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Back after the rousing success of season one, the stakes for BBL two are higher still

Alex Malcolm06-Dec-2012The Big Bash is back. Cue the excitement. Cue the fanfare. Cue the fireworks. Cue the chaos.And what chaos we have seen in the days leading up to opening night.First, Michael Clarke, Captain Australia, hero to the masses, world’s No.1 Test batsman, is withdrawn from his one and only scheduled appearance for the Sydney Thunder by Cricket Australia’s High Performance crew.Ben Hilfenhaus is likewise advised not to play for the Hobart Hurricanes as a precautionary measure with Test cricket in mind.In the same memo, injuries to John Hastings and Josh Hazlewood from their Test duties last week are outlined. Hastings is ruled out of the Melbourne Stars’ opening match. Hazlewood joins James Pattinson, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Marsh as non-participants in the entire tournament.Then came the saga of Usman Khawaja. Desperate to reclaim a Test berth, he is named to captain the Chairman’s XI team playing a three-day fixture against the touring Sri Lankans. But after Clarke’s withdrawal from the Thunder, Khawaja is to be withdrawn from day three of the Chairman’s match to represent the Thunder on Saturday night.Meanwhile, the most extraordinary scenario imaginable played out around the availability of Dale Steyn. Having signed for a one-off guest spot with the Brisbane Heat, the no objection certificate which the Heat obtained from Cricket South Africa was withdrawn when the Cape Cobras realised Steyn was available to play a limited overs semi-final for them on the same day.Each case brings its own complexities, all the while framing the all important second edition of the Big Bash League, which begins just five days after the completion of a compelling three Tests between Australia and South Africa, and less than a week before another vital series against Sri Lanka.BBL One began with similar doubts. No-one knew what to expect. No-one knew whether it would be constructive or destructive to Australian cricket. As it turned out it was a roaring success. It’s still hard to explain. Concocted teams, a cacophony of colour and sound, the constancy of games almost every night in prime-time for six weeks for some reason meant it was a winner. The crowd figures were not all that different to previous seasons but the television ratings were.Herein lies the importance of BBL Two. Cricket Australia’s current seven-year television rights deal with the Nine Network and Fox Sports is expiring in March of 2013. Fox Sports bought exclusive rights to the Big Bash last time around. Fox Sports paid well over the market value for domestic cricket in 2005, but well under the current worth in 2012. The BBL’s success has seen other networks clamouring for a slice of pie. The beauty of a successful domestic product is its reliability. The ratings of the international series scheduled during each Australian summer rise and fall with the quality and popularity of the opponent, as well as the quality and popularity of the Australian Test side.But the BBL is T20 cricket. It does not matter who is playing or where. Australians seem to love it. The facts back it up.The first domestic T20 scheduled in Australia in 2005 saw 20,071 pack into the WACA to watch WA and Victoria play a one-off match, for no rhyme or reason other than to trial a format no-one had ever seen before in Australia. Only 42,193 people attended a WACA Test match across four days a month earlier.Last season, 23,496 attended the MCG to see Shane Warne versus David Warner and Chris Gayle in the first Thunder v Stars showdown of BBL | 01. Yet nearly 5000 more turned out two years earlier when Victoria, without Warne, and New South Wales, without Gayle, played a T20 at the same venue. Work that one out.Ricky Ponting, widely lauded as the best Australian Test batsman since Bradman, played his final Test innings on Monday in front of less than 10,000 people in Perth. A month earlier he made a glorious, unbeaten 162 for Tasmania against Victoria in front of fewer than 100. Yet the crowd predicted at the Gabba on Sunday to watch Ponting in purple, in his least preferred format, will trump those figures comfortably.Fans show up for T20. It is the action-packed format for them. It is as predictable as night following day. Does it matter that Clarke has been withdrawn? He was not even on any BBL squad’s roster last year and the Big Bash was a huge success without him. Will the presence of Usman Khawaja, with his one T20 half-century and pedestrian career strike-rate of 101.13, add thousands to the crowd figures and television ratings? Imagine if he was 20 not out overnight in the second innings against Sri Lanka only to be pulled to play a T20.Will people care that David Warner has switched from the Thunder to the Sydney Sixers? Will they care that Shane Watson no longer plays for a Sydney team? Will they care that Dirk Nannes will line-up for his 10th different T20 franchise, not to mention his international caps with Australia and the Netherlands?Will fans recognise Faf du Plessis when he plays for the Renegades on Friday night for his seven-hour century for South Africa in the Test series? If the Renegades beat the Stars will anyone know the words to the team song, if indeed they have one, given Aaron Finch is the only player left in the entire squad who played in a Renegades win last year?Will the fans stay away because of the injuries to Mitch Marsh, John Hastings, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, and Josh Hazlewood? Marsh was a star of last year’s tournament so he is a loss, but the other four managed two games between them for the entire BBL last summer, even if their currency has risen significantly in the interim.Will Brisbane Heat General Manager Andrew Blucher’s words ring true regarding Dale Steyn’s withdrawal?”[It] is terribly disappointing for the team and our fans and members, who were eagerly anticipating seeing Dale play.”If Brisbane fans missed his 30 overs in the Test match at the Gabba for South Africa three weeks ago will they really rue the four overs he could have bowled on Saturday night for the Heat?The frivolous postures being struck here, there and everywhere regarding the Big Bash League are not the major issues at play. It’s all just part of the fanfare. We will see big hitting, fast bowling, quality spin, great fielding, and close games throughout the tournament no matter the teams or the players. Australian domestic cricket has a reputation for it. The tournament will be successful again, and the only query is whether it can outstrip last year’s viewership records.

