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A fine unbeaten century from Adam Lyth saw Yorkshire through to a supremely comfortable nine-wicket victory over Leicestershire

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2018

Adam Lyth struck 75 at the start of Yorkshire’s reply•Getty Images

ScorecardA fine unbeaten century from Adam Lyth saw Yorkshire through to a supremely comfortable nine-wicket victory over Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.The left-handed opener played with real fluency and timing, albeit against some distinctly average seam bowling, first in compiling first a partnership of 153 with fellow opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore (74 from 71 balls) and then of 112 with Cheteshwar Pujara (75 not out from 81 balls).With the match being played on a pitch which had yielded over 700 runs in Leicestershire’s previous RL50 match, against Nottinghamshire, the Foxes were well aware they needed a good start: they got the opposite, losing their first three wickets for only 39 runs.First to go was Cameron Delport. Back from IPL duty, the South African cracked two boundaries off Ben Coad, but in the second over Matthew Fisher swung a ball back in to the left-hander to have him leg-before. Colin Ackermann gave Coad the charge but could only give the bowler a straightforward return catch, and captain Paul Horton then off-drove a delivery from Fisher waist-high to Steve Patterson at mid-off.Mark Cosgrove and Ned Eckersley repaired the innings with a stand of 128 for the fourth wicket, compiled in 20.1 overs, but having reached his 50 off 61 balls, Eckersley’s attempted on-drive failed to clear mid-on, and Pujara took a simple catch.Leicestershire badly needed Cosgrove to go on to three figures, but the Australian’s attempt to loft Adil Rashid for a straight six was well held by Kohler-Cadmore above his head on the boundary at long-on, and soon afterwards the same combination accounted for Tom Wells, this time at long-off. Neil Dexter and Callum Parkinson compiled a partnership of 41 for the eighth wicket, but though Dexter reached his half-century off the final ball, a total of under 300 never looked likely to be enough.So it proved. Neither Lyth nor Kohler-Cadmore needed to take risks in scoring at six runs an over, thanks in part to a series of half-volleys bowled by Richard Jones, making his first appearance of the season for the Foxes after returning from injury.Carelessness saw the end of Kohler-Cadmore, the right-hander pulling a long-hop from Delport to Horton at midwicket, but Lyth went to his century off just 96 balls, hitting thirteen fours and a six before finishing on 132 not out, just four short of his List A career best. Pujara too played with freedom and, towards the end, creativity, twice ramping countryman Aaron Varun for four to third man as the end came quickly.

Arsenal are making real headway in their move for a summer transfer target as they look to pre-agree a deal, even if talks are far from done, as it is believed they’ve already agreed loose contract terms.

Arsenal's summer transfer plans amid injury crisis

With both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus out for the rest of this season, manager Mikel Arteta’s lack of depth in the attacking areas has been seriously exposed, especially when factoring Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka’s injuries as well.

Arsenal can now sign star striker for just £33m after rejected January bid

They attempted a deal in the winter.

2 ByEmilio Galantini Feb 19, 2025

Arteta started a front three of Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri in their last Premier League clash against Leicester City, but none of the aforementioned trio came to Arsenal’s rescue.

Mikel Merino came off the bench to grab an heroic brace in the final 10 minutes, handing Arsenal a vital three points and 2-0 win in dramatic fashion, but it is unclear whether the Spain midfielder will be used in that capacity against West Ham.

West Ham (home)

February 22nd

Nottingham Forest (away)

February 26th

Man United (away)

March 9th

Chelsea (home)

March 16th

Fulham (home)

April 1st

Sterling, who signed from Chelsea on loan last summer, has been slammed for his sub-par performances – with critics urging the Englishman to do more as Arsenal become in dire need of a vocal point up front.

“It’s been evident since his move to Arsenal that there are a few concerns in the background,” said ex-Premier League scout Mick Brown to Football Insider.

