Category Uncategorized

Reliable reporter Mark Hendry has shared what he’s heard out of Celtic following rumours of a potential move to bring Jota back to Parkhead.

Is Jota returning to Celtic?

The Hoops enjoyed a productive transfer window over the summer under new manager Brendan Rodgers. The club managed to bring in 10 new players at a total cost of just under £20m and still brought in a healthy profit due to Jota’s big-money move to Saudi Arabia.

The 24-year-old moved to Al Ittihad in a deal worth £25m, however, things haven’t quite gone to plan, with Jota making just five appearances so far. Al Ittihad also brought in nine overseas players but are only able to register eight, resulting in Jota being the man left out and only able to feature in AFC Champions League and Club World Cup games.

It was even claimed that Jota requested for his contract to be terminated but saw that rejected, with Tottenham one club to be linked with a move. Celtic have also been rumoured over making a potential swoop, with pundit Frank McAvennie recently saying:

“Someone told me Jota is coming back in January.

“It would be nice to have him back because you know what you are getting with him but I do think Brendan will need to sit down with the powers that be and tell them that he needs to sign some players.”

However, Hendry shared an update for Football Scotland regarding the Hoops and Jota in the last 48 hours. The reliable reporter stated that ‘sources have confirmed’ that no movement or approach has been made to bring Jota back to Glasgow in what ‘would be a major swoop’, with the club not considering a transfer.

Who did Celtic sign this summer?

It doesn’t look as if Jota will return to Scotland, however, as mentioned, Celtic have a number of new players thanks to the Portuguese attacker’s sale.

Maik Nawrocki, Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Odin Thiago Holm, Hyun-jun Yang, Marco Tilio, Hyeok-kyu Kwon and Tomoki Iwata all penned permanent Parkhead deals, whereas Nat Phillips and Paulo Bernardo joined on loan from Liverpool and Benfica respectively.

Palma, Yang and Tilio are naturally wingers, so Celtic aren’t exactly short of options despite the loss of Jota, with Daizen Maeda, James Forrest, Mikey Johnston and the injured Liel Abada also on the books.

Bringing back a player of Jota’s quality could have been nice for Rodgers, especially if it was for a cut-price fee, however, the Northern Irishman will have to work with what he has until the New Year, recently hinting that he wanted one or two more additions over the summer.

"We work with the players who are here. I’m not saying that in any disrespectful way. I think every manager will tell you they maybe wish they could have done one or two more signings but the window closed, we had the players we had and we will work with the best players at our disposal to make our performance level as best as it can be."

MatériaMais Notícias

Na vitória contra o Santos por 3 a 1, no Maracanã, o atacante Marcos Paulo, do Fluminense, finalmente desencantou e voltou a balançar as redes. Ojogador não marcava desde março, na partida contra o Resende, pelo Campeonato Carioca.Em sua rede social, o atleta comemorou e disse que deve um jantar a Ganso pela assistência no lance.

– Deus é maravilhoso. Feliz demais pela vitória e por voltar a fazer gol! Quem me conhece sabe o quanto eu trabalho, o quanto eu me cobro para sempre entregar o meu melhor! Obrigado Deus, por ter mais gente por mim do que contra mim. Seguimos na luta…Ganso te devo um jantar – comentou o jovem.

RelacionadasFluminenseDodi despista sobre renovação com o Fluminense, mas diz: ‘Muito feliz aqui’Fluminense25/10/2020FluminenseDefensores participam de 34,3% dos gols do Fluminense e são decisivosFluminense25/10/2020FluminenseFluminense perde Dodi e Fred para duelo com o Fortaleza no BrasileirãoFluminense25/10/2020

Com contrato até o meio de 2021, o Fluminense negociou uma possível venda do atacante para o Olympique de Marselha, mas não chegou a um acordo com a equipe francesa. Além disso, ele tem sido alvo de algumas críticas pelas últimas atuações e por ter tido uma queda de rendimento na temporada.Durante o Brasileirão, ele já esteve em campo por 649 minutos e marcou o seu primeiro gol na competição.