What if the Warne Muralitharan showdown in Melbourne on Friday night heavily outweighs the battle for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy which begins in Hobart a week later? It is entirely conceivable that there will be more interest in the two retired (or are they?) champs than there will be in an Australia v Sri Lanka Test series

The broader concerns about BBL |02 are thus. How can Dale Steyn honour contracts with the Brisbane Heat, Cape Cobras, and the Deccan Chargers, at the same time, with all their competing interests, and yet all the while be prepared thoroughly for regular international duty? Cricketers today are not faced with the age-old club versus country that footballers are, they are now fighting franchise verses franchise arguments, tournament versus tournament debates. How can a player be a servant to four masters?At present, Steyn’s Cricket South Africa contract is lucrative enough to ensure national duties trump all others. What happens when it isn’t, like the cases of West Indian, New Zealand, Sri Lankan and Pakistani players? You can now see why many want a stand-alone window for the Indian Premier League. It would save the chaos that is occurring in Australia right now.Furthermore, Cricket Australia were not concerned about running last year’s BBL concurrently with the Border-Gavaskar Test series, as India are big drawcards and could not be dwarfed by the T20 League.But what if the Warne Muralitharan showdown in Melbourne on Friday night heavily outweighs the battle for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy which begins in Hobart a week later? It is entirely conceivable that there will be more interest in the two retired (or are they?) champs than there will be in an Australia v Sri Lanka Test series.Hence the critical importance of this Big Bash League for CA. If they secure the television rights deal they want on the back of another successful tournament, then they secure their financial future at a time when cricket as we know it has never been more uncertain.But we should not concern ourselves with such deep philosophical questions. It is time to cue the lights, cue the cameras, cue the action. The show is about to start. The Big Bash is back.

Apartheid prevented Barry Richards from becoming a batting superstar, the next Bradman, even

