After failed bids to acquire an IPL franchise, the Glazers have made their first formal foray into cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2021Manchester United Football Club’s American owner, Lancer Capital, has made its first foray into cricket by acquiring a franchise in the soon-to-be-launched UAE T20 League. The update came a week after Reliance Industries, the owner of Mumbai Indians in the IPL, also announced their investment in the league through a franchise ownership.”I am very excited to be a part of UAE T20 at its formation,” Avram Glazer, chairman of Lancer Capital, said in a statement. “UAE T20 promises to be a world class event that will be transformative to the growth of cricket in the Emirates.”Last month, Lancer Capitals was among the final shortlisted bidders for the two new IPL franchises, eventually losing out to RPSG Group and CVC Capital, the groups that acquired the Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises respectively.Out of the nine bids, Lancer Capital had posted the lowest bid at INR 4128.65 crore (US$ 551 million approx.) for the Ahmedabad franchise, and INR 4023 crore (US$ 537 million approx.) for the Lucknow franchise.The latest investment adds to the company’s portfolio in the sporting world: the Glazer family also owns Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”I am very excited to welcome Mr. Glazer to the UAE T20 Family,” Khalid Al Zarooni, UAE T20 League chairman, said. “To have a partner who has invested into sports properties with a long term investment perspective is a testament to the strength of the UAE T20 League’s Business Model and its value proposition to its stakeholders and an ode to the UAE as the destination of choice for global sports events.”The owners of the Knight Riders T20 teams are also understood to be “on-board” to own one of the teams in the UAE event. Capri Global, which also made a failed bid for the two new IPL franchises, Big Bash League’s Sydney Sixers, and Kiran Kumar Grandhi, a co-owner of Delhi Capitals, are believed to be among the other interested parties.The six-team league has been sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board and is looking to make room for itself in the January-February window, although its inaugural edition in 2022 is likely to be played in February-March.

West Ham United boss Julen Lopetegui is going into this weekend’s Premier League clash against Everton knowing he’s a man under serious pressure.

The Hammers lost their last outing 3-0 against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, currently sitting in 14th place and only six points clear of the drop zone.

His side have only claimed three wins out of their ten league outings this season, but they have all come at the London Stadium, with the Spaniard hoping to add to that collection this afternoon.

After utilising a 3-4-2-1 against Nuno Espírito Santo’s side last time out, it’s highly likely that Lopetegui will revert to his usual 4-2-3-1 system, allowing more players to feature in a more natural role.

However, he will be without one player for the visit of the Toffees, with a real question mark as to who could come in to replace the absent first-team member.

Edson Alvarez’s absence vs Everton

Mexican holding midfielder Edson Alvarez arrived with real promise from Ajax in the summer of 2023, seen as the perfect replacement for Declan Rice by many.

However, his move to the Premier League has failed to take off as many envisaged, with his start to the current campaign nothing short of a disaster.

The 27-year-old was sent off in the 5-1 Carabao Cup thrashing by Liverpool at Anfield back in September, before receiving his second dismissal last weekend.

Alvarez was initially booked for a deliberate tug on Murillo, preventing the Brazilian from leading a counterattack, before a needless lunge on Anthony Elanga saw the Mexican receive his second booking, which ultimately led to his sending off.

As a result, he’s unavailable for today’s clash against Sean Dyche’s side, with Lopetegui likely to operate with yet another different two-man pivot at the base of the midfield.

Guido Rodriguez has been a constant figure in that role in recent weeks, looking set to be joined by another body later on today – but Lopetegui could consider putting a player in that role despite it being an unfamiliar one to the West Ham star.

The player who could star in an unfamiliar role against Everton

Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta has featured in numerous different roles already this season as the Hammers boss looks to extract more tangible rewards out of the 27-year-old.

He’s often played in a number 10 berth, or wide left and also featured as an advanced playmaker off the right-hand side against Forest last weekend, but he could be considered for a more deep-lying role this afternoon.

Whilst on the face of it, it may seem a bold call to drop one of your most creative players into a slightly deeper position, Paqueta has all the qualities to star in such a role – potentially providing the difference to end the club’s current rotten form.

