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Blessed with an ability to swing the bat liberally and be equally care-free in the field, Ben Stokes is a bright spark for Durham who is catching the eye of England’s hierarchy

Vithushan Ehantharajah06-Aug-2013″No one needed to sit me down and tell me – you quickly realise how foolish you were,” Ben Stokes said ruefully in the Lord’s pavilion.In February, during a challenging tour of Australia as a member of the England Lions squad, Stokes, along with Kent’s Matt Coles, found himself returning home early. “Alcohol related incidents”, or some variant of was echoed throughout the press, as ECB performance director David Parsons, in charge of the tour, spoke of previous warnings going unheeded.Stokes couldn’t have timed this final misdemeanour worse. England team director Andy Flower had just stopped over in Australia, on his way to New Zealand for the Test series, as the two roommates embarked on the night out that broke the camel’s back. It is thought that Flower rubberstamped their early return home.Understandably, Stokes, the Durham allrounder, is sheepish went reflecting six months on. He has previous after he was arrested in 2011 for obstructing a police officer.”I knew what I had to do when I got back to England to make sure I got my career back on track,” Stokes said. “I know I had a lot of work to do to get the England selectors back on my side.”Selection in the Twenty20 series with New Zealand, with the majority of England’s Champions Trophy squad rested, represents a pardon of sorts. But less than a month later, it seemed he had convinced Flower of his reform and reiterated his worth.Ahead of the 2nd Investec Ashes Test, Stokes was on the Nursery Ground training with the senior side. Net work with Graham Gooch, a bowl at the top order to keep the overs ticking over and some extensive drills with Richard Halsall was tough, but the chance to reconnect with the national setup once again was welcome.”It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the one day team,” Stokes said. “It’s pretty nerve-racking if I’m honest. To be around the Test squad and to share a changing room, sitting next to some great England players gives you butterflies. But it’s nice to know that you know them and they know who I am. That settles things a bit. It’s just nice to be involved again.”This heightened sense of responsibility has extended into Stokes’ game, specifically his batting, which has helped Durham reach the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 as one of the two best third-placed sides.Occupying No. 5, he has a hat-trick of scores that secured three out of Durham’s final four wins to take them out of the North group. His most notable, a 72 off 48 balls against Nottinghamshire, came with his side struggling on 30 for 3 after six overs – 130 shy of their target. In the end, Durham won off the final ball.

“I was born with that desire to throw myself about. I do try and practice the most unlikely catches.”

Up against an impressive Northants outfit on Tuesday, who boast this year’s revelation and leading wicket-taker, Pakistani fast-bowler Azharullah, his form will be tested.”The way games have panned out, I think it’s given me the chance to fulfil my role as ‘finisher’,” Stokes said. “It’s one thing to take that responsibility on but you need to back it up. The game at Trent Bridge was that moment for me as it then gave me the confidence to do it. Then, with games against Derbyshire and Leicestershire coming within six days, I was able to carry that over and do the job in those matches, too.” Stokes made 46 and 41 not out as Durham finished with a flourish.Apart from his hitting, which has allowed him to clear the fence 18 times – the most by any player in this year’s competition – Stokes’ fielding borders on freakish. In the final group match against Derbyshire, he sent Dan Redfern back to the pavilion with a stunning catch at long-off, while also displaying his athleticism off his own bowling to run out Alex Hughes.But his kamikaze approach to fielding has also caused him problems, most notably against Surrey in a Yorkshire Bank 40 clash at The Oval where he was stretchered off after taking a superb diving catch to get rid of Jason Roy that had his body seemingly bent in three. Luckily, he was back the very next day for the County Championship match between the two sides, albeit playing a limited role in the field and not bowling. Typically, he saw Durham home to a five wicket win with an unbeaten 35.”I’m not too sure why I field the way I do,” he said with a grin. “I think I was born with that desire to throw myself about. I do try and practice the most unlikely catches – that way you’re ready when one comes along that needs you to do something a bit special.”Twenty20 matches are much closer than they used to be and batsmen are getting better at both setting a target and chasing one down. Any way you can shave a few runs off their total or hold them back in a chase is invaluable. You’ve got to put your body on the line.”Still without a T20 title to their name, Durham have the right blend of experience and youth to at least see them through to their second Finals Day. No one better reflects the strength and exuberance of that youth like Ben Stokes – a future star in waiting.

