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While Handscomb’s batting technique has been widely dissected and analysed, Australia captain Tim Paine stressed that Mitchell Marsh’s bowling was a significant factor in the selectors’ decision

Melinda Farrell in Melbourne25-Dec-20183:46

‘Kohli is up for a contest regardless of who’s watching’ – Paine

Australia have left the door open for Peter Handscomb to return to the side for the final Test against India after he was dropped in favour of Mitchell Marsh for the Boxing Day Test.Handscomb made a total of 68 runs across four innings in the first two Tests of the series, but he was in the running for a place in the team before being left out partly because of his strength of batting against spin on what may be a slow MCG pitch. Speaking ahead of the match, Tim Paine , the captain, acknowledged it would be a blow for Handscomb to be dropped midway through the series but suggested there could be a way back for him into the squad for the Sydney Test with some improvements.”Pete knows there’s things we’d like him to work on and improve and he’s going to be around the group this week and going to Sydney, a place where it normally spins,” Paine said. “I think Pete will come back into the fold pretty quickly because he’s renowned as probably our best player of spin. He’s got things to work on like we all do. We all want to get better every day and I know he’ll be doing everything he can to get back in the side.”I’m sure Pete would be upset, but you know I think he’s had conversations with the selectors that there’s a few things that they would like him to work on and Pete’s open to that. We know that Pete, at his best, is going to score a lot of Test runs and, not just his batting, he brings a hell of a lot to our side in terms of his fielding, his experience and just the way he generally goes about his cricket.”So we love having him around the group and we’re sure he’ll score a lot more runs for Australia.”Last summer, Handscomb was replaced by Marsh after two Tests, playing in the Brisbane and Adelaide matches against England before missing the final three Tests. Amid the fallout of the Newlands scandal, he joined the XI for the final Test in Johannesburg but after he failed to make runs for Australia A in India, he was left out of the squad for the two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE in October.While Handscomb’s batting technique has been widely dissected and analysed, Paine stressed that Marsh’s bowling was a significant factor in the selectors’ decision.”We did it last year in the Ashes as well and again the majority of this decision has been made around the fact that it’s a long series,” said Paine. “We’ve played a lot of hot days and our bowlers have big workloads so we think Mitch can come in and do a really good job with the bat and, obviously, he’ll be great support for our bowlers.”

Manchester United’s season slumped to a new low in midweek as they lost 4-3 to FC Copenhagen in the Champions League, despite leading both 2-0 and 3-2 during the tie.

Erik ten Hag is now a man under serious pressure, as the result at Old Trafford means United have won just one of their opening four matches in Europe’s premier competition.

With games against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray to come in the coming weeks, their hopes of securing qualification to the knockout phase are on a knife edge.

Not only that, but the Red Devils are also out of the EFL Cup, while they currently occupy eighth spot in the Premier League table – losing five of their first 11 matches – and this run of form has been United’s worst start to a season since the 1962/63 campaign.

The club could count on Denis Law and Bobby Charlton back then, yet who in this current United side is going to make the step-up to salvage something from this woeful term so far?

Ten Hag has been besieged by injury problems while the likes of Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes have struggled to replicate the form they displayed during his first season in charge, one in which the club won the EFL Cup and finished third place in the league.

With his job looking increasingly on the line with every poor result, is could be time for Ten Hag to drop some of his underperformers and unleash some young talent in the squad, with Malachi Sharpe currently impressing in the academy.

Malachi Sharpe’s youth statistics

The 17-year-old joined the Red Devils from Derby County in 2021 and his promise was clearly noticed by the United hierarchy as he signed his first-ever professional contract in 2022, thus committing his future to the club.

The right-winger was just 15 at the time and moved straight into the U16s squad, but he even went on to play for the U18s, showcasing his incredible potential.

The youngster made three appearances for the U18 side during his first season in Manchester and while last season offered him no opportunities at that level, the current campaign has been much more profitable.

Across just five games in the U18 Premier League and the UEFA Youth League, Sharpe has scored three goals and he looks like a dangerous threat on the right-hand side of the attack.

