Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been brutally described as the 'flop of the season' amid a tough campaign for the Red Devils.
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Man Utd having dismal season
One Red Devil named flop of campaign
Critic cites his lack of "leadership"
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Former Liverpool and Leicester City striker Emile Heskey was asked who his flop of the 2024/25 season has been so far. The ex-England international pulled no punches by digging out United captain Bruno Fernandes, citing his apparent lack of "leadership".
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WHAT EMILE HESKEY SAID
He told Instant Casino: "Bruno Fernandes. I've seen the seasons gone by where he's scoring, and he's really been carrying them a little bit. With the captain’s armband as well, you're expecting a little bit more. He can't do it on his own, I get that, but as a captain, I want to see a bit more drive. I want to see a bit more leadership. I don’t think he’s given that. For a captain, one good performance like he produced against Liverpool in however many is not good enough really. The minimum for any player is to run around, tackle, be aggressive. The captain has to do more, he has to lead from the front and set the standards for others to follow. I don’t think he’s necessarily been that. It's been a tough season for them, hasn't it? I don't know even where to put my finger on why it’s all gone so badly. It's not just like one bit, everything's just capitulated. It'll be interesting to see what the future looks like under Ruben Amorim. They had a really good result against Liverpool, and yes, they probably could have won it at the end with the Maguire chance. But all in all, Liverpool squandered a few chances as well."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Fernandes has arguably been one of the Premier League's best players since swapping Sporting CP for United in early 2020 but he didn't open his league goalscoring account until November this season. While he has four goals and six assists in the Premier League this term, the 30-year-old has not hit the heights of previous campaigns and he bears some responsibility for the team languishing down in 13th in the table.
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WHAT NEXT?
Portugal international Fernandes will hope to be at his best when United take on Arsenal in round three of the FA Cup on Sunday.
“I know when to deliver a message that is serious and when we can be a little more relaxed”
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2021Usman Khawaja has been named new captain of Sydney Thunder replacing Callum Ferguson who was released at the end of the last season.Khawaja has played his entire BBL career with Thunder and is the club’s leading run scorer with 1718 at 33.68 including two centuries.”It’s a great privilege to be captain of any team, but for me especially being captain of Sydney Thunder probably means a little more,” Khawaja said.”I grew up in Western Sydney, about ten minutes from where the Thunder play at Sydney Showground Stadium, and even though I now live in Queensland I have never forgotten where I come from.”Related
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Khawaja paid tribute to Ferguson, whose departure from the club was controversial, and added that he would not be looking to bring significant changes to how Thunder go about their game.”Cal was awesome as a bloke and team-mate – he will be missed amongst the group here for sure,” he said. “Me being captain, it’s not about reinventing the wheel. Everyone has their own way of captaining a team but having captained various sides for Queensland and Australia A for a few years I think it’s important to be who you are.”I never change who I am just because I am captain. I am usually a bit of a jokester around the team and that doesn’t change as a captain. I know when to deliver a message that is serious and when we can be a little more relaxed.”Khawaja will likely be reunited with Alex Hales at the top of the order after his return was confirmed yesterday. Thunder still have two further overseas spots to fill ahead of the tournament starting on December 5 with their first game the following day against Brisbane Heat.
