Tag Futebol

Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan are also likely to be retained by the franchise

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Oct-20245:23

IPL 2025 retentions: Shami a risky retention for Gujarat Titans?

Gujarat Titans are likely to retain Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, B Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan, leaving them with one right-to-match card (RTM) option at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction.While the amounts for each player are not yet known, GT will have at least INR 51 crore deducted from their purse of INR 120 crore for retaining three international players and two uncapped players. If they pay more than INR 51 crore to retain five players, then the higher amount will be deducted from their purse.October 31 is the deadline by which the ten franchises have to submit their list of retained players to the IPL ahead of the mega auction. The teams have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals and two can be uncapped players. While the IPL has set minimum deductions from the auction purse for each player retained – INR 18 crore for the first player, INR 14 crore for the second, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore for the fourth, INR 14 crore for the fifth, and INR 4 crore for an uncapped player – the franchises are free to pay more or less than those amounts to their retained players.Gill and Rashid were picked by GT before the auction in 2022, when the franchise had just entered the IPL. While Rashid got INR 15 crore (USD 1.807 million approx. then), Gill got INR 8 crore (USD 963,000 approx. then). While Rashid remains their lead bowling allrounder, Gill was given the GT captaincy for IPL 2024 after Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians.Related

SRH set to retain Klaasen, Cummins, Abhishek

KL Rahul unlikely to stay with LSG; set for mega auction

LSG set to retain Pooran, Mayank and Bishnoi for IPL 2025

IPL retention: How many players can a team keep? And at what cost?

While the retention of 23-year-old Sudharsan ahead Mohammed Shami and David Miller might be a surprise, GT believe the left-hand batter from Tamil Nadu is a long-term player who can perform a key role in the top order. Sudharsan, who was bought for INR 20 lakhs in 2022, was sixth highest run-maker in IPL 2024 with 527 runs with an average of nearly 48 and strike rate of 141. He is considered as a potential future Test player too by India’s selectors and the team management lead by Gautam Gambhir. It is learned Sudharsan was discussed as a candidate for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.Tewatia and Shahrukh, both uncapped allrounders, were among the most expensive buys for GT and have been retained for their power-hitting ability in the lower-middle order. Tewatia, who was bought for INR 9 crore ($1.084 million approx. then) in 2022, has played several impactful knocks as a finisher and has been a key sounding board for GT’s leadership group with his knowledge the domestic Indian players. Shahrukh, who is also a part-time offspinner, is among the strongest hitters in domestic cricket and was bought in 2024 auction for INR 7.4 crore ($891,000 approx. then).

The NBA superstar's gesture saw Dynamo played decked out in his new signature shoe ahead of their Matchday 27 contest

• Solar Orange colorway pays homage to Dynamo
• Each player received personalized pairs
• The special edition shoes officially release on July 26

Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games now

• WHAT HAPPENED

  NBA superstar James Harden arranged for his yet-to-be-released adidas Harden Vol 9 "Dynamo" signature shoes to be delivered to the Houston Dynamo squad on Saturday. The LA Clippers guard, who spent nine seasons with the Houston Rockets, provided the specially designed footwear to each team member ahead of the shoes' public release. The colorway directly references the Houston Dynamo's iconic orange kits, creating a tangible connection between Harden's basketball legacy in the city and its professional soccer team.

  Harden himself is a co-owner of both the Dynamo and the NWSL side, the Houston Dash.

Advertisement

• WHAT THE HOUSTON DYNAMO POSTED

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The collaboration between Harden and the Houston Dynamo represents the NBA star's ongoing connection to the city where he became a household name, despite now playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, while keeping his ownership with the program alive and well, too.

  The Solar Orange sneakers feature Core Black adidas stripes and Collegiate Purple accents on the outsole pivot points, offering a similar colorway to that of the Dynamo and Dash brands.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT’S NEXT?

  The Adidas Harden Vol 9 "Dynamo" colorway will officially release to the public on July 26. The Dynamo, meanwhile, take on Tigres in the Leagues Cup on Tuesday.

MatériaMais Notícias

da aposte e ganhe： Depois de um acesso e um título estadual, o técnico Léo Condé está de saída do Ceará. A queda para a Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro acabou pesando na decisão de não renovar com o treinador, que tinha vínculo somente até este ano.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCearáCeará amarga rebaixamento e descumpre duas metas no anoCeará08/12/2025CearáPresidente do Ceará explica rebaixamento: ‘Faltou equilíbrio’Ceará09/12/2025CearáAnálise: irregularidade causa um cruel rebaixamento para o CearáCeará10/12/2025

da esport bet： ➡️ Tudo sobre o Vovô agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Ceará

Condé chegou ao Ceará em junho de 2024, tendo contrato até o fim daquela temporada. O Alvinegro estava na Série B e buscava o acesso à elite do futebol nacional, o que se concretizou na última rodada do campeonato.

Em 2025, o treinador foi campeão estadual com o Vovô diante do rival Fortaleza. Após as quedas na terceira fase da Copa do Brasil e na semifinal da Copa do Nordeste, restava ao clube a disputa do Campeonato Brasileiro.

continua após a publicidade

➡️ Análise: irregularidade causa um cruel rebaixamento para o Ceará

Em uma campanha marcada pela irregularidade, o Ceará não conseguiu se afastar efetivamente do Z4. Com a derrota para o Palmeiras e os demais resultados, o time foi rebaixado. A rodada final foi, portanto, a úica do clube na zona de rebaixamento.