In the Premier League this season, Paqueta, who’s previously been dubbed a “magician” by journalist Robbie Mustoe, has averaged 3.6 long balls completed per 90, having that eye for a forward ball into attacking areas – allowing him to find the runs of Crysencio Summerville and Jarrod Bowen.

The slightly deeper role could allow him to see more of the ball, subsequently handing him more opportunities to unlock the Everton backline – with Dyche’s side likely to sit in a low block and try to counter.

Lucas Paqueta’s stats for West Ham in the PL (2024/25)

Statistics

Tally

Games played

10

Goals scored

2

Pass accuracy

78%

Long balls completed per 90

3.6

Dribbles completed

67%

Tackles won per 90

1.2

Recoveries made per 90

6

Interceptions per 90

0.7

Stats via FotMob

However, the Brazilian has the ability to prevent such a case from happening, with his tallies of 1.2 tackles won per 90 along with six recoveries made – making him a great option for Lopetegui to consider.

It could allow for the likes of Carlos Soler to feature as a number 10 and finally start to demonstrate why the club worked so tirelessly to bring him in from PSG over the summer.

Today is another huge game for Lopetegui and his side, looking to go into the last international break of the year on a high and try to resurrect their early-season slump.

Undoubtedly, it will be a tricky ask against a well-drilled Everton side, but should the Spaniard utilise Paqueta in a slightly different role, it could allow for that added edge that his side has often lacked in recent weeks.

Related Their own Amorim: West Ham could look at "incredible" Lopetegui replacement

West Ham could look at their answer to Amorim, with “incredible” Lopetegui replacement

Posts ByConnor Holden Nov 8, 2024

Bangladesh Test captain “not surprised” that Ebadot Hossain stepped up with a six-for in the second innings

Mohammad Isam05-Jan-2022

The prospect of a famous, history-making win kept Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque sleepless heading into the fifth morning of the first Test against New Zealand.Bangladesh ended day four in control with New Zealand only 17 runs ahead, with Ross Taylor at the crease, but only five wickets in hand. But that wasn’t a dominant enough position to let Mominul rest.”I didn’t sleep at all last night,” he said. “When we took the fifth wicket yesterday [on the fourth day], I thought that they might get out for a small total, but it could have been very different too. My message to the bowlers at the start of the [fifth] day was to repeat what we did in the last four days. We can’t go for wickets. You might ask how can they take wickets then? The plan in this Test was that we will not concede runs trying to take wickets. We wanted to create pressure in that way. Whether we get wickets or not.”The visitors picked up the last five New Zealand wickets in 9.2 overs while conceding just 15 runs. Mominul said that even before that Ebadot Hossain’s three-wicket burst on the fourth evening gave him the first genuine sign that they could be on to something big.Related

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Reactions – 'This win will be cherished for a long time'

“When Ebadot suddenly took those three wickets, we felt that we were on to something special. It got a bit clearer after we bowled them out today,” he said. “I don’t think we were over-excited at any stage. You must have seen how calm and cool we were. We were feeling a bit of pressure when we went out to chase the 40 runs. But when Mushfiq hit that [winning] boundary, it did [feel] like we had won.”Mominul heaped praise on his bowlers – particularly Ebadot who finished with 6 for 46 in the second innings, the first six-for by a Bangladesh fast bowler in almost nine years. He also said that Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were great support acts in a four-man attack many believed wouldn’t be able to take 20 wickets.”I am not surprised that Ebadot did well,” he said. “I knew – and many others knew – that the day he gets it right, the opponent is finished. But obviously he wasn’t consistent [before the six-wicket haul]. The bowling coach has worked hard with him. I think we are rewarded for playing him consistently in the last few Tests.”Winning a Test match with just four bowlers is unbelievable. We won this game due to the bowlers. Taskin was outstanding in containing the runs. The way the youngster Shoriful has become an important member of the team in only his second Test is something else. On a wicket that wasn’t offering turn, Miraz [also] eked out the wickets.”Mominul said that he didn’t even allow himself to think about beating New Zealand in New Zealand previously – or at least till the fourth afternoon of the Mount Maunganui Test.”We didn’t think about the result. I mean, people would call me [mad] if they heard me talk about winning here,” he said of his side’s first Test win in the country. “We felt confident, we prepared well. We just stuck to the process. We wanted to bat for long. We wanted to bowl in one spot. These are parts of the process that I keep talking about.”

