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Coach Domingo backs Nurul Hasan as Bangladesh’s No. 1 wicketkeeper leading up to the T20 World Cup

Mohammad Isam05-Sep-2021

Mushfiqur did not keep wicket in the first three T20Is against New Zealand•BCB

Mushfiqur Rahim has informed the Bangladesh team management that he will no longer keep wicket in T20Is, according to head coach Russell Domingo. Mushfiqur didn’t keep wicket in the third T20I against New Zealand, although it was declared before the series that he would split wicketkeeping duties with Nurul Hasan in the first four games.Although Mushfiqur hasn’t spoken about the matter since Domingo’s announcement two days before the first match, his withdrawal from wicketkeeping comes as a huge surprise, although it is likely he had made up his mind a week ago when Domingo made the announcement. Mushfiqur reportedly didn’t take part in wicketkeeping drills in training on any of the training sessions, even on Saturday, the day before the third T20I in which he was scheduled to keep wickets.Related

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Domingo said that they have to quickly move on to allow Nurul, who has been keeping wicket in Bangladesh’s recent cluster of T20Is since mid-July, to be the No. 1 wicketkeeper going into the T20 World Cup next month.”There has been a change (in plans),” Domingo said. “Initially after speaking to Mushy, he was going to keep after the second game. But he told me he probably doesn’t want to keep wicket in T20s anymore, so we have to move on. I don’t think Mushfiqur’s desire to keep in this format is great anymore. We have to focus on [Nurul Hasan] Sohan, and let him do those duties going into the competition.”This is the first time that Mushfiqur has told the team management that he wants to give up wicketkeeping. Normally, he has insisted that he wants to play as a wicketkeeper-batter, particularly in the last five years when his wicketkeeping has come under the scanner. The most recent occasion was the second ODI against New Zealand in March this year when he dropped Tom Latham at a crucial stage of the game.There were renewed grumblings among the BCB’s top brass, but ahead of the ODI series against Sri Lanka in May, captain Tamim Iqbal fully backed Mushfiqur, the wicketkeeper.”I am very happy with his wicketkeeping. [Half] chances and dropped catches are part of the game. I know how hard he works, so I have no complaints. The team management, coach and I definitely want him to keep wicket in the three ODIs.”You are talking about some dropped catches but he has done a wonderful job as a wicketkeeper over the last 13-14 years. I have complete trust in him and give him my full support. I think he should continue to keep wicket for Bangladesh,” said Tamim.When Mushfiqur missed the T20Is against Zimbabwe and Australia due to a family emergency, Nurul took over with good form both behind and in front of the stumps. It opened up a bit of competition between the two, which the team management decided should be settled by splitting the wicketkeeping duties over four matches of a five-match series.There were immediate murmurs of discontent which captain Mahmudullah tried to diffuse on the day after Domingo’s announcement. But, already, former captain Mashrafe Mortaza, writing on his personal Facebook account, criticized the move. He even predicted that Mushfiqur could refuse to take up wicketkeeping in the future.”I am just wondering how it is affecting [Nurul Hasan] Sohan. How does he evaluate himself now that he is given two matches after keeping wickets regularly in the last two series? Liton [Das] will probably forget wicketkeeping in this situation. Mushfiq doesn’t need to be told that he needs to perform after being around for 16 years. To announce it in this way, it is quite disrespectful towards his dedication. He might be needed as a keeper in the future, so how will it look when he says no?” Mashrafe wrote. He added that such a split doesn’t create healthy competition in the team, rather making players feel insecure about their places.”Having three wicketkeepers in one squad should have been a happy occasion, but instead it has brought on much grief. If you can’t handle this much in the team, it will create an invisible and bad competition within the team. Competition often brings out the best in the players but it has to be healthy. Not by hurting someone.”The team management will take its own decisions, and it will be greeted with applause or abuse, that’s how it usually goes. Who will play, in what position and who will have which role, these are things that should only be in the dressing room. When these things get out, it creates unnecessary pressure on the player,” he said.As the white-ball captain from 2014 to 2020, Mashrafe had to defend Mushfiqur’s wicketkeeping publicly on a number of occasions. Within the team management, there was a bigger battle with Chandika Hathurusingha who didn’t want Mushfiqur keeping in all formats. After a lot of back and forth, finally in 2017 Mushfiqur was told to give up the role.The plan lasted for one Test before Liton’s injury forced the team management to request Mushfiqur to take over the gloves again. In the next two years, Liton and Mushfiqur shared the duties with Nurul keeping in two Tests. Since 2019 however, Liton has been the No. 1 choice, keeping wicket in the last nine Tests.Mushfiqur has been a regular wicketkeeper in ODIs and till 2020, in T20Is. His inclusion as a wicketkeeper-batter allows the team the luxury of two world-class allrounders. But there are many in Bangladesh who believe, with reason, that Mushfiqur should focus his energy on only batting, as he is arguably Bangladesh’s best all-format batter.At the same time, Nurul’s reputation as the country’s best wicketkeeper is backed by good domestic performances this year. For the selectors and team management, he was too hard to ignore as the wicketkeeper in Bangladesh’s white-ball teams.Mushfiqur’s side of the story is yet to be heard. He has previously said that wicketkeeping often helps his batting. But since Domingo has relayed his decision, it is now time for Nurul to become the main man for Bangladesh behind the stumps.