– Um atacante tem a necessidade do gol, é importante dentro da confiança dele. Com o Marcos Paulo não é diferente. É um jogador promissor e que estamos trabalhando muito para que ele evolua. É um excelente menino e excepcional jogador. Há uma disputa e ela é benéfica para o grupo. Talvez na função de lado de campo é onde temos o maior número de jogadores. Tenho usado eles em momentos diferentes, outras características, e ele está nesse processo. Fico feliz que ele tenha feito o gol pois gera mais confiança. Foi em um momento importante – disse Odair Hellmann

The ranking surge capped off a memorable week for the Australia allrounder, coming on the back of her second Belinda Clark award for Australia’s women’s cricketer of the year

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2018Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry displaced India captain Mithali Raj to claim the top spot in the ICC rankings for batsmen in women’s ODIs. Perry, who leads the ICC’s ODI rankings for allrounders, topped the batting rankings for the first time in her career, with Australia captain Meg Lanning and Raj occupying the second and third positions. The elevation in the rankings caps off a memorable week for Perry, who earlier this week wonher second Belinda Clark award for Australia’s women’s cricketer of the year.Perry played a critical role in Australia’s successful Ashes campaign, producing an unbeaten 213 in the day-night Test at North Sydney Oval to help her side secure a draw, and all but ensure that they preserved the lead they had established during the ODI leg over the final Twenty20 matches. Her performances were particularly noteworthy, given that Australia missed the services of the injured Lanning. Perry’s immediate challenge will be the tour of India in early March for a three-match ODI series, before a T20I tri-series also featuring England.Raj, who had wrested the top spot from Lanning in October last year, registered scores of 45, 20 and 4 in India’s 2-1 series win over South Africa recently. The upcoming series against Australia could well see Raj, the leading run-getter in women’s ODIs, Perry, and Lanning, who is hoping to return to action, tussle for the No.1 spot.Meanwhile, Raj’s compatriots Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana have had mixed results. While Kaur moved downwards, from fifth to seventh, Mandhana leapt 14 places to the 21st position, following a player-of-the-series performance against South Africa, with scores of 84, 135 and 0 in the three-match series. The bowling rankings remained unchanged, with South Africa fast bowler Marizanne Kapp, who picked up two wickets against India, holding on to the top spot with 653 points. India seamer Jhulan Goswami, who recently became the first woman cricketer to 200 ODI wickets, trails Kapp by 10 points to occupy the second position.

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية أن نادي ريال مدريد محروم من بيع قمصان صفقته الجديدة، كيليان مبابي، من خلال المتجر الرسمي خلال الفترة الحالية.

وأعلن ريال مدريد رسميًا عن ضم مبابي بالمجان من باريس سان جيرمان لمدة 5 سنوات مقبلة، حتى 30 يونيو 2029 بعد انتهاء عقده.

ولكن مع إعلان ريال مدريد عن قميصه الجديد للموسم المقبل 2024/2025، لن يستطيع الملكي بيع قمصان صفقته الجديدة التي تنتظرها جماهيره.

ولم يظهر اسم مبابي ضمن قائمة الفريق الأول في المتجر من أجل إتاحة طلب الجماهير لطباعة قميصه وكان ذلك مفاجأة للكثيرين.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ليكيب: باريس سان جيرمان يعاقب مبابي بطريقة خاصة بعد انتقاله مجانًا إلى ريال مدريد

👑 Donde nacen las leyendas. 👑
⚪ Ya está aquí la nueva primera equipación Real Madrid 24/25.
👉 @adidasfootball pic.twitter.com/YnptMF2rqf — Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 5, 2024

وكشفت شبكة “Relevo” الإسبانية السبب وهو قانوني لأن عقد مبابي لم ينته بشكل رسمي مع باريس سان جيرمان ويجب الانتظار حتى 1 يوليو.

رغم إعلان ريال مدريد الصفقة، إلا أن حقوق الصور لا تزال تابعة إلى باريس سان جيرمان وإذا كان قميص مبابي متاحًا في المتجر سيعرض ريال مدريد واللاعب لمشاكل قانونية.