Leeds United will be hoping to fight their way into the top two in the Championship when they play host to Plymouth Argyle at Elland Road on Saturday.

The Whites have drawn three of their last five games in the division and will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing 0-0 draw at Bristol City last time out.

Largie Ramazani missed out through injury and the other forwards in the team failed to step up to score the goals for Daniel Farke, as Wilfried Gnonto and Dan James were selected on the flanks in his absence.

Scoring goals has not been a major issue for the West Yorkshire outfit this season, though, as they have found the back of the net 19 times in 12 games.

Only Sunderland (23) and Norwich City (22) have scored more goals than Farke’s side, which shows that he has created a potent and exciting attack at Elland Road.

They are now preparing to take on a Plymouth side that are currently one place above the relegation zone and have conceded 22 times in 12 games.

Their head coach, though, certainly knows a thing or two about scoring goals, as they are managed by former Premier League icon Wayne Rooney.

Wayne Rooney's goalscoring records

The former Derby County and Birmingham boss enjoyed a stunning career and established himself as a legend for both Manchester United and England.

He did hold the record for the most goals in England history, with 53 goals in 120 caps, but has since been overtaken by Harry Kane’s haul of 68 goals in 100 caps, which shows that the forward was an elite goalscorer at international level.

During his time with Manchester United, Rooney racked up a staggering 253 goals and 139 assists in 559 matches in all competitions for the Red Devils.

The English ace, who played as a centre-forward or a second striker for the majority of his playing career, consistently provided quality in the final third as both a scorer and a creator of goals.

Along with plenty of goals and assists, Rooney also collected his fair share of trophies throughout his career. He won five Premier League titles, one Champions League, four League Cups, and one FA Cup with United.

Whilst he may not go on to achieve the amazing success that Rooney did at club and international level, Leeds have an emerging talent brewing who could be their own version of the England legend in Mateo Joseph.

Mateo Joseph's academy form for Leeds

The Spanish striker, who previously played for England at youth level before declaring for Spain, joined the Whites in January 2022 from Espanyol’s academy.

He had a slow start to life in the country, with a return of two goals in 11 academy matches, in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign before hitting his stride in his first full season with Leeds.

In the 2022/22 term, Joseph caught the eye with a superb return of 16 goals and two assists in 21 appearances in the Premier League 2 for the U21 side as a centre-forward.

He showcased his ability to find the back of the net on a regular basis at youth level in the academy for Leeds and earned himself three Premier League appearances off the bench for the first-team that term, as Leeds were relegated to the Championship.

U23 scout Antonio Mango hailed him as a “wonderful” player and a “major talent” after his performances for Spain and Leeds at U21 level, with four goals in four caps for Spain’s U21s, after a return of three goals in ten matches for England’s U20s.

His form for club and country at youth level earned him a chance in the senior squad under Farke in the 2023/24 campaign, and he showed promise in his limited minutes on the pitch.

All 20 of his appearances in the Championship last season came as a substitute, scoring one goal in that time, but he did score twice at Stamford Bridge as a starter against Premier League giants Chelsea in the FA Cup.

This term, however, Joseph has emerged as a genuine starting-calibre centre-forward for Leeds and is emerging as a huge prospect for the club, at the age of 21.

Mateo Joseph's form this season

The Whites have their own version of Rooney brewing at Thorp Arch as the 21-year-old sensation has showcased his quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals in the Championship.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Like the England legend, Joseph is a powerful and aggressive striker who likes to hold the ball up and get involved in play, by holding off defenders and finding teammates with passes, whilst also scoring goals.

Whilst he does not have the bulky build that Rooney was known for, the clip below illustrates how well the academy graduate uses his body to get the better of experienced defenders.