England brace for update this week on fast bowler’s elbow injury

Matt Roller03-Aug-2021

Jofra Archer is due to see a specialist about his elbow this week•Getty Images

England are braced for an update on Jofra Archer’s elbow injury, with the fast bowler due to see a specialist later this week amid fears he could miss the whole international summer.Archer returned home from England’s tour to India ahead of the ODI series in March due to the injury, which deteriorated over the course of the five-match T20I series and forced him to pull out of the IPL. He briefly returned in mid-May after a period of rest and rehabilitation, playing a second XI fixture and a County Championship match, but managed only 18 overs in the latter and had surgery on the advice on a specialist the following week.He spent two months rehabbing under the supervision of Sussex and England medical staff and bowled nine overs – three in a T20 Blast fixture and six in a 50-over friendly against Oxfordshire – in mid-July, but has not joined up with Southern Brave during the Hundred. He will see a specialist later this week to determine the severity of the problem.Related

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The reported on Tuesday that Archer is at risk of missing all five of England’s Tests against India, though he tweeted later in the day that a report in another newspaper – which suggested his prospects of taking part in the T20 World Cup and Ashes were “in jeopardy” – was “click bait at best”. Archer had previously written in his column that he was “quite prepared” to miss the India series if required, with his “primary focus” on England’s winter schedule.Archer was not included in England’s squad for the first two Tests and with the next round of County Championship fixtures not starting until August 30, there will be scant opportunity for him to play competitive red-ball cricket in time to be considered for the final three. His last international appearance was in the fifth T20I against India on March 20.James Vince, Southern Brave’s captain, said last week that he was hopeful Archer would be made available for the second half of the group stage of the Hundred – which runs until August 19 – but it appears increasingly unlikely that he will play any part in the tournament.

The final leg of Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe will take place sooner than expected with both boards agreeing to bring the T20I series forward by a few days.The original schedule had the three matches set for July 23, 25 and 27 but that has now been changed so that the first game will be held on July 22, the second on July 23 and the final one on July 25.A press release from Zimbabwe Cricket on Monday said these changes were made to accommodate the challenges that the broadcast production company was facing.Bangladesh have dominated this tour, winning the only Test by 220 runs and are on the verge of blanking Zimbabwe 3-0 in the one-day series that’s followed. The visitors might well consider the T20I series to be the most crucial part of the tour given that a World Cup is coming up in October. Bangladesh have these three T20Is against Zimbabwe, then five more against Australia in August, a further five against New Zealand in September and finally three matches against England in October to firm up their plans for the global tournament coming up in three months’ time.Zimbabwe may not have such big-picture concerns, having not qualified for this year’s T20 World Cup, but they will be eager for some silverware.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement and head of recruitment Nils Koppen looked to overhaul the playing squad during the summer transfer window.

There was a clear emphasis on lowering the average age of the squad with their work, when it came to allowing stars to leave and bringing talented prospects in.

Experienced campaigners Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe, Connor Goldson, Scott Wright, Jon McLaughlin, and John Lundstram, among others, were allowed to move on from Ibrox.

Meanwhile, young talents like Clinton Nsiala, Connor Barron, Oscar Cortes, Hamza Igamane, Mohammed Diomande, and Jefte have been brought in.

This suggests that Rangers are looking to develop and improve young players to increase their value, whilst getting fantastic performances on the pitch, to then sell them on for a profit in the future.