Telford Vice07-Nov-2010To Donald Bradman, he was as good as Jack Hobbs or Len Hutton. To John Arlott, he was “a batsman of staggering talent”. To many who played with and against him, he was the most complete batsman they ever saw. To Robin Jackman, in his days as the heart of the Surrey attack, he was a reason to think about tennis.”When the fixtures came out at the beginning of the season, one thing we always used to look at was whether we were playing Hampshire over the Wimbledon fortnight,” Jackman said. “Because if we were, there was very little chance that Barry would be playing. He managed to find a groin injury when Wimbledon was on.”Along with Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards was the bonafide great who never was. Four Tests was all he had to prove himself before apartheid sentenced South Africa to 22 years of isolation. Richards, tall, wristy, implacable, possessed of feline grace and eyesight, took his chance, scoring 508 runs at 72.57 against the 1969-70 Australians. A surprise? Hardly. “Even before that series, everybody knew he was going to be a batting genius,” said Ali Bacher, South Africa’s captain in that famous rubber.Richards scored a century before lunch nine times in his first-class career. That might have been 10 had Bacher not been bowled around his legs by Alan Connolly shortly before the interval on the first day against Australia at Kingsmead in 1970 as he tried to fangle a single to give the tyro the strike.But Richards duly reached three figures in the first over after lunch, and he went on to score 140 in his most celebrated innings. In the first hour of that second session – perhaps the most storied 60 minutes in South Africa’s cricket history – Richards shared 103 runs with Pollock, who made 274, a monument that stood as the highest Test innings by a South African until 1999. “I don’t think this country has ever again seen batting like we saw that day,” Bacher said.Besides batting up a storm, Richards proved the keenness of his cricketing brain by demystifying the bowling of Johnny Gleeson, the Australian spinner who was able to deliver offbreaks and legbreaks with no discernible change in his action.”Whenever one of our Test batsmen came in during the Aussies’ matches against the provincial teams on that tour and Gleeson was bowling, he was immediately taken off,” Bacher said. “We never got a chance to see him before the series.” All would be revealed in the first Test in Cape Town.”Trevor Goddard got out, and I came in, and immediately Gleeson was brought on from the Wynberg end. For the first two overs he made me look like a clown. When I thought it was the offbreak, it was the legbreak; when I was sure it was the legbreak, it was the offbreak.”Bacher resolved to plonk his front foot down the pitch and heave Gleason over midwicket, which served him well enough in his innings of 57.”That night we had a team meeting, and Barry told us how to play him. He said if we could see a lot of fingers on top of the ball, it was the offbreak. If we could only see the thumb and one finger, it was the legbreak. He took one look at him and worked him out, and for the rest of the series he ran down the wicket to Gleeson. The rest of us were still a bit wary – even Graeme Pollock played him from the crease – but Barry went after him.”

“When you’re that talented you want the world to see it, not a few guys watching at Southampton”Robin Jackman on why Richards wasn’t a satisfied man at Hampshire

Gleeson took 19 wickets in that series – second among the Australians only to Connolly’s 20 – and his bag included the scalps of Goddard, Bacher, Pollock, Eddie Barlow and Lee Irvine. But not once did he dismiss Richards.By the time Richards was done with first-class cricket, he owned 28,358 runs, 80 centuries and an average of 54.74 from 339 matches. If English bowlers didn’t know what was about to hit them when he arrived to play for Hampshire in 1968, they were fully appraised by the end of that summer. Richards topped the first-class run-scoring charts with 2395 at 47.90. In 10 years with Hampshire, he went past 1000 runs in all but one. He passed that milestone in 15 seasons all told.Richards averaged 109.86 in the 1970-71 Sheffield Shield, in which he played for South Australia and became only the second man after Bradman to register a century against all opponents. Against Western Australia he scored 325 of his 356 – 198 in boundaries – in a single day against an attack that bristled with the varying threats posed by Graham McKenzie, Dennis Lillee, Tony Lock, Tony Mann, John Inverarity and Ian Brayshaw. At the WACA!Impressive though those numbers are, the sum of Richards added up to much more than his parts. “He was technically perfect, but he still had the ability to really hurt you, whereas others who were technically very good but not as good as Barry – say a Boycott – you never felt were going to hurt you that much,” Jackman said. “They’d wear you down, hour after hour. But Barry could really turn it on when he felt like it. Sometimes he did it just because he felt like it.”As a fast bowler for Western Province and then Rhodesia, as well as for Surrey, Jackman crossed swords with Richards on the county circuit as well as in South Africa’s Currie Cup.”I used to regard it as an achievement if I bowled a maiden to him; that was my ultimate,” Jackman said. “Most of the time when I bowled to him, I’d have the new ball and he’d be opening the batting. Of course you’d have the right number of catchers, and there were some gaps in the field. So if you got through a few overs to him with and he hadn’t really scored, and you bowled a maiden to him, you felt like you were doing really well.”Praise for Richards isn’t hard to come by. What sets Jackman’s words apart is that he was the most successful bowler in the game against the South African. In their 25 first-class matches together, Jackman dismissed Richards 16 times. John Shepherd, the Barbados-born former Rhodesian, Gloucestershire and Kent seamer, is second on the list with 13, also in 25 matches. In county cricket exclusively, John Snow, the former Sussex and Warwickshire spearhead, was Richards’ most lethal opponent, taking his wicket 10 times in 20 games.Former Transvaal left-arm fast bowler Don Mackay-Coghill, one of the more successful South Africans against Richards, with eight first-class dismissals, had a habit of welcoming him to the crease by reminding him of the score in their personal duel: “Good morning, Barry. Six times now.”But it’s the legends in which Richards was the good guy in the white hat that are better known. The story of him turning his bat sideways to play out an over with the edge – and that with a bat whose edges were much thinner than those of modern bats – is among the few South African cricket tales to have lived on into this era. He is also known to have imagined the ground as the face of a vast clock and hit six fours in an over, each of them scooting to a different part of the boundary in clockwise order.In 10 years with Hampshire, Richards went past 1000 runs all but once•Adrian Murrell/Getty ImagesJackman: “When he played well, he didn’t necessarily play better on one day than another. You were just very happy when you got him out. He was simply a fabulous batsman. He and Gordon Greenidge made a formidable opening pair, and it wasn’t often you got an early breakthrough against Hampshire.”After he retired, Richards coached South Australia to a Sheffield Shield final before becoming Queensland’s chief executive. They won the Sheffield Shield for the first time in their history on his watch. Richards has served as president of Hampshire and dabbled in international coaching on the Asian subcontinent.All of which may make being Richards seem like the best job in the world. Not so, sometimes. He has known the searing pain of a son committing suicide, as well as the debilitating disintegration of a lengthy marriage. His truncated Test career “really hurts him”, said Jackman, who has spent time with Richards as a commentator. “When you’re that talented you want the world to see it, not a few guys watching at Southampton.” The fact that he fell 20 short of 100 first-class centuries is another bleak point, particularly as he had a reputation in county games for losing focus after sating himself with runs. Too many 70s and 80s that should have been converted were marooned in double figures. Astonishingly for so poised a player, he suffered with flat feet.But the world according to cricket won’t remember Barry Richards for much of that. Instead, he will always be the man who might have been.