On a tough pitch to bat on, the visitors slipped to a 23-run defeat chasing a modest 132 for victory
Sreshth Shah03-Aug-2021Bangladesh recorded their first T20I victory against Australia in five attempts by defending 131 with the help of their frontline spinners who picked six wickets in 12 overs for just 65 runs.Australia had the upper hand at the halfway mark but the dismissal of Alex Carey first ball, followed by two more batters by the third over, meant that they had their backs to the wall early on. After that, though Mitchell Marsh tried to keep Australia in the contest with a patient run-a-ball 45 from No. 3, wickets at regular intervals left them 23 short in the end.Bangladesh used spin right from the first ball. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed shared the new ball with Mahedi Hasan and finished with 4 for 19, his best in T20s. Mahedi and Shakib Al Hasan picked up early wickets too, and kept things tight all through.Shakib also made a crucial contribution in the first half after Australia opted to bowl, scoring 36 off 33, on a surface that was not easy to bat on. Bangladesh’s batters struggled with timing too, as the Australia bowlers varied their pace. And it took a late cameo from Afif Hossain – 23 off 17 – to take them to a decent total.Australia flounder against spin Mahedi and Shakib both struck with their first balls and Nasum struck with his fourth, leaving Australia reeling on 11 for 3 after 13 balls. Mahedi got one to slide in from around the stumps and beat Carey’s cut to shatter his stumps.Next over, Josh Philippe was stumped trying to drive Nasum through the covers. And Moises Henriques’ sweep off Shakib had the ball go between his legs and hit the stumps.Matthew Wade and Marsh tried to bring Australia back with patient play against the spinners, who were bowling with a lot of control and confidence. Wade explored the square region on both sides to keep the runs ticking, while Marsh preferred the straight region. But a lapse from Wade came soon after as, chasing a wide ball that pitched outside leg and turned away further, he pulled it straight to short fine leg, undoing all the effort of the previous 22 balls. Australia were now 49 for 4 in the tenth over.The two Ashtons – Agar and Turner – tried to stitch partnerships with Marsh but Bangladesh broke through again. Agar was hit-wicket trying to flick Nasum, and Turner sliced a catch to extra cover off Mustafizur Rahman.Marsh looked to change gears in between, and although a few boundaries did come, he perished looking to slog sweep. From 84 for 6, it looked like Australia might struggle to reach three digits but they just about got there, courtesy Mitchell Starc’s 14, before being shot out last ball.Hazlewood leads bowling effort Barring Mohammad Naim’s two sixes off Starc early on, it was all Australia in the opening stages of the first innings. Hazlewood nearly had Naim chopping onto the stumps, and would soon account for Soumya Sarkar as the left-hand batter backed away to cut but ended up playing on.Shakib and Naim then carefully saw off the powerplay, in which Bangladesh scored only 33. Naim impressed by not giving into temptation by chasing deliveries too wide but was bowled for 30 trying an uncharacteristic reverse sweep off Adam Zampa in the seventh over.Although Shakib and Mahmudullah enjoy playing spin, Zampa and Agar did not give them much room. Bowling stump to stump, and with a little turn on offer, the batters kept getting the occasional boundary but the run rate hovered under six.When a change in gears was imminent after 12 overs with eight wickets in hand, Hazlewood removed both senior batters. First, Mahmudullah sliced a slower ball to mid-off on 20, and then Shakib also chopped on in Hazlewood’s next over as he finished on 3 for 24 in his four, with three overs left in the innings.Afif’s crucial cameo Afif walked in at No. 6 with Bangladesh’s run rate still under six. With Shakib and Shamim Hossain – who had successfully finished games with his blitzy performances in Zimbabwe – both falling, Afif was the last recognised batter in the death overs.He began by clobbering Hazlewood to the long-on boundary, and then cracking a lofted cover drive off Starc. In between, he pushed his batting partners for doubles, even if it wasn’t him getting on strike, which added a few crucial runs. He would then end by reverse scooping Starc over the keeper in the final over, and although he fell off the last ball, his knock pushed the hosts to over 6.50 an over.
Liverpool supporters' transfer-window discontent went into remission following a stunning 3-0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford to maintain Arne Slot's 100% start.
Few could have envisaged such a scoreline in spite of recent history, regardless of the wall-to-wall disparity between the arch-rivals over the past decade. Slot, indeed, designed success through every department on Sunday afternoon, and is yet to drop points or even concede after three Premier League fixtures.
Surely it wasn't supposed to be this way? Farewell, Jurgen Klopp – rival fans cheer, for Liverpool are headed for the scrap. But no, Slot looks every bit the elite-level boss, every inch the fitting leading coach for Anfield's red-golden array of talent.
There is so much still to do; Slot and his Liverpool squad will not get carried away. The Reds will pause for the imminent international break before jumping into the thick of more action in the league, wedged by Champions League and Carabao Cup ties that will put the club's depth to the test.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot-1
One man, it will not be surprising, is performing with some level of gusto right now. Mohamed Salah's future is an anxious thing, but the Egyptian dominated the Theatre of Dreams, as is his way.
Mohamed Salah's incredible form
Salah fizzled out toward the end of the 2023/24 campaign, and with Klopp leaving and the soon-to-be 32-year-old about to enter the final year of his £350k-per-week deal, many thought he had reached the end of his glory days.
How wrong they were. Salah has scored three goals from three matches under Slot, claiming three assists and leaving Manchester United icon Roy Keane in awe of his "world-class performance", having dismantled the Red Devils in their own backyard. Again.
