Phil Parkinson says Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney “get it” when it comes to the football business, with “everybody out to beat Wrexham”.
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When a man’s desire defeats his reason he is wont to dream. That is where a quest starts and also the hard work needed to achieve a goal other men dub fantasy. Little more than a decade ago there was nothing but pasture where Newclose cricket ground now stands. Then Brian Gardener, the prosperous visionary who owned the land, decided the Isle of Wight should have a venue capable of not only staging Premier League club matches but even of tempting Hampshire to cross the Solent. And at eleven o’clock this morning, over four years after Gardener’s death, Luke Fletcher bowled to Joe Weatherley.Nobody knows exactly how much money Gardener spent to realise his vision; estimates have settled on something above £2m. All that spectators might have noticed as they gathered on the grassy banks surrounding the arena was that the pavilion was modelled on that at Sir Paul Getty’s ground at Wormsley and that the seating in front of the pavilion reminded them of somewhere … ah yes, Lord’s, that was the place. Some, seeing the alders and oaks on the River Medina side of the ground, made comparisons with Arundel but Newclose is less intimate than that particular Elysium. The outfield, though, is smooth as one could wish and the pitch is clearly fit for first-class cricket even if it did not encourage free scoring on this first day.Hampshire’s 288 for 6 at stumps was thus an accurate reflection of three sessions in which the ball had moved about a lot yet one in which batsmen could prosper if they played straight and late. The images one remembers are not those of Stuart Broad or Jake Ball racing in but those of Steven Mullaney bowling his brisk medium pacers and taking 2 for 42 in 24 overs from the Carisbrooke End while Hampshire’s openers, Weatherley and Oli Soames went about their business as cautiously as bomb disposal men.Batsmen who looked to force things generally perished: Ajinkya Rahane did so in mid-afternoon when he edged a drive off Broad and was caught at around fourth slip by Chris Nash for 10. By then Weatherley had also departed, unluckily judged caught behind off Ball for a pleasant 66 when the ball had done no more than brush his upper arm. But that contribution represented something of a relief for an opener who had passed thirty only twice in his previous 18 first-class innings. Rather more to the point, Weatherley’s 112-run stand for the first wicket with Soames had given Hampshire a foundation upon which Aneurin Donald and Ian Holland can build further on the second morning. Mullaney’s bowlers might yet regret the inaccuracy which characterised their efforts in the opening sessionWhatever the analysts tell them cricketers will always be suspicious of a fresh pitch on a new ground. Both Weatherley and Soames have played second-team cricket at Newclose but only when Broad bowled an attacking length did he leak a few boundaries as first Weatherley and then Soames drove him through the covers. The pair put on 88 in that morning session and Weatherley looked to be in particularly sound form.By middle of the day, though, Hampshire had lost two wickets and Nottinghamshire’s bowlers had found a better length and line. Then just before tea, a few cricketers’ thoughts turned to self-preservation as a modest swarm of bees approached the ground from the Medina side. Some players, among them Broad, lay on the ground and one remembered wartime photographs of fielders lying in similar positions to avoid the rather more deadly danger of German bombers. By contrast, the threat this afternoon was brief and its effect faintly comical.Having rediscovered their accuracy in the second session Nottinghamshire’s bowlers got the rewards they deserved in the hour after tea. Soames’ four-hour vigil for 44 runs was ended in the over after the resumption when he pushed at Ball but only nicked a catch to Matt Carter at second slip. Half an hour later Sam Northeast’s innings of 33 ended when he attempted to force the ball through midwicket but was leg before wicket to Mullaney, who almost immediately took a second wicket when Tom Alsop was athletically caught down the leg side by Tom Moores. Hampshire’s poorest period of cricket was then completed when Liam Dawson drove loosely at Fletcher and was bowled for 25.And so we got to the end of a day created by the ambition of a man who did not live to see an occasion he would have treasured. Gardener was assisted in the building and development of Newclose by a number of similarly able lieutenants, among them the former Sussex chief-executive Hugh Griffiths. As the cricket unfolded on this first day and the niggling problems which always affect such great undertakings cropped up, Griffiths and many others scurried about in the manner of outground officials across the land. And you can be sure that as they did so they were thinking of the man whose money and drive had made it all possible in the first place. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world,” Jed Bartlet tells Will Bailey in . But Bailey has the rejoinder to that one ready. “It’s the only thing that ever has,” he says.
