The team which qualifies in second place in this group will take on South Africa, the Group 2 toppers

S Rajesh24-Jun-2024

Australia’s 24-run defeat against India in the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 means their semi-final chances now depend on the result of the last group game, between Bangladesh and Afghanistan. For Australia to qualify, Bangladesh need to beat Afghanistan, but by a margin of under 62 runs if they bat first (assuming a total of 140). If Bangladesh chase, they’ll need to get to 141 in at least 12.4 overs for Australia to finish with a higher run rate.That means Bangladesh, whose net run rate is currently languishing at -2.489, need a huge win on Monday night to surpass Australia’s -0.331. A win by 62 or more runs, and a chase of 141 in 12.3 overs or earlier, will push them to second place on the points table. (If they level the scores and then win with a six, they can push the chase to 13.1 overs.) If Afghanistan score 160, Bangladesh can stay ahead of Australia by chasing it down in 12.5 overs or sooner (if they score 161), or in 13.3 overs if they level scores and win with a six.For Afghanistan, the equation is much easier: a win will ensure second place in the group and a place in the semi-finals, while a defeat will knock them out. That’s because even with a Super Over defeat, their NRR will only improve to -0.433, which is still below Australia’s -0.331.The team which qualifies in second place in this group will take on South Africa, the Group 2 toppers, in Tarouba in a night game on Wednesday, while India will take on England in the second semi-finals in a day game on Thursday in Providence.

Cricket Ireland has officially confirmed a first men’s tour of Pakistan in August and September next year. The series, which will see Ireland and Pakistan play three T20Is and three ODIs, was a part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP), scheduled for September 2025.The release makes no detailed mention of dates and venues, or any other specifics concerning the schedule of the tour. It follows in the wake of Ireland Women touring Pakistan, who also played three ODIs and three T20Is, in November 2022.The decision was finalised after PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met Cricket Ireland chair Brain MacNeice. The PCB initially put out a statement appearing to confirm Ireland would also play a Test series in Pakistan, one that was not part of the FTP.”Chairman Cricket Ireland said that the Irish team would visit Pakistan next year in August-September for a Test series and would also review the possibility of a women’s team tour to Pakistan soon,” the PCB statement said.When ESPNcricinfo contacted the PCB for further details, the PCB denied that any such Test series had officially been in agreement, despite the board’s own statement ostensibly confirming it. A Cricket Ireland spokesperson said that details of the tour’s fixture list would be discussed by the two boards in future.Hours after the PCB release, Cricket Ireland put out an official statement on their own website relating to Naqvi’s meeting with MacNeice. In “wide ranging discussions”, it merely confirmed that the two boards “were able to agree a men’s tour next year – this will be yet another historic first, coming after the tour to Pakistan by our senior women in 2022.”The Pakistan men’s side is currently in Ireland taking part in a three-match T20I series. The sides split the first two games 1-1, with the series decider on Tuesday.

CSK captain breaks down where they lost the game against LSG

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-20241:51

Jaffer: ‘Dube finds a way to score runs even against fast bowlers’

