Wrexham may be undertaking an intense training schedule while on their North America tour, but midfielder Jordan Davies says it could be much worse.
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Wrexham doing two training sessions per day
Getting in shape for USA & Canada matches
Davies says facilities make workload easier
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Red Dragons are in Los Angeles as they gear up for matches against Premier League teams Bournemouth and Chelsea in California before they head to Canada to take on Vancouver Whitecaps to conclude the tour.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Phil Parkinson has his players doing double training sessions to get them back in shape after their summer break – and a glitzy launch party in Beverly Hills hosted by co-owner Rob McElhenney – as they begin preparations on the grounds of the University of Los Angeles. The burden of the schedule has been made somewhat easier, though, due to the quality of the facilities, Davies says.
WHAT DAVIES SAID
"Two sessions a day and the facilities probably make those sessions a little bit easier when it gets tough because the facilities are brilliant," he told . "Chappell Hill University was one of the highlights of the trip last year, I thought it was a special place. It is UCLA this time around so it will be a similar experience. "It is brilliant and it probably gives you that five per cent more – it is better than running around a cow field I suppose! "You are over in LA, working hard and enjoying your job which is what it is about."
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WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?
Beating Premier League opposition in the United States may be a tall order for the Red Dragons, but they will be hoping to lift their confidence ahead of their first season back in League One following their second consecutive promotion.
Rangers could reportedly secure the record-breaking signing of an "electric" player during the summer transfer window, but only on one condition.
Rangers transfer news
Philippe Clement's side find themselves at the top of the Scottish Premiership table currently, managing to gain a two-point advantage over rivals Celtic. There is still a long way to go, but supporters will be dreaming of glory this season, not only because of the joy of winning the league, but also due to the players they could attract this summer.
Two players who have been linked with moves to Ibrox at the end of the campaign are Rapid Vienna pair Leopold Querfeld and Matthias Seidl, with the former an imposing young centre-back and the latter an Austria international midfielder.
Callum O'Hare
Meanwhile, Coventry City attacking midifelder Callum O'Hare has also emerged as a target for Rangers, as he continues to shine for the Championship side. This season, he has six goals and three assists to his name in the league, and will become a free agent at the end of the campaign.
Lawrence Shankland was backed to join the Gers during the January window, as he enjoys a superb campaign leading the line for Hearts, and it remains to be seen if they could come back in for him in the coming months.
Rangers will sign "electric" star if they win the league
According to Football Insider, Rangers "will" seal the record-breaking signing of Abdallah Sima in the summer, assuming they clinch Scottish Premiership title glory.
Rangers winger Abdallah Sima.
That's because of the "huge transfer kitty" they would receive through qualifying for the Champions League, generating funds for new faces to come in. Sima's current permanent club Brighton value him between £10-15m, meaning Rangers will likely have to break their transfer record of £12m spent on striker Tore Andre Flo way back in 2000.
Rangers' 10 most expensive signings
Cost
1. Tore Andre Flo
£12m
2. Michael Ball
£8.5m
3. Mikel Arteta
£6.9m
4. Arthur Numan
£6.7m
5. Giovanni van Bronckhorst
£6.5m
6. Barry Ferguson
£6.35m
7. Bert Konterman
£6.35m
8. Ryan Kent
£6.31m
9. Michael Mols
£5.6m
10. Gaby Amato
£5.6m
The Gers should definitely be looking to bring in the 22-year-old on a permanent basis this summer, considering how much he has already caught the eye on loan at Ibrox. He has 10 goals in 20 league outings this season, only 15 of which have been starts, and he is a big miss through injury at the moment.
Given his age, Sima would be viewed as a player who can develop into an even more polished and fearsome prospect over time, and Rangers captain James Tavernier has heaped praise on his teammate.
Rangers and Clement now eyeing double deal for two in-demand talents
The Gers aren’t the only club interested.
By
Tom Cunningham
Mar 8, 2024
Granted, the money that Brighton will demand will be a significant amount, but if Clement's side do get Champions League football, the money will be there to spend, ensuring they find another gear next season.