Although born in Nottingham, Sharpe has gained five caps for the Scotland U17 side, managing to score on his debut against Northern Ireland back in October 2021 and his next step will be to make the jump up to U19 level.

Previously hailed as an “exciting talent” by one source, there is no doubt his future looks promising, and Ten Hag could unearth United’s next Alejandro Garnacho by giving him some experience around the first team squad in the near future.

Malachi Sharpe could be Man Utd’s next Alejandro Garnacho

The Argentinian winger arrived in Manchester from Atlético Madrid back in 2020 as a highly thought of 16-year-old and across the last three years, he has emerged as a regular in the senior setup.

He made his debut during the 2021/22 campaign and really began to make people sit up and take notice last term, as the youngster featured 34 times for the first team under Ten Hag, and it looked as though they had a new star in the making.

Garnacho netted five times during his breakthrough campaign, and he shares a similar goalscoring eye with Sharpe, who is always looking to create opportunities for himself.

Another 15 appearances have followed this season and while he has only scored once, the winger is still a teenager and has plenty to learn during his journey.

Sharpe could certainly take confidence from the fact that Garnacho has made such a positive impression in the first team over the previous 18 months, and he could be the next one on the conveyor belt to make the step-up under Ten Hag.

Considering how poor United have been on the wing this term, a senior chance might not be a million miles away, especially as he does have more goals than Antony during 2023/24.

Malachi Sharpe has scored more goals than Antony this season for Man Utd

As previously mentioned, the Scottish youth international has scored three goals in just five matches so far, while Antony has failed to get on the scoresheet at all for the senior side.

The Brazilian cost United a staggering £81.3m from Ajax during the summer of 2022 and given he had registered 22 goal contributions for the Dutch side – 12 goals and ten assists – combined with his age, it looked as though the club had signed a wonderful talent who was yet to hit his peak.

He did score eight times last season, but his form has nosedived during the current campaign, as the 23-year-old has failed to score or even grab an assist across 11 matches in all competitions, a woeful return given just how big a financial outlay was spent on him.

The right-wing position is becoming a bit of a problem for Ten Hag recently. Marcus Rashford was even deployed there in midweek but ended up being sent off and with Antony failing to live up to the hype, it could give some youngsters a chance to show the Dutchman what they are made of.

Sharpe is not only outscoring Antony, but also Jadon Sancho, Rashford and Garnacho this season, demonstrating how impressive he has been in front of goal for the U18 side in recent months.

Of course, he isn’t an immediate fix to a much wider problem and throwing him in the deep end could harm his development. Having the teen sensation around the matchday squad, however, could prove to be an invaluable experience and make the transition from the academy to the senior side that much easier.

Sharpe has plenty of qualities which could see him emerge as the new Garnacho at United in the coming years and, at his current rate, he could soon be outscoring every single player at the Red Devils.

Might the supporters see him make his first-team debut before the end of the season? Only time will tell, but it will be worth the wait for when it does happen.

The fast bowler joined R Ashwin and Virat Kohli in complaining that it goes too soft too early

Alagappan Muthu in Hyderabad12-Oct-20181:08

Umesh echoes Kohli’s SG ball reservations

There are more rumblings against the SG ball with Umesh Yadav joining R Ashwin and the captain Virat Kohli in complaining that it goes soft too early and gives them little chance of taking wickets.After West Indies moved from from 113 for 5 to 295 for 7 at stumps, Umesh was asked about how India have been giving a lot of runs to the lower-order in Tests this year and he said: “If you are saying that lower order has scored runs, then you must realise that in India with SG Test balls on these kind of flat tracks you neither get pace nor bounce.”What happens with SG balls is that they become soft after 20 overs so the batsmen coming later don’t face much difficulty. So tailenders know that it will neither swing nor reverse. You just have to wait for something to happen and keep trying. But you can’t really do it on such a big ground, the ones and twos keep coming.”All you can do is to bowl one spot but then you will realise that nothing is happening even off the pitch nor is it swinging. So when middle and lower order comes in they know that ball has become soft and it doesn’t come at a pace and batting becomes easier.”Given these concerns, it was strange to see India choosing to take the second new ball only seven overs after it had become available. Nevertheless, they appear quite upset; enough that they’re blaming the SG ball for their being unable to break through the opposition as quickly as they’d like.And it wasn’t like India had a bad day in the field either. Even though they had to make do with only four bowlers – Shardul Thakur picked up a groin injury while bowling his second over – they managed to pick up seven wickets in 95 overs. Umesh himself had Shai Hope lbw in the 32nd over, dismissed Shane Dowrich in the same way in the 60th over and then had Jason Holder caught down the leg side with the second new ball.Kohli had claimed that a poor quality ball will lead to a lot of “dead sessions” in Test matches, but in India, only five of the last 25 games have ended up not yielding a result – and two of them – South Africa 2015 and Sri Lanka 2017 – were heavily rain-affected. In any case, SG has said that it is open to sitting down with the BCCI and if needed raise the seam of their balls by 1 or 1.5 mm to address this issue.