Captain Dimuth Karunaratne has told his team to forget about the first half of their World Cup campaign and pick themselves up for the second half
Alan Gardner in Leeds20-Jun-2019So far in this World Cup, Sri Lanka have been following the English blueprint. Unfortunately, it is not the one that has made the host nation one of the favourites to lift the trophy; rather, they appear to have channelled the spirit of various England campaigns between 1996 and 2015, in which last-minute changes to captaincy and personnel paved the way for predictably underwhelming results.At the last two tournaments, England’s defeats to Sri Lanka were particularly symbolic. In 2011, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga raced each other to hundreds and, almost as a pleasing byproduct, knocked England out at the quarter-final stage. Four years later, Joe Root’s first World Cup century was upstaged by one apiece from Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne delivering a similar punchline in a nine-wicket win.Sri Lanka have, in fact, won four of their last five World Cup encounters against England. At Faisalabad in 1996, Sanath Jayasuriya’s 44-ball 82 signposted how the game had changed – but now it is England who are bending the white-ball game into new shapes, having just broken their own world record for the number of sixes in an ODI while crashing their way to 397 against Afghanistan on Tuesday.Asked how his side planned to tackle England’s ebullient batting line-up, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne suggested they had come up with some plans that involved “thinking out of the box”. He said the initial target was to try and limit England to less than 300, a score they have surpassed in eight of their last nine innings.”England are a good side, they have a good batting line-up,” he said. “We have to give them less than 300, so we have a couple of plans against the batters. Those are the things were are trying to do. In [our] batting line-up, the middle part have to take some responsibility, if they have scored more than 300 then we have to go for that. Those are the key things we discussed before the match.”If we don’t have pace, we have to think out of the box. That’s what we did the last few days, [work on] what we have to do with England’s batsmen. We played a home series before against them, so we have a couple of ideas.”Only six of the 16 players who took on England in October stand a chance of being involved at Headingley – a marker of how turbulent Sri Lanka’s build-up to the World Cup has been – but the strength of their opponents’ batting has become a common talking point. As well as describing each member of the England line-up as “dangerous… explosive batsmen”, Karunaratne called them best players of spin in the world.The precise nature of Sri Lanka’s tactics to counter them – inventing a new kind of delivery? Moonwalking to the bowling crease? – remains under wraps, but the sight of Nuwan Pradeep practising his slower-ball variations during training may have been instructive. Lack of pace is one of Lasith Malinga’s deadliest weapons, while Isuru Udana enjoyed some success by mixing things up at the death against Australia.
“If we don’t have pace, we have to think out of the box. That’s what we did the last few days, [work on] what we have to do with England’s batsmen.”Dimuth Karunaratne
With one win from five games (albeit two of them being washouts), Sri Lanka face a difficult route to the last four. Although they had a decent crack at chasing 335 in their last match, Karunaratne leading the way with an ODI-best 97, once again they struggled for contributions from the middle order. According to the captain, a change of mindset is what is required from the likes of Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews.”We have to mentally prepare,” he said. “They have lots of talent, they only do good things for Sri Lanka in the past. The only thing we need to come up with is a good mindset, that’s a key area if you’re playing against a good team. No point talking about the past matches, we know what happened and what are the key areas. There are four games left and we have to play positive cricket with a good mindset.”The middle order has lots of experience, they have proven enough for Sri Lanka and did well. The only thing is unfortunately everyone couldn’t get a start. If you take the middle order, they couldn’t get a start in the matches we played. That’s why they struggled and don’t have confidence. So that’s why I told them, forget about the last four games we have another four games to go so they have to put their hands up and play a big role here. Make sure they have a good mindset, go and enjoy the game, that’s it.”Karunaratne also clarified the role of Dhananjaya de Silva, who has batted everywhere from No. 1 to No. 9 in Sri Lanka’s ODI side. Against Australia, he dropped down to No. 8 and also delivered eight overs with the ball, while Milinda Siriwardana came in to provide greater firepower in the batting.”Dhananjaya is playing as a bowler right now in the side,” Karunaratne said. “Milinda is playing as an allrounder, he’s a much harder hitter, that’s why we brought him in. If someone can’t bowl the ten overs, then he can cover [as well]. We were trying things, we want to make sure we give everyone a chance.”