“Firstly, he hasn’t been playing regularly, which always raises questions about why because Arteta thought he could get the best out of him.

“But when he has played, he’s been well below the level expected and required of him in that team. It may well be that he’s gone over the top fitness-wise and in terms of the stage of his career.

“His performance levels have been frightening really, and he needs to step up at this stage of the season because otherwise who knows where he’ll end up.”

Based off his outings this season, it appears unlikely they will pursue a permanent deal for Sterling, with Arsenal targeting new attacking options ahead of next season.

Jorginho and Thomas Partey are also out of contract at the end of 2024/2025, meaning Arsenal need to bring in a elite-level midfielder in their stead.

Arsenal agree "broad" personal terms with Martin Zubimendi

Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, as reliably reported, is a serious target for Arteta in this regard.

Arsenal have been attempting to agree a pre-summer deal for Zubimendi since January, with the Spaniard’s contract also containing a £51 million release clause, which means the Gunners can bypass Sociedad transfer talks and head straight to the player.

According to TEAMtalk and journalist Ben Jacobs, who share another update on Arteta’s pursuit of the 26-year-old, Arsenal are in advanced talks with Zubimendi and “broad” contract terms have been “verbally” agreed.

However, while Arsenal are moving forward in negotiations, it is far from done or formal at this stage, and there is still time for fellow interested clubs to come in and hijack a move.

So, they’re approaching this move with cautious optimism, as hurdles like agents fees, taxes on the release clause, Zubimendi’s own stance and the fact a deal is not finalised yet still stand in the way.

Dipendra Singh Airee was front and centre on this historic occasion, claiming 4 for 15 to knock the opposition over for 114 and then leading the chase with a 58-ball half-century

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2018
ScorecardNepal have claimed ODI status for the first time with their six-wicket win over Papua New Guinea. Dipendra Singh Airee was front and centre on this historic occasion, claiming 4 for 14 to knock the opposition over for 114 and then leading the chase with a 58-ball half-century. Paras Khadka’s men had to thank Netherlands though, whose defeat of Hong Kong, meant that they will now be playing with the big boys.Nepal’s win over PNG and Hong Kong’s loss to Netherlands secured them ODI status•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There were several notable events that studded this triumph for Nepal, not least of which is the fact that their cricket board is currently suspended by the ICC. Their arrival to the World Cup qualifier was also a spectacular story, with the team claiming several nail-biting last-over finishes. A team that was in Division Five in 2008, alongside Afghanistan, have now risen to the top-tier of international cricket.Papua New Guinea, who lost all four of their group games in the tournament prior to the consolation bracket loss to Nepal, have lost their ODI status along with Hong Kong. Both teams have now been demoted to WCL Division Two, but they do have one final chance to play an ODI (at least until 2020) – the ninth-place play-off on Saturday.There was very little that Nepal could do wrong in this match. They won the toss and put the opposition in. Their 17-year old legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane took 4 for 28 in eight overs to break the PNG middle order and Airee knocked over the tail. With only 115 need to win, all Nepal needed was one batsman to bat around and Airee took on that responsibility, coming in at No. 4 and sealing the game with a six with 27 overs to spare.

أكد البرتغالي جوزيه بيسيرو المدير الفني السابق للنادي الأهلي، خطأه بالرحيل عن تدريب القلعة الحمراء في وقت سابق، موضحًا أنه يرحب بالعودة للتدريب في مصر.

وكان بيسيرو تولى تدريب الأهلي في موسم 2016، إلا أنه قرر الرحيل لتدريب فريق بورتو البرتغالي.

وقال بيسيرو خلال تصريحات عبر قناة MBC مصر في برنامج “اللعيب”: “أرحب بالعودة إلى التدريب في مصر، سواء في منتخب مصر أو الزمالك أو بيراميدز”.

وأضاف: “بالفعل كان هناك تواصل مع عدد من الأندية المصرية ولا أحب أن أذكر الأسماء لأنها كانت مفاوضات لم تكلل بالنجاح”.