The 25-year old fast bowler had been reported for a suspect action in December 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2018

West Indies fast bowler Ronsford Beaton can resume bowling in international cricket after the ICC approved his remodelled action.Beaton was suspended from bowling earlier this year after he failed an independent assessment of his bowling action, which had been reported as suspect during an ODI against New Zealand in December 2017.On August 13, his remodelled action was re-assessed at Loughborough University in England, where the amount of elbow extension for all his deliveries was within the 15-degree limit allowed by the ICC. Beaton missed playing the CPL this year to work on his action and was replaced by Ali Khan at Trinbago Knight Riders.Match officials are still at liberty to report Beaton if they find he is not using his legal action, footage of which will be handed to them in due course.

The 49-year old’s tenure will end following the tours to India in October and Bangladesh in November, after which he will move to England to take charge at Middlesex

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2018Stuart Law has resigned as West Indies’ head coach after less than two years in the job. The 49-year-old’s tenure will end following the tours to India in October and Bangladesh in November, after which he will move to England to take charge at Middlesex.Law was credited with improving West Indies’ standing in Tests during his time in charge, as well as securing qualification for the 2019 World Cup. He was also involved with moves to bring back a number of star players, such as Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, after disagreements with the board.”I have had to make the difficult decision to leave my role of head coach with CWI,” Law said in a press release. “It has been very enjoyable, and I believe we have made tremendous strides forward as a team during the past two years.”I will be taking a role with Middlesex which will keep me close to my family, whilst continuing within the cricket family. I wish the players and staff of CWI every success in the future.”Law took over from Phil Simmons, who was sacked in September 2016 on disciplinary grounds. He won six out of 15 Tests, including a famous chase of 322 at Headingley last year, and secured series wins over Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, as well as a draw with Sri Lanka.The team’s record was even more impressive in T20Is – eight wins in 19 matches including victory over a World XI team at Lord’s in May. It was a different story in ODIs, though. He took over with West Indies having failed to qualify for the 2017 Champions Trophy and they had to make sure of a World Cup spot the hard way via the ICC Qualifier in Zimbabwe earlier this year.CWI chief executive Johnny Grave said: “I am disappointed that Stuart is leaving as I believe that we have made real progress under his leadership. I know it was a difficult decision for him and that ultimately the opportunity to work in England, where his family is now based, was a major factor in his decision. We will start the process to appoint a new head coach immediately.”Law has signed a four-year contract with Middlesex and will be their head coach for all three formats. He replaces Richard Scott, who left the club midway through the season with Middlesex struggling to mount a promotion challenge from Division Two of the County Championship. Law’s arrival also means the end of Daniel Vettori’s two-season spell as specialist T20 coach.A former Australia international who had a long county career with Lancashire, Essex and Derbyshire, Law said it was a “great privilege” to take on “one of the plum jobs in world cricket”. He has previously coached Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as with Queensland and Brisbane Heat, and Cricket Australia’s high performance programme back in his home country.Middlesex were crowned county champions in 2016 but suffered relegation a year later. They have consistently underperformed in the limited-overs formats since winning the T20 Cup in 2008.”We have always tried to recruit the right kind of person at Middlesex and we believe Stuart is the right man to build on the foundations laid over the past decade,” Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said. “He will provide a fresh voice and a fresh vision to inspire our players, and drive them towards our twin goals of promotion back to Division One of the county championship and limited-overs success.”I would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard Johnson for leading the 1st XI in the county championship since July. Richard has done an excellent job since taking over from Richard Scott and has helped Middlesex finish the season on a positive note.”I would also like to thank Daniel Vettori for his time and commitment to Middlesex as T20 coach. During the two spells Daniel had with us, he made a really positive impression on everyone at the club and we are grateful that he has been so understanding that the arrival of a new coach means that his specialist role will not be required next year.”

