Tag Futebol

Michael Beale's short-lived stint in charge of Sunderland was nothing short of a car-crash to watch, the divisive manager never winning over the Black Cats masses before being put out of his misery just two months into the post.

Picking up just four wins from his 12 matches in charge, Beale couldn't galvanise his youthful troops into ever putting together a positive sequence of results, with a brilliant victory then often followed up a crushing loss.

Now, the assistant manager to Beale in Mike Dodds – who was already at the club before Beale and acted as interim manager when Tony Mowbray exited late last year – will take the reins until the end of the season whilst the Black Cats hierarchy methodically go about finding the perfect long-term boss.

They could well have this name on a list of potential successors to replace the unpopular former Rangers boss, with the out-of-work manager in question even boasting a promotion up to the Premier League on his CV…

Sunderland's plans for the summer

Dodds occupying the Stadium of Light dug-out for the remainder of the campaign gives the Black Cats ample time to find the best possible Beale successor, with a few names already being talked up.

TEAMtalk are reporting that the likes of left-field choice Marek Papszun and ex-Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom are potential targets when the vacancy opens back up in the summer, but one name really sticks out from the speculated pack.

Steve Cooper is being touted to take over at the Wearside club, according to the report, with the ex-Nottingham Forest figure still searching for a new job after being let go of at the City Ground at the end of 2023.

With Cooper's expertise at second tier level clear for all to see – helping Forest return to the top flight via the playoffs during the 2021-22 campaign – it could well also be his glowing track record at developing youngsters whilst managing England U17s that further makes him perfect for the gig.

Regardless of all this being stacked in his favour, the Welshman, most importantly, would be a major upgrade on the outgoing Beale.

Steve Cooper's managerial record

Cooper, unlike Beale, has managed to be arguably successful wherever he's gone across his managerial career to date – with Beale notably earning sack at former club Rangers, prior to his dismal short stint at Sunderland.

Whilst managing the England U16s and U17s, Cooper managed to steer those youthful international England groups at his disposal to success – managing the U17s to World Cup glory in 2017, with Phil Foden and Marc Guehi excelling as teenage stars in the set-up amongst other now household names.

That would be music to the ears of Sunderland, with the Wearside outfit brimming full of exciting young talents currently such as Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg.

Cooper's managerial record
Club	Games managed	Wins	Draws	Losses
England U16s	2	1	0	1
England U17s	74	52	10	12
Swansea City	105	47	28	30
Nottingham Forest	107	42	27	38
Sourced by Transfermarkt

Never quite managing to win promotion with Swansea City whilst in charge of the Welsh side, Cooper learnt from those experiences with the Swans and immortalised himself into Forest folklore in his next job when helping the sleeping giants leap back up to the Premier League.

Cooper was responsible for Brennan Johnson coming through at Forest and dazzling, whilst also managing to get the best out of Djed Spence who has never looked the same since his blistering days at the City Ground on loan.

Not one for jumping ship quickly either, Cooper – who was once described as being an "incredible" manager by former West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce on his No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast – does seem to fit the bill of what Sunderland could be looking for in a lasting manager after Dodds' temporary time in charge is up.

Dodds could even throw his hat into the ring for the permanent job if he succeeds in the hot seat, with Sunderland just aiming to get the fans back on side now after such a topsy-turvy season.

MatériaMais Notícias

da pixbet： O São Paulo enfrenta o Racing, da Argentina, nesta quarta-feira (5), com uma marca importante em disputa. Caso vença, o Tricolor terá o melhor início de Libertadores da história do clube, com três vitórias nos primeiros três jogos.

RelacionadasSão PauloRojas quer ficar no São Paulo; veja como estão as conversas para renovaçãoSão Paulo04/05/2021São PauloRacing x São Paulo: prováveis escalações, desfalques e onde assistirSão Paulo04/05/2021São PauloInteligência de dados aponta São Paulo favorito contra o RacingSão Paulo04/05/2021

da dobrowin：
CONFIRA A TABELA ATUALIZADA DA COPA LIBERTADORES DA AMÉRICA DE 2021!