وتابع: “الأهلي والزمالك لديهما مدربين جيدين والأمور طيبة والنتائج جيدة هما نجحا في التتويج ببطولات إفريقيا دوري الأبطال والكونفدرالية، سعدت بتتويجهما”.

طالع | بيسيرو: من يُدرب الأهلي يُعامل مُعاملة الملك.. ورحيلي عن الفريق “غلطة”

وواصل: “أنا الآن حر بعد الرحيل عن نيجيريا عقب خسارة كأس أمم إفريقيا الأخيرة أمام كوت ديفوار”.

وأكمل: “بالطبع أكيد أخطأت بالرحيل عن الأهلي في الفترة التي كنت أتولى فيها المسؤولية، تعلمت الدرس الآن”.

وواصل: “مع الأهلي كان من الصعب المغادرة، كنت سعيدًا مع الأهلي، الأحمر هو الأفضل في مصر وإفريقيا حتى في كأس العالم للأندية يؤدي بشكل جيد”.

وأردف: “اللاعبون في الأهلي كلهم كانوا جيدين ولا أحب الحديث عن لاعب محدد، لدي ذكريات جيدة مع اللاعبين في الأهلي والفريق بالكامل كان جيدًا وكنا ننافس على جميع الألقاب”.

واستمر: “أحمد حمدي لاعب الزمالك الحالي أنا من قمت بتصعيده في الأهلي وهو لاعب جيد وشاهدته في نهائي الكونفدرالية، وقمت بتدريب عبد الله السعيد وناصر ماهر أيضًا”.

وأكمل: “عبد الله السعيد لاعب جيد ورائع لذلك يمكنه اللاعب في الأهلي أو الزمالك بشكل جيد”.

وأتم: “في بطولة كأس السوبر الإفريقي بين الأهلي والزمالك، لا يمكن أن أعلق لمن تكون الأفضلية بينهما”.

Among all the members of England’s touring party, no one was looking more eagerly for a way out of his Ashes rut than Moeen Ali. Outbowled by Nathan Lyon, who also became his nemesis at the batting crease, Moeen was almost completely ineffectual after starting the series well enough in Brisbane.In the weeks that followed, Moeen admitted losing confidence in himself as a cricketer, but he was part of the ODI team’s collective surge in the opening match at the MCG on Sunday, bowling 10 economical overs and then walking out to hit the winning runs from the bowling of a more modest offspinner in Travis Head.

Moeen eager for IPL experience

As the ECB has gradually relaxed the restrictions on contracted players going to the IPL, so too has Moeen Ali’s interest increased. This year all players are permitted to go to the Twenty20 tournament for seven weeks, with limited-overs specialists allowed to stay for the duration, and Moeen has joined the likes of Joe Root in nominating for the auction.
“I have never put my name in before and heard so much about it,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to play with other players from around the world and learn from them. I just want to experience it and improve my cricket. I think it makes players better. People have come back with a lot of confidence from the experience. I think it’s a must we do that. Personally, if I don’t go it won’t be the end of the world. I would love to play but if I don’t, no problem.”
Should he be picked up, Moeen said he was not overly concerned by the potential for burnout. “If I feel like I have done too much I will speak up,” he said. “I will see how I am going. But I am going home after this international series and having a break for a couple of weeks which will be nice. So let’s see how I feel.”