A passagem de Léo Condé no Alvinegro durou 83 jogos. Foram 37 vitórias, 17 empates e 29 derrotas, com 103 gols marcados e 78 sofridos.

➡️ Ceará amarga rebaixamento e descumpre duas metas no ano

Ceará descumpre duas metas de 2025

Com o rebaixamento, o Ceará descumpriu a última meta esportiva que restava para a temporada 2025. Anteriormente, os objetivos foram alcançados em duas das outras três.

continua após a publicidade

Nas metas, anunciadas no fim do ano passado, a previsão era de título no Campeonato Cearense. Tal fato se concretizou, visto que a equipe superou o rival Fortaleza na decisão e ficou com o bicampeonato.

Tudo sobre

BrasileirãoCearáFutebol Nacional

Stumps Seven balls after bringing the light meter out for the first time on day two, the umpires pulled the plug on the day’s play because of bad light. If that was somewhat abrupt, a third-umpire decision that took its time coming added drama to what turned out to be the last delivery of the day.Mahmudul Hasan Joy, on 38, decided to skip out of the crease to Dane Piedt, and missed the ball with his wild swing. The ball bounced a fair bit, and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne collected it in front of his right shoulder and whipped the bails off. The TV umpire saw multiple replays and concluded Mahmudul was not out – the bat was behind the line but in the air, but it seemed to have lifted after being grounded once. Verreynne’s expression showed how tight it was.Related

• Verreynne on his 114: 'Definitely the best and most rewarding innings of my career'

• Rabada – the most lethal bowler in the 300-wicket club

• Taijul's light shines bright even as Shakib shadow looms large

The day belonged to Verreynne, who hit his second Test century in the afternoon session. That, combined with Wiaan Mulder’s maiden half-century and Piedt’s resistance from No. 10, took South Africa to 308 despite them being 108 for 6 at one stage. And with a cushion of a 202-run first-innings lead, Kagiso Rabada struck twice early in the second innings to have Bangladesh at 4 for 2, before a fightback from Mahmudul, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim.Shadman Islam and Mominul Haque fell for single-digit scores within the first four overs for the second time in as many days, as Rabada extracted plenty of pace and bounce with the new ball. His wickets came off back-of-a-length deliveries. In the third over, he got one to nip into Shadman, who inside-edged to short leg, where Tony de Zorzi took a sharp catch to his left. Three balls later, Mominul went defending but got an outside edge to third slip, where Mulder went low to grab a dipping ball.Mahmudul and Shanto added 55 to rebuild briefly, before Keshav Maharaj trapped Shanto in front. Maharaj got a full delivery to turn in from outside off, and Shanto, who had opened his stance up in looking to defend, was struck on his back leg, which was dragging towards off.Mushfiqur then hit an entertaining 31 off 26 deliveries in an unbroken stand of 42 with Mahmudul to ensure there was no further damage, although Bangladesh still ended the day 101 runs behind South Africa.Hasan Mahmud took two wickets in the first session•BCB

The advantage South Africa enjoyed was down to Verreynne. He swept every other ball that came his way, and when he finally missed one, he was stumped by Litton Das. That ended South Africa’s innings at 308 but by then, Verreynne had raced to his hundred. He took just 144 balls to score 114, becoming only the third wicketkeeper-batter from his country to get a Test hundred in Asia. Fittingly, the landmark came off a paddle sweep off Taijul Islam in the 86th over.Both Verreynne’s sixes were pumped once he was past the three-figure mark: one a slog-sweep off the wicketless Nayeem Hasan, and the other a pull off Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Just before that, Mehidy had broken a frustrating ninth-wicket stand of 66. Piedt, who batted solidly, nudged and pushed his way to 32 before he was trapped in front off the 87th delivery he had faced. It turned in and he was given out on field. Piedt reviewed, and it returned an umpire’s call. And immediately after Verreynne’s second six, Mehidy slowed the ball down to have him stumped.Earlier, the overnight pair of Verreynne and Mulder took their seventh-wicket to 119. The pitch seemed to have settled nicely for batting on the second morning, with no apparent turn available for Taijul. Verreynne particularly looked assured against Hasan Mahmud, who had started the day alongside Taijul, nudging the pacer past mid-on for three, and clipping and driving him for boundaries.Wiaan Mulder made 54, his highest Test score•AFP/Getty Images

Taijul then had Mulder poking, only for the outside edge to fall short of slip. That had as much to do with Mulder playing with soft hands as the slowness of the surface. Mulder and Verreynne adjusted to the pitch, and calmly did the job against the spin of Taijul and Nayeem.Both batters used the sweep and the reverse sweep to great effect despite Nayeem turning the ball in appreciably on occasion. That was down to them taking a good stride forward to get to the pitch of the deliveries, and playing their shots with confidence. They played 38 sweeps – or reverse sweeps – against spin on the second morning, and got 59 runs off them, including seven boundaries and a six.Bangladesh posted a man close in at square leg to prevent the batters from earning easy runs from the sweep, and yet Verreynne got to his half-century when he drilled one to the man there. Mulder then got to his half-century at the start of the 64th over, when he cut Nayeem for four behind point.Shanto had brought Mahmud back into the attack, and he struck back-to-back blows. First, he pitched on a back-of-a-length outside off, the ball holding its line. Mulder went for the punch, but edged to wide slip. Next ball, Mahmud went much fuller, reversing the ball into Maharaj and beating his defence to uproot off stump.But Piedt, who was in next, not only denied Mahmud a hat-trick, but also annoyed Bangladesh no end.