Em todas as suas participações na competição continental mais importante da América do Sul, o São Paulo nunca alcançou 100% de aproveitamento nas três primeiras rodadas, que marcam o primeiro turno da fase de grupos.

Vindo de uma vitória por 3 a 0, fora de casa, contra o Sporting Cristal, do Peru, e uma vitória, no Morumbi, por 2 a 0, contra o Renstisas, do Uruguai, o Tricolor é o atual líder do grupo com seis pontos.

O melhor começo do São Paulo em uma edição de Libertadores foi em 1974, ano em que foi vice-campeão do torneio. Naquele ano, em seus três primeiros jogos, o timevenceu o Palmeiras, por 2 a 0, o Jorge Wilstermann, da Bolívia, por 1 a 0, e empatou com o Deportivo Municipal, também da Bolívia, em 1 a 1.

Caso vença, o clube paulista não apenas bate seu recorde na competição, como garante uma distância de cinco pontos para o segundo colocado do Grupo E, que pode ser tanto o Racing, quanto o Rentistas, em caso de vitória dos uruguaios diante do Sporting Cristal.

A provável escalação que Hernán Crespo deve escolher para o jogo é:Tiago Volpi, Arboleda, Miranda e Léo; Daniel Alves, Luan, Liziero, Benítez e Reinaldo; Luciano e Pablo.

Na Argentina desde a última terça-feira (4), o São Paulo treina ainda na manhã do dia do jogo, no hotel em que está hospedado.

A bola rola a partir das 19h (horário de Brasília), no Estádio Presidente Perón, mais conhecido como ‘El Cilindro’, em Avellaneda, na zona metropolitana de Buenos Aires. A partida vale pela 3ª rodada da fase de grupos da Libertadores.

The Australia great delves into Dhoni’s school of thought in run chases in a chat with Sanjay Manjrekar

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Apr-20201:14

‘In my mind, he’s the best’ – Mike Hussey on MS Dhoni

Michael Hussey thinks MS Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time. Having shared a dressing room with the former India captain for seven years across two IPL stints, Hussey also believed Dhoni’s instincts and mental toughness at his peak made opposition captains blink first under pressure.”In my mind, he is the best finisher of all time,” Hussey told Sanjay Manjrekar in programme. “That is maybe a little controversial, because there have been some great finishers over time, but he had the mental capability of knowing what the opposition would try to do, and then stay cool and calm in that high pressure situation. He’d be cooler than the opposition, he’d make the opposition captain blink first by bowling the better bowler in the second-last over.”The other thing he has that not many other finishers have is unbelievable power. He knows when he needs to clear the ropes, and he can do it. I didn’t have that kind of belief in myself. Dhoni….his mental capability, coolness and power, he knew he could find a six when he needed it and he did it so consistently. I think his confidence grew in his methods, so in my mind he is the best.”Hussey also gave an insight into Dhoni’s mind and his philosophy of “taking it till the end” in run chases.According to Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni could judge the opposition captain and remain calm in run chases•BCCI”I tried not to let the asking rate get to 12-13 an over,” Hussey responded when asked about his approach to big chases. “I probably learnt off MS Dhoni. He was incredible. His big thing was, ‘he who panicked last wins the game’. So he would keep his cool and keep it longer, because there’s pressure on the bowler as well.”If you’re out in the middle and the bowlers know someone like Dhoni or Michael Bevan’s still there, then India, Australia or Chennai Super Kings still have a chance, because the pressure builds on the bowlers too. And that is when the wides, no-balls and loose deliveries come, which you can hit for a four. So if you can keep your cool longer than the opposition, you will come out on top.”Hussey, who has seen Dhoni evolve, both as an opponent and a close confidante at Super Kings, underlined his self-belief and the ability to take emotions out of every situation as key to reveling under pressure.”One of his great ability is he won’t take on defeat for too long,” Hussey explained. “Yes, he’ll be disappointed like everyone, but he will get over quickly and look over to the next match, and that is a great trait to have.”Ricky Ponting was similar too, whether he was going well or going poorly. A consistent character, and not someone like a yo-yo, going up and down, riding emotions all the time. He’d be level the whole time, a trait you notice in great players.”

