Tag Futebol

Play domestic cricket, score runs and force the selectors to pick you again. This is India head coach Rahul Dravid’s simple message to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, on whom there has been much spotlight over the past two months for their decision to skip domestic cricket.Both Kishan and Iyer were not considered for the BCCI’s annual retainers in this round of recommendations for 2023-24. A board release at the time of announcement late last month reiterated its recent stance that “all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team”.Kishan hasn’t featured in any form of cricket under the BCCI’s ambit since opting out of the two-Test series in South Africa. He had, instead, been training at a private facility for some time in Baroda with Hardik Pandya, his IPL captain.Related

• Shreyas Iyer makes headlines for the right reasons

• 'We've always found people to step up' – Dravid looks back at a famous series win

• Women's red-ball cricket to return to India's domestic calendar

• Why Kishan and Iyer missed out on BCCI contracts

Iyer, who was left out after the second Test against England, missed the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals citing back spasms, even though he was medically passed fit by the board’s doctors. Iyer has since returned to play for Mumbai in the semi-finals and is due to play in the final starting Sunday.”They’re always in the mix,” Dravid said after India’s 4-1 series win over England in Dharmsala on Saturday. “Everyone who’s playing domestic cricket is in the mix. Firstly, I don’t decide contracts, right? Contracts are decided by the selectors and the board. I don’t even know what the criteria are. I’m involved in – people ask me my opinion on the 15, and me and Rohit select the XI. That’s how it works.”We’ve never discussed whether somebody has a contract or not, whether he’s going to be selected in the 15. There are enough examples of people playing different formats of the game, whether they have contracts or not.”I don’t even know sometimes what the list of the contracted players is, when we take these decisions, discussions on the 15 or the playing 11 for that matter. No one’s out of the picture, no one’s out of the mix, it’s just a question of hopefully them getting back and fit, playing cricket, and forcing the selectors to pick them again.”Minutes after India’s win, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced a Test Cricket Incentive Scheme that will increase match fees of players by 300% should they feature in over 75% of the Tests played in a season.Dravid emphasised on the need to look at this step as a “reward” for hard work and not necessarily just think of it as a financial gain for being available to play Tests.”I really hope money is not going to be the incentive to play Test cricket,” he said. “It’s just nice the hard work and how tough Test cricket can be is being recognised. So, I wouldn’t see it as an incentive to make people play Test cricket, I hope not. I hope it never really comes to that. But I think it is just probably a recognition that this is a tough format, and it is a hard format.”And it takes a special person to do what [R] Ashwin has done, to play 100 Test matches. You go through a lot, and rightly so. You guys [media] celebrated Ashwin today, and Jonny Bairstow, you’ve celebrated Stokes a few games ago. Because I think all of you recognise how challenging the format is and what it takes to be able to have consistency and to be able to survive the test of time in this format.”We don’t celebrate 100 T20s in the same way, do we? But yeah, it is nice that the BCCI is recognizing it… I think it is a reward, not an incentive. Looking at the guys who came in and played in this series, I think everyone wants to play Test cricket. It’s just a recognition of what you need to be able to do to survive and play in Test cricket.”It’s only when you get here that you realise that sometimes it’s quite tough and it is not easy, but it is extremely satisfying. In especially a series like this and Test matches we’ve seen in the last 4-5 months, if they are well supported and well documented by people like you, I am sure that there will be a lot of people still wanting to play Test cricket.”

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi fought back tears at PSG's Champions League victory parade and admitted to "sleeping with the trophy".

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Al-Khelaifi fights back tears
• Celebrating PSG's Champions League triumph
• Admits to "sleeping with trophy"

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Al-Khelaifi has run the club since 2011 and has been intent on winning the Champions League, something that was finally achieved after 14 years via a 5-0 thrashing of Inter in Munich on Saturday. He was clearly emotional during Sunday's victory parade in Paris and appeared to be fighting back tears during an interview with .

Advertisement

• WATCH THE CLIP

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  PSG spent several years chasing European glory by signing some of the biggest names in the sport, including Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. They have achieved success having moved on from that trio, however, with manager Luis Enrique credited for building a well-rounded team. Al-Khelaifi said to : "This year was very special. If we hadn't won before, it might not have been like this. With everything we've done for 14 years. It was very important for Paris, for France, we don't just talk about PSG but about France, we have the French flag on our jersey. We're proud of that.
  I slept with the Cup yesterday. I told myself that maybe it was a dream and when I woke up I said to myself no, it's true."

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR PSG?

  PSG will next be in action when they travel to America for the Club World Cup later in June, where they will take on Atletico Madrid, Botafogo and Seattle Sounders in the group stages.

INEOS and Manchester United have now reportedly sent scouts to watch one defensive target as they begin to plot a summer swoop to secure his signature and ease their Lisandro Martinez injury woes.

Man Utd still targeting defensive additions

After Anthony Elanga ran the length of the pitch before firing home for Nottingham Forest in midweek, it should come as no surprise that Manchester United are still seeking defensive reinforcements. Now in April, the Red Devils are yet to win back-to-back games in the Premier League and their defensive issues in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system have played a large part in what has been a disastrous campaign.

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Man Utd

01/04/2025

Leicester City 0-3 Man Utd

16/03/2025

Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal

09/03/2025

Man Utd 3-2 Ipswich Town

26/02/2025

Everton 2-2 Man Utd

22/02/2025

It should not go without saying, however, that defeat at the City Ground was United’s first in five league games and Amorim echoed that positivity in his post-match press conference, telling reporters: “It’s more [of] the same since this season began. So I think if you look at the game we are improving the way we play football. We are creating more chances, we are dominating more games.

“But in the end, when you don’t win, you feel that and that is a good thing. So we know that this season is going to be like that, the momentum. So we continue to go to the next [game].”

The former Sporting Club boss may well look at his side’s recent run as something to build on before welcoming some key additions. Among those already linked with a summer switch to Manchester United includes Oumar Solet. The Udinese centre-back has impressed at times this season and now has a queue beginning to form for his signature, with United in that queue.

Solet isn’t the only defender that has caught the eye of those at Old Trafford, however, with another Serie A star emerging on INEOS’ reported radar.

Man Utd plotting move to sign "superb" Comuzzo

According to Caught Offside, INEOS and Manchester United are now plotting a summer swoop to sign Pietro Comuzzo from Fiorentina this summer and have already sent scouts to watch the 20-year-old in action. Valued at around €45m (£38m) by the Italian club, the deal should be within the Red Devils’ range even as their cost-cutting measures continue around the club.

Dubbed “superb” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Comuzzo’s arrival would instantly see the injured Martinez replaced next season, before Amorim is handed the ultimate selection headache when the Argentine completes his eventual return.

Chattogram Challengers were limited to 135 for 9 in the knockout match

Mohammad Isam26-Feb-2024

Fortune Barishal will now face the loser of Qualifier 1 on Wednesday•BPL

Fortune Barishal kept themselves in the hunt for a place in the BPL final after they crushed Chattogram Challengers by seven wickets in the Eliminator match in Mirpur. Kyle Mayers starred for Barishal with an all-round show, taking two wickets before hitting a rapid half-century.Barishal lost Soumya Sarkar in the first over of their 136-run chase but Tamim Iqbal and No. 3 Mayers quickly hit back. Tamim struck Al-Amin Hossain for three fours in the second over before Mayers joined in with his first six in the third over. Mayers then blasted Shuvagata Hom for 26 runs in the fifth over, hitting three sixes and two fours.Mayers got out soon after reaching 50, caught behind off Bilal Khan, having faced 26 balls. He struck five sixes and three fours. Tamim kept the chase on track with his unbeaten 52 off 43 balls, including nine fours as Barishal won with 5.1 overs to spare. Barishal’s newcomer David Miller didn’t force the issue, hitting 17 off 13 balls before falling for a simple catch to deep midwicket. Mushfiqur Rahim was there with Tamim to complete the chase.Chattogram earlier had banked heavily on their in-form opener Tanzid Hasan. But he fell in the second over. Saifuddin got the big wicket when he had the left-hander caught behind. Tanzid’s opening partner Josh Brown briefly attacked, hitting three sixes and two fours, before holing out at point to Miller. Brown made 34 off 22 balls.Shuvagata’s 24 off 16 balls took Chattogram past the 100 mark, as the Barishal bowlers grabbed the game firmly for the rest of the innings. Mayers, Saifuddin and Obed McCoy took two wickets each while Taijul Islam and James Fuller picked up one wicket respectively.

The winter transfer window was nothing short of disastrous for Arsenal this year.

Mikel Arteta’s side were still in both domestic cups and just about within touching distance of Liverpool atop the Premier League when it was opened, yet the board opted not to sign a single player despite the attack being decimated.

The Gunners are now out of both cups, miles off the Reds in the league, and could still be without two of their regular front three when they face Real Madrid in the Champions League next month.

The only transfer-related positive to come out of January was the surprise news that the North Londoners were seen as the most likely to sign Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi come the summer.

However, recent reports have linked Arsenal with a potential upgrade on the Spaniard, a player that incoming Sporting Director Andrea Berta has reportedly tried to sign before.

Arsenal targeting Zubimendi upgrade under Berta

According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal are planning for a big summer of transfer activity and have identified Newcastle United star Bruno Guimarães as one of their key targets.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

In fact, the report has revealed that the desire to chase the Brazilian international stems primarily from incoming Sporting Director Andrea Berta, who is ‘in love’ with him and tried to sign him three times while at Atlético Madrid. The fact the Italian would like to bring him to the Emirates has already been brought up in talks with the player’s circle.

The good news for the North Londoners is that the story claims a failure to qualify for the Champions League this season will see the asking price for the midfield monster drop to just £60m.

It could be a complicated and still relatively costly transfer to get over the line, but given Guimarães immense ability, one well worth pursuing, even if that means skipping out on Zubimendi.

How Guimarães compares to Zubimendi

In an ideal world, Arsenal would be able to sign both midfielders this summer, but with the attack needing some serious investment, we can see a world in which it’s one or the other.

In that case, it would probably be a wise choice for Berta and Co to come down on the side of Guimarães, as while he and Zubimendi can both play in either the eight or six roles, he is the more dangerous of the pair in an attacking sense.

Moreover, with someone like Declan Rice on the team who can also play both roles to a high level, we’d argue that the ability to help out in attacks is more important, considering the defensive solidity of Arteta’s side.

For example, in just 36 appearances this term, the “world-class” midfielder, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has scored three goals and provided eight assists, equating to a goal involvement on average every 3.27 games.

In contrast, the San Sebastian-born ace has scored one goal and provided two assists in 36 appearances, equating to a goal involvement every 12 games.

Progressive Passes

7.32

6.15

Progressive Carries

1.45

1.21

Shots

1.15

0.59

Key Passes

1.38

0.54

Passes into the Final Third

5.06

4.98

Shot-Creating Actions

3.38

1.51

Goal-Creating Actions

0.52

0.21

Tackles

2.12

2.34

Interceptions

0.93

1.34

Successful Take-Ons

0.97

0.63

Ball Recoveries

5.06

4.44

The one-sided nature of this comparison only continues when we take a look under the hood at their underlying numbers.

For example, per FBref, the Toon star comes out on top in most relevant metrics, including but not limited to, actual and expected non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes and carries, shots and shots on target, ball recoveries, successful take-ons and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, while both players would be fine additions to this Arsenal squad, Guimarães would undoubtedly be the better signing and one that would kick-start Berta’s tenure in a big way.

Berta's new Griezmann: Arsenal favourites to sign £62m Premier League star

Andrea Berta has found his dream first target as Arsenal’s new sporting director.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Mar 12, 2025

Glasgow Rangers officially confirmed that former central midfielder and Scotland international Barry Ferguson will be in interim charge of the club until the end of the season.

Philippe Clement was relieved of his duties by the Ibrox giants on Sunday after the 2-0 loss to St Mirren on Saturday left them still 13 points behind Celtic in the race for the Scottish Premiership title.

A takeover involving the San Francisco 49ers’ investment wing is expected to be completed between April and June and this may be why they have decided to go with an interim before the new ownership can make a decision on the long-term direction of the club in the summer.

There are still several months left and many matches to be played before the end of the 2024/25 campaign, though, and Ferguson will get a chance to lead the side out in the Premiership and the Europa League.

Barry Ferguson's Rangers to-do list

The former Rangers star is tasked with stabilising the team and ensuring that whoever takes over in the summer does so from a solid base.

This means that Ferguson and his backroom team must work hard to ensure that the team does not spiral down a dark road littered with several humiliating defeats before the end of the season.

Rangers face Fenerbahce in the last 16 of the Europa League next month and progression in that competition would be a bonus, to earn more goodwill from the supporters, but should not be expected of an inexperienced – at that level – interim.

In The Pipeline

A big thing on Ferguson’s to-do list in the second half of this season should be to integrate more academy players into the first-team, given that he came through the same youth set-up when he made his breakthrough with the Gers as a player.

Ferguson could strike gold with Bailey Rice

The interim head coach could hit the jackpot with 18-year-old central midfielder Bailey Rice, whom he could expose to more regular football in the coming months to prepare him to hit the ground running under the next manager.

Rice has played eight times at first-team level for the Gers to date and has only played 45 minutes in the Premiership, despite showing plenty of promise on the pitch.

Minutes

45

Key passes

2

Big chances created

1

Duels won

1/2

Clearances

2

Dribbled past

0x

As you can see in the table above, the teenage ace caught the eye when he came off the bench against Manchester United in the Europa League earlier this year.

Manchester United and England legend Rio Ferdinand was on TNT’s coverage of the game and was in ‘awe’ of the young gem. He, as relayed by the Daily Record said: “I’ll tell you what. I like Rice. He’s come on and looking composed and that left foot looks like it has a bit in it. He’s seeing pictures, playing, and executing. That is a wonderful pass.”

Rice also came on in the 4-0 win over Ross County earlier this month and won five of his seven defensive duels, without being dribbled past once, which further suggests that he is ready for first-team football.

Ferguson could hit gold for the Light Blues by providing the Scotland youth international with the chance to play week-in-week-out over the next few months, so that he can gain the experience he needs to kick on and become a regular under the next manager in the future.

The 5 worst Rangers managers of all time – ranked

Following Philippe Clement’s sacking, we’ve taken a look at the worst managers to take to the Ibrox dugout.

ByRoss Kilvington Feb 25, 2025

Rice could be a future star for the Ibrox giants, given that he has so many years left ahead of him to develop, but he needs an opportunity, which Ferguson could offer him in the coming weeks and months.

da lvbet： Chelsea have been offered the chance to potentially sign a Barcelona player by intermediaries, who are actively contacting Premier League sides to gauge their interest in striking a transfer deal for him.

Enzo Maresca comments on Chelsea injury problems

da fezbet： The top-four chasers take on Aston Villa in the Premier League this evening off the back of a torrid run, and manager Enzo Maresca is currently having to deal with mounting injury problems.

Related Chelsea prepared to really push for "Gallas-type" £216k-per-week defender

The west Londoners “love” him.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Feb 22, 2025

Nicolas Jackson, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Roméo Lavia, Marc Guiu and Noni Madueke are all out and unavailable for Chelsea for today’s late clash at Villa Park, leaving Maresca short of attacking options in particular.

Chelsea’s next five Premier League fixtures

Date

Aston Villa (away)

February 22nd

Southampton (home)

February 25th

Leicester City (home)

March 9th

Arsenal (away)

March 16th

Tottenham (home)

April 2nd

Luckily for Chelsea, Unai Emery’s side are on a similarly bad run coming into this game. They’re without a league win from their last five top-flight encounters, with their last set of three points coming away to Everton back in mid-January.

Nevertheless, Maresca recognises the tough task facing his side in the Midlands. “I think we spent almost the whole season in the top four,” said Maresca on Chelsea’s form and Aston Villa.

“Now we have just 13 games to go, so for sure now, the target for us now is to try and finish in the top four – to finish in the best way. We are going to try to do our best to achieve that, knowing that the difficult moment we have now is probably one of the reasons why, and the most important reason why, is because of the injury situation; we have five or six players, significant players, that are out.

“I was watching two days ago the first game against Villa, and unfortunately, we have five players in that game that are out. Wes, Noni, Nico, Romeo – so the team changed completely, and it’s something this season happens almost with many clubs. Arsenal have injuries, City have injuries, and we are going to try our best to win games even with the amount of injuries we have.”

Lavia’s injury prompted Chelsea to sign Mathis Amougou from Saint-Étienne in January, with the 19-year-old set to be a first-team player for the remainder of 2024/25 before heading out on loan to sister Strasbourg next campaign.

Chelsea offered Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong by intermediaries

Given Amougou won’t be at Stamford Bridge for 2025/26, reports have suggested that Chelsea could target Man United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo this summer after showing some interest in January.

Now, as per journalist Graeme Bailey and The Boot Room, £302,000-per-week Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong is an option for the Blues as well.

It is believed that Chelsea have been contacted by agents about signing De Jong, who are making suitors aware of his potential availability and testing the water to see which clubs could bite heading into the next transfer window.

The Dutchman has struggled with injuries and a lack of consistent opportunities under Hansi Flick this season, and De Jong’s contract expires in 2026, meaning he could leave for a relatively cheap fee if Chelsea were to pursue a move.

MatériaMais Notícias

da doce： Defender o seu país, dentro de campo, é aquela oportunidade que poucos atletas possuem em um cenário cada vez mais competitivo no futebol. Porém, o jovem Juan Mario, atleta do sub-20 do São Caetano, está entre esses privilegiados.

Há quatro meses no Brasil, o jogador de nacionalidade boliviana foi pré-convocado para a seleção sub-20 do seu país. Motivo de grande satisfação, principalmente para quem ainda está iniciando uma história no esporte mais popular do mundo.

RelacionadasInternacionalInternacional está perto de contratar o argentino Lucas RomeroInternacional15/12/2022InternacionalMário Fernandes é apresentado pelo InternacionalInternacional15/12/2022CruzeiroMédico do Cruzeiro detalha situação de Filipe Machado e exalta bom início de pré-temporadaCruzeiro15/12/2022

da pinup bet： – Ser convocado é motivo de felicidade, pois tenho orgulho em representar meu país – disse o jovem, de 17 anos, que pode atuar tanto na lateral esquerda ou mais avançado como um extremo, dependendo da vontade do treinador.

Ao longo do tempo, não é novidade os jovens de outras nacionalidades se aventurarem no futebol brasileiro. No entanto, esse desafio já demonstrou ser de grande importância pelo desenvolvimento daqueles que buscam se destacar atuando no país pentacampeão mundial.

Diante disso, Juan Mario ressalta como jogar e viver o dia a dia no Brasil está sendo crucial pelo seu crescimento como atleta.

– Jogar pelo sub-20 do São Caetano está ajudando no meu desenvolvimento como jogador, primeiro por jogar com nomes três, dois ou um ano mais velhos do que eu. Além disso, também está ajudando a deixar o meu futebol mais dinâmico, pois posso utilizar constantemente as minhas habilidades – explicou.

Esse caso de Juan Mario não é o primeiro na base do São Caetano. Outro jogador sul-americano que estava no clube acabou defendendo a sua seleção. No passado, o goleiro colombiano Alvaro Montero, hoje no Millonarios-COL, repetiu os mesmos passos.

The forward's hot start to the season continued as he smashed home his first headed goal of the campaign

Norwich defeats Portsmouth 2-1Sargent scores game-winnerAmerican on three goals this seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

U.S. men's national team forward Josh Sargent scored the game-winning goal for Norwich City on Saturday as they defeated Portsmouth 2-1 in English Championship action. It was Sargent's third goal of the season, and his second in the Championship, as his hot start to the 2025-26 season continued as the earned all three points.

He timed his run to perfection, crashing home at the far post with a close-range header off a long throw-in.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Sargent has been linked with a transfer away from Leeds United all summer long, but no deal has come to fruition. In July, the reportedly reached an agreement with Wolfsburg, but the American forward rejected the transfer, opting not to return to the German Bundesliga.

Recently, promoted Premier League sides Leeds United and Burnley have been monitoring him, but no move has been made.

Sargent is searching for a big move this summer to push him into the USMNT World Cup squad next summer. He was held out of the Gold Cup this summer due to "football reasons" per manager Mauricio Pochettino.

DID YOU KNOW?

Sargent's excellent scoring record at the club level has failed to transition to the international stage in recent years. He hasn't found the back of the net for the USMNT since 2019.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR SARGENT?

Norwich take on Middlesbrough next weekend. It will be a contest featuring two Americans on the pitch, as Sargent will face off against Aidan Morris.

Middle order failing to fire, absence of three members of Test squad, Maxwell’s relatively late withdrawal hurt winless London Spirit

Matt Roller04-Aug-2021Few pundits backed London Spirit for the title in the inaugural season of the men’s Hundred but nobody whose memory stretched as far back as 2008 was willing to write them off. Playing in blue from head to toe, with Shane Warne as head coach and an unfancied squad? There were enough parallels with the Rajasthan Royals side that won the first-ever IPL to suggest they might just pull something improbable out the bag.But five games into their first season, the Spirit have been the Hundred’s weakest side. They are the only side in the men’s competition yet to win a game, and were thrashed in their fourth and final home fixture (one was a washout) by Northern Superchargers on Tuesday night. The table is still tight enough that they are mathematically in the running, but any realistic chances of qualifying for knockout stages have dissipated.Their first three defeats were all tight, with each game going down to the final set of five balls. At Edgbaston, they were just short of par in setting Birmingham Phoenix 145 to win, and in the home losses against Trent Rockets and Southern Brave, they were two boundaries away from getting across the line.Related

• All-round Willey, bowlers combine to leave Spirit winless

• Warne self-isolating after returning positive Covid-19 test

“There was a sense of frustration in the fact that we didn’t get over the line having felt that we’d played well for the majority of the game,” Eoin Morgan, their captain, said on Tuesday about the defeat to the Brave . “To not capitalise on our opening partnership was really frustrating.”I think throughout tournaments, and group stages, you will be beaten by better sides. There are very few instances when sides go unbeaten throughout a tournament. Where the problem for us lies is that the previous two games we played, we played well for the majority but in clinical parts of the game, we didn’t finish the job and that’s hurt us.”Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of their struggles has been the fact that the squad they assembled does not look like it was built with the long term in mind. While some sides have openly admitted that their draft strategy was to assemble a group that could develop over a number of years rather than simply targeting success in the Hundred’s first season, the Spirit picked a number of veterans and looked – to borrow terminology from the NFL – like a ‘win-now’ team.Their middle order, which has failed to fire throughout their four defeats, has not pulled its weight despite the wealth of experience within it. At 34, Morgan was the junior man from No. 4-8 in Tuesday’s defeat, with Joe Denly (35), Ravi Bopara, Mohammad Nabi and Roelof van der Merwe (all 36) coming in behind him. All five have struggled badly for form: Zak Crawley made more runs in his only innings of the tournament than any of those five managed across four innings each.Of course, there are mitigating factors for the Spirit, most notably the absence of three members of England’s Test squad in Crawley, Dan Lawrence and Mark Wood – who did not even link up with the Spirit for the first two games, instead focusing on his preparation for the first Test against India.Zak Crawley made 64 in his only innings of the tournament•Getty ImagesAll three players were signed as part of the draft in October 2019, rather than through the separate Test player mechanism. None of them held a red-ball central contract at the time – Crawley and Lawrence were both uncapped – and while it was not out of the question that they might miss some games due to inclusion in a Test squad in future seasons, the Spirit were unfortunate to miss all three simultaneously for the majority of this year. To make matters worse, one of the two games for which Crawley and Lawrence were both available was washed out.”I think every team has gone through it, losing players, particularly their Test guys,” Morgan said. “It’s been challenging, but other sides have found a way. We’ve recruited well, we just haven’t managed to get over the line.”We haven’t done a lot of things wrong in the previous games that we’ve played. Every game we’d played had gone right down to the wire but to be up there with the pace, you’re doing a lot of positive things. Today [against the Superchargers], we were just beaten.”Their overseas players have been something of a letdown. Mohammad Amir was among the world’s leading T20 seamers at the time of the initial draft, and while they were under no obligation to retain him, the Spirit could not have expected his form to tail off as dramatically as it has; his 77 balls in the competition to date have cost 132 runs, and he has taken only three wickets.Nabi’s offbreaks have been economical but he is yet to contribute with the bat, while Josh Inglis has struggled to translate his T20 Blast form with Leicestershire into runs in the Hundred. Their biggest miss was Glenn Maxwell, a relatively late withdrawal and the best batter in their initial squad by a long way – his offbreaks would also have helped the balance of the side.But the upshot is that the Spirit are the first men’s team facing a post-mortem into a season that has represented something of a false start. Mason Crane and Blake Cullen have shown flickers of promise with the ball, but positives for future years have been relatively hard to come by. Warne, who missed their last two games after testing positive for Covid-19, tweeted from self-isolation that their defeats against the Rockets and the Brave had been “embarrassing” – his verdict on the season to date is unlikely to be any more favourable.