Tag Futebol

Johan Botha has no regrets about leaving his home country and is enjoying the chance to play more first-class cricket as captain of South Australia

Firdose Moonda21-Nov-2012The most notable proof of how much it meant for Johan Botha to have played international cricket is his son. Austin’s name is a combination of the place Botha made his Test debut, Australia, and the country where he played his first one-day game – India. Realistically Botha has little chance of playing for South Africa again, but he will always have those two firsts.To clarify: Botha has not retired from international cricket, neither has he fallen out with the South African administration. He made a choice to move on before he was moved on, and as a result it is unlikely he will be able to win back his spot.Botha’s sidelining was clearly signposted, even though for a while it looked like he was on the up. He was named T20 captain in August 2010, when Graeme Smith stepped down as leader in the shortest format. Smith also declared his intention to give up the one-day leadership after the 2011 World Cup and Botha was touted as his successor.Less than a year later, Botha was done out of both roles. AB de Villiers was appointed to lead in both limited-overs formats and Botha could see the end. He was left out of January’s one-day series against Sri Lanka and competition for his place was fierce. More often than not, he lost out to Robin Peterson.”Losing the captaincy played a role in being left out of the side more often,” Botha said. “You want a guy who is captain to be a regular in the team, and I thought that if AB is captain and I am not, they might start thinking that way: that I don’t have to be in the team all the time.”I didn’t have any problem with that. AB is a great player and he’s always in the line-up. That’s what the team wanted and that’s great. I had seven years with South Africa and if it never comes up again, I’ll still be happy. I played five Tests, almost 80 ODIs and 40 T20s, so it’s not like I have to go back there one day. If this is it then this is it.”Botha is comfortable talking about international cricket in the past tense. He identified being chosen as captain for the first time as among his proudest moments, along with winning back-to-back one-day series against Australia in 2008-09. He can even pick out his best game. “Beating India at the World Cup last year in Nagpur was a special effort.”

“It was a great opportunity to lead a team who wants to improve. And I didn’t want to look back years later and think that it was something I should have done”

