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Our readers express their thoughts on Kohli’s spat with the Indian media, the uniqueness of Bradman, Rahane’s rise, the BPL final and more

19-Dec-2015A letter to Virat Kohli
Reader: Anuraag Agarwal
Hi Sharda,When media, ex-cricketers and commentators can give their viewpoint on everything and are allowed to speak their mind (so to speak), why is it a problem if Virat has mentioned what he thinks about the whole issue? Instead of saying that Virat has a problem with criticism, I would rather say that he is entitled to say what he feels about what is being said. It is purely his freedom of speech and I reckon everyone including India’s captain (a job which comes with so much pressure and responsibility purely due to amount of expectations) has right to say what he feels. Virat has simply asked for more support rather than criticism all the time. Way to go Virat… I am sure true fans of Indian cricket understand and share your viewpoint. Probably time has come when someone needs to stand up against all the negativity that is being generated in the media for every possible issue not just cricket… way to go.Reader: Ranjith Kumar Patnani
An insightful article written on how and why media’s questions are more pointed towards what’s to be improved or corrected than what’s already achieved. And the metaphor drawing the question as to why not only cricketers can comment on cricketing subjects or matters is commendable. But as far as I followed the recent press conference, we shall also contemplate captain Virat’s comments here. While media hit at the drawbacks or wrong decisions taken in the team’s performance, they should also have, in my opinion, applaud what the team has achieved so far in the series in the typical pitch conditions, more importantly. You can be cynical if the performance is not up to the mark, but not while winning. At the end, they should also need some encouragement, at least vocally, through media, right? But yes, as a captain, we would expect Virat to be more careful and meaningful in his comments and answers. One year is already enough time for a captain to lead the team in all aspects, including answering the media.Sport is more about philosophy than we might think
Reader: Delwood
Unfortunately there is not much cross-over between the average sports fan and philosophy. But I recall the Dutch historian Huizinga said that the basis of civilization is play and games (not labour and productivity as Marx and others have insisted). This insight was taken up by Michael Oakeshott, an English philosopher who was also keen on cricket and horse-racing analogies in his essays. If there is a sport for the thinking man it is certainly cricket.Why didn’t everyone copy Bradman?
Reader: Nutcutlet
The Jesuits (SJ) have a well-known saying regarding education: give me a child until he is seven, and I will show you the man. In the case of Bradman, perhaps the word ‘batsman’ would be appropriate. It’s generally recognised in this article and elsewhere that the Don had his own technique which was obviously allied to superb – utterly exceptional – hand-eye coordination. That Bradman’s unique approach to batting was down to the water-tank, stump and golf-ball practice is so well known, but it was more than that: growing up in Bowral, he saw no first-class cricket at all until he saw a day’s play of the ’20-’21 Ashes at Sydney, aged 12 and a half. The Don was unsullied, and therefore uncomplicated, by having a batting hero whom he could attempt to imitate. It’s impossible in today’s world for a lad to remain so completely uninfluenced by cricketing role models. Genius needs no mentoring, only the opportunity to express itself. He remains the only batting genius, IMO. Only the Don!Can a batsman ever come close to Don Bradman’s Test record?•Getty ImagesRahane: India’s all-conditions expert