New Zealand’s batsmen had shown promise against South Africa’s strong bowling attack but none displayed the temperament to play a long innings, until Williamson’s battling hundred

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2012Kane Williamson did what no other New Zealand batsman managed in this series. He crossed the three-figure mark and showed the temperament required to play South Africa’s hostile attack, something the New Zealand line-up had lacked through the three Tests.His hundred was far from flawless: he was dropped twice and survived a close call when the third umpire decided a catch by Alviro Petersen, at point, was not taken cleanly. The century was a fighting one. Williamson drove well, cut well, pulled well, but, more importantly, stayed at the crease well. He wore a few, got hit where it hurts and saw some of the senior batsmen come and go, but he stuck it out.”I’m not quite sure Kane has realised what he has done just yet,” Brendon McCullum said, “but in terms of New Zealand cricket history it will go down as one of the gutsier innings and one of the more fighting efforts on the last day against this sort of attack.”It was the kind of fighting effort New Zealand could have done with earlier in the series, which they have lost 0-1. Their totals may give the impression of a fragile, inexperienced line-up, but all of New Zealand’s batsmen showed, at one point or another in the series, that they do have the ability to make it at Test level. They showed the ability to face some of the best bowlers in the world, but it was their mental game that let them down. They got in, they staved off South Africa’s attack for a while and then gave it away.Apart from McCullum and Ross Taylor, none of New Zealand’s top-order batsmen had played more than 20 Tests coming into the series, yet everyone from Rob Nicol to Kruger van Wyk showed promise. In each case, though, that promise was stubbed out because, at some stage, the batsman lost concentration. When they got into positions of strength, they did not know how to stay there but Williamson gave them a small glimpse of how to play a long innings.”I turn [a big ask] into small tasks, and take it one over at a time,” Williamson said. “There’s two of you so you can kind of halve the job, and all of a sudden one session, which might be 36 overs, becomes a lot simpler in terms of the thinking around it. We were just counting down the overs and splitting them in half.”Williamson remained at the crease for 75.5 overs, 44.4 of them with Nos. 7 and 8, van Wyk and Doug Bracewell. He said he never felt safe at the crease as South Africa attacked in waves, the biggest of which came early in his innings, after South Africa were disappointed that the umpires allowed Williamson to continue when they thought he had been caught at point. “It comes and goes a little bit,” Williamson said of South Africa’s aggression. “As you start getting underway and gathering a little bit of momentum, the opposition side tend not to say as much, and then if there’s a debatable catch they come at you a little bit harder. They came quite hard after the catching incident, which is to be expected. It’s about trying to weather that and fight through it.”Williamson used various tactics to deal with the pressure South Africa exerted: he blocked out a lot of what was said to him, and sometimes saw the lighter side of things, particularly when Dale Steyn was fuming after the debatable catch. “We decided to enjoy it, take it one ball at a time and experience it,” Williamson said.That sort of attitude will have to be applied more regularly if New Zealand hope to have sustained competitive spells against teams ranked higher than them. McCullum said New Zealand had identified the areas they needed to work on in what will be a busy Test year. “You have to bat for long and you have to make some really good decisions along the way,” he said. “We haven’t been able to do it through this series but we now know what we have to do to get better as a batting group.”Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Cricket’s newest format, has come along in leaps and bounds, and the viewership figures prove as much