وبالتالي، لن تستطيع الجماهير الحصول على قميص مبابي إلا في بداية الشهر المقبل، إلا إذا سمح باريس سان جيرمان بذلك ولكن علاقتهم باللاعب منهارة وبالتالي من غير المتوقع ذلك.

خاصة بعد تصريحات مبابي الأخيرة وأنه لا يتمنى أن يعيش أحد ما عاشه في الموسم الماضي ولكن لن يهاجم باريس سان جيرمان، وكان الرد من النادي الفرنسي أن اللاعب لا يمتلك أي رقي بسبب تلك التصريحات.

Australia’s assistant coach admitted the team probably made an error in not enforcing the follow-on on the third day in Adelaide

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide05-Dec-2017Australia will review captain Steven Smith’s decision not to enforce the follow-on and also the team’s flawed use of the DRS in England’s second innings regardless of whether or not the hosts emerge victorious with a 2-0 Ashes series lead on the final day-night of the second Test at Adelaide Oval, the assistant coach David Saker has said.Saker did not shy away from saying that the Australians had erred in burning their two available reviews in the space of three balls in the England chase, leaving the visitors with a small be perceptible advantage on the final day in pursuit of 354 to win. Equally he said the decision not to send England in again on the third evening meant that the Australian bowlers were denied the chance to use a new ball when batting conditions were most difficult, also allowing Joe Root’s side to regroup impressively.”I’m not sure of the conversations out in the middle, there were messages going to and from the dressing room about the possibility, Steven made the decision that he thought the bowlers had bowled enough and that’ll do,” Saker said of the follow-on. “In hindsight we didn’t get a chance to bowl with the new ball under lights and that was our chance, maybe we got it wrong, at the end of the Test match we’ll review that.”In this game we haven’t had the luxury of having a new ball late in days, where England have. They are very good in those conditions, it’s pretty much like English conditions, they’re skilful as any bowlers in the world so they can exploit that. But our bowlers given the opportunity in those conditions I think they’d do the same, but I’m confident tomorrow morning if it’s a nice day, our bowlers can still get the job done, and I’d back them more times than not.”There’s different reasons why you’d go back out and have a bat, and one is to give your own bowlers a rest, but it’s also to give the opposition bowlers another time to go out there and bowl because it’s a five-game series and that can sometimes affect them if they get some big overs into them, but they bowled particularly well. We probably didn’t think it was going to move around like it did, that’s for sure, it was tough, but Jimmy was magnificent and Woakesy was very good.”While noting that variable bounce in the pitch had made it a difficult match for umpires as well as players in determining the outcomes of lbw appeals in particular, Saker said that Australia had not adjusted well to the new ICC regulations that deny teams two fresh reviews after 80 overs in exchange for the retention of any failed reviews where lbw decisions are deemed to stay as the umpire’s call.”Umpiring’s a hard job and especially on wickets that have variable bounce and this wicket seems to have bounce from a length quite a lot, so there’s some of those decisions that have been quite tough,” Saker said. “The DRS, I think we’ve got a few wrong today without a doubt, we’ve made some mistakes there and we’ve learned from them but we always talk about it pre-series, of process for the DRS and I think we got it wrong today without a doubt. It’s frustrating not to have any in the bank that’s for sure.”He also said that Smith was trying his best not to let the events of the past two days distract him from the task of claiming six more England wickets on the final day. “He’s a very determined guy so he’ll think about things tonight, he’ll make sure that when we turn up we’re right to play,” Saker said of Smith. “He’s obviously frustrated with what’s happened but I don’t think he’s really ruing the decision, once it’s made I hope he doesn’t think about that too much.”He hasn’t talked about that in the rooms, he’s just talking about how we’re going to produce these six wickets we’ve got to get. I think he’ll be positive tomorrow and the whole dressing room will be positive that we’re in a better position than they are.”Nevertheless, Saker admitted to frustration at seeing Smith’s team mocked by the Barmy Army with massed review signals as several appeals were denied in the night’s closing overs – as a former England bowling coach he has been on both sides of the Ashes argument.”I was on the other side for five years so I did enjoy the Barmy Army for five years, but today it was wearing a bit thin to me,” Saker said. “It’s Ashes series and one of the beauties of Ashes series is the Barmy Army and the way they go about it. It’s enjoyable to listen to at times, but being in the Australian camp now, it’s not as enjoyable as when I was in the English camp.”