Premier League
14
12
6
FA Cup
2
3
0
Luis Diaz carried a brace into the half-time break, supplied by Salah from the right both times. He's evergreen, and more dangerously for his rivals, he's revitalised. Salah might have lost some of the snap-jerk motion that saw him obliterate Premier League backlines upon arriving back in 2017, an electric-paced superstar with a deadly ball-striking ability, but he's morphed into a first-rate playmaker.
His intelligence is second to none, and there's simply little chance that Salah will not play an instrumental role in Liverpool's campaign, rivalling the younger Erling Haaland and Bukayo Saka to take the crown as the division's foremost forward.
United were abject on Sunday, pulled apart by their nemeses blistering counters and struck further by their own internal malfunction. But mistakes are a part of football, and Salah's creative balls for Diaz were pinpoint, his first-time finish after latching onto Dominik Szoboszlai's exquisite pass, placed with the deftness of an artist applying the finishing touch.
It's a measure of Liverpool's brilliance that Salah actually squandered a glorious opportunity to make it four shortly after netting, and while he was the attacking architect, his headline display was enabled by Ryan Gravenberch, who was the real hero on a victorious day.
Why Ryan Gravenberch is Slot's real hero
You can't help but wonder if Martin Zubimendi cast a rueful gaze Liverpool's way on Sunday evening, watching the Premier League outfit maintain their perfect record with some style, while Real Sociedad suffered a goalless draw against Getafe in La Liga, consigned to 12th place and one win from four attempts.
Zubimendi, of course, made his choice and deserves a measure of praise for his loyalty in an ever-more perfidious landscape, but he was perfect for Slot's Liverpool, who fought fiercely to bring him to Merseyside in August, felt they were set to win the battle, but didn't.
Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi
Sociedad refused to let up and the Spanish Euro 2024 champion stayed put, leaving sporting director Richard Hughes in dismay, with the 25-year-old profiled as the dream addition. FSG, who never jump the gun, did not find an apt alternative.
Luckily, Liverpool already have one in Gravenberch, who has long carried the properties for a deep-lying midfield role but lacked temperament, holding a boyish immaturity that is starting to dissipate.
Gary Neville said that the Dutchman, 22, "absolutely destroyed" Man United's midfield last weekend, having now performed three matches as Slot's anchorman to a top standard.
There's so much to like, three games into the new era. Gravenberch has averaged 74 touches per Premier League game so far, as per Sofascore, completing 89% of his passes and averaging 2.7 tackles and 5.7 ground duels per game.
What's more, Gravenberch ranks among the top 19% of central midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive passes and the top 16% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref, further emphasising the technical skill he possesses, tailored for success in his new position.
His press resistance and smooth forward passing have raised chatter that his boss Slot, a fellow Dutchman, is sculpting him into a world-beater at no. 6.
Indeed, he was so good against Erik ten Hag's men, so dominant in the central battle, that The Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle awarded him a 9/10 match rating, writing: 'Helped Liverpool increasingly dominate midfield, played important role in opener and kept the visitors nabbing possession in key areas. Superb performance.'
Liverpool are only three games into the season. There will come a point when Slot will taste defeat, and Gravenberch will shake his head following a poor performance – these things are certainties, not eventualities.
But the idea of a prosperous new age at Anfield has taken root within the mind of the fanbase, and Gravenberch has showcased his acumen and suitability. Given that Zubimendi's signing fell through, he might just be the most important cog in the system.
As good as Diaz & Salah: Liverpool star is becoming a monster under Slot
The Reds maestro is enjoying a fantastic start to the campaign under the Dutchman.