He also doesn’t hesitate to mention his one regret. “I would have liked to have played one Test in South Africa.” As he watches South Africa’s changing approach to spin and the emphasis that has been placed on Imran Tahir’s role in the Adelaide Test, he may wonder if it could have been him instead.When he asked Cricket South Africa to release him from his national contract, Botha did not want to spend any more time wondering. He walked out of the door in search of a place where he could play cricket regularly. “I didn’t want to just travel with the team and just sit around,” he said.The few weeks he spent playing for the Adelaide Strikers last summer and his relationship with coach Darren Berry through the Rajasthan Royals gave him a ready-made option. South Australia were interested in signing him long-term and he thought it would be an ideal fit for his lifestyle.”I wanted to have more time with my family,” he said. “It was a great opportunity to lead a team who wants to improve. And I didn’t want to look back years later and think that it was something I should have done.” September’s World Twenty20 was pegged as his last appearance for South Africa and he was only used sparsely in the lead-up to that. Now his new life has truly begun.One of Botha’s main reasons for moving had nothing to do with international cricket at all. He simply wanted the chance to play more first-class cricket. Given the international schedule, Botha played only one match for his home franchise, the Warriors, in the 2010-11 season and none the next summer. “I still want to give first-class cricket a good two or three years. I really enjoy four-day batting and I didn’t want to give it up.”That is an unusual take on the game from a modern-day player. Many of them are attracted to the big money and short time-frame of 20-over competitions. In some ways, so is Botha; he was one of the best-paid South Africans at the IPL, where the Rajasthan Royals forked over $950,000 for him before the tournament’s fourth edition, and he will return to them in 2013.He has also played in the Big Bash League, and said he would consider an English team for another T20 competition during the southern hemisphere off-season. But some of the glamour has worn thin for Botha, and the desire to play in an environment dedicated to more serious cricket, especially from a batting perspective, has grown.”I still want to give first-class cricket a good two or three years. I really enjoy four-day batting and I didn’t want to give it up.”•Getty ImagesApart from a stint where he moved to No. 3 for the Royals, Botha was never really taken seriously as a batsman and he is keen to change that view. Being part of a team’s full domestic season will afford him that opportunity, especially as he hopes to move higher up the order.”There are no preconceived ideas about me here,” he said. “Being a spin bowler, in South Africa I was always No. 8, and someone who could bat a bit. Certain things are a bit different here.”One of those has been the focus on the first-class game in Australia. Around the world, long-form domestic cricket is poorly attended, and its importance as the primary source of future Test cricketers has been almost forgotten. In Australia, Botha has seen the opposite.”There is a big focus on Shield cricket,” he said. “The Big Bash is not the main focus. Even though it will take up some time over December and January and it’s there, it’s not the thing that gets the most attention from players. I feel the guys really want to play Shield cricket and win games there. And when they are not playing Shield cricket, they play grade cricket. I never did that in South Africa. It’s really good.”South Australia have had a tough few years in the competition and one of their reasons for contracting Botha was in the hope he could change their fortunes. They began the season with an innings defeat to Tasmania but after a draw with Queensland, they managed to beat George Bailey’s side in Hobart to record a rare victory – the state’s first in two years. Botha said he has found playing here a “challenge,” at times but can see progress being made. “The guys have responded well so far and we are after more Shield wins,” he said.While the cricket has gone well, the adjustments for his family have not been as smooth. Botha’s wife, Monica, has had to be almost completely self-sufficient in taking care of two-year-old Austin, especially when Botha travels to play in other states. After three and a half weeks in Adelaide at the start of the season, Botha spent time away in Perth and is currently in Melbourne.”We’re in a really great place on the western side, towards the beach,” Botha said. “But yes, it can get a bit tough. There are no helpers and there are no grannies. The biggest thing when I am not at home, is for Monica to do everything alone. I got what I wanted in terms of being able to play cricket and be with my family, but when I go away, it’s harder for her.”How well his family eventually settles in will determine whether Botha extends his contract to a third year, as the current option allows, or even further. For now, they still regard South Africa as home. “We had a house built in Port Elizabeth, which was completed in December,” Botha said. “That’s our house. Here, we are just renting.”They will return at the end of the summer when Monica is due to give birth to a girl in March. Given their time in South Australia, Adelaide may be a fitting name. “I think we’ll have to go for a straightforward name this time,” Botha said. “It definitely can’t be something like Sydney, even though that’s where I played my first Test.”

The tied match was just what the World Cup needed, but the exciting finish cannot gloss over what was an embarrassing performance by India in the field

