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Perhaps after eight seasons of the IPL there is sameness, flatness, a sense of fatigue? Maybe the template can be revisited

Gaurav Kalra25-May-2015The IPL final in Kolkata was among the most anti-climatic summit clashes in recent memory. The end was like a punctured balloon that bobbled aimlessly before fizzing out.While it was a fiercely competitive season with several teams bunched together in the race to the knockouts deep into the tournament, there were large tracts that felt insipid. Perhaps after eight seasons there is sameness, flatness, a sense of fatigue?So could this annual (festival), as the host broadcaster calls it, do with a few tweaks? Maybe the template, set in stone for so long, needs revisiting?

Five overseas players

The essence of any sporting competition should be to provide the highest possible playing standard. An extra overseas player in the playing XI has the potential to achieve that. Sunrisers Hyderabad would have been a more potent unit if Trent Boult and Dale Steyn could have opened the bowling together. Delhi Daredevils might have made a greater impact with both Albie Morkel and Angelo Mathews in the XI. If Mumbai Indians had the option to field Alex Hales, who arrived in red-hot form from England’s T20 blast, he may have provided even greater spark to the latter half of the season.There is little purpose in keeping high-impact players on the bench when their presence could raise the quality of play on show. And franchises have a right to seek a better return on investment. It is pointless to have marquee players fit and available, yet forced to warm the bench.It is unlikely that an additional overseas player will force talented Indian youngsters out. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal and others would make the cut in all likelihood anyway. Conversely, with competition for places just a little fiercer, it may force those on the fringes to battle harder to keep their spots.It must also be remembered city loyalties have evolved and matured. It was sensible, in fact clever, in 2008 to identify teams with Indian icons- Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Rahul Dravid (Bangalore), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata), Virender Sehwag (Delhi) and Yuvraj Singh (Punjab). Over time though, supporters have embraced overseas players with just as much enthusiasm.Think Dwayne Bravo at Chennai, Sunil Narine at Kolkata, Lasith Malinga & Kieron Pollard at Mumbai. Meanwhile, four of the five original icons have gone on to play and mentor different franchises and the fuss has been minimal. So there is little reason to be overly protective of the “Indian-ness” of the league anymore.Imagine, Barcelona having to choose between Messi, Neymar and Suarez? Are they a better side or worse with all of them playing? Or ask that question another way. Would Barcelona supporters rather have each of them playing or force one of them on the bench so that a local player of not the same quality can be accommodated?Supporters want their teams to have the best chance of winning and a tournament should make every effort, to use a marketing phrase, to enhance its user experience.How about a best of three finals to decide the IPL?•BCCI

Revised knockouts format

Admittedly, the present one is an improvement on the concept of semi-finals. However, in an eight-team league, aren’t four of them making the knockouts one too many? Fifty percent of the participants, one in two, are assured of progress. Can those odds be reduced? Would each game in the league phase have greater context if only three make it through? Let me explain how that would work.Finishing on top of the table would come with an added incentive – an assured spot in the finals. It would almost ensure there is no easing up on the intensity to the very end of the group stage. Finishing in the top two, as is the case right now, isn’t the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.Even a runaway leader will need to be on their toes lest there be a late charge among the chasing pack. It will ensure most games have something extra riding on them.The teams that finish second and third then play a semi-final and the winner meets the top team in a best of three finals – the first at the home of the table-toppers, the next in the second finalist’s backyard and the third (if required) at a neutral venue.This will help sustain the interest among rival supporters. It will take high-profile games to their home venues, which can be built up to to crescendo. While Eden Gardens was packed to capacity for this year’s final, one sensed not having a home team to support dampened the atmosphere to some degree.Both finalists, in this format, will have home advantage for one game each. If they are locked at the end of the first two games, then a neutral venue will provide the stage for the climax. Supporters from both cities will be encouraged to travel to the venue. Television coverage too can ride on the rivalry between players and supporters over a longer period, giving greater play to the storylines.