Lyon’s absence reflects his current status as a Test match specialist, and Moeen said he had revelled in the change-up as part of a team with clear roles and burgeoning confidence that their best, epitomised by Jason Roy’s England ODI record score, is world-class.”It was nice to move to a different format of the game because the pressure was less, if that makes sense. Bowling to someone like [Aaron] Finch is a great challenge and I felt that having five bowlers meant it was a key role for me,” Moeen said as England travelled up to Brisbane for Friday’s second match. “Something I pride myself on is to go for less boundaries than everybody else. And I did. My confidence from yesterday has gone up a little bit. Hopefully it can keep climbing.”As a team we know we can beat anybody anywhere, whereas in Test cricket all round the world playing away is very difficult. Even if you believe it’s possible it is difficult to go away and win. The way Australia played throughout the whole five Test matches. They had pace we didn’t have, they had a gun spinner bowling brilliantly – we didn’t – they had batters who scored hundreds and double-hundreds regularly. Again, we didn’t. They were too good for us whereas in the one-day stuff we have players who can break records, as we saw yesterday.”It just feels like we can genuinely beat anybody anywhere. The attitude is obviously different because it’s a different sort of cricket, so it’s been refreshing. When J-Roy was batting yesterday we were egging him on to beat the record. When he was on about 120 everyone thought he was going to do it. In the back of our heads we have these records but the first focus is to win the game and we know if someone like J-Roy bats the way he does we can beat anybody in the world. And we have players like that all throughout the line-up.”Reflecting on his Ashes series, which began with a finger problem that restricted his ability to prepare, Moeen said things had seemed more difficult and success more elusive the harder he tried to strive for it. And as much as those close to him tried to help, any genuine progress needed to come from within, and that was an escalating struggle over the course of the five Tests while he wrestled with the unmistakable sense of letting down Joe Root’s team.”That was the most disappointing thing for me. I feel like I was letting the team down, the fans down,” Moeen said. “The Barmy Army was singing the whole time. When your confidence is low, and you are trying to perform the best you can but it’s not happening it is most disappointing. It’s not that you are not scoring runs or not getting wickets. It’s just that you feel as an individual you are letting your team-mates down. I am sure a few of the guys felt the same thing but that was my biggest fear.”When you lose a bit of confidence in your own game sometimes you try harder and it can be that the harder you try the worse it gets. That’s what was happening. You try everything – different approaches going into bat, be positive, but nothing really came off and like I said the harder I tried the worse it was getting. These things happen, and you can learn from them.”When you are losing and not playing well, once it’s done it’s not like a burden [lifted] but you can relax a bit. The intensity is quite high and people talking about you all the time gets to you, even though I am somebody that doesn’t listen too much or read too much. It’s pretty difficult to get away from it and you start doubting yourself as a player. The thing that you have to realise though is that bad performances don’t make you a bad player. So you just have to somehow believe in yourself and keep trying to get back to where you know you can be.”The mental release of the end of the Ashes coincided with the endorphins released by training with a limited-overs team that has gained plenty of respect around the world, notably from Australia’s captain Steven Smith after the MCG match. Moeen said that the notion of learning from opponents ran both ways, for England in the Tests as much as for Australia in ODIs, and that a key to limited-overs success had been a sense of fun running through the whole squad.”It’s fun. Very enjoyable,” Moeen said. “There have been times when we have had disappointments as well, but we have had less of those in the last few years and it’s a great environment to be around.”We watched them and we can learn from the way they played. Australia in the Ashes was a fantastic team. In all departments they outplayed us and we struggled big time and so for us to play the way we played yesterday and beat them was brilliant. We are 1-0 up after one game and our challenge is to do what they did to us in the Test matches now. We’ve got to be a little bit better at that as a team. We know that but the main thing is to win the series, learn and improve from here going forward.”

MatériaMais Notícias

A fim de incentivar as doações de sangue, o Flamengo, em parceria com o Hemorio, abriu a campanha #SangueRubroNegro. Por conta do isolamento social devido à pandemia do coronavírus, os estoques dos bancos de sangue do Brasil estão baixos. Assim, durante o mês de setembro, serão distribuídas máscaras do Fla a quem comparecer ao Hemorio, no Centro do Rio de Janeiro.