Sambit Bal at the Chinnaswamy Stadium27-Feb-2011First things first. The fans and the organisers must give thanks to India and England for conspiring to produce an extraordinary finish that has ignited the World Cup after ten days of relative torpor. Six hundred and seventy six runs, 18 wickets and a heart-stopping tie ensure that the match will linger in the memory of anyone present. But in the cold light of cricket logic, the reverse of what is normally said of a tie will apply to this match: the tie was a fair result because neither team deserved to win.The outcome would have left both teams with both relief and regret. India would be relieved because they found their way back into a match which seemed hopelessly lost, and then did not concede more than a single off the last ball after the first five of the final over had gone for 12. But how did they let England amble to a match-winning position in the first place, after scoring 338? And how did they manage to concede 28 to the tailenders in the last two overs after knocking over four wickets for 25 runs in the batting Powerplay?England would be mightily relieved after the Powerplay choke had left them with 42 to get off 24 balls with all their specialist batsmen gone, and they would take overall satisfaction from constructing such an epic chase. But just how did they manage to botch it from 278 for 2 with 61 needed off 54 balls?The match featured some splendid performances, and in many ways those mirrored each other. There were polished and controlled hundreds from Sachin Tendulkar, the game’s enduring icon, and Andrew Strauss, who has found his batting mojo in this form of the game in the second half of his career; there was outstanding bowling from Tim Bresnan, which was responsible for keeping India down to 338, if such a thing can be said, and there were three skillful and cunning overs from Zaheer Khan that brought India back into the game. There were strong support acts from the No. 4 batsmen – Yuvraj Singh and Ian Bell – and both were dismissed at crucial junctures which led to the innings dipping into decline.But the enduring image of the match would be the last-over six from Ajmal Shehzad, hit so cleanly and with such majesty that it might have come from the middle of Tendulkar’s bat. For that, and for mounting such an improbable chase with such aplomb for the large part of the innings, England would take more from the match than their fancied rivals. India were expected to bat big; England, despite botching up the chase, surpassed expectations.Their one-day team was annihilated when they toured India the last time. Their progress since then was never doubted, and with this, they have served notice: while the bowling worries remain, with the bat, they can chase.India have known even before a ball had been bowled in this World Cup that whatever success they were to achieve they had to do it off their bat. But on Sunday night, they were served the starkest possible reminder that whatever they can do with bat can be easily lost on the field. The track at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was, according to Strauss, unbelievably flat and MS Dhoni said it got even better during the second innings. Still, the frightening aspect from the Indian point of view was not merely that England almost chased their total down, but how easily they did it till the 43rd over.The format of this World Cup has been designed to insure them against the embarrassment of an early exit, but for the most part, their performance in defending a total never chased even on the flattest and deadest Indian pitches – the highest successful run chase on Indian soil is 325 by India against West Indies in 2002 – was an epic embarrassment in its own right: it has swiftly shorn them of their aura, and the tag of the favourites.Every time they bat first, this question will haunt their batsmen: just how much is safe enough? Nine days ago, it was only the margin of victory that muted the questions about their ability with ball after Bangladesh had taken 280 runs off them in the World Cup opener, but so lacking in energy and spirit were they on the field on Sunday that a win for them would have been a travesty.It was only after the 43rd over, when Zaheer produced two wickets in two balls, that the Indian fielding acquired a sense of urgency and charge. Suddenly the fielders in the ring attacked the ball, a couple of diving stops were made, and outfielders sprang to life. Till then infielders had hung back and allowed the batsmen to stroll singles (England scored 134 of them compared to India’s 107) and fielders in the deep acted as perfect escort services to the fence. Their outcricket made India’s meagre bowling resources look even thinner.In their first warm-up match, their bowlers had defended 213 against Australia on the same square. But the ball spat and turned then. The curator had since been nudged to flatten it out, and on the belter that was laid out, the first part went to script for India. But the second provided glimpses of what lies ahead. Apart from Zaheer in those Powerplay overs, no bowler ever came close to being able to apply pressure; Harbhajan Singh was the most economical, but he was picked off with ease and conceded 10 runs in the crucial 46th over, and while Piyush Chawla had two wickets, he conceded the maximum boundaries: five fours and three sixes. The lack of skill from the bowlers was merely exacerbated by apologetic fielding.Dhoni sounded nearly resigned to the ineptitude in the field. “We could have defended this total if we had a better fielding side,” he said, “but we have to make do with what we have got.” But if this is the best they can put up, their batsmen would have to bat out of their skin for the rest of the tournament. Never has a team so light in bowling and so heavy on its feet won a World Cup.But from a broader perspective, this was the match the World Cup needed. However flawed, it was highly entertaining: it had twists and turns; big hitting and lots of wickets; drama and suspense; and the rarest of results. The stadium was a spectacle, and the crowd, however partisan, went back with a match to remember. Dhaka gave the tournament a passionate start, Bangalore has brought it alive.

Dileep Premachandran comes up with the plays of the third day of the Trent Bridge Test between England and India

