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Our correspondent rubs shoulders with the stars, and soaks up the desert sun of the UAE

Andrew McGlashan06-Nov-2015October 11
First full day on tour. Head down to the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi to watch training. It’s hot, but apparently already cooler than the first few days, when the team and colleagues arrived. Players say they had never felt temperatures like in Sharjah, where the warm-up matches were played. The spaceship-style stadium at the ground provides welcome shade as England go through a high-intensity training session. England’s batsmen have promised to stay true to themselves and play positively; during nets they repeatedly ping balls over the boundary towards the watching press. I’m sure it isn’t intentional.The evening is spent at the launch of a new statistical analysis tool that takes the study of cricket numbers to a new level of detail. They can tell you how far a delivery has seamed or spun, or how far ahead of the game a team is, based on historical data. Who says there’s too much data in cricket?October 12
Yasir Shah skips in to bowl during Pakistan’s nets session. Next thing, he’s in a heap at the crease. Then he’s helped off the ground. It doesn’t look good. What a moment this could be. Nervous, worried looks from the Pakistan camp. Misbah-ul-Haq is uneasy at his press conference. They have no back-up spinner.October 14
The record books are thumbed as Adil Rashid toils and toils. He finishes with none for 163, the most expensive figures by a Test debutant, overtaking another legspinner – Australia’s Bryce McGain. There is one moment when a shot is chipped just over mid-off that Rashid almost goes to his knees in the bowling crease.The Abu Dhabi heat was hardly a deterrent for the enthusiastic cricketers of a local corporate league•Andrew McGlashan/ESPNcricinfoOctober 16
As the Test match continues on a flat pitch, games pop up around the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, on concrete pitches that offer more bounce than the one we are watching. At lunch I decide to wander over and see who is playing. My goodness, it brings home the heat of the day – just a ten-minute stroll and you are melting. How does Alastair Cook do it?The local players usher me into their tent and offer a bottle of water. Afzal introduces himself. He is part of Serco-zu Raptors. They are playing in a corporate league made up of teams from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. It’s the first weekend of the season for them, as temperatures begin to drop (or so they insist). Their innings finishes on 199 off 20 overs. The enthusiasm and joy for the game is clear. Afzal says that the finals of the tournament, which are played in the nursery ground of the main stadium, can attract up to 2000 people. If anyone knows what the final result in the game was, let me know.October 17
Nailed-on dull draw, surely? Maybe not, then. When England declare with a lead of 75, it feels like a token effort to put some pressure on Pakistan. But Rashid bags five to leave 99 needed in 19 overs. However, the light is already fading. They will never get the overs in. Sure enough, after 11, the umpires come together and the players walk off. It’s unsatisfactory, but it later emerges the captains were given the chance to keep playing and they declined. The day-night experiment can’t come soon enough. Cricket must stop being so insular.October 18
A very relaxed press chat with England coach Trevor Bayliss the morning after the dramatic finish. Then it’s on the road to Dubai – no need for internal flights on this tour – in time for the biggest contest of the trip: the Media v ICC cricket match.There had been concerns over the fitness of key legspinner, Scyld Berry of the , but he makes a remarkable recovery. The side is captained by John Etheridge of the and includes a couple of chaps who, from memory, played a bit: M Vaughan and G Swann. The ICC includes Adrian Griffith as an opener and they compile an impressive 170 despite the best efforts of Berry. In reply, David Clough of the Press Association and Paul Radley of the lay a solid foundation but the asking rate rises above 10 an over, and despite the best efforts of Vaughan and Swann the chase falls just short. Media requests after the match are refused as the team goes into lockdown. It is understood book deals are in the offing.Excess baggage: the 1995 Singer Champions Trophy, still awaiting a Sri Lanka-bound flight•Andrew McGlashan/ESPNcricinfoOctober 19