Bonus points

Additional perks for big wins – by fifty or more runs or seven or more wickets, perhaps – to encourage form teams to press harder. With a place in the finals beckoning the table-topper, grappling for bonus points over the course of the league stage might become an interesting curiosity for supporters to engage with.

Five overs for two bowlers

Other ideas such as allowing two bowlers an extra over each have been suggested earlier and may be worth considering, if only to give attacking bowlers a greater role in the game.

Plays of the day from the fifth ODI between Pakistan and South Africa in Sharjah

Firdose Moonda11-Nov-2013(Un)lucky number three
A first inside-edge may leave a batsmen feeling nervous. Like when Quinton de Kock tried to cut Mohammad Irfan and almost played the ball onto his own stumps. A second, even more so, but still de Kock survived, and also collected a four for good measure. By the time the third comes, the fielding side can consider themselves unlucky. After two French cuts, de Kock had a third, off Sohail Tanvir. All of them, miraculously, missed the stumps.Rapid AB
AB de Villiers was on 97 going into the last over but Wayne Parnell was facing the first ball. After his partner hit a boundary off the first ball, de Villiers was anxious to get on strike. When Parnell beat the point fielder with his next shot, de Villiers called him through for three runs. De Villiers had to race against the throw to make his ground, but had his skates on as he fell mid-stride. He dived in vain at the striker’s end, with bat at full stretch to ensure he was well in his crease by the time Umar Akmal took the bails off. Having survived, de Villiers brought up three figures off the next ball.Flying AB
De Villiers had already led the batting effort but he was ready to do his part in the field as well. When a Lonwabo Tsotsobe delivery leaped up to take the shoulder of Mohammad Hafeez’s bat, the ball ballooned over second slip where de Villiers was stationed. He moved backwards, stuck his hand out and put in a jump to try and pluck the ball from the sky. For all his dedication, de Villiers could only get his fingers to it, but the ball spilled out when his arm struck the ground again, and Hafeez got away.The unlikely cricket enthusiast
Dead rubbers between two teams who will meet again in a return tour (two Twenty20s followed by three ODIs) that starts later this month are not exactly the biggest crowd-pullers and the numbers in the stadium were evidence of that. But there was someone who was interested in the action. A caramel-coloured pigeon was on the field for large periods of the Pakistan innings, and had to be shooed off on numerous occasions. He hung around at the boundary rope and was distracting some of the fielders to the point where Ahmed Shehzad had to wave him away in energetic fashion. Later, one of the members of the academy was spotted cradling the pigeon as the match drew to a close.Misbah unplugged
Tired of along, Misbah-ul-Haq played the shot of the match off just his seventh ball. Tsotsobe bowled it full, outside off, Misbah got underneath it, cleared the front foot, and lofted it over mid-off. The ball traveled high and far, crashing into the stand near the commentary box before bouncing back into the field. Even Misbah has an aggressive side.Irfan is bounced
The game was meandering to a foregone conclusion when a bit of spicy fast bowling from Parnell made people sit up and take notice. Irfan, at 7 ft 1in, would be the last person you would expect to be bounced out, his lackluster skills with the bat notwithstanding. But Parnell tested the middle of the pitch and made the ball rise towards Irfan’s head. The tail-ender fended it away as best he could, but the ball skied in the air and Hashim Amla back-pedalled from first slip to collect a safe catch. The wicket had no bearing on the eventual result, but was another example of the strange things that can happen on a cricket field.

