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A second ODI loss to Zimbabwe in the ongoing series, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews conceded, has put his captaincy under significant pressure, and he hinted that he is unsure if he will lead the side in the next World Cup

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Jul-2017Angelo Mathews is unsure whether he will be Sri Lanka’s captain at the 2019 World Cup, after leading his side to a second loss against Zimbabwe in the ongoing five-match series. The defeat, Mathews conceded, put his captaincy under significant pressure. His comments came after Zimbabwe chased down a revised target of 219 – deduced via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method – in the fourth ODI, after Sri Lanka had made 300.”There’s a lot of pressure on all of us, and as a captain there is a lot of pressure on me as well,” Mathews said after the loss in Hambantota. “In these games, where our batsmen have done well, our bowlers didn’t perform well – both in this match, and in the first one we lost. Our fielding also hasn’t been good at times. Against Zimbabwe, we need to play better than this. If we score 300 and still lose here, there is a big shortcoming.”Mathews’ record as ODI captain since the last World Cup isn’t exactly awful: the team has won 12 matches to the 15 they have lost under his watch. However, during that time, their only series wins under Mathews have been against West Indies at home, and Ireland, away. They have lost one away series apiece to England and New Zealand, and one home series to Australia and Pakistan each. Besides, there is now a risk of losing a home series to 11th-ranked Zimbabwe, who have tied the ongoing series 2-2.”I don’t know if I will be going to the 2019 World Cup as captain,” Mathews said. “Our batsmen are doing well, but sometimes there’s no consistency in our fielding – we don’t do well sometimes. But with the players that we have, we can win these matches. We lost these matches because our bowling wasn’t good. We have to solve this problem quickly.”If Sri Lanka perform poorly in the forthcoming ODIs against India (in August and September), there is also the chance of the team not being able to gain automatic entry for the 2019 World Cup. At present, Sri Lanka are on the eighth position, with 92 rating points. They must stay ahead of West Indies, who are currently on 78 rating points, in order to avoid going through a separate qualification procedure for the next World Cup.Considering this was the second instance in the series when Sri Lanka failed to defend 300 or more, Mathews was forthright in stating his discontent over the lack of sting in the performance of the bowlers.”After scoring 300, how many times can you lose a game?” You know, we had enough runs on the board. [It’s] unfortunate the rain had to intervene, but still, we had the bowling attack to defend it. The first ten overs we gave away a lot of runs, also the rain intervened and the last ten overs we didn’t bowl that well.”We actually didn’t know the rain might come in, but the wicket was extremely dry this morning. So we all thought it’s going to start slowing more and more once the day goes on. We saw in the last game also that the ball started turning after the first 20 overs, in the second half especially. So, I thought if we bat first and bat well, we have the spinners to defend it.”Mathews also made the point that Sri Lanka’s attack was a diminished one. Nuwan Pradeep, who has recently been the best bowler in the side, picked up a niggle in the third ODI, and is being rested in order to ensure he can be fit for the four Test matches over the next eight weeks. Suranga Lakmal was also made unavailable by illness.”In our bowling we are facing problems – Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal are injured,” Mathews said. “We have to manage our bowlers’ workloads as well. We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up. We have to balance managing workloads and winning the matches in front of us.”

The allrounder will also miss the Mzansi Super League to undergo a procedure on his right shoulder, after he aggravated a pre-existing injury

Liam Brickhill16-Oct-2018JP Duminy will miss both South Africa’s upcoming limited-overs tour of Australia and the Mzansi Super League to undergo surgery for an injury to his right shoulder.Duminy had been announced as the marquee South African player for the Cape Town Blitz in the MSL, but he will now be replaced by Quinton de Kock. Duminy’s time out for surgery means that South Africa will be without two of their most experienced players on their trip to Australia. Earlier this week, it was announced that Hashim Amla would also not be touring as he is given time to fully recover from a finger tendon injury picked up during the Caribbean Premier League.”JP aggravated a pre-existing shoulder injury during the recently-concluded series against Zimbabwe,” South Africa team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said. “The injury will require surgical management, thus ruling him out of the immediate tour of Australia and the upcoming MSL. At the moment, we can’t say how long he will be out for, that is dependent on the results from the surgery.”South Africa’s squad for the Australia tour, consisting of three one-day internationals and a solitary T20 international, will be announced later this week. The tour begins with a warm-up game against a Prime Minister’s XI on October 31, while the MSL kicks off on 16 November and runs until 16 December.