The uncapped Michael Neser has also been included among 14 names for the two Tests against Pakistan
Andrew McGlashan14-Nov-2019
Joe Burns pulls through square leg•Getty Images
Joe Burns and Travis Head are set to fill the batting vacancies in Australia’s Test line-up after being named in the 14-man squad for the two matches against Pakistan.Australia Test squad
David Warner, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Cameron Bancroft, Tim Paine (capt & wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson, Michael Neser
Cameron Bancroft, who was dropped after two Ashes Tests, has also been called up after his late inclusion to the Australia A side while the uncapped Michael Neser has been included as another seam-bowling option in a squad that covers both a day Test in Brisbane and a day-night Test in Adelaide. It was announced earlier in the day that Will Pucovski had asked not to be considered for selection as he manages his mental health.”We feel [Joe] was unlucky to miss the Ashes squad,” national selector Trevor Hohns said. “Joe’s record speaks for itself, he has Test hundreds on the board and has combined very well with David [Warner] in the past. We also like the feel of a right-hand, left-hand combination at the top of the order.”Travis scored a hundred against a very good New South Wales attack just a few weeks ago and also offers the option of part-time off-spin. Matthew Wade was superb as a specialist batsman through last summer, had a solid Ashes series with two hundreds and strong start to the current domestic season.”We anticipate Matthew and Travis will give us a strong middle order in support of the top four. Cameron Bancroft is someone who has the ingredients of what we believe makes a good Test cricketer and rounds out our batting group in the squad.”Travis Head celebrates his hundred•Getty Images
Despite the unconvincing form of a number of the batsman, and the Australia A side falling to 9 for 57, Test captain Tim Paine remained bullish ahead of the series. “I saw that Pakistan are smelling blood in the water or whatever they said,” he told reporters in Adelaide. “What happened in Perth has got nothing to do with what is going to happen at the Gabba. The same thing happened in England with the Headingley Test – ‘Oh, momentum’ and all these words that don’t matter. Ball one at the Gabba next week is all square and we start again.”Burns’ recall means Marcus Harris, who was the incumbent opener having played the last three Ashes Tests, loses his place while Usman Khawaja has paid the price for a poor start to the domestic season having been dropped in England.Harris managed just 58 runs in six innings after replacing Bancroft during the Ashes. Though his form has been steady at the start of the domestic season with a century, which came on a featherbed at Junction Oval in Melbourne, and two half-centuries, he has been cut.Burns failed twice in the Australia A match against Pakistan in Perth but the selectors, Trevor Hohns and Justin Langer, have opted to return to a player who has four centuries in 16 Tests including 180 in his most recent outing against Sri Lanka in February. A stint with Lancashire was cut short by post-viral fatigue syndrome and though he returned for the Australia A tour of England – and scored a century – he was left out of the Ashes squad.Head, who will also be joint vice-captain with Pat Cummins, was part of Australia A’s collapse, but a century in the previous round of Sheffield Shield has been enough for a swift return.Bancroft has come up on the rails to earn his place after a lean start to the season for Western Australia and not initially being included in the Australia A side until Nic Maddinson withdrew for mental health reasons. However, after Australia A subsided on the second day in Perth, he top-scored with 49 from No. 6 and has the versatility to bat in any position among the top order if required.Neser, who was part of the Ashes squad, has been rewarded for a strong start to the season and will push for the third pace-bowling slot alongside Mitchell Starc, who has been in outstanding form for New South Wales, and James Pattinson although one of the latter two will be favoured to join Cummins and Josh Hazlewood at the Gabba. However, Neser’s impressive performance with the pink ball against Pakistan A in Perth could put him in contention for the day-night Test in Adelaide and he has effectively taken Peter Siddle’s position.”We are blessed to have four of the best fast bowlers in the world challenging each other for spots and most importantly playing as a group,” Hohns said. “Cummins, Starc, Hazelwood and Pattinson are daunting pace prospects for any opposition, particularly at home. Michael Neser adds to that group with his ability move the ball both ways, giving the team another bowling option depending on the conditions.”Mitchell Marsh, who took the No. 6 slot at The Oval in September and claimed a maiden five-wicket haul, was not in contention for this squad having broken his hand punching the dressing room wall at the WACA last month.
Tottenham Hotspur are performing well this season and there are numerous signs of promise that Ange Postecoglou is the right man to lead the club away from the malaise of recent campaigns.
Combining with chairman Daniel Levy to blend pitch performance with sharp and astute recruitment, Tottenham are fighting to reclaim a spot at the forefront of the Premier League, with one eye on European conquests to come too.
Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy.