Ed Barnard bowls to Ben Slater. The match in which they are playing will soon be drawn as firmly as Excalibur was fixed in the stone. Yet the contest will soon be of particular interest to statisticians, for all three innings already boast century opening partnerships and Haseeb Hameed will make two hundreds in a game for the second time in his young career.Hameed and Slater, another centurion, will put on an unbroken 236, thus breaking Nottinghamshire’s first-wicket record against Worcestershire, the now-expunged mark of 220 having been set by George Gunn and ‘Dodger’ Whysall in 1924. But the passage of nearly a century between events is most fitting. No wicket will fall for over a day at New Road and in his two innings Hameed will bat 13 hours 41 minutes and face a total of 635 balls. The latter will set a new record for County Championship matches.In other worlds brilliant men and women are developing advanced vaccines and wise leaders are reaching tentative agreements about climate change.But this afternoon, in crystal sunlight at New Road, Ed Barnard bowls to Ben Slater and number crunchers move into helpful overdrive about a deeply drawn cricket match. What can it matter?For the answer to that question one must consider, as others have done, the wider impact of the past year. Recreation – in part, the act of re-creating valuable experience – has been shown to have a value beyond even our previous conception of that myriad. It has bound us together in the darkest times. Unable to enjoy it in conventional fashion, we have experienced it remotely, thus sustaining the rich sense of community upon which so much else, not least mental health, depends.And community is what we’re preserving in these spectator-free weeks. The doors will be closed for a few weeks yet but the county clubs are available to their supporters in every other way. My colleague David Hopps, no one-eyed optimist he, put it perfectly in a superbly balanced essay written for : “Community and heritage, though, is why county cricket matters… Discover it, nurture it, save it. It has never been more vital.”And county cricket still commands the loyalty of unsuspected thousands of supporters. The live streams and the websites have revealed that. Some Worcestershire loyalists and very many more Nottinghamshire ones would have paid double the usual entry price to watch Hameed and Slater become the first Trent Bridge openers since Tim Robinson and Matthew Dowman in 1995 to share century opening stands in each innings of a game.There is already speculation as to how big the crowds will be for four-day games when spectators are allowed in on May 20. Those that haven’t booked probably needn’t bother. After May 16 they can admit 895 spectators here; after June 21 there are hopes of full houses, maybe even for Championship games. Who’d have thought it?Related
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Gloucestershire last-wicket heroics thwart Hampshire's bid for three in a row
Today, though, neither the efforts of Joe Leach’s bowlers nor the occasional eccentricities of a fourth-day pitch were enough to bring Worcestershire a victory. One suspects the teams could have played another dozen hours and not produced a winner on a surface that always promised more help than it delivered. Six of the 12 sessions in this game were wicketless. Stump and bail flashed and flew… infrequently. Batters rarely departed, pensively or otherwise. So we were left to ponder Slater’s mercilessness when dealing with short balls and his powers of concentration in making a century on the ground where he revived his career with a 172 for Leicestershire less than a year ago. Loan spells are rarely so pivotal in a player’s career.As for Hameed, the mannerisms remain. Between each delivery there is still the farmer’s gentle amble to square leg with the bat balanced, scythe-like, on his shoulder. He is still occasionally inclined to play two shots to every ball, one real and one yet more perfect as the bowler returns to his mark. The trigger movements and technique have undergone small but significant modifications: the slightest of forward presses, for example. More notably, there is more intent to score by angled cuts to third man or glances to fine leg: they are his staple diet when his punches through midwicket or cover drives are not on offer. Most importantly of all, there is trustworthy judgement and a lovely greed for batting.”Just as we were about to follow-on Ben Duckett told me it was an opportunity to go out and get another century,” said Hameed. “Peter Moores said the same not long after but it’s a great leveller when you go out there and the scoreboard says “0”. Thankfully, though, I was able to start again and go through the processes again. It wasn’t overly difficult to focus again because I was disappointed I’d got out in the first innings and I was in the moment as soon as they asked us to go out there again.”And so two of these four days have been about a 24-year-old cricketer rebuilding his career with the sort of studious, attentive batting that some sceptics doubted they’d see again. That enriching sight has taken its place amid timeless pleasures. So much has changed on this ground but the essential aspect remains the same. A couple of diseased trees have had to be felled; nature does not exist to satisfy poets or painters. But the chestnut in front of the marquee remains and stood in young-leafed grace as Hameed and Slater extended their partnership into its fifth, sixth and seventh hours.And it mattered because county cricket is about the game and everything around the game. This week it has been about listening with agnostic piety to evensong in the cathedral on Wednesday evening, when the choristers gave us George Herbert’s “The Call” in the Vaughan Williams setting that was first performed at Worcester during the Three Choirs festival in 1911. It has been about peregrine falcons in the cathedral tower. It has been about Hameed embracing the rich talent he still possesses. It has been about the black pear tree and the damasked tulips in Cripplegate Park. It has been about chilly mornings on Bromwich Parade and gentle dusks with the Malverns fading from view. And it has been about Ed Barnard bowling to Ben Slater in crystal sunlight.