Dileep Premachandran at Trent Bridge29-Jul-2007

Eyes wide shut: After stroking a lovely boundary through point, Sourav Ganguly must have sensed what would follow. Even then, he was caught unawares by Chris Tremlett’s bouncer. His eyes were already shying away from the ball and the body was in a bit of a tangle but the bat instinctively swung across for the hook. The contact was nearly perfect, and carried the ball well over the rope at square leg.Eyes wide shut – part deux: He may have been rated the ICC’s best umpire the past three years, but Simon Taufel had a distinctly average Sunday. First, the Sachin Tendulkar leg before with the ball missing even the fourth stump, and then a real shocker to send Ganguly packing. These days, players get fined for showing displeasure at decisions, but you had to feel some sympathy for Ganguly as he walked off mouthing a couple of words that can’t be printed.Legspin and all that: Nasser Hussain had some withering things to say on air about Sreesanth’s preparation, which apparently involved legspin bowling in the nets. The older players have managed fine without a coach to guide them but Sreesanth, eccentric at the best of times, seems to be struggling without a knowing voice in the ear. Zaheer Khan and RP Singh have both outbowled him in this series, and he needs to get his act together quickly. Abandoning legspin would be a start.Just like old times: For most of his innings, Tendulkar played with a great deal of circumspection. There was little similarity to the batsman who dominated the attack here 11 years ago for 177. But when Monty Panesar floated one up, he was down the track and driving on the up over mid-off, a glorious stroke that reprised the glory days.Drip drip drip: Ryan Sidebottom was relentless in the morning, shaping ball after ball away from Tendulkar’s bat without the merest hint of luck. While those that bowled far worse got wickets, or were gifted them, Sidebottom toiled away patiently. Reward came with a reckless swish from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and a routine catch for Matt Prior. Figures of 1 for 75 don’t really reveal how well he bowled.The ultimate pro: With the sun having beaten down all day, Anil Kumble could certainly be a factor in the latter stages of this match. On Sunday, he did his bit with the bat, first stodgily and then with a dash of flair, smacking Monty down to the midwicket boundary on one occasion.
If everyone else in the team had his work ethic and dedication, India wouldn’t be a mid-ranking side.

If his recovery goes to plan, Bumrah should start bowling in August and be ready in time for the ODI World Cup

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Mar-2023

Jasprit Bumrah has undergone back surgery as he races against time to be fit for the ODI World Cup, to be played at home in India in October-November this year. The surgery was conducted in New Zealand on Monday.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Bumrah is expected to stay in New Zealand till the end of March. The roadmap for his return, as prepared by the BCCI’s medical staff, is for him to resume training and bowling by August, and his workload will increase gradually after that, with the plan to get him completely fit for the World Cup.Bumrah has not featured in any cricket since late September last year, when he pulled out of the home white-ball series against South Africa – the reason, reportedly, was a stress reaction in his lower back. He attempted a comeback in January this year for the home series against Sri Lanka, but that didn’t happen after he experienced niggles in the back.Related

Bumrah commences rehab after undergoing back surgery

'It's ridiculous' – Shastri frustrated with Indian quicks' recurring injuries

How India's contenders are shaping up for the ODI World Cup

Rohit wary about rushing Bumrah back

The latest update ruled him out of the 2023 edition of the IPL and the World Test Championship final at The Oval from June 7 (if India qualify).It is understood that the BCCI medical staff at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru had been treating Bumrah’s case on an urgent basis, and suggested the surgery as an option. The decision to get the surgery done was taken by the BCCI in coordination with the NCA and Bumrah.It has been a frustrating wait for Bumrah, who has attempted to make a comeback more than once since suffering the back injury last August, which ruled him out of the Asia Cup. Initially, the injury had not seemed too serious as Bumrah was named in India’s T20 World Cup squad on September 12. To mark his fitness, Bumrah even played in the last two T20Is of the Australia series on September 23 and 25.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

However, three days later, Bumrah did not show up for the first T20I against South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram. It was later learnt that he had been taken for scans, which revealed a stress-related injury. The next day, Bumrah was taken to the NCA where further scans confirmed that the injury was serious, and he was subsequently ruled out of the T20 World Cup.Bumrah resumed his rehab in November and started to bowl by mid-December. His progress seemed positive when the selectors belatedly added him for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka more than a week after the Indian squad was originally named.While Bumrah had performed the match-simulation exercises at NCA, he felt discomfort while performing higher workloads during a fitness drill in Mumbai in early January. Scans revealed a fresh problem, which eventually ruled him out of the Australia Tests.The Indian team management as well as the NCA want Bumrah to return only when he is absolutely fit to perform at his peak, with captain Rohit Sharma also warning India against rushing him back into action.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Corinthians não contará com Maycon, Renato Augusto e Yuri Alberto para o confronto desta quinta-feira (9), às 21h30, contra o São Bernardo, pela sétima rodada do Paulistão.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansRenato Augusto celebra aniversário em alta no Corinthians: ‘Hoje eu desfruto mais do jogo’Corinthians08/02/2023CorinthiansFagner desabafa sobre clima no Corinthians com Vítor Pereira e diz ser ‘tudo diferente’ com LázaroCorinthians08/02/2023CorinthiansZagueiro do Corinthians vive expectativa por título inédito na baseCorinthians08/02/2023