-Com o isolamento social em razão da pandemia do coronavírus, os bancos de sangue do Brasil estão com os estoques baixos. Pensando nisso, Flamengo e Hemorio se uniram na campanha Sangue Rubro-Negro, que busca incentivar a Maior Torcida do Mundo a doar sangue – publicou o clube – veja o post abaixo.

A ação tem apoio do Banco BRB, patrocinador master do futebol, e todas as máscaras distribuídas – sujeitas a disponibilidade – são confeccionadas por pequenos empreendedores do Complexo do Chapadão, no Rio de Janeiro. O Hemorio fica na Rua Frei Caneca, nº 8. Mais informações disponíveis nos sites oficiais do Flamengo e do Hemorio (http://www.hemorio.rj.gov.br/ ).

RelacionadasFlamengoFlamengo recusa oferta do Benfica por Bruno Henrique e GersonFlamengo08/09/2020FlamengoBruno Henrique treina em campo, mas segue como baixa no Fla-Flu; veja as opções de Dome no FlamengoFlamengo08/09/2020Fora de CampoSBT está próximo de fechar compra dos direitos exclusivos da Libertadores até 2022Fora de Campo07/09/2020

Com o isolamento social em razão da pandemia do coronavírus, os bancos de sangue do Brasil estão com os estoques baixos. Pensando nisso, Flamengo e Hemorio se uniram na campanha Sangue Rubro-Negro, que busca incentivar a Maior Torcida do Mundo a doar sangue.
#SangueRubroNegro pic.twitter.com/NMreGKI4Qv

— Flamengo (@Flamengo) September 8, 2020

The performances of some key players amplified long-standing issues of form, but Sarfraz Ahmed is positive that one innings doesn’t make a bad side as Pakistan look to avoid a first home series defeat in ten years

Osman Samiuddin in Dubai05-Oct-2017

Mohammad Amir in his delivery stride•Tom Dulat/Stringer

What is it stake you ask, in this second and final Test of an always low-stakes rivalry? The ICC will focus on the rankings – if Pakistan don’t win, they drop to seventh, the lowest they have been since January 2010. Late August 2016, when they officially became number one, suddenly feels much more than just 13-and-a-bit months away.That might not sting as much though as, potentially, the end of one of the proudest streaks in international cricket. Two days after the scheduled end of this Test – October 12 – will mark exactly a decade since Pakistan last lost a home series – 1-0 to South Africa.One can crib about the semantics of ‘home’ – that Pakistan have only played one actual series since then in their actual home and the rest in their adopted home of the UAE – but that should actually add lustre to a remarkable run. Since 1970, Australia, West Indies, India and New Zealand have had ten-year plus undefeated streaks at home and they all had the benefit of playing at their real home. Pakistan themselves went undefeated in Pakistan between 1980 and 1995, but given the circumstances of this run, it is at least the match of that.What it will mark, more definitively, is the end of the MisYou era. That end had begun in Abu Dhabi, not so much with the final-day collapse and loss, but with the decision to play three pace bowlers and a lone spinner. Misbah, if he could help it, rarely went that way.Pakistan want to persist with three fast bowlers because they feel it is now their strength, though Wahab Riaz will come in for Hasan Ali, who has a slight niggle in his left glutes that management is keen to rest ahead of the limited-overs games.Asad Shafiq slaps one over midwicket•Tom Dulat/Stringer

