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Fast bowler believes eight-week break until Sri Lanka Tests will be ample time to recover from exertions in India series

George Dobell12-Sep-20182:08

Anderson: Cook is an idol to me and the team

James Anderson, who became the highest wicket-taking pace bowler in history when he passed Glenn McGrath at The Oval, has urged the England selectors to resist the temptation to rest him for either of this winter’s tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies.Anderson claimed 24 wickets at 18.12 in the course of the five matches against India, and went past McGrath’s tally of 563 wickets by bowling Mohammed Shami with the final ball of the Test series against India. His performance defied pre-series reports that both he and Stuart Broad might need to be rested to cope with the demands of five Tests in six weeks, and it suggested that, at the age of 36, he is still operating at something close to his physical peak.The England team management is considering blooding a couple of young fast bowlers with a view to planning for life beyond Anderson and Broad, who is expected to be out of action for a month after suffering a broken rib while batting at The Oval.Anderson felt the natural break in the schedule – there are about eight weeks until England’s next Test starts in Sri Lanka on November 6 – provides time for them to rest, recover and prepare, even though he may yet be made available by the ECB to play for Lancashire in their final County Championship fixture, starting on September 24, depending on whether the club is still in with a chance of avoiding relegation.Key players rested for final county rounds

Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes have all played their final matches of the 2018 season.
Cook has been stood down from Essex duty in the wake of his England farewell at The Oval, while the others have been rested ahead of next month’s tour of Sri Lanka.
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson, Jos Buttler and Keaton Jennings (all Lancashire) have been made available for T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, with Moeen and Jennings both available for the final round of Championship games.
Sam Curran and Ollie Pope can play for Surrey as they seek to cement their title bid against Essex and Somerset, but a decision on Stuart Broad will be taken after an assessment of his rib injury.

“Myself and Stuart don’t play white-ball cricket so we have that time to be able to get ourselves in the right frame of mind and the right physical condition to cope with what’s ahead of us,” Anderson said. “I think I have enough time in between Test series to prepare myself well and get myself in good physical shape.”We came into this five Test series in six weeks with question marks: will the bowlers get through? Will we need resting or will we get injuries? And we’ve done it. We pride ourselves on working hard.”Anderson, who has now been playing Test cricket for more than 15 years, also refused to be drawn on a retirement date following the emotional scenes at the end of The Oval Test as his close friend Alastair Cook brought the curtain down on his England career.”I don’t really think about it,” he said. “I play my best when I focus on what’s ahead of me: the next game, the next series, whatever. I’ll go away now – we have a decent break before Sri Lanka – and I’ll try to get myself in the best condition possible to cope with the rigours of bowling seam in Sri Lanka, which could be tough. Then we’ll see how it goes.”I read something that Glenn McGrath said that he went into the 2006 Ashes with no intention of retiring and by the end of it he thought his time was up. That could happen to me. Who knows? I don’t like looking too far ahead. I don’t think it helps me or the team either, when we look too far ahead, whether it’s in a session or a day or a game. If you look too far ahead, you take your eye off the here and now and that’s what I like to focus on.”Meanwhile, Anderson has hailed Sam Curran as “a diamond of a player” following England’s victory in the Test series over India.Curran, aged just 20, was named Player of the Series and singled out for praise by India captain Virat Kohli in the post-match presentations at The Oval. He claimed 11 wickets at 23.54 and made a couple of vital half-centuries – including an aggressive 63 at Edgbaston which helped England recover from a precarious 87 for 7 – in averaging 38.85 with the bat.After Kohli noted Curran’s “important contributions” as a defining feature in the result, Anderson was full of praise for both Curran’s skill and character, suggesting the all-round depth he provided would prove a huge asset for England.”I think we’ve found a gem there,” Anderson said. “He’s an absolute diamond of a player to be able to score runs in crucial situations or to be given the ball in any situation. He’s extremely skilful with the ball and he loves the battle and the fight that Test cricket brings. He offers us that left-arm option as well.”I think we’ve made really good strides in this series. We’ve had a really inconsistent period in Test cricket and it’s something that we’ve really tried to do something about and make sure we improve and put in more consistent performances. I think we’ve done that.”We always knew we had a pretty strong team and some really exciting talent in there. We’re lucky that we’ve added to that this series.”

Chelsea boss Emma Hayes believes she 'let herself down' amid the backlash over her controversial comments about relationships between players.

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• Hayes slams player-to-player relationships
• Reflects on comments
• Chelsea continue push for WSL title

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Blues head coach received a backlash after calling both player-coach and player-to-player relationships 'inappropriate', with several stars of the women's game in relationships with other players – including Chelsea's Jess Carter. The defender had shown her displeasure with her manager's comments by liking a number of tweets on social media that countered Hayes' argument.