Can Lauderhill’s strong expatriate numbers inspire a turnaround for the visiting team?

The Preview by Mohammad Isam04-Aug-2018Big PictureWest Indies will go into the second T20I in Fort Lauderdale armed with the confidence that their big hitters and aggressive bowlers are firing in tandem, presenting a challenge even greater for a Bangladesh side that hasn’t been able to sustain its success for any measurable period through this tour.As always, much of Bangladesh’s hopes would fall on their four senior batsmen, but there’s a lot more that the likes of Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Ariful Haque can bring to the table. Soumya, despite being thrown multiple lifelines, has failed to find a way out his wretched form, while Liton needs to capitalise on impressive starts and push on to producing something more substantial. Ariful is still young at the international level, but expectations from newcomers have never been higher in the Bangladesh set-up.The bowling load will be shared between Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman, who both are usually required to bowl at critical phases in T20s, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan providing support. Nazmul Islam, who debuted earlier this year, needs to adapt quickly if he is to survive in this spin attack.West Indies, the world champions, have very little to worry about. Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul and Kesrick Williams complemented each other, taking eight wickets together, before Andre Russell, returning from injury, Marlon Samuels and Rovman Powell upended the chase in a six-heavy onslaught in the last game. If those signs weren’t worrying enough for Bangladesh, they are compounded by West Indies’ superlative record at this venue: they are yet to lose a match in Lauderhill, have three of the four highest totals at this ground, and have bowled out the opposition twice in three completed games. Ominous?Perhaps the one factor that could come to Bangladesh’s aid is the crowd in Lauderhill; the local population has a strong subcontinental presence. The expatriates have already turned up in droves in South Florida for the double-header, meaning that Bangladesh’s first international match in the USA will likely have the feeling of a home game.Form guideWest Indies: WWLLL (last five completed games, most recent first)
Bangladesh: LLLLLIn the spotlightAshley Nurse took two wickets in the first over of the previous match, and yet never returned to bowl. That was partly down to his lack of wickets in the ODI series that preceded this, and Nurse would be keen to get the numbers back on his side, once again demonstrating the control he can bring while also breaking through.Liton Das has scored at a rate over 128 in nine T20Is this year, but that strike rate is hardly enough to cover up an average of 18. He doesn’t have a single half-century despite batting in the top three. It’s time for the promise to translate into performance.Team newsBarring last-minute injuries, West Indies are unlikely to make changes to their XI.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Andre Russell, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Kesrick WilliamsSoumya Sarkar has been in miserable form in domestic cricket, and his inclusion in the squad was only as a result of the management’s plea. He would undoubtedly be under the scanner, with Mosaddek Hossain being the prime candidate to replace him.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Liton Das, 2 Tamim Iqbal, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Ariful Haque, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Mustafizur Rahman, 10 Nazmul Islam, 11 Rubel HossainPitch and conditionsThe last completed game in Lauderhill produced a run-glut, with West Indies and India totaling 489 runs and both innings producing a century.The weather has been quite warm, but it is likely to remain clear for both matches.Stats and trivia Bangladesh have now lost five or more T20Is in a row for the sixth time Tamim Iqbal is 65 runs away from aggregating 1,000 runs across international formats this year

Respected transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that a 28-year-old "can be considered an Arsenal player on a permanent transfer" in 2024.

Who have Arsenal signed 2023?