Selling talent for big money has not been one of the club's strengths in recent years. As per Transfermarkt, the Light Blues have only sold one player – Calvin Bassey – for more than €15m in their history, whereas their rivals Celtic have cashed in on seven players for more than €15m.

This shows that Rangers have a lot of work to do to catch up with their neighbours and their blunder with Ryan Kent is a great example of what not to do.

Ryan Kent's first season with Rangers

Former Light Blues manager Steven Gerrard returned to his former club to sign the English winger on a season-long loan move from Liverpool in the summer of 2018.

The Reds youngster arrived at Ibrox off the back of a disappointing 2017/18 campaign, in which he produced zero goals and two assists in 17 games for Freiburg and Barnsley combined.

Kent hit the ground running in Glasgow, though, with a return of six goals and nine assists in 43 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants.

The left winger racked up six goals and six assists in 23 appearances in the Scottish Premiership before the top six split, which showed that he could provide regular quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals from a wide position.

His performances in the division earned him the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award, which speaks to how impressive his displays were during his loan spell.

Gerrard and Rangers then opted to pursue a permanent deal for the Liverpool winger and managed to agree a fee of £7.5m to snap him up on a four-year deal in the summer of 2019.

The deal was a guaranteed fee of £6.5m, with a further £1m in add-ons, and it was a huge investment by the Gers in a player who had enjoyed a terrific first season at the club.

Ryan Kent's soaring value

Kent's soaring market value and his performances on the pitch over the subsequent two years suggested that the Light Blues played a blinder by signing him for £7.5m.

The 2019/20 campaign was not an extraordinary year for the forward, with eight goals and four assists in 33 matches, but it proved that his goalscoring threat in his loan spell was not a flash in the pan.

He then exploded in the 2020/21 season with a sensational return of 13 goals and 14 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions for Gerrard, including four goals and assists combined in ten Europa League outings.

Appearances

37

Sofascore rating

7.23

Goals

10

Big chances created

9

Assists

9

Key passes per game

1.8

As you can see in the table above, 19 of those goal contributions came in the Premiership as Rangers won the title without losing a single match.

The English forward's exceptional performances as a scorer and a creator of goals earned him a place in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year that season.

Kent's superb showings in Scotland attracted interest from down south and it was reported in the summer of 2021 that Leeds United had an offer of £11m rejected and that they were lining up a £15m swoop for his services.

However, the Light Blues ultimately turned down the Whites' advances and kept hold of the attacker instead of cashing in on him when his value was double what they paid Liverpool for his services.

Rangers blundered with Ryan Kent

The decision not to accept the offer from Leeds turned out to be a howler from the Scottish giants as Kent's performances on the pitch declined.

In the 2021/22 campaign, a season in which Giovanni van Bronckhorst replaced Gerrard in the dugout, the winger produced just three goals in 46 matches in all competitions, along with 11 assists in the Premiership.

That was a serious decline from the 13 goals he scored under the former Liverpool midfielder in the 2020/21 title-winning season for Rangers.

Kent, who was once dubbed "unplayable" by journalist Andrew Dickson, followed that up with a return of just three goals and ten assists in 44 matches in all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign, with all of those contributions coming in his 29 outings in the Premiership.

This shows that the winger was unable to recapture the electric form that saw him produce 13 goals and 14 assists in his best year with the club.

In the summer of 2023, Kent's contract with the Gers expired and Michael Beale could not agree an extension with the Englishman, which meant that he walked away for nothing.

This meant that Rangers lost a star who was once valued at a whopping £15m, and a player they paid £7.5m to sign in 2019, left the club for £0 to sign for Turkish side Fenerbahce.

Therefore, the Light Blues blundered with Kent as they did not cash in on him when his value peaked and his performances declined after that, before they ended up losing him for nothing.

The £300k Rangers signing who was sold for more than Bajrami is worth

The Light Blues played a blinder by developing and selling this midfield wizard.

1 ByDan Emery Sep 11, 2024

If they are going to go down the route of developing young players under Clement in the years to come, Rangers will need to improve the timing of their sales and know when the right time to cash in on a star is, so that they avoid a repeat of the Kent disasterclass.