Desde que chegou ao Coritiba em março deste ano, Léo Gamalho vem justificando a expectativa da sua contratação no que se refere a principal característica: uma alta média de gols, independente da competição e/ou camisa que esteja vestindo.
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>Aplicativo de resultados do LANCE! está disponível na versão iOS
E, não à toa, em somente sete meses de Coxa o jogador de 35 anos de idade já atingiu um feito histórico ao se colocar no Top 8 de maiores artilheiros do clube em todo o século.
Somando as atuações de Léo pela Série B do Brasileirão, Copa do Brasil e Campeonato Paranaense, ele marcou 21 gols em 42 aparições pelo clube (média de um tento a cada dois jogos), igualando feito obtido em 2019 por Rodrigão, atualmente na Ponte Preta.
O “Top 3” dessa lista consta com nomes importantes da histórica recente do Verdão como Keirrison (41 gols em 58 partidas) no ano de 2008, Marcel (30 em 57) na temporada 2003 e Alex, autor de 27 tentos em 48 compromissos no ano de 2013.
Para prolongar sua marca, a próxima oportunidade de Léo Gamalho será na próxima terça-feira (26) onde o jogador reencontrará justamente seu último clube brasileiro antes de chegar ao Coritiba: o CRB. A partida em questão, válida pela 32ª Rodada da Série B, acontecerá às 19h (de Brasília) no Estádio Rei Pelé.
Manchester United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are closing in on the first signing of the INEOS era, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Man Utd’s summer transfer window so far
The Red Devils are yet to make a marque addition ahead of the 2024/25 season, with Ratcliffe and INEOS’ only major decision in recent weeks being keeping manager Erik ten Hag. In fact, the Dutchman has now signed a new Old Trafford deal through until 2026 and said:
"I am very pleased to have reached agreement with the club to continue working together. Looking back at the past two years, we can reflect with pride on two trophies and many examples of progression from where we were when I joined.
"However, we must also be clear that there is still lots of hard work ahead to reach the levels expected of Manchester United, which means challenging for English and European titles. In my discussions with the club, we have found complete unity in our vision for reaching those goals, and we are all strongly committed to making that journey together."
The club have since added Rene Hake and former Red Devils striker Ruud van Nistelrooy as assistant managers, with the only player signings so far coming at academy level.
Man Utd in pole position to sign £25m "menace" who starred at Euro 2024
The Red Devils have set their sights on another defender…
ByTom Cunningham Jul 12, 2024
Teenagers Silva Mexes, the son of former Cardiff and West Brom striker Rob Earnshaw, Australian James Overy, Reading’s Camron Mpofu and Crystal Palace gem Samuel Lusale have all either arrived or are close to arriving at Carrington, and it looks as if the Red Devils are now set to make their first major first-team signing under INEOS and Ratcliffe.
Man Utd agree Joshua Zirkzee deal
The main attacking target at Old Trafford in recent weeks has been Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee. The Netherlands international has been at Euro 2024 in recent weeks amid rumours over a move to Manchester, but it looks as if a deal is now set to go through.
According to transfer expert Romano in the last 24 hours, Man Utd will not pay Zirkzee’s €40m release clause, but instead, Ratcliffe and INEOS will pay a fee slightly more than that over three years.
Zirkzee has already agreed a five-year deal at Old Trafford, and Romano provided more details on Friday morning, including a meeting with Ten Hag, a €42.5m (£35.7m) fee and a medical being underway.
“Joshua Zirkzee day has started with medical tests for new Manchester United player. Face to face meeting with Erik ten Hag will follow then he's gonna sign contract until June 2029 with option for further season. €42,5m fee to be paid in three years to Bologna.”
Zirkzee now looks set to rival or play alongside Rasmus Hojlund, filling the void left by Anthony Martial, who departed as a free agent last month.
A number of players have already left Nottingham Forest this summer, and it appears that the side could be set for further exits from the City Ground before the transfer window closes.