+ Renato Augusto e Roger Guedes são essenciais para a vitória do Corinthians

O camisa 9 participou parcialmente dos últimos treinos da equipe, mas segue em transição física e por isso não enfrenta o Tigre do ABC. O centroavante vinhalidando com dores no tornozelo direito, que o incomodam desde o fim da temporada passada.Por isso, Yuri foi desfalque na vitória por 2 a 0 sobre o Botafogo-SP.

Quem também está em transição e próximo do retorno é o volante Maycon, que desfalcou a equipe nos dois últimos compromissos após sofrer uma lesãomuscular de grau 1 na coxa esquerda, contra o Guarani. A tendência é que o camisa 7 retorne no domingo, contra a Portuguesa-SP.

+ Veja as movimentações do mercado da bola no LANCE!

Já Renato Augusto não possui problemas físicos, sendo apenas preservado pela comissão técnica por controle de carga. O camisa 8 foi titular nas últimas três partidas do Timão no Campeonato Paulista.

Uma boa notícia no departamento médico é a evolução de Cantillo. O colombiano não atuará contra o São Bernardo, mas vem fazendo trabalho individual no gramado. Ele sofreuuma lesão de grau 2 no músculo posterior da coxa direita, também contra o Bugre.

Ainda no meio-campo, a tendência é que Fausto Vera retorne ao time titular. O argentino voltou a ser relacionado contra o Botafogo-SP após perder quatro partidas por uma entorse no tornozelo direito contra o Red Bull Bragantino, no dia 15 de janeiro, e está novamente relacionado.

VEJA A LISTA DE RELACIONADOS

Goleiros: Carlos Miguel, Cássio e Matheus Donelli
Laterais: Fábio Santos, Fagner, Matheus Bidu e Rafael Ramos
Zagueiros: Balbuena, Bruno Méndez, Caetano e Gil
Meio-campistas:Du Queiroz, Fausto Vera, Giuliano, Matheus Araújo, Paulinho e Roni
Atacantes:Adson, Arthur Sousa, Júnior Moraes, Róger Guedes, Romero e Wesley

Dessa forma, a provável escalação de Fernando Lázaro para a partida conta com: Cássio; Fagner (Rafael Ramos), Bruno Méndez, Balbuena (Gil) e Matheus Bidu (Fábio Santos); Fausto Vera (Roni), Du Queiroz, Giuliano e Adson; Róger Guedes e Júnior Moraes (Romero).

+ Veja tabela e simule os jogos do Campeonato Paulista

Nesta quarta-feira,Fernando Lázaro organizou um treino de enfrentamento em campo reduzido e, depois, uma atividade tática. Na última parte do treinamento, houve repetições de bolas paradas ofensivas e defensivas.