Leach felt soreness during the Royal London Cup match against Warwickshire last week and subsequent scans revealed the injury

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2018

Worcestershire captain Joe Leach has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back.Leach felt soreness during the Royal London Cup match against Warwickshire last week and subsequent scans revealed the injury.”Joe felt some soreness during the Warwickshire game and an MRI scan on Friday showed inflammation around the l5 region of the lumbar spine,” Worcestershire head of sports science and medicine, Ben Davies, said”He then had a CT scan on Tuesday which unfortunately showed a stress fracture in that region and he will miss the rest of the season. It will now be a case of resting and then rehab for Joe with the aim of making a complete recovery.”Leach has taken almost 200 Championship wickets between 2015 and 2017 and this season had claimed 23 wickets at 22.08 but Worcestershire will now have to cope without their attack leader. They face a relegation battle in the Championship and the T20 Blast starts next month alongside their quest to reach a Lord’s final in Royal London.Head coach Kevin Sharp said: “It is a big blow and Joe is gutted and quite upset at the minute. He has played such a major part for the club over the last few years.”It is life. Bowling is a very physical job. Joe has had very few injuries but very rarely do bowlers go through their career without some sort of injury.”We now have to regroup a bit. We have lost our captain for the rest of the season and we will have a think about things and sort that out over the next week.”The lads will also be gutted but there is a great spirit in this squad and they will want to do it for Joe on Sunday.”It means there will be an opening for others that might not have had an opportunity. We want the lads to stand up and be counted – and I’m sure they will.”

Matt Henry is only on the fringes of New Zealand’s Test side but 37 wickets at 9.59 apiece means he continues to take Division Two of the Championship by storm

ECB Reporters Network13-May-20182:11

County round-up: Red-hot Henry too much for Sussex

ScorecardNew Zealand’s Matt Henry was awarded ‘Man of Kent’ status by appreciative home fans after starring with bat and ball during his side’s 58-run Specsavers County Championship win over Sussex in Canterbury.The 26-year-old from Christchurch top-scored with a belligerent 55 in Kent’s second innings and then picked up the ball to claim six for 53 and 10 in the match to help dismiss neighbours Sussex for 211 and clinch a third successive Division Two victory with a day to spare.The Kiwi, who spent much of the winter on the periphery of the Black Caps Test squad, had Phil Salt caught on the drive at mid-off and then went around the wicket to pluck out the off stump of left-hander Luke Wells with a full-length off-cutter – for the 200th first-class dismissal of his career.Stiaan van Zyl mounted a partial recovery before he feathered an Ivan Thomas lifter through to the keeper then Harry Finch steered one from Calum Haggett to second slip.After tea, Luke Wright’s firm drive was caught ankle high in his follow through by Thomas then Henry switched to the Pavilion End to bowl Michael Burgess through the gate as he pushed off the back foot without moving his feet.Despite the absence of Grant Stewart from their attack with a hamstring strain, Kent marched on as Harry Podmore trapped Ollie Robinson leg before, then, just two short of a patient half-century, Ben Brown went in the same manner to Henry’s full-length away swinger.Henry bagged his third five-wicket return in Kent colours by skittling Danny Briggs and polished the game off by uprooting the off stump of Ishant Sharma and move Kent up to second in the table.For good measure. Henry extended his leadership at the top of the national bowling averages after taking his tally to 37 victims in four starts at the miserly average of 9.59 apiece.Earlier, the hosts, resuming on their overnight score of 125 for 4 and with an overall lead of 159, were bailed out of the mire by a counter-attacking 50 from Black Caps strike bowler Henry.The hosts added only eight to their tally when Ishant Sharma struck to remove Zak Crawley, caught at short mid-wicket off a looping bat-pad chance.Seven runs on, Ishant struck again, when Adam Rouse’s full-blooded drive flew toward gulley where Salt flung himself to his right to pull off an athletic, one-handed catch.Matt Henry is having a spectacular season for Kent•Getty Images