While impactful signings such as James Maddison and Micky van de Ven have captivated and revived a sombre-feeling fanbase since the Australian manager's arrival, he has been aided by some former groundwork invested in the procurement of young talent.
Destiny Udogie, for example, was signed from Udinese for £15m back in 2022 but spent the subsequent campaign back on loan with the Serie A side, while Pape Matar Sarr was nurtured with a bit-part role last season before being unleashed with regularity at present.
Both are remarkable players but the latter, Sarr, might just bloom into one of Europe's foremost midfielders.
Pape Sarr's Spurs performance in 2023/24
Tottenham signed Sarr from French Ligue 1 club Metz in a £15m package back in 2021 before being handed back to his former club for the campaign, much like with Udogie.
Tottenham midfielder Pape Sarr.
An injury crisis gave Lilywhites supporters a tantalising glimpse of the quality at the now-21-year-old Sarr's disposal last season after he started against AC Milan in the Champions League, excelling in the first leg at the San Siro and leading Harry Kane to gush over his potential
The Three Lions skipper said: "He's got fantastic quality. I think you saw today he was everywhere. He was breaking up play, tracking back, making tackles, shots, crosses. He's a player who has all the ability and he'll only get better from experiences like tonight, playing a really good team, a really good midfield."
Pape Sarr: Stats vs AC Milan (14/02/2023)
Stat
#
Minutes played
90'
Touches
77
Accurate passes
49/59 (83%)
Key passes
1
Long balls
5/6
Dribble attempts
1/2
Tackles
5
Interceptions
1
Duels won
9/16
Stats via Sofascore
He did, however, only earn three starting berths in the Premier League but has taken huge strides in his development since Postecoglou's arrival, having established himself as a key cog in the centre of the park, with his turbo-powered energy and multi-skilled midfield approach blending nicely with that of the tough-tackling Yves Bissouma.
Now, lauded as "one of these midfielders who really causes issues for opponents" by his Spurs boss, Sarr has demonstrated such prowess with three goals and three assists apiece across 20 Premier League starts this term, completing 88% of his passes and averaging 1.1 tackles, 4.5 ball recoveries per game, as per Sofascore.
Moreover, he ranks among the top 14% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 6% for assists and the top 18% for progressive passes per 90, as per FBref, emphasising his adept offensive ability and ubiquity in his craft, also lingering back to chug balls forward with electric constancy.
To put it succinctly: Sarr is a real talent and will rise to the very forefront of the European game if he continues on his current course. He's proof of an exciting change of tack after years of mediocrity, with the Spurs academy absolutely booming at present.
Spurs' most exciting academy stars
Sarr is a prodigious young player but he's not a product of Tottenham's underbelly, though thankfully there is a wealth of promise positively begging to burst through onto the senior pitch, with no one currently playing for the development squad more exciting than Mikey Moore.
The versatile forward, aged only 16, has been in scintillating form this season and has scored 12 goals and supplied seven assists from only ten games in the U18 Premier League. He's the real deal.
"Grafts and grafts" – Young Tottenham star getting rave reviews in training
He’s been putting in extra hours.
ByEmilio Galantini Mar 26, 2024
He's not the only young gun on the block, however, with Premier League icon Yaya Toure naming Callum Olusesi alongside Moore as one of the biggest talents down N17.
Toure was an absolute powerhouse for Manchester City and had been earning a living as a youth coach at Tottenham since his retirement, thus spending much time overseeing some of the development of stars of Olusesi's age bracket.
The Ivorian said: "Yeah, definitely. Mikey Moore and Callum Olusesi are top grade U16s, they are really good and most of the time they were playing with the 18s."
Given that Manchester United had a vested interest in poaching Olusesi from Lilywhite clutches before he penned a long-term contract in north London, it's patently clear that Postecoglou might have a future star on his hands.
Callum Olusesi's season in numbers
The 17-year-old Olusesi has recently penned his first professional contract with Tottenham having made a name for himself as a regular for the club's U18s in 2022/23 while still a schoolboy.
This term, the robust midfielder has racked up eight goals and four assists across the U18 Premier League and FA Youth Cup despite featuring from the centre of the pitch, and given his elegance and technical quality, it might just be that Postecoglou already has a Sarr regen on his hands.