continua após a publicidade

Che Simmons made a stunning impact on his first-class debut by blasting a gaping hole in the Essex batting with three wickets in 15 balls as Warwickshire gained a stranglehold on the Vitality County Championship match at Chelmsford.The 20-year-old Barbadian-born, British passport-holder, dubbed the ‘new Jofra Archer’ when he signed three years ago, sent back Tom Westley, Nick Browne and Matt Critchley in a venomous opening spell of 6-2-10-3 that reduced Essex from 52 for 2 to 63 for 5 en route to 162 all out.There were similarities with the England pace bowler as Simmons finished with 3 for 12 to enable Warwickshire to build upon Ed Barnard’s six-and-three-quarter-hour, career-best 165 that underpinned their first-innings 397.Essex were dismissed inside 52 overs, 235 runs adrift, though Warwickshire opted not to enforce the follow-on. They may live to regret the decision as they lost five wickets in 17.3 evening overs on day two while extending their lead by 43.Captain Alex Davies departed to the fifth ball, steering Sam Cook to second slip, before Will Rhodes was undone by Jamie Porter and went lbw. Barnard was unable to replicate his first-innings heroics, chasing a Porter delivery down leg-side and was caught behind for a golden duck.When Dan Mousley patted back Critchley’s second ball and Rob Yates fell to the last ball of the day, lbw to Simon Harmer, Warwickshire were starting to relive the nightmare of their first innings when they had slumped to 64 for 5.Simmons’s fellow Warwickshire debutant Michael Rae, the New Zealand pace bowler signed this week as cover for a lengthening injury list in the pace department, set the ball rolling when Essex batted. Feroze Khushi tried to whip him through midwicket but only chipped tamely to mid-on.Dean Elgar followed when edging an attempted cover drive off Oliver Hannon-Dalby to second slip.Then Simmons took centre stage. Westley was induced to hook to short square leg where Sam Hain took his second catch inches off the ground. Browne then hung out his bat and was caught behind and next ball Critchley left his bat dangling and departed to the same combination.Michael Pepper prevented Simmons celebrating even further by turning the hat-trick ball through midwicket. However, Hannon-Dalby replaced Simmons and had Pepper under-cutting and being caught behind.Jordan Cox refused to be tied down amid the carnage and hit Hannon-Dalby for three successive boundaries, two angled down to third and another driven straight. He pulled Yates fiercely for six, attempted a repeat next ball that struck short-leg Hain plumb in the helmet necessitating his removal from the action, and then missed a reverse sweep two balls later and was bowled for 47.Harmer had earlier completed his best season’s bowling figures of 3 for 93 and reached double-figures with the bat for only the second time in eight innings. However, when on 13 he got a thin touch to Rae to give wicketkeeper Michael Burgess a fourth catch.Yates wrapped up the innings for figures of 3 for 27 as Cook popped up a catch to Hain’s replacement at bat-pad and Porter left one alone and was bowled.Warwickshire batted for an hour and a half in the morning. Burgess lasted just seven more balls while adding three to his overnight 105 before edging Shane Snater behind to end a seventh-wicket stand of 209 with Barnard.Simmons was as equally confident with the bat as with the ball before he attempted to sweep Harmer and was bowled. Rae fell the same way but only after launching Harmer’s previous two balls for sixes.Barnard reached his 150 with a six off Porter and equalled his previous top score of 163 with another maximum over long leg’s head off Critchley. But two runs later he swung at the same bowler and was caught in the deep for his first dismissal of the day.

Abhimanyu Easwaran has replaced Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been ruled out of the two-Test series because of an injury

Shashank Kishore22-Dec-2023Virat Kohli has left South Africa for personal reasons, but is likely to rejoin the Test squad ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. Kohli didn’t take part in the Indians’ three-day intra-squad match, the only red-ball outing for a number of senior players including captain Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, ahead of the two-Test series.Ruturaj Gaikwad, meanwhile, has been ruled out of the two-Test series because of a finger injury. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is currently part of the India A squad that is on a shadow tour of South Africa, has been named* as Gaikwad’s replacement as the reserve opener. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal are likely to continue their partnership at the top of the order, like they did in the Caribbean in July-August, which was India’s most recent Test assignment.Abhimanyu struck an unbeaten 61 on the second day of the practice game in Pretoria before he was retired by the team management. Abhimanyu is expected to feature for India A in the second four-day match against South Africa A, also beginning on December 26, barring any last-minute changes. He will then link up with the national squad ahead of the New Year’s Test in Cape Town.Gaikwad is expected to head back home and to the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He picked up the injury on the ring finger of his right hand while fielding during the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. In his absence, India handed a debut to Rajat Patidar for the series-deciding final ODI in Paarl, which India won.India’s Test squad has been in preparation for the past four days in Pretoria under Rahul Dravid’s coaching staff. KL Rahul, India’s stand-in ODI captain, and Mukesh Kumar are expected to link up with the Test squad after a day’s rest following the ODI series. Shreyas Iyer, who was also part of the ODI mix, had been released from the squad after the first ODI to prepare for the Tests.Iyer and Rahul will be returning to Test cricket after a prolonged absence. Both of them last featured for India during the Border-Gavaskar series at home against Australia in February. Rahul, who opened in the series, lost his place after the second Test. He missed the subsequent WTC final and the Caribbean tour because of a hamstring injury. He is likely to take over wicketkeeping duties for the Tests. Iyer, too, hasn’t played a first-class game since March, and has been on a steady diet of ODI cricket following his comeback from back surgery.The upcoming series is India’s second assignment in the new WTC cycle for 2023-25. They won the first Test in the Caribbean and were denied an opportunity to win the second by rain.