Having been dropped off a regulation chance to the keeper two deliveries earlier, Haggett glanced a leg-side delivery from Robinson to Brown, the relieved keeper.Ishant gave way after a five-over spell of two for 15, to be replaced at the Nackington Road End by David Wiese, but Kent took their lead beyond 200 when Henry smashed a brace of boundaries off the South African’s second over.Henry plundered sixes off Wiese and Van Zyl to raise a 50 stand with Podmore on the way to his fourth-first-class career 50, scored off 47 balls and with five fours and three sixes.He and Podmore added 74 in 16.4 overs for the eighth wicket before Henry’s edged a leg-side heave against Robinson to slip. Stewart, batting with a runner, had off stump plucked out by Robinson and last man Thomas suffered a similar fate as Kent finally succumbed for 235 just after the designated 1.10pm lunch interval.Ishant and Robinson claimed four wickets apiece, while Wiese picked up two but Kent had been allowed to wriggle off the hook.

تقدم محمد مجدي أفشة لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالأهلي، بالنعي لـ علاء العطار مشجع نادي الزمالك ومشجعتي القلعة الحمراء نورهان ناصر ونرجس صلاح.

ولقي مشجعتا النادي الأهلي نورهان ناصر ونرجس صلاح، حتفهما منذ أيام، إثر ‏حادث أليم بعد مباراة الأهلي والاتحاد السكندري.

وكتب أفشة عبر صفحته الرسمية على مواقع التواصل الإجتماعي “فيس بوك”: “في حاجات بتحصل بتتمني من كل قلبك أنك متعيشهاش، أيام نفسك تعديها وتنسي حزن كبير، الله يرحم علاء العطار ويصبر أهله، الله يرحم نورهان ونرجس ويرزقهم جنات النعيم، يارب أحسن ختامنا واحفظ شبابنا وبناتنا وبلادنا”.

طالع أيضاً.. كولر يحدد حارس الأهلي أمام الزمالك ويؤكد: اللاعبون لم يأخذوا تحذيري بشكل جاد

جدير بالذكر أن النادي قد اتخذ العديد من القرارات في ضوء توجيهات الكابتن محمود الخطيب رئيس النادي المتواجد حاليًا في رحلة علاجية، التي من شأنها تقديم كافة أشكال الدعم والمساندة ‏لأسرتي مشجعتي النادي.

كما قام وفد من النادي، برئاسة المهندس خالد مرتجي أمين الصندوق، يضم عددًا من أعضاء المجلس وممثلين عن قطاع الكرة والإدارة التنفيذية بتقديم واجب العزاء لأسرتي الفقيدتين.

اقترح فيتور بيريرا رئيس لجنة الحكام، إضافة أجهزة تقنية حديثة لتطوير أداء الحكام خلال الفترة المقبلة في المباريات المحلية بالبطولات المختلفة منها الدوري المصري.

ومن المقرر أن تستأنف منافسات الدوري المصري غداً الخميس بعد فترة التوقف الدولي الأخيرة بسبب مشاركة منتخب مصر في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026.

طالع | مصدر يكشف عبر بطولات سبب تجاهل جمال علام محادثة رئيس إنبي

وعلم بطولات، أن بيريرا يرغب في إضافة أجهزة متعلقة بقياس ضربات قلب الحكام، واللياقة البدنية لكل حكم.

كما ترتبط الأجهزة بقياس “نسبة توتر” الحكام في اللحظات الحاسمة للمباريات، للوقوف على الثبات الانفعالي لكل حكم.

وقال بيريرا لـ مسؤولي اتحاد الكرة، إن هذا يطبق في كل لجان الحكام العالمية من أجل تطوير أداء الحكام.