After Lucknow Super Giants pulled off the highest successful chase at Chepauk, the Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said that excess dew took the home team’s spinners out of the game.Even though Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali conceded only 37 runs in four overs, both spinners delivered only half their quota of overs in CSK’s unsuccessful defence of 210. LSG achieved victory with three balls to spare on the back of Marcus Stoinis’ unbeaten 124.”Tough pill to swallow,” Gaikwad, who scored an unbeaten 108 after CSK were sent into bat, said. “But good game of cricket. LSG played really well in the back end. We had the game in control till the 13th-14th over but hats off to Stoinis. He played brilliantly.”Dew played a part. I feel it was a slightly huge amount of dew and took our spinners away from the game. If there was no dew, we could have controlled the middle phase and taken the game deeper. It’s part of cricket. You really can’t change the non-controllable. Long way to go in the tournament.”Gaikwad also explained why Shivam Dube, CSK’s second-highest run-getter of IPL 2024 and the tournament’s most-prolific six-hitter, came into bat only in the 12th over.Dube walked in at No. 5 with CSK losing steam through the middle overs, but upped the run scoring rate with a 27-ball 66 that helped lift the hosts to 210 for 4. Before his arrival, Jadeja and Daryl Mitchell combined to score only 21 in 29 balls.”Well, obviously Jaddu [Jadeja] is batting at No. 4 and we lost the second wicket in the powerplay. So he was the one to come at that stage,” Gaikwad said. “We have a pretty much clear process and clear thinking and that after the powerplay if wicket comes then he [Dube] will come. You cannot force yourself to get out and ask him to come in.”Even though Dube had said at the halfway stage that CSK’s total was ten runs above par, Gaikwad said later that he felt the target of 211 was just about par.”Batting first, we couldn’t have got more than that,” he said. “To be honest, I never thought it was enough, just about par with the kind of dew we’ve been having in the last few practice sessions. I knew it will go down to the last over but credit to them, they batted really well.”Rahul on beating CSK in Chennai: ‘Super special’After completing the double over CSK in the league phase, KL Rahul said LSG’s victory at Chepauk felt “super special.””Very special, especially when it’s a game like that,” Rahul said. “A total of 210-plus runs scored on either side. Felt like, for most of the innings when we were batting, we were way behind in the game and just to pull off a victory like that…. super special.”[Beating CSK earlier] didn’t make a difference, it was a fresh start. Both teams start on zero and there were different conditions here. They got off to a really good start here. And put pressure on our bowlers to get 210 on that pitch, I didn’t think it was a 200+ wicket, felt 170-180 was a good total on that pitch.”They batted well and we didn’t start well, but all credit to Stoinis. The way he batted. Phenomenal to watch from outside. Not just power hitting, but also very smart batting.”After suffering back-to-back defeats against LSG – and their third loss in their last five matches – CSK have slipped to fifth on the points table after eight games. LSG have climbed to fourth with ten points from eight games.

She is the first left-hander to play for the country and she wants to follow in the footsteps of her idol, Smriti Mandhana

Annesha Ghosh in Perth26-Feb-2020Murshida Khatun, the only left-hander to play for Bangladesh women, wanted to fulfill two dreams on Monday night. The first of those – to represent her country in a world tournament – came true and she struck an impressive 26-ball 30 against India at the WACA. The other, deferred by a viral fever that ruled India batter Smriti Mandhana out of the match, was realised the following morning at the Perth Airport.”I always had a feeling that’s the only thing I might end up doing if I ever met her: just take a selfie. [That alone means a lot to me],” Khatun, sporting glasses like an early avatar of Mandhana, tells ESPNcricinfo. “I was too nervous to utter a word when I met her, let alone tell her she is my hero… you know that kind of thing that happens with everything jumbling in your head when you first meet your idol after waiting for ages?”Khatun was naturally right-handed. But she took to batting left-handed after watching her older brother. Just like Mandhana. Here’s another connection. Khatun’s desire to step up to the big stage dates back to a milestone in Mandhana’s own career.As she watched the India batter compile her maiden World Cup hundred against West Indies in the 2017 ODI World Cup, Khatun, 17 at the time, did a self-appraisal of just “how hard and diligently” she needed to work on her batting to be able to represent Bangladesh.That [picture] alone is means a lot to me – Murshida Khatun on her idol Smriti Mandhana•Murshida Khatun”I grew up watching Tamim [Iqbal] , because aside from Bangladesh men’s [games], there was not much of other cricket to be watched,” Khatun, who is known by her moniker ‘Happy’, says. “But that hundred from Smriti Mandhana – her technique, her confidence on an English pitch – was just so refreshing to see. Especially as a left-hander, I loved how she stayed there [till the end] to win India the game.”Within a year of that World Cup match, Khatun would go on to make her debut for Bangladesh. Since then she has played 12 international matches but the “biggest and most fascinating” one of them played out before a record 5280-crowd at the WACA on Monday.”I got a bit nervous when I arrived at the stadium,” Khatun recalls. “There was so much noise, so many media people and also because it was my first game against India. But I told myself, ‘This is where you need to bat, this is where you need to perform. None of this is going to go away, so just calm down and get a partnership going.'”After Khatun lost her opening partner seven balls into the match, she strung a 39-run second-wicket stand with Sanjida Islam to get Bangladesh off to a brisk start but fell to pacer Arundhati Reddy lofting the ball to mid-off in the eighth over.