Ben Stokes never countenanced the possibility of leaving the World Cup early to bring his impending knee surgery forwards, despite England’s Test tour to India looming in two-and-a-half months’ time. Going home, he said, would have been “the easy way out”.Stokes revealed before England’s 33-run defeat to Australia in Ahmedabad last week that he will have an operation later this month in a bid to solve the chronic left-knee issue which has seen him play as a specialist batter since the start of July. He expects his rehabilitation to take between five and seven weeks, leaving a short turnaround before his Test team tour to India in January. The first of the five Tests begins on January 25 in Hyderabad.But even after their elimination was confirmed, Stokes said he did not consider heading home ahead of England’s final two group fixtures. “Just because things haven’t gone as we’d wanted, there were never any thoughts about leaving early, taking the easy way out,” he said. “We came here as part of a team and we will leave here as one.”Related

• Stokes to undergo knee surgery and 'hopefully be fine' for India Tests

• Stokes special keeps England's Champions Trophy hopes alive

• After 29 days of doom and gloom, England taste sweet victory

Jos Buttler, England’s captain, said that there had not been a conversation about the possibility of Stokes leaving. “It’s not his style at all: he’s here to play in the World Cup. He wants to be here and it’s important for us to try and qualify for that Champions Trophy. He wants to make sure we try and achieve that.”Stokes significantly improved England’s prospect of qualifying for that tournament in 18 months’ time on Wednesday evening, hitting 108 off 84 balls against Netherlands in Pune to put them seventh in the group stage heading into the final round of fixtures. It was his maiden World Cup century, in what is likely to be his penultimate World Cup appearance.Having reversed his retirement for this tournament, Stokes is highly unlikely to feature in ODIs after England’s final group game against Pakistan in Kolkata on Saturday. In any case, that will be his last 50-over match for at least 10 months: his surgery will rule him out of England’s tour to the Caribbean next month, and they do not play another ODI until September 2024.Stokes was non-committal over his future plans on Wednesday night, saying that he had “no idea” whether Saturday will be his final ODI. Rob Key, England’s managing director, is in Kolkata ahead of the Pakistan game. “I’m sure there will be a conversation [with him],” Stokes said. “But I don’t know when that will be.”After missing England’s first three games at the World Cup with a hip injury sustained doing lunges in a hotel gym in Guwahati, Stokes said that his physical fitness improved over the course of the tournament. “I have used the time between games to give myself a better opportunity [of recovering well] after the surgery,” he said.”All the work in the gym doesn’t compare to what you go through out there [on the pitch]. I’m looking forward to getting it sorted and not having to worry like I have these past 18 months. From a physical point of view, I’m better off than when I first got out here. But physical fitness and cricket fitness are two different things.”

Tottenham Hotspur chiefs are continuing to conduct their due-diligence on potential replacements for Ange Postecoglou with the tactician’s future in serious doubt, and chairman Daniel Levy has more interesting names on his shortlist beyond rumoured top target Andoni Iraola.

Tottenham identify Andoni Iraola as leading manager candidate

According to credible reports recently, Postecoglou’s long-term future is now in “serious doubt”, following a dismal 2024/2025 campaign for Spurs.

