Aaron Ramsey has told Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou there is an "unbelievable talent" in his ranks, and he is yet to play a minute for Spurs.

Who have Tottenham signed 2023?

The north Londoners enjoyed a productive summer window; securing seven major signings in goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, young centre-back Ashley Phillips, defender Micky van de Ven, England star James Maddison, winger Manor Solomon, striker Alejo Veliz and forward Brennan Johnson.

A section of Postecoglou's new crop have taken to life at Tottenham with real aplomb, perhaps most notably Maddison, who's racked up two goals and two assists over his first four Premier League games.

Vicario and van de Ven have also put in some solid displays to help maintain Spurs' current unbeaten streak in the top flight. Postecoglou's men have tasted victory in three out of their opening four encounters; putting Man United, Bournemouth and Burnley to the sword.

Life after Antonio Conte is looking rosy thus far, with Spurs returning to action against newly-promoted Sheffield United this weekend. The match represents an opportunity for Postecoglou to seal yet another three points and prove his previous doubters very wrong.

The Australian has become a popular figure at N17 with members of the squad, like Sweden international forward Dejan Kulusevski, admitting the head coach is taking people by "surprise" with his ability.

"I've been a little surprised but he’s really good," said Kulusevski on his manager.

"We had a very tough time at the end of last season but he has come in with really positive energy and it has gone very quickly. We are a young team and everyone wants to play this way… It's clear that all of us players have done our best to listen as much as possible."

The international break has been an opportunity for certain Spurs players to showcase their skills to Postecoglou, and highlight why they should be given future look-ins for his starting line up.

One of those is Wales international and summer arrival Johnson, who hasn't had the chance to don a Lilywhites jersey just yet after signing from Nottingham Forest on deadline day.

Former Arsenal star Ramsey, speaking to the media (via Football Daily) earlier this week, absolutely heralded the 22-year-old and praised his "unbelievable talent".

"He's an unbelievable talent and has shown over the last year or so at Forest what he's capable of doing," said Ramsey.

"Hopefully he can take another step going forward, and hopefully for Wales he can be a main part of that for many years to come.

"He has so much ability, it's about us now just linking him and getting our front three really firing, playing together, giving each other opportunities and asking questions of the opposition."

How good is Brennan Johnson?

Ramsey isn't the only big name to praise Johnson, with Man United legend turned pundit Roy Keane calling him "very talented" all the way back in early 2022.

"No doubt a lot of teams are looking at him and we'll see if Forest can hold on to him," said Keane on ITV (via Nottinghamshire Live) ahead of their FA Cup clash with Arsenal.

"It will be interested to see what he's like against a tricky team. He's got a bit of pace and he's tricky.

"He's got an assist in him and he's really talented. Sometimes you need to go out on loan."

أثنى كريم نيدفيد لاعب فريق الكرة بـ الأهلي على الدعم الذي حصل عليه الفريق من مجلس إدارة القلعة الحمراء خلال السنوات الماضية وخاصة بعد الهزيمة التاريخية أمام صن داونز عام 2019.

وكان الأهلي قد سقط أمام صن داونز في ربع نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا بنتيجة 5-0 بمباراة الذهاب بجنوب إفريقيا.

وقال كريم نيدفيد في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة الأهلي: “الجيل الحالي ساعد مجلس الإدارة، ولكن مجلس الإدارة هو الذي وقف مع هذا الجيل في البداية بعد خسارة صن داونز بخماسية، لو هناك مجلس إدارة آخر كان أنهى على هذا الجيل”.

وأكمل: “إدارة النادي رأت أن هذا الجيل محترم وصبروا علينا وقادر على تحقيق نتائج جيدة، أعتقد هذه المباراة غيرت من تاريخ النادي كله، وكذلك جعلت اللاعبين لديهم شخصية وإصرار على إخراج أفضل شيء لديهم”.

طالع | حسام البدري: الخطيب استجاب لطلبنا بشأن استاد الأهلي.. ومنتخب مصر سيفوز على بوركينا فاسو

وتابع: “الطبيعي أن يكون لاعب كرة القدم شخصية جيدة وأن يتقبل قرارت المدير الفني سواء شارك أم لا، والمدرب في النهاية هو من يُحاسب وليس اللاعب، المفترض أن اللاعب يفعل عمله فقط”.