Reader: sarangsrk
Just watched yesterday highlights of that Lord’s Test. A pitch where cattle should be grazing. A bowling attack which was swinging it more than 40 cms and seaming the ball at almost 70 degree angles. India 145 for 7. One short man stands tall, plays drives, cuts, back-foot punches, pulls and scores a 100. The man is Ajinkya Rahane. What an innings, what a player.Reader: SupportTestCricket
Elsewhere I had commented that Rahane along with Kohli and Ashwin are the only three players who should play all three formats of the game for India. People who still question Rahane’s talent, temperament, and commitment do not know what they are talking about. He is perfectly suited to play under any conditions. He had been kept away for too long while players with half his talent were promoted over him. He will now show what he is made of. He may not be captaincy material (I see Ashwin as captain, but age may come in the way as Kohli seems set for a long reign) but Rahane will serve India for quite a few years. It is irresponsible to bring down players from other countries to make our players look good. Have patience and you will see good players make their own statements with their talent. Looking forward to Rahane making more runs in the future as also Ashwin taking more wickets overseas to silence everyone (even me!) about his ability to do so. More power to these two special talents!Kapali 39* seals Comilla’s tense title win
Reader: Jamilism
Barisal Bulls really played well. I personally saw a future captain of Bangladesh in the making. We can’t replace the great Mash on what he has done and maybe it’s too late to pick Mahmudullah Riyad but as an interim Test captain or even a transitioning captain for Mash, Riyad showed a lot of character today. He played the role of the icon player, he played the role of a captain, he played the role of a batsman, he played the role of a bowler and he played the role of an awesome allrounder. Congrats to Comilla camp! A great final and made the wait so much sweeter. It was great to see Mash bowl – just goes to show the level of dedication he has for his game. Lead, captained three BPL victories – WOW ! We have not seen any new talent come out of BPL as far as batting goes. On the flipside we might have found a new partner for Mustafizur. Abu Hider Rony would be an awesome show with Mustafizur in T20 or ODI – we can safely say Taskin and Rubel is a write-off for the next few games. We need new batsmen to come out and play.Ponting stands up for embattled Hobart
Reader: 2929paul
Tradition is a wonderful thing but sometimes you need to know when to shake things up a bit to stop complacency creeping in. When the ECB decided to stop giving Edgbaston, Old Trafford and Headingley guaranteed Test match slots every year and make them all fight it out with the young pretenders, nobody thought it was serious. Then Cardiff was awarded the first Ashes Test in 2009 and suddenly everyone realised they had to get their act together. Now, Test cricket is available to more of the British public and in rapidly improving stadiums, as Edgbaston, Old Trafford and Headingley have all embarked on expensive improvements to the visitor experience and more is hopefully coming at these and all our other international grounds. Australia is fortunate in many ways with the quality of its stadiums but shaking it up a bit can’t hurt.