Pep Guardiola admits his "game plan was not good" during Manchester City's FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United.
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The Dutchman has done an excellent job at Feyenoord, but his arrival at Anfield has underwhelmed pundits and supporters
Finding a replacement for Jurgen Klopp that would excite Liverpool fans anywhere near as much as the incredibly charismatic German was always going to be tough. From the moment Xabi Alonso ruled himself out of the running, though, it became impossible.
The Spaniard was an Anfield icon during his illustrious playing career. Now even Klopp considers him the outstanding young coach of his generation because of the sensational job he's doing at Bayer Leverkusen. So, anybody other than Alonso was going to feel like a little bit of a letdown. However, the sense of deflation surrounding Arne Slot's arrival from Feyenoord has still been staggering, no matter how much Klopp has tried to change that with his show of support from the Anfield halfway-line as he himself bowed out.
It's not just that Liverpool fans and followers are underwhelmed; they're also confused. Former forward John Aldridge didn't even think that the Dutchman was in the running. Worse still, Robbie Fowler was so unfamiliar with Slot and his achievements that he had to Google him – and was horrified to learn that his team weren't even top of the Eredivisie.
Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, felt that the appointment proved there is a "dearth of real top managers out there" at the moment, which only made him lament the loss of Klopp even more.
"If Jurgen was in charge next season, Liverpool would move forward and challenge again at home and in Europe," the ex-Reds defender wrote in . "With Slot, that absolute belief will give way to hope." And even fear among some supporters, who are already scared stiff that Liverpool are bringing in their very own Erik ten Hag.
Getty ImagesUnjust comparisons
The comparisons with Ten Hag were inevitable, but also unfair. Indeed, it feels like much of the scepticism around Slot is rooted in the fact that he is also Dutch, and also bald. For those reasons alone, he is seemingly destined to struggle as much on Merseyside as Ten Hag is in Manchester.
It's a ludicrously reductive argument, of course. There are unquestionably parallels between their respective coaching careers and both were shaped by their nation's rich footballing heritage, including the 'Total Football' of the 1970s played by Netherlands and Ajax, with whom Ten Hag won three Eredivisie titles before moving to Old Trafford in 2022.
"Arne was influenced by Johan Cruyff's philosophy and loves to set his teams up on the front foot," former Dutch international Johnny Rep explained.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesGuardiola links
There's also a Pep Guardiola connection. Ten Hag worked at Bayern Munich during the Catalan's spell in charge at the Allianz Arena and was nicknamed 'Mini-Pep' because of his similar style of play with the Bavarians' B team between 2013 and 2015.
Slot, meanwhile, has never hidden his admiration for Guardiola, whom he previously described in an interview with as "a control freak just like me". He's also admitted that watching Manchester City is "the ultimate joy in football" and that his Feyenoord side is loosely modelled on the Premier League champions.
"It is not my intention to compare us with them," Slot said, "[but they] have a similar style of play to how we want to play with Feyenoord: 4-3-3, building up from the back, wanting to apply pressure quickly."
Getty'Own vision'
However, while it's clear that Slot has been greatly influenced by the Cruyff-ian principles of play that Guardiola learned as a player at Camp Nou and has arguably since taken to a whole other level as coach, it's not as if he isn't married to one approach.
"He's always studying other teams and thinking about how his team can improve and evolve," former Feyenoord and Liverpool attacker Dirk Kuyt told . "Tactically, he’s very strong. What people like most in Holland, where his reputation is so high, is that he has his own vision, his style of play…
"What struck me about Arne was his ability to make the players believe in what he believes in. I talked to some of them when I was there and they all spoke so highly about him. They love how he organises the training sessions and how he gets his ideas across. Watching Feyenoord in recent years, you can see his signature on the team in how he wants football to be played. He gets the best out of people…
"The news that Liverpool had decided to go for Slot came out of the blue. I was surprised because since Jurgen said he would be leaving at the end of the season, other names had been mentioned as possible contenders. But it makes a lot of sense."