They would keep telling my (mother) that it’s unbecoming of a girl to play sport… But that never deterred me from sneaking out of the house every evening to go watch my [male] cousins play

“I like Smriti Mandhana’s pull and lofted cover drive a lot,” Khatun says. “I like playing the cover drive [along the ground] myself, but have been working on lofting the shots better – mid-on, mid-off, and power-hitting. It’s something Anju [Jain] ma’am [the Bangladesh head coach] and Devika ma’am [Palshikar, the assistant coach] have been working on specifically in my game.”Also, spin. That’s another area I am trying to getting better in. I enjoy pace on the bat, so playing Shikha Pandey [the medium-pacer] wasn’t difficult, but the variations of Arundhati [also a quick bowler] (sister) troubled me a little.”A native of Khulna’s Kushtia district, home to Habibul Bashar and Anamul Haque, Khatun concedes being one of the few left-handed batters on the Bangladesh domestic circuit has helped push her case for selection at the international level.”But she’s got her own strengths, too,” Palshikar, herself a former India cricketer, says. “She may be lacking in exposure and experience at the moment, but she’s hard-working enough to offset that a little bit.”She is focused, patient, and can keep the scoreboard ticking with singles and twos when the boundaries dry up, so Anju made sure we always kept her in the side in the past year. Only if she didn’t do well in three-four games, then only we rested her. Otherwise, her 20-30 runs, too, are quite crucial for us. Besides, she’s keen on rectifying errors and rectifying errors.”Murshida Khatun gets low to slog-sweep•ICC via GettyKhatun attributes her “wanting to stay longer at the crease” to a “painstakingly-cultivated passion for the game” ever since her days as a gully cricketer. Even the criticism from relatives and people in my neighbourhood for doing “something so audaciously boy-like” only spurred her onward.”They would keep telling my (mother) that it’s unbecoming of a girl to play sport. To do so on top of that wearing T-shirt, or pants, or shirts was like an assault on the Bangladeshi standards of morality,” Khatun says. “But that never deterred me from sneaking out of the house every evening to go watch my [male] cousins play.”I used to go stand in one corner of the field and observe how they would drive or defend. Sometimes I’d even go down the steps of a pond nearby to fetch the ball in the hope that, in return, they would let me stay and watch their cricket. I worked that hard to just the game, understand it better.”As her fascination for batting grew, a 12-year-old Khatun pleaded with her father to enroll her at a girl’s cricket academy. But the dearth of visibility and information around the women’s game meant her father could not find a coaching centre even though he had been supportive of his daughter’s wishes.

There was so much noise, so many media people… But I told myself, ‘This is where you need to bat, this is where you need to perform. None of this is going to go away’Khatun on her first World Cup game