Judhajit Basu17-Sep-2008

Twenty20, cricket’s newest format, recently attracted the highest amount paid for commercial rights to a global cricketing event on a per-game basis, when ESPN Star Sports (ESS) shelled out US$900 million for the Champions League in a 10-year deal. It has been criticised by some as excessive and an overvaluation, but figures on Indian viewership patterns obtained by Cricinfo suggest that Twenty20 is gaining in popularity at the expense of the two older formats, Tests and one-day internationals.A recent study conducted in India by the Television Audience Management (TAM), a joint venture company between ACNielsen & Kantar Media Research/ IMRB, points to the exploding interest in Twenty20 cricket — the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) attracted 101 million viewers, with 36 million tuning in for the final between the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai on June 1. The figures, according to the study, were calculated on a cumulative reach basis – the number of people who have viewed the content for at least one minute.The TAM Peoplemeter data collated across cable and satellite (C&S) homes in the 4+ years category across India has also sounded the warning bells for Test cricket and one-day cricket.The study throws up many interesting trends. While the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa on ESPN and Star Cricket (ESC) in September 2007 saw 85 million tune in for the entire duration of the tournament, the final between India and Pakistan alone attracted a viewership of 48 million.The Twenty20 games played out from March-April, 2008 in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) on Ten Sports and Zee Sports also managed a healthy 55 million with the final match between the Lahore Badshahs and Hyderabad Heroes drawing 6 million viewers. And this given the ICL is the pariah of international cricket.The largest slice of the pie, however, belongs to the IPL, beamed on SET Max from April-January 2008, which piled up an impressive 101 million viewers – a jump of 18.82% from the Twenty20 World Cup – with 36 million tuning in for the finalIn contrast, India’s three-Test series at home against South Africa during March-April 2008, telecast on Neo Sports, Neo Cricket and Neo Cricket Plus, attracted 48 million eyeballs, the same number as for the final of the Twenty20 World Cup alone.The picture gets marginally brighter when we take a look at the figures from the recently concluded series between Sri Lanka and India. The three-Test series aired on Ten Sports in July and August managed a viewership of 50 million viewers – an increase of just 4.16% from the South Africa series.In the one-day format, the Kitply Cup telecast on Neo Cricket and Doordarshan 1 (DD1) was followed by the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka beamed on DD1 and ESC in June-July 2008. Both managed 63 million and 77 million viewers respectively, but still failed to reach the highs set by the World Twenty20 or the IPL.

The five ODIs between Sri Lanka and India which followed from August 18-29 notched up 62 million in viewership – a small dip of 1.58% from the Kitply Cup but, more significantly, a bigger drop of 19.48% from the Asia Cup.Blame it on India being crowned Twenty20 champions or ESS’ whopping bid for the Champions League rights, but the indications are that the momentum is firmly with the newest avatar of international cricket as far as getting large numbers glued to their television sets is concerned.Comparative figures have clearly shown Twenty20 is No. 1 in the pecking order, followed by one-day cricket and then Tests in viewership numbers. One-dayers and Tests, however, switch places when the rankings deal will the net percentage rise or fall.Rohit Gupta, SET India president for network sales, licensing and telephony, says Twenty20 is a powerful format. “The audience involvement is three-and-a-half hours compared to eight hours for a one-dayer,” Gupta told Cricinfo. “Though an over-exposed format, Twenty20 offers huge excitement, which means the youth and females get involved in large numbers. Understandably, viewership for Test cricket and ODIs has dipped when we talk in relative terms. Hopefully, the concerned authorities will take note of this trend and work on the one-day format in the near future.”While ESS said “it was too premature to comment”, industry insiders believe the superhuman success of Twenty20 has resulted in the others taking a beating. “It’s a temporary state of affairs and that if the hypothesis persisted for two years, it would certainly a matter of concern. However, I believe one good Test series, especially with the upcoming tour by Australia, will change the picture completely,” said a source.A top official of Ten Sports says the decline in viewership for Test cricket and one-dayers stems from the overexposure to cricket. “There is definitely a lot of fatigue involved for the audiences when it comes to the longer versions of the game. Admittedly, it does reflect in the ratings, something the channels didn’t see earlier, but considering the illustrious past of the game, it would be too soon to say the future is Twenty20.”

It proved to be the case, but Ben Stokes says at no point did his side believe their lofty fourth-innings target in the second Test against India was too many.Still needing 332 of the 399 set by the hosts, captain Stokes and his team began the fourth day in Visakhapatnam with the trademark self-belief that is a lynchpin of their Bazball ethos.”Coming into this last innings we had full belief in ourselves that we could go and chase that down,” Stokes said at the post-match presentation. “The way in which we go about taking on challenges like that is what we’re about and the number of runs that we needed to get was just sort of another thing for us to try and try and chase down.Related