West Ham United have made a phone call to “enquire” about Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke and have already received a response, according to The Evening Standard's Dom Smith.

When did Dominic Solanke join Bournemouth?

The Premier League centre-forward first arrived at the Vitality Stadium from Liverpool back in 2019 and since then has gone on to become an integral member of their first-team squad, clocking up a total of 174 appearances during his four years on the south coast.

England’s former youth international still has another three years to run on his contract with Andoni Iraola’s side, but having emerged as their second-highest goalscorer in the top-flight last season, his impressive performances have alerted the board at the London Stadium.

Read The Latest West Ham Transfer News HERE…

Football Insider recently reported that the Irons, specifically David Moyes and Tim Steidten, have earmarked the 25-year-old as an ideal replacement for Gianluca Scamacca who has now completed his move to Atalanta.

However, if the following update is to be believed, whilst contact has since been made, it's unlikely that a deal will take place having had a change of heart after learning what the conditions of the deal would look like.

Are West Ham signing Dominic Solanke?

Taking to Twitter, Smith revealed that West Ham have spoken to Bournemouth to see whether they would be open to selling Solanke this summer, but were met with the firm stance that he wasn't in the shop window, and E20 chiefs weren't happy with the price tag that was brought up in conversation:

"I understand a West Ham representative phoned AFC Bournemouth on Friday 28 July to enquire about Dominic Solanke availability. #AFCB said he is not for sale, and #WHUFC were put off by their valuation of him so made no bid. Hammers in [the] market for a striker after Scamacca [joined] Atalanta."

How many goals has Dominic Solanke scored?

In the Premier League last season, Solanke racked up an impressive 13 goal contributions (seven assists and six goals) in 33 appearances, which shows how prolific the striker can be, so the fact that West Ham have walked away from this deal may be a huge mistake.

The Reading-born talent, who’s sponsored by Adidas, also recorded a total of 76 shots over the course of the campaign which was more than any other of his fellow teammates, via FBRef, highlighting his constant desire to find the back of the net.

Bournemouth’s £50k-per-week earner is also a versatile operator with his ability to be deployed everywhere across the frontline and even as an attacking midfielder, so he would have been a fantastic option for the Scottish boss to have at his disposal.

Furthermore, Solanke has “excellent” hold up play and movement in and around the opposition’s penalty area, according to journalist Josh Bunting, but this is yet another attractive attribute that the club will have to cope without having immediately rejected the thought of an offer meaning that they are now likely to turn their attention towards other targets.

Fabrizio Romano has dropped a rather interesting update involving a potential signing and a potential exit at Chelsea.

So, what is this latest news involving Chelsea?

Recently, The Guardian reported that Chelsea were weighing up a potential swap deal, with Juventus reportedly very keen on Lukaku, but are insisting that the Blues take Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic as part of the deal as well as €40m. The Blues had rejected interest earlier in the window, but the report stated that a deal could happen.

The Blues do have a plan for Lukaku this summer after ostracizing him from the first team side just two years after his £97.5m switch, with the club planning to discuss with teams around Europe for the rest of August, and should a European move not materialize, discussions will be held with Saudi Arabian sides who maintain an interest in the Belgian record goalscorer throughout the first weeks of September, as the Saudi Pro League transfer window runs for longer than the European one.

The deal doesn't seem to be on however, as Chelsea have "no intention" to proceed with the deal at Juventus' current conditions, as they don't believe they should be paying as big of a fee alongside swapping Lukaku, despite the former Inter Milan striker having agreed personal terms with the Italian side on a three-year deal.