Is fast bowling a dying art? Five former quicks answer questions on problems plaguing today’s fast bowlers

Interviews by Nagraj Gollapudi27-Oct-2011Andy Roberts: “Pakistan have fast pitches? People are complaining about the lack of fast pitches, yet Pakistan have a number of great fast bowlers”•AFPHave relentless scheduling, placid pitches, and playing in three different formats without many breaks had an impact on the modern-day fast bowler?Glenn McGrath Yes and no. To be a great bowler, to be successful, you have to be able to perform day in and day out, in different conditions all round the world, and then you can probably say to yourself, “I’ve done a pretty decent job.”I’m not sure what the exact problem is with modern-day fast bowlers: even in Australia a lot of quicks are getting injured. In 1995 I came back from West Indies and I had lost a lot of weight. I had torn my intercostal muscle, and I thought if I wanted to be successful at Test cricket and play a long time, I’d have to do something differently. So I found a guy and trained with him and worked as hard as I could to get physically strong, and that helped me stay in good shape. So whether scheduling these days is not allowing that recovery or time off to build your strength back, to get fit and get strong again… maybe that has a little bit to do with it.Would I decide to play one form of the game to prolong my career? Some guys do that. I never wanted to. Test cricket and one-day cricket were two different formats of the game, with different challenges. You had to go with different plans, and I actually enjoyed that. Throw Twenty20 into the mix and again you need a different gameplan and a different way to go about it. So I would play in all three formats of the game.Curtly Ambrose The workload is a bit too much, to be quite honest. I mean, guys are going from one tour to the next without having any time to recover. Your body needs time to recuperate. So some of the guys get injuries so often.Richard Hadlee It is all about the bowling loading. If you condition yourself to playing three different formats, you train differently. And if you are alternating between different forms, you might not be right for one form or the other. In one-day cricket you tend to bowl more wide of the crease and angle the ball in to crack the batsman up. In Test cricket you want to get closer to the stumps, running the ball away, where you have the field set to catch. Now in Twenty20 you bowl similar to one-day cricket – wider, directly into the batsman to cramp him; the field is set differently.It creates different stresses and strains on the body in trying to bowl differently. You cannot avoid that. You have to make a decision about what form of the game you want to really play. If you want to play all forms of the game, you find that you do not become effective in any, and that creates mediocrity.Andy Roberts I do not think it is scheduling. I do not think the reason is the pitches. Pakistan have fast pitches? People are complaining about the lack of fast pitches, yet Pakistan have a number of great fast bowlers. It has nothing to do with a pitch, because the ball does not gather pace once it hits the pitch. You are fast because you are fast through the air. If you are saying you do not get response from the pitch, that is different. But do not say you do not have fast bowlers because there are no fast pitches.How many great fast bowlers did you have in the history of cricket up to 1990? How many of those fast bowlers had back injuries? These modern-day fast bowlers do not bowl half the overs I bowled. In my first season in county cricket I bowled 800 overs between April and August. Then I went to India and bowled 200 more overs.We used to have boots made to specifications. The boots today’s fast bowlers wear are light, and that could also be a problem.Clive Rice It is not about the workload. Just before I started playing, guys in England bowled 1600 overs in a county season. Guys today have it easy. The more you bowl, the better you become. Even when we were playing, there was a theory that we were playing too much. Playing in England, if you were not available to play all the time, with all the rain, you would not have played. If you had a sunny period then you bowled a lot of overs. You were tired, but you could only be pleasantly weary and you got on with it. And you learned. When you were bowling at Viv Richards or at Sunil Gavaskar, you told yourself not to bowl in the wrong spots, because otherwise you would disappear.I am not sure why they are getting injured. Maybe they have moved on to playing on indoor pitches [in training], which have concrete bases that mess up your back. If there is a soil base, there is a bit more give.It is up to the bowler to make sure he stays fit. A fast bowler, to me, is like a sprinter in athletics. You have got to be able to sprint, not just jog in to bowl. Then you can stand up to it. You see the guys with long run-ups, but you are not running 5000 metres. You have got to run in with a purpose.Is speed overrated?