The north Londoners were very busy in the most recent summer transfer window, backing manager Mikel Arteta with an array of impressive additions. Spending north of £200 million on the quartet of club-record signing Declan Rice, Netherlands international Jurrien Timber, former Chelsea star Kai Havertz and loanee goalkeeper David Raya, their ambition in the market has contributed to Arsenal's excellent Premier League start.

Arteta's side sit joint-top of the league with cross-town rivals Tottenham; boasting an identical unbeaten record of six wins from their opening eight matches. Rice has played exceptionally since joining from West Ham for around £105 million, while Raya has managed to usurp long-standing number one Aaron Ramsdale in-between the Emirates Stadium sticks.

Ramsdale, speaking to the media recently (via 90min), revealed that the Spaniard even helps to pick him up when he's feeling deflated in training; as the pair push eachother to be ready for the Arsenal challenge.

"We work professionally really well together" said Ramsdale. "We push each other in training and there's days where I come in and I'm down because of the situation and he picks me up.

"And for whatever reason there might be a day where he's down and even though I'm suffering and hurting for not playing I have to stand up and be able to push him and make sure he's ready for the weekend if he’s picked to play."

David Raya transfer update

Raya is said to be impressing Arteta behind-the-scenes in north London, with the Gunners boss apparently "very happy" over his start to life. That is according to reliable transfer reporter Romano, who shared a Raya transfer update this week. Speaking on the Here We Go podcast, the journalist claims that while the former Blackburn keeper is only here on a temporary deal as things stand, Raya "can be considered an Arsenal player on a permanent transfer" next year.

“David Raya is very happy at Arsenal," said Romano. "We had an interview with Aaron Ramsdale in the Daily Mail about wanting to get back into the team.

"At the same time, David Raya is doing very well, Mikel Arteta is very happy with Raya, the feeling since they closed the deal is that it’s a loan deal, but all parties believe this formula was agreed just for Financial Fair Play and that in reality Raya can be considered an Arsenal player on a permanent transfer starting in 2024."

The shot-stopper has provided great competition at Arsenal since joining from Brentford, and has been hailed for his "very aggressive" style of goalkeeping.

"You can't have a strong mentality if you don't have any setbacks," said Bees boss Thomas Frank. "I know setbacks are different to a lot of people, but his clear and obvious abilities in terms of playing with his feet, high position, very aggressive in terms of his positioning and going for crosses, he definitely deserves this."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is reportedly planning to convince one "remarkable" player to join him in the north London.

Who have Arsenal signed 2023?

Arteta's side, in their bid to challenge for the Premier League title once again, put pen to paper on deals for club-record signing Declan Rice, versatile Netherlands defender Jurrien Timber, forward Kai Havertz and goalkeeper David Raya for a total of around £200 million or more.

Going the other way, Arsenal shipped out Folarin Balogun, Granit Xhaka, Matt Turner, Auston Trusty, Pablo Mari, Kieran Tierney, Rob Holding, Nuno Tavares, Marquinhos, Nicolas Pepe, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Albert Sambi Lokonga on either loan or permanent deals.

These acquisitions have proved fruitful so far, even if Havertz has been subject to fierce criticism and Timber is out for most of the campaign with an ACL injury. Raya has gone on to usurp long-reigning number one goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale between Arteta's sticks, while Rice is slowly but surely justifying his mammoth £105 million price tag.

The Gunners are unbeaten over their first six league games, winning four of them, and next take on Bournemouth today as they seek to keep chase with the division's heavy-hitters.

What's the latest Arsenal transfer news?

Regardless of their lavish spending over the summer, it has been reported that Arsenal have one eye on January, and one player they've been heavily, heavily linked with is Brentford star Ivan Toney. The England striker, who is currently serving a ban till mid-January for alleged gambling breaches, is subject to intense interest across the Premier League.

Chelsea and Tottenham have been named as other suitors for Toney after his brilliant 20-goal league haul last season, form which resulted in high praise from his manager Thomas Frank.

“Ivan is amazing in many, many aspects,” Frank said earlier this year.