The Brazilian had a woeful return to the line-up as he bungled Dusan Vlahovic's opener on a hugely worrying night for the 2023 winners

Manchester City are fighting for their Champions League future after a damaging 2-0 defeat at Juventus left them facing a humiliating early exit from Europe's elite competition. Ederson was recalled to the starting line-up after sitting out the last three games and Pep Guardiola was soon left ruing that decision as the Brazilian bungled Dusan Vlahovic's towering header across his own line.

There was nothing the goalkeeper could do, however, about Weston McKennie's sizzling volley which clinched the victory for Juve and left City in serious trouble. The 2023 winners are now 22nd in the Champions League standings with two games left. They need a miracle to finish in the top eight and reach the last 16, while they are dangerously looking over their shoulders as they are just two places and one point from missing out on the play-offs.

The two sides each went into the game in troubling form so it was no great surprise when a sleepy first half was played out, witnessing just one shot on target each. The match sparked into life after the break and Juve took the lead when Vlahovic soared into the air and nodded straight at Ederson, who inexplicably let the ball squeeze through his hands and over the line. City then set up camp in Juve's half but couldn't find a way through and they then were outdone on the counterattack, McKennie sinking Guardiola's side with a truly brilliant strike from Timothy Weah's cross.

GOAL rates Man City's players from the Allianz Stadium…

AFPGoalkeeper & Defence

Ederson (3/10):

Made a terrible blunder at the crucial moment and had invited the pressure by spilling the previous effort from Gatti moments before.

Kyle Walker (5/10):

More solid than of late but was too slow to deal with the danger in the build-up to the goal.

Ruben Dias (6/10):

Reliable and authoritative. It's a shame the same couldn't be said of his fellow defenders.

Josko Gvardiol (4/10):

Back in his preferred position but did not look comfortable in the vital moments. Beaten in the air by Vlahovic then helpless to get back when McKennie struck.

Rico Lewis (5/10):

Struggled at left-back, unable to influence the game in midfield and beaten on the break a couple of times.

AdvertisementAFPMidfield

Bernardo Silva (6/10):

Lively in the first half but his efforts led to few impactful moments. Booked for clashing with Michele Di Gregorio.

Ilkay Gundogan (5/10):

Had a promising strike tipped away by the goalkeeper. Good in possession but nowhere to be seen when Juve broke for their second.

Kevin De Bruyne (7/10):

The player who looked most like making something happen. Played a sublime ball to Erling Haaland and had a couple of close efforts in the second half.

Getty ImagesAttack

Jeremy Doku (5/10):

Couldn't get involved in the key areas and often cut a frustrated figure.

Erling Haaland (5/10):

Thwarted by Di Gregorio's excellent save but had no other clear chances and it's another blank in a big game.

Jack Grealish (6/10):

Did as was asked of him and helped City control the first half but couldn't step up when they needed a goal.

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AFPSubs & Manager

Savinho (5/10):

Couldn't cause any danger.

Matheus Nunes (N/A):

Introduced in the 84th minute.

Pep Guardiola (4/10):

Sought to control the game through possession but his side lacked ideas against a typically stern Juve defence. Recalling Ederson also backfired badly and there is no escape from the results crisis.

Also says Ravindra Jadeja is “looking good” at training on return from his thumb injury