For only the second time in T20s, a team went with four left-arm seamers in their XI, but the strategy worked wonders for Namibia

Deivarayan Muthu28-Oct-20212:43

Borren: Bit of technical frailty at the start from Scotland

The Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi is cut off from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. However, there was an air of excitement around the first match of Wednesday’s double-header, with Bangladesh facing pre-tournament favourites and holders of the 50-over world title England. The food joints were buzzing, as were the merchandise stalls, on a hot afternoon. Bangladesh fans even broke into jigs at the little picket fence enclosures on the grass banks when opener Liton Das cracked back-to-back fours.Once England smashed Bangladesh, though, a huge chunk of the crowd dispersed, missing a rip-roaring opening sequence from Namibia left-arm quick Ruben Trumpelmann later in the evening. The 23-year-old struck three times against Scotland in the first over, thrilling a handful of Namibia supporters who had stayed back to watch their side keep their World Cup dream alive.Related

• All you need to know about ILT20, the second-most lucrative T20 league in the world

• Albie Morkel: 'Cricket was a dying sport in Namibia, but people have started watching again'

• Namibia keep dream World Cup run going

• The T20 World Cup is a lottery because the format favours upsets

It all started when Trumpelmann swerved one in sharply from over the wicket, tucked up George Munsey and had him chopping on for a first-ball duck. Trumpelmann let out a primeval roar, with his team-mates and the Namibia fans rallying around him.Trumpelmann then thumped out a hard length and angled it away from the right-handed Callum McLeod, having him feathering behind for a duck as well. Richie Berrington, who was captaining Scotland in the injury-enforced absence of Kyle Coetzer, was then pinned lbw by a full, fast inswinger. Bang. Bang. Bang. Trumpelmann roared once again and moments later wicketkeeper Zane Green jumped onto his back.This was only the fourth time in 1371 T20Is that a bowler had taken three wickets in the first over of a men’s T20I innings. Sure, Trumpelmann has a big inswinger, but it is his high-arm action and ability to skid the ball off the pitch that makes life more difficult for batters in these UAE conditions.ESPNcricinfo LtdTrumpelmann’s 3-0-11-3 helped Namibia restrict Scotland to 22 for 4 by the end of the powerplay. The damage proved irreparable despite Michael Leask’s 27-ball 44 from No.6. When Trumpelmann came back for the 15th over, he showed his range: bowling from wide of the crease, bowling cutters into the pitch and capping his spell with a wide yorker that squeezed underneath Chris Greaves’ bat.Scotland’s attack struck back to run Namibia close in a slim chance of 110, but it was Trumpelmann’s tone-setting spell that headlined the evening. It couldn’t have been any better and JJ Smit, who sealed victory with an unbeaten 32 off 23 balls, agreed with it at the post-match press conference.”That was something special – to take three wickets in the opening over,” Smit said. “We had them on the back foot from the first over. We can’t ask for more and we enjoyed that (laughs).”

Watch cricket live on ESPN+

Sign up for ESPN+ and catch all the action from the Men’s T20 World Cup live in the US. Match highlights of Namibia vs Scotland is available here in English, and here in Hindi (US only).

Trumpelmann was born in Durban, grew up in Pretoria, and worked his way up age-group cricket at the Northerns. Albie Morkel, the former South Africa allrounder and current Namibia assistant coach, then convinced him to make a career for himself at Namibia. Trumpelmann’s father was born in Windhoek, which makes him eligible to play for Namibia, but that shift amid Covid-19 was tricky.”Yeah, I think it’s his father that is from Namibia. He actually took a while to get his Namibian passport,” Smit said. “Rocking up and down, he came to Namibia to get his passport and Covid happened and he was stuck there for eight months. So, yeah, but he finally got it and he can play for us. So, we enjoy it and we enjoy having him in the team.”Smit also spoke highly of Morkel’s contribution towards Namibia’s progress. “Albie’s contribution has been massive and brings that calmness to the team,” he said. “Our coach [Pierre de Bruyn] is a bit fiery and spicy. Albie is cool and calm like you can remember from the IPL and South African days. He’s experienced and just his calmness… I keep saying calm, but he’s really calm. He makes a lot of jokes and keeps us all involved.”When Smit was applying the finishing touches to the chase, every run drew cheers from the Namibian fans in the crowd. What’s the team’s message to them?”We’re so thankful for them. It cost them a lot of money to be here,” Smit said. “So, we are thankful and they mean the world to us and even the support back home. All the messages everyday… my phone doesn’t stop, so I don’t want to be in Ruben’s shoes tonight (laughs).”Namibia are playing their first-ever major tournament, but they are not here to make up the numbers, Smit insisted. Having won three successive matches against Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland, they believe that they can go deep into the tournament. They will next run into Afghanistan at the same venue on October 31.”I think if we qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup, there’s going to be a massive uproar in the cricket world,” Smit said. ” Like we know we can, it’s possible; we’re here at the Super 12s, and we’re enjoying it. We all believe we’re going to be here. For the next game, it’s just playing their spin well and their seamers. I don’t think we should just focus on their spinners – obviously they have three of the best spinners in the world – but the seamers are also highly ranked and come with a bit of pace.”Smit had also done his bit with the ball, as did fellow left-armers Jan Frylink and Bernard Scholtz. Michael van Lingen also pitched in with one over. It’s very rare that a team has four left-arm seamers in their XI at any level of cricket. So rare that only once before Wednesday has a team had four left-arm seamers bowling in a T20 innings – Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Shinwari, Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz for Northern vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2020. Were Scotland caught napping by the pack of left-armers?”Look, I think they bowled extremely well upfront, ” Berrington said. “A first over like that makes it pretty hard to recover. Showed a lot of faith in the middle overs there, just unfortunate we couldn’t get enough runs on the board to give a chance in the second innings.”Left turned out to be perfectly right for Trumpelmann and co.