Cox and Critchley pile on the runs as Kent are made to suffer on opening day

Andrew Miller12-Apr-2024

Essex 421 for 6 (Elgar 120, Critchley 103*, Cox 67) vs KentNothing changes with any great speed at Chelmsford. Plans are currently afoot for a grand renovation of the pavilion and its surrounding concourse – the only corner of this postage-stamp ground with any wriggle-room for expansion – though rather like this week’s announcement that the ground’s Hayes Close and River Ends have been renamed in honour of its most storied Test performers, Graham Gooch and Sir Alastair Cook, there’s been no pretence of an upgrade in signage in the interim. Indeed, the interactive “Graham Napier Sixes Trail”, with its 16 plaques to commemorate each of Napier’s swings for the bleachers in his famous T20 onslaught against Sussex in 2008, remains Chelmsford’s most visible tribute to any former player, Graham or otherwise.Until, that is, Dean Elgar rocked up with a note-perfect tribute to Cook, whose studiously anonymous retirement last summer had precluded any official attempts to send him off in style. As if to make amends, Elgar filled his boots – in every sense – with no fuss and little flourish. Just 176 balls of nuggetty application across the best part of two sessions, as Essex’s latest left-handed ex-Test opener shifted through his gears with the same unshowy elitism that his English forebear had habitually brought to bear.And, just as had been the case in Essex’s opening-week victory at Trent Bridge, Elgar’s sidekick throughout an innings-defining third-wicket stand of 159 was an up-and-coming England prospect with the same weight and range of stroke as the recently departed Dan Lawrence. Between them, Elgar and Jordan Cox set about convincing an impressive first-day crowd of 2,226 that nothing whatsoever has changed about Essex’s red-ball batting prowess. A scoreline of 421 for 6, capped by an unbeaten century from Matt Critchley, amply backed up that pretence.It wasn’t all plain sailing for Essex after Tom Westley had won a handy toss on the first genuinely shirt-sleeves day of the season. In keeping with the uneven challenge that this month’s two-round experiment with the Kookaburra ball has created, Kent’s seamers caused havoc for precisely 21 balls. In that time, Westley himself was caught behind for 5 off George Garrett, after Feroz Khushi – whose use of an improperly sized bat at Trent Bridge still threatens his side’s top-of-the-table status – chose not to use it at all this week in being bowled by Wes Agar while shouldering arms first-ball.That double-whammy brought Cox out to face his former team-mates at an awkward 10 for 2 – and given his pointed pre-season remarks about Kent’s lack of red-ball ambition, the stage was set for him to be served a large dollop of schadenfreude. Instead, Cox’s opening gambit was a volley of extraordinarily poised drives down the ground – three fours and a three as Garrett strained for swing – and as he marched to 15 from his first six balls, it was as if all threat off the pitch or through the air had been dragged away with him.Jordan Cox made a free-flowing fifty against his former team-mates•Andrew Miller/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Cox’s confidence on the front foot was ample excuse for Elgar to step up his own intent with a series of compact drives of his own, but it was the introduction of Matt Parkinson’s legspin that kicked Essex’s innings into overdrive. Cox greeted his first-ball full-toss with a dismissive slap through the covers – the first of three fours in a 13-run first over – and he was scarcely allowed to settle thereafter in leaking 25 runs in his first three.Having romped to his fifty from 61 balls, a chance came and went for Cox when Agar at fine leg fumbled a top-edged pull off Nathan Gilchrist, but he had added only seven more runs when Garrett pushed a touch fuller to pin him on the knee-roll for 67. It was hardly the harbinger of a Kent fightback, however. Critchley emerged with a platform of 169 for 3 but just as importantly the Kookaburra entering its dead-zone in the 39th over, and Essex duly punched along at a rate of 4.5 an over, with scarcely a need to over-reach themselves.Elgar’s departure came as something of a surprise when, on 120, he popped a tame catch to short midwicket off Parkinson and dropped his bat in frustration at his own missed opportunity, but that merely unleashed the long levers of “Tall” Paul Walter, who bombed the long-off boundary with a four and two increasingly weighty sixes before scuffing a third attempt to give Parkinson his second wicket.Michael Pepper, too, peppered the boundary, including with a full-faced lift for six over the cover rope, only to pick out deep third with an attempted ramp, one short of his fifty. Critchley, however, made no such error in carrying Essex past the second new ball and through to the close, with the promise of plenty more where these first-day offerings had come from.The only truly duff note for Essex had come before play, when Sam Cook – their Kookaburra-proofed seamer whose ten-wicket haul had routed Nottinghamshire in the first round – was ruled out of contention. Not, it should be said, in protest at the wrong Cook getting the honour of an End named after him, but as a precaution after feeling a thigh strain.