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2021MS Dhoni is likely to remain part of the Chennai Super Kings set-up at IPL 2022, according to the franchise’s CEO, Kasi Viswanathan. Viswanathan also confirmed that allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, who left India’s tour of Australia early with a broken thumb and hasn’t played since then, is “looking good”.”I don’t think it is going to be his final year. This is my personal view and I don’t think we are looking at anybody now,” Viswanathan told the .This is not the first time Viswanathan has come out with such a statement. With doubts over Dhoni’s future in the game swirling ever since the end of the 2019 World Cup, he had said last August, “We can expect MS Dhoni to be part of both [IPL 2020 and 2021] and probably for even the next year – 2022.”Four days later, Dhoni retired from international cricket, and the Super Kings went on to have a woeful run at the 2020 IPL, finishing seventh out of eight teams in the UAE. Dhoni himself managed only 200 runs from 12 innings at a strike rate of 116.27 in the tournament. Questions of a complete overhaul of the Super Kings set-up naturally followed, prompting the question to be put to Viswanathan.On the topic of Jadeja, who had fractured his left thumb during India’s epic draw in the New Year’s Test in Sydney, Viswanathan said that while he might not have played cricket since that game, he has been training with the team and they are hopeful of him being fully match fit for their opening game, against Delhi Capitals on April 10. “See, Jadeja has been cleared [to play] by the NCA [National Cricket Academy],” he said. “He has joined our team for practice. He is looking good. He is working hard. And we are hoping that he will be fully fit by the time the IPL starts.”Viswanathan also said the Super Kings’ decision to pick Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara at the auction – his first IPL gig since 2014 – was partly down to wanting to “honour him” following his fine showing in Australia, but also because of his “calibre” as a batsman. The bid – at his base price of INR 50 lakh (USD 69,000 approx.) – drew attention given the tempo and style of his batting: his T20 strike rate stands at 109.35.”We also wanted to honour him, that’s for sure. But at the same time, I can tell you one thing, a person of his calibre with such good technique, he can adapt to any format,” Viswanathan said. “That is our view. He can be a player who can contribute a lot to CSK. That’s what we felt and that is the reason why we picked him.”He will certainly have a role to play, but I cannot say whether he will play the first game or the second game.”The Super Kings’ top officials throwing their weight behind Dhoni is not new. Last year, N Srinivasan, the vice-chairman and managing director of India Cements, owners of the Super Kings, had also indicated that Dhoni would be retained at the next mega auction, at the time scheduled for the lead-up to the 2021 edition. As part of the fallout of the pandemic, that has now been postponed by a year, and it remains to be seen whether Srinivasan’s opinion stands then.

Celtic have received an offer for a player who Ange Postecoglou admired during his time as manager, according to an update from Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph.

Celtic transfer news

The Hoops are preparing for yet another defence of their Scottish Premiership title, but Brendan Rodgers will know the importance of adding to his squad to stave off the threat of rivals Rangers, as well as making sure they are as best equipped as possible to do well in the Champions League.

Celtic have been backed to make a move for Burnley centre-back Dara O'Shea, while reports have also claimed that Royal Antwerp ace Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Wolves left-back Hugo Bueno and ex-Hoops striker Adam Idah are all targets, too.

In the case of Bueno, the Scottish giants are believed to have made a new approach to snap him up, seeing him as a standout choice to add quality at left-back.

Meanwhile, Tanner Tessman has also been linked with joining Celtic in the current transfer window, with the United States international currently plying his trade at newly promoted Serie A side Venezia. He only has one cap to his name for his country, but will be hoping to force his way into their plans more often ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Celtic could lose player who Postecoglou admired

Taking to X, Sky Sports journalist Joseph claimed that Celtic have received a loan offer from Belgian club KV Mechelen for Stephen Welsh, suggesting the 24-year-old could depart this summer amid interest elsewhere from English Championship clubs:

In truth, this feels like the right time for Welsh to at least be sent out on loan somewhere, or even seal a permanent move away from Celtic, given his lack of football recently. Last season, the defender was limited to just five appearances in the Scottish Premiership, with a further five coming from the substitutes' bench, although an ankle injury did keep him out for an extended period of time.

While Rodgers may not see much of a future for the centre-back at Parkhead, he could be a good signing for another team, having averaged 2.8 successful aerial duels per game last term – the fifth-best total in the squad – as well as once being hailed by Postecoglou, who said of him:

"Welshy has shown a lot of growth. I expect that from all the players. He has come back for pre-season and worked really hard through it. We are challenging him to take his game to another level. He has definitely gone up a level from last year and hopefully he knows that we will try to get even more out of him."

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The fact that the £8,600-a-week Welsh has never started more than 10 league games in a campaign for Celtic speaks volumes about his squad status, so a move away would arguably suit all parties.

It's an understatement to say that the mood at the Stadium of Light was flat come the end of the last Championship season, with Sunderland looking directionless on and off the pitch.

The doom and gloom that ended up engulfing the Black Cats led to a dire 16th placed finish being served up after the 46-game slog was over, as Regis Le Bris now aims to lead Sunderland into a far more positive campaign to come as the new manager in the pressurised hot-seat.

Alexandre Mendy joining the ranks this summer could give the Black Cats some much-needed firepower, but that statement move seems to have now reached a standstill.

Even though last season was one that many on Wearside will want to forget, there are players from that squad that will be expected to perform under the new French boss away from any incomings joining, like this promising midfielder.

Pierre Ekwah's time at Sunderland

Pierre Ekwah, like many of his colleagues at the Stadium of Light, had an up-and-down season on the whole donning a Sunderland strip last time out, but did still manage to show flashes of immense quality.