The pitch is dry, conditions hot and humid and Sri Lanka will play three spinners. This is the problem with two-Test series, that there isn’t enough time to know whether a strategy shift such as this has worked and should be persevered with or dumped. There were murmurs throughout Abu Dhabi about shifting from two spinners to three fast bowlers, but in truth, it wasn’t Pakistan’s bowling, or their bowling combination, that messed up there.By and large, and especially in the second innings, the attack did well. If there was a question mark it was over the most experienced of the trio of fast bowlers. Mohammad Amir went wicketless in the Test and other than a late second-innings spell in which a catch was spilled off his bowling, he did not look quite right.By Mickey Arthur’s admission, Amir started the Test poorly on the first morning and some observers felt the switch in conditions, from bowling in England with Essex and then bowling in the extreme heat of Abu Dhabi played a part. Just two first-class matches ago, after all, he took his second career ten-for, to add to a summer in which he bowled his most decisive spell since his return in 2016 – against India in the Champions Trophy final.It is worth nothing that since his 6-44 in Kingston back in April, he has taken just seven wickets in seven innings. He will play, of course, and Sarfraz Ahmed, his captain, is not concerned.”Amir did bowl well in Abu Dhabi but unfortunately did not get wickets. I’m sure he will give us a better performance here.”Sarfraz Ahmed was aggressive before playing on•Francois Nel/Getty Images

The real problem, which pre-dates Sarfraz’s ascension, is with the batting – one might quip that is an issue that pre-dates the creation of Pakistan itself. The last-day collapses are stacking up, but so too is the pressure on Asad Shafiq.Shafiq had as poor a second half of the Test as imaginable, first dropping two catches in Sri Lanka’s second innings at slip, and then undone by a combination of a good ball and indecisive strokeplay when he was on 20 in the chase. His first-innings 39 was more assured but it bore clear signs of the extra responsibility his seniority now demands. It means he is averaging less than 31 in 16 Tests since the start of the England series in 2016 – a curious run given it includes two memorable hundreds and a handful of important fifties.Arthur was unequivocal in his backing for Shafiq after the Abu Dhabi Test, insisting that he was a major part of this side’s future. But Pakistan don’t play another Test till next May, and that too in England, a break long enough to work against a Test-specialist like Shafiq.Sarfraz – and you’ll note a pattern here – is not worried.”Asad was playing really well in that first innings but just got out. In the second innings he got a good ball. I have full confidence in him – he is our main batsman and I’m confident he will show his form in this Test and hopefully help us win it.”Most of Sarfraz’s work in the days since Abu Dhabi has been of this nature – to give his team the confidence that one bad innings does not make them a bad side. Pakistan have chosen not to practice too much in the days since.”We worked on a few key things that we got wrong, like the fact that we went into our shells and played a little slow when batting,” he said. “We’ve spoken about that, but mostly we’ve told the guys to play their natural games and to not be scared of failure. One good or bad performance doesn’t make a difference. The main thing is we have to back them.”Pakistan don’t often go into a Test in the UAE needing to win it to save the series. It has happened only once before, that too against Sri Lanka, nearly four years ago. Then, they produced the memorable chase to level the series. Sarfraz played a key role in it, moved up the order to give the chase some oomph. It is the moment where his rise began to where he now sits. And he now admits he should’ve gone up in the small chase last week. He will learn. Pakistan needs him to.

An update has emerged on a possible exit for a Glasgow Rangers defender ahead of the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership campaign…

What's the latest Rangers transfer news?

According to The Sun, Premier League side Nottingham Forest are 'lining up' a swoop to sign Light Blues left-back, Borna Barisic during the summer transfer window.

The report claims that they are keen to sign the Croatia international to solve their full-back woes after Renan Lodi returned to Atletico Madrid at the end of last season.

It states that Forest sporting director Ross Wilson, who left Ibrox earlier this year, is now ready to raid his former team to bolster Steve Cooper's squad.

There is no mention of how much the English outfit are prepared to pay for his services but it does say that the Gers could demand a fee of around £2m.

How old is Borna Barisic?

The Rangers defender is 30 and now in the final year of his contract with the Scottish giants, which means that this could be the perfect opportunity for Michael Beale to cash in on him.

Barisic turns 31 in November and this interest from Forest would allow the Gers to potentially replace him with a younger option in that position to compete with Ridvan Yilmaz, instead of handing a new deal to a player who may be heading into the final years of his career.