Jacques Kallis did not need South Africa’s selectors to tell him that he may not have been in the right frame of mind for the World Cup. He already knew

Firdose Moonda30-Jul-2014As the shadows grew long into a Sri Lankan afternoon on July 12 in Hambantota and South Africa drew closer to a first ever ODI series win on the island, Sachithra Senanayake skied a delivery into the wind. The air was swirling hard enough to carry the ball away, as it had done with a few others that day, but the man chasing it was wise to the possibility. That man was Jacques Kallis.He was on the edge of the circle, he kept his eye on the ball as he had done for 19 years before, cupped his hands in the bucket-shape he had formed for 19 years and claimed the catch. He had barely scored a run in the series, he had not bowled a ball because he picked up a back niggle which forced him out of the warm-up game, but he had taken that catch. The catch that put South Africa within touching distance of the trophy.Jacques Kallis was South Africa’s bedrock in ODIs, even early in his career•Associated PressIt’s fitting that has ended up as Kallis’ last act in international cricket because it sums up everything that he was to South African cricket: safe, stable and strong. For almost two decades.Early in his career, he showed he could be relied on to be the bedrock. His first ODI century came in a match against New Zealand in Perth, when South Africa were 7 for 1 in the first over and he had to provide stability. He went on to do that over and over again.South Africa’s one-day cricket philosophy in those years was one of safety-first and meant that Kallis often had to be the anchor rather than the aggressor and he was given more license with the ball. He was quick, he could swing it and his most telling performance came when it mattered most. In 1998, Kallis’ 5 for 30 laid the foundation for South Africa to win the Wills International Cup (which later became the Champions Trophy). That will remain his only ICC limited-overs medal.Kallis performed in tournaments from 1999, when his 96 against India in Hove was match-winning to 2011, by which time he had lost some ground to the live-wires like de Villiers but was still an integral part of South Africa’s set-up. He wanted to hang on for one more shot at glory to complete an already glorious career. His body would not let him.After the 2011 World Cup, Kallis’ role in ODIs became less and less prominent as the focus shifted to gaining the No.1 Test ranking. He was rested from matches, a necessity considering the years he had given to the game and the workload he carried during that time, and was eventually left out of series. Gary Kirsten, who was by then the coach, explained that Kallis need not play bilateral ODI series and would only be considered for major tournaments as part of his management.He returned for the 2012 World T20, for example, and was due to play in the 2013 Champions Trophy. But time was catching up with Kallis. Having spent years away from his family and his life in Cape Town, he wanted to be at home more and he opted out of the squad to deal for personal reasons. He spent the months between the end of the IPL in 2013 and South Africa’s tour to the UAE doing “what normal people do,” in his words. And he enjoyed it.On that tour, Kallis’ career appeared to be winding down like never before. He had had his leanest Test series since his debut but did not play the ODIs. Only on his return home, shortly before his Test retirement, did he recommit to the ODI team. He scored a half-century to signal his intent.After that, Kallis struggled. His next six innings brought just 31 runs and the last three of those, only five. He also could not bowl in his last three matches because of injury. Wear and tear was always likely to play a role in Kallis’ availability and on the recent tour of Sri Lanka they showed what that may be. After the amount of time Kallis has spent as an elite sportsman, it was expected the demands would catch up with him.What never left him was his commitment. Although Kallis had a terrible run in the three ODIs, he remained a presence on the field and in the changeroom. He was often seen giving advice to bowlers, helping set fields and enjoying the victories as much as anyone else. He was part of the team even though he knew that soon it would no longer be a part of him. Kallis did what many expected when he let go first.CSA indicated they would send a full-strength squad to play in next month’s tri-series against Zimbabwe and Australia. Kallis would definitely have been part of that squad. He would also more than likely have had to travel beforehand for the three ODIs against Zimbabwe, in which key players like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and even de Villiers may be rested.Then, he would have had to travel to Australia and New Zealand later this year, play a five-match rubber against West Indies early next year. After all that, he would still have to hope that he had done enough to crack the World Cup XV.Of course Kallis has already “done enough,” and much more in the 19 years he played for South Africa to crack the team anyway but that is not the way he would have wanted to earn his place. He would have wanted to do it on merit which would have meant being in form and being in the right frame of mind. Kallis did not need South Africa’s selectors to tell him that early indications were that he would not be. He already knew.He stepped down as gracefully as he batted. If the class of 2015 manage to claim the World Cup, they will owe some of it to Kallis.

The home side enter the final in hope rather than expectation and need either a massive improvement, or a lot of luck, to draw the series