It’s strange what you can stumble across during a tour. Invited to a launch event for the Masters Champions League (it’s clearly in vogue for players to come out of retirement), I happen on what turns out to be quite a big story. One of the rules of participating in the MCL is that a player has to have retired from all three international formats. Sat at the top table is Virender Sehwag. An early question to him is along the lines of, “You haven’t retired from international cricket yet.” He responds with, “I will, to play in the MCL.” It appears Sehwag has just retired. A tweet (not entirely innocent, I’ll admit) is followed by some frenzied activity on the timeline, followed by a call from the ESPNcricinfo Bangalore office. It all makes me chuckle; the guy hasn’t played for India in two and a half years and is a day shy of 37. Semantics then play a part in whether he actually has retired, before a video interview confirms it, although the announcement will come in India. I only came for the food and music.October 20
Entertained at the British consulate as part of an event to welcome the England team to town. The players are in attendance and very relaxed; it’s a noticeable change over the last six months. Interesting chatting with some of the expats about life in Dubai – the place splits opinion, but there seem to be plenty of perks to living overseas.October 26
More final-session drama when it did not appear likely. This time England are eight down at tea, but get within seven overs of saving the game. Rashid is almost the hero (again) only to drive to cover, having played superbly for nearly four hours. Not the fifth-day impact people talk about for a legspinner.A peculiar sight near the groundsman’s allotments in Sharjah•Andrew McGlashan/ESPNcricinfoOctober 27
Bayliss reflects on England’s almost-great escape in Dubai. As ever, he is honest and straightforward with his answers. Wonder how he was able to keep his emotions in check when the middle order was playing a few of those shots on the third morning which cost England the game.Then it’s on to an event with Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan to launch a golf tournament. They are vice-captains of Australia and Rest of the World respectively. Ask Vaughan what would be more nerve-wracking: the final moments of Edgbaston in 2005 or a four-foot putt to win a match. “The four-footer, no doubt,” he says. “At least with cricket I sort of knew what I was doing.”Manage to grab a few minutes with Warne afterwards where he says he would like to bowl with Yasir in the nets. When asked about the challenge of bowling first as a legspinner, he reflects on how he had to do it a fair bit and mentions Edgbaston in that ’05 summer. “Ricky Ponting won the toss and bowled.” Enough said.October 29
It’s always fun to visit a ground for the first time. This is my first look at Sharjah, one of the game’s most storied venues. A world away from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but wonderful for it. Close your eyes and you can almost hear the roars as Sachin belts another boundary or Wasim uproots another stump.Meet Mazhar Khan, who has been involved since 1975 and has seen it all through the years. He has a collection of trophies on his sideboard, one of which stands out more than others. It’s the Singer Champions Trophy from 1995, which Sri Lanka won as a precursor to their World Cup triumph. Why’s it still here? It was so big that Sri Lanka didn’t want to carry it home, so it has lived in Mazhar’s office for 20 years.Also find goats tethered up near the groundsman’s allotments. You don’t see that at Lord’s. Wonder if they are a reason there’s no grass on the pitch.October 30
Warne is good value as he speaks after a training session with Rashid – to follow one with Yasir – but you wonder whether the hyperbole has gone a little too far when he says Rashid has as good a legbreak as there is. Still, if some of that confidence from Warne rubs off on Rashid, English cricket will be well served.Manage to escape to the desert for an evening of dune-bashing, local food, camel-riding and star-gazing. Even while still relatively close to Dubai, it reminds you of the vast emptiness that surrounds the glittering city.November 3
Sit in on a second international retirement in two weeks, as Shoaib Malik surprisingly calls it quits in Test cricket two Tests after making 245. As he repeats the fact about having a five-year gap in his Test career, you can’t help but feel he just wanted the chance to show he could still do it, although scores after his double – 0, 2, 7, 38, and a first-ball duck – tend to sum up his career. As England strive to stay in the series, Malik’s reprieve on 40, when Stuart Broad overstepped in Abu Dhabi, now looks even more pivotal.November 5
No final session, fifth-day drama this time. England barely made it past lunch, spun out by Yasir, Zulfiqar Babar and Malik. A brief reminder of 2012, but this has been a much improved performance by England although plenty of holes remain in the team. It’s a delight to see Pakistan win again. However cynical you want to be about rankings, moving up to No. 2 in the world is a wonderful achievement. Maybe one day there will be a chance to cover a series in Pakistan. For now, they remain a force in a home away from home.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the game between Sri Lanka and New Zealand

