي في ضم الجناح إلياس شوارف، من صفوف فريقه سيون خلال الميركاتو الشتوي الحالي.
طالع.. عماد متعب: الأهلي حقق المطلوب ضد الجونة “بالخبرة”
وقال قسطنطين، في تصريحات عبر قناة أون تايم سبورتس: “بشأن المفاوضات مع الأهلي من أجل شوارف نحن الآن في فترة الانتقالات الشتوية وفي منتصف الموسم، ولن ينتقل أي لاعب إلى أي نادٍ في الوقت الحالي”.
وتابع: “لم نتحدث مع الأهلي ولم نتلقَّ أي عروض منهم، ولا توجد أي اتصالات بيننا ربما الأخبار تم تداولها فقط في مصر”.
وواصل: “آخر عرض وصلنا في السابق لشوارف كانت قيمته 7 ملايين يورو، ورفضناه، نتلقى العديد من العروض للاعب، ولكننا نفضل احتراف شوارف في أوروبا”.
Manchester United have lined up a potential move for an assist king in midfield as they look to explore alternatives for PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
Ugarte deal needs work
Erik ten Hag's side are on the hunt for additions in midfield this summer as they look to bolster their ranks following a disappointing 2023-24 Premier League season. There are concerns over the future of Casemiro after he was urged to leave the Premier League behind in the wake of a terrible performance against Crystal Palace last season.
“I think Casemiro should know tonight that he should only have another three games left at the top level. The next two league games and the cup final, then he should be thinking, I need to go to the MLS or Saudi", Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports after the 4-0 thrashing at Selhurst Park.
"This has to stop because we are watching one of the greats of the modern time. I always remember the saying 'leave the football before the football leaves you'. The football has left him. At this top level, he needs to call it a day at this level and move."
Manchester United midfielder Casemiro
They are believed to have agreed personal terms over a deal for PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte, but they are no further over agreeing a deal with the French champions. Fabrizio Romano hinted that the Ligue 1 side could be "open to a loan" with an obligation to buy the Uruguayan at the end of the deal, though no progress has been made on that front.
Now, reports suggest Manchester United are eyeing an alternative option if a deal can't be struck.
Man Utd eyeing up Eredivisie playmaker
That comes courtesy of Caught Offside, who claim that United are keeping an eye on PSV Eindhoven star Joey Veerman, who faced current Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in the final of EURO 2024.
Though the midfielder didn't have the best tournament with the Oranje, he enjoyed an excellent campaign with PSV, grabbing five goals and a mammoth 16 assists across the campaign as he proved a vital cog in a side that suffered just one domestic loss all season and romped to the Eredivisie title.
Ex-Tottenham and Netherlands midfielder Raphael Van de Vaart singled him out for high praise ahead of EURO 2024: "I think he is by far the best. He comes very, very close to the top players in the world. Veerman is simply a great player, but he also needs a bit of space. He often gets that, although that is also because of himself. He puts them down wherever he wants."
Veerman has just two years left to run on his current £13,000 a week deal in Eindhoven, and has been on the radar of Premier League rivals Liverpool as well.
His arrival would continue the theme of Manchester United signing current and former Dutch top flight stars, with Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Tyrell Malacia, Andre Onana and Joshua Zirkzee having previously plied their trade in the Netherlands. Though a different type of player to Ugarte, he would be a potentially elite level addition at a cut-price fee.
Assunto que chegou a ser tema de votação no Conselho Deliberativo do Athletico onde a postura de não reabrir os portões da Arena da Baixada parecia ser a posição final, uma mudança de cenário na política da capital paranaense transformou a realidade do jogo contra o Bahia, no próximo sábado (9) às 19h (de Brasília).
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>Aplicativo de resultados do LANCE! está disponível na versão iOS
Isso porque, com o fato da Prefeitura de Curitiba autorizar a flexibilização da carga máxima de público para 50% da capacidade dos estádios da cidade, o Furacão voltou atrás em sua decisão e promoverá o retorno do torcedor a Baixada já neste fim de semana.
Segundo as justificativas anteriores dadas pelos partidários de aguardar um novo cenário para abrir os portões, existia um viés financeiro e também de retribuição a fidelidade dos sócios torcedores.
Além de levar em conta os custos mais elevados diante da presença até pouco tempo mais reduzida dos torcedores (inicialmente com apenas cinco mil lugares que poderiam ser utilizados), a ideia era que houvesse a possibilidade de proporcionar esse retorno quando todos os sócios adimplentes (por volta de 13 mil) pudessem adentrar o estádio no jogo que marcasse o retorno.