Only making 14 appearances during his debut season in the second tier, Ekwah became more of a key first-team presence during the following campaign, with 40 second-tier games under his belt.

The former West Ham United youth product would help himself to five goals and two assists, often regularly lining up in the side next to Dan Neil in the holding midfield spots of the starting XI, with two strikes even coming his way during an early season clash against Russell Martin's Southampton.

He was beginning to live up to his billing as an "outstanding" talent that was handed out to him by football journalist Josh Bunting when he was first starting to make an impression on Wearside, but it hasn't been all smooth sailing for the 22-year-old.

The promising Frenchman has found himself struggling for pre-season minutes as of late, owing to injury issues, whilst the Black Cats number 39 faded in and out of games towards the back-end of the gruelling 23/24 season, with his final day display seeing him be substituted off after offering very little in a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

Still, the Championship outfit won't be tempted to sell him on – even with Udinese reportedly being a keen admirer – in the hope he has more in the tank ahead of a potential promotion charge to come, despite his value increasing to above Mendy's £4m price tag.

Ekwah's transfer value in 2024

Ekwah's valuation now stands at a pretty £5m, according to Football Transfers, with that £1m more than Mendy's reported price tag.

That's the case despite the current SM Caen man running away with the Ligue 2 golden boot last season in France, with 22 goals next to his name, which must have then piqued the interest of Le Bris' men.

Player

Value

1. Anthony Patterson

£10.3m

2. Jack Clarke

£7.1m

3. Jobe Bellingham

£6.9m

4. Trai Hume

£5.9m

5. Pierre Ekwah

£5m

Ekwah's bumped-up value means he just sneaks into the top five most profitable assets in Le Bris' camp currently, with the likes of Jack Clarke and Jobe Bellingham above him, who have been touted to move to luxurious new locations in the Premier League and beyond.

If Ekwah ends up coming into his own even more this season to come, that £5m price tag next to his name could go up even further, with his importance to the cause at the Stadium of Light potentially heightened if Clarke or Bellingham do move on.

Sunderland were also once in line to make a swoop for a cheaper striker target in the form of free agent Žan Vipotnik over Mendy, before his move to Swansea City was confirmed, but Le Bris will still go about constructing his new-look side, ahead of the new exciting second-tier campaign.

Jobe Bellingham future decided as Sunderland star blocking big money exit

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ByHenry Jackson Jul 30, 2024

Captain focused on finding best roles for star players, rather than simply winning

Andrew Miller26-Nov-2020Eoin Morgan has welcomed the prospect of picking from a full complement of England T20I players for arguably the first time in more than a year, but admitted he is no closer to knowing what his best XI should be, given the extraordinary wealth of options at the squad’s disposal.Speaking on the eve of the first T20I in Cape Town, Morgan said he was anticipating an “extremely competitive, well-fought series”, much like England’s last encounter with South Africa in February, in which they won the T20Is 2-1 after sharing the spoils in the ODI leg.But, while a string of victories between now and the next T20 World Cup – scheduled to take place in India (or the UAE) this time next year – would go a long way towards confirming England as one of the favourites for the title, Morgan said the most pressing challenge in the intervening months would be to identity England’s “best six or seven batsmen”, and fit them into roles that bring out their very best attributes.ALSO READ: South Africa to make anti-racism stand after BLM criticismThe competition for places has been intense in the build-up to the series, with two hard-fought intra-squad matches followed by what Morgan admitted had been some “dangerous” net sessions, given the lay-out of the practice wickets at Newlands.”The guys are trying to hit them into the stands pretty much every second ball,” he explained, “and the nets have been pointed towards the changing room and the dug-out where a lot of our stuff is, so it’s pretty dangerous. It’s eyes open, absolutely all the time.”But short of paring down his options with a few well-directed range hits, Morgan admitted he was at a loss as to how best to juggle a squad that Jason Roy this week said possessed “frightening” amounts of talent.”The honest answer is we don’t know our best XI yet,” Morgan said. “There are probably seven or eight guys who are pretty strong candidates to be in our playing XI, but the strength of the squad that we’ve selected, and the reserves that we have here, has made our full-strength side available for selection for the first time in a long time. That makes it very exciting.”Winning at the moment would be great, but the process of going through what’s best for our team and best for our players, to try and beat the opposition is extremely important,” he added. “Given the luxury of players that we have at our disposal, it’s more important that we get their roles right and they feel comfortable within that, because if we manage to solve that problem, the results will look after themselves.”Though England reached the final of the last World T20 in Kolkata in 2016, the format had been on the back-burner in the lead-up to the 2019 50-over World Cup, by which stage England had such a settled line-up that their ODI first XI more or less picked itself.But now that the 20-over format has been installed as the white-ball team’s priority, England face a race against time and availability to replicate that same level of role clarity that carried them to glory at Lord’s last summer.Their most recent T20I series, a 2-1 win over Australia in September, featured something close to England’s best XI, although Ben Stokes was absent for personal reasons and Roy was injured.Eoin Morgan looks on during an England nets session•Getty Images