In about a year, a Dhaka-based cousin working in the media suggested Khatun apply for admission at the Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Protishthan (BKSP), the country’s premier sports institute that only started accepting female cricketers since 2007. Although Khatun admits to being “far from being familiar with the rules of the game or all the fielding positions”, her batting had impressed the coaches enough during a month-long camp that she got into the BKSP in 2013.A move up to the Bangladesh Women’s Premier League followed, with intermittent appearances in the Best XI, but a “satisfactory performance, with a decent number of runs”, Khatun says, came only a year later leading to a maiden call-up for a month-long national camp. A drop in form between late 2014 and the close of 2016 meant an international debut wouldn’t arrive till May 2018.” I felt intimidated by [Shabnim] Ismail’s pace,” Khatun says about the limited-overs tour of South Africa, where she made a combined seven runs in three ODIs and one in her only T20I. “Ismail is one of the best and quickest bowlers I have faced. But thankfully, that fear has gone away since that tour.”Murshida Khatun strides out to bat•ICC via GettyAlthough Khatun has only 55 runs in five ODIs and 132 runs in seven T20Is in a near-two-year international career, head coach Jain, who formerly captained and coached India, believes the young batter has made good strides in the recent past towards playing with more purpose.”During the South Africa Emerging tour [in July last year], she looked quite good and more comfortable playing in South Africa [than her debut series] and since then there has been no looking back for her,” Jain says. “We knew we had to get her into our squad [for the T20 World Cup]. In the last six months, her shot-selection, fitness and range has improved – she’s added cuts and sweeps [to her arsenal].”But her standout stroke, according to Palshikar, whose tenure as assistant coach with the Indian side in 2014 coincided with the early days of Mandhana’s international career, is the cover drive. “I see glimpses of a younger, rookie Smriti in Happy,” Palshikar says, smiling. “I have watched Smriti at the NCA [National Cricket Academy] camps as well, so I think there are many similarities between Happy’s inside-out [shot] and the cover drive in particular, which she plays quite beautifully, look similar to Smriti’s.”

Sometimes I’d even go down the steps of a pond nearby to fetch the ball in the hope that, in return, they would let me stay and watch their cricket. I worked that hard to just watch the gameKhatun on following her cousins around as a kid

Like Palshikar, Jain believes Khatun’s inclusion in Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup squad boosts their hopes of accomplishing a goal they had set out to achieve at the previous edition of the tournament in 2018: “To improve our rankings, so we don’t have to play the Qualifiers.” Making the semi-finals will be crucial to that end.”We’ve been looking for a left-hander for some time now,” Jain adds. “Devika and I are about to complete two years [with the team], but we haven’t found many. With Happy coming in at the top, we have more options rotating the line-up as per the requirements of the innings; we get more flexibility. Plus, she’s shown more consistency than some of our [other] openers. And you know how troubling a consistent left-hander in the opening position can be for bowlers…”Khatun’s idol, the leading run-scorer in women’s limited-overs cricket since 2018, is testament to Jain’s claim.

Everton have turned a corner since David Moyes replaced Sean Dyche in January, but the Merseysiders still need more in attack.

With just three losses in 14 Premier League matches since the Scotsman’s arrival, those of a Toffees persuasion have long forgotten the fear of relegation.

But, barring the three doomed outfits in the bottom three, no top-flight team has scored fewer goals than Everton.

Moyes and incoming Director of Football Angus Kinnear need to fix this problem during the off-season.

Why Everton need a new striker

Beto has been a man transformed since Moyes took to the dugout, scoring five goals across four Premier League matches after notching just four goals over his opening 44 appearances in the English division.

However, the wellspring of potency has dried once more, with the powerful Bissau Guinean star having now gone seven games without scoring.

Armando Broja’s loan spell from Chelsea has been disastrous due to horrible injury luck and Dominic Calvert-Lewin is set to leave at the end of his contract this summer, with long-time fitness issues and a total lack of prolificness this season sure to leave him without a fresh deal.

Moyes is a pragmatist, in the best sense of the word. While he won’t be expecting to sign a goalscorer on the level of Mohamed Salah or Erling Haaland, Everton do appear to have found a rising star on a similar vein of goalscoring form to the superstars.

One who could comfortably upgrade on the departing Calvert-Lewin.