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“In moments like that, in games when you’ve got scoreboard pressure, a lot of runs to chase down, that’s where your process and the way in which we know that we get the best out of ourselves as individuals, that really comes out. And I thought the way in which we applied ourselves and really tried to put India’s bowling attack under a lot of pressure was great. Unfortunately, we didn’t end up on the right side of the result. Congrats to India, I thought they played a fantastic game and, again, another great game to be a part of.”There’s no suggestion whatsoever about how to go out and play, it’s go out and play how you best feel at a given time. We knew the task ahead… and everyone in that dressing room there is a quality player and they are good enough to be able to go out there, assess the conditions or the situation and also assess how they’re feeling and how they best feel to go about getting those runs.”Stokes was further heartened by the fact that England had sliced 67 runs off their task for the loss of just one wicket – Ben Duckett on the third evening – and with Zak Crawley looking in good touch.”The big thing for us was asserting our authority very early and letting the Indian bowling attack know that this is how we’re going to go about the day, trying to not let them settle and make it as hard as we possibly could for them,” Stokes told broadcaster . “I know we’ve got to give credit to [India captain] Rohit [Sharma], the way in which he led, and credit to the bowlers that every time that we would drag the momentum back towards us and sort of felt like we were getting on top of them, they were able to produce something to take the wicket and put us back.”But I’m real pleased with the way in which that we found ourselves in a pressure situation. Chasing runs down in India is never easy, but we were actually able to go out there and stick to everything that we speak about.”Zak Crawley was England’s best batter in both innings•BCCI

Crawley was twice England’s top-scorer, adding 73 runs to his first-innings 76, but ultimately England fell short in the face of Jasprit Bumrah’s timely wicket-taking prowess. Bumrah took 3 for 46, including the dangerous Jonny Bairstow on the stroke of lunch and last man to fall Tom Hartley, to add to his six-wicket haul from England’s first innings and seal victory. But Stokes said Crawley had exemplified his team’s approach to the fourth innings.”That period last night when your openers have to go out, it’s one of those, what do you do? But I think when you have that real clarity, you’re able to see what they did last night,” Stokes added. “We could have easily been 20 for none, and not lost a wicket, but the game’s not really gone anywhere. Yes, we lost Duckett at the end of the day, but we’ve knocked 60 runs off and that’s a huge deficit when you come to a new day.”But Zak, he started again this morning, he sensed the threat in Bumrah early on and then when the spin came on, he looked to assert his dominance a bit more. But a great game for him with the bat, especially considering he’s someone who’s not been exposed to conditions like these for the most part of his career. Very happy for him and I think it’s a great stepping stone for him. “Stokes was also full of praise for his trio of young spinners, Hartley, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed, who took eight of India’s second-innings wickets between them as the hosts were bowled out for 255, with the more experienced Joe Root bowling just two overs of spin before succumbing to an injury to his right little finger, sustained while fielding. James Anderson, the vastly experienced seamer, took the other two as part of his haul of five wickets for the match.”Looking at Tom, Bash and Rehan – five or six Test matches between them – to put in the performance that they did yesterday, obviously without Joe, and Jimmy having bowled a very long spell on Saturday, I thought what they were able to produce in terms of effort and output was incredible,” Stokes said. “They showed a lot of maturity, a lot of skill beyond their years and experience and it’s something I’m very proud of as a captain.”With the third Test, in Rajkot, not starting for 10 days, England’s squad will head to Abu Dhabi to enjoy a break with their families.

Run rates are up, boundary counts are rising. Sixes are quickly becoming a big deal in women’s cricket