Andrew McGlashan and Andrew Fidel Fernando31-Mar-2014The head-shake strike-rateHaving made a brisk start, Kusal Perera’s shock at wrongly being given out caught down the leg side for the second time in as many matches was expressed with a bout of furious head-shaking that almost outstripped his rate of scoring. From the moment the umpire’s finger was raised, until he exited the field, it almost seemed as if Kusal was watching two tennis players at the net. What’s more, it was infectious. Incoming batsman Mahela Jayawardene approached the square in visible disbelief as well.The win some, lose some momentStrength becoming a weakness. Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his first boundary with a scoop off Kyle Mills, but in the next over from Trent Boult he tried to reverse scoop the left-armer over slip and only succeeded in providing a catch to Luke Ronchi.The useful overthrowThere is never really a good outcome to conceding free runs in T20 – a format that can be decided by the narrowest margins – but when Brendon McCullum had a slightly unnecessary shy at the non-striker’s stumps, lulled into by the batsman teasing to leave his ground, and the resulting deflection gave away a single, there was a silver lining for New Zealand. Next delivery, Nuwan Kulasekara drove on the up and picked out Brendon’s brother, Nathan, at short cover to leave Sri Lanka 93 for 7.The not out, then outAll of Rangana Herath’s overs were special – in what would become one of the great T20 spells – but in his second he made Ross Taylor, a very fine player of spin, look clueless. The third ball of the over slid on past the inside and took the pad to short leg (the loud appeal correctly turned down) then the next delivery turned considerably, squared up Taylor and struck him on the back leg. Rod Tucker, again, declined the appeal and this time Sri Lanka were harshly done by as off stump would have been hit flush on. At their third time of asking, however, Sri Lanka got the response they wanted when Taylor was again beaten, this time by one that skidded, and Tucker’s finger went up.The dislocationWhen Corey Anderson failed to hold Sachithra Senanayake’s mow down the ground in the 18th over it was a double blow for New Zealand. Not only did it concede six, but Anderson immediately left the field clutching his right hand and was soon on his way to hospital for treatment for a dislocation. It meant he was not available for New Zealand’s innings, but given the margin of defeat it may not have made a difference to the result.

Hashim Amla’s innings wasn’t flawless, but what sets him apart is that he is not affected when his weaknesses are exposed. When handed a life, the opposition usually regrets it