(C)Getty ImagesBest coach in the Netherlands
Certainly, nobody who has followed Slot's coaching career is in any doubt Anfield will enjoy the offensive brand of football he has successfully implemented at not only Feyenoord, but also AZ Alkmaar on shoe-string budgets. Indeed, it's worth noting that before Covid-19 curtailed the 2020-21 Eredivisie season, Slot's AZ were level on points with Ten Hag's Ajax at the top of the table.
Furthermore, when the latter won the title again in 2022, it was Slot who won the Rinus Michels Award for coach of the season having led Feyenoord to a surprise third-placed finish at the end of his first campaign in Rotterdam.
He claimed the prestigious prize again after masterminding a stunning league win the following year. It was Feyenoord's 16th title triumph, but one of their most surprising, given they had nothing like the same resources or strength in depth as traditional rivals Ajax and PSV, and had been forced to cash in on several key players before the season had even begun.
Old Trafford wore a soggy look at 10am on Friday. Overhead, it was grey. It wasn’t cold, but there was a light shower on.Fifteen minutes later, it was pouring. The pitch had been secured by the hover cover, while the rest of the square was covered by sheets. More sheets covered the outfield in front of the B and D stands. In one corner, in front of the B stand, there was also a mobile lighting rig, generally used to help grow and maintain a good grass cover when natural light is in short supply, typically for winter sports.These were ominous portents 48 hours before the contest that is being promoted as one that one that will bring India and Pakistan to a standstill. It might just too.Already, both teams have endured the frustration of missing out on a full game – and full points – because of the weather. For Pakistan, Sunday’s match will be their fifth. For India, it’s the fourth. Very middle of the tournament. Another washout can’t help.ALSO READ: World Cup – your guide to the soggy scenarioAs the shower in Manchester picked up in intensity, members of the groundstaff would likely have grown anxious, too. They had already walked up a few times to an area on the ground where the tournament sponsors’ logos need to embossed on the turf. This part, to the side of the pitch, outside the square, was exposed to the rain. The logo-painting can only happen once the turf dries.David Richardson takes a stroll around Old Trafford two days before the India v Pakistan game•Getty Images
But by 10.45am, the rain had receded. With every ticking minute, it became brighter. The Pakistan squad, which had arrived by then, went to the indoor training centre to practice. The Indians hadn’t left Nottingham yet. The groundstaff rolled their sleeves up and got to work.Incidentally, Old Trafford has not hosted a match since May 22, when Lancashire beat Worcestershire in a County Championship Division Two match. More recently, for the past week, it has rained every day, forcing the pitch to stay under covers for the most part. The sighter of the pitch showed no grass, although historical trend suggests swing bowlers could be in business.Taking World Cup Podcast: Making sense of the India v Pakistan rivalryOn to Sunday then, and the forecast is quite positive, at least till late afternoon when light showers are expected. Everyone, including the ICC and their outgoing chief executive David Richardson, who was at the ground, will have their fingers crossed on that.The World’s Greatest Cricket Celebration – that’s the legend emblazoned atop the Brian Statham End. With an unprecedented four washouts in the tournament so far, and travelling fans stressed about future games and refunds, the tournament organisers are likely to be a worried lot. The ICC has blamed the “extremely unseasonal weather” for their woes. They now desperately need Sunday to be dry enough to host a match, arguably the biggest of the competition.