وواصل: “الموسم ما زال يبدأ لم ينته بعد، أمامنا السوبر الإفريقي وقبله بطولة الدوري المصري، والمنافسة المحلية صعبة، بيراميدز أصبح فارق عنا بعدد المباريات وأصبحنا تحت ضغط أكثر من الأول”.

واختتم: “سنفوز في مبارياتنا ونكون في مكاننا الطبيعي أول الدوري، ولكن الأمر ليس سهلا، يجب أن نكون مركزين في الدوري جيدا ولا تكون هناك فرصة في إهدار أي نقطة، وهذه أهم بطولة بالنسبة لنا في كل موسم”.

Mitchell Santner “didn’t know what to do” after he struck the winning blow in the first one-day international against England to take New Zealand to a victory that appeared to have slipped away.There was an element of modesty of assessing his performance in the remark, but in a sense it also reflected the role Santner plays in New Zealand’s one-day side where his batting has taken a definite back seat to his left-arm spin, in which role he is now their No. 1.Having briefly batted at No. 6 early his career he now resides at No. 8 – a spot higher on occasions – and is rarely talked about for his hitting. This was his fourth 40+ score in 39 ODI innings and three of those came in his first 11 knocks.One of those was against England at Trent Bridge in 2015, during his fourth ODI, when he plundered 44 off 19 balls which included taking 28 off an over Adil Rashid – the 48th over to be precise, the same one that swung the game back New Zealand’s way in Hamilton. Six of Santner’s 19 ODI sixes have now come off Rashid.When Santner began his innings he had Ross Taylor for company and the pair talked about getting the chase down to 10 an over off the last five. He was 14 off 17 balls at the beginning of the 48th over – which included an earlier pulled six off Tom Curran – with New Zealand needing 34 off 18 in a game where few batsmen had found timing easy, but immediately latched on to two drag downs from Rashid. A smite over square leg in the penultimate over eased the pressure, before a flick to fine leg and the final blow over midwicket off Chris Woakes.”I didn’t know what to do,” he said of the winning moment. “I don’t usually celebrate.”It was hard to start, the new batsman coming in having to hit straight away was always going to be difficult. It took a few dots to get in but you could catch up later on at the end.”He heeded the advice of his senior partner. “Good that he listened,” Taylor joked.England captain Eoin Morgan acknowledged the final shift in a topsy-turvy match. “He took advantage of two loose balls and he struck them well,” he said. “It was a big moment, to take them needing 12 an over to eight. That’s a big moment.”Taylor, who made a superb 113 off 116 balls to take the Man of the Match award, adding 178 for the fourth wicket with Tom Latham, said the short boundaries always kept New Zealand hopeful once they had overcome the poor start which left them 27 for 3.”You always knew in Hamilton that you were only a couple of big hits away from keeping up with the run rate,” Taylor said. “They made a few plays – bringing Rashid on to get me out, that was a bold move, then to continue him, also”Credit to this guy [Santner]. Tommy [Latham] and I did well but the way he was able to get us across the line was very important.”

Glasgow Rangers have not won a trophy since Giovanni van Bronckhorst led the club to Scottish Cup success at the end of the 2021/22 season and Michael Beale is now facing the pressure as a result.

Who were van Bronckhorst's most expensive Rangers signings?

The Dutch head coach, who was replaced by Beale during the break for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar last term, secured just the one piece of silverware during his time at Ibrox.

That said, van Bronckhorst was not blessed with a huge amount of money to spend, making his accomplishment rather impressive.

Player

Fee paid

Ben Davies

£4m

Ridvan Yilmaz

£3.4m

Rabbi Matondo

£2.6m

Antonio Colak

£2.1m

Mateusz Zukowski

£511k

Fees via Transfermarkt.

This meant that the former Feyenoord boss had to be creative with how he and Ross Wilson went about their business in the transfer market.

They had to spend wisely and pick up unearthed gems in order to significantly bolster the team and one player they missed out on would have been a perfect fit in that regard.

Former Rangers defender Bert Konterman recently revealed that van Bronckhorst attempted to sign Tijjani Reijnders from AZ Alkmaar in 2022. The ex-Gers man advised the player's father that a move to Ibrox would have come too soon and convinced him to remain with the Dutch side.

How much was Reijnders worth at Alkmaar?

There is no mention of how much the Light Blues were willing to pay for the 25-year-old but, Football Transfers placed his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at just €1m (£860k) in August of that year.