Forest set for further exits this summer
With much of last season clouded by the looming threat of financial sanctions, it had long been known that this summer would see Forest part ways with numerous star players. So far, the window has seen this prediction come true, with a number of players calling time on their careers at the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest eye "fantastic" former player who wants to quit his club
They could finally get their man…
ByTom Cunningham Jul 18, 2024
Nottingham Forest departures summer 2024
Player
Club joined
Fee received
Moussa Niakhaté
Olympique Lyon
£27m
Orel Mangala
Olympique Lyon
£15m
Remo Freuler
Bologna
£3.8m
Odysseas Vlachodimos
Newcastle United
Undisclosed
Brandon Aguilera
Rio Ave
Undisclosed
Jonathan Panzo
Rio Ave
Loan
Marko Stamenic
Olympiacos
Loan
Despite the multitude of players who have already left the club, Forest could be set for further exits, with attacking talents Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga both attracting interest from other sides.
Morgan Gibbs-White celebrates for Nottingham Forest
The duo have both been linked with moves to fellow Premier League side Newcastle United, with the Magpies attempting to bolster their attack ready for next season and cover for the potential loss of Anthony Gordon.
With the Forest departures set to continue, it looks as if a club official is travelling to England to negotiate a deal for another of Nuno Espírito Santo's players.
Club official set for talks over Forest midfielder
Sport Witness has relayed a story from the Turkish press claiming that Fenerbahce are showing interest in Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangare, with a club official set to travel to England for talks.
The outlet states that Fenerbahce's sporting director, Mario Branco, will be travelling to speak to clubs about both Sangare and Crystal Palace's Jefferson Lerma. It is claimed that the Süper Lig side are still in the market for a new midfielder after seemingly losing the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur's Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, and will choose to pursue one of the other midfielders.
Ibrahim Sangare
Lerma has been previously linked with a move to Fenerbahce, though Sport Witness reports that the Colombian recently played down these rumours in the press. Sangare, on the other hand, is a new name for the Turkish side and could be a likely exit from the City Ground after failing to impress during his time at Forest.
The Ivorian midfielder arrived at The City Ground on deadline day of summer 2023, joining for a reported fee in the region of £30million. In his first season in England, the former PSV man struggled, starting just 13 Premier League games last term.
Speaking shortly after his appointment as Forest manager in December 2023, Espirito Santo spoke of Sangare's struggles, telling the press:
“He is not in his best moment yet. He was seriously ill, he lost weight and has had injury problems. But he is an option for us. I know him and I expect him to help the team. He can be very, very helpful to us.”
Having signed a five-year contract with Forest, the club may choose to persevere with Sangare into the future or just cut their losses and hope to recoup as much of the initial fee as possible this summer.
He will be in the Test role temporarily, with a permanent appointee to be finalised in the coming months
Firdose Moonda11-Dec-2020Quinton de Kock has been named South Africa’s Test captain for the 2020/21 season. de Kock, who already leads the ODI and T20I squads, will only be in the role temporarily, with a permanent appointee to be finalised in the coming months.de Kock’s elevation to the leadership was announced on Friday, and comes eight months after Graeme Smith, South Africa’s director of cricket, said de Kock would not be made the Test captain so that he could “remain fresh”, given his already large basket of responsibilities. However, given the relatively lighter Test schedule in store for South Africa, the selection committee felt de Kock could handle the role for this summer.South Africa are due to play seven Tests, two against Sri Lanka, two in Pakistan and three against Australia. They have no Test cricket scheduled between March and December, by which time they hope to have chosen their long-term Test leader. For now, de Kock has shown willingness to take on the red-ball captaincy and the selectors believe he is the right choice.”Quinton is happy to continue in the role for the next season and is comfortable with the balance of the workload and we back him fully as a captain,” Victor Mptisang, convenor of selectors, said. “We are also pleased with the leadership group in the team and are cultivating a strong individual leadership culture at the same time, so that the team produces a sustainable stream of potential captains for the future.”Ultimately, the decision to appoint de Kock may have come, not because of “time constraints,” as Mptisang suggested but because South Africa do not have a stand-out candidate for the job. Ten months have passed since Faf du Plessis stepped down in February, and in that time, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma all made their interest in the position known, but there are question marks around each of them as long-term choices.