Jarrod Kimber20-Jan-2018″I’m obviously not a huge hitter of the ball, and I’m not really known for hitting sixes,” grins Amy Satterthwaite.It was a weird day for the New Zealander allrounder. Earlier she’s run out, she left the field, takes off her gloves and pads in the dugout, before the umpires decided she was not out. This looked like it would be the most remarkable thing about her innings as the Renegades struggled with the chase: until they needed a last ball a six for the Super Over.Sixes are quickly becoming a big deal in women’s cricket. Alex Blackwell has played 144 ODIs since her debut 15 years ago, in that time she has hit eight sixes. In the World Cup semi-final last year she smacked three, bouncing a couple off the Derby press box. Women’s cricket is changing.At the forefront of this is Lizelle Lee, the South African six machine. She has hit 17 sixes this season, it’s already the record in this tournament, and there are still games to go. The Stars coach David Hemp (the former Glamorgan and Bermuda player) sees the change down to a few reasons. “They are now backing themselves to have a go at it. They are practising it more, in the past that hasn’t necessarily been done. Lots of people now practice the range hitting, so they see how far they can clear. At the international level it happens all the time, and now it’s filtering down the domestic game. Before they were doing a gym session a week, and now it’s two or three. And they are getting better bats”.Think of a domestic woman playing cricket even five years ago. She would have to fit the gym around her work life and the few nets sessions she could get. There was no range hitting out in the middle. If she was lucky enough to get a sponsored bat, she didn’t get an unlimited number.There is no doubt that someone like Lee was born a hitter, but she gets trained to hold her shape, and is encouraged to clear the rope. In the third over she launches Sophie Molineux over long-on for six, well beyond the men’s boundary. A few overs later she smacks Molly Strano even further.Lee is big and strong, she looks like a power hitter, but she’s not hitting all the sixes on her own. Alana King is not big; she’s tiny. And at the start of her innings, while she shows a lot of energy, she struggles to hit the ball off the square. She gets a cut shot four from Satterthwaite, which gets her going. “I usually get the pace of the wicket first, see how the bowlers are going. Then I know I can back myself, and then it’s either six or out for me, pretty much,” she saysNext ball she slams the ball over the rope. “I’m not really a punch through covers kind of girl. So I give it a good swing.”Last year no one who faced over 20 balls had a strike rate of over 135, this year seven do. Nicola Carey is up at 166. Beth Mooney has averaged 48 and still strikes at 143. According to cricket statistician John Leather, the tournament run rate has gone from 6.29 in the first tournament up to 6.84 this year. The boundary percentage up from 43% to 49.9%. The balls per boundary down from 9.7 to 7.9.But the big one is sixes, in the first tournament the women hit a six every 121 balls, less than once an innings. Now it’s down to 62. They’ve essentially doubled their sixes.Renegades’ Claire Koski hits a six over long-on from Erin Osborne. It’s such a smooth swing of the bat; she’s so still. Despite the ball being well outside off stump, she doesn’t seem to reach, but still easily clears long-on’s head. Many of the women’s sixes come in that traditional way, but not all of them.Earlier this season Harmanpreet Kaur – the Harmonster – was playing of Sydney Thunder and had only scored one from her first eleven balls. Then she muscles a Dane van Niekerk legspinner over long-on. But a few overs later she does something extraordinary. Ashleigh Gardner is bowling her offspin and Kaur runs down at her. Gardner sees her and goes wide, Kaur just throws her hands through the ball and hits it over cover for six. Not that long ago that a women’s six was a big deal, now they are hitting them over cover, from spin.In the ninth over, Satterthwaite, the New Zealand import for the Renegades is batting, and she faces a wide floated ball she sweeps hard forward of square to the rope. It’s her second ball; she will face 24 more balls and not hit a single boundary. The next ball she faced was the one she needed a six. In Satterthwaite’s mind was a previous game: “I had a chance against the Hurricanes, and missed out.”But according to Leather’s numbers, Satterthwaite had only hit four sixes from her previous 851 WBBL balls before the final ball of Renegades’ innings today.This time Satterthwaite swings hard against English international Georgia Elwiss’ seam bowling. Satterthwaite gets her leg out the way well and swings hard from somewhere near the middle. They both watch it from the middle of the pitch, Elwiss has her hand over her mouth, then she closes her eyes, Satterthwaite gives the smallest fist pump.In the Super Over Satterthwaite doesn’t come out to hit straight away. A few years ago the woman who hoicked a six to grab a Super Over would be sent out there again, but no one thinks she’s the Renegade’s best hitter. When she finally gets out in the Super Over, she makes a diamond duck (one of two in the over). But in just going out there she makes the world record as probably the first player to walk out to bat three separate times in a T20 match.The Renegades don’t win the Super Over, only one boundary’s hit, despite both teams making ten runs and swinging very hard. But then again, the women’s game is not really known for hitting sixes.