This came after the Dutch talent had an underwhelming Eredivisie campaign with Alkmaar during the 2021/22 campaign as he struggled to break into the team on a regular basis after showcasing his talent at youth level.

The talented prospect racked up 19 goals and 13 assists in 92 matches for the club's U21 side to earn himself an opportunity within the senior squad.

Reijnders averaged an unimpressive Sofascore rating of 6.84 across 33 league outings in 2021/22 and was only named in the starting line-up on 11 occasions, which suggests that his manager did not trust him to start week-in-week-out at that time.

He did produce four goals and two assists, along with four 'big chances' created for his teammates, but there had not been any evidence of consistently impressive displays.

However, van Bronckhorst clearly saw a talent there and wanted to bring him to the Scottish giants to unearth a gem but was unable to convince the player to make the switch, due in part to Konterman's advice.

The Dutch head coach will surely regret not pushing harder or being more convincing as Reijnders went on to enjoy a phenomenal 2022/23 campaign.

How much is Reijnders worth now?

After an impressive season with Alkmaar, Italian giants AC Milan, who reached the semi-final of the Champions League last term, secured his services for a reported fee of €19m (£16m) plus add-ons this summer.

This means that his value rocketed by 1,800% from the initial €1m that he was rated at by Football Transfers a year ago. Although, they currently rate his xTV at €14.3m (£12.3m) which is less than the actual value of his move to Milan but still a whopping increase of 1,300%.

Therefore, Rangers could have signed a player who had the potential to exponentially increase his worth to the club within the space of a year, which could have resulted in the Scottish giants being able to rake in a significant profit on him further down the line.

Why is Reijnders worth that much?

His soaring market price has come off the back of his superb form for Alkmaar last season. Reijnders finally established himself as a regular starter for the Dutch side and delivered consistently excellent displays in midfield.

He averaged a sublime Sofascore rating of 7.32 across 34 Eredivisie starts and caught the eye with his contributions at both ends of the pitch.

Reijnders showcased his creative quality with seven assists, 1.8 key passes per game, and 12 'big chances' created in total for his teammates in the Dutch top-flight.

The 25-year-old wizard also displayed his defensive ability with 2.7 tackles and interceptions per match in the middle of the park, which shows that he was willing to put his foot in to win possession back for his team on a regular basis each game.

Only three outfield players, Todd Cantwell, James Tavernier, and Borna Barisic, averaged a higher Sofascore rating for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership last season than Reijnders did for Alkmaar. This suggests that he had the potential to be one of van Bronckhorst's, and subsequently Michael Beale's, top performers at Ibrox.

The Milan star's seven assists also indicate that he could have been a terrific creator in midfield for the Light Blues. No Gers midfielder managed more than four league assists during the 2022/23 campaign, which suggests that the side lacked creativity in that area of the pitch.

How has Reijnders performed this season?

Reijnders, who made his debut for the Netherlands earlier this month, has hit the ground running in Milan since his £16m transfer to the Italian side.

The terrific midfield general, who was once hailed as the star of an "unplayable" midfield for Alkmaar by journalist Josh Bunting, has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.10 across three Serie A outings to date.

He has completed 92% of his attempted passes and provided one assist, from one 'big chance' created, to go along with a 100% dribble success rate, as per Sofascore.

At the age of 25, Reijnders also still has plenty of time left on his hands to develop further to increase his market value by even more over the years to come.

The Dutchman could hone his skills with Milan, thanks to the experience of playing in a major European league, before making another big move in the future, if he continues to grow and adapt his game.

Indeed, it's safe to say that Van Bronckhorst certainly made a mistake by failing to sign him for Rangers.

India have won their first bilateral series in South Africa across any format bar a one-off T20, with victory in the fifth ODI in Port Elizabeth