Sidharth Monga12-Dec-2012After India lost the Kolkata Test, the first time they have lost two in a row at home since 1999-2000, the first question MS Dhoni was asked at the press conference was: “How bad will it get before it gets better?” Dhoni has spoken to the press for close to 25 minutes since then, and all you can gather from his statements is he wished he knew how bad it will get before it gets better. For all you know, he might not even be there when it gets better.Dhoni is making all the right noises – about not running away from the responsibility, about this being a true test of character, about enjoying the struggle, about the high spirits – but around him the world is falling apart. A former selector is saying Dhoni had – despite failures – reached a stature in the BCCI that even all five of them couldn’t remove him based on performance. There are many unnamed sources besides, making many speculations about the team unity. It is difficult to lead a side at such times.And what a side he is leading. Two batsmen fighting for their career, one golden boy losing his shine, one debutant at No. 6, one limited-overs spinner finding it hard to lead a Test attack, a fast bowler whose “unluckiness” has become a matter of ridicule, and another debutant fast bowler or a spinner making his way into the Test side with a stellar first-class average of 54.30 this season.Between their last series defeat at home, in 2004-05, and now, India have been down in series, but it has hardly ever been this dire. The desperate part is that this is not a case of a good side being outplayed in consecutive Tests. If you are underperforming, there is hope you will come out of it. This is an ordinary side playing to its potential. Times are so bad even Suresh Raina is being reported to have offered his services as a Test opener. India will need to play extraordinary cricket – which it will find near impossible to repeat in the future – or England will have to play poorly for this series to be drawn.A day before the Test, Dhoni said it was good that there weren’t many options left. “In a way it’s a good situation to be in where we have nowhere to go. We have to do well in this game.” Which makes you wonder why they didn’t feel the same when series in England and Australia were slipping away. It is worse for Dhoni because this is a home series. Dhoni has never lost a home Test series. And home series is the last bit of pride India have left in Test cricket.What a time then for Ajinkya Rahane to be favoured for a Test debut. He has waited on the bench for months, when the going wasn’t this tough. He has seen India stubbornly go back to Test failures – first Raina and then Yuvraj Singh – when he was in line for a debut. Now he gets it when not winning the next Test will be India’s lowest point in Test cricket since they lost 2-0 to South Africa in 1999-2000.And if India play two quicks, there is another debut guaranteed – either Ashok Dinda or Parvinder Awana. Considering they, and Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla, were playing Ranji Trophy two days before the match, big risks are unlikely. Rahane and Chawla are frontrunners as replacements for Yuvraj and Zaheer Khan right now.A drawn final Test is not an option, and 20 wickets on a decent batting pitch a distant thought. Accordingly the pitch in Nagpur has received no water for two days. Despite what happened in Mumbai, a square turner with three spinners in the side remains India’s best chance. How they will love to win the toss and watch Virender Sehwag have one of his days.Sehwag aside, it will take a lot of painstaking improvement for India. Batsmen used to playing like millionaires might need to play like paupers, not going after boundaries. Sachin Tendulkar showed he can do it. Bowlers will need discipline and patience, and much more effort to turn the ball. Fielding will have to improve so much you rub your eyes in disbelief to make sure these are the same men as you saw in Kolkata.In short, Sehwag aside, India need a miracle over the next five days. Possibly even three. And they will know a miracle alone won’t be enough. It will have to be followed by honest introspection. After all, there is one Test series to come between now and IPL, when India will shine again.

It isn’t exactly international cricket’s new big rivalry but the Netherlands allrounder and Indian spinner have history, kinda