Everton eyeing Calvert-Lewin upgrade

Beto will hopefully stick around next season. Even when he’s not scoring, the 6 foot 4 striker adds such a strong focal presence to Moyes’ system, almost factory-built for the role.

However, with Calvert-Lewin going, Everton need someone else, and that player could be Mika Biereth, though it won’t be an easy deal to engineer.

As per TEAMtalk, Everton have shortlisted the AS Monaco centre-forward ahead of the summer transfer window, impressed after his prolific start to life in France, scoring 12 goals and supplying three assists since leaving Austrian club Sturm Graz in January for a £13m fee.

The 22-year-old, a product of Arsenal’s academy, is actually outscoring Salah in 2025, with the Liverpool talisman having scored 11 times at club level since the turn of the calendar year.

Salah, who has gone five matches without scoring, has lulled of late but still remains one of the deadliest forwards in the Premier League, an expert creator too.

But it still underscores Biereth’s brilliance, actually ranking among the top 5% of centre-forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for non-penalty goals scored per 90, as per FBref.

Fast and powerful, the 6 foot 1 Dane has even compared himself to Haaland. Manchester City’s number nine is widely regarded as one of the most prolific marksmen of his generation and comparisons only bear testament to Biereth’s blooming prowess.

Biereth commented that “like Haaland,” all he really cares about is scoring goals. He’s doing all the right things in that regard, to be sure, with just nine big chances missed in Ligue 1 despite his clinical return of 12 goals, as per Sofascore.

Everton could do much worse.

Moyes now happy for Everton to get rid of one of their highest earners

Would this be the right call by the Blues?

By
Henry Jackson

Apr 21, 2025

And with that, the Premier League is done and dusted for another year. Arsenal, the division’s second place side, ended things with a win but the real work starts now for new sporting director Andrea Berta.

Mikel Arteta declared post-game on Sunday that work for the new season would commence quickly.

Where do they need to strengthen?

It’s pretty obvious unless you have been living under a rock.

For the first time since the 1923/24 season, yes, over 100 years ago, Arsenal failed to find a player who scored double figures in a league season.

Injuries have no doubt led to this but so has the club’s poor recruitment over the last 18 months.

A new striker and potentially also a winger simply has to be sourced this summer.

Arsenal’s transfer plans post-season

It’s set to be out with the old and in with the new this summer for the Gunners.

Kieran Tierney scored on his final outing for the Gunners at Southampton but it may not have been just his final outing.

Indeed, Raheem Sterling will head back to his parent club while Thomas Partey and Jorginho see their contracts expire in a few weeks time.

Leandro Trossard – linked with Saudi last January – could sign a new deal at the Emirates Stadium this summer, but that is unlikely to have an impact on whether or not they sign a new forward.

For that central berth, the likes of Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko seem the most likely of candidates but there’s also the potential for a new winger to arrive in the shape of Real Madrid star, Rodrygo.

The Brazilian isn’t the only wide player on their shortlist with reports in recent weeks suggesting that Arsenal have been working on a deal for Rafael Leao.

The Milan star is also wanted by Bayern Munich this summer but there’s has been a new development in Arsenal’s chase.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

That’s according to French publication, Foot Mercato, who suggested over the weekend that while the Portuguese winger is on the club’s ‘shortlist’, Berta actually had a phone call with the player in the last two weeks.

The purpose of that call was to tell Leao that there is definite interest in him from the Gunners.

Arsenal don’t have an endless supply of cash this summer, and with other areas needing to be improved, they will have to spend wisely. Thus, a reported £145m release clause is unlikely to be met too well by the club’s recruitment team.

How Rafael Leao compares to Rodrygo

Speaking last week ahead of the game with Southampton, Arteta was actually asked about the prospect of signing Rodrygo from Real Madrid.

While he didn’t explicitly reveal that Arsenal were interested, he was slightly more open to the prospect of discussing transfers than he was a week or two ago, stating: “If you want to win titles, you have to be the best in the market. The teams that win have the best players.”