The England U17 international's free-scoring success has placed him in good stead for a prominent career down the line, though he will likely need to continue his work at the current level heading into the 2023/24 campaign before making a deeper mark next term, hoping to crane Postecoglou's neck as he stands out among a host of top teenage talent.
An innate eye for goal is definitely not a bad way to start swivelling heads, and it's important to remember that Olusesi is still younger than Sarr was when the Senegal international first put pen to paper with Tottenham.
He's one to keep an eye on. If he keeps working as hard as he is at present, it might be a name on many more lips before the close of the 2024/25 campaign.
Rangers have been dealt a blow as an injury expert has warned not to expect one key man back in the squad for the Old Firm derby in what will come as a blow to Philippe Clement.
Ibrox showdown looms large
The Scottish Premiership is reaching its climax and either one of Rangers and Celtic could still scoop top spot come the end of the campaign. As it stands, Celtic sit top of the table, but only courtesy of Rangers' clash with Dundee being postponed. Clement's side have a game in hand on the Hoops and sit just a point adrift.
Scottish Premiership race
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Goal Difference
Points
Celtic
30
22
5
3
48
71
Rangers
29
23
1
5
48
70
One side boasts the best attack in the division while the other lays claim to the best defence, and the pair are the two best sides bar none in Scotland once again. It makes their meeting at Ibrox in a fortnight even more intriguing, with whoever wins the next Old Firm derby handed a massive boost in their pursuit of silverware come the end of the campaign.
Neither side are likely to be at full strength – Celtic have concerns over centre-back Liam Scales and midfielder Reo Hatate, but there are certainly more issues on the other side of Glasgow. As it stands, Rangers are sweating on the fitness of Todd Cantwell, Ross McCausland, Kieran Dowell, Danilo, Rabbi Matondo and Abdallah Sima.
Abdallah Sima injury update
Sima is certain to miss the upcoming clash with Hibs, and now looks unlikely to return in time for Celtic, as he will not have been in full training long enough to be match fit. Sima has been missing since the middle of January with a thigh injury, but remains the club's second top-goalscorer this season alongside Cyriel Dessers, having notched 14 goals and grabbed a further 2 assists.
Philippe Clement already eyeing double summer swoop for Rangers
It depends if they qualify for the Champions League.
ByHenry Jackson Feb 4, 2024
According to medical expert Dr Rajpal Brar, who weighed in on his injury situation, he would have had to returned to training by this point to have a serious chance of being in the mix for the debry.
“The key will be how he’s responding to first-team training but I would be surprised to see him not get bounce matches to build up fitness and rhythm considering how long he has been out", he explained to Ibrox News.
Rangers winger Abdallah Sima.
“It will take multiple games for him to tolerate 90 minutes. So I think he is unlikely not just to start but also to be available for that [Celtic] game. If he’s back in full training already then it’s a possibility but that does not seem to be the case."
The news will come as a major blow to Rangers, who would have loved to be able to call upon Sima's services for the clash, at least from the bench. However, his eventual return will be welcome in the aftermath of the tie as they look to pip Celtic to top spot.
O São Paulo goleou o Sporting Cristal por 3 a 0, no Morumbi, pela sexta rodada do Grupo E da Libertadores. Apesar de não ter marcado gol, o meia Shaylon foi um dos destaques da equipe na partida e recebeu elogios do técnico Crespo e até mesmo da torcida são-paulina.
ATUAÇÕES: Bruno Alves, Hernanes e Rojas lideram reservas do São Paulo em vitória na Libertadores
Atuando como uma espécie de segundo volante, o camisa 19 foi muito participativo, ajudando na construção de jogadas na frente da defesa são-paulina e também dando um último passe para finalização, como a de Vitor Bueno, que o goleiro Duarte defendeu.
VEJA A TABELA E SIMULE JOGOS DO CAMPEONATO BRASILEIRO
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De acordo com o ‘SofaScore’, o meia teve 97 ações com a bola, sendo sete passes decisivos e ainda teve uma taxa de 91% de acertos em passes, tocando a bola corretamente em 81 de 89 passes. Além disso, foi uma chance de gol criada, três cruzamentos certos – 100% de acerto -, dois dribles e um desarme.
A boa atuação rendeu elogios do comandante Hernán Crespo, que afirmou observar o jogador. Segundo ele, Shaylon pode ter mais chances com a camisa do São Paulo nesta temporada.