“The way he copes with pressure and distractions is amazing. He’s been scoring goals, performing for the team and driving the team. He’s remarkable. I can only talk about the Ivan that I see every day around the place and he’s a fantastic person around the group. He’s got that unique emotional intelligence to be aware of all the players, and every staff member."

The 27-year-old is said to be a personal favourite of Arteta's, according to reporter John Cross of The Daily Mirror, who has an update on Toney's potential move to the Emirates Stadium. According to his information, Arsenal's manager is personally planning to "convince" Toney to join Arsenal by making him a priority target.

Arteta will apparently be hopeful this can sway him to their part of north London over fellow interested sides (Chelsea and Spurs named again), but Arsenal may have to sell players first. Brentford will demand a minimum of £60 million for Toney, a figure which the Gunners could be wary of given Financial Fair Play. Any proposed makeweights will be a struggle to find, according to Cross, as options like Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe are both committed to making it at Arsenal.

Nevertheless, Arteta has a plan to tempt Toney, and it's by showing making the striker Arsenal's "outstanding choice" in the winter.

The USMNT received a major boost for the future by securing the rights of Cole Campbell, who is a standout at Under 19 level for Borussia Dortmund.

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USMNT secure new dual-nationalCole Campbell switches from IcelandStandout U19 performer for DortmundWHAT HAPPENED?

The 18-year-old, whose father is American and mother Icelandic, had his switch to the USA approved by FIFA. Campbell grew up in the Atlanta United academy system, but opted to move to Iceland and made his professional debut at just 15-years-old in their top flight when the opportunity arose with FH Hafnarfjordur.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Campbell completed a move to Dortmund ahead of the 2022-23 season, and has since been a standout with their U19 squad, scoring three goals and registering nine assists from midfield this campaign.

He could follow in the footsteps of two current American standouts in Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic, who both broke out with the Black and Yellow as teenagers before making their USMNT debuts. The recruitment of Campbell, though, is also a continuing trend underneath Gregg Berhalter as manager of the USA. The 50-year-old has excelled in recruitment, with the likes of Folarin Balogun, Sergino Dest, Yunus Musah, Ricardo Pepi, Alejandro Zendejas, Brandon Vazquez and Aidan Morris among others.

DID YOU KNOW?

Campbell's mother is former Iceland international Rakel Karvelsson, who played D-1 soccer at the University of North Carolina.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CAMPBELL AND THE USMNT?

The 18-year-old will continue his development at the U19 level, before hopefully, being called up to the first-team in 2024-25. As for the USMNT, Berhalter and co. take on Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League on March 21 in a semifinal clash.

Since being promoted to the Premier League, Aston Villa have rarely been clear of trouble at the bottom, putting their supporters through a nerve-jangling campaign filled with relegation six-pointers.

It looked as though a similar narrative would play out in their last campaign as Villa were in 16th position under Steven Gerrard before the arrival of Unai Emery revived their season.

The four-time Europa League winner took them from the threat of relegation, utilising his managerial expertise to get the best out of every inch of his squad which saw them finish the season in a remarkable seventh place.

With Villa gearing up for another assault towards Europe, their rapid rise back to the top of English football is a testament to how quickly things can change in football.

In the two years that Steve Bruce was in charge between 2016 and 2018, he was expected to lead the Villans back to the promised land, but the man with four top-flight promotions on his CV ultimately failed to deliver that aim.

He was sacked in October 2018 with the club stranded in mid-table, leaving a trail of disastrous transfer dealings behind him with one of the few exceptions being the acquisition of John McGinn, a player who has been instrumental in their rise.

How much did Aston Villa pay for John McGinn?

While the veteran manager won't be remembered fondly by Villa fans – they will always be thankful for one thing – McGinn.

Having made several mishaps in the transfer window during his time at Villa Park, including the decision to shell out £12m on Scott Hogan, Bruce's final permanent signing – a £2.7m deal to sign the Scotland international from Hibernian in 2018 – proved to be his best.