Firdose Moonda09-Mar-2011Mudassar Bukhari has a score to settle with Piyush Chawla. It’s not the kind of one-on-one tussle that is likely to start an epic. It’s not a Shane Warne versus Daryll Cullinan, Zaheer Khan versus Graeme Smith or any left-arm spinner versus Kevin Pietersen personal vendetta. But it’s the competitiveness that has been missing in matches between Associates and Full Members.Bukhari and Chawla’s is a story that dates back five years, when the two were still playing for their respective countries’ A teams. It was a six-nation tournament in the United Arab Emirates, featuring the A teams of the hosts, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ireland and Netherlands. It was Bukhari’s first tour for the Netherlands A, but more importantly, it was the first time he would play with a hard ball on a turf pitch.
He had faced a hard ball before and bowled with one, but only on matting pitches. This was going to be a new experience. Things started off badly when he conceded 61 in his 10 overs in the first match against India A, but he got another chance with the bat. The Dutch were chasing 312 and had all but expired on 80 on 5 when Bukhari came in. He took his guard against Chawla. “He got me out first ball,” Bukhari said.The duck walk he did that day might provide the inspiration for Bukhari to show the Indian spinner how much he has changed, and even improved, since they first met. To begin with, he now regularly plays on turf pitches. “There are only four turf pitches in Holland,” he said. “If you don’t play for one of the clubs where they have a turf pitch, you will probably only play three games a year on that kind of surface. I play for Amsterdam Cricket Club which is where one of the four is.”Playing more regularly on a surface that is used at the level of international cricket that the Dutch are aspiring to has been an advantage to Bukhari ahead of this World Cup, although it has been challenging. “The ball skids more on a matting wicket so it’s a big adjustment to make.” Bowling on subcontinent pitches has only added to the difficulty, with wickets not traditionally suiting seamers. “It’s very difficult to bowl here,” Bukhari said. “The pitches are so flat and hard.”It showed in the first two matches, where Bukhari battled, first against England, although he did claim the wicket of the in-form Andrew Strauss, and then against West Indies, where he splayed his lines and lengths all over, and was lucky to escape with only 65 runs off his 10 overs. He pulled it back beautifully against South Africa, where he seemed to have understood that even without express pace, control will ensure his figures don’t get distorted out of respectable shape. That match, in Mohali, was at the most seamer-friendly of the venues the Dutch have played at so far, and Bukhari should be proud that he was able to exploit the conditions to his advantage.He currently has the lowest economy rate out of the bowlers from his team at this event – still high at more than six runs to the over – an indication of his ability and perhaps even his Pakistani bowler genes, something he suggested. “Cricket is in my blood,” he said, smiling broadly. Bukhari was born in Punjab and left Pakistan with his family at the age of 14. He still has family in Pakistan, who live an hour outside Islamabad, and he goes back to visit them occasionally, and still has close ties to the land of his birth.The World Cup has provided an occasion for him to meet other journeymen, those born in Pakistan who now play for other countries. One of the people Bukhari most enjoyed meeting was South Africa’s Imran Tahir. “I saw him on the first day in Delhi at breakfast and I went to have a chat to him. We spoke about where our families are from and how things are back in Pakistan. We decided to meet for lunch in Mohali too.”Bukhari said he has never thought about playing for Pakistan but he does have a lot of admiration for the way they have performed over the years “I looked up to Waqar Younis a lot, but my favourite was Imran Khan.” It’s interesting that Bukhari did not name more of Pakistan’s clutch of quicks in his list of favourite players, no Wasim Akram, or Shoaib Akhtar but instead made reference to Pakistan’s greatest allrounder. It’s because Bukhari regards himself primarily as an allrounder, even though his batting has not had much exposure on the international stage.Besides a 71 against Ireland and 61 against Bermuda in 2007, Bukhari has no other score over 40. His average is in the teens but it’s something he hopes he will be given more opportunity to excel in. “I can open and sometimes I am used a pinch-hitter somewhere higher up in the order.” In his quest to become one of the Netherlands’ premier allrounders, he must look up to some other allrounders in international cricket.Someone like Jacques Kallis, perhaps? Not a chance. “Kallis is a good player but I don’t like his batting,” he said with a sheepish grin. Instead, in a way that perhaps underlines his subcontinental roots, it’s Indian captain MS Dhoni whom Bukhari is in awe of. “It’s just something about him, his confidence.”And that’s why Dhoni’s wicket is the one Bukhari is targeting. The hunger in his eyes when he talks about the one scalp he would cherish is unmistakable, and the Indian captain would do well to be a wary of a man so desperate to be the one that gets him out. If it doesn’t happen, he may switch to targeting Chawla – after all, there’ll be some joy in that too.

They bounced him, he hooked them. In the background, a radio played. It was the summer of 1983