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  WHAT HAYES SAID

  Speaking after the 3-1 win against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Friday, Hayes admitted she regretted her comments, although stopped short of taking them back.

  "I let myself down yesterday," she said. "I didn't think it was right for me to use the term 'inappropriate' for the players. I don't take those things back but I have zero criticism of any player in my dressing room for anything. Their professionalism, for what they've given to the club regardless of their status, regardless of who they're in a relationship with.

  "I've been unbelievably supportive of all of the players. I've been a champion for equality and for equity. As I keep saying to our players all the time, even if we have disagreements in life, we mustn't play them out publicly."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The discussion arose after Leicester City Women launched an investigation over an alleged player-coach relationship involving manager Willie Kirk.

  During a press conference ahead of the clash against Arsenal, Hayes labelled player-coach and player-player relationships 'inappropriate' within the professional game. Carter, who is in a relationship with team-mate Ann-Katrin Berger, then responded to by liking social media posts which questioned Hayes' comments on the situation.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

  After putting the public fallout to rest, Chelsea will now look to continue their push for Women's Super League glory. The Blues currently sit top of the table on 40 points and will look ahead to their next clash against West Ham United on Sunday, March 24. Before that, though, they will have to navigate a tough Champions League quarter-final first leg test against Ajax on Tuesday.

Christian Pulisic stole a late goal off of Rafael Leao to secure a first-leg victory over Slavia Prague in AC Milan's Europa League last-16 first leg.

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• Pulisic scores in Milan victory over Prague
• Steals late effort off of Leao
• Rossoneri take 4-2 victory into leg 2

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  In their 4-2 victory over the Czech powerhouse Thursday, Pulisic found himself on the scoresheet late for the Rossoneri, tapping in a late effort to give them an even larger advantage. The goal itself, though, was all Leao – who dribbled and dazzled past defenders before firing his effort on frame only to see the American winger get a toe on it to push it in the back of the net.

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  The American superstar is now at nine goals across all competitions, including two in Europe. In total, he has nine goals and six assists, amounting to 15 goal contributions for Stefano Pioli's side, his best-ever campaign in his professional career.

  Now, he's helped them into a massive advantage heading into leg two of their last-16 tie with Prague, securing a two-goal cushion on Thursday night.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PULISIC AND AC MILAN?

  The Rossoneri have a Serie A clash at the weekend against Empoli as they look to leapfrog second place Juventus in the standings; the Bianconeri hold a one-point lead on Pulisic and co. Then, they return to Europe, with their leg-two clash on the road in the Czech Republic as they look to advance in the competition.

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O sinal de alerta está mais do que ligado no Vitória. No último fim de semana, o Leão ficou no empate sem gols com o Brasil de Pelotas e chegou a marca negativa de oito jogos sem vencer na Série B.

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Além da queda na classificação, outro ponto que chama a atenção é o desempenho do técnico Eduardo Barroca. Contratado no começo de outubro, ele ainda não venceu.

Desde a chegada de Barroca, o Leão disputou cinco jogos, com apenas três empates e duas derrotas. O ataque marcou quatro gols e a defesa levou seis tentos.

Com apenas 21 pontos, o Vitória é o 14º colocado. Na próxima rodada, o Rubro-Negro mede forças com o Sampaio Corrêa, fora de casa.

Shardul Thakur has responded impressively to a difficult start to the tournament in the latest example of the depth in India’s pace resources

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Mar-2018Cracked for 27 runs in his first over of the tournament, having returned to claim 4 for 27 against the same team eight days later, Shardul Thakur has now returned the Nidahas Trophy’s best figures, as well as its most expensive over.He says he doesn’t mind a challenge. On Monday’s evidence there is little reason to doubt him. Varying his bowling on what was an excellent batting track, Thakur was instrumental to wounding a Sri Lanka innings that was threatening a score in the vicinity of 180. They wound up only making 152 for 9 off their 19 overs.Thakur’s is the latest performance which outlines the depth in India’s ranks. In this tournament they are missing Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya, but in Thakur they still found a bowling match-winner. He is used to filling the shoes of better reputed bowlers.Thisara Perera on…

Sri Lanka’s batting: “Sad to say this is not a good score to defend on this wicket. It’s a really, really good wicket to bat. We were 30-25 runs behind. That’s the main reason for our loss. Kusal Mendis batted really well. Others didn’t execute their plans. The middle order – including myself – losing two or three wickets in quick succession was the biggest reason for the defeat. We should have stuck around during that period, and if we did that, we could have got around 180 easily.”
Playing four frontline bowlers: “In the previous two matches we didn’t need to use the batsmen coming in at No. 7 or 8. So we thought the batsmen we had were enough. With this rain we also definitely need another main bowler.”