That was one of the two goals that the Spanish youth international has plundered for the West Yorkshire outfit in the Championship this season, to add to the one he managed last term.

Whilst he has not been a prolific scorer at senior level, yet, his aforementioned form for the academy suggests that the potential is there for him to eventually develop into a lethal goalscorer for Leeds.

As you can see in the table above, Joseph has also showcased his creative quality in a Whites shirt this season in the Championship, with four ‘big chances’ created in eight starts.

This shows that the attacker is unselfish and looks to constantly get other players involved in the final third, hence why he has already registered three assists in the second tier.

Joseph, therefore, has the potential to develop into a complete centre-forward due to his pace, physicality, goalscoring potential, and creative quality, with plenty of time for him to fulfill his potential at the age of 21.

Leeds could move on from Solomon by unleashing "immense" star in new role

The Leeds United star has thrived in an attacking role for his country this season.

By
Dan Emery

Oct 29, 2024

This is why Leeds may have their own version of Rooney brewing in Yorkshire, ahead of the legendary forward’s trip to Elland Road on Saturday.

While you can’t guarantee what the results are going to be, you can be sure that watching Tottenham Hotspur play will result in 90 minutes of pure entertainment at the moment.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are still struggling to put their inconsistent streak behind them, but continue to play some of the most aesthetically pleasing and attacking football in the Premier League, as evidenced by their league-high haul of 23 goals.

In fact, the North Londoners are scoring so frequently across all competitions that even some players you wouldn’t usually associate with scoring are finding themselves surprisingly high up in the club’s top goalscorers list, including one player who’s recently been compared to a sensational international with an enormous valuation.

Spurs' top goalscorers

So, before we get to the player in question, let’s look at Spurs’ actual topscorers, and coming in at number one is the club’s most inform attacker, Brennan Johnson.

The Welsh international endured a slow start to the campaign that even saw him deactivate his Instagram account following abuse from so-called fans.

However, following a late winner against Coventry City that kept the team in the League Cup back in September, he has been utterly unstoppable and currently has an impressive tally of seven goals and one assist in 17 appearances for the club.

Just behind him is record-signing Dominic Solanke, who also had a bit of a plodding start to life in North London but has since found his shooting boots and has six goals – including a brace against Aston Villa – and two assists to his name in just 15 appearances, which has been enough to earn him another call-up to the England squad.

Now, once we get into third place, there are three players all tied on three goals a piece, including the usual suspects of James Maddison, who also has four assists in 15 games, and club captain Son Heung-min, who has three assists to boot in his 11 games so far.

However, the final name to make it into the club’s top three scorers for the season so far is probably not someone most fans would expect to see so high up, even though they are immensely talented and could one day earn the club a huge payday.

Spurs' surprise scorer

So, the Spurs ace who is currently tied on three goals for the season so far is Pape Matar Sarr, who has found the back of the net against Qarabağ FK and Ferencvaros in the Europa League and scored a screamer against Manchester City in the League Cup.

However, while it’s certainly a bonus for Postecoglou and Co to see the talented midfielder help out with goals here and there, that is not what makes him such a unique talent.

Instead, it’s his ability to help his more senior teammates run games from the middle of the park thanks to his impressive technical ability, surprising physical strength, general football intelligence, and ability to carry the ball forward into dangerous areas.

He showed a number of these traits in his sensational performance against Aston Villa just over a week ago, which earned him a 9/10 rating from football.london’s Alasdair Gold and led to GOAL’s Mitch Fretton calling him a “monster,” which wasn’t even hyperbolic, as he made three clearances, two interceptions and blocked one shot during his 90 minutes on the pitch.

On top of him now cementing himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet in N17, the Senegalese international has also now won comparisons to a certain rival player worth a fortune: Declan Rice.

Yes, according to FBref, which looks at players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues before creating a ten-man list of the most comparable players, the Englishman is the fourth most similar midfielder to the Lilywhites star.

To better understand how this conclusion was reached, we can examine the underlying metrics in which the pair ranked very closely, metrics including but not limited to progressive passes and carries, non-penalty expected goals per shot, passes into the penalty area, successful take-ons, miscontrols and ball recoveries, all per 90.