52-year-old holds talks with Levy to join Tottenham as "rich offer" readied

The Lilywhites chairman personally met with him yesterday.

By
Emilio Galantini

Mar 28, 2025

The Lilywhites sit 14th in the Premier League table and have lost a disastrous 15 matches in the top flight, grim numbers for a ‘big six’ side, and while their plethora of injuries have played a major role in this, criticism has still surrounded Postecoglou.

“When you’ve had your best team available to you and you’ve lost at home to Ipswich, your best team’s been available to you,” said talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan.

“When you had your best team available, you’ve been 2-0 up against Brighton, you’ve lost. When you’ve had your best team available to you away at Selhurst Park to Crystal Palace, who at the time were stinking the place out, you lose.

“You don’t get those passes. I think you get some of them. So I think that Ange has to be accountable for some of the poor performances.”

Postecoglou made the best-ever start to a Premier League season by any new manager in the competition’s history last season, but the 59-year-old has suffered a serious crash back down to earth after what was a promising debut campaign in the Spurs dugout.

So much so, that Tottenham are reportedly considering a new manager to replace Postecoglou.

It is widely reported that Bournemouth’s Iraola is Tottenham’s leading managerial candidate, with Rayo Vallecano’s former boss having guided the Cherries to a very impressive campaign.

The south coast side are undergoing a damp patch of form right now, losing three out of their last four league games, but they remain surprise contenders to seal European qualification despite suffering their fair share of injury problems.

This has impressed Spurs enough for them to make the 42-year-old their top target to succeed Postecoglou, as per The Athletic and other sources. However, the same outlet reports that Levy has alternative options.

Tottenham eyeing Brentford boss Thomas Frank as Andoni Iraola alternative

Indeed, it is believed that fellow top-flight boss Thomas Frank is among the other names in their thinking.

The Dane is out of contract in 2027 and previous reports have suggested that Frank is expected to pursue a new challenge at the end of the season, following seven successful years as Brentford’s head coach.

In that time, the 51-year-old has transformed Brentford from a Championship side to solid Premier League mainstays, and there is still an outside chance they qualify for Europe themselves this term.

The Athletic claims Tottenham are considering a move for Frank alongside Iraola, so this could be one to watch this summer. Man City boss Pep Guardiola, commenting on Frank last year, also called him “one of the best” coaches around.

“They are an extraordinary team,” said the City manager.

“What they do always makes sense. Every corner is a headache. They are compact. This season, they have a high press. Thomas is one of the best.”

علق أحمد دويدار، لاعب الزمالك السابق، على انتقال محمد شريف إلى الأهلي، في صفقة انتقال حر، لتدعيم هجوم القلعة الحمراء.

وأعلن محمد شريف عودته إلى النادي الأهلي، في صفقة انتقال حر بعد رحيله عن صفوف الخليج عقب نهاية الموسم الماضي.

طالع| عروض ضخمة لمدة شهر.. والد محمد شريف يكشف كواليس رفض نجله الاحتراف الأوروبي

وانتهى عقد محمد شريف مع الخليج السعودي بنهاية الموسم الماضي، لينتقل إلى الأهلي لتدعيم خط الهجوم، لمدة 5 سنوات بحسب تصريحات اللاعب.

وقال أحمد دويدار، في تصريحات لبرنامج “اللعيب”، على قناة “إم بي سي مصر”: “الأهلي لم يكن في حاجة إلى التعاقد مع محمد شريف في ظل وجود وسام أبو علي وجراديشار”.

وتابع: “أنا ضد فكرة وجود اثنين مهاجمين محترفين في صفوف النادي الأهلي، ولا يحتاج الفريق محمد شريف، والتعاقد معه لإضعاف الزمالك من وجهة نظري”.

واختتم دويدار تصريحاته: “محمد شريف سيجلس احتياطيًا، إلا في حالة رحيل وسام، في النهاية هو بديل لكن في الزمالك كان سيلعب أساسيا، ومن وجهة نظري الأهلي يحتاج إلى هاف رايت يلعب بقدمه اليسرى”.