“Anyone who is a fast bowler wants to bowl as fast as he can and bowl the magic 100mph delivery. But at the end of the day you have to have control, bowling at a good pace”Glenn McGrath

Hadlee Speed isn’t everything. But if you have natural speed with a good technique, it is a good asset to have. A lot of youngsters are either too full or too short. But once they start hitting that magical length, beating a batsman off a length, where the batsman is not sure whether to go forward or back and is crease-bound, that is when the fast bowler is going to be effective. It does not matter if he is then moving the ball in the air or off the track. You are creating three ways to get the batsman out: caught behind, lbw and bowled. If you are too full or too short, you are only giving yourself one chance.McGrath My hero was Dennis Lillee. You look at the Windies teams of the 1970s and ’80s – they were incredible, with all their fast bowlers running in, bowling like the wind. Anyone who is a fast bowler wants to bowl as fast as he can and bowl the magic 100mph delivery. But at the end of the day you still have to be consistent. You have to have control [while] bowling at a good pace. I tried to bowl as fast I could, but I had reasonable control, so that helped me.Rice Everyone likes to bowl 90mph. And if you do bowl that sort of speed, the guys batting are under a great deal of pressure because of the speed at which it is coming. It is like driving a Formula 1 car to driving a salon car – there is a huge difference. So the bowler should find out how quick he actually he is, and then when he finds what this top pace is, he should settle down. Vary your pace by bowling 90% and 100%.Are fast bowlers over-coached?Ambrose Back in my time I was never really coached, per se. I learned my craft as I went along. And because I am a very, very proud person I wanted to be the best at what I do. I wanted my team to be the best. So I was forced to learn and learn quickly. But I believe guys should be coached, because when you are in the middle you [the bowler] do not see everything. When you are playing, you focus on some things, but you do not readily see the mistakes. That is where the coach comes in. The coach can point out the mistakes that you make and tries to correct them.But we tend to rely too much on technology when coaching. I am not saying you cannot use it, but sometimes technology is overused. Whatever you put in the computer is what it gives out. The best form of coaching is in the nets. You can go on a computer and map out strategies about getting batsmen out, and everything looks perfect. But when you go in the middle, it is a different ball game altogether. What happens if the batsman decides to change his way of batting?McGrath When I was young I did not have any coaching or did not model myself on anyone else. The first time I had coaching was when I was 22 – with Dennis Lillee – and that was more about refining my action. Sometimes these days young bowlers can be over-coached. They could be over-bowled or even under-bowled. You have to let the guy find his own action – as long as it is not a mixed action which is going to cause stress fractures. If he has got a good basis to build the action on, then let him go and bowl as much as he wants to.Hadlee We bowled and bowled and bowled. We ran. We did not use the gym as much as they do today. You have computers telling you what you are doing right, what you are doing wrong. Those tools are useful to have, but sometimes simplicity is the best way to go.Roberts The teachers who turn into coaches, coming in with their scientific approach to fast bowling, are causing the decline of fast bowling. They are literally changing a fast bowler’s action, from using the body to using shoulders. You cannot bowl fast for long with your shoulder. I am not against the biomechanics, but bowlers are being over-coached and the coaches are coaching the wrong way.Rice We learned certainly from watching other guys bowl, and copied them. Today if a coach has got a particular idea he is trying to instill in a person, maybe that is over-coaching the guy, because that is not the nature of how he wants to bowl or how his body is letting him bowl. As a bowling coach you just need to give him advice in terms of improving his skills and getting the simple things done right. If you change the action and stuff like that, then there will be problems.Has Twenty20 watered down the fast bowler?Hadlee It is a very destructive game for all cricketers, honestly. They get into bad habits. What sort of rhythm can you get into by bowling four overs in two different spells when you have got only 12 minutes to bowl in a match? You cannot become efficient with restriction and limitation in the game like that.Roberts If you have a good fast bowler, he would be more effective in Twenty20 cricket than anybody else. If you bowl a 95-100 mph delivery, it would be very, very difficult for anybody to slog you over long-on or long-off.Andy Roberts: “If you have a good fast bowler, he would be more effective in Twenty20 cricket than anybody else. If you bowl a 95-100 mph delivery it would be very difficult for anybody to slog you”•AFPAmbrose Twenty20 to me has a part to play in cricket because it is exciting and fans love excitement. But it is a game for batsmen, really. However, it should not affect the fast bowler because you are only bowling four overs maximum. As a matter of fact it could be a learning process for the bowler. Twenty20 can be a sort of stepping stone for a fast bowler to work out ways of containing the batsman when he is really going at you.Has cricket generally made it harder for fast bowlers to succeed by protecting batsmen too much?Ambrose There is nothing in it for the fast bowler. Modern-day cricket favours the batsman in aspect. The pitches are mostly flat and not conducive to fast bowling. Then they have this one-bouncer-per-over rule.McGrath I do not mind it too much. Hopefully the rules do not change too much. At the end of the day you have to be able to adjust. As a bowler you cannot just say, this is the way I bowl. If the rules change, you adjust accordingly.I am very much a traditionalist. The way it is being played, I prefer to keep it that way. The modern-day cricketer is playing the same game we played 10, 20, 50, 100 years ago. There have been a few rule changes in this time, but I am fine.Rice It has even become harder for fast bowlers bowling at tailenders, because now they bat with the helmet on and all the padding in the world. When we bowled at them I would say to the tailender, “Are you trying to prove you are a batsman? If you are I am going to hit you in the head.”