Progressive Carries

2.04

2.61

Progressive Passes

7.55

6.52

Non-Penalty Expected Goals per Shot

0.07

0.07

Passes into the Penalty Area

0.61

0.98

Successful Take-Ons

0.41

0.65

Miscontrols

0.82

0.65

Ball Recoveries

6.12

5.11

Now, while the Spurs faithful might not be too keen on their exciting midfield talent being compared to one of those lot down the road, their opinions may change when they notice the Gunners ace’s valuation of €120m per Transfermarkt, which comes out to about £100m.

If Sarr continues to play as well as he has been this season and is as similar to Rice as the data and analytics suggest, then given the fact he’s still just 22 years old, it does not seem impossible that he, too, will one day be worth £100m or more.

Ultimately, even if a fee that high never makes it into Daniel Levy’s hands, Tottenham have clearly got an incredible talent in Sarr.

Their own Saka: Ange could save his job by unleashing "fearless" Spurs ace

The incredible talent could help transform Spurs’ season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 12, 2024

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group are eager to distance Manchester United from the club's glorious past as they look to rebuild the Red Devils.

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• INEOS blames Ferguson for club's misfortunes
• Wants to distance Man Utd from past glory
• Red Devils held to a 2-2 draw by Everton

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  United have endured a nightmare journey in the 2024-25 campaign as they find themselves 15th in the league table after 26 matches. On Saturday, the club visited Goodison Park one last time and thanks to Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte's strikes, they managed to hold Everton to a hard-fought 2-2 draw.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The club are also facing major financial problems off the field, leading to new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group taking cost-cutting measures. Several employees of the club have already lost their jobs and in their upcoming meeting with the owners on Monday, 200 more employees are likely to be laid off. Earlier this season, INEOS had also ended legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson's ambassadorship as they no longer want to spend millions of pounds. The company has also reportedly blamed Ferguson for the club's current misfortune and are determined to distance United from their past glory, which is apparently weighing the current crop of players down.

• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  A club insider told : "INEOS want absolutely nothing to do with the past. They don’t want to hear how things were done when United were winning 13 Premier League titles and they won’t accept any suggestion that lessons can be learned from when the club’s greatest-ever manager was in charge.

  "It’s all very well drawing a line under the last 12 years and saying ‘let’s move on.’ But it’s become an obsession not to mention the period when United were one of the best teams in Europe."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Ruben Amorim's side will be back in action on Wednesday as they take on Ipswich Town at Old Trafford in a Premier League clash.

Manchester City have included no exit clauses in new contracts and January deals and reportedly expect to be fined in their long-running FFP case.

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City spent big in winter transfer windowRuling in FFP case expected in the springVarious punishments being speculated onFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The reigning Premier League champions have had at least 115 charges relating to supposed financial mismanagement hanging over their head since early 2023, when a four-year investigation into dealings at the Etihad Stadium was completed.

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An independent hearing came to a close in late December, but no verdict has been delivered as yet. The expectation is that official word is now a matter of weeks away, with various punishments – ranging from points deductions to expulsion from the English top flight – being touted.

WHAT DAVID ORNSTEIN SAID

Journalist David Ornstein has told of where the protracted saga stands at present: “It’s just over two years ago since those charges and the feeling I get from speaking to people at and around the club is that we could be looking at a springtime verdict.

“So, maybe a month or two away and that feels pretty soon. Of course this is still subject to potential appeals in that process too, but the verdict would feel like a seismic moment whatever the outcome.”

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Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

City spent big again in the winter transfer window, bringing in the likes of Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez, while prolific Norwegian striker Erling Haaland has been handed a lucrative 10-year contract. That business hints at the club being confident that they will avoid the harshest possible sanctions.