Football FanCast brings you the latest Newcastle United transfer round-up.

The Magpies followed the trend of most of the Premier League in January as they opted not to bring a single new face in. Though, you can understand why after seeing Everton get slapped with a 10 point deduction for falling foul of FFP.

So, it's now all eyes on the summer transfer window, with reinforcements needed at St James' Park as things haven't exactly gone to plan thus far.

Latest Newcastle United transfer rumours

According to Graeme Bailey for HITC, Newcastle are now in pole position to sign Sean Rigg from Sunderland.

Also, according to Football Transfers, the Magpies have expressed an interest in signing Jonathan David.

Lastly, according to Chronicle Live, Newcastle have already kicked off with their plans for the summer transfer window. So, fans can start to get excited as it's been tipped to be a 'busy summer'.

Newcastle United 2023/24 transfers

PIF properly emptied their wallet in the summer, as the likes of Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento all joined for over £100m.

But, things soon turned sour as Tonali was found guilty of breaching betting rules and handed a 10 months suspension.

Player

From

Fee

Sandro Tonali

AC Milan

£55m

Tino Livramento

Southampton

£40m

Harvey Barnes

Leicester City

£38m

Yankuba Minteh

Odense BK

£5.8m

Lewis Hall

Chelsea

Loan

Newcastle United 2023/24 sales

There wasn't much movement on the departure front in terms of pemanent exits in the 2023/24 windows, with Chris Wood, Karl Darlow and Allan Saint-Maximin the only two who Newcastle received fees for.

However, temporary exits were favoured as around 10 players ended up leaving St James' Park.

Player

From

Fee

Allan Saint-Maximin

Al-Ahli

£25m

Chris Wood

Nottingham Forest

£15m

Karl Darlow

Leeds United

£400k

Javier Manquillo

Celta Vigo

Free

Ryan Fraser

Southampton

Loan

Jamal Lewis

Watford

Loan

Isaac Hayden

Standard Liege

Loan

Isaac Hayden

QPR

Loan

Yankubah Minteh

Feyenoord

Loan

Jeff Hendrick

Sheffield Wednesday

Loan

Harrison Ashby

Swansea City

Loan

Garang Kuol

FC Volendam

Loan

Kell Watts

Wigan Athletic

Loan

Matty Longstaff

Without club

Ciaran Clark

Without club

A ninth-wicket partnership of 109 runs may have staved off an innings defeat for South Africa

The Report by Firdose Moonda12-Oct-20199:19

Agarkar: Will be surprised if India don’t enforce follow-on

Keshav Maharaj and Vernon Philander, the lead spinner and senior seamer of the South Africa team, were picked to do a job with the ball. But the pair frustrated India with the bat with a ninth-wicket partnership of 109 runs, South Africa’s third-highest in the series, and might have done enough to stave off an innings defeat.

Watch cricket on ESPN+

India v South Africa is available in the US on Hotstar and ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the Tests.

Virat Kohli will able to sleep on whether he wants to put South Africa, 326 runs behind, in again, but he will have plenty to consider. His bowlers were in the field for 105.4 overs and South Africa’s lower-order showed they are capable of making India work for their wickets. Kohli may also be wary of batting last on a surface that is taking turn, even if there is only an outside chance that India will need to chase a target. Either way, they sit in prime position to seal the series in the remaining two days and have asserted their dominance over a South African side whose quality remains in question.South Africa’s top-order batsmen were beaten at their own game as India’s seamers reduced them to 53 for 5. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami maintained a slightly fuller length and bowled to attacking fields, whereas South Africa’s bowlers had erred on the side of too short and too wide, and the difference brought wickets. Nightwatchman Anrich Nortje was dismissed in the third over, caught at fourth slip, and Theunis de Bruyn, who looked confident on the front foot for much of his 30 runs, ended up stuck in his crease, uncertain whether to move forward or back to an Umesh delivery and was caught behind.Mohammed Shami takes flight•BCCI