Firdose Moonda at the Gabba09-Nov-2012Australia will sleep uneasy knowing that tomorrow’s return to the Gabba is set up as another day of toil. They will return to bowl to Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, South Africa’s most successful pairing who, on day one, overtook a record that had previously stood between Kallis and Gary Kirsten, now the coach.Together, Amla and Kallis have scored 3607 runs, average 66.79 and have combined for 11 century and eight half-century stands. Their power as a duo was at its best against England at The Oval, where they put on an unbeaten 377.Although they do not even have half that many runs at the moment, they are complementing each other with the same push and pull as they did then. Kallis has scored at an uncharacteristically quick rate to put Australia off their lines while Amla has continued exactly from where he left off against them a year ago.Last year this time, Amla posted back to back centuries against Australia and is well poised to notch up a third. Even if he doesn’t, it will not detract from the achievements of the last 12 months. His run since this day in 2011 has been a remarkable and highly profitable one which has set up much of South Africa’s success.Not counting today’s 90, Amla has accumulated 1049 runs since November 9, 2011. In 18 innings, he has four centuries, including his record-breaking 311 at The Oval. Two of those were against Australia and the other two came during South Africa’s successful campaign to take the No.1 world ranking off England two months ago.That’s not all, of course. Amla has also scored three half-centuries since in that time, against Sri Lanka and New Zealand which speaks about his consistency against all opposition. His lowest average in the last four series is 34.75 against Sri Lanka at home but he has averaged over 45.00 in all the rest.Only Michael Clarke has scored more runs in the last 12 months than Amla. In the process he has also become the second fastest South African to 5,000 Test runs. After a year of form, which looks as though it will become a lifetime of runs, what else is left to say about Hashim Amla?At least this time his stint in the middle wasn’t all pretty. When Amla rolls out the cover drive, decorated as a Turkish rug and every bit as smooth, it’s easy to forget any other shot he plays. But today those unforgettables were interspersed with plays and misses, false strokes and the odd glimpse of vulnerability.The reality is that in three of his last four hundreds, Hashim Amla has been dropped•Getty ImagesBefore he had scored a run, Amla survived an lbw shout from James Pattinson which was a touch too high and the umpire’s not-out call stood. When he was on 30 he prodded softly at a Ben Hilfenhaus ball and the resulting edge fell just short of Ricky Ponting at second slip. Even after Amla had brought up his half-century, he still offered chances.As he moved back to cut Nathan Lyon, Amla got an edge which flew between Matthew Wade and Clarke at first slip, who was not even able to react. On 74, he misread a Peter Siddle slower ball and offered a fairly simply return catch at waist height. Siddle spilt it.This innings proved that Amla is not invincible. What sets him apart from other batsmen is that he is not affected when his weaknesses are exposed and that can only be because he is comfortable with himself and his batting. Instead of distraction or doubt, Amla only shows determination when a flaw is let out.His ability to be unruffled is so well known that Australia’s supposed ‘dossier’ of plans for the South Africans could come up with nothing technical to beat Amla. Instead, they hoped to sledge him out of the game, a tactic Johan Botha was certain would not workIt’s a difficult thing to do – to steel oneself after being almost pushed over – but Alviro Petersen explained that it is possible. And Amla is able to do it better than others. “It’s important to put it behind you. For however long the ball is in there, your heart does tend to leave your body but after that, you have to put it behind you,” Petersen said. “Hashim really forgets about it and makes sure that the next ball is the important ball.”In the shower of accolades that have rained down on Amla in the last year, there hasn’t been too much of a need to examine how he got there. But the reality is that in three of his last four hundreds, Amla has been dropped. Australia were the first guilty party when Michael Hussey put him down in Cape Town last year off the final ball of the day. Amla had a rare rush of blood to the head and drove in the air but got lucky and went on to usher South Africa to victory with Graeme Smith the next day.Amla’s offering of chances did not stop there. On his way to his triple-century, he offered a chance when he was on 40 when an edge went the way of Andrew Strauss in the slips. At Lord’s two matches later, Amla gloved a short ball down the leg side when he was on 2 and Matt Prior could not hold on.The lesson in all of that is simple: don’t drop Amla, and it was one Australia learned the hard way. “You don’t like giving class batsman like that a chance,” James Pattinson admitted. “Because against a good batsman chances don’t come very often but come tomorrow if we get our chances we will be snapping them up as quickly as possible.”

Mahela Jayawardene’s press conference was a bit like the match itself: done and dusted in less time than he would have needed to strap on his pads. Peter Siddle, however, had more to say