The Report by Firdose Moonda13-Feb-2018India have won their first bilateral series in South Africa across any format bar a one-off T20, with victory in the fifth ODI in Port Elizabeth. Their success in the series has been fashioned by their wristspinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who have taken 30 out of the 43 South African wickets to fall in five matches, at an average of 13.63.Chahal and Kuldeep shared six wickets between them at St George’s Park, where India defended a below-par total in a messy effort in the field that still managed to force a South African collapse. The hosts lost 6 for 31 to crash from 166 for 4 in the 35th over to being bowled out inside 43 overs and only have a win in a rain-shortened match in Johannesburg to show for their efforts.India, on the other hand, have plenty to celebrate including the form of Rohit Sharma. After Virat Kohli in the first and third ODIs and Shikhar Dhawan in the fourth, finally Rohit, who did not manage a half-century in eight innings on this tour or over 20 in the ODIs, raised his bat to a hundred. But his innings was not without its drama.Rohit witnessed two run-outs at the other end, including that of Kohli, survived a review, was dropped on 96 and then his dismissal sparked a mini-collapse in which India lost four wickets for 29 to finish with 274 for 7. India only scored 78 runs in the last 15 overs and South Africa would have fancied their chances,The early battle lines were drawn between Kagiso Rabada and Shikhar Dhawan with the former ramping up his pace to 150kph and the latter dealing in boundaries. Dhawan scored all but two of his 34 runs in fours and took five of them off Rabada, who gave him an animated send-off.At the other end, Rohit could have just been content with keeping Rabada at bay, given that Rabada had dismissed him in six out of eight innings on this tour. But Rohit was not merely content. He launched Rabada over long-on to show early intent and went on to take on the short balls, which Lungi Ngidi offered generously in his opening spell.JP Duminy and Tabraiz Shamsi bowled in tandem for eight overs but their attempts to create pressure were stymied by the penchant for boundary balls. They conceded 49 runs in that time and it was only some quick work in the field that slowed India down.Ultimately, Duminy removed Kohli but not in the way he would have imagined. Rohit tapped a Morkel delivery off the back foot and refused a run but Kohli was already on his way. Duminy had enough time to collect the ball from point and underarm it directly onto the stumps.Kohli’s dismissal quietened Rohit and India only scored 23 runs off the next 38 balls before Ajinkya Rahane was run-out. He was left stranded after tapping the ball to Morkel at mid-on; Rohit once again was not keen on the quick single.If India were aiming for 300, Rohit needed to rebuild with the middle and lower order but getting his own milestone appeared to be the first mission and South Africa seemed determined to deny him. They appealed for caught behind when Rohit pulled Andile Phehlukwayo on 90 and reviewed the umpire’s call of not out but replays showed the ball had hit the thigh pad. On 96, Rohit ramped and offered a straightforward catch to Shamsi, who could not hold on. Rohit’s hundred eventually came up off 107 balls at the end of the 36th over, giving him enough time to make it really count.But he could not. Instead, there was almost another run-out, that of Shreyas Iyer, some tentative nudging and nurdling and then Rohit was undone by extra bounce from Ngidi and caught behind. Hardik Pandya bottom-edged the next ball to Heinrich Klaasen and Iyer top-edged Ngidi to the wicketkeeper as well. India lost three wickets for two runs in 13 balls and needed MS Dhoni to finish off but as has been the case throughout the series, he could not get going.The opposite was true for Hashim Amla, who made his first score of significance in the ODI series and kept South Africa in the game until he too, was run-out. Amla’s intent was obvious from the third ball when he slashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar past backward point for four.Rohit Sharma raises his bat after getting to his century•BCCIIyer, whose memory of dropping David Miller at the Wanderers must be fresh, put down Aiden Markram at extra cover. Markram was on 9 when he drilled the drive to Iyer and started to play as though he would make India pay but not for too long. He was caught at midwicket two balls before the end of the Powerplay.India almost had another wicket off the next ball but Duminy’s inside edge fell just short of Dhoni. Exactly six balls later, Duminy edged Pandya to slip but Pandya’s bigger contributions were yet to come. In his next over, he had AB de Villiers caught behind and South Africa were reduced to 65 for 3.Amla had David Miller to keep the required run rate in check and the pair accumulated steadily. They shared a 62-run fourth-wicket stand and tried to rotate strike against India’s wristspinners. Miller survived an lbw review off Chahal, hit him for six and on the hand but Chahal also produced some deliveries Miller knew nothing about. He was eventually bowled by one such ball, which meandered towards him with the pace of a Port Elizabeth day (read ‘slow’) and crashed into his stumps.By then, Amla had been let off on 38, by Rahane at short point off Pandya, and India were already racking up what-should-have-beens which would only have grown longer as Amla batted on. His first fifty of the series came off 72 balls. With Klaasen at the other end, despite the climbing run rate, South Africa would have been confident that they could accelerate with wickets in hand.It was only when Amla was run-out, by the smallest of margins when he failed to get any part of his bat over the line after setting off for a hasty single off Bhuvneshwar, that the task began to look too tough. Pandya was the fielder and his direct hit of the non-striker’s stumps sent South Africa into freefall. The next five wickets fell in 47 balls, all to wristspin and three in four balls in Kuldeep’s last over.