Beale must ruthlessly ditch the Croatian veteran as his defensive performances left far too much to be desired last season, with his lapses in concentration at the back post making him a liability at times.

Former Celtic midfielder Kris Commons wrote that the full-back 'nods off like a security guard' in defence and described him as the 'weak link' in the Rangers team, who could be specifically targeted by the opposition to cause damage to the Glasgow giants.

Pundit Stephen Craigan also stated that the 30-year-old dud "can’t defend his back post" and claimed that he is not going to learn to improve that aspect of his game at that age.

Rangers finished seven points behind Celtic in the Premiership table last season and Beale must not leave any stone unturned this summer in his attempts to build a side that will be capable of wrestling back control of the division next term.

This is why brutally binning Barisic from the squad could be a shrewd piece of business for the English head coach amid this interest from Forest as the Light Blues would be moving on a player who has proven himself to be a liability in defence.

The £18k-per-week dud could be immediately replaced by 22-year-old talent Ridvan Yilmaz, who has time on his hands to develop and grow with more experience at Ibrox, after the ex-Besiktas man started five games in May at the end of last season.

A potential fee of £2m could also allow Beale to dip back into the market to bring in another left-sided option to compete with the Turkey international for a spot in the team.

The 42-year-old tactician could target a defensive-minded player who is capable of guarding the back post to stop the likes of Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda from sneaking in to score easy goals in the Old Firm matches next season.

A week is a long time in politics, they say. It’s both much shorter and much longer in sport.For supporters, in a week an entire squad should be changed, a coach replaced and a mindset shifted. After South Africa’s defeat at Lord’s, half the batting line-up were under scrutiny, there was increased interest in Russell Domingo’s position especially with his reapplication still under consideration and concerns that the disappointments of a long and largely unsuccessful trip to the UK were haunting even the mostly successful Test outfit.For the squad concerned, that week was about long day after long day of trying to fix what went wrong without overhauling the system. Practically they cannot pick as many new players as public opinion demands, neither can they change the management and while they can reframe their approach a little, they can’t actually alter what is often spoken about as a “brand” of play in such a short space of time. They know that they will have to take a similar group of players and the same support staff and aim for a different result. So how exactly did South Africa achieve that?A lot can be put down to the basics, both in selection and team performance. South Africa dropped their worst performing batsman from Lord’s, JP Duminy, swapped out another batsman, Theunis de Bruyn, for an allrounder, Chris Morris and had their captain Faf du Plessis back. The changes gave them more stability in the line-up and more options in the attack. They also did not bowl a single no-ball at Trent Bridge after overstepping 10 times at Lord’s and took all their catches in Nottingham after putting down four in London.Those things were not done by the flicking of a switch or the taking of a scolding but by focusing on two key things. “One was character. The style of play we normally have is one with a lot of character and intensity and good body language,” du Plessis explained.South Africa pride themselves on their ability to bounce back, which has its own problems because it means they have to be behind first, but it has allowed them to develop thick, resilient skins. They were reminded of that after their drubbing at Lord’s.The second thing was how they respond to pressure. “In the first Test, we played some good cricket but at times that went missing a bit,” du Plessis said. “It’s important how long and how well we can do that because it puts pressure on the opposition and then also, when you are under pressure, to make sure how you respond to those moments to get the pressure back on the opposition.”South Africa’s battling effort in the first session of the match set the tone•Getty Images