Well, speaking of the best players, who would be the better option here?

Rodrygo is an electrifying talent and there is a belief that if he moved away from the Bernabeu and was the main man, he’d be a genuinely scary proposition. After all, this is a player who has scored 50 goals since the beginning of the 2022/23 season.

In comparison, Leao – who’s actually been compared to a young Thierry Henry for his play style on the left flank – has scored 43 times in the same time frame.

So, with fewer goals, why is the Portuguese more exciting?

Goals

0.40

0.34

Assists

0.31

0.24

Shot on target %

36.0%

36.3%

Key passes

2.06

1.91

Progressive passes

4.12

3.76

Shot-creating actions

4.60

4.71

Successful take-ons

2.64

2.56

Progressive carries

5.20

5.63

A genuine speedster, the Milan forward has notably been described by the Athletic’s Alex Barker as “one of the best dribblers in the world”, the numbers certainly showcase that.

He ranks within the top 5% of wingers in Europe’s top five leagues this season for successful take ons per 90 minutes with 2.84. In contrast, Rodrygo only ranks among the best 23% with 2.08 per 90 mins in 2024/25.

Evidently both very capable dribblers, over the last three seasons it’s the Milan superstar who comes out on top in most areas, most importantly producing more end product (goals and assists) every 90 minutes.

Leao isn’t just a dribbler and a goalscorer, but he’s also capable of providing assists, delivering more key passes and progressive passes than Madrid’s wing sensation.

It’s likely the latter would be a cheaper acquisition but based on the numbers it’s the Portugal international who looks like the more exciting talent.

Combine that with comparisons to Henry and you have a genuine world beater here capable of getting Arsenal fans off their seats again.

It’s safe to say they’ve lacked that star quality and X factor on too many occasions this season.

Arsenal struck gold on "unplayable" star worth way more than Nico Williams

The incredible talent is going to be a superstar for Arsenal.

ByJack Salveson Holmes May 22, 2025

كشف الإعلامي أحمد شوبير عن تطورات ملف المدير الفني الأجنبي الجديد للنادي الأهلي، مؤكدًا أن عماد النحاس يقترب من الاستمرار في الفترة المقبلة لوقت أطول.

وقال شوبير في تصريحات إذاعية عبر “أون سبورت إف إم”: “منذ البداية، الحقيقة، أخبرتكم أن وليد صلاح قال لي علانية وعلى الهواء إن عماد النحاس سيكمل الخمس مباريات، وبقيت له مباراة واحدة”.

وأوضح: “كلما فاز عماد النحاس بمباراة، كلما أصبحت الأمور أفضل، ويقترب من تثبيت قدميه قليلاً، واستعادة ثقة الجماهير، وهو يتمتع بقبول كبير لدى جمهور النادي الأهلي، فالأمور مستقرة معه ومع الجمهور، فترتفع النغمة بأنه يجب أن يكمل عماد ويستمر”.

وواصل: “أما ملف المدرب الأجنبي فقد وصل ثلاث مرات، ويقترب الأهلي من انهاء الأمر مع مدرب دون أن يكمله، آخرها الرجل الدنماركي (يقصد توماس توماسبيرج)، وعلى فكرة، الذين اجتهدوا لم يخطئوا، لأنه كان على وشك التوقيع مع النادي الأهلي، إذ بقيت له ساعات قليلة فقط، لكن جاءه العرض البولندي فذهب إليه”.

واستطرد: “الأهلي قرر أن يتريث خطوة أو خطوات في موضوع المدير الفني؛ سيهدأون قليلاً الآن، غير مستعجلين، وقالوا لأسامة هلال انتظر، ولا تتعجل وإذا مدربًا يليق بالنادي الأهلي، مليون مرحبًا به، وإذا لم تجد اصبر قليلا وليس هو الوحيد الذي يعمل على هذا الملف”.