MatériaMais Notícias

O momento do Corinthians não é dos melhores, mas pelo menos o técnico Dyego Coelho demonstrou estar satisfeito com algo em sua equipe: a evolução do sistema defensivo. Na madrugada de sábado para domingo, o treinador deu suas impressões sobre o empate do Timão, em 0 a 0, com o Red Bull Bragantino e evitou falar sobre a briga contra o rebaixamento.

-A gente briga por cada jogo. Procurando evoluir, taticamente tentando fazer com que os jogadores entendam nossa proposta. Vamos lutar jogo a jogo, é simplesmente isso – afirmou o treinador na abertura de sua entrevista coletiva.

O Corinthians não vence há três jogos no Campeonato Brasileiro e soma apenas 14 pontos em 39 disputados. A equipe tem apenas dois pontos de vantagem para a zona de rebaixamento e cada vez mais fica ameaçada de entrar no grupo dos quatro últimos colocados.

Em entrevista, Coelho salientou que o time está em evolução e, aos poucos, vai melhorando seu desempenho dentro de campo. O comandante do Timão ressaltou que a equipe não sofre gols há dois jogos e que os treinamentos no CT Joaquim Grava visam exatamente a segurança defensiva. A próxima etapa é melhorar o ataque.

-É uma questão de ajuste. Foi isso que aconteceu. Vamos trabalhando em evolução. Não estamos conseguindo fazer os gols, mas também não estamos tomando. É o nosso segundo jogo sem sofrer gol e é uma evolução. Isso leva tempo e estamos tentando otimizar o mais rápido possível – respondeu o pressionado técnico do Corinthians.

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Confira outros trechos da entrevista de Dyego Coelho:

Análise sobre desempenho pessoal
Foram duas semanas de treino e a gente sabe que essa evolução não vem rápida. Uma situação tática que a gente fez hoje e funcionou foi uma situação de três jogadores na linha de construção e um no meio trazendo os laterais para o meio e abrindo o corredor. Isso, eles (jogadores) estão querendo fazer. A nossa transição começa a ficar mais fácil. Isso me deixa esperançoso para ter uma situação ofensiva melhor. Temos muito o que melhorar e estamos tentando, sobretudo na parte ofensiva. Defensivamente, algumas coisas já melhoraram. É o trabalho que mostrará nossa evolução.

Sobre Cantillo
Parabenizei o Cantillo pelo jogo que ele fez. No primeiro tempo vi que ele não estava se sentindo bem entre os zagueiros e depois coloquei ele um pouco mais para frente. Hoje, na minha opinião, ele fez uma grande partida. Foi uma situação que eu gostei bastante e o parabenizei depois do jogo.

continua após a publicidade

Motivação no trabalho
Me sinto cada dia com mais vontade de trabalhar e fazer com que as coisas melhorem o mais rápido possível para o clube. Sabemos que não estamos em um momento que gostaríamos, mas temos de trabalhar para sairmos disso o mais rápido possível. É trabalhando, não tem jeito, não tem outra situação. Estamos todos juntos para fazer com que o Corinthians ganhe o mais rápido possível. Vejo isso nos olhos dos jogadores.

Ten of the visiting batsmen got to or past 18, but only one – Pat Cummins at No. 8 – went on to score a half-century

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2018Matt King – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

A five-wicket haul from Beuran Hendricks restricted the Australians to a succession of unconverted starts on the second day of their tour match against South Africa A in Benoni. Replying to South Africa A’s first-innings total of 220, the Australians were bowled out after taking a 109-run lead. The left-armer Hendricks picked up his 14th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, and found useful support from his fellow seamers Duanne Olivier and Malusi Siboto, who picked up two wickets apiece.Then the home side’s openers, Zubayr Hamza and Pieter Malan, batted through the last 18 overs of day two to move their side to 55 for 0 at stumps.Ten of the Australians got to or past 18, but only one of them – Pat Cummins at No. 8, who made an unbeaten 59 – went on to make 50. The only batsman out for a single-digit score was Peter Handscomb, who was out for a three-ball duck on day one.Resuming with their side 87 for 3, the overnight pair of Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh stretched their fourth-wicket stand to 60 before the latter fell for 25. Bancroft fell 4.5 overs later for 45.A few more partnerships of middling length followed: 43 for the sixth wicket between Mitchell Marsh and Tim Paine, 47 for the eighth between Cummins and Mitchell Starc, and 64 – the biggest of the innings – between Cummins and Nathan Lyon, who struck 38 off 34 balls with three fours and two sixes. All of these allowed the Australians to comfortably surpass South Africa A’s first-innings effort.