Kane Williamson says it was “a real shame that the tournament was decided in the way it was” after defeat on boundary countback
Nagraj Gollapudi15-Jul-2019Gary Stead, New Zealand’s head coach, has suggested that the possibility of sharing the World Cup was something that “should be considered” after his side were denied in a heartbreaking finish at Lord’s on Sunday. The teams could not be separated after 100 overs and also tied the Super Over, but England lifted the trophy after winning on boundary countback.Having slept on the result, Kane Williamson described the manner in which the final was decided “a real shame”. New Zealand had further cause to be disappointed, after it transpired that England should almost certainly have only been awarded five overthrows, rather than six in the final over of regulation time.”Make sense of it? I think that’ll take quite a bit of time actually,” Williamson said. “Such a fine line. May be the worst part is there is so much you can’t control in those situations and it still sort of eventuates the way it did. All in all it was a real shame that the tournament was decided in the way it was after two teams went at it. And two good teams were playing a cricket game, but it was still a tie.ALSO READ: Kimber: How the greatest ODI finish played outStead and Craig McMillan, New Zealand’s batting coach, agreed that allowing England and the Blackcaps to share the World Cup would have been an ideal finish. Asked during a media interaction at the team hotel whether he would have preferred New Zealand being declared joint winners, Stead was open to the suggestion.”Perhaps when you play over a seven-week period and can’t be separated on the final day, that is something should be considered as well,” Stead said. “But again that’s one consideration over a whole lot of things that went on over the World Cup. Everything will be reviewed, and I think that it’s a good time to do it now. But probably just let the dust settle for a while.”However, McMillan, whose contract finished with the World Cup, was more straightforward, saying sharing the trophy would have been the “right thing” in contrast to the tie-breaker in the form of the Super Over, a rule adopted last year by the ICC. “It is not going to change yesterday’s result. But what is probably fair to say at the end of seven weeks in a big tournament like this, when you have two teams can’t be separated after a 50-over match and then a Super Over and neither team did actually lose in many ways in terms of runs scored.”Then perhaps sharing the trophy would be the right thing to do. Wasn’t to be yesterday, which we all are disappointed with. But it is sport and those were the rules.”A sign signals the game is going to a Super Over•Getty Images
There were a number of turning points during England’s chase, with several occurring one after the other in the final half hour. The biggest was when Martin Guptill’s return throw from deep midwicket hit the back of Ben Stokes’ bat and ricocheted for four overthrows, thus reducing England’s target to a mere three runs from two balls. The on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus consulted the TV umpire before declaring the six runs.Subsequently, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, it seems England were actually wrongly awarded an extra run. Simon Taufel, a former ICC Elite Panel umpire, said the match officials had “goofed up”. New Zealand remained unaware of exact wording of the rule even the day after.Williamson said he trusted the match officials’ word and refused to complain about how things turned out. “I actually wasn’t aware of the finer rule at the point in time,” Williamson said. “Obviously you are trusting the umpires in what they do. You throw that into the mix of few hundred other things that may have been different that we wouldn’t be just talking about one thing.”Two great campaigns. From our side of things, we are really proud of the ay the guys went about their business. And am sure the English were as well, they had a great campaign. It sort of showed – we went toe-to-toe and it was the fine print that decided it.”Watch on Hotstar (India only) – The final overs of the chaseStead, too, tried hard to be realistic. He felt New Zealand could do nothing but accept their fate. He felt Super Over probably was currently the only way to pick a winner until the ICC devised a better solution. “That is one,” he said of the idea of having several Super Overs, again and again, until there’s a winner. “I guess a valid way as well. The hard thing I find is a 50-over competition being decided on a one-over bout, just doesn’t seem quite right, but then I don’t write the rules. That’s the way it goes.”Both Stead and McMillan were confident the ICC would review whether the Super Over was indeed the best way to deal with the scenario like a tie in a World Cup final. But for New Zealand, as McMillan said, nothing would change now.”Small margin this, isn’t it? I don’t know that rule to be perfectly honest. I have played a lot of games of cricket, watched a lot of cricket – overthrows have just been added to what has been run as opposed to the point of the throw coming in. So, again, it will be something that will be something debated, discussed, but again it doesn’t change the result.”