Telford Vice in Centurion20-Sep-2010We came. We blinked. We almost missed the match between the Victoria Bushrangers and Wayamba in Centurion on Monday.This wasn’t so much a game of cricket as it was a reason to be cheerful that it didn’t detain us any longer than was necessary. The brief blip of a match was all over, lock, stock and no smoking barrels, in a mite less than 30 overs.Mahela Jayawardene’s press conference afterwards was also done and dusted in less time than he would have needed to strap on his pads. Asked what had changed since last year’s tournament, when Wayamba beat Victoria by 15 runs, he was as honest as he was brief.”I don’t know,” he said disarmingly. “The line-up of our team hasn’t changed much. We knew they would be very aggressive because they needed a big win, and we needed a total of 150 to 160 to be competitive. But we just weren’t up for it on the night.”And with that he was gone, followed out of the door by his captain, Jehan Mubarak, whose sole contribution was a joke about how he might as well go and make himself “a cup of coffee” while Jayawardene got on with answering the only question put to them.The Sri Lankans took their leave politely and perhaps a little relieved that there was nothing left to say that wasn’t already obvious to all. Part of that has to be that the Victorians have played a positively Germanic brand of cricket. They deserve a place in the semi-finals on the grounds of their ruthlessness and efficiency alone.Not that Peter Siddle, who was understandably granted a longer audience by the media, was ready to accept that bit of praise with good grace. “It’s about time,” he said. “It was disappointing to lose the first one, but since then it’s been good.”That lone loss was suffered against a fired-up Warriors side in Port Elizabeth, the same team Victoria will hope like mad put one over the Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday. A win the other way at St George’s Park would put Chennai, the Warriors and Victoria level on points, and the Aussies’ net run-rate isn’t great.”It’s out of our hands now,” Siddle said. “Most teams wouldn’t have thought they could win three out of their four games and still miss out.”How confident was he that the Warriors would do his team a favour? “They’ve got some good bowlers and some good batsmen up the top of the order. It should be a game worth watching.” In other words, don’t ask me, mate – I’m not nearly dumb enough to stick my neck out on that one.There will be no such dreaming for Wayamba, who were woeful for the third consecutive match. In fact, that win over Victoria last year is the only success they have to show from five CLT20 outings. Thanks for coming, fellas. Better luck next time, and give our regards to Kurunegala.They have one game left, against the already eliminated Central Districts, also in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday. Talk about dead men walking.On Monday, the Sri Lankans were outplayed by opponents who approached their task with what Hemingway would have described as a cold mind. Wayamba wickets weren’t so much taken as scythed off at the roots, and while the Bushrangers’ run chase was more measured than manic, they still got the job done in 13.2 overs.If they make it into the final four, they look headed for a confrontation with South Australia. The Redbacks have ridden rampant through the tournament, reeling off three wins to become the first team to nail down a semi-final spot. For all that, the prospect of taking them on in a knock-out context put a thin, menacing smile on Siddle’s lips and made his eyes narrow until they were slivers of silent aggression.Redbacks, you have been warned.

The opener has been assessed regularly over the last few days and shown no concussion symptoms

Andrew McGlashan21-Jan-2024Usman Khawaja has been cleared to play the second Test against West Indies in Brisbane having passed all his concussion protocols following the blow to the head shortly before the end of the game in Adelaide.Khawaja was struck on the side of helmet by a short ball from Shamar Joseph and retired hurt with one run needed for victory. He passed the initial concussion assessment in the dressing room and has continued to not show any symptoms over the weekend, getting the all-clear from a final test on Monday.He will to return to training on Tuesday during Australia’s main session ahead of the Gabba Test.Related

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“Khawaja was assessed again today and has no symptoms of delayed concussion,” a CA spokesperson said.Khawaja’s progress means Australia are set to remain unchanged for the second Test as they look to wrap up the series 2-0. Matt Renshaw is the spare batter in the squad and has been made available for Brisbane Heat’s Challenger final against Adelaide Strikers on Monday. He may also be allowed to feature in the final against Sydney Sixers on Wednesday, the eve of the Test, if Heat make it through.The three frontline quicks are set to play their fifth Test of the season together with the opening match in Adelaide having taken little more than two days, following all three Tests against Pakistan ending in four.Alongside Nathan Lyon, it will be the first time since 2013-14 against England that Australia will have gone through a home Test summer of at least five matches with an unchanged attack when Lyon was also part of the group alongside Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle.”At the start of the summer I didn’t think it was going to be the case,” captain Pat Cummins said. “But it’s shaping up that way which is a huge nod to the fitness of the guys and the medical team and a couple of helpful wickets.”With Josh Hazlewood having passed 250 Test wickets in Adelaide, all four of the frontline bowlers now have that tally – the first attack in history to achieve the feat.Lance Morris could be called up if Australia need to boost their pace depth•Getty Images

With two Tests to come against New Zealand from late February there’s a chance they could play seven consecutive matches together as an attack. The three quicks are being rested from the ODI series against West Indies early next month but some could feature in the T20Is which follow.Scott Boland has been with the Test squad throughout the season (although was released to play games for Melbourne Stars) while uncapped quick Lance Morris would also be close to a call-up if a replacement was needed. He was part of the squad early in the Pakistan series before being left to play for Perth Scorchers where he took 13 wickets at 19.00 in nine matches.”It’s awesome travelling with the Aussie guys but nothing replicates playing cricket,” Morris said ahead of the Knockout final where Scorchers’ campaign ended against Adelaide Strikers.”[I’ve been] putting a few things into practice – having the bravery to take it out in the middle was tough, but I made a conscious effort to try a few different things and expand my game this year. It’s something you can only get with experience.”When the pressure is on and you’re in front of a big crowd, you need to fall back on to your strengths and it only comes through playing a lot of cricket.”Morris is in line for his ODI debut against West Indies in the three-match series while both he and Boland likely to be included in the Test squad to tour New Zealand.