Conor Coady says Wrexham want to "upset and disrupt" Championship teams this season, despite their gut-wrenching loss at Southampton.

• Wrexham lose at Southampton
• New signing reflect on game
• Reveals plan for Championship season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Wrexham fell to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday as they returned to the Championship after 43 years away. Amid the attention surrounding Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and their big spending this summer, new recruit Coady hopes the Red Dragons can be a force to be reckoned with this term.

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  WHAT COADY SAID

  He told : "We're going to cope with it. We know what we are. We know how we're going to play and we're here to upset and disrupt a few teams in this division. We'll keep on trying to do that. We've shown we can play. We'll keep building, we'll keep improving. We have to improve, we have to get better. That's the biggest thing."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wrexham have spent nearly £15 million ($20m) on transfers this summer as they target the Premier League following three straight promotions. This will likely be their toughest task yet but with players like former England international Coady in their midst, the Welsh outfit have a chance of competing in the Championship.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Coady and Wrexham will hope to bounce back from the Southampton loss when they begin their Carabao Cup campaign with a first-round clash with fellow Championship outfit Hull City on Tuesday at Stok Cae Ras.

اعترف خوان جارسيا، حارس مرمى نادي برشلونة، بأنه عاش بعض الحيرة في ظل قرارات طاقم تحكيم لقاء فريقه أمام ريال مايوركا أمس السبت بالدوري الإسباني.

وشارك جارسيا بشكل رسمي مع برشلونة للمرة الأولى، وذلك خلال مواجهة مايوركا، والتي فاز بها البارسا بثلاثة أهداف دون رد في الجولة الأولى من الدوري الإسباني.

تابع.. أراوخو يتحدث عن غضب فليك.. ورأيه في هدف فيران توريس “الجدلي” أمام مايوركا

وقال جارسيا في تصريحات إلى “موفيستار”: “المباراة كانت غريبة على كافة الأصعدة، ليس من الطبيعي أن يكون الفريق صاحب الأرض متأخرًا بهدفين في الشوط الأول، وكنا نتمنى تسجيل هدف مبكر وفزنا في نهاية المطاف”.

وأضاف جارسيا عن هدف فيران توريس المثير للجدل: ”هذا الهدف غريب بعض الشيء، الحكم هو من يقرر إطلاق صافرته، علينا أن نستمر في اللعب حتى يطلق الصافرة، ولكن إذا قرر الحكم أنها هدف، فهذا كل شيء”.

وعن الطرد الذي تعرض له مهاجم مايوركا، فيدات موريكي، أوضح: ”لم أشاهد اللقطة في الإعادة، لكنها تثير غضبي، إذا قال حكم الفيديو المساعد إنها بطاقة حمراء، فأعتقد أنها كذلك”.

وحول مشاركته مع برشلونة الأولى بشكل رسمي وتسجيله في قائمة الفريق، تابع جارسيا: “أنا هادئ، كنت أتمنى لو لعبت مع برشلونة مبكرًا، لكن النادي منحني الثقة والطمأنينة”.

وأتم: ”على حارس مرمى برشلونة الانتباه لأمور كثيرة، مع تأخر الفريق الآخر بهدفين، تقل فرص التسجيل، لكنني سعيد جدًا”.

Beuran Hendricks called up as replacement

Firdose Moonda08-Dec-2023Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the T20Is against India with a left ankle sprain and is also in doubt for the two-match Test series.Ngidi was due to play in the first two T20Is and then a domestic four-day match starting on December 14 in preparation for the Tests. But he will now be assessed by Cricket South Africa’s medical team before a decision is made on his availability for that fixture.Left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks, who has played 19 T20Is for South Africa but none since July 2021, has been called up as a replacement.That leaves South Africa without three first-choice bowlers for the T20Is, after Kagiso Rabada was rested for the series and Anrich Nortje was ruled out for the entire tour as he recovers from a lower-back stress fracture. But they still have a strong selection of quicks to pick from. Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Lizaad Williams, Ottniel Baartman and Hendricks, along with allrounders Nandre Burger and Andile Phehlukwayo, are all in the current squad. However, Jansen and Coetzee will be released after the first two games to play red-ball cricket ahead of the Tests.None of the frontline quicks will play in the ODIs, with Baartman and Williams to lead an attack that includes Burger, Wiaan Mulder and uncapped Mihlali Mpongwana.South Africa’s two experienced spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, have been included in both white-ball squads with Maharaj also part of the Test set-up.