Tammy Beaumont sets up comfortable 59-run win with well-worked half-century

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2023

Off-spinner Lucy Higham played the starring role with a career-best five for 19 as The Blaze made a winning debut in regional women’s cricket, launching their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign with a 59-run defeat of Central Sparks at Trent Bridge.Opener Tammy Beaumont top-scored with 60 for the East Midlands team, backed up by England colleague Sarah Glenn (38) and Georgie Boyce (28) and though the rebranded Lightning failed to bat out their 50 overs, Higham chipped in with 24 with the bat to give them a total of 212 to defend.England quick Issy Wong was out of sorts with the ball for Sparks, yet three wickets each for Emily Arlott, Grace Potts and spinner Georgia Davis looked to have secured a target that the West Midlands team could chase.In the event, no one could produce the stand-out performance with the bat that was needed, Katie George top-scoring with 31 at number eight as Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon, who has taken over from Lightning captain Kathryn Bryce in the role, celebrated a winning start.After the early loss of Marie Kelly, who found short midwicket from Arlott’s first delivery to depart without scoring, Beaumont and Boyce added 66 in 11.4 overs to give The Blaze something like the start they were looking for after winning the toss.Their progress was checked by wickets in three consecutive overs by Potts, the 20-year-old right-arm seamer who was leading wicket-taker for Sparks in both 50- and 20-over cricket last season.Boyce, who had scored three of her five boundaries in a loose second over from Wong, was Potts’s first victim, leg before playing across the line, before the Bryce sisters – Kathryn and Sarah – both feathered catches to ex-Lightning wicketkeeper Abbey Freeborn.Beaumont completed a half-century from 70 balls with her ninth boundary as she and Glenn set about rebuilding the innings from 86 for four, Glenn hitting two boundaries in one over off Potts.Spinners Davis and Hannah Baker dragged the balance back towards Sparks by sharing the next four wickets, beginning with Beaumont’s dismissal for 60 after adding 45 with Glenn when off-spinner Davis struck the front pad as the opener attempted to work to leg.Davis picked up a second, holding a steepling top-edge off her own bowling to remove South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk before Hannah Baker, the England Under-19 leg-spinner, turned one sharply to bowl former Sparks team-mate Glenn, who had been dropped on 22.Davis claimed her third wicket, bowling Beth Harmer middle stump, before Arlott returned to remove Gordon and Higham as The Blaze were dismissed in the 47th over.After failing to click with the ball, Wong seemed determined to make amends with the bat and, having been dropped at cover off De Klerk on two, was beginning to look a threat as she lofted Grace Ballinger for six over midwicket.But in attempting to dish out similar treatment to Glenn at the end of the England leg-spinner’s opening over she succeeded only in finding the safe hands of Higham on the boundary.After Chloe Brewer fell leg before to Kathryn Bryce, Higham struck arguably the most important blow, taking what turned into a difficult return catch as Jones – prolific in this competition in previous years – sent the ball soaring skywards off a top edge which drifted in the breeze as it came down. At the halfway point, Sparks were well off the pace at 76 for three, where The Blaze had been 130 for four.The combination of off-spinner Higham with left-armer Gordon denied Sparks the acceleration they needed and the visitors suffered further losses as Freeborn paddled straight to the fielder behind square to give Higham a second success, to which she quickly added a third, inducing Ami Campbell to offer an easy caught-and-bowled.Arlott was victim number four for Higham, via a stumping, which she raised to five by bowling Davis, either side of Gordon dismissing Davina Perrin via a catch at mid-off.George, who hit five fours in her attempt to keep Sparks in contention, fell caught and bowled by De Klerk, who completed the win by bowling Baker with the second ball of the 49th over.