Michael Hussey has become so good at stabilising potentially worrying situations that he could get a job straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Brydon Coverdale at the Adelaide Oval29-Nov-2008
He is no cross-bat slogger but at the Adelaide Oval, Michael Hussey slowly started to use the venue’s dimensions for his own purpose© AFP (file photo)
Michael Hussey is probably the world’s most organised cricketer and in an Australia team so unsettled that they haven’t picked the same XI in consecutive Tests for 11 matches, his reliability is invaluable. Hussey has become so good at stabilising potentially worrying situations that he could get a job straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa.Australia’s circumstances here were far from dire, although when he came to the crease at 2 for 49 on a pitch where scores of 500-plus are commonplace, solidity was required. Ricky Ponting currently features in a television ad where he calls his helmet “the rock of Gibraltar” but in most situations the term would be more appropriate for Hussey. His calmness and dependability allowed Ponting to lead Australia in strengthening their position with a terrifically fluent half-century.When their hundred partnership came up, Hussey’s contribution had been 27. Ponting was drawing applause for his frequent boundaries while Hussey was disciplined but no less important. It is a role that has become Hussey’s niche in the past year. When he burst onto the Test scene with a Bradmanesque first couple of seasons he was coming in after Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, arguably the most in-form opening pair in the world, and Ponting at the height of his powers.Langer has gone, Hayden is struggling and Ponting is still a menace to opponents but with bigger gaps between peaks. The batting line-up remains relatively strong – 3 for 241 is an excellent position at stumps on day two in Adelaide replying to 270 – but it is less intimidating than it was. As a result, Hussey’s role has been tweaked: he is the No. 4, the anchor and usually the trickiest man to get out. A self-described traditionalist, Hussey is a throwback to Test batsmen of old and he stubbornly protected his wicket on a benign Adelaide surface where the likes of Bradman and Clem Hill played much of their cricket.”It’s still not easy you know,” Hussey said after finishing the day unbeaten on 69 from 178 balls. “Test cricket’s hard. You have to do a lot of hard work to reap the rewards at the end of the day. I think we’ve just got to get back into that mode of being patient, working hard over long periods.”If Australia lose Hayden over the next year an in-form and confident Hussey will become even more important. In Hussey’s short Test career he has constructed more purple patches than Barney the Dinosaur’s tailor, so it’s tempting to view his 2008 average of 46.78 as below par. But that is an unfair assessement and although Hussey felt scratchy earlier this year, he is sure that his best form is not far away.”I felt pretty good in India to be honest,” Hussey said. “But I’ve felt like since being back in Australia I’ve had to work very hard for my runs again. I have been working on a couple of technical things since the start of the season, since we were up in Darwin and I’ve continued to work on those. It feels pretty good.”Hussey has so many plans and set thought processes in his head it’s a wonder it doesn’t explode. He is an obsessive list-maker and is constantly thinking through the way he should construct an innings. When he batted with the brilliant Ponting, he knew his task was simply to turn over the strike and watch the boundaries tick over at the other end. But when Ponting pulled to midwicket, Hussey’s role changed. At the time he had 28 from 105 deliveries; his tally from that moment onwards was 41 from 73.”I felt more comfortable after tea because I had been in for a while and I was sort of used to the conditions a lot more,” he said. “I felt I was trying to get some scoring options against [Daniel] Vettori. But you do feel probably a little bit of added pressure when the man that’s set gets out, you feel like right now it’s my responsibility to go on and bat throughout the day and try and build a big score.”Hussey would be a good poker player. He is an excellent judge of situations and doesn’t gamble with what he can’t afford to lose. He is a frustrating man to deal to because whatever he is handed he can make work to his advantage and most importantly, he plays the percentages to a fault.He is no cross-bat slogger but at the Adelaide Oval, where the square boundaries are so short that fans on opposite sides can wave hello to each other, Hussey slowly started to use the venue’s dimensions for his own purpose. His eight boundaries all went more or less square of the wicket and he was able to sweep against Vettori, whose 28 miserly overs cost 54, and clubbed him over midwicket to reach his half-century.The fans cheered, although they had more reason to roar for Ponting earlier in the day. Ponting’s 79 from 124 balls featured 13 fours and it is the innings that the spectators on this Saturday at Adelaide Oval will remember. But for a team that will in the next year face one of the world’s best pace attacks in home-and-away Tests against South Africa and then proceed to England, where they lost the Ashes in 2005, Hussey’s consistent contributions might get the attention they deserve.