That brought South Africa’s most accomplished pair, captain Faf du Plessis and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, together. They posted 75 runs, with du Plessis increasingly authoritative on the cover drive, but the resistance was broken when de Kock was bowled by an R Ashwin delivery that also tested his footwork. South Africa scored 100 runs in the morning session but the loss of three wickets and all but one of their top-six batsmen saw them staring down the barrel of being asked to follow-on for the first time since 2008. It seemed certain that they would be asked to bat again as Kohli saved his quicks and kept his spinners on for 38 overs, but South Africa’s tail had other ideas.Philander, who was coming off a pair in the first Test, faced 22 balls before he scored his first run, an indication that he was settling in for a long stay. With du Plessis having brought up his second half-century of the series and looking comfortable on the sweep as well, South Africa showed some fight, but Ashwin made a timely breakthrough when he found du Plessis’ outside edge with a delivery that went straight on. At 162 for 8, South Africa’s resistance seemed up but Maharaj and Philander stonewalled so well against a ball that was softening that they forced Kohli to bring back his seamers.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Maharaj’s effort was particularly impressive because he did it nursing an injury. He went down while fielding on the first day and was taken for scans on his right shoulder. They proved inconclusive so he returned for a second set of scans on Saturday and was cleared to bat, and make jaws drop. The team management certainly sat back and marvelled as he scored a career-best 72 off only 132 balls. It is, however, still unclear if Maharaj can bowl as the Test match drags on.The only chance of the entire partnership came when Maharaj, on 44, offered a return catch to Ashwin, but the offspinner could not hold on in his follow-through. Maharaj went on to a maiden Test fifty and his partnership with Philander leapfrogged the 91 runs put on by Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy for the ninth-wicket in Visakhapatnam. They also faced the second-highest number of balls by any ninth- or tenth-wicket pair in India – 259.South Africa’s ninth wicket is only 30 runs off being their most productive pairing in this series. Under different circumstances, that would be something to celebrate. Now, though, it will only leave their top order wondering why they have not be able to put similar pressure on India when it mattered more instead of when the fight is already up. They will have a second innings to answer that question, and it may come as early as tomorrow.India bowled South Africa out in the dying stages of the day’s play, first removing Maharaj, who was caught at leg slip, and then trapping Kagiso Rabada lbw. Ashwin claimed both wickets. That leaves India with two full days, either to add to their total and then attempt to bowl South Africa out again or to try to take ten more wickets straight away. Given how porous South Africa’s batting has looked, either will be regarded as a safe option, putting India within touching distance of a series win.

da fazobetai： Glasgow Rangers are set to turn their attention back to Scottish Premiership action on Wednesday night as they prepare to host Ross County at Ibrox.

da brwin： The Light Blues have won their last six matches in all competitions and are on the hunt for a seventh in succession as they face off against the Staggies on home soil.

Philippe Clement's team are three points off Celtic at the top of the table, with a game in hand, and a victory by three goals or more on Wednesday would see them leapfrog their rivals.

The Glasgow giants head into this match off the back of a 2-0 win over Ayr in the SFA Cup, to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the competition, and could make some changes to the starting XI from that match.

Here is FFC's predicted Rangers line-up to take on Ross County at Ibrox on Wednesday night, with four changes to the team that won in the cup…

1 Jack Butland

In goal, former England international Jack Butland, who was signed on a free transfer from Premier League side Crystal Palace last summer, should keep his place.