– Sim! Porque não? Como todos, deve merecer, trabalhar durante todos os treinos. Todos fizeram isso até hoje – respondeu de forma sucinta.
Vale ressaltar que Shaylon esteve emprestado ao Goiás na temporada passada, onde atuou até mesmo na lateral, e a princípio, não estava nos planos da comissão técnica do São Paulo. No entanto, o desempenho do jogador nos treinamentos fez Crespo dar uma chance ao camisa 19. Nesta temporada, foi relacionado para cinco partidas.
Ficou no banco em três delas e participou de duas, ambas na Libertadores. Jogou 30 minutos na derrota para o Racing (ARG), por 1 a 0, no Morumbi e participou dos 90 minutos diante do Sporting Cristal (PER), na goleada por 3 a 0, na última quinta-feira.
Shimron Hetmyer played one of the great innings in a chase against India in India to rattle the hosts, who had assumed West Indies had made a mistake asking them to bat first. It was a bittersweet day for India as Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant rescued them from an early wobble, showing signs of a stable middle order beginning to form.However, India’s lack of penetration – Ravindra Jadeja was their fourth specialist bowler – in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah was exposed brutally by Hetmyer, who hit 11 fours and seven sixes in his 106-ball 139. At the other end, Shai Hope walked the tightrope between the kind of innings that binds a chase and one so slow that it puts undue pressure on the other batsmen. He came out unbeaten on 102 off 151, emphatically stating which side of the rope he was on.The two sides read the conditions completely differently. India were happy to bat first on a “dry” surface that Virat Kohli felt would be broken up by spikes. India’s approach, though, remained confounding as they played debutant Shivam Dube and Kedar Jadhav as their fifth bowler. They ended up conceding the highest successful chase at Chepauk. It would appear the pitch kept getting quicker as it dried from the extra moisture left to keep the pitch together.Sheldon Cottrell caused serious damage while the moisture kept the pitch slow. This was the first time since the World Cup semi-final exit that none of India’s top three scored a half-century. Two of them went down to Cottrell who kept bowling cutters with the new ball. Both KL Rahul and Kohli fell in his fourth over, Rahul getting a leading edge and Kohli uncharacteristically falling into the trap of a free single to third man and playing on. India 25 for 2.After Cottrell’s first spell of 5-3-12-2, some of the pressure was released by the erroneous Hayden Walsh. That is why Rohit Sharma will be more disappointed that he fell to the slowness of the surface after getting himself in for a 56-ball 36.Unlike the World Cup semi-final, India had cause for optimism in the way Iyer and Pant rebuilt the innings from 80 for 3 without going into their shells for too long. Pant in particular played a seemingly restrained innings but still finished with a strike rate of over 100. Tortured by taunting calls of “Dhoni, Dhoni” all over India, Pant now had Dhoni’s “home” crowd of Chennai chanting “Ree-shabh Pant, Ree-shabh Pant”.It was Pant’s urgency after a start of six off 16 that allowed Iyer to go about his business. Neither of them took any outrageous risk as they stepped up the run rate. They added 114 at better than a run a ball after scoring just 12 off the first 33 balls they faced. Pant was 27 when Iyer got to 45; the two got to their half-centuries in successive overs. As they looked to kick into the next gear, both fell to aerial shots, underlining some of the trickiness remained.Rishabh Pant gets down on one knee to sweep over backward square leg•BCCI
West Indies bowled smartly into the surface towards the end of the innings, conceding just 71 off the last 10 overs despite the returning Jadhav scoring 40 off 35.India’s last bit of joy on the night came through the early dismissal of Sunil Ambris. This pitch had quickened up noticeably, and Hetmeyer batted with scant respect for a limited attack. After the first two boundaries off the edge, the rest was mostly clean and sensational hitting.Once the new-ball bowlers had bowled their four-over spells, Hetmyer began to prey on the toothlesness of India’s attack. He hit boundaries in each of Dube’s first two overs, which went for a combined 15, and then hit Jadhav out of the attack with two fours in what turned out to be his only over. Now he went to put Kuldeep Yadav under pressure, unfurling the slog sweep. Against Jadeja he sat back and waited for the eventual drag-down, and hit them for successvie sixes in the 22nd over. It was particularly frustrating for spinners to bowl to Hetmyer because he used the crease expertly to late-cut even good-length deliveries. The ball to drag him onto the front foot had to be half-volleys, which he easily scored off.India needed wickets, but all they could turn to was Dube and Jadeja. This went against India’s philosophy of the last two years when they packed their attack with bowlers who could take wickets in the middle overs. They had done the same in the deciding T20I earlier in the week, but now they were forced to go back to Shami. And Hetmyer was disdainful of him, hitting him for a four and a ferociously pulled six.West Indies were now 149 for 1 after 26 overs, Hetmyer was 90 off 70, and the chase looked all but done. India received a lucky break when Hetmyer came down with painful cramps in the next over. Eight overs went by with no boundaries. While the asking rate still remained under six for the last 16 overs, there might have been that itch for release. Amid that, Chahar, the only bowler to have gone at under a run a ball against Hetmyer, produced a mistimed pull, but Iyer dropped it at long-on.That proved to be India’s last chance as Hetmyer went on another assault, picking apart Jadeja with successive sixes and Dube with a six and a four off successive balls. After Hetmyer fell, leaving West Indies 59 to get off 68 balls, Hope made sure there were no hiccups. He knew he would have at least four overs from Dube or Jadhav to feast upon, which meant Kuldeep’s last two overs for four runs failed to preoduce any pressure.