“I have told one thing before: I love challenges,” Thakur said. “I am taking it as a challenge. If other senior bowlers are missing from the team, then I have to step up. I have done this previously for other teams that I have played for. I have come in place of Zaheer Khan, Dhawal Kulkarni and Ajit Agarkar while playing for Mumbai. I had to step up in that role. When senior bowlers are rested, I have to step up and fill that role to lead the pace attack.”That leadership, in part, was set off by his cunning. Sri Lanka were flying at 113 for 3 in the 12th over, when Thakur slipped in a special delivery. His knuckle ball, which is delivered without the two fingers behind the seam, dipped a little earlier than batsman Thisara Perera expected, and came a little slower as well. Attempting to blast it over the long-on boundary, Perera could only send it high in the air, to be eventually caught at cover. Then, in the final over, having expected Dasun Shanaka to come down the pitch, another Thakur knuckle ball collected the outside edge of the flashing bat, and was caught by the keeper.It is a ball that has been used by India bowlers before – specifically by Zaheer Khan, who had more or less pioneered it in the IPL, and also by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.”[Zaheer] did it actually, but I didn’t watch much of his videos,” Thakur said. “I always knew what the grip was, and then I learned it on my own.”I’ve been practicing it for a long time. It hasn’t come easy. Whenever I found time to play with white ball while playing domestic cricket, I used to try knuckle ball. Probably for two years I’ve been practicing it now.”Having taken 1 for 25 in the previous game against Bangladesh, Thakur and his knuckle ball have helped India restrict oppositions to sub-par totals in consecutive matches now. By Thakur’s estimation, Sri Lanka were about 25 runs short on this pitch.”If you see, in T20 cricket, you have to be ready for surprises. The first game was a surprise and an eye-opener for us. I got hit for 27 runs, there were some other overs that went for 15 runs. But I felt that the game against Bangladesh and this game, we executed our plans better.”India will confirm their place in the final if they win on Wednesday, but have a chance to go through even if they lose, based on net run rate.

Manchester United have rarely got things in the transfer market in the last decade or so, with the likes of Angel di Maria, Romelu Lukaku, and Alexis Sanchez all failing to make the required impact at Old Trafford. The arrival of Erik ten Hag looked likely to change things, however.

The Dutchman has seen arrivals such as Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane enjoy great success, with both signings playing a key part in United's impressive campaign last time out, which saw them win the Carabao Cup, and qualify for the Champions League.

There's not much Ten Hag could do about the players that he inherited, though, with the task of improving struggling stars a difficult one from the off. Now, having fallen out with one of those stars in the form of Jadon Sancho, a surprise club has emerged in the race to sign the frozen out winger.

What's the latest Jadon Sancho transfer news?

Sancho looked destined for greatness at Borussia Dortmund, with 50 goals and 64 assists in just 137 appearances for the Bundesliga giants to earn a move to Manchester United for a reported £73m.

Since that move to Old Trafford, however, the England international has been a shadow of the player who lit up the Bundesliga for Dortmund. Now, a player once destined for greatness, is one who looks likely to forever face the question of what went so disastrously wrong?

After falling out with Ten Hag, and being dropped from the Manchester United squad as a result, Sancho could now get the fresh start he so desperately needs, with a surprise club emerging.

According to Sport in Spain, Barcelona are interested in making a potential loan move for Sancho in January, with United keen to get the winger off their books come the winter transfer window, given that he earns a reported £350k per week at Old Trafford.

The report states that Xavi is "attentive" to the situation, and Barcelona are waiting to see what happens with the Red Devils' outcast in the coming months.

Should Barcelona sign Jadon Sancho?

At his best, Sancho is a player capable of hitting double figures in goals and assists for the season. It could just be a case of somehow helping him rediscover the confidence to perform at such levels.

It would be a relatively risk-free deal for Barcelona in January, too, given that they would be pursuing a loan deal for the former Dortmund man, rather than anything permanent in January.

If they can help Sancho get back to his top form, then Xavi will have someone at his disposal who has earned the highest praise in the past, including from Harry Kane, who told Sky Sports after the Barcelona target's England debut: "He's great. Big congrats to him for his debut. I thought he came on and made an impact as well. He's been great in training and he has just got to keep working hard and playing games and I'm sure he will have a very bright future."