With Jaka Bijol already set to arrive from Udinese to hand Leeds United their second signing of the summer, the 49ers are now reportedly prepared to commence a bidding war to welcome an impressive teenage talent who’s been compared to N’Golo Kante.

Leeds set to sign Bijol as summer business ramps up

Whilst Leeds fans are currently being made to wait for the official announcement, an agreement has reportedly been struck to make Bijol a Leeds player and his unveiling now seems only a matter of time. The central defender is set to join Lukas Nmecha on what is a growing list of incomings at Elland Road this summer.

Away from the Serie A defender, the Whites have also been linked with moves for the likes of Douglas Luiz from Juventus and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hugo Bueno to replace the departing Junior Firpo.

Luiz instantly stands out as someone who would be an impressive signing. Whilst things haven’t worked out at Juventus, the Brazilian more than proved his worth in the Premier League with Aston Villa and could now be on his way back to English football courtesy of Leeds.

Meanwhile, Bueno’s arrival would also be important in its own right. With Firpo set to depart as a free agent this summer, Daniel Farke must welcome a fresh left-back option and Bueno would offer the German exactly that.

After enjoying an impressive season on loan at Feyenoord, the Spaniard could finally be ready to make his mark on the Premier League once again, even if away from Wolves.

It’s at Leeds that the 22-year-old could be joined by another young talent amid reports that the 49ers are ready to chase the signature of a midfield gem who’s received Kante comparisons.

Leeds prepared for bidding war to sign Atangana

According to GiveMeSport, the 49ers and Leeds are now prepared to launch a bidding war to sign Valentin Atangana from Reims this summer. The French side were relegated from Ligue 1 last season and the 19-year-old could now be available at an affordable price.

Leeds aren’t alone in the race to secure the midfielder’s signature, however, with Everton, Crystal Palace, Burnley and West Ham United all also eyeing summer swoops to sign Atangana.

A better signing than Muniz: Leeds prepare move for "clinical" £17m star

Leeds United appear to making moves for other strikers other than Rodrigo Muniz.

ByEthan Lamb Jun 20, 2025

The amount of interest in the young Frenchman should come as no surprise. Described as the next N’Golo Kante by French media, Atangana started 33 of Reims’ 34 Ligue 1 games last season and was a rare standout in what was otherwise a campaign to forget for the relegated French side.

Described as a “fantastic modern holding midfielder” by scout Jacek Kulig, Atangana is someone that Leeds should go all out for this summer.

Earlier in the day, Hilton Cartwright returned to bat having dashed off the previous evening for the birth of his child

Tristan Lavalette22-Oct-2024Josh Inglis continued his outstanding start to the Sheffield Shield season with another century before Western Australia’s attack tore into Tasmania late on day three at the WACA to close in on victory.After Inglis’ 101 helped WA to a 55-run first innings lead, recruit Brody Couch starred with three wickets to leave Tasmania in ruins at 135 for 9. There were echoes of last season’s final when Tasmania disintegrated late on day four, but they hung on before bad light ended play early.With a lead of just 80 runs, Tasmania are facing an inevitable defeat in a disappointment after they had restricted WA’s lead. But their fightback was short-lived after Couch removed opener Jake Weatherald in his first over.Much like during his impressive performance in Tasmania’s first innings, when he claimed 3 for 33 from 17 overs, Couch reached speeds of 142 kph and also picked up the wickets of Charlie Wakim and Brad Hope.Allrounder Aaron Hardie enjoyed his first wicket of the Shield season when he removed Jake Doran with a superb delivery that angled across and caught the edge of the left-hander’s bat.Having bowled just six overs in Tasmania’s first innings, Hardie is building up his bowling loads as he works his way back from a quad injury that ruled him out of the season opener against Queensland.Touted as a potential like-for-like replacement for injured Test allrounder Cameron Green, Hardie bowled lively short spells either side of tea to finish with 1 for 12 from six overs.Offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli chipped in with the late wickets of Mitch Owen and Kieran Elliott as WA gained a stranglehold over a match that had ebbed and flowed over the opening couple of days.The start of the day’s play was delayed by 45 minutes due to light showers in what might be the last drops of rain seen in Perth for several months with oppressive heat imminent.WA eyed a sizeable first-innings lead as allrounder Cooper Connolly rolled to his third half-century from his first five innings in First Class cricket. After a watchful start, Inglis rediscovered his supreme touch from late on day two and cruised to his century following on from a rapid ton against Queensland.Inglis is arguably the in-form batter in the country, but does not appear to be in the Test frame given incumbent wicketkeeper Alex Carey is firmly entrenched. Such is his commanding form, Inglis could become a bolter to play as a specialist batter.But he fell shortly after his ton when he nicked off to allrounder Beau Webster, who led Tasmania’s rally having in his previous over claimed Connolly for 55.There had been uncertainty over whether Hilton Cartwright would bat after he dashed out of the ground at tea on day two with his wife in labour. She gave birth to a boy in the wee hours of the morning, but Cartwright shrugged off undoubted exhaustion to continue on from his unbeaten 52 after getting permission from the match referee and Tasmania to resume his innings.Cartwright was understandably scratchy and added 13 runs until he holed out off quick Riley Meredith. WA’s bid for a big lead evaporated, but it appears they are still headed for a comfortable victory after another vintage effort from their outstanding attack.