Com os atuais parâmetros adotados, a presença máxima de torcedores contra o Bahia poderá atingir quase 21,2 mil pessoas. Desta forma, os sócios em dia com suas mensalidades estão condicionados apenas a fazerem o check-in e apresentarem, como informou o Athletico, um “teste RT-PCR ou Pesquisa de Antígeno para detecção do vírus SARS-COV-2 com resultado negativo, coletado nas 48h que antecedem o início do jogo [a partir das 19h desta quinta-feira], realizado por laboratório de análises clínicas ou unidades de prestação de serviços de saúde devidamente autorizados pelas autoridades sanitárias”.
ESPNcricnfo understands Rashid suffered a minor fracture to the middle finger of his bowling hand
Nagraj Gollapudi01-Mar-20212:02
Rashid Khan: ‘Bubble life makes you mentally weak’
The finger injury he picked during the 2021 PSL is set to rule out Rashid Khan from Afghanistan’s first Test against Zimbabwe, starting on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. ESPNcricinfo understands Rashid suffered a minor fracture to the middle finger of his bowling hand, which is yet to heal, and, will now force him to sit out the first match of the two-Test series.Although the Afghanistan Cricket Board has given no official update on Monday, the ACB did signal Rashid was likely to miss the first Test in a media release issued on February 25 and that a “final call on his inclusion” would be taken after a “reassessment of his injury” on February 28.On February 22, playing for the Lahore Qalandars against Quetta Gladiators in the PSL, Rashid hurt his finger while intercepting a hard-hit stroke from Chris Gayle. Wincing in pain, Rashid was forced to walk off the field to get treatment. The legspinner did return to finish his four-over spell fetching one wicket, that of arch nemesis Gayle.That was Rashid’s second and last match of the PSL before he travelled to Abu Dhabi for the Zimbabwe series. It is understood Rashid had taken scans of the finger in Pakistan before exiting the PSL which revealed he had a fracture. He had “displaced” the intra articular distal phalanx (the base of the top part of the middle finger).Upon joining the Afghanistan squad, Rashid had to wear a splint to protect the finger. It is understood that he would need to be in rehab until March 4 subject to the injury healing well before that.It is also understood that Zahir Khan, the left-arm wrist spinner, who has played two Tests, is a potential frontrunner to replace Rashid.
These next few days could prove to be key as a £55 million player awaits a move to Arsenal before deadline day on August 30.
Edu and Arteta push for more signings
It hasn't exactly been the busiest of windows for manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar, despite some reports that Arsenal were planning to break their summer transfer record on marquee additions.
Edu could re-sign £197,000-per-week ex-Arsenal star to replace 26-year-old
The Gunners may look to a former hero.
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There are still weeks remaining before time runs out to secure fresh faces, so this could still come to fruition, but Arsenal chiefs will have to act quickly. So far, goalkeeper David Raya has joined on a permanent deal from Brentford for around £27 million, with defender Riccardo Calafiori later joining from Bologna for an initial £34 million.
Raya usurped long-standing number one Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks last season, relegating the England international to Arteta's substitute's bench, while Calafiori helped Bologna qualify for the Champions League last season and impressed at Euro 2024.
How Calafiori & Gabriel compared in 2023/24
Statistics
Calafiori
Gabriel
Games
29
34
Goals & assists
7
4
Progressive carries
28
13
Pass accuracy
90%
89%
Tackles won
37
28
Interceptions
56
31
Aerials won
71%
55%
Stats via FBref
Reports suggest Arsenal could sign a forward before deadline day, with striker Eddie Nketiah currently in talks to join Roberto De Zerbi at Marseille. Arteta and Edu have reportedly discussed signing Joao Pedro from Brighton as a replacement for Nketiah, according to some reports, and remain linked with a high-profile move for Sporting Lisbon star Viktor Gyokeres.
Meanwhile, there is also the ongoing transfer saga surrounding Real Sociedad star Mikel Merino. The Spaniard, who impressed for eventual Euro 2024 champions Spain recently, also amassed eight goals and five assists across 45 appearances in all competitions at club level last term.
Arsenal have been deemed very likely to sign Merino ahead of other competitors for his signature, like Barcelona. The 28-year-old's contract includes a £55 million release clause, but with his deal expiring next year, he could join Arteta for a lesser fee.
Next few days key as Merino waits to join Arsenal
Merino has already agreed personal terms on a move to Arsenal, according to some reports in the UK, but both Sociedad and Arsenal are still yet to formally shake hands on a deal.
Basque news outlet Noticias de Gipuzkoa provide their own update on the situation this week, stating in their headline that Merino is awaiting a move to Arsenal this summer. The former Newcastle star reported for training with Sociedad on Monday, and it is claimed his future could be decided "in the next few days".
While his career is described as far away from the La Liga side, Noticias say the only certainty for Merino is his return to training after winning the Euros – suggesting it isn't a forgone conclusion that he's making the move to north London.
Arteta and Edu will be keen to get this deal over the line as quickly as possible, as it has dragged on for some time now.