During that summer, McGinn's boyhood club, Celtic, were chasing a deal to sign him and usually, when a player gets a chance to play for the club they support, they snap your hand off, however, Bruce had something special up his sleeve and used every inch of persuasion to lure him to Villa Park.

Speaking about how he managed to secure his services, he said: "How we got him out of Celtic, I don’t know because his grandfather was the chairman. It took a couple of games of golf at the Belfry with his dad until we could muster the money together."

Celtic's manager at the time, Brendan Rodgers, would be left bitterly disappointed that McGinn chose the Villans over his boyhood club with Bruce labelling this masterstroke as his "best ever signing", which is a testament to his achievements in claret and blue.

Is John McGinn an Aston Villa legend?

Since arriving at the club five years ago, the 28-year-old has been ever-present in every manager's plans, as Bruce, Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and Emery have all taken a huge liking to the energetic midfielder.

Instrumental in their promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and now starring on the European stage, the "exceptional" McGinn – as dubbed by his former manager Smith – has gone from strength to strength since making the switch to Villa Park and while an influx of talent arrived this summer, the Scottish live wire has remained a constant fixture in Emery's starting XI.

Repaying the faith shown in him by scoring a 94th-minute winner against Bosnian side Zrinjski in their Europa Conference League clash last Thursday night, it's this sort of magic from McGinn that has etched him into Villa folklore.

While he has an influence on the pitch with his boundless amounts of energy, aggression and tenacity to win possession back for his team and cover every blade of grass, McGinn has also impressed his manager since stepping into the role as captain last year.

Hailed as a "perfect role model" by Emery, the midfielder's standards rarely ever drop and as per Sofascore, has recorded an average rating of 7.03 this season, recovered 3.8 balls, and made 1.1 tackles per game.

The £55k per-week dynamo, who has chalked up 46 goal contributions in 196 appearances for Villa, has also impressed with the creative side of his game this term, ranking in the top 7% against his positional peers in the Premier League for crosses into the penalty area and top 17% for passes into the penalty area, progressive passes and passes into the final third, as per FBref.

Demonstrating that he's the hub of Emery's creativity, despite the riches that have been spent this summer, if McGinn – who is now valued at £32m – can captain Villa to European glory by producing further match-winning moments, there is no doubt he'll be crowned as an Aston Villa legend once he hangs up his boots.

Teenage fast bowler joins squad on back of impressive Warwickshire displays

George Dobell27-Jun-2018Henry Brookes has continued his swift ascent by winning a call-up to the England Lions squad.Brookes, 18 years old and with just six first-class games behind him, has made quite an impression in his limited opportunities at Warwickshire.Blessed with decent pace – a recent televised game showed him bowling at 90mph – he has also demonstrated admirable skill and maturity. Both his team-mate, Jonathan Trott, and his county director of cricket, Ashley Giles, have stated with confidence that he will represent England.A former England Under-19 player, Brookes has also made two first-class half-centuries in his eight innings at that level. He was not selected for Warwickshire’s current Championship match in a bid to manage his workload. He is understood to be fully fit.His Warwickshire teammate, Olly Stone, would surely have won a call-up to the squad, too, but is currently sidelined through injury.

Newcastle United are back in Premier League action this weekend, and Eddie Howe has hinted at a surprise selection in his starting lineup.

Sandro Tonali ban updates

The Magpies have gone almost two weeks since their last game, with the latest international break getting in the way of the domestic season in frustrating fashion.

Howe's side were in fine form prior to the break, and while a late equaliser for West Ham robbed them of all three points at the London Stadium in their last outing, things are still largely going in the right direction, as highlighted by a stunning 4-1 win at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

On Saturday afternoon, Newcastle welcome Crystal Palace to St James' Park, in the type of game that the Magpies must be looking to win if they want to secure back-to-back top-four finishes in the Premier League.

That being said, preparations for the match have been impacted negatively by the potential Sandro Tonali ban reports, with the 23-year-old looking likely to spend a lengthy spell out of the game after breaching betting rules during his time at AC Milan.