The impressive 30-year-old shot-stopper has kept 15 clean sheets in 24 Premiership appearances for the club this season and will be hoping for number 16 against Ross County.

2 James Tavernier

Of course, the Rangers captain should start once again at right-back. He has racked up ten goals and five assists in 24 appearances as an ever-present in the Scottish top-flight so far this season.

3 Connor Goldson

At the heart of the defence, Connor Goldson should start at centre-back as the English titan has been in dominant form in the league so far this season.

23/24 Premiership

Connor Goldson

Appearances

21

Ball recoveries per game

6.6

Clearances per game

2.7

Ground duel success rate

70%

Aerial duel success rate

64%

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the former Brighton & Hove Albion enforcer has dominated opposition attackers on the floor and in the air.

4 John Souttar

John Souttar has been a solid operator when called upon by the Gers this season and could continue alongside Goldson to complete the centre-back pairing.

He has won 73% of his overall duels in the Premiership across 16 appearances, which shows that players find it difficult to get the better of him in physical contests.

Souttar and Goldson could be hard for Ross County's attackers to beat in the air and on the deck, and that could make them a solid partnership at the back.

5 Borna Barisic

The scorer of the opening goal against Ayr – Borna Barisic – could keep his place in the team ahead of Turkey international Ridvan Yilmaz at left-back.

He has provided three assists in 11 Premiership starts so far this season and may be hoping to add more goal contributions before the end of the season by bombing forward, as he did to great effect at the weekend.

6 John Lundstram

Returning to the team at the base of Clement's midfield, John Lundstrum could anchor the team ahead of Scotland international Ryan Jack.

The former Sheffield United ace, who was once described as the "cornerstone" of the team by Maurice Ross, is a reliable presence in the middle of the park, having completed 88% of his attempted passes this season.

7 Tom Lawrence

Tom Lawrence was rested against Ayr and should now be brought back into the starting XI after an impressive display in the Premiership last time out.

The former Derby County star started in the middle of the park alongside Lundstram against Aberdeen and registered a Sofascore rating of 7.6, as his terrific effort from distance resulted in Todd Cantwell's winning goal.

He has created four 'big chances' and provided two assists in 11 league appearances for the Light Blues, but is still searching for his first goal.

8 Todd Cantwell

Another player who should be brought back into the starting XI is former Norwich City midfielder Cantwell, who made a big impact off the bench at the weekend.

He came on for Mohammed Diomande in the number ten position and created the second goal of the game – for Fabio Silva – with a fantastic run and deflected cross that fell kindly for the striker.

Diomande, who is still settling into life in Glasgow after his move in the last transfer window, could be ditched from the XI to bring Cantwell, who has scored three goals in his last four Premiership matches, back in.

The 25-year-old magician should line up ahead of Lawrence and Lundstram and look to provide a threat in the final third with his quality as a scorer and a creator of goals.

9 Ross McCausland

On the right side of the attack, academy graduate Ross McCausland should return to the starting XI ahead of Scott Wright as the fourth and final change.

The former Aberdeen winger started against Ayr and failed to register a goal or an assist from the right flank. This means that he has only produced two goals and zero assists in 20 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues so far this season.

Meanwhile, McCausland has registered three assists in his last five appearances for Rangers in all competitions, and started on the right in the last league match against the Dons.

The Northern Irish youngster provides direct play and creativity, as shown by his recent form, and that is why Clement should unleash him ahead of the lacklustre Wright.

10 Fabio Silva

The centre-forward position should go to Fabio Silva after the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee got himself on the scoresheet once again against Ayr.

He has scored in each of his last two starts for Rangers – against Livingston and Ayr – and should be provided with an opportunity to continue that streak against Ross County.

Celtic saw some big names wave goodbye to the Parkhead club during what ended up being a rather busy previous summer transfer window.

One figure that left last summer after making a big impact during his time as a Celtic player was striker Odsonne Edouard.

After scoring 86 goals in 179 appearances for the Hoops, the Frenchman was sold to Crystal Palace in a deal worth £15m.