Dele Alli has, after just one forgettable appearance for Como, reportedly been offered to Brazilian side Gremio.

Moved to Serie A as a free agentSent off on only Como appearanceBrazilian clubs cannot afford wagesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The ex-Tottenham and Everton midfielder stepped outside of his comfort zone when agreeing a move to Italy late in 2024. As a free agent, the plan was to get his career back on track in Serie A.

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Former Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas took a calculated gamble on Dele in his role as Como head coach. He saw enough to suggest that the 29-year-old could rediscover a lost spark.

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That has not been the case as yet, with Dele’s solitary outing for Como seeing him last less than 10 minutes before collecting a red card against AC Milan – having stepped off the bench in that contest.

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Dele has been working hard in pre-season, but claims that the ex-England international has been offered to teams in South America. His wages are considered to be an issue for clubs in that part of the world.

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O Corinthianscomeçou a juntar os cacos depois da eliminação para o Ituano nas quartas de final do Paulistão. Após um dia de folga, os titulares e reservas do Corinthians se reapresentaram no CT Joaquim Grava, nesta quarta-feira (15), para a sequência da temporada.

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+ Corinthians fora da Copa do Brasil 2024? Veja times que podem não disputar a competição

O primeiro trabalho de Fernando Lázaro com todo o grupo após a queda no estadual teve um treino de posse de bola em espaço reduzido e com minigols como objetivo. Em um gramado separado, os goleiros realizaram um treinamento específico comandado pelos preparadores Marcelo Carpes e Luiz Fernando dos Santos.

+ Veja as movimentações do mercado da bola no LANCE!

Pelas fotos divulgadas, Chrystian Barletta ainda não treinou com o restante do elenco. O atleta de 21 anos foi desligado do São Bernardo na terça-feira (14) e aguarda aprovação nos exames médicos para ser oficializado como reforço. A tendência é que ele seja integrado aos treinamentos já nesta semana.

Segundo a programação divulgada pela assessoria corintiana, pelos próximos dois dias o Timão irá treinar no CT Joaquim Grava pela manhã.

+ Veja como ficou a tabela e simule o mata-mata do Campeonato Paulista

Fora da fase final do Paulistão, o Corinthians ficará cerca de três semanas sem um compromisso oficial, em uma espécie de pré-temporada até os novos compromissos. A próxima partida da equipe de Fernando Lázaro será na primeira semana de abril, com a rodada inaugural da fase de grupos da Libertadores. O sorteio dos grupos será no dia 27 de março.