It is a massive blow for Howe and anyone associated with the club, considering what a high-profile summer signing the Italian was from Milan, and it would be a surprise if Newcastle didn't delve into the transfer market in the January window.

Newcastle vs Palace team news

Despite the rumours swirling around his summer signing, Howe could apparently surprise everyone and go ahead and start the Italian regardless on Saturday, as Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie shared the latest team news:

"Eddie Howe says Sandro Tonali has trained twice this week and is available for selection tomorrow. Howe admits he has a call to make on the midfielder though, admitting that it’s been an emotional couple of weeks for him."

This would certainly be a decision that splits opinion among the Newcastle fanbase, should Howe make the decision to name Tonali in his starting XI.

There have to be question marks over whether he is in the right frame of mind to be starting a big Premier League game, considering everything that has gone on this week, so the manager should only pick him if he has complete faith in him being fully focused on the job at hand.

On the flip side, Tonali is available for selection and his boss may feel that he wants to get every last ounce out of him while he can, before potentially losing him for the remainder of the season. This is a player who cost huge money and who has made an immediate impact at St James', being hailed as "magnificent" by Eddie Howe.

The decision will only be made to look correct or not depending on the eventual result against Palace, but it is a tough call for the manager, and one where it is easy to see both sides of the argument.

If this is to be Tonali's swansong before being banned for a significant amount of time, the hope is that he manages to bow out in style, inspiring Newcastle to a vital three points in their quest for more Champions League football.

The Swansea crowd watched a routine affair made palatable for local tastes by late batting resistance from Andrew Salter

ECB Reporters Network21-Jun-2018
ScorecardDerbyshire, in reply to Glamorgan’s first innings total of 283 all out, ended the second day of the Specsavers Division Two County Championship match at St. Helen’s in Swansea on 207 for 3, a deficit of 76.Glamorgan were indebted to Andrew Salter and the tail-enders, who added 108 in the pre-lunch session, with Salter scoring an unbeaten 72, and the debutant Prem Sisodiya a useful 38. Sisodiya should have been dismissed on 24, but Alex Hughes dropped a simple catch at short leg.The eighth wicket pair put on 56 – the third successive half century stand in the innings – before Sisodiya was bowled by Tony Palladino, giving the Derbyshire seamer figures of 5-69, his third five for against the Welsh County.Lukas Carey then struck a breezy 28, which included two sixes on to the adjoining Mumbles Road, and when last man Michael Hogan was run out, Salter had scored his runs from103 balls, which included seven fours and two sixes.Derbyshire had eight overs to bat before lunch and at the interval, the visitors had reached 28 without loss, with Ben Slater and Harvey Hosein the not out batsmen.Slater and Hosein – playing in his first championship game of the season – played watchfully against an accurate Glamorgan attack, with Hosein fortunate to survive some uneasy moments against Hogan, who passed the outside edge four times in one over.Slater, who is enjoying a productive Championship season, reached a composed half century, while Hosein, who scored 35, played on to Andrew Salter’s off spin in the 34th over. Salter then took his second wicket in the following over, when Slater holed out at backward point.Resuming after tea on 104 for 2, Wayne Madsen and Alex Hughes frustrated the Glamorgan attack as they continued to chip away at the deficit. Glamorgan will have some concerns over David Lloyd, who left the field, having pulled up mid-way through his fourth over. He was replaced in the field by former Glamorgan fast bowler and current assistant coach, David Harrison as Roman Walker was already on.A bowler down, Glamorgan turned to Jack Murphy who, at that stage, had two first-class wickets to his name. He has, in recent seasons, converted from left-arm seam bowling to opening the batting. He duly claimed his first Championship – and third first-class – wicket, as he had Madsen caught by Kiran Carlson at short mid-wicket for 41.Alex Hughes, unbeaten on 67, and Billy Godleman saw Derbyshire through to the close, 76 runs behind Glamorgan.