The situation could change should the Blues decide to address the issue created by Nkunku's injury, which is set to rule him out for a number of months.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed that Chelsea have "no intention" to do the deal in its current conditions, and that their current focus is on finding other solutions for the Lukaku situation. "Chelsea also at this point in the market have no intention to accept any swap deal between Vlahovic and Lukaku. At the beginning of July Chelsea said no to Juventus when they proposed this kind of solution, now again because Juventus are asking for Lukaku and €40m fee. So it’s not just a swap deal, but it’s also €40m fee included and for Chelsea that is just not possible, so Chelsea are going to focus on other solutions for Lukaku. They’re going to explore other opportunities around Europe and in September in Saudi because the market in Saudi is open in the first weeks in September, so this is Chelsea’s position."

Read the latest Chelsea transfer news HERE…

Is swapping Lukaku and Vlahovic the right move?

On the face of things, swapping Lukaku and €40m for Vlahovic would be a terrible move.

When comparing the two forwards previous campaign's via FBref, the Belgian striker comes out on top in a number of key categories. Lukaku managed 0.54 goals and 0.33 assists per 90 for Inter Milan last season, whilst Vlahovic could only manage 0.47 goals and 0.09 assists. The 30-year-old was also a more consistent threat in front of goal, recording a 0.49 expected goals per 90 compared to the 23-year-old's 0.45 xG per 90. Lukaku was also better at bringing his attacking partners into the game and creating opportunities, managing a 2.9 xA across the season compared to Vlahovic's measly 0.8, whilst the Belgian recorded a fantastic 3.96 shot creating actions per 90 compared to the Serbian's disappointing 2.10.

The former Fiorentina man drew a lot of criticism last campaign, with the La Viola president stating "We paid €15 million combined for Arthur Cabral and Luka Jovic and they have already scored 20 goals in the three competitions we play in. Vlahovic, on the other hand, has scored 10 goals in Turin, two of which were penalties. He has exactly half [the number of goals] of our two forwards. And amidst all of this, we earned €70m. The Cabral-Jovic deal was excellent for us, unlike the Juventus deal for Vlahovic."

With the potential value that Chelsea would have to give up in this deal, it seems like a real poor decision, and explains why the Blues are not interested at this point.

Newcastle United's Premier League campaign kicks off later this month as they host Aston Villa at St. James' Park and the home faithful could have a few new faces to see in action.

Who have Newcastle United signed this summer?

Eddie Howe has been able to bring in two new first-team signings so far during the summer transfer window as Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes have come in to bolster his options in midfield and out wide.

Talented youngster Yankuba Minteh has also been brought in but the 19-year-old winger was instantly sent back out on loan to Feyenoord in the Netherlands.

The Northern Echo have claimed that the head coach would like to make two further additions to the side before the deadline passes; a full-back and a central defender.

Read the latest Newcastle transfer news HERE…

Newcastle and top-flight rivals Everton are both reportedly eyeing a swoop for Red Bull Salzburg centre-back Oumar Solet, although it remains to be seen how much it would take for the Austrian giants to cash in on him.

Who is Oumar Solet?

The 23-year-old colossus stands at 6 foot 4 and could form a monstrous partnership with current Magpies titan Sven Botman at the back if the club are able to snap him up before the end of the window.

Solet, who talent scout Jacek Kulig once described as "marauding", enjoyed a terrific 2022/23 campaign with Salzburg and could be a terrific signing for Howe if the French giant is able to translate his form over to English football.

He averaged a phenomenal Sofascore rating of 7.42 across 25 Bundesliga outings, which shows that the talented youngster produced consistently brilliant performances and rarely allowed his level to dip.

Solet also made a whopping 4.5 tackles and interceptions per game for Salzburg, which is more than any Toon player in any position managed last term.

To put those numbers into context, only Kieran Trippier (7.61) averaged a higher Sofascore rating for Newcastle in the Premier League and Fabian Schar, who Solet could replace on the right side of the defence, averaged a score of 7.13.

The Switzerland international has entered the final year of his contract on Tyneside and turns 32 later this year, which could result in the Salzburg star and Botman, 23, being the long-term pairing for Howe at the back.

Solet and the Dutchman both stand at 6 foot 4 and have the ability to consistently dominate opposition attackers, which could make them a fearsome central defensive partnership for teams to break down this season.