Ashok Malik17-Jan-2008

Watching India bat in the second Test against Pakistan in Faisalabad this January, one moment, one delivery, something clicked in my head. Shoaib Akhtar, using the second new ball, bowled a bouncer, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with a spellbinding savagery, smashed it for six.I thought it was a hook; the next morning’s papers – describing how, in a pulsating counterattack, Dhoni had reached his first Test century and saved India from following on – preferred to call it a pull. By then my mind had moved, replaying Michael Sembello and “Maniac”, lost in a once-and-forever nostalgia oval.It wasn’t always like this. Years ago, before placid wickets and mindless one-day games made genuine fast bowlers seem like cowboys at a vaudeville show, Indian batsmen weren’t supposed to hook.Like good boys, they were supposed to defend (“That’s another immaculate forward-defensive stroke from Gavaskar. Copybook, I tell you.”), drive along the ground, sweep when the spinners came on. Some, like the oriental sorcerer Gundappa Viswanath, were obligated to late-cut.That was another India, another time: a time before 1983, a time before Mohinder Amarnath.The Lala’s second son was not a cricketer you instantly fell in love with. A slow, lumbering gait and zero charisma: this one wasn’t a charmer.He made his Test debut the year I was born. I first saw him a decade later, in 1979, wearing a , felled by Rodney Hogg, collapsing on the stumps in the Bombay Test against Australia. He looked quite ridiculous. Since he’d been hit by a Richard Hadlee bouncer earlier in the summer in England, his obituary was readied. At 29, he was history – too old and too unequal to fast bowling.Like Douglas MacArthur, he vowed to return. Mohinder didn’t give up, he scored runs for Delhi with an accountant’s determination and worked harder and harder on his fitness.In the early 1980s, in the innocence of adolescence, I took the Ranji Trophy a little more seriously than the selectors did. Mohinder grew on me, gradually. So did his status as Indian cricket’s perennial underdog. He was the outsider who appealed to the loser in us all – the antithesis of the dominant Bombay lobby.It was just before the 1982 tour of England. Mohinder had hit another century in another Ranji final, been cold-shouldered another time. Asked about it, Raj Singh Dungarpur, manager for the tour, raised his nose, “Let us talk about the future of Indian cricket, not the past.”I still haven’t forgiven him.In six months, Mohinder was back in the team, battling Imran Khan and Pakistan, hitting three hundreds in a lost cause – and hooking. At least I saw those games on television. The best was yet to come, and I only heard it on radio.In early 1983, Kapil Dev led his men to the Caribbean. It was India’s only series in the West Indies against the pace quartet. They lost 0-2: a nailbiting finish in the first Test, and a 10-wicket defeat in the fourth at Barbados, reputedly the fastest pitch of them all. I still remember the scores – India 209 and 277; Mohinder 91 and 80. Need I say more?It was an epic contest. As Subhash Gupte, by then living in Trinidad, later put it, “They kept bouncing, and Mohinder kept hooking.” In one Test he was hit on the head and retired hurt. He returned a few wickets later, was met with a first-ball bouncer – and hooked it to the boundary.

Of course, I saw none of this. It was an age before 24×7 telecasts. In a household remarkably free of cricket fans, I had but a transistor on low volume for company. In that strange, pre-modern media environment, All India Radio brought just the first two sessions live to listeners. The post-tea session was delayed, coming as a “deferred” broadcast about an hour later, perilously close to school time.In sum, this meant I was up all night. Most difficult was the period between the tea break and commencement of “deferred” commentary. The house was silent, the lights were out; only the trams could be heard moving on the streets of Calcutta, calling to each other as it were, urging me to close my eyes but stay awake, and imagine the grit, guts, and glory of a gladiator in a faraway land.As it happened, 1983 was a great year for music. Late at night, while the players had lunch, between tea and resumption of commentary, I was kept up by shortwave radio – BBC, or maybe the Voice of America, or an Australian show – and by the pirated cassettes on my Walkman: The Police and , Billy Joel and “Uptown Girl” – and “Flashdance”.Mid-tour, Sembello burst onto the charts with “Maniac”: “You work all your life for that moment in time/ It could come or pass you by / It’s a push of the world, but there’s always a chance / If the hunger stays the night.” I had found Jimmy’s anthem.It was famously said of Ken Barrington that he “came out to bat with the Union Jack wrapped around him”. Mohinder was sculpted of similar steel. He was perhaps what so many of us wanted India to be – a fighter. He was not a Gavaskar, not a natural; Jimmy was Ivan Lendl to Sunny’s Bjorn Borg.Later in 1983, Mohinder helped India to the Prudential Cup. There were to be more failures and successes, more depths and peaks, many more comebacks. The man eventually retired in 1990, having played first-class cricket from 16 to 40.For me, it didn’t matter. I could savour the Mohinder of 1983, the witching hours when I’d close my eyes and watch him hook – hooking, as Sembello may have sung, like he’d never hooked before.