South Africa’s most successful Test captain Graeme Smith has raised doubts over Virat Kohli’s ability to get the best out of his players, and wondered aloud if Kohli is a long-term captaincy option for India. Smith also said Kohli needs a person in the support staff who can challenge his ideas and help him grow as a leader. Smith and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar were speaking to former Zimbabwe bowler Pommie Mbangwa at a breakfast event organised by South African television network SuperSport.A recent column by Ramachandra Guha, historian and former member of the BCCI’s Committee of Administrators, has brought into open the power Kohli enjoys. Almost every BCCI functionary, Guha wrote, defers to Kohli, and the big fear is that Ravi Shastri is the India coach only because Kohli wanted an agreeable man to run the team alongside him. “When I look at Virat, I think he needs someone in the support staff who can constructively challenge him and help him grow,” Smith said. “He has all the capabilities tactically, he knows his own game, he sets the standard in the field for everyone else.”I think if he had a really constructive person in his environment, who could talk to him, make him think, maybe even challenge him with some different ideas, in a constructive way, not an angry or aggressive way, but make him think, open his eyes to other possibilities, that would make him a really good leader.”Gavaskar said Kohli was a good leader but he needed to bring himself down to the level of other players in the side and then take them up the level he wants them to be. Smith was more categorical in pointing out the disconnect between Kohli and the rest of the team.”We all know he’s an outstanding player, his intensity really benefits his own personal game, he loves that confrontation, that intensity brings the best out of him,” Smith said. “Sometimes as a leader you’ve got to consider how you impact the others in the environment, that’s an area of his leadership that he needs to grow. You can see, he’s often at his players. He’s very aware, he’s focus on the game is on, sweeping or mid-on.”[But] often his reaction to situations… I think that can sometimes impact on your team negatively. We all know how powerful Virat Kohli is in world cricket, in Indian cricket. For him, he’s built this aura and for him maybe to find a level where he can connect with all his players, to get to a level where can get the Indian team to be as successful as he is, that’s something that he, when I watch him, is grappling with.”Kohli’s reactions to events in the Centurion Test could be seen as displeasure with his team-mates. Every time a wicket fell, even as he stood tall on an Indian kind of pitch, Kohli would react in frustration, smashing the bat into his pad, looking the other way or generally not looking impressed.”I don’t know, when I look at him, if he is a long-term captaincy option for India,” Smith said. “At the end of this year, he’d have been away from home for a while, the pressure he’ll face, the scrutiny from the press – I know he only gets that in India – but if you’re away from home and you’re struggling for form as a team, I don’t know if I’d want to burden Virat Kohli with that… Or if India have a better leader in that environment.”Gavaskar joked that they had a leader – vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane – but he wasn’t selected for the first two Tests, both of which India lost. “You might have some players who don’t have the same understanding of the game, or the same fierce desire, but sometimes you have to bring yourself down to a completely different level,” Gavaskar said. “Down, not up. Because that is the only way you are going to get the others who are down up to a level that you want to be. By making them understand that this is not the level where you’ll be doing well yourself, but rather where you are going to do well for the team to win.”Captains evolve in their thought process not only when they are captaining. On off days too, they are always thinking in terms of how can they take the team forward. And sometimes in that process, with that thinking – ‘how do I take the team forward?’ – you lose sight of simple simple things because as an individual you don’t think it is not necessary for you – but it is necessary for some of the lesser guys… As soon as Virat realises that and starts to recognise that, he will become a better leader.”Smith agreed that Kohli needed to take the whole team along with him. “You can be the best player in the world, and you love that intensity and you often don’t think what your team-mates are going through,” Smith said. “Sometimes you talk to AB de Villiers, he gets down and reverse sweeps, he makes it look so easy, and sometimes you need to remind AB that other guys don’t see it that way.”As a leader you need to understand the whole environment, talk to the players to try to get the best out of the environment. He might grow as he learns to soften that a little bit. His performances speak for themselves, it’s about whether he can get the best out of those around him when they are under pressure.”Kohli has captained India in 34 Tests and has fielded a different XI every time. In the process, apart from first-choice keeper Wriddhiman Saha and newcomers Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, everybody has been dropped by Kohli at least once. That could be the kind of reactions Smith might have been talking about.