After submitting a fresh bid to sign Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United have already reportedly turned their focus towards their next top target.

Newcastle "optimistic" after fresh Elanga bid

Having seen their first offer turned down for the Swede, it always seemed possible that Newcastle could return with a second attempt to sign Elanga. And soon enough, that has proved to be the case with reports now suggesting that the Magpies have submitted a second bid worth around £55m to sign the Swede.

Now reportedly optimistic that they’ll reach an agreement with Forest, Newcastle could be about to kickstart their summer business by adding the final part to what could be a scintillating front three alongside Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.

Minutes

2,501

2,756

2,434

Goals

6

23

6

Assists

11

6

5

Successful Take-ons

25

42

38

One of the quickest trios that the Premier League is likely to see next season, Newcastle could yet retain their Champions League place and more in the next 12 months.

Nottingham Forest will be well aware of the quality that they will be losing if Elanga completes a summer switch to Newcastle, with Nuno Espirito Santo full of praise for his winger throughout the last campaign.

When asked about Elanga after the Swede scored an incredible solo goal against Manchester United in April, the Forest boss told reporters: “He’s a special boy and he gives this team his speed. He does it by himself and we are delighted.”

PIF believe 22-cap international will join Newcastle as £55m bid submitted

They could get their man at long last…

ByTom Cunningham Jul 4, 2025

That said, Elanga is unlikely to be the last through the door this summer. If reports are anything to go by, Newcastle and PIF have already turned their focus towards another top target even as negotiations continue over the winger’s signature.

Newcastle now prioritising Scalvini deal

According to The Times’ Martin Hardy, Newcastle are now prioritising a deal to sign Giorgio Scalvini from Atalanta once their deal to welcome Elanga is completed this summer. The 6’4 defender is reportedly valued at just £30m and is now among the Magpies’ top targets as they look to add another centre-back to their ranks.

Dubbed a “magnificent” centre-back alongside countryman Riccardo Calafiori in the 2023/24 season by scout Jacek Kulig, Scalvini could now join the Arsenal man in the Premier League.

Since the 23/24 campaign, the towering Italian has only pushed on and could hand Newcastle a bargain deal at just £30m. Given that Fabian Schar is now 33 years old too, it should be seen as a very real possibility that 21-year-old Scalvini could break into Eddie Howe’s best side if he completes a summer move.

Alongside Elanga and James Trafford, the Atalanta defender would make it three impressive signings for the Magpies in a summer which initially looked destined to be full of frustration.

Poor you. Haven’t heard of the Hundred then?

Alan Gardner16-Aug-2021The Hundred is here, bat slung casually over one shoulder, proudly wearing a cricket:team t-shirt and with its official merch snapback turned to face the other way – very much a “How do you do, fellow kids?” kind of vibe. And don’t worry, if you had any doubts about whether cricket could be considered a cool sport, they’ve now been fully dispelled.The game’s fourth format (although it’s technically recorded as T20 – more on that later) has arrived to take the world of sports entertainment by storm. “Not a fan of cricket? That’s okay! We’re not that bothered about it ourselves. Look, we’ve got fireworks and a band! Plus a DJ… We’re all about the choons!” If you turn up during the afternoon, it’s basically just a kids’ party with some human billboards promoting snack foods in the background. Of course, it then descends into something more like a kegger once the grown-ups have indulged on their fruit juice for a few hours…Still, are we not entertained? (Don’t answer that unless you’re a nine-year-old with a guileless smile.) The take-no-prisoners approach has been most evident on the TV broadcasts, which tries to sex up and dumb down at the same time – and remember this is still cricket we’re talking about, a sport which is both too clever by half and about as sexy as a librarian in galoshes. (It’s fine if that’s your thing, we’re not here to judge.)Related

New and weird, but a strangely satisfying experience

Want the truth about the Hundred? It's smoke, mirrors and gimmickry

The Hundred is tearing English cricket apart

Did we really need the Hundred?

Obviously a bit of flannel for a new enterprise is to be expected – in the early days of the Light Roller, we liked to describe ourselves as “like the Briefing, but funny” – but some of the Hundred’s coverage would make the editor of wince. Kass Naidoo, brought in to anchor Sky’s coverage, seems a very personable sort, but her habit of standing in front of an empty stand while hailing the “great crowd today” is bold, to say the least. You suspect even Prof Pangloss might recommend toning it down.Meanwhile, a cavalcade of former players have picked out choice spots on the bandwagon – and some are noticeably more objective than others. The astonishment with which Andrew Flintoff greeted a decent crowd for Old Trafford’s first fixture would suggest he’d never even been to a T20 Blast game, never mind played in several (including bringing out the Freddie-as-Jesus pose to rapturous applause at Finals Day a few years back). Kevin Pietersen, too, seems ready to lose the run of himself every time he steps into the pod. But maybe he’s just excited at being back in the ECB’s good books.And the product itself? Well, if you think of it as 20 five-ball overs with one or two quirky playing conditions and a real fetish for timekeeping, it all looks suspiciously like T20. Which, you may have noticed, was already quite successful. But then some clever folk thought New Coke was a good idea too.