The towering Frenchman won 63% of his Bundesliga duels last term and caught the eye with a stunning 83% aerial contest success rate across four Champions League outings. Meanwhile, Botman won 67% of his battles – 66% of them in the air – throughout his debut Premier League campaign for Newcastle.

This shows that they are both physically strong and imposing defenders who will not be bullied, which could give Howe's side a solid base from which to build.

Therefore, Dan Ashworth and the English tactician could unearth a terrific long-term partnership in defence for the Magpies by signing Solet to replace Botman as Schar's heir this summer.

ScorecardKarl Brown gave Lancashire a lightning start•Getty Images

Yorkshire and Lancashire shared a tie in their Roses T20 in front of a record crowd at Old Trafford after heavy rain forced the result to be decided on the Duckworth-Lewis method.The largest attendance for a Blast match outside of London watched these two rivals repeat the T20 tie at Headingley four years ago as a compelling contest was curtailed in the ninth over of Yorkshire’s reply.After Lancashire had made 176 for 4, Karl Brown top-scoring with 61 off 47 balls, Yorkshire’s reply began under a threatening sky and it was not long before the first hint of what was to come as spectators began to reach for their waterproofs.Umpires Rob Bailey and Martin Saggers kept the players on the field for as long as possible, mindful that a sell-out crowd of almost 20,000 had come to be entertained and has a different attitude to the time-honoured assumption that rain should immediately drive the players from the field.At the end of the eighth over, half an hour into a Manchester downpour that was showing no sign of easing off, Yorkshire were suddenly one run ahead on the score chart at 63 for 2, nudged in front by a soaring David Willey six over midwicket off Junaid Khan.Conditions by then were becoming farcical, posing problems for batsmen, bowlers and fielders alike. As it happened, a single to Shaun Marsh off the next delivery, from Steven Croft, changed the D-L equation again so that the scores were effectively level, the umpires determining as the rain strengthened that this was an appropriate moment to lead the teams off.The rain did not relent and an abandonment was inevitable. It denied Yorkshire what would have been only a fifth win in 14 away fixtures against their fiercest rivals in the shortest form of the game but on this occasion it felt that the result was a fair one.Ryan McLaren had taken both Yorkshire wickets, bowling Tom Kohler-Cadmore with a full delivery before Adam Lyth, who made half-centuries against Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in Yorkshire’s two completed matches so far, was caught by Arron Lilley, getting under a steepler at cover.Lyth’s shot was hard to understand from the outer as it instantly put Yorkshire behind the D/L calculation with the chance seemingly that the umpires could leave the field at the end of the over.But Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s coach, explained: “Lythy spoke to the umpires and they said they had no intention of coming off. What do you do? knock it around or play the game as you see it. He was in control of the situation. The umpires said they wanted to play for as long as they could. If he goes into his shell and we get behind the Duckworth Lewis and it stops raining, we could have been in a bad position.”At least the dominant home contingent in the crowd, easily identifiable by the red Lancashire baseball caps supplied by the club, had seen a full innings from their own side.And it had started superbly, Brown driving England’s Willey for three powerful cover boundaries in the opening over, setting a pace they maintained throughout the six Powerplay overs, at the end of which they were 59 without loss with a score of 200+ looking within their range.Liam Livingstone fell in the next over after Yorkshire introduced spin for the first time, Adil Rashid reading his intention to come down the pitch and finding just the right degree of turn to pass the edge of the right-hander’s bat, Peter Handscomb reaching out for the ball to complete the stumping.Nonetheless, with 34 off 24 deliveries, including 15 in one over against Tim Bresnan, Livingstone had given his side the start they required and there was scarcely any loss of momentum after his departure as Brown responded with a couple of boundaries off Steve Patterson.What’s more, Brown now had Jos Buttler for company and the England white-ball specialist signalled his intentions by lofting Azeem Rafiq beyond the reach of Lyth and into the stands at long-on.After 10 overs the score was 93 for 1, to which Buttler promptly added a dozen more as he teased Ben Coad, including a couple of brilliantly executed scoops to the boundary in which his footwork will have surely impressed the twinkle-toed Ryan Giggs, the former Manchester United winger, who was spotted in the crowd.But between them Rashid and Rafiq – with an over in between from Patterson – pegged back the assault. Overs 12 to 16 yielded only 27 runs for Lancashire, during which Buttler sliced Rafiq straight to Kohler-Cadmore at deep extra cover and Dane Vilas gave the off-spinner his second wicket as Lyth took a brilliant diving catch at deep mid-wicket.Brown then enjoyed the second escape of his innings. Put down by Willey at short mid-wicket on 15 off Coad, he was dropped by Kohler-Cadmore on 56, the fielder never in position as Brown skied one from Rashid.The pace picked up as Willey returned to the attack, Ryan McLaren picking up four from a no ball signalled for above waist height and taking four more from the free hit but then Patterson dismissed Brown, the batsman playing an attempted ramp into his own stumps.After where they had been at the halfway stage, Lancashire’s total felt 20 runs or so short of what it should have been – although as it happened, it could be argued that it was precisely right on the night.Lancashire have explained, meanwhile, that wicketkeeper Alex Davies has been left out of the NatWest Blast thus far as part of his fitness management programme following the knee surgery he underwent last year.Davies has played a full part in Lancashire’s Specsavers Championship cricket this season and the Royal London One-Day Cup but the club want to protect him from the rigours of fielding in T20.Head coach Glen Chapple said: “Alex has worked hard to recover from last year’s knee injury and we’ve been delighted with his form already this season but following medical advice, we have taken the decision to rest him.”