Manchester United have scrapped their end-of-season awards dinner for the second year running after a dreadful Premier League campaign.

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• Man Utd cancel awards dinner
• Ceremony was also abandoned last season
• Been another poor campaign

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The club cancelled the ceremony last season when they finished eighth and won the FA Cup, and this time around have not even made plans to hold their traditional gala dinner in a suite at Old Trafford. Ruben Amorim's side are 16th in the Premier League and will face Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final next week.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The club will hand out the Sir Matt Busy player of the year award on the pitch ahead of their home match against Aston Villa on the final day of the season, with Bruno Fernandes the heavy favourite to scoop the prize.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Fernandes won the men's award last season, while Ella Toone was awarded the women's prize. Her side take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Sunday and have already qualified for next season's Champion League via their third-place league finish.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?

  Amorim's side look set for a period of heavy change, after the manager admitted recently the club must be "strong" and "brave" this summer.

Mohamed Salah has reacted to winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award for a third time, cementing his status as one of the Premier League’s all-time greats. In a stunning 2024-25 campaign, Salah not only inspired Liverpool to the Premier League title but also broke several records in the process.

• Salah wins PFA Players’ Player of the Year for third time
• Hailed his career-best season with 29 goals, 18 assists
• Hungry for more success at Anfield

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  After scoring 34 goals and providing 23 assists from 52 appearances across all competitions, Salah became the first-ever player to secure three PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards. His assist tally of 18 in the English top flight was only bettered by two players in Premier League history: Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne and Arsenal stalwart Thierry Henry.

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  Salah’s individual brilliance was not the only recognition for Liverpool after they powered their way to their record-equalling 20th Premier League title last season. The forward was joined in the Premier League Team of the Year by his team-mates Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, and Alexis Mac Allister.

• WHAT SALAH SAID

  When Salah received the award from Ian Rush, Liverpool’s all-time leading goal scorer, it was a moment of reflection for the player. He took a moment to speak about his journey from Egypt to the pinnacle of world football, revealing the doubts that once surrounded his career, especially after his struggles at Chelsea.

  "It’s an incredible feeling. I want to thank everyone who voted for me. Doing this at the age of 33 is incredible," said Salah. "I remember ten years ago, I didn’t make it at Chelsea. When you go somewhere and you don’t make it, it’s always on your mind. I look at myself. A guy coming from Egypt, making it to the top level and making history."

  Reflecting on what was arguably his best-ever season at Liverpool, Salah added on the club website: "I think we had a great season and I also had my best season in the club, maybe in my career as well. To win the league, I'm glad we managed to do that, and hopefully it will continue this year. I found always a way to feel hungry and just need more."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  While Salah’s triumph dominated the headlines, the PFA awards also recognised other stellar performances. Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers scooped the PFA Young Player of the Year award, while Mariona Caldentey picked up the Women’s Super League Player of the Year prize. In the Championship, James Trafford claimed the Player of the Year award after his outstanding performances for Burnley before joining Manchester City.

MatériaMais Notícias

Com a saída de Andrey Santos para o Chelsea, o Vasco está no mercado em busca de um substituto. O nome que agrada é o de Zanocelo, do Santos, mas a pedida de R$34,8 milhões fez o interesse ficar em compasso de espera. O Cruz-Maltino possui conversas avançadas com os empresários do volante, mas ainda não apresentou proposta ao Peixe.

+ Confira as movimentações do mercado da bola

Como plano B, o Vasco tem o volante Léo Naldi, da Ponte Preta. A diretoria já fez contato com o clube e com o representante do atleta, o ex-jogador Fumagalli, que defendeu o Cruz-Maltino em 2009 e 2010. Financeiramente a negociação é bem mais tranquila, uma vez que a multa rescisória de Léo Naldi, de 21 anos, gira em torno de R$ 3 milhões. O contrato dele com a Macaca vai até julho de 2025.