****

To Bangladesh. Which is not a phrase you hear Australians utter very often. And perhaps that’s understandable, what with the gulf between the sides, the inevitable mismatches, lop-sided scorelines, and so on. Anyway, after the conclusion of Bangladesh’s 4-1 win in the T20Is, reports emerged that Justin Langer was involved in a “heated confrontation” with a staffer from cricket.com.au, after Cricket Australia’s media arm posted a video showing the home team celebrating enthusiastically, while being politely applauded by the visitors. But what was it that got Langer in such a stew? Was Australia’s coach perhaps hoping that, with the series not being broadcast back home, people might not find out about the result? Maybe he felt the humility being displayed by the Australians fell short of “elite”? Either way, as the wags on Twitter have pointed out, if you don’t want people to laugh at the fact you got thrashed by Bangladesh, you should try not getting thrashed by Bangladesh in the first place.

****

To Bangladesh… at some unspecified date in the future. That is what’s been agreed between the ECB and the BCB, after they announced that England’s limited-overs tour scheduled for later in the year was postponed. Is it a coincidence that this removes a clash with the IPL, meaning England’s players will now be able to participate in the rearranged second half of the tournament? Or maybe someone at the ECB simply spotted the aforementioned footage on cricket.com.au? We’ll let you be the judge.

The best batting, bowling and all-round performances from the tournament

Anantha Narayanan20-Jul-2019This is an analysis of the leading performers of this year’s World Cup, based on my ODI performance-ratings methodology. The complete details of the methodology can be perused here – click here for the batting methodology, and here for the bowling one.A significant tweak for the World Cup
Readers might remember that I use the par score values, both batting and bowling, extensively in my performance-ratings work. I determine the par scores based on a comprehensive analysis of the decisive matches, by period. For the last period, i.e. 2014-19, the batting par score was 300 and the bowling par score 233. All my initial work was based on these values. However, as we came up to the knockout stages of the World Cup, it was clear that the scores were nowhere near as high as expected; the tournament had many scores below 300.I also did a complete analysis for the World Cup itself. Lo and behold, what did I find out? The batting par score was 268 and the bowling par score 222. I could not just ignore these significant variations, especially considering it was such an important event, so I made a tweak, only for the World Cup. Once I applied these tweaked par scores, the batting points moved higher and the bowling points lower. Now that the World Cup is over, I am going to completely overhaul my ODI ratings system, based on ideas offered by readers and my exchanges with them.One important point: for the purposes of the performance ratings analysis, since the final was a tie, the players get credit for a tied match, which is two-thirds of a that for a result match. What happened afterwards, in the Super Over, is not part of this analysis. More on that later.

Top Batting performances in World Cup 2019

RtgPts	Batsman	I-BP	Vs	Runs	Balls	In at	IVI	Result
69.0	RG Sharma (IND)	2-1	Sa	122*	144	0 / 0	8.7	Won
68.4	KS Williamson (NZ)	1-3	Wi	148	154	0 / 1	6.8	Won
68.3	DA Warner (AUS)	1-1	Bd	166	147	0 / 0	5.8	Won
68.2	BA Stokes (ENG)	2-5	Nz	84*	98	71 / 3	4.8	Tie
68.2	AJ Finch (AUS)	1-1	Sl	153	132	0 / 0	6.8	Won
68.0	RG Sharma (IND)	1-1	Pak	140	113	0 / 0	6.5	Won
67.8	KS Williamson (NZ)	2-3	Sa	106*	138	12 / 1	5.8	Won
67.6	EJG Morgan (ENG)	1-4	Afg	148	71	164 / 2	7.5	Won
67.0	RA Jadeja (IND)	2-8	Nz	77	59	92 / 6	6.7	Lost
66.5	JJ Roy (ENG)	1-1	Bd	153	121	0 / 0	6.5	Won
65.5	MDKJ Perera (SL)	1-1	Afg	78	81	0 / 0	6.2	Won
65.3	NM Coulter-Nile (AUS)	1-8	Wi	92	60	147 / 6	7.0	Won

The best innings of this World Cup was played early in the tournament. The Indian bowlers kept South Africa to a sub-par 227. It was not going to be an easy chase, considering the quality of South Africa’s bowling. Rohit Sharma played a mature, measured and beautifully paced innings of 122 not out to take India to a comfortable win.For New Zealand against West Indies, Kane Williamson came in at 0 for 1 and saw the score slump to 7 for 2. Few would have realised that the match would hang in balance till the last ball, about seven hours later. Williamson scored a truly magnificent 148 at almost a run a ball and took New Zealand to a match-winning 291. The importance of Williamson’s innings, and of this particular match, cannot be over-emphasised.Bangladesh have a world-class bowling attack. When Australia played them at Trent Bridge, David Warner was in blistering form and scored a quick-fire 166, the highest score in the tournament, and took Australia to 381. All those runs were needed since Bangladesh scored well over 300 in the chase.Ben Stokes played arguably his greatest ODI innings in the final, against New Zealand. Coming in at 71 for 3, he stayed till the last ball, scoring 84 priceless runs to tie the match. What he did in the Super Over is outside the purview of this analysis. His tour de force ultimately proved to be a World-Cup-winning effort, if not a match-winning one. Since the match was a tie, Stokes only gets tie-related points. Else, this would have been the best innings of the World Cup.Aaron Finch‘s 153 against Sri Lanka was almost identical to Warner’s effort and gave Australia an easy win.Readers can see that the top six innings are all within a point’s range. Two innings deserve mention. Ravindra Jadeja‘s 77 in 59 balls, which almost took the semi-final away from New Zealand, and Nathan Coulter-Nile‘s masterly 92 at a strike rate of 153.33, which lifted Australia from 147 for 6 to a match-winning 288 against West Indies. Jadeja’s was in a lost cause, but Coulter-Nile’s innings saw Australia narrowly sneak home.