ECB Reporters Network25-May-2024

An unbeaten century from Warwickshire skipper Alex Davies helped his side reach 284 all out and a first-innings lead of 218 against Lancashire on the second day of this Vitality County Championship Division One game at Emirates Old Trafford.Davies’ 127 off a mammoth 296 balls saw the opener carry his bat against his former county and while Warwickshire were reluctant to score quickly on a used pitch, their total could yet prove to be a useful one after two wickets for Olly Hannon-Dalby and one for Jake Lintott left Lancashire 66 for 3 at the close of play.Hopes were high in the Red Roses camp that the visitors might fold quickly after George Balderson got Dan Mousley to edge to Keaton Jennings at first slip for two in the third over of the day to leave Warwickshire 93 for 4.But, as if inspired by their captain’s belligerence, the Bears’ middle order came to the rescue, offering support and defiance to Davies as Warwickshire slowly clawed their way back into the game.Jacob Bethhell hit 40 before he was trapped in front by the returning Jack Morley before Balderson dismissed Michael Burgess the same way for 24. Even Lintott’s nine ate up 43 balls as Davies nudged and nurdled his way towards his tenth first class century.While it was effective, there was little for the crowd to saviour until Lintott’s dismissal, caught behind reverse sweeping Nathan Lyon, brought former Lancashire fast bowler Hassan Ali to the crease.A born entertainer, Ali slog swept Lyon into The Point stand for six while also hitting four boundaries before he was acrobatically caught on the boundary by Tom Bruce off Wells, who had earlier dropped a regulation catch at slip to give Lintott a life.After Ali’s cameo there was little resistance with both Michael Rae and Hannon-Dalby departing for ducks lbw to Luke Wells and Morley.Lancashire began their reply at 5pm, and two balls later, Wells was on his way back to the dressing room after edging Hannon-Dalby to Rob Yates at second slip without scoring.The usually reliable Josh Bohannon followed soon after in identical fashion to depart for 11 and with Jennings struggling to get off the mark, the Red Rose were suddenly in trouble at 12 for 2.It took the Lancashire skipper 32 balls and 45 minutes to finally get a run, but by this time, George Bell was proving a willing partner as he began to construct a lovely little knock of his own as the pair rebuilt and passed the half-century partnership for the third wicket.But it was the visitors who would have the last say of the day when Bell swept the first ball of the last over from Lintott to a diving Hannon-Dalby for 40, leaving Jennings unbeaten on 12 and Lancashire 66 for 3.

Rasmus Hojlund has declared his intention to stay at Manchester United and fight for his place amid reports that the club are trying to sign RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko. The Danish striker has insisted that he is ready to face competition and prove his worth, following a strong showing in pre-season against Bournemouth.

• Hojlund vows to stay and fight for Man Utd spot
• Welcomes competition amid Sesko transfer talk
• Feels stronger, sharper, and ready for new season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Manchester United have ramped up their pursuit of Sesko this summer while on tour in the United States. Hojlund scored his first pre-season goal in United’s 4-1 win over Bournemouth in Chicago, and responded defiantly to news of the club's pursuit of Sesko post-match, expressing his desire to fight for his role regardless of whether a new No.0 arrives at Old Trafford.