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Enquanto não fecha com um volante, o Vasco segue se reforçando. Nesta quarta-feira, o clube anunciou a contratação do lateral-esquerdo Lucas Piton, ex-Corinthians, quarto reforço para a temporada 2023. Antes de Piton, o Cruz-Maltino fechou com o zagueiro/lateral-esquerdo Léo, o volante De Lucca e o atacante Pedro Raul. O argentino Orellano deve ser o próximo a ser anunciado.

Mitchell Starc was “jittery” on Tuesday evening as he followed the IPL 2024 auction at his home in Sydney. It had already been a busy day for Starc: he had mowed the lawn, walked the dogs, done his shopping rounds and made himself dinner.Starc waited anxiously for his name to come up for bidding in the fourth set comprising capped fast bowlers. His Australia captain and friend Pat Cummins had already gone to Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 20.5 crore (US$2.569 mn approx.), surpassing the record set by England allrounder Sam Curran at the 2023 auction to become the IPL’s most expensive player ever.Related

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That distinction, several pundits and franchises heads had believed in the lead-up to the auction, would belong to Starc. Nearly two-and-a-half hours into the auction in Dubai, player Number 28’s name came up for bidding: Starc.Starc and everyone else following the auction wouldn’t believe what was about to transpire. Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani and his counterpart at Delhi Capitals, Kiran Gandhe, started the bidding. At the INR 9.4 crore mark, Gandhe pulled out. Enter Kolkata Knight Riders at the INR 9.8 crore mark. The Knight Riders had been favorites to bid for Starc on the eve of the auction. After all, they had signed him for INR 9.4 crore at the 2018 auction, but Starc had to pull out due to injury.After Mumbai, too, dropped out, Gujarat Titans locked into a bidding contest with Knight Riders. Several tense minutes followed as both franchises raised their bidding towards Cummins’ price tag. The auction room let out a sigh of excitement when Starc surpassed Cummins. Finally, after nearly 17 minutes of bidding, Knight Riders had Starc at INR 24.75 crore. The most expensive player tag had moved from Cummins to Starc in less than two hours.Starc was as gobsmacked as his wife Alyssa Healy, who was relaying updates from Mumbai where she is part of the Australia women’s tour of India, which starts with a one-off Test this week. In a chat with , Starc said he had been “intrigued” about how he would fare, and wasn’t prepared to end up making history.”I’m not sure any words would do it justice, really,” Starc said with a chuckle, asked to recount his reaction to Knight Riders’ winning bid. “Alyssa was over there with the Australian team at the minute, so her coverage was slightly ahead of mine here in Australia. So she sort of saw the numbers before I did, so I was getting the updates through her. But, yeah, a fair bit of shock, and certainly excitement with how it was all unfolding. But nothing that I could’ve ever imagined. Thoroughly thrilled to be joining KKR.”Starc has played only two seasons of the IPL – in 2014 and 2015, at Royal Challengers Bangalore, who had picked him up at INR 5 crore. He then decided to manage his workload for a few years before deciding to enter the auction ahead of the 2018 season. Even then the Knight Riders had bet big money on Starc who they believe has all the skills to be a serial match-winner. These included his ability to bowl in the 140-150 kph range while generating conventional and reverse swing, flooring batters and breaking stumps with toe-crushing yorkers, mix things up with a wicked slower ball, all this with the added threat of his left-arm angle, as well as provide depth to their batting with his lower-order hitting.Unfortunately, Starc hurt his tibia, ruling him out of the 2018 season. But six seasons later, Starc is happy to play in Knight Riders’ colours. “Firstly, it’s exciting to be back involved,” he said. “Secondly, it’s more of a bit of a shock and a surprise, I guess.”The Knight Riders had come to the auction with a remaining purse of 32.7 crore with the most slots to fill of any team – 12 including four overseas players. As soon as the auction began, they got to work by raising their paddle for West Indies allrounder Rovman Powell, who ended up going to Rajasthan Royals. The Knight Riders would eventually walk out with 10 new signings.0:34