Selectors name 16-man group including seven pace options for first two Tests

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Jun-2023England have announced an unchanged squad for the first two men’s Ashes Tests. The 16-man party, which includes Worcestershire seamer Josh Tongue who was drafted in as bowling cover for the one-off Test against Ireland currently taking place at Lord’s, will report to Birmingham ahead of the Edgbaston Test starting on June 16.The announcement comes as no surprise, particularly with James Anderson (groin) and Ollie Robinson (ankle) progressing well in their respective recoveries from injury. The pair have been bowling at Lord’s, where England were pushing for a three-day victory over Ireland having registered a 352-run first-innings leads following a mammoth 524 for 4 declared.Both are likely to return to the XI for the first Test against Australia, along with Mark Wood who missed the Ireland Test to spend time with his second child born last week. Chris Woakes has also been retained, giving Ben Stokes seven pace-bowling options to pick from.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe majority of the group are due to head to Loch Lomond in Scotland next week as part of a team-bonding trip ahead of the five-match series with Australia. A number of players are heading up at the start of the week before a more official gathering at the weekend. While essentially a golf trip, the getaway is geared towards giving the players more time together, building on a successful week reestablishing the connections and frame of mind that has been a huge part of life under Brendon McCullum and Stokes.They will be in situ for the first Test the following Monday, before their first training session at Edgbaston on Tuesday, June 13.England men’s Ashes Test squad: Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Marseille have emerged as a suitor for Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo as the midfielder continues to push for a loan move.

20-year-old wants regular first-team footballUnited could warm to loan deal abroadMainoo yet to feature in the Premier LeagueFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

United in Focus report Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi is keen on adding the 20-year-old to his squad, which also features former United youth products Greenwood and Angel Gomes. Ruben Amorim and the Old Trafford hierarchy had previously blocked any move for Mainoo but could warm towards a loan deal on the agreement it would be outside of the Premier League. RB Leipzig are also believed to be interested in the player. 

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Mainoo and his camp are reportedly pushing for the move as the youngster is adamant he needs first team football to force his way into Thomas Tuchel's plans for the upcoming World Cup. The German manager omitted Mainoo from his squad for the Three Lions' upcoming qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia, with Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson given the nod in a revamped midfield. The 20-year-old and his camp do not want a permanent move away from Old Trafford. 

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Mainoo hasn't appeared in either of the Red Devils' two Premier League games so far this season, remaining on the bench in both their loss to Arsenal and draw with Fulham. He featured from the start during United's embarrassing Carabao Cup exit at the hands of League Two side Grimsby Town.

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WHAT NEXT FOR MAINOO?

United fans will be desperate for the youngster to remain part of the club's long-term plans at the very least, but Mainoo's agitation for more playing time could well force Amorim's hand. Either he has to find a role for the midfielder or allow him to play in another club's colours ahead of next summer's World Cup.

Paris Saint-Germain have set a big price on Vitinha as Real Madrid search for replacements for Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in Xabi Alonso’s midfield.

Madrid target Vitinha for midfield rebuildAlonso wants Rodri-style profile this summerMidfielder considered untouchable at PSGFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

With Modric leaving for AC Milan and Kroos already retired, Los Blancos are short of midfield control. According to Alonso has identified Vitinha as a priority signing with Manchester City intent on keeping their reported top target, Rodri. However, PSG consider the Portuguese playmaker untouchable and have set a starting price of €130 million (£110m/$141m) an amount that would make this one of the most expensive transfers in football history.

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Madrid need a player who can dictate tempo and break lines in midfield, roles previously handled by Kroos and Modric. Vitinha fits that profile, having established himself as a key figure under Luis Enrique at PSG. However, the French champions have no intention of selling easily. This saga adds to Madrid’s already expensive midfield rebuild after the €103m (£87m/$112m) signing of Jude Bellingham in 2023. If they go for Vitinha, it could eclipse that deal and signal one of the most expensive transfers in recent years.

DID YOU KNOW?

The 25-year-old joined Les Parisiens from Porto in 2022 for €41.5m (£35m/$45m) and has since become an indispensable part of Luis Enrique’s tactical setup. A potential €130m sale would mark PSG’s record outgoing transfer, surpassing Neymar’s move to Al-Hilal. Meanwhile, if the deal goes through, it would also eclipse Madrid’s current record signing Eden Hazard, who joined from Chelsea for €115m (£97m/$125m).