Mohammad Amir opens up on his strategy against Australia that fetched him his maiden career ODI five-wicket haul
Danyal Rasool13-Jun-2019Mohammad Amir’s spell against Australia was one of the few bright moments on a day that, for Pakistan fans, proved grey in more ways than one.Under overcast conditions at Taunton, Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed looked especially pleased to have won the toss and put Australia in; Pakistan had left out their ace spinner Shadab Khan specifically for this eventuality. The joy would soon evaporate, however, as Australia put on 146 for the first wicket in 22 overs, looking well on track for a total above 350 on a pitch where the par score was at least 75 runs below that.That they didn’t manage to get there was thanks almost solely to one man, Amir needing to come up with career-best figures – including a first ever five-wicket haul in ODI cricket – to bowl Australia out for 307 in 49 overs. Given the impregnable position they had been in less than two hours earlier, it was an impressive passage of play for Pakistan, and a reminder of why Sarfaraz had opted to bowl first – this was what Pakistan had hoped would transpire for all 50 overs, not just the second half.That Amir would need to fight something of a lone hand was evident in the first five overs, where despite the left-armer having conceded just three runs in his first three, Australia had raced to 27 in the opening 5. Shaheen Afridi, playing in place of Shadab, hadn’t made the selectors look too bright with an opening two overs where he was much too short, far too predictable, and way too inaccurate to complement his colleague at the other end. Perhaps he, or indeed Hasan Ali who followed him, hadn’t figured out the best strategy for the pitch – something Amir said he had sussed out as early as the first over.”As soon as I bowled the first over, I got the idea it wasn’t swinging, it was seaming,” he told the PCB’s official website. “So I was just floating the ball and making sure I put it in the right area instead of putting too much work onto it at the point of release. And the movement it generated came off the seam. It was just a matter of hitting the right areas on this wicket and I did that effectively.”There’s no doubt Australia batted well, but in the first 10-15 overs, we weren’t able to pitch the ball up as consistently as we needed to. I think that might have been the difference between a score of 250-260, and the 300 plus they ended up getting.”The five-wicket haul means Amir is now the leading wicket-taker at the World Cup (10), a remarkable turnaround in form from just a few weeks ago. In the initial squad, named on April 18, Amir had been left out by Pakistan because his ability to strike at the top of the innings had deserted him. Before the first game of the World Cup, he had managed just five ODI wickets in the two years since the end of the 2017 Champions Trophy, and none in the first Powerplay for 17 months – 12 consecutive ODIs. It was his uncanny ability to keep the runscoring down at all stages of an innings, however, that saw him get the nod at the end. At Taunton, he was impressive by both metrics, conceding just thirty runs in ten overs even as Australia ran up a total of 307.Even so, he acknowledged his personal glee was tempered significantly by the 41-run defeat, which leaves Pakistan precious little margin for error if they are to make it to the semi-finals.”It would have been a lot more satiating if we’d won, of course,” Amir admitted. “We have to win every single game now. We can’t lose even one. We have to go into each match with a positive mindset, because pressure exists for every team, not just Pakistan. If we continue to play the positive cricket we played for parts of the Australia game, I’m sure we can win.”
Napoli are proving stubborn in Paris Saint-Germain's pursuit of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, despite the Ligue 1 side agreeing personal terms with the star.
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Kvaratskhelia on PSG's radarFrench outfit facing life without MbappeNapoli still need convincing WHAT HAPPENED?
Ligue 1 giants PSG, facing a future sans Real Madrid-bound Kylian Mbappe, are keen to sign Kvaratskhelia, who has made waves since signing for Napoli in 2022. According to , Luis Enrique and PSG sporting director Luis Campos believe the 23-year-old can be a star on the left side of the attack at the Parc des Princes.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Kvaratskhelia, set to star for Georgia at Euro 2024, won't come cheap. An opening offer of €100 million (£85m/$109m) was denied by PSG, but it's obvious that the winger will cost a sizeable sum. He was named in the Serie A Team of the Season in 2022-23 and, at the age of 23, is still far from his prime. As a result, Napoli are well within their right to wait for a club to truly splash the cash.
NAPOLI WON'T MAKE IT EASY
Napoli aren't, however, ready to grant Kvaratskhelia his wish to leave. go on to claim that PSG will need the Italians to lower their valuation of the player, and are ready to stick to their own estimation of around €60m (£51m/$65m).
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR KVARATSKHELIA?
The transfer drama can wait for Kvaratskhelia, who is about to represent Georgia at their first ever major international tournament. The Crusaders will take on Turkey, Portugal and Czech Republic in Group F of the competition, which gets underway on June 14.
Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly made Al-Nassr recruitment calls to two of his former Real Madrid team-mates
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