وأضاف: “ليس سرًا أن النادي الأهلي نظر قليلاً إلى المدرب التركي فاتح تيريم، رغم أن عمر 73 عامًا، لكن مساعده حمزة أوغلو،  درب جالطة سراي من قبل وفاز معهم بالبطولات، ولكنه يعود لمساعدته حتى بعد أن أصبح مديرًا فنيًا”.

طالع | بينهم سيد عبد الحفيظ.. تفاصيل مهام أعضاء قائمة الخطيب في انتخابات الأهلي

وزاد: “الأهلي نظر قليلاً إلى فاتح تيريم وعلى حمزة أوغلو، ونظر قليلاً إلى برونو لاج البرتغالي وقال لهم عن طلباته، وقد أخبرتكم أن النادي الأهلي ينتظر؛ ولكن الرجل الآن ينتظر موافقة الأهلي”.

وأردف: “برونو لاج وضع شروطا وطلبات لا يحتاجها الأهلي مثل أن الشرط الجزائي كاملاً مدة العقد كاملاً، وهو ما رفضه النادي خوفا من تكرار سيناريو كولر”.

وتابع: ” الأهلي قرر تأجيل ملف المدرب الأجنبي لإشعار آخر حتى يروا ما سيحدث، وكيف ستكون القصة، خاصة أن هناك توقفا دوليا خلال أكتوبر الجاري، وبعد ذلك سيعودون ليلعبوا مباراتين، ثم يعود توقف آخر، وهو توقف طويل بسبب كأس العرب، وأمم إفريقيا”.

وأتم: “من الممكن أنه حتى التوقف خلال نوفمبر أيضًا لا يكون هناك مدرب للنادي الأهلي؛ هنا أقول لكم كيف يفكر الأهلي، لكن كل شيء قد يتغير إذا ظهر مدرب مثالي تمامًا، وقال (أريد تدريب الأهلي)، فسيقولون له (أهلاً وسهلاً)”.

Lauren Down is back from maternity leave and will tour England with New Zealand’s ODI squad later this month.Down, who has played 28 ODIs and 13 T20Is, last travelled with the White Ferns as part of their squad for the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa before taking a break from cricket to become a first-time mother.”We’re really pleased to have Lauren back,” Ben Sawyer, White Ferns head coach, said. “She’s been working hard over the past four months to get herself into a position where she feels confident to play, and this tour feels like the right time to bring her back into the fold.”Related

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Down is joined by fellow middle-order batter Mikaela Greig as part of a 16-strong touring party named ahead of three ODIs and five T20Is against England starting in Durham on June 26.Greig’s selection follows her international debut in March when she was called up from the New Zealand A squad and featured in the first T20I against England in Dunedin, where she was run out for a duck.Pace bowler Rosemary Mair has been ruled out of the trip by back pain which excluded her from New Zealand’s home ODI series against England in April.Seamer Lea Tahuhu will remain in New Zealand for the birth of her second child and join the squad for the T20I series starting in Southampton on July 6.Off-spinner Leigh Kasperek will also link up with the squad for the T20I leg.Molly Penfold returns as a seam bowling option following strong performances against England A in March, when she finished as the team’s second-highest wicket-taker behind Hayley Jensen.Getty Images

Jensen was not considered for selection as she continues rehabilitation for a calf injury sustained during the New Zealand A series but the rest of the senior squad is unchanged from that which hosted England earlier this year.Sawyer said recalling Down and Greig was in indication of long-term planning for pinnacle events ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October and the 50-over tournament in India next year.”Every series is an opportunity to test what our best playing XI looks like, and with T20 and one-day World Cups looming it will be good to see where Lauren and Mikaela could fit in,” he said. “The players have spent the past six weeks training incredibly hard and we’ve been ticking all the boxes that we can to get ready.”England won their T20I series in New Zealand 4-1 and won the ODIs 2-1.”When we faced England at home we didn’t get the results we were after but we did see gutsy performances from a range of players, which was really promising,” Sawyer added. “Anytime you play a world-class team like England in their own backyard it’s going to be a challenge. But with the work that’s been put in, we’ve got ourselves into the best position possible to succeed.”Sawyer will be assisted on the tour by batting coach Dean Brownlie and tour coach Gareth Davies, who is also head coach for Loughborough Women and Worcestershire CCC Women as well as an assistant coach for Birmingham Phoenix Women.New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down (ODI), Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Mikaela Greig, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek (T20I), Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu (T20I)