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A 315-run partnership for the fifth wicket – a new Glamorgan record – came after the hosts were reeling on 41 for 4

ECB Reporters Network11-May-2024

A brilliant recovery led by hundreds from Colin Ingram and Kiran Carlson saw Glamorgan finish day two of their Vitality County Championship Match against Sussex on 411 for 9, a lead of 133 on first innings.Glamorgan were in real trouble in the opening session of the day after a burst of three wickets from Jayden Seales saw them slump to 41 for 4 before a record partnership of 315 from Ingram and Carlson took the home side into a first innings leadIngram was dismissed for 170 and Carlson made 148, by far the two highest scores of this match so far. Seales completed his third five wicket haul of the season just before the close as he further cemented his place as the leading wicket taker in Division Two.The day started with the ball dominating proceedings with Trinidadian Seales bowling with pace and late movement. A ball from around the wicket that seamed back into the left-handed Billy Root bowled the batter with him not offering a shot. 11 balls later it was Seales had his second when he bounced out Nightwatchman Mason Crane with a ball that lifted on him and was caught by wicketkeeper John Simpson.Seales claimed his third wicket when he had Sam Northeast caught behind off a good length ball to leave Glamorgan in real trouble. From there it was all about Ingram and Carlson who put on a record fifth wicket stand for Glamorgan going past the 307 made by Carlson and Chris Cooke against Northamptonshire in 2021.Once the shine had gone off the new ball it was all very straightforward for the Glamorgan pair and with Sussex without the spin option of Jack Carson due to a back injury he sustained while batting on day one as the visitors struggled for control.With the scoring rate hovering around four runs an over throughout the partnership, it was just after tea that Glamorgan went into the lead on first innings, a remarkable turnaround from where they were in the morning session.The second new ball saw Seales return to the attack but with two set batters he did not find the same penetration as in the morning session with Ingram scoring 14 runs from his first over back.Ingram became the leading run scorer in the County Championship as he made his third hundred of the season. Ingram’s form presents an interesting overseas player conundrum for Glamorgan with the arrival of Marnus Labuschagne imminent. Given their depleted bowling stocks Glamorgan may not be able to leave out Mir Hamza so that means only one of Ingram or Labuschange can play when the Australian does arrive with the club.When the breakthrough did come it came as a bit of a surprise, with Carlson hitting a ball into the hands of extra cover off Seales for 148. As has been the case in this match so far, wickets have tended to fall in bursts and Cooke was dismissed in the next over for one.Ingram was trapped lbw by Danny Lamb before the close as part of a spell of play that saw Glamorgan lose three wickets for three runs before a quick fire 26 from James Harris helped the home team reach 400 to claim their seventh bonus point of the match. Harris and Andy Gorvin both fell before the close to bookend the day with another cluster of wickets.

Erik ten Hag opened the door to a potential reunion with Antony at Bayer Leverkusen as the Brazilian winger seeks an escape route from Manchester United. The Brazilian arrived at Old Trafford in 2022 amid great expectations, having made a £86 million ($115m) switch from Ajax to join his former manager. However, his performances failed to live up to the hype.

• Antony set to leave United
• Several clubs are vying for his signature
• Ten Hag hinted at bringing him to the BayArena

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  Over two and a half inconsistent seasons, the winger struggled to adapt to the Premier League, with a lack of end product and inconsistent decision-making undermining his potential. By January 2025, Antony was loaned out to Real Betis in a move that many thought signalled the beginning of the end for his United career. But under the stewardship of Manuel Pellegrini, the 25-year-old enjoyed a footballing revival. He became a central figure in Betis’ journey to the Conference League final and contributed nine goals and five assists.