Chelsea once again proved their ability to spend big in the summer with yet another major overhaul of players, resulting in an incredible number of incomings and departures. Yet, here they are, four games into the Premier League season, a reported €462m (£396m) spent, and there are still plenty of concerns.

The Blues have won just once in the league so far this season, which came against newly-promoted Luton Town. Aside from those three points, Mauricio Pochettino's tenure has started with a draw against Liverpool on the opening day and defeats against West Ham United and Nottingham Forest, in what has been a disastrous first few weeks.

Now, it looks as though the London giants are looking to spend their way out of trouble once again, with one particular player eyed to finally solve their goalscoring problems.

What's the latest Chelsea transfer news?

Despite spending close to £400m, Chelsea's problems in front of goal have not disappeared this season.The hope was that the arrival of Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku would have put an end to their constant drought of goals, but after Nkunku suffered an injury in pre-season, the Blues were left in desperate need of a quick start from Jackson.

The forward has only shown glimpses, however, scoring just once in five games to turn Chelsea's attention towards January reinforcements. With that said, according to 90min, the Blues are readying a move for Brentford striker Ivan Toney, after another report earlier in the week revealed their interest.

Brentford are reportedly hoping that their star striker – who shares the same agency as Ben Chilwell – puts pen to paper on a new deal at the club, with his current deal coming to an end in 2025. When Toney returns from his ban, it will certainly be intriguing to see how much interest he receives, especially if he hits the ground running.

Should Chelsea sign Ivan Toney?

Whilst there may be some concerns about the form that Toney will return in after being forced to sit out for several months, this is still the striker that scored 20 goals in the Premier League last season that we're talking about. And goals are exactly what Chelsea need.

Statistically speaking, Toney was a cut above every one of Chelsea's attacking options last season, as per FBref, perhaps making his arrival imperative in January.

Player

Goals

Assists

Expected Goals

Ivan Toney

20

4

18.7

Raheem Sterling

6

3

6.2

Kai Havertz

7

1

11.6

Joao Felix

8

3

7.7

Arguably the most impressive stat is that Toney outperformed his expected goals last season, scoring 20 from 18.7 expected goals, whilst Chelsea's options last season underperformed in that area, in what is damning evidence of their struggles.

It is the type of performance that often comes with plenty of praise, and that's exactly what Toney received from Brentford manager Thomas Frank, who said, via Anfield Watch: "[Ivan Toney] was close-ish to being on the bench and available. Ivan is a monster, he is capable of dealing with a lot of pain and niggles."

With that said, the January transfer window will certainly be an interesting one to keep an eye on, especially if Chelsea decide to pursue Toney's signature.

The six-team tournament is slated for September; PCB to co-host Emerging Team’s Asia Cup with Sri Lanka in December

Umar Farooq10-Apr-2018The United Arab Emirates has been awarded the 2018 Asia Cup that was originally slated to be held in India. The tournament will be played between September 13 and 28, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.Political tensions between India and Pakistan has been cited as the reason for the change. “The ACC deliberated on the matter and decided that this was the best way forward,” Asian Cricket Council and PCB chairman Najam Sethi told ESPNcricinfo. “All decisions were unanimous. All participants agreed to support the return of international cricket to Pakistan subject to certain constraints. That’s why the ACC Annual General Meeting will he held in Lahore and the BCCI has pledged to participate in it like all other ACC members. That’s why a number of matches of the Emerging Asia Cup will be played in Pakistan.”The Asia Cup will feature 50-overs games between Full Members India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and a sixth team. The sixth team will be determined via a play-off that includes UAE, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and Oman. Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be the venues for the tournament, where India is to serve as the official host. The Emirates Cricket Board is renting out the stadiums.This will be the 14th edition of the Asia Cup. The first 12 were staged as ODI competitions, while the previous Asia Cup in 2016 was the first to be held as a T20I event, effectively as a warm-up event ahead of the World T20. India are the defending champions, having beaten Bangladesh in the final two years ago.The 2018 Emerging Teams’ Asia Cup, meanwhile, will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Originally slated for April, the tournament has been moved to December. Pakistan will also play host to the next ACC Annual General Meeting, which will be held later this year.