“Quinton is happy to continue in the role for the next season and is comfortable with the balance of the workload and we back him fully as a captain. We are also pleased with the leadership group in the team and are cultivating a strong individual leadership culture at the same time, so that the team produces a sustainable stream of potential captains for the future.”Victor Mptisang, convenor of selectors
Elgar was considered the most obvious choice, given his seniority. He has played 63 Tests and has been part of the set-up for as long as du Plessis. Elgar has even done the job once before, against England at Lord’s when du Plessis went on paternity leave in 2017. At the time, he indicated he did not want the job permanently but has since changed his mind. However, South Africa are likely to want to him concentrate leading with the bat. Elgar has 12 Test hundreds to his name but they tend to come at a rate of one or two a season and South Africa might be hoping for a few more.Markram, who is most likely going to partner Elgar at the top, has only just returned to the Test squad after spending most of last summer out of international cricket with a broken finger. He has three hundreds from this last three first-class innings, which bodes well, but had a lean patch in Test cricket before he was injured. Markram needs to show consistency at the highest level but, as a former under-19 captain, chances are if he has a productive season, he could be the named Test captain.The same can be said of Bavuma, who led the Lions franchise to the first-class trophy last summer. Bavuma was dropped last season, prompting a race-based furore, but has not scored a Test hundred since 2016. That has to change before he can be considered for the captaincy. If it does and the runs flow, it will be a tough call between him and Markram.And Maharaj, well-intentioned as his leadership goals may be, has the disadvantage of a being a left-arm spinner in a country of quicks. Although he is first-choice in his department and will play every Test on the subcontinent, he is often not guaranteed a spot in the XI when South Africa play at home, which would make it difficult to make him captain.Rassie van der Dussen’s name has also done the rounds as a possible leader after his impressive showing at the 2019 World Cup (where he was South Africa’s second-leading run-scorer in an otherwise dismal campaign) and scored two half-centuries in his first three Test innings. But van der Dussen’s Test career is only four matches old and he need a little more time in the Test team before he can be promoted to its captain.Van der Dussen also threw his weight behind de Kock during the recent T20I series against England, when questions were asked about whether de Kock was having a tough time handling the pressures of captaining, opening the batting, keeping wicket, balancing a side that had no allrounders available and dealing with changing transformation targets. “I don’t think it’s getting tricky for Quinton de Kock,” van der Dussen had said. “I don’t know why you would come with that angle. Quinny’s a brilliant captain. On the field his cricket mind is absolutely brilliant, in the change-room he’s really good, and he’s one of the best players in the world, as we know.”Luckily, de Kock won’t have quite that many things to think about in Tests. He will bat in the lower middle-order, most likely at No.6 or 7, and the responsibility of laying the foundation will lie with senior batsmen like Elgar, van der Dussen and du Plessis. With Kyle Verreynne in the squad, de Kock may also be relieved of the wicketkeeping gloves, if needs be.The Test squad for Sri Lanka has one allrounder in it, in Wiaan Mulder, and Dwaine Pretorius could join if he recovers from a hamstring injury in time, making team balance a little less complicated. And CSA’s interim board have confirmed that the transformation targets will revert to what they were last season, rather than increase, as was originally planned. That means South Africa need to field, on average over the course of a season, six players of colour of which a minimum of two must be black African. Call it politics or call it necessity, that is what every South African must learn to work with, and de Kock is no different. Welcome to it.
سجل جوردان هندرسون نجم ليفربول السابق، هدفًا لفريقه الحالي برينتفورد، خلال التعادل أمام ليدز يونايتد، بهدف لمثله، في الدوري الانجليزي الممتاز.
وأصبح برينتفورد بعد حصوله على نقطة في مباراة اليوم، في المركز الرابع عشر بـ20 نقطة، بينما يحتل ليدز المركز الـ17 بـ16 نقطة.
ويعد هذا الهدف هو الأول لهندرسون مع برينتفورد، منذ انضمامه الصيف الماضي، واحتفل بهذه المناسبة على طريقة ديوجو جوتا نجم ليفربول الراحل السابق.
اقرأ أيضاً.. أبو تريكة: قدمت النصيحة إلى محمد صلاح.. ولا يمكن مطالبة سلوت بمهارات ليست لديه
وتحدث هندرسون عن زميله السابق الذي توفى في حادث مأساوي، لشبكة “سكاي سبورت”، قائلًا: “كان عيد ميلاد جوتا مؤخرًا”.
وأضاف: “لن ننساه أبدًا، سنذكره دائمًا للأبد، لا يسعني إلا أن أتخيل ما يمر به لاعبو ليفربول، لقد كان صديقاً عزيزاً، لا أسجل كثير من الأهداف لذا فكرت أنه عندما أسجل سأهديه له”.