Top Bowling performances in World Cup 2019

RtgPts	Bowler	Vs	Analysis	BatIdx	SWQ	Result
76.4	JP Behrendorff (AUS)	Eng	10.0-0-44-5	43.9	29.1	Won
74.5	SL Malinga (SL)	Eng	10.0-1-43-4	44.6	35.3	Won
73.5	Mitchel Starc (AUS)	Nz	9.4-1-26-5	40.9	25.2	Won
71.9	Shaheen S Afridi (PAK)	Bd	9.1-0-35-6	38.0	33.4	Won
71.7	LH Ferguson (NZ)	Eng	10.0-0-50-3	46.4	20.6	Tie
71.0	Mohammed Shami (IND)	Eng	10.0-1-69-5	46.4	40.8	Lost
70.6	LE Plunkett (ENG)	Nz	10.0-0-42-3	40.9	20.8	Tie
69.2	Mitchel Starc (AUS)	Eng	8.4-1-43-4	43.9	28.2	Won
68.4	MJ Henry (NZ)	Ind	10.0-1-37-3	40.6	27.2	Won
68.0	Shakib Hasan (BD)	Afg	10.0-1-29-5	32.7	26.2	Won
67.8	Mitchel Starc (AUS)	Wi	10.0-1-46-5	42.2	20.1	Won
67.8	JDS Neesham (NZ)	Eng	7.0-0-43-3	46.4	18.0	Tie

The league match between Australia and England was a curtain-raiser to the semi-final a couple of weeks later. England needed to win to comfortably qualify for the semis and they looked to be on track when they restricted Australia to a good but not imposing total of 285. Then left-armer Jason Behrendorff took centre stage, dismissing both openers and later taking three wickets when Stokes mounted a counterattack. His 5 for 44 takes pride of place.Four days before the Australia game, England had lost unexpectedly to Sri Lanka, though they kept them to a middling 232 for 9. They had no answers against Lasith Malinga, who took everyone back a decade with a devastating spell of pace bowling, eventually finishing with 4 for 43 in a 20-run win.In third place is Mitchell Starc, for his 5 for 26 against New Zealand. Australia scored only 243 and New Zealand seemed well on their way when Starc produced a masterclass of left-arm seam bowling. His five-for bowled New Zealand out for 157.The theoretical chances Pakistan had of qualifying depended on their defeating Bangladesh by over 300 runs – an impossible task. However, they started well and put up 315. Then Shaheen Afridi ran rings around the Bangladesh batsmen, taking six wickets for 35, which included four top-order wickets.In the final, Lockie Ferguson produced a bowling masterclass of 3 for 50 – two top-order wickets and the timely dismissal of Chris Woakes took this spell into the top five. If New Zealand had won, this might have been the best bowling performance of the World Cup.The other performance worth a mention is Matt Henry‘s match-winning burst at the top of the India innings in the semi-final. This spell of 3 for 37 fetched more points than many four- or five-wicket spells.
Let us also not forget Liam Plunkett’s three top-order wickets in the final.

Top all-round performances in World Cup 2019

RtgPts	Player	Vs	Runs(Balls)	BatPts	Analysis	BowPts	Result
118.2	Shakib Hasan (BD)	Wi	124*( 99)	63.1	8.0-0-54-2	55.1	Won
118.1	Shakib Hasan (BD)	Afg	51 ( 69)	50.1	10.0-1-29-5	68.0	Won
110.0	JE Root (ENG)	Wi	100*( 94)	58.0	5.0-0-27-2	52.0	Won
109.8	BA Stokes (ENG)	Sa	89 ( 79)	61.4	2.5-0-12-2	48.4	Won
109.7	Mohammad Hafeez (PAK	Eng	84 ( 62)	58.0	7.0-0-43-1	51.7	Won
109.5	RA Jadeja (IND)	Nz	77 ( 59)	67.0	10.0-0-34-1	42.5	Lost
106.2	C de Grandhomme (NZ)	Sa	60 ( 47)	56.6	10.0-0-33-1	49.6	Won
104.0	CR Brathwaite (WI)	Nz	101 ( 82)	61.6	6.0-0-58-2	42.4	Lost
102.9	Shakib Hasan (BD)	Sa	75 ( 84)	55.6	10.0-0-50-1	47.3	Won
101.3	Imad Wasim (PAK)	Afg	49*( 54)	52.5	10.0-0-48-2	48.8	Won
95.0	DM de Silva (SL)	Eng	29 ( 47)	29.5	8.0-0-32-3	65.5	Won
93.1	Mohammad Nabi (AFG)	Ind	52 ( 55)	47.3	9.0-0-33-2	45.8	Lost