By finishing a game against Sunrisers Hyderabad the best death-bowling team in the IPL, MS Dhoni reiterated his credentials as one of the game’s greatest

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2017

There are several reasons that make MS Dhoni one of cricket’s greatest finishers: his calmness under pressure, for example, or his determination that no target is beyond him. But there were other factors in play on Saturday, when he turned Rising Pune Supergiant’s failing chase on its head.Before that game, Dhoni’s lean form – 61 runs in 73 balls at a weak strike rate of 87.14 – had left Rising Pune Supergiant a worried franchise. Elsewhere, it prompted a debate on whether it was time for the Indian selectors to start thinking about blooding the young Rishabh Pant to replace Dhoni.According to Stephen Fleming, the Pune coach, the beauty of Dhoni has been to remain immune to the outside noise. “It was vintage wasn’t it,” he said the eve of Pune’s next match. “It was a performance that was befitting of a man who has the reputation of being a great finisher.”Prior to the match-winning 61 off 34 balls though, there was restlessness about Dhoni’s non-performance. Fleming reasoned that was only because everybody had grown used to him playing the role of finisher to perfection.”There has been a discussion around when was the last time he has played an innings like that,” Fleming said. “You have to remember playing an innings like that [is hard]. We had got a bit blasé about how special they were. But yesterday, he proved again that when he is in the mood, and has got the sight or the feel for the bowling, he is still the most destructive closer that the game has seen.”People were questioning his form, but certainly from the finishing point of view I will reiterate we have got a bit blasé because it was happening so often. We benefited from it at Chennai [Super Kings] a lot and people were yearning for a performance like that. And like all great players do, he delivered.”Dhoni, though, was aware that he was running out of time to reiterate those credentials. “Yes, [he was anxious],” Fleming said. “He was determined. He has been training a lot. He has certainly hit a lot of balls and it was all building up to an innings of substance. He desperately wants us to do well this year. After last year, we all felt that we needed more contributions from everybody. He, in particular, was the one to put his hand up. So he has been wanting to win a game. [Steven] Smith, as well, has been wanting to win a game and our big players want to contribute and one of our biggest did that yesterday which was great.”A key moment in the chase was when Dhoni came up against Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 19th. At the time, Sunrisers seamer who had never given more than 10 runs in an over while bowling in the last five. But Dhoni took him for 19.”The calmness he shows in such situations is one of his greatest assets,” Fleming said. “And yesterday, it was to the fore. We thought that it was probably late and we had not got too much of the total to leave us with a good chase in the end, but he proved that, with the hitting and batting skills and the power that players have these days, no score is impossible and that puts so much pressure on the bowlers. And good bowlers too, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been bowling very well. It was a good match-up and a good result for us.”