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  WHAT HOJLUND SAID

  Speaking to the media after the game, Hojlund said: “Does anyone want to talk to me? The club has told me nothing so far [about his future]. The most important thing for me is just to keep working hard and stay focused, and then obviously we'll see what happens. My plan is very clear, and that is for me to stay and fight for my spot, whatever happens.

  “Competition is fine with me, it sharpens me. I'm more than ready. I'm feeling sharp, so I'm welcoming everything that comes. It's good with competition, and it only sharpens the team. When I came to the club, Anthony Martial was there as well. He had a lot of injuries, so I had to take a lot of the game time.

  “That's just part of it, and you're not going to tell me that I shouldn't be playing because I want to play every game. But I could have done with some help in terms of sharing the games a bit, especially at the beginning. Now I feel like I've matured a lot, and I feel like I'm ready for what's coming.

  “I’m definitely convinced I can deliver goals for this team. I'm still very young. People forget that sometimes. I'm only 22.

  “Not every striker is scoring 100 goals at the age of 22. But I've learned a lot, I think you can see in my game. I'm starting to develop and become even better at the basics. Now it's just about for me to sharpen myself, and I've done very well in the pre-season so far, so I’m just focusing on continuing that.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Hojlund admitted that he didn’t meet expectations last season, but believes the team and his own game are improving. He highlighted the value of experience and said he’s matured over the past year. At 22, the striker remains confident in his growth and ability to contribute goals.

  Hojlund added: “Last season was a bit rough and I've tried to sharpen myself over the course of the holidays. It was a tough season on us all. I should have done better, everybody knows.

  “But it's a team thing, that we're going to be better now. We've shown now in these two games that we're progressing in the right way and looking forward to what's coming. Now I feel very, very good.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR HOJLUND?

  Manchester United will continue their pre-season in the United States with a clash against Everton in Atlanta. Sesko’s potential arrival could further intensify the competition in United’s forward line. Hojlund, though, will remain focused on maintaining his momentum and proving himself this season.

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Veja tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro e simule os próximos jogos

O zagueiro venezuelano foi punido peloSuperior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva (STJD) por conta da sua expulsão no clássico do Tricolor contra o Palmeiras,pela 32ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. Na ocasião, Ferraresi atingiu o rosto de Danilo e foi expulso pelo árbitro nos minutos finais do primeiro tempo.

Denunciado peloartigo 254-A, inciso I do Código Brasileiro de Justiça Desportiva, que prevê a punição por agressão física de forma dolosa, assumindo o risco de dano e lesão, o defensor terá que cumprir um jogo de suspensão. Assim, não poderá estar em campo contra o Goiás, e consequentemente, não jogará mais neste ano.

Outro zagueiro do São Paulo, Lucas Beraldo, cria de Cotia, também arriscava sofrer uma suspensão por um ocorrido no mesmo jogo. No caso, devido à falta em Endrick. No entanto, foi absolvido.

Desta forma, sem Ferraresi, Diego Costa e Miranda, a zaga do Tricolor paulista terá que ser remanejada por Rogério Ceni mais uma vez.

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No próximo domingo (16), um confronto de suma importância para determinar os premiados com o retorno à Série A do Campeonato Brasileiro acontece na cidade de Porto Alegre entre Grêmio e Bahia.

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Em segundo lugar com 57 pontos e dono de campanha consistente quando atua dentro de casa, o Imortal quer utilizar mais uma vez esse recurso para encurtar o caminho da volta para a primeira divisão.

Além do apoio das arquibancadas, o Grêmio também espera contar com o faro de gol do atacante Diego Souza, artilheiro da equipe na temporada e tendo se reencontrado com as redes nas duas últimas rodadas.

Do lado do Esquadrão, depois de superar a sequência de cinco rodadas sem triunfo ao bater o Brusque, no último dia 8 de outubro, a equipe de Salvador chega ao confronto na terceira posição com apenas um ponto a menos do que seu adversário.

Com apenas duas partidas no comando do clube, esse certamente surge como o desafio mais complexo para o técnico Eduardo Barroca que conta com a volta do centroavante Ytalo, recuperado de problema muscular na coxa direita.