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Los Blancos would need to make a monumental financial move to land Vitinha, but with their summer transfer window reportedly closed, a deal looks unlikely at least for now. Unless PSG lower their demands or Madrid offload big names, this transfer could remain a dream scenario rather than reality.

سقط منتخب مصر لكرة اليد، في فخ التعادل أمام التشيك بنتيجة 35-35، في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما اليوم، ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس العالم لكرة اليد للناشئين تحت 19 عاماً.

والتقى منتخب مصر مع التشيك على صالة استاد القاهرة الدولي، ضمن منافسات الدور الرئيسي للبطولة العالمية لكرة اليد.

وكان منتخب مصر قد تأهل إلى الدور الرئيسي بعدما حقق الفوز في مبارياته الثلاثة السابقة على كوريا الجنوبية والبحرين واليابان.

طالع أيضاً.. مواعيد مباريات منتخب مصر في الدور الرئيسي من كأس العالم لكرة اليد تحت 19 عامًا

ومن المقرر أن يلعب منتخب مصر مباراته القادمة في بطولة كأس العالم لكرة اليد، أمام الدنمارك مساء غد الثلاثاء، في تمام الساعة السابعة والنصف.

وتواجد منتخب مصر في المجموعة السابعة من بطولة كأس العالم لكرة اليد تحت 19 عامًا، والتي ضمت في دورها الأول كوريا الجنوبية والبحرين واليابان، قبل الانتقال لمنافسات الدور الرئيسي.

وتستضيف مصر البطولة خلال الفترة من 6 إلى 17 أغسطس الجاري، على صالات استاد القاهرة والعاصمة الإدارية الجديدة، وحسن مصطفى بمدينة 6 أكتوبر.

تحدث البلجيكي يانيك فيريرا، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، عن الفوز على سيراميكا كليوباترا بهدفين نظيفين، في الدوري المصري الممتاز.

وقال فيريرا خلال المؤتمر الصحفي عقب المباراة: “نجحنا في خلق العديد من الفرص الهجومية، وكنا نطمح في امتلاك الكرة لفترات أطول، لكن اللاعبين أظهروا عقلية ممتازة وبذلوا مجهودًا كبيرًا لتحقيق الفوز”.

وتابع: “سعيد بهذا الانتصار المستحق، وسنواصل العمل من أجل تحقيق المزيد من الانتصارات في المرحلة المقبلة”.

طالع.. فيديو | في الوقت القاتل.. ناصر ماهر يسجل هدف الزمالك الأول أمام سيراميكا كليوباترا وعن سبب استبدال نبيل عماد “دونجا”، قال: “اللاعب لم يتعرض للإصابة، لكن شعرنا أن لديه إجهاد، إضافة إلى حصوله على بطاقة صفراء، فخشينا من تعرضه للطرد، ومع ذلك قدم مباراة جيدة”.

وعلق على غضب شيكو بانزا عند خروجه من الملعب: “لم أر في حياتي لاعبًا يتم استبداله ويكون سعيدًا، وهذا أمر طبيعي وليس موقفًا كبيرًا نتوقف عنده، أنا واثق أن لديه الكثير ليقدمه للفريق”.

وأضاف: “لا أرغب في كشف طريقة تحضير الزمالك للمباريات أمام الفرق المنافسة، وسنلجأ لطرق مختلفة في اللقاءات القادمة، المباراة كانت صعبة، وبانزا واجه دفاعًا قويًا من المنافس”.

واستمر: “أعلم أن جماهير الزمالك متعطشة للفوز، وكانوا أحد أهم دوافع اللاعبين، وبعد المباراة ذهبنا لتحيتهم”.

واستطرد: “التحضيرات في المعسكر كانت عامة، ولم يتسن لنا العمل الفردي مع اللاعبين وسنمنح سيف الجزيري وبقية المهاجمين حصصًا تدريبية خاصة”.

وأتم: “الجزيري شارك في وقت شهد الكثير من التحولات في المباراة، ولو كان في جاهزية بدنية أفضل لتمكن من إنهاء الفرص، أما عدي الدباغ فسيظهر مع الفريق في الفترة المقبلة”.