The Australian batsman admitted his cool facade was broken by his dismissal late on day three in Port Elizabeth, but that is a sign of his growing responsibility in the team

Daniel Brettig15-Mar-2018

Australian batsman Usman Khawaja admits his usually cool facade was broken by his damaging dismissal late on day three of the Port Elizabeth Test, as he continues his struggle to reach the heights of his contemporaries Steven Smith and David Warner, in a team where he no longer feels like a junior member.After a quiet start to the series, Khawaja had got into rhythm early with a volley of boundaries through the cover point region at St George’s Park, and seemed the man most likely to help Australia set South Africa a testing target on a deteriorating pitch. But in the shadows of stumps, he was pinned lbw by a Kagiso Rabada reverse swinger, and said he had seldom been more frustrated when walking off the field.”I don’t really get angry at myself if I make a mistake or things happen, but if I feel that I am in a position to win games for my team or to make a difference in the game, that’s probably when it annoys me the most and gets me to the most,” Khawaja told . “So it did trigger a little response.”It is a pretty bad feeling getting out right at the end. But, in my mind, I was making sure it was going to be a decent ball that was going to get me out. I wasn’t trying to go out there and do something extravagant. I was going to grind as long as I could, whether that could be for another half a day. Unfortunately, Rabada bowled a good ball and got me.”The frustration of the dismissal provided insight into how Khawaja has evolved as a cricketer. He admits that it took him time both to feel comfortable in the Australian dressing room and also to invest fully in team success. “Over the last couple of years I’ve really enjoyed playing cricket and found ways to enjoy it – and one of the ways I’ve found it is really enjoying team success when we win.”I probably feel a bit more comfortable now in this team than I did when I first came back a few years ago. I’ve been around for three years now so I don’t go out of my way and try to speak up for any reason, but if I think there needs to be something said I say it. I’ve got a pretty good relationship with Smudge (Smith) and with Davey (Warner) too, which always makes it better.”We have all grown up playing together so there is no sort of older player/younger player at the moment. There are no egos going around. Smudge is an excellent leader but there are always people coming around and saying what about this and what about that, and he’s good at thinking about that, which is nice.”As Smith and Warner have taken flight as international batsmen and leaders, Khawaja has remained a subject of some conjecture – brilliant in home conditions but less so abroad. The 75 in Port Elizabeth was Khawaja’s highest score in an overseas Test apart from New Zealand in 2016, and while prickly about addressing his away record, he said the familiarity of conditions in South Africa was useful in terms of starting an innings.”I felt that first wicket in Durban was very SCG-ish. There wasn’t too much swing, it reversed, it spun a little,” Khawaja said. “So, I think South African wickets are very similar to back home. This PE wicket was a little bit different because it played tricks the whole way through. But that’s the beauty of going outside Australia in different conditions. As batsmen, if the wicket is hard it is hard for everyone. If the wicket is easy, or is is a nice wicket, it is nice for everyone.One measure of Khawaja’s level of comfort with himself as an Australian cricketer is how late last year he penned a column about his experiences dealing with discrimination as a young player of an Asian background. In sticking his head above the parapet, in contrast to his earlier years when advised by his management to simply stick to the cricket, he faced criticism. But for all the barbs there was the knowledge that telling his story would also inspire others.”It’s probably not something I would have said or talked about a few years ago,” Khawaja said. “I think it’s important. It’s one of those things where Australia is growing – both in a sense of the cricketing country but who is playing. And where cricketers are coming from. And Australia as a whole. So for me it was important just to get my story out there, so people can relate and understand that if you want to achieve something, play for Australia or have goals – there’s always going to be things that hamper you.”I felt like if I wrote that story and it helped even one person to relate to where I came from, or where they are right now – to help them achieve what they want then it was a good enough reason to do it. I got a lot of good feedback, some negative feedback too. I’m fine with that, it doesn’t really bother me too much. The good far outweighs the bad.”