While Ange Postecoglou’s side haven’t exactly missed having the 24-year-old in their ranks as they ended the 2021/22 SPFL campaign as the league’s top-scoring side, it seems as though the club may have identified one figure that they could sign in the summer as a potential next version of Edouard.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from the Daily Record, Celtic have watched Bristol City striker Antoine Semenyo in person after being linked with a transfer move for the 22-year-old.

As a product of City’s youth system, the striker had loan spells at clubs such as Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland before becoming a regular figure for Nigel Pearson’s side.

Edouard 2.0

This season has seen the Ghanaian become a deadly figure in the Championship for City by racking up eight goals and 12 assists in 31 appearances, leaving only Andreas Weimann with more goal contributions.

To further highlight how much of an attacking threat he has been throughout this campaign, Semenyo has the highest average for shots and second-highest for key passes per game in City’s squad.

As well as having a knack for scoring on a fairly regular basis, as Edouard did at Celtic, the City star has also shown that he’s capable of creating goals for his teammates.

This backs up why Pearson claimed that his player is a “nightmare to play against” and why he has a reported price tag of a whopping £20m.

While this may be a hefty transfer fee for the Hoops to splash out on, their £40m prize money for winning the league and securing their place in the Champions League could help them out when it comes to negotiating a cheaper deal for the player.

Should Postecoglou feel the need to strengthen and refresh what is an already deadly attack in his squad this summer, securing a move for Semenyo could be the best way for the Hoops to do that.

In other news: “Very soon”: Insider drops big Celtic transfer claim that’ll have supporters ecstatic

The left-arm seamer took 2 for 14 to set India back before the captain shellacked a rampaging, unbeaten 79 in the chase

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy22-Sep-2019Testing left-arm seam from Beuran Hendricks, making his first appearance of the series, and a breezy half-century from Quinton de Kock led South Africa to a series-levelling nine-wicket win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The victory was emphatic, arriving with 3.1 overs still left to play, but South Africa’s cause was aided by India’s strategy, which was drawn up with one eye on next year’s T20 World Cup.No team had ever chosen to bat first in six previous T20Is at this ground, but India did so. They did so, Virat Kohli said, because they wanted to improve on their weaker suit – setting targets and defending them. “Come the World Cup,” he said, “toss is not in your control.”Watch cricket on ESPN+

India v South Africa is available in the US on Hotstar and ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune into the third T20I and three Tests.

On an evening where conditions changed significantly at the innings break, the toss turned out to be quite significant. Dew came into play particularly during the second innings, and batting became easier. Even so, de Kock was in terrific form, and there was little India’s bowlers could do to stop him. All the trademark shots – the pull, the flat-bat slaps over the covers, the pick-up shot over backward square leg – were in evidence as he ran to an unbeaten 79 off 52 balls, with Reeza Hendricks and Temba Bavuma slipping neatly into his slipstream in partnerships of 76 and 64 (unbroken) for the first two wickets.Beuran Hendricks celebrates a wicket•Associated Press