“Earlier I used to put pressure on myself about performing. Now I don’t think too much about those things”
Varun Shetty in Kolkata22-Nov-20192:09
I am enjoying my cricket right now – Ishant
A renewed approach to life has helped Ishant Sharma grow as a bowler, he said after taking a five-wicket haul in India’s first day-night Test. It was his first five-for in India since his first home match in 2007 against Pakistan.Ishant has more or less become a permanent member of this Indian team over the last two years, and is central to the pace attack that has progressively improved as India firmly established themselves in the No. 1 spot in Tests. This permanence and the recent bursts of improvement have not been enough to make Ishant consistently challenge for a limited-overs spot. But 12 years and 96 Tests later, he is not wasting time feeling sorry for himself.”In some sense [it hurts], yes. But I’m at a stage of my life where I’ve stopped worrying about these kind of things. I’m 31 now, I can’t keep worrying now about which format my name has been picked for.” Ishant said at the press conference in Kolkata. “Whether I play for India, whether I play Ranji Trophy – I just want to be playing at this point. It’s a simple thing. If you desire to keep playing, you’ll do well. Cricket’s given us everything. If we keep cribbing about small things like these, we will never improve.”Ishant Sharma’s two five-wicket hauls in home Tests•ESPNcricinfo LtdJust before Sri Lanka’s tour of India almost exactly two years ago, Ishant had taken 212 wickets at 36.93 in 77 Tests. Since the start of that series, he has taken 76 wickets in 19 games. His career average has gone up by a dramatic four runs per wicket and is presently at 32.94. That is precisely the average at which Zaheer Khan finished his career. If he plays in four more Tests, Ishant will be first frontline fast bowler since Kapil Dev to go past 100 Tests for India. These are all feats that were improbable some five years ago. What changed?”I think I’m enjoying my cricket now,” Ishant said. “Earlier I used to put pressure on myself about performing – that I need to take wickets, that I’m only beating the batsman…a lot of things used to run on my mind. Now I don’t think too much about those things, just how to take wickets. Obviously I’m experienced so I can assess conditions and adjust my lengths quickly, that makes it easy.”Ishant Sharma interview on The Cricket Monthly: ‘If I don’t take wickets even in one innings, I think my career for India is over’Another feat Ishant achieved on Friday was that he bowled India’s first delivery in a day-night Test. Bowling with the pink ball, he said, was not the same.”It was very different. In the start you must have seen that when we bowled a normal length, it wasn’t swinging that much. After that we realised what lengths we need to be hitting in order to get some more help. So the three of us [fast bowlers] communicated about hitting the right length,” Ishant said.Regardless of that rustiness, India managed to be consistent enough to have Bangladesh six down by lunch. The fall of those wickets began with Ishant trapping Imrul Kayes lbw. And it came with a ball he only started developing during the second day in the previous Test.Ishant Sharma picked up the first wicket for India on their pink-ball Test debut•BCCI”You must have seen that normally I used to swing it away from the left-hander,” Ishant said, talking of his new incoming delivery. “So I needed to add a variation. Your game only improves when you bring variety to it, and build confidence to bowl those in the match. So I was trying to bowl more of that in practice. In this match, the first wicket that I got – Imrul Kayes lbw – I got him with that ball. The two bowled wickets I got were also that ball. The ball lands and stays straight, it doesn’t go away from the batsman.”On the flip side of this contest, Bangladesh have struggled to show any resistance, in any innings, against this Indian attack. While neither of the pitches have particularly difficult to bat on, Bangladesh’s top-order has crumbled in the face of relentless pressure. At the same time, their bowlers haven’t come as close to troubling India. But even as they face a grueling period, head coach Russell Domingo was optimistic, citing Ishant’s steep rise as a potential inspiration for his own bowlers.”I don’t want to keep comparing the two sides but if you think of the number of Tests their pacers have played, and compare that with Ebadot’s fourth Test match, we have a very inexperienced bowling line-up.,” he said.”Look at the way Ishant started, and the way his career is now. It takes a bit of time for these young fast bowlers to find the length and the discipline it takes to bowl to guys like Rohit, Virat or Pujara. It is a steep learning curve at the moment.”