In a major boost for those at the City Ground, one Nottingham Forest target is now reportedly keen to complete a move this summer with Evangelos Marinakis also pushing to get a deal done.

Nottingham Forest's UCL run-in

Whilst one win in their last five Premier League games should ignite plenty of concern around the City Ground, Forest’s fate is still in their own hands with three big fixtures left to play. After drawing against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side sit sixth and two points adrift of Chelsea in the final Champions League place, who they face on the final day.

Nuno recently had his say on his side’s performance against Crystal Palace whilst instantly looking ahead to the Leicester City game.

The Forest boss said: “It was very important to react, it was a big blow to go behind because we were in a tough position when we conceded the penalty but the reaction of the boys was amazing and we should be proud of that. We are delighted to be in the fight. Let’s go game by game now starting with Leicester at The City Ground.”

Nottingham Forest now want to sign £29m forward with 14 goals in 24/25

Nottingham Forest are among the Premier League teams chasing a forward from Spain.

ByBrett Worthington May 7, 2025

The impact that Champions League qualification would have both on and off the pitch cannot be overstated, especially as those at the City Ground go in pursuit of one particular target.

Yilmaz now keen on Nottingham Forest move

According to Turkish outlet Sabah, Baris Alper Yilmaz is now keen on a move to Nottingham Forest and Evangelos Marinakis is pushing to complete a deal ahead of this summer. The winger was at the centre of Forest’s interest in January but failed to swap Galatasaray for the City Ground. Now, six months on, Forest could match his price-tag reportedly worth over €30m (£26m).

Forest’s interest should come as no surprise either. The Turkey international has enjoyed an excellent campaign at Galatasaray – scoring 12 goals and assisting a further 10 in all competitions. The difference that another outlet would offer Forest must be noted amid Chris Wood’s recent struggles too. Without the New Zealand forward’s clinical form to turn towards, the Reds have struggled in the decisive moments.

What’s more, Yilmaz has already earned an impressive fan in the Premier League in the form of Virgil van Dijk. The Liverpool captain praised the winger after the Netherlands squared off against Turkey at the Euros last summer, telling reporters: “Baris Alper Yilmaz was running constantly. He was running elusive.

“It was difficult for every defender. He made it very hard for us. He couldn’t score a goal though. If we were to describe him in any way, he is a really important player.”

Now reportedly keen on a move to Forest, Yilmaz could finally be on his way to the Premier League and the City Ground in the coming months.

MatériaMais Notícias

da brdice： A Seleção Brasileira será convocada para a Copa do Mundo Feminina da Austrália e da Nova Zelândia no dia 27 de junho (terça-feira). A técnica Pia Sundhage revelará a lista das 23 jogadoras no auditório da sede da CBF, no Rio de Janeiro, às 16h.

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Além da lista final para a disputa do Mundial, serão anunciadas as três atletas suplentes para o período de preparação com o grupo.

A lista também atenderá a disputa do último jogo amistoso antes da disputa da Copa do Mundo. O Brasil enfrenta o Chile no dia 2 de julho, às 10h30,no Mané Garrincha, em Brasília (DF).

O Brasil está no Grupo F da competição juntamente com França, Jamaica e Panamá. A estreia da Seleção será no dia 24 de julho (segunda-feira), às 8h, em Hindmarsh, na Austrália, pela primeira rodada da fase de grupos.