FICHA TÉCNICA
​GRÊMIO x BAHIA

Local: Arena do Grêmio, em Porto Alegre (RS)
Data e hora: 16/10/2022 – 16h (de Brasília)
Árbitro: Luiz Flavio de Oliveira (SP)
Assistentes: Marcelo Carvalho Van Gasse e Miguel Cataneo Ribeiro da Costa (ambos SP)
VAR: Adriano Milczvski (PR)
Onde assistir:RBS TV, SporTV e Premiere
​
GRÊMIO (Técnico: Renato Portaluppi)

Brenno; Edílson, Pedro Geromel, Bruno Alves e Diogo Barbosa; Villasanti, Bitello e Lucas Leiva; Thaciano, Diego Souza e Biel.

Desfalques: Kannemann (suspenso)

BAHIA (Técnico: Eduardo Barroca)

Mateus Claus; André, Ignácio, Luiz Otávio e Luiz Henrique; Patrick, Mugni, Daniel e Ricardo Goulart; Caio Vidal e Vitor Jacaré.

Desfalques: Danilo Fernandes e Matheus Bahia (lesionados)

River Plate president Jorge Brito has confirmed the club’s limited power to block Franco Mastantuono’s €45 million move to Real Madrid.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

• Mastantuono has €45m release clause
• Real Madrid eyeing post-Club World Cup move
• Brito confirms player decides his future

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  River Plate’s young sensation Mastantuono, is at the centre of a major transfer story as Madrid move closer to securing his signature. The club's president has acknowledged that if the €45m (£38m/$52m) release clause in his contract is trigguered, the club cannot stop the transfer.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The 17-year-old is one of the most hyped Argentine talents in recent memory, recently earning his debut for the national team. For Los Millonarios, the financial gain could be record-breaking, but losing such a rare talent so early also raises questions about long-term squad building. For Los Blancos, signing him fits their strategy of investing in future stars early, as they’ve done with Vinícius Jr., Rodrygo and Endrick.

• WHAT BRITO SAID

  Brito told : "The clause, within the employment contract, is by which the player has the right to leave for free. The club can't handle it, if the player decides to leave, executes the clause, there's not much we can do." 

  He added: “There is often talk about why they didn't raise his clause, it's not that it didn't occur to me, the representatives ask that they not be abusive, they are made so that at a value that is profitable for the club, the players can leave… We must respect the contract we have, defend the club's interests down to the last cent, and try to retain the player as long as possible."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Madrid are expected to move swiftly after the Club World Cup, where both River Plate and Los Blancos will feature. Mastantuono’s representatives hold the key, once they decide to activate the release clause, the transfer becomes automatic.

تعادل فريق بوروسيا دورتموند الألماني سلبيًا في أولى مبارياته بكأس العالم للأندية 2025، مع فلومينينسي البرازيلي.

والتقى الفريقان على ملعب “ميتلايف” في إطار مباريات الجولة الأولى للمجموعة السادسة، من دور مجموعات كأس العالم للأندية.

وتحصل رامي بن سبعيني لاعب دورتموند على بطاقة صفراء مبكرة للغاية بعد تدخله على جون أرياس، في الدقيقة الثانية.

كما تلقى مارتينيلي لاعب فلومينينسي بطاقة صفراء لعرقلته مارسيل سابيتزر في الدقيقة التاسعة من الشوط الأول.

وسدد أرياس تسديدة قوية من داخل منطقة الجزاء لكن مرت جوار مرمى دورتموند في الدقيقة 18.

وتوقف اللعب بعد تعرض جيراسي لاعب دورتموند لإصابة في الدقيقة 24 لكن تم استئناف اللقاء لاحقًا مع استمرار مشاركته.

اقرأ أيضًا | سيبايوس يرد على منتقدي مونديال الأندية: بطولة لا يحظى بها الجميع

وشهدت الدقائق اللاحقة وقوع لاعبي الفريقين في مصيدة التسلل، خلال محاولات على المرمى للتسجيل.

وشهد اللقاء مشاركة جوب بيلينجهام، شقيق جود بيلينجهام لاعب ريال مدريد، حيث دفع به مدرب دورتموند في الدقيقة 77 من المواجهة.

استمر التعادل السلبي حتى نهاية اللقاء، ليحصل كل فريق على نقطة واحدة.

وسيلتقي دورتموند مع صن داونز الجنوب إفريقي يوم السبت القادم، فيما يواجه فلومينينسي نظيره أولسان.