But, notwithstanding the prospect of a Covid-19 vaccine in the spring, Morgan said he envisaged all of England’s contests taking place in bio-secure bubbles for the foreseeable future. Therefore the T20I team may not get many opportunities to field its best XI, with ten Tests against India and an Ashes tour next winter giving the multi-format players, in particular the likes of Stokes and Jofra Archer, a potentially debilitating workload.Archer, in fact, has played just four T20Is in his England career to date, and missed the last series in South Africa after sustaining an elbow injury during the Tests. And while Morgan was relishing the prospect of unleashing the IPL’s recently crowned MVP, he also warned that Archer would require particularly sympathetic handling in the coming months.”He’s one of the best in the world, so he’s incredible to have around,” Morgan said. “But I don’t think we’ll have him that often, between now and the World Cup. The challenge of him trying to commit to all the Tests and all of the T20s, I think that’s too much. So we’re just trying to get him into a headspace where he’s enjoying his cricket while he’s with us, and trying to make the most of the opportunity while he’s with us.”One T20I series that Archer will be inked in for, fitness permitting, is the impending tour of India in the new year, given that could be a chance to trial England’s first-choice XI in the same conditions that they will face at the World Cup. And by then, England may also have a better idea of how and where to fit Sam Curran into their line-up, given how much his stock as a white-ball cricketer rose during the recent IPL.For the time being, Curran may find himself competing with Moeen Ali as an allrounder at No. 7. But, with the likely need for two spinners at the World Cup, and given Curran’s powerful ball-striking, often in adversity for Chennai Super Kings at the IPL, Morgan admitted they were beginning to think of him as a second batting allrounder alongside Ben Stokes.”Coming off the back of the IPL, Sam has certainly grown in confidence, probably even more so with the bat than the ball,” Morgan said, after a tournament in which Curran racked up 186 runs from 141 balls, in addition to 13 wickets at 26.46. “He was thrown in in all sorts of circumstances, and had all sorts of challenges, but came out the other side glowing, which is great and very difficult to do in a side that really didn’t compete at all over there.”So he’s grown a huge amount in confidence, but certainly when it comes to selection, we’ll be looking to play what we think is our best XI to beat South Africa, here and now.”

تلقى نادي بيراميدز إخطارا رسمياً اليوم الإثنين من رابطة الأندية المحترفة بشأن مباراة الفريق أمام الأهلي، ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي الأهلي مع بيراميدز في الجولة الخامسة من الدوري المصري، يوم السبت 30 أغسطس 2025، في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية.

وقررت رابطة الأندية في خطابها نقل مباراة الفريقان الأهلي وبيراميدز إلى استاد السلام بدلا من إقامتها على استاد القاهرة الدولي.

وجاء ذلك نظراً لأعمال الصيانة بأرضية استاد القاهرة فإنه تقرر نقل لقاء الأهلي وبيراميدز ليقام على استاد السلام.

طالع أيضاً.. لجنة الحكام تحدد شروط استقدام طاقم أجنبي لمباراة الأهلي وبيراميدز

ويحتل الأهلي المركز الثاني في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 4 نقاط، بينما يتواجد بيراميدز بالمركز السابع، ولديه 4 نقاط أيضاً.

يذكر أن الأهلي تعادل في مباراة الجولة الأولى مع مودرن سبورت بنتيجة 2-2، وفاز على فاركو في الجولة الثانية بنتيجة ثقيلة 4-1.

على الجانب الآخر، تعادل فريق بيراميدز في مباراة الجولة الأولى سلبياً مع وادي دجلة، وفاز في مواجهة الجولة الثانية على الإسماعيلي بهدف دون رد.