India could have had de Kock when he missed a sweep off Washington Sundar’s offspin on 28, and had a confident lbw appeal turned down by umpire Nitin Menon. Ball-tracking suggested that the ball would have gone on to hit a good chunk of leg stump, but India had wasted their review in the previous over, when a Deepak Chahar hit Reeza’s front pad with a delivery that would definitely have missed leg stump.That appeal apart, India didn’t seem to have any real ideas to dismiss de Kock or even tie him down. Two of India’s less experienced bowlers, Navdeep Saini and Krunal Pandya, had off-days, going for a combined 65 in 5.5 overs, and Hardik Pandya – who took the only wicket – went for 23 in two overs as de Kock punished anything remotely short.In the past, India have often adopted a conservative, ODI-inflected approach that has hurt them against teams with more hitting depth. In this series, their selection has emphasised batting depth, with three spin-bowling allrounders at Nos. 7, 8 and 9. With this cushion below them, the top order seemed to be under instructions to go after the bowling and not worry too much about preserving wickets.The new approach helped them get off to an excellent start, with Shikhar Dhawan looking full of purpose, moving around the crease or stepping out of it, to try and put bowlers off their lengths and exploit the Powerplay restrictions. It was most evident in the sixth over, against the left-arm wristspin of Tabraiz Shamsi. Mid-on was initially inside the circle, and Dhawan stepped out and hit a six over that fielder. Mid-on dropped back, long-off became mid-off, and Dhawan launched the next ball over the new man in the 30-yard circle.When Dhawan fell for 36 off 25 in the eighth over – Beuran Hendricks had earlier dismissed Rohit Sharma for the third time in only four balls in all T20 cricket – India seemed well placed at 63 for 2.But the pitch was beginning to change perceptibly, with the ball no longer coming on with the shine off, and South Africa’s bowlers were beginning to find ways to exploit it. There was turn for spinners Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin, and the seamers began varying their pace regularly and bowling into the surface. Run-scoring became a struggle, and the big hits stopped carrying.Between them, Nos. 3 to 8 – Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, the Pandya brothers, and Ravindra Jadeja – made 70 off 85 balls. Beuran was particularly impressive with his left-arm seam, getting the ball to move off the seam and extracting steep bounce. He finished with figures of 2 for 14 in four overs. India only scored 58 in their last 10 overs, and South Africa were well on their way to squaring the series.

Fast bowler signs one-year contract extension to play 2020 season

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2019

Fidel Edwards ruffled Surrey•Getty Images

Fidel Edwards has signed a one-year contract extension with Hampshire, keeping him at the Ageas Bowl until the end of the 2020 season.Edwards, the 37-year-old West Indian fast bowler has taken 47 wickets at an average of 23.55 this season, including four five-wicket hauls, with three Championship fixtures remaining.”I’m very pleased to have signed for my sixth season at Hampshire, which has become my second home,” Edwards said. “Hopefully next year we can push on further and I’ll be trying my best to help make it a successful season for the club.”Hampshire Director of Cricket Giles White said: “Fidel has been fantastic for us since joining in 2015 and this year he’s excelled once again. He’s an important part of our squad and a great character to have in and around the group – we’re delighted to welcome him back for another year.”Edwards joined the county in 2015, picking up 45 first-class wickets in eight matches at an average of just 20.80 in his debut campaign and, despite suffering a season-ending injury in early 2016, he returned to pick up 33 wickets at an average of 24.06 the following year.Edwards continued that good form in 2018, passing 50 first-class wickets in a season for the first time in his career as he picked up 54 scalps in 15 matches.

Fran Kirby has signed for Brighton on a three-year deal after leaving Chelsea this summer.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Kirby joins Brighton
• Left Chelsea at end of season
• Won five WSL titles with Blues

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Kirby left Chelsea at the end of the season and has now completed a move to Brighton and Hove Albion. The England international has spent her entire career in the south of England and will be able to remain close to home after switching to the Blues' WSL rivals.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Brighton finished ninth in the WSL this season and Kirby's arrival is a huge coup. The England international won Euro 2022 with the Lionesses, and also played a key role in the Blues winning five consecutive WSL titles.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Brighton are targeting a top-four finish next season and Kirby's acquisition could prove pivotal to their chances. She has scored 63 goals in 114 WSL games throughout her career.

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Brighton are aiming to establish themselves as a top WSL team, and the arrival of the experienced Kirby will go on a long way to achieving that.

  The club's managing director of women’s and girls’ football Zoe Johnson said: "We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Fran to the club. She arrives as one of the most decorated English footballers of all time, playing an integral role in Chelsea's recent dominance, as well as on the international stage having been a part of England’s EURO 2022 win.

  "Her experience on the pitch will be just as important off it and we have no doubt that she will help us take a significant step towards our long-term targets."