كشف أحمد شوبير مقدم البرامج بقناة النادي الأهلي، حقيقة مفاوضات القلعة الحمراء مع أحمد فتوح لاعب الزمالك والفلسطيني عدي الدباغ.

أحمد فتوح كان قد تغيب عن مباراة الزمالك الودية أمام رع التي أقيمت يوم الجمعة الماضي، بعد تركه معسكر الفريق المقام في العاصمة الإدارية بداعي مرض عمه، وفقًا لما أعلنه عبد الناصر محمد مدير الكرة بنادي الزمالك، إلا أنه تم تصويره أثناء تواجده داخل إحدى الحفلات الغنائية بالساحل الشمالي.

وقال أحمد شوبير في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة “الأهلي”: “أحمد فتوح ليس معروضًا على الأهلي، وليس في حساباته”.

الأهلي يعلن خضوع محمود الخطيب لفحوصات طبية في باريس

وأكمل: “وما تردد بشأن تفاوض الأهلي مع عدي الدباغ؟، أنا لم أسمع اسمه يتردد داخل الأهلي”.

وكان الأهلي قد تعاقد في موسم الانتقالات الحالي، مع محمود حسن تريزيجيه، أحمد سيد زيزو، محمد علي بن رمضان، أحمد رمضان بيكهام، محمد سيحا ومحمد شريف، وياسين مرعي، ومحمد شكري، إلى جانب عودة أليو ديانج من الإعارة.

Fulham have now made contact with a 23-year-old full-back in a bid to bring him to Craven Cottage, according to a new report.

Fulham planning raid on free transfer market

Marco Silva will have 100% focus on what remains of this Premier League season, but it appears the powers upstairs are already turning their attention to the summer transfer window. The Cottagers are still in the hunt for a European place, and that could mean their plans are changed, but as of now, they have their eye on two players who are set to become free agents at the end of the campaign.

Fulham now hold talks to sign "special" 24 y/o on free transfer for Silva

Fulham are now looking to sign a player on a free transfer in the hope it will convince Marco Silva to remain at the club.

By
Brett Worthington

Mar 20, 2025

Manchester United’s Victor Lindelof is one player Fulham are looking at possibly signing this summer, as he looks set to be a free agent as his contract comes to an end at Old Trafford. The Red Devils don’t look like they are going to offer a new deal, and therefore, Fulham, as well as teams such as West Ham, Everton and Wolves, are all interested in a possible swoop for the Sweden international.

Angel Gomes, a former United player, is another soon-to-be free agent that Fulham are not only considering signing but have held talks with over a possible move to London. The Englishman looks set to leave Lille, and the Premier League side believe he would fit into Silva’s team perfectly.

Fulham could sign £8m Greek star Vagiannidis to replace Castagne

As the Cottagers continue to scour the free transfer market, according to A Bola, relayed by Sport Witness, Fulham are also interested in signing defender Georgios Vagiannidis and have already made contact.

The report states that not only are Fulham interested in signing the 23-year-old right-back, but European giants Sporting CP and Ajax are also keen on securing the transfer this summer. It goes on to state that Fulham, as well as the two other teams, have followed Vagiannidis closely since the January transfer window and have already made formal contact in a bid to sign him for next season.

It isn’t clear if Fulham made contact with Panathinaikos, his camp or both, but the Cottagers are keen to strike an agreement. Sporting CP are said to have already made an offer worth €6 million, but the Greek side have rejected this as they want €10 million, which is roughly £8 million, and Fulham are now ready to step up their efforts to sign the defender.

Vagiannidis’ potential arrival at Craven Cottage could see him be a replacement for current first-choice right-back Timothy Castagne, who has played 19 times in the Premier League this season. The Belgian has started the last 13 league games, but given he is 29 and is out of contract in 2027, Silva may have his eyes on an upgrade.

Vagiannidis could become first choice when Kenny Tete departs as a free agent this summer, relegating Castagne to a support role.