Healy: IPL record buy a justification for Starc’s choices

Incredibly, the nine others apart from Starc were all signed at their base price. As Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore said after acquiring Starc, you can “slice” the purse in different ways.But how do you make sense of a team spending INR 24.75 crore, or 75.69 % of the purse they started the auction with, on a single player? Starc was laughing himself. “They are amazing numbers, aren’t they?” He understands the pressure and expectatins that will come with the price tag as soon as the season begins. But he has qualities not many possess: vast experience, and the experience of winning World Cups in high-pressure situations. “I’m 33 now, so I’ve had to deal with a few ups and downs and pressures of certain games,” he said. “I would like to think that I can keep that in check, but that always comes with the territory when some of those numbers get added to the anticipation of an upcoming season as well.”It’s been a long time since I played in IPL in 2014 and ’15 and have obviously played a fair bit of cricket since then. A lot of it for Australia in different formats. There’s been a lot of white-ball cricket there [in India] across a few World Cup campaigns, and so that experience is there and a little bit of leadership if you like, in terms of the experience side of things in white-ball cricket that hopefully I can bring to bring to KKR as well and play my part there. And being able to bowl at different stages I think is something that’s held firm throughout.”While he sat out of the IPL, Starc never felt uneasy. His had chalked out his priorities, and had been focused on performing for Australia. He played a key role in a historic 2023, in which Australia won the World Test Championship final, retained the Ashes, and then overcame a dominant India in the final of the World Cup in front of a 90,000-plus crowd in Ahmedabad.Starc now believes he is ready for the IPL .”I’ve probably prioritised international cricket firstly for a long time whilst having a bit of a taste of IPL and Big Bash in Australia.” he said. “I’ve always held firm that I’ve wanted to play my best cricket for Australia and make myself available for Australia where I can. At the same time, the temptation to go back to IPL and how exciting it is to be involved in such a great tournament, big names, big players, big stages – it’s too hard to pass up. There’s a place to play all of it. it’s just being mindful and putting the work ethic in to be able to do all of it.”The Eden Gardens also holds good memories for Starc. On November 16, he took a three-for and then batted resolutely with Cummins in a tense chase of 213 against South Africa in the World Cup semi-finals. “I’m very much looking forward to playing as the home team and experiencing that home crowd [at Eden Gardens],” he said. “Some new colors to pull on and a new challenge to look forward to.”What can the passionate Knight Riders fan expect then from Starc? “Hopefully, more of the success that I’ve had over some time – swinging the new ball, reversing the old, and trying to smack those wickets.”As for the present, Starc is looking forward to meeting Cummins ahead of training on Wednesday as they get ready to join the rest of the Australia squad in Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan. “It could be an interesting conversation between the bowling group tomorrow and the gym,” he said, with a laugh.While he and Healy will spend the rest of 2023 indulging in a “Christmas of cricket” in different continents, Starc is happy to share the joy he and Cummins have experienced today with rest of the Australia squad. “The team chat has been going nuts,” he said. “The are all saying it’s our shout, so we’ll just go about our business and get ready for the next Test match. But a few of our Australian team-mates might be waiting for us to treat them.”

The bus carrying the Wales women's team at Euro 2025 has crashed, one day before their next group game against France.

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Team bus involved in collision in St GallenIncident occurred day before facing FranceNo injuries but players left shakenFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The bus crashed into another vehicle while the team were on their way to the training session and press conference at the AFG Arena in St Gallen, ahead of their second game of the tournament in Switzerland. A statement from the Football Association of Wales said the players were all OK and that passengers in the other vehicle were also unharmed in the incident.

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The team's training session scheduled for Tuesday afternoon has been cancelled as a result of the crash although another session is set to be arranged to help the team prepare for the game against France. Wales lost their opening Euro 2025 match against Netherlands 3-0.

WHAT WILKINSON SAID

Wales coach Rhian Wilkinson told reporters: "Football is secondary and I think, yes we are shaken because we are away from the team right now knowing that they've had to experience that. But equally we have a great group and I have been assured that everyone is fine. We have practiced for the unexpected, that's what we can call this. We will check in with everyone and make sure they are all in a good spot and we can focus on the football again after that."

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DID YOU KNOW?Wilkinson and Wales captain Angharad James were travelling in a separate vehicle to the rest of the squad as they were travelling to the press conference. The squad was removed from the scene and returned to its training base.