أصدرت رابطة الليجا بيانًا رسميًا عبر موقعها، بشأن مباراة ريال مدريد وفالنسيا المقرر لها السبت القادم بمنافسات بطولة الدوري الإسباني.
وأفادت رابطة الليجا في بيانها، أنه تم تأجيل مباراة ريال مدريد وفالنسيا، وعدد من مواجهات الجولة 12، دون تحديد الموعد الجديد.
ويأتي ذلك بسبب إعصار دانا الذي ضرب منطقة فالنسيا وراح ضحيته عدد كبير من الأشخاص وتسبب في حدوث فيضانات وإغلاق الطرق وتعليق النقل بالسكك الحديدية. بيان رابطة الدوري الإسباني بشأن تأجيل مباراة ريال مدريد وفالنسيا
“نظرًا للوضع الحالي الذي نعاني منه في إسبانيا، والذي تسبب في العديد من الضحايا، خاصة في فالنسيا، طلبت رابطة الليجا، بناءً على طلب الأندية، من الاتحاد الإسباني لكرة القدم تأجيل مباريات الجولة 12 من الدوري الإسباني والجولة 13 من دوري الدرجة الثانية الإسباني التي كان من المقرر لعبها في منطقة فالنسيا خلال نهاية هذا الأسبوع، وهي مباريات، فياريال ورايو فاليكانو، فالنسيا وريال مدريد.
وستكون هناك دقيقة صمت، تخليدًا لذكرى ضحايا إعصار دانا، وتعرب المؤسسة عن تعازيها وتعازي جميع أندية كرة القدم الإسبانية لعائلات وأصدقاء الضحايا، وتعرب عن تضامنها مع أسر الضحايا والمفقودين”.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has explained why USMNT star Christian Pulisic, who is captain of his country, has become a “leader” for AC Milan.
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Productive debut season in ItalyBecome key man for the RossoneriReady for friendly duty in his homelandWHAT HAPPENED?
The United States international, who filled skipper duties at the 2024 Copa America, made a brave career call at club level when leaving Premier League giants Chelsea for San Siro in the summer of 2023. That decision was vindicated when enjoying a positive debut campaign in Italy.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT LOFTUS-CHEEK SAID
Pulisic posted a personal-best goal return of 15 efforts last season – with many of his appearances coming on the right flank – and Loftus-Cheek has said of seeing the 25-year-old become a key part of the Rossoneri’s plans: “I think he's a leader in the fact that he leads by example on the pitch. He had a fantastic season and we can only hope it gets better. It's a pleasure to play with Christian and to see his growth as well… He's just nice to be around, he doesn't want all the attention off the pitch, and he's quite a calm guy. It's nice to be around a person who is what you want in a good friend.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Loftus-Cheek also worked with Pulisic at Stamford Bridge and added on the bond that they have struck up on and off the field: “When Christian came to Chelsea we got on straight away. A genuine guy, a kind person, very talkative, and easy to get along with. When he said he was coming to AC Milan shortly after I made the transfer I was excited because he's a top player.”
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PumaWHAT NEXT?
Pulisic is still in the States on the back of a disappointing showing at the Copa America and will soon be joined by Loftus-Cheek and the rest of his club colleagues as Milan ready themselves for friendly dates with Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid.