India have long been the benchmark ODI side but even they’ll know Rashid and Gurbaz, on their day, can trip them up

Alagappan Muthu10-Oct-20232:40

How can Afghanistan do better with the bat?

Big picture: The step upIn his first press conference at this World Cup, Hashmatullah Shahidi spoke glowingly about the ability within his Afghanistan team. Even outside of it, the talent at their disposal is incredible. There’s a 23-year-old in Kunar who, but for the great Bill Ponsford, would hold the title of the fastest cricketer to 1000 first-class runs. The thing is, though, those kinds of records can sometimes speak to the lack of quality opposition. In a nutshell, that’s been Afghanistan’s problem in the longer formats.As coveted as their stars are on the T20 circuit, the chances they have to level up their one-day game are few and far between. Afghanistan have played a mere 29 matches between the last World Cup and this one. Even going as far back as the first ODI they ever played, their tally only comes to 153. There are individual players in the Indian team that they’ll face on Wednesday who have played almost twice as many matches.Related

Shubman Gill to miss India's game against Afghanistan as well

In World Cups, pressure comes with the territory. It's what makes winning sweet

Back in fashion: fingerspin's resurgence in ODIs

Shahidi on India's spin challenge: 'We play better spin in the nets sessions'

Experience is how batters learn when to go hard and when not to, when to just reduce risk, absorb the pressure and just trust that you can make up for lost ground. Experience is also how bowlers know it is important to keep hitting the same spot on the pitch over and over and over again. Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja exemplified this against Australia. No one in the Afghanistan team was able to do anything close in their match against a close rival.ODIs demand that you hold your nerve and your discipline for far longer than T20s do. The best place to learn that is bilateral cricket. But Afghanistan don’t really have that. What they do have – what they’ve managed since 2012 – are consistent World Cup appearances. It’s become the only meaningful way to test themselves. India are the ideal Afghanistan are striving towards and tomorrow they’ll see how far they’ve come and how far they may yet go.Form guideIndia WLWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Afghanistan LLLLLIn the spotlight – Rohit Sharma and Rahmanullah GurbazAny team in the world would love to have Rohit Sharma at the top of their batting order. But he himself doesn’t seem to be all that satisfied with where he’s at. He’s got it in his head that he can be more. For the past two years in ODIs, he’s been hitting ’em at better than a run-a-ball: 114 from eight innings in 2022 with an average of 41 and 109 from 16 innings in 2023 with an average of 47. The extra aggression he’s been showing has maybe had an impact in his centuries column – he only has two from the last three years – but it does seem to have other benefits. The only team that’s been able to score quicker than India (95.65) between the last World Cup and this one is England (98.19).Rahmanullah Gurbaz strikes a pretty pose•ICC via Getty ImagesRahmanullah Gurbaz will be relishing the conditions that this game will be played in. Delhi has offered freedom to hit through the line of the ball and there aren’t many that do that better than him. Right at the top of Afghanistan’s order is an agenda-setting batter to whom the entire field is available for plunder. It wasn’t that long ago that he was thumping his own team-mates Rashid and Noor Ahmad around in the IPL, scoring 81 off just 39 balls.Team news: Thakur for Ashwin?Both Rohit and his coach Rahul Dravid have been rather vocal about how important it will be for the squad to adapt to various conditions as they progress through this World Cup. Chennai was spin-friendly so they picked a bowling attack to suit that. Delhi won’t be, so it’s quite likely they’ll ask R Ashwin to step aside for Shardul Thakur. Shubman Gill is still recovering from dengue and has not travelled with the team.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer/Suryakumar Yadav, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed SirajAfghanistan put out the best team they had in Dharamsala and their captain said they were beaten because they had a bad day. It’s possible Shahidi might back the same XI to do better against India.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiPitch and conditions The Feroz Shah Kotla was the scene where World Cup records tumbled with South Africa and Sri Lanka aggregating the highest match total and Aiden Markram amassing the fastest century.Stats and trivia Prior to 2022 and 2023, only once in his entire career had Rohit gone through a year’s worth of work and come away with a strike rate of better than a run a ball – 100.09 from 19 innings in 2018. Having got there in 27 innings, Gurbaz is the quickest of the 13 Afghanistan batters to the mark of 1000 ODI runs Quotes”As a team we are prepared to do that. It is something we have been talking about in our group – whoever suits the conditions needs to come and do the job for us.”
“We have a good spin-bowling attack, but only one department can’t win you games. You have to score runs for that, to win the game.”

حقق برشلونة الفوز في ثاني مبارياته الودية ضد إف سي سيول بسبعة أهداف لثلاثة استعدادًا لمنافسات الموسم الجديد 2025-2026.

وكان لاعب خط الوسط الهولندي فرينكي دي يونج أحد اللاعبين الذين تحدثوا لوسائل الإعلام بعد نهاية اللقاء وسئل عن موقف الحارس الألماني المخضرم مارك تير شتيجن.

اقرأ أيضاً.. فليك: جافي فعل ما تمنيته أمام سيول.. وبرشلونة عاد لمستواه الرائع

وتحيط الشكوك بمستقبل تير شتيجن مع برشلونة بسبب إصابة تعرض لها في الظهر وهناك احتمالية لابتعاده عن قيادة الفريق بسبب توتر في علاقته مع مسؤولي النادي.

وكان دي يونج أول الداعمين لزميله الألماني مارك تير شتيجن في تصريحات نقلتها “ماركا” الإسبانية: “بالنسبة لي تير شتيجن هو قائد الفريق، كما كان في الموسم الماضي”.

وأضاف: “مارك تير شتيجن عالمي ولطالما قدم كل ما لديه للنادي، لذا أدعمه بشدة وحسب علمي الفريق يقدم نفس الدعم”.

وعندما سئل عن رد فعل مارك تير شتيجن على انضمام خوان جارسيا حارس مرمى إسبانيول السابق، فقد أجاب دي يونج: “لا أعرف، عليك أن تسأله ولكنه يتمتع بكفاءة عالية”.

واختتم عن مستقبله وقرب تجديد عقده: “في الظروف العادية سيكون هناك تمديد للعقد، أنا سعيد في برشلونة وعلى حد علمي النادي سعيد بي”.

Gary Lineker has revealed he was left with intense cramp after sitting next to Anthony Joshua at Wimbledon, and considered swearing at the boxing icon.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Former Match of the Day pundit at WimbledonSat in the Royal BoxWas next to Joshua's huge frameFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Lineker was spotted in the Royal Box at Wimbledon alongside British boxing great Joshua. The unlikely duo watched on at centre court as Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz won, before hometown hero Emma Raducanu crashed out to Aryna Sabalenka. However, the former Match of the Day host was left squeezed into his seat, as he had to deal with Joshua's 6'7 frame, and he has revealed he was left battling cramp.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT LINEKER SAID

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker said:  "I was sitting in the seats next to Anthony, and he's obviously huge.

"His legs… and the only way he sits, because there wasn't enough room, was he had his legs wide open.

"And I was forced, for like seven hours, whatever it was, to put my legs to the… it got to the stage where I was getting cramp in my inside thigh so badly.

"And the game was going on and I wanted to shout.

"But I never had the balls, at any point, to tell him, 'Will you f***ing move your legs over a little bit, give me some room?'

"Absolutely true. But he's a lovely, lovely guy and I had a laugh with him. And they were great company for the afternoon."

THE GOSSIP

Lineker, of course, left Match of the Day at the end of the 2024/25 season and is set to be replaced by Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates, and Mark Chapman. In addition to those three rotating presenters, Wayne Rooney has also reportedly netted an £800,000 deal to become a pundit on the show.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

AFPWHAT NEXT?

Joshua is expected to get back in the ring before the end of the year, but he has not fought since Daniel Dubois knocked him out last September. Maybe Lineker had a few daydreams of that when he was squished into his seat.

The light at the end of the tunnel was a train. England have spent the last four weeks travelling around India talking about responding to setbacks and awaiting the statement performance that has never arrived. If their defeats to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa were bad, this might have been the worst of the lot.The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was a venue that should have suited England perfectly. In the first of five effective must-win games, they chose to bat first on a flat pitch with short boundaries, rattled along to 44 for 0 after six overs and could finally afford to dream big: would 350 be enough to flatten Sri Lanka, or should they eye 400?They managed 156 all out in 33.2 overs, the lowest score recorded in a completed innings in this ground’s rich history. For all the skill of Sri Lanka’s bowlers and their vibrancy in the field, England got themselves out. The man who struck the first blow, Angelo Mathews, is 36; he had not taken an international wicket since he turned 33.Related

• England's woes weigh heavy on Jos Buttler, the captain

• Kumara goes from back-up to frontman

• Moeen: 'If we're going out, we're going out with a bang'

• Peak Sri Lanka too sharp for England on Mathews' magical return

• England all but resigned to World Cup exit – Mott

England were 146 for 8 by the time of Maheesh Theekshana’s leg-side wide to David Willey in the 32nd over of their innings, yet what followed encapsulated their World Cup so far. Kusal Mendis shuffled across, took the ball cleanly and was pulling off his right glove when he spotted that Adil Rashid was out of his ground at the non-striker’s end.Mendis’ dead-eye throw found Rashid short of his ground and as Adrian Holdstock sent the decision upstairs, everyone involved knew exactly what had happened. It was a moment of ingenuity, skill and, above all, self-confidence – three traits that England have sorely lacked over the last three weeks.The game was long gone when Rashid dozed off, yet it was part of a string of dismissals that sprung from scrambled minds. Joe Root slapped Theekshana straight to point and ran himself out; Jonny Bairstow picked out mid-on with a cross-batted hack; Jos Buttler flashed with hard hands and flat feet; Liam Livingstone was pinned in front looking to flamingo-flick into the leg side.Once, England were masters of rotating the strike and milking spin through the middle overs. Now, they seem to lurch between attack and defence, and have lost more wickets to spin (20) than any other team in this tournament; their batters have managed five 50-plus scores between them, the fewest of any team.Moeen Ali’s own innings fitted the damning assessment of his team-mates that he had delivered barely 24 hours earlier. He built a 37-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Ben Stokes, lacing one boundary through the covers. On 15, he was gifted a wide, 75mph long-hop by Mathews; with a half-committed cut shot, he chipped it straight to backward point. For all Moeen’s assets, this was familiarly tame.Stokes briefly threatened to play the sort of saviour innings that England anticipated when he declared himself available for the World Cup two months ago. He was given out lbw while reverse-sweeping Theekshana after eking out 13 off his first 36 balls, but when a thin bottom edge saved him on review he started to grind through the gears.He cracked Dilshan Madushanka for three pulled fours through midwicket, and dragged Dhananjaya de Silva’s offspin into the same direction. But as he gradually ran out of partners, Stokes decided it was time to take matters into his own hands: he lined up the upper tier when swinging hard at Kumara’s sharp bouncer, and picked out substitute fielder Dushan Hemantha, just off the rope.With England on the brink of elimination, Stokes total contribution for the tournament reads 48 runs off 81 balls and two catches. His return from injury – while only fit enough to play as a specialist batter – meant they picked an imbalanced side in Mumbai, then dropped their best young player in Harry Brook in Bengaluru. His retirement U-turn was meant to solve problems for England, but has only created them.Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis combined to run out Joe Root•Getty Images

In the field, England were on a hiding to nothing with such a low total to defend. It was cruelly fitting that the only bowler to have any real impact, Willey, was not deemed good enough to feature four years ago and is the only member of this squad who was not offered one of the lucrative central contracts that were announced two days before this defeat.England placed their faith in their golden generation, bringing them back together for one last tilt at an ICC event after a period of unprecedented success which means they are – still – the holders of both white-ball World Cups. After the triumphs of 2019 on home soil and 2022 in Australia, 2023 in India has proved one tournament too far.The youngest player they picked on Thursday was Livingstone, who turned 30 in August and has managed 31 runs across four innings: England banked on the value of experience, but their players have looked old and jaded. In the finest tradition of England’s great sporting teams, they have fallen apart gradually, then suddenly.This was England’s fifth straight World Cup defeat to Sri Lanka and ranks among the very worst of those – even if there have been plenty of grisly drubbings along the way. Sri Lanka were missing their captain, their best fast bowler and their first-choice spinner – and even at full strength, this is not a side to rival the 2007 or 2011 vintages.Yet it proved more than good enough to comfortably outplay a once-great England team, to the extent that Pathum Nissanka’s lofted straight six to clinch the points came in just the 26th over. It was such an early finish – wrapped up by half past seven – that a long night of soul-searching awaits.There is not even the consolation of an early return home: England still have four internal flights to catch, four hotels to check into, four games to play. Next up? The runaway leaders, India, in Lucknow on Sunday. Perhaps the worst is still to come.

Burnley are reportedly on the brink of completing a deal for England veteran Kyle Walker, who is undergoing medical examinations ahead of sealing a switch from Manchester City. The 35-year-old right-back is expected to join the Premier League newcomers on a permanent basis with a two-year contract on the table.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Walker set for a fresh challenge in the PL
• Burnley ready to snap up the right-back
• Defender eyes 2026 World Cup berth

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The proposed transfer will reunite Walker with Burnley head coach Scott Parker, with whom he shared a dressing room at Tottenham Hotspur during the early 2010s. The deal is reportedly structured to reward City with up to £5 million ($6.8m) in add-ons and bonuses, depending on performance milestones and appearances, as reported by

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Walker’s contract at City was set to run out in 2026, but with no plans for an extension, both parties have opted to part ways amicably. His loan spell to AC Milan failed to reignite his form and the Italian side subsequently chose not to activate the buy clause to keep him permanently at San Siro.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Since arriving from Tottenham in 2017, Walker has featured in 319 matches for City, firmly establishing himself as a dependable performer in one of Europe’s most competitive squads. As one of the club’s highest earners and a longstanding presence in the dressing room, the club could reportedly trim their wage expenditure by an estimated £10m ($13.5m) with Walker's departure. During his time at the Etihad Stadium, Walker collected 17 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the prestigious Champions League title in 2022-23.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR WALKER?

  For Walker, this move represents a chance to embrace a fresh challenge while continuing to compete at an elite level. He remains an integral part of the national team setup as current England manager Thomas Tuchel has consistently selected him. An upsurge in form at Turf Moor could ensure he gets his ticket to the 2026 World Cup, which will be held across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

For the three-match ODI series Gareth Delany, who was in the squad against England in September, has been omitted

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2023

Right-arm pacer Graham Hume and wicketkeeper-batter Neil Rock have been named in Ireland’s 15-member squad for the T20I series against Zimbabwe that begins on December 7 in Harare. Fionn Hand and Ben White, who were part of Ireland’s last T20I series against India in August, have been left out of the squad.For the three-match ODI series that is scheduled to follow the three T20Is, spin-bowling allrounder Gareth Delany, who was in the squad that faced England in September, has been omitted.Related

Paul Stirling appointed Ireland white-ball captain

Ireland already 'building towards 2027' as World Cup prep overshadows ODI series

This will also be the first tour led by Paul Stirling since his permanent appointment as white-ball captain. Ireland will spend five days at a training camp in Spain from November 19 to 23 before heading to Zimbabwe on December 1. All matches will be played in Harare, with the series wrapping up with the third and final ODI on December 17.Having made his debut in 2022, Hume has played four T20Is, taking a total of four wickets in those games. Rock, meanwhile, has been part of 19 T20Is.”This is the first outing for the men’s squad since the ODI series in England in September,” Andrew White, Ireland men’s national selector, said. “This tour marks the start of a new cycle under a new leadership set-up, and we’re looking forward to seeing how this playing group evolves as it builds towards the next 50-over World Cup.”However, before we get to that stage there will be two T20 World Cups to plan and prepare for, and this tour is core to our preparations for the T20 World Cup next June. We showed the world what we were capable of at the last T20 World Cup, but with the talent and potential within this playing group, there is a belief we can push on and achieve even more.”Ireland T20I squad: Paul Stirling (capt), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Graham Hume, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom, Craig YoungODI squad: Paul Stirling (capt), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Graham Hume, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young

MatériaMais Notícias

Nesta sexta-feira (21), o Corinthians iniciou a venda de ingressos para a partida contra o Fluminense. O jogo contra o Tricolor das Laranjeiras será disputado na quarta-feira (26), às 21h45, na Neo Química Arena, pela 34ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. No primeiro turno, os cariocas venceram os paulistas por 4 a 0.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansCalendário é cruel com o Corinthians após vice da Copa do BrasilCorinthians21/10/2022BrasileirãoSantos x Corinthians: saiba onde assistir ao clássico pelo BrasileirãoBrasileirão20/10/2022Fora de CampoÍdolo do Corinthians sai em defesa de Mateus Vital: ‘Tem que ter peito para bater pênalti’Fora de Campo20/10/2022

+ Fagner e Vital perdem pênaltis e são os vilões do Corinthians no vice da Copa do Brasil
​
A diretoria alvinegra abaixou o valor de sete setores em relação ao triunfo do Timão por 2 a 1 sobre o Athletico-PR, pelo Brasileirão, em Itaquera, na31ª rodada.

CONFIRA ABAIXO OS PREÇOS (sem descontos do Fiel Torcedor)
NORTE – R$ 50,00
SUL – R$ 70,00
LESTE SUPERIOR – R$ 90,00
LESTE INFERIOR LATERAL – R$ 100,00
LESTE INFERIOR CENTRAL – R$ 120,00
OESTE SUPERIOR – R$ 140,00
OESTE INFERIOR CORNER – R$ 200,00
OESTE INFERIOR LATERAL – R$ 300,00
OESTE INFERIOR CENTRAL – R$ 500,00
OESTE BUSINESS – R$ 500,00

+ Veja tabela e simule a reta final do Campeonato Brasileiro

Os associados do plano Minha Vida, do Fiel Torcedor, terão vantagens que variam entre 20% a 50% do preço dos ingressos mais baratos, dependendo do setor. Já os que configuram no plano Minha História terão descontos entre 20% a 60%.

A venda, como já é de costume, acontece de forma escalonada, de acordo com prioridades estabelecidas pelo clube alvinegro.

Os sócios com créditos relativos aos jogos que tiveram suspensão de torcida, por conta do início da pandemia da Covid-19, em 2020, terão a venda liberada às 14h desta sexta-feira (21). No mesmo horário, será aberta a venda do estacionamento para os proprietários do plano Minha Cadeira, do programa Fiel Torcedor.

Às 15h, os associados que possuem a partir de 60 pontos terão a venda liberada para todos os setores disponíveis. Mais tarde, às 17h, os sócios com pelo menos 40 pontos serão liberados para adquirir as entradas. Às 19h, os membros do Fiel Torcedor com 20 pontos poderão adquirir ingressos para o jogo contra o Flu.

No sábado (22), a partir das 11h, todos os sócios torcedores do Timão poderão comprar os ingressos. Somente na segunda-feira (24), a partir das 15h, a venda será aberta para o público geral.

Former Championship-winning fast bowler returns home after six years with Lancashire

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2023Graham Onions has agreed a return to his home club of Durham as lead bowling coach, after calling time on his six-year spell at Lancashire.Onions, who made more than 250 appearances for Durham across formats between 2004 and 2017, was instrumental in the club’s glory years, playing a key role in three County Championship titles between 2008 and 2013, and the One-Day Cup in 2014.He then moved to Lancashire for the final years of his career, helping them to win the 2019 Division Two title before stepping into the role of bowling coach following his retirement in 2020.In the course of his career, he claimed 527 first-class wickets for Durham, a haul bettered only by Chris Rushworth, and a further 104 in 23 matches for Lancashire at 20.73. He also played in nine Tests for England between 2009 and 2012, claiming 32 wickets at 29.90.”I am grateful and excited for the opportunity to come back to the county where it all started as a player,” Onions said. “I’m really looking forward to working with a talented group of players and also the opportunity to develop my own coaching with some exciting coaches.”I have loved my time at Lancashire as both a player and most recently as bowling coach. The time is right for me to move back to the North East to be around my family more often, but I will always be grateful for the six years I have spent at Emirates Old Trafford.”Durham’s director of cricket, Marcus North, added: “His 14-year playing career at Durham and understanding of our club’s culture and the North East cricketing landscape is a huge advantage in his arrival back to Durham.”We have an exciting group of bowlers at Durham and we believe this appointment is key to the development and success of this group. Graham will also play a leading role with Nathan Rimmington in overseeing our pathway talent.”

Despite guiding Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title, Vincent Kompany now faces criticism from a club legend after Club World Cup exit.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Babbel slams Kompany for ignoring youth talentsBayern were knocked out of the Club World Cup by PSGCalls grow for more integration of campus playersFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Former Bayern defender Markus Babbel has publicly criticised the head coach for not giving more playing time to academy players during the Club World Cup. Speaking to , Babbel questioned Kompany’s reluctance to integrate young talents such as Lennart Karl, who featured for only 45 minutes in the first match of the competition against Auckland City before being sidelined for the remainder of the competition.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Despite winning the 2024-25 Bundesliga with 82 points, Bayern were eliminated from the Club World Cup at the quarter-final stage following a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last week. The competition was seen as an opportunity to rotate the squad and test emerging players. Babbel believes Kompany missed a strategic opportunity to build for the future, arguing that Bayern possess some of the best young talent in Europe and should be showcasing it on such stages.

WHAT BABBEL SAID

Babbel said: "That's definitely something I don't like at all right now. First of all: Vincent Kompany managed to calm the team down again. They had two very difficult years under Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel. And Kompany then brought calm, led them to the German championship, and did a truly fantastic job. He communicated everything well, managed well; it was really great."

Babbel added: "What I don't like at all is that he doesn't have the courage to bring in young players. The Club World Cup was actually predestined for that. When you're playing against teams like Auckland, he lets the young players have a go, gives them a chance to show off. We're talking about talented players who can do something. These aren't duds! You don't just throw someone in there because they won a spot somewhere and get a chance to play with the pros… These are the best young players in Germany, or even in some parts of Europe. But none of them make it through."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BAYERN?

Bayern will regroup ahead of their pre-season tour later this month with transfer talks ongoing, including a major update on the pursuit of Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade. Internally, pressure may grow to promote youth talents into the first-team setup, especially when they have a DFL-Supercup to play in August. Kompany is expected to address the integration of academy players when Bayern begin the upcoming campaign.

Matt Renshaw bolstered his chances of a Test recall with a controlled century in the tour game against Pakistan, adding more intrigue to the question of who replaces David Warner when he retires. The 27-year-old outperformed other contenders for the soon-to-be vacant Australia Test opener’s job with an unbeaten 136.The Prime Minister’s XI reached 367 for 4 in their first innings at stumps on days three at Manuka Oval, still 24 runs behind the tourists with the final day’s play almost certain to bring a draw.But Renshaw sealed honours in the so-called “bat-off” in this match among the leading Warner replacements, with openers Cameron Bancroft (53) and Marcus Harris (49) and allrounder Cameron Green (46) not making the most of their starts.He denied there was extra motivation for his classy knock, instead crediting his much-improved mindsight.”It’s just another game of cricket, all the other stuff takes care of itself,” Renshaw said. “Only a couple of years ago, I took a break from the game because of how much I was taking it seriously, that was a really big learning curve for me just to go ‘why am I playing this game’?”It’s not to play for Australia, obviously I want to and that’s the goal but at the end of the day, I’m going to try and enjoy myself.”Renshaw, who has played 14 Tests, adds Friday’s century to 348 Sheffield Shield runs this season at an average of 32, while Warner has previously endorsed him as the leading contender for his job.Outside of a 10-minute period where he hoisted Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed for two fours and a huge six, Renshaw played a particularly defensive innings at No. 3 that featured 337 balls. He did have a couple of moments of fortune when he survived a huge appeal for a gloved pull and later edged between the keeper and slip.”It was taking a lot out of me to keep grinding down,” he said. “There were some times where I felt like I couldn’t get the ball off the square.”My game has been transitioning really well this season [from] a couple of little conversations with batting coaches and myself just to work out what I’m trying to do.”Green played some nice shots early, but reached at a wide Faheem Ashraf delivery and was caught behind just as a big score beckoned. He could still play a part in replacing Warner when the opener retires after the Pakistan series, if any of Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh or Travis Head are moved up to open for the Test team.Bancroft perhaps entered the “bat-off” in pole position as the Shield’s top run-scorer this season, while Harris has regularly travelled with the Australian side as the spare batter.Spectators at Manuka Oval perhaps were given a preview of a future Australian leader, with 24-year-old Nathan McSweeney playing some exquisite square drives on the way to his 40. A brilliant diving catch from Mir Hamza denied him the chance for a statement score. McSweeney, who is captaining the PM’s XI, has been earmarked as a future leader after skippering Australia A earlier this year.Beau Webster slugged a monster six that was caught by a youngster in the crowd, a rare highlight in a dull late session.Pakistan had rested first-choice pace bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim, and spinner Abrar exited the tour match on Friday nursing what appeared to be an injured calf muscle.If they want a specialist spinner in Perth, they may need to pick 37-year-old Noman Ali who also sat out the tour match.