This table is led by two magnificent performances by Shakib Al Hasan. The first was against West Indies. He took 2 for 54 in the huge West Indian total of 321 and then scored a blinding 124 to take Bangladesh to a comprehensive win, with nearly nine overs to spare. Against Afghanistan he made a half-century in Bangladesh’s 262 and then took 5 for 29 to defend the middling total.Joe Root and Stokes just about did enough bowling to qualify for this table, and their batting-dominant performances take them into the top five. (I recognise either five overs or two wickets as a “valid” spell.)Mohammad Hafeez‘s lovely innings of 84 and a controlled bowling performance against England gets him the fifth place.Jadeja, in addition to his brilliant innings, had an excellent run-restricting spell of 1 for 34 in the semi-final against New Zealand and gets into the top ten.Ben Stokes made five scores of 50-plus in the World Cup and turned up to bat in the Super Over in the final after making an unbeaten 84 earlier in the innings•Getty ImagesMy takeaways from the tournament
My favourite batting performances were Coulter-Nile’s attacking match-winning innings against West Indies and the two equally stirring innings by Carlos Brathwaite and Jadeja, both in losing causes. If Brathwaite’s shot against New Zealand had travelled a metre further, the story of the World Cup might have been different. In Jadeja’s case, India’s chances always looked difficult. Coulter-Nile’s innings tops it for me, then, since it was in a winning cause.On May 27, 1999, Australia looked forlorn and listless at Chester-le-Street, staring at the stark reality that they needed to win every one of their remaining matches to win the World Cup. Starting with Bangladesh, they did just that, also sneaking in a tie in the semi. The two players who contributed the most towards this resurrection were Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.On June 30, 2019, England looked similarly forlorn and listless, needing to win every one of their remaining games to win this World Cup. They had a tougher task than Australia did, having to face the mighty Indians at Edgbaston. They duly beat India and all their other opponents, and the batsmen who contributed the most towards this resurrection were Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, who added 160, 123, 124 and 28 for the first wicket. It is no wonder that they form the most formidable pair of the 2019 World Cup.My favourite bowling performance was Matt Henry’s burst at the beginning of the India innings in the semi-final. Looking at what transpired later, if New Zealand had not struck a few times during the first ten overs, the match would have slipped out of their fingers. It was great bowling but also nothing short of a miracle. Henry did something similar against Sri Lanka, but this performance came in a semi-final.The match of the tournament was, arguably, this semi-final. The tactical awareness of Williamson and Ross Taylor, the situation-inspired batting in the later stages, the opening burst, the brilliant catching and fielding, the quality of India’s bowling, and the mercurial, never-say-die batting of Jadeja all made me think back to the Edgbaston semi-final 20 years ago, which was one of the greatest World Cup matches ever. The other semi-final was a romp in the park. I have chosen to ignore the final because the excitement of the match does not hide errors of umpiring and shortcomings in the tournament guidelines relating to the second level tie-break.The player who changed the course of the tournament has to be Stokes. Just consider the following:Five scores between 79 and 89. Each of these innings came when the chips were down and the runs were good as gold. The 84 in the final was followed by key strikes in the Super Over. The blistering 79 in the league game against India was the real match-winner. Then there were the magnificent 89 and 82 in losing causes against Australia and Sri Lanka; and his 89 against South Africa, which won the match for England. Add to these the key wickets he took and his superlative fielding efforts, and it is clear no other player had a greater impact on the World Cup.Trent Boult might be a contender. He had several highlights – the hat-trick against Australia, the catch off Brathwaite, the ball that dismissed Virat Kohli – but unfortunately he went wicketless in the final.The final: Two teams fight tooth and nail for eight hours and score the same number of runs in 50 overs. Then they get into another contest for an over each and score the same number of runs. What is the need to decide the winner based on the quirky and unfair number-of-boundaries rule? Why could the ICC not have declared the two teams joint winners? That was the option, after all, if the match day and the reserve day had been rained off.I would have said the same thing if “wickets taken” had been the second-level tie-breaker. How would England and their supporters have taken that loss? This is said while acknowledging that England had the best credentials to be named the winner of the World Cup. They are not responsible for the ICC’s rules, decided a few years back. “Neither team deserved to lose” should not just be a phrase in passing; it should be backed up by the rules. What happened was not anticipated but should have been.The DRS: In the semi-finals and final, there were some tricky DRS situations. Roy’s dismissal did not matter but Ross Taylor’s was crucial, and New Zealand didn’t have a review to appeal the wrong decision. A solution has to be found to avoid umpire howlers. One option is to give a team two DRS referrals per match instead of one per innings. If a team uses both referrals in the first innings, they have no referrals for the second. If they do not use one in the first innings, they have two for the second.A poignant tale to end this article
I was in touch with Martin Crowe between 2013 and 2015, after he contacted me to express his happiness at seeing the recognition received by iconic New Zealand players in my analyses. After New Zealand lost the 2015 World Cup final, I emailed him, and this is a relevant extract from that mail. “Four years from now, New Zealand would enter the World Cup final and I am sure you would be at Lord’s to wish and cheer for them. All my prayers and best wishes to you for this.” His reply was immediate and it read: “Many thanks, Ananth, for your wishes and prayers. I do not know how much time I have and whether I have enough days available to see the 2019 World Cup. I hope your wish comes true.” Sadly, that was his last mail to me. He passed away a year later.For the past year, I have been expressing my wish in various fora that I would really like two teams from either of South Africa, New Zealand or England to contest the 2019 final. No disrespect or lack of patriotism, simply a wish to have a new deserving winner, and a part of this was also influenced by the above-referenced correspondence. Martin would have wanted New Zealand to win the World Cup, and for his sake, I hoped they did, although I have no problems about the outstanding England team having won. This is not a heart v mind situation. I like both teams.My next article will be on my favoured format – Test cricket. My ideas plate is full and the problem I have is to select which idea to cover.