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  Antony's rejuvenated form has caught the eye of several clubs across Europe. In addition to Bayer Leverkusen, who are now managed by Ten Hag, Antony has attracted interest from RB Leipzig, Brighton, Newcastle United and a return to Betis has not been ruled out either.

• WHAT TEN HAG SAID

  Speaking about Antony to , Ten Hag made no effort to hide his affection.

  “He has great quality. I signed him twice. He was like a son to me, he still is a son to me," he said. However, the manager went on to add: "We're not interested in him at the moment, but we'll see what happens in the future."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Although earlier reports suggested United were willing to cut their losses and let the Brazilian go for as little as £20-30 million ($27m–$40m), new information from UOL suggests the club has revised its stance, now valuing him closer to £50 million ($67m).

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.

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• 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

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  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.

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  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.

Renegades complete their aim of strengthen the top order while Adams links back up with coach Luke Williams

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2023The English influx to the WBBL continues with Tammy Beaumont signing with Melbourne Renegades while Adelaide Strikers have signed Southern Brave off-spinning allrounder Georgia Adams for the upcoming season despite her having not played international cricket.Beaumont’s signing is not a surprise after the England opener had opted out of the WBBL overseas draft and instead had committed to the tournament via a new direct signing rule. Overseas players were given the option of bypassing the draft and signing directly with a club, but could only do so at a restricted salary of AU$61,750, despite the platinum and gold picks in the draft earning AU$110,000 and AU$90,000 respectively.Beaumont joined England team-mates Amy Jones (Perth Scorchers) and Sophia Dunkley (Melbourne Stars), as well as South Africa pair Mignon du Preez (Brisbane Heat) and Lizelle Lee (Hobart Hurricanes), and New Zealander Suzie Bates in taking the direct nomination route. Bates is expected to return to Sydney Sixers but it has yet to be confirmed.Related

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Melbourne Stars sign Sophia Dunkley via direct nomination

Du Preez takes direct route to Brisbane Heat for WBBL

Amy Jones completes Perth Scorchers' overseas signings

Beaumont played for Renegades previously in 2019 before having three seasons with Sydney Thunder, including playing in their 2020 title success. She started her WBBL career at Strikers, playing three seasons there between 2016 and 2018.Beaumont joins West Indies captain Hayley Matthews and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur at Renegades coming off a season where she became the first player to score a century in the Women’s Hundred.Coach Simon Helmot told ESPNcricinfo at the overseas draft that Renegades needed to bolster their batting, hence they had recruited three top-order overseas players.”We have to improve our batting,” Helmot said. “We need runs, and that’s something that we missed last season, obviously with Harmanpreet not able to come and with Jess Duffin then not able to play either, we just didn’t recover from that. So batting depth is what we’re looking to develop.”Georgia Adams dented Superchargers with three wickets•ECB/Getty ImagesMeanwhile, Strikers have made a bold move in recruiting Adams, who will also play for New South Wales this season, despite the fact she has not played international cricket. Strikers only took two players at the draft, South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and emerging England allrounder Danielle Gibson. They did not retain title-winning West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin mainly due to salary cap constraints.Instead, they have opted to sign Adams post the draft which is allowed under WBBL rules after the 29-year-old had nominated but was not selected by any team. Adams reunites with Strikers coach Luke Williams after the pair worked together to help Southern Brave win the Women’s Hundred this year, with Williams working as an assistant coach under Charlotte Edwards.Adams was a key contributor for Brave in their title with both bat and ball. She was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 16 scalps and an economy rate of just 6.83. She also made a match-winning 50 not out from 32 balls against Oval Invincibles late in the season and contributed a vital 27 in the low-scoring final.”Georgia is someone that consistently performs in domestic cricket in the UK and is able to perform in a number of different roles with bat, ball and in the field,” Williams said.”Her adaptability and ability to perform under pressure is something that stood out and fitted what we were looking for.”Georgia is a great team person who has some experience in leadership positions as well, so I have no doubt that Georgia will fit in fantastically with the Strikers group and I’m really looking forward to her contribution.”