With that said, Sancho is certainly one to keep an eye on when the January transfer window comes around, particularly if Barcelona push on for his signature.

Everton are gearing up for a frenetic finish to the summer transfer window, with movement likely occurring both in and out of Goodison Park.

What's the latest on Kamaldeen Sulemana to Everton?

According to The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell, Kamaldeen Sulemana wishes to leave Southampton following the club's relegation from the Premier League this year.

The Ghanaian winger only joined the south coast club from French side Rennes in a £22m deal earlier this year and is believed to hold a £30m release clause in his contract.

Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…

Saints beat Everton to the player's signature in January, and with manager Sean Dyche searching for a winger, the 22-year-old dynamo could finally make the move to Merseyside, with the Toffees retaining such interest, per the report.

How good is Kamaldeen Sulemana?

Everton are in murky waters at present, having narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League last season and kicking off the current campaign with three successive defeats, yet to score their first goal.

Last season, one of the club's bright sparks was the creative Alex Iwobi, but Dyche's side are now faced with the prospect of losing the Nigeria international before the closing of the transfer window in a few days, with divisional rivals Fulham vying for his signature.

Indeed, according to The Times, the Cottagers are pushing to sign the dynamic advanced midfielder to complete their transfer activity, but the Toffees will only allow their creative "inspiration", as was said by Henry Winter, to depart is their valuation – in excess of £20m – is met.

Such a sale could mean that funds are freed up to complete a move for Sulemana, who could be the perfect star to enhance the Everton frontline.

Having been hailed by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag for his "incredible speed", Sulemana ranks among the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year, as per FBref, to emphasise this point.

While Iwobi has been converted into a more centrally-placed midfielder, rather than his natural position as a wide man, Dyche has opted to play the £120k-per-week star on the left wing across the first couple of matches of the campaign, clearly focussing on different solutions.

Given that Iwobi ranks among the top 11% of midfielders for progressive carries and the top 9% for successful take-ons per 90, however, it's clear that Sulemana could replicate the explosiveness and perhaps offer a new dimension to a team desperate for a new 'inspiration' in attack.

Jack Harrison, Arnaut Danjuma and Ashley Young, who have all been signed this summer, can each play on the wing, but none offer the electricity and pace of Sulemana, who could unlock defences and weave through the lines in a manner in which few can replicate.

It is unlikely that Everton would be able to afford the player if Iwobi is not sold, but the domino effect that could arise from Fulham's interest might just pay dividends for Dyche.

The Goodison Park side could recuperate a pleasing figure for a star currently failing to break into the first-team and reinvest wisely in a "brilliant" talent, as has been said by scout Jacek Kulig, so Sulemana could be the catalyst for change.

A report from Italy has shared some West Ham United transfer news on their bid to sign Fiorentina star Sofyan Amrabat this summer.

Who will West Ham sign?

The possible departure of Lucas Paqueta to English champions Man City would leave a gaping hole in quality for manager David Moyes, thus prompting the east Londoners to scour the market for replacements.

Paqueta is thought to have agreed terms with Pep Guardiola's side and really wants a move to Eastlands, so despite the signings of James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez, another midfield signing is possible.

West Ham have been linked with a few already, including Man United's Scott McTominay and Burnley star Josh Brownhill, but Paqueta's quality will be truly hard to replace.

Speaking on the Brazil international's potential move to Manchester, Moyes recently confirmed that City had made an initial bid that fell way short of their valuation.

Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…

He said: "We've had an offer from Manchester City [for Paqueta] but at the moment it's not anywhere near meeting our valuation."

If West Ham find a full agreement to sell Paqueta, one player who has now attracted their interest is Amrabat, who funnily enough is a target for Man United.

The Moroccan, who seriously impressed during his country's exceptional World Cup campaign in Qatar last year, has apparently been subject to an "interesting" West Ham bid.

That is according to fiorentina.it, who claim the Irons have come forward with an offer, but it doesn't exactly meet La Viola's demands for a full sale.

Man United, though, are described as even further away to signing Amrabat, with it looking like the Irons have a small advantage over them in that respect, though the midfielder would prefer Old Trafford.

West Ham and United are listed as the two main teams in the running for Amrabat, but Moyes' side will have to raise their bid if a deal is to be done.

How good is Sofyan Amrabat?

Moroccan journalist Amine El Amri, speaking to talkSPORT during Amrabat's impressive Morocco performances in Qatar, tipped the African to join an English club.

El Amri highlighted the player's quality, calling him a "raging bull" and "fantastic" alongside his brother, Nordin.

"I think there's a big chance that he might go there [the Premier League]," El Amri said in December 2022.