South Africa’s batsmen built steadier partnerships than England by playing the patience game and their bowlers broke through England’s attacking approach. As a unit, South Africa could dictate terms throughout the match. “Pretty much from the toss to the last ball that we bowled, we were in control of this Test match,” du Plessis said.Even when du Plessis chose to bat first in conditions most other captains, including the home one, would have bowled in he was confident his men had it covered. “We knew it would be tough but and we are used to making those brave decisions,” he said. “Back in South Africa we prepare green wickets and we’re not scared of batting first. For England to only get one wicket and us to get 56 runs in that session set the tone.”Then they promoted their best batsmen to No.4 and it paid off handsomely. Quinton de Kock’s sprightly 68 gave the first innings life. Though he failed in the second innings, South Africa are set to stick with him higher up and allowing him the freedom to continue playing a naturally aggressive game.”It wasn’t a case of making a decision that’s just a once off, I’m a big believer, in giving guys a fair opportunity,” du Plessis said. “We all know that the way he plays is the way he plays, so we are not going to ask him to change that. He’s going to put pressure on the opposition and he’s a good enough cricketer to understand when to adapt his game to play certain situations, so he’ll learn a lot from this.”The batsmen and the conditions gave the bowlers enough to work with but even after removing England for 205 in the first innings, du Plessis was preparing to play a long game in search of a series-levelling victory. “A lot of people might have thought we had enough runs long before we did, but for me it was crucial we got 450-plus to make sure it looked like a really big total because the pitch was still good,” he said. “We weren’t expecting it to be easy. We were mentally preparing to take it to lunch or even tea tomorrow.”That the win came mid-way through the day was a welcome bonus for a South African side that wanted to be challenged. They spent a week preparing for a fight, because both they knew that any small slip up in the second match would turn the entire tour on its head. The Test series would be un-winnable; the trip irredeemable. Now they have more than a week before they go again. It’s a long time in sport, both long enough for England to forget and long enough for South Africa to remember.

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن نادي ريال مدريد، قرر التمديد لثنائي الفريق، خلال الأيام القادمة لمدة موسم آخر.

التقارير أكدت خلال الساعات الماضية بأن ريال مدريد قرر تمديد عقد توني كروس حتى عام 2025، ولكن الأخبار السارة ستكون مصحوبة بتطورين مهمين آخرين.

وحسب ما أفادت صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية، فأنه من المتوقع أن يعلن النادي الأسبوع المقبل عن التمديد للثنائي لوكاس فاسكيز وناتشو فرنانديز لمدة موسم آخر.

وأشارت التقارير إلى أن التمديد لـ ناتشو سيكون مهمًا للغاية في ظل إصابات إيدير ميليتاو ودافيد ألابا، وهو ما جعله يشارك بشكل أساسي في الفترة الماضية، مقارنة بالسنوات الماضية داخل النادي الملكي.

ويعتبر ناتشو القائد الأول للفريق، بعد رحيل كريم بنزيما في الصيف الماضي إلى الاتحاد السعودي، وسيلعب مباراته الـ30 هذا الموسم أمام أتلتيك بلباو يوم الأحد المقبل، مما يجعله قادرًا على إنهاء الموسم بأكثر من 40 مباراة، وهي المرة الأولى في مسيرته.

صاحب الـ34 عامًا لم يكن وحده من أعاد إحياء مسيرته في ريال مدريد، ولكن أيضًا لوكاس فاسكيز صاحب الـ32 عامًا، بعدما شارك في العديد من المباريات بسبب إصابات داني كارفاخال.

شارك فاسكيز أيضًا في 26 مباراة، بهدف واحد و5 تمريرات حاسمة، وكان هدفه في مواجهة ديبورتيفو ألافيس حاسمًا، وأعطى من خلاله ريال مدريد صدارة ترتيب الدوري.

بالإضافة إلى مشاركات الثنائي هذا الموسم في الملعب، لكن أيضًا هناك جانب هام للغاية، بأهمية ناتشو قائد الفريق، وفاسكيز أحد اللاعبين القدامى والحرس القديم للملكي، داخل غرف خلع الملابس، وما يقدمه في مركز الظهير الأيمن الذي أصبح يشارك فيه مؤخرًا.

التقارير الإسبانية أكدت على أن ريال مدريد حدد الأسبوع المقبل لتجديد عقود الثلاثي، كروس وناتشو وفاسكيز حتى نهاية موسم 2024\2025، في يونيو 2025.