"But everybody will have to wait until the summer because Fiorentina don't seem to want to sell in the next couple of weeks.

"I have nothing but respect for guys like Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Rodrigo De Paul and many others but I think he's been absolutely the best player in midfield in this World Cup."

The 26-year-old still has time on his hands and we believe his tenacity in midfield would be welcomed by Moyes at the London Stadium.

MatériaMais Notícias

Os confrontos da quarta fase da Copa do Brasil foram sorteados nesta terça-feira e terá clássico carioca valendo vaga para às oitavas de final da competição. Botafogo e Vasco duelam em partida decisiva pela sobrevivência no torneio. O Fluminense também irá enfrentar um time da primeira divisão e pega o Atlético-GO. Os confrontos devem acontecer nos dias 16 e 23 de setembro e as partidas serão em ida e volta.

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Quem passar de fase, irá competir nas oitavas de final contra os times que disputam a Copa Libertadores, além do campeão da Copa Verde, Copa do Nordeste e da última Série B. Flamengo, Palmeiras, Corinthians, Grêmio, São Paulo, Athlético, Internacional, Santos, Fortaleza, Cuiabá e Bragantino aguardam outras cinco equipes para estrearem na competição.

Confira os confrontos:
Ponte Preta x América-MG
Brusque x Ceará
Botafogo x Vasco
Fluminense x Atlético-GO
Juventude x CRB

The fast bowler left the field with soreness in his left side early in the first session

Daniel Brettig29-Aug-2017

Australia’s pace spearheads will both enter this summer’s Ashes series with precious little cricket behind them, after Josh Hazlewood joined Mitchell Starc on the injured list with a side strain on day three of the first Test against Bangladesh.Hazlewood had just delivered the first ball of his second over of the day – and his fifth of the innings – when he clutched his side and consulted with captain Steven Smith before walking off for an assessment.By the close of play, it had been decided that Hazlewood would be sent home at the end of the match, with a replacement paceman to be named by the national selectors on Wednesday. The injury will take at least a month’s recovery time, which also rules Hazlewood out of the ODI tour of India in September and October.Alongside Starc, who is recovering from a foot stress fracture, Hazlewood is critical to Australia’s Ashes chances as a key member of a pace attack expected to pose the primary threat to England on Australian pitches. But both bowlers will now need to gain fitness in time to run themselves into form with Sheffield Shield appearances for New South Wales ahead of the first Test at the Gabba in late November.Pat Cummins, Australia’s only pacer in the match after Hazlewood withdrew, said that Hazlewood would be very difficult to replace for the next Test in Chittagong, where the surface is expected to aid the seamers more than Dhaka.”He’s going to be really hard to replace. He’s played all but one of the last 30 Tests,” Cummins said. “He said it is going to be pretty hard sitting at home, watching; he hasn’t done that for three or four years. So he’s a big member around the group. I am going to miss having dinner with him every night, but we have got Jackson Bird waiting in the wings, which is great.”He’s been bowling beautifully here. Again, someone who has been around the team a long time and been bowling really well. Had some great performances for Australia in the past as well. It’s not good to miss Joshy, but we’re lucky we have such a strong squad over here.”Australia were lucky, too, to still be in the Test match after restricting Bangladesh to a fourth-innings lead of 264, and then seeing their captain Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner play with verve to cut the requirement down to 156 with eight wickets in hand. Cummins said Warner’s controlled aggression had been an inspiring sight.”Keeping our target to 260 really kept us in the game, and then starting like we did tonight, if we have a good first hour tomorrow, it should really set the game up,” Cummins said. “That last hour or so should give us a lot of confidence, I am certainly really confident. Smithy and Dave look like they had really good game plans out there and they were in control. So that is really promising, and it is only 150 runs or so away, so a good couple of hours in the morning and, hopefully, we get pretty close.”[Warner is] such a big player for us and you could just see it in his eye when he was out there. He was so focused. We always say, ‘be the bull’, and he looked like he was the ‘Bull’ out there; just focused and taking the game on. He got his 50 rapidly, and I think it just changes the whole momentum but also the mindset for the other batsmen who are to come in, just taking the game on. It is great.”We spoke about, especially in the India series, and again here, really backing what works for you back in Australia. So, if you don’t run down the wicket, you don’t have to run down the wicket here. If you don’t sweep, you don’t have to sweep. Just sticking to your game plan, but making sure it is a strong game plan. I think today showed just a really, really strong solid defence, and when he needed to, his brutal stroke making. So it is definitely the ‘Bull’ we have come to expect and it is great to see it out here as well.”