His 12-ball 28 set the game up, before his thrifty 0 for 22 applied the brakes on West Indies

Sreshth Shah14-Dec-2021For the second night in a row, Pakistan’s well-rounded bowling attack saw the home side successfully defend a total, and in the process gave the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead over West Indies in the three-game T20I series.Ten overs into the chase, West Indies looked on course to chase the 173 target down courtesy opener Brandon King’s elegant strokeplay, but it all unravelled rather quickly thereafter.Shadab Khan strangled the batters with 0 for 22, Mohammad Nawaz got crucial wickets, Mohammad Wasim Jr bowled to his plans, Shaheen Shah Afridi claimed three middle-order victims in one over and Haris Rauf dismissed King – and the tenth wicket off the game’s last ball – to seal the deal for Pakistan.In hindsight, though, Shadab’s more crucial contribution came with the bat and not the ball. His 12-ball cameo of 28 in the first innings ended up being the difference between the two sides with Pakistan winning by only nine runs.Akeal Hosein’s encoreOn Monday, Hosein got Babar Azam for zero in his spell of 1 for 19. Tonight, he indirectly effected Babar’s dismissal for 7 when he strangled the run-scoring from one end after Pakistan chose to bat. Mohammad Rizwan tried to look for a run that wasn’t there and ran his opening partner out in the third over when they took on Hayden Walsh Jr’s arm from backward point. Hosein’s stock ball was the length delivery that drifted into the right-handers when the ball was brand new, not allowing them to free their arms.When Fakhar Zaman came in, West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran persisted with Hosein despite what conventional wisdom suggests for a left-arm fingerspinner. He dragged back a delivery’s length – in the first ball of the fifth over – after spotting Fakhar giving him the charge, and the away movement in the air took the ball past the bat for Pooran to stump him. Hosein bowled four straight overs after taking the new ball, and was done for the evening by the seventh over, taking 1 for 16 with 14 dot balls. At the time, Pakistan’s score read 55 for 2 and with Rizwan and Haider Ali at the crease, the situation was eerily similar to the first T20I.A middle-order wobbleBut it wasn’t to be like the first T20I where Rizwan and Haider struck exquisite fifties to lift Pakistan to 200. Instead, Rizwan fell for a 30-ball 38 off sixth bowler Odean Smith’s first delivery of the match, just when he looked to accelerate. In Smith’s next over, Haider was caught at deep point for a struggling 34-ball 31. Neither of those were wicket-taking deliveries though, Rizwan was out to a wide slower ball that he bunted to cover and Haider had almost enough in his shot for a six after heaving a wide ball over point.The 15th over brought another wicket with Nawaz sweeping a Walsh delivery strongly, but was gone for 1 after finding the only fielder in the deep on the leg side. With three wickets falling for 25 runs, it seemed that Pakistan would miss out on the impetus they needed for a big whirl in the death overs.Iftikhar, Shadab turn it onIftikhar Ahmed, though, stayed aggressive despite the fall of wickets. He came in after Rizwan’s wicket, and punished Walsh’s half-tracker early for four. He then dealt in quick runs between the wickets in Asif Ali’s company. And when Oshane Thomas brought back some extra pace in the 18th over, he punished the tall right-arm quick by drilling two sixes over deep midwicket and long off. However, just when Iftikhar looked to give Pakistan a big flourish, he was caught behind off Thomas’ last ball of the over for a 19-ball 32.With two overs to go and Pakistan having gained some momentum after the middle-overs trouble, Shadab took over. The 19th began with him hitting a four and a six, and the 20th saw Shadab smacking Romario Shepherd over his head for two sixes. Shadab uses the depth of the crease to get right under the ball, and his 12-ball cameo of 28 lifted Pakistan to a competitive 172 for 8.Brandon King gave a good account of himself•PCBKing’s regal inningsHis first boundary was streaky, an inside edge down to fine leg, but after that, the opener found his range. Nawaz, who shared the new ball with Afridi, was drilled over long on for six in the second over and Rauf was swatted over mid on in the penultimate ball of the powerplay. In between, he resorted to safe shots along the ground while hitting occasional fours after watching Shai Hope and Shamarh Brooks return to the dugout for low scores.While King got on top of the bowlers, the No. 4 Pooran struggled to hit the gaps. He scored only 20 runs in his first 24 balls. Then came Pooran’s first six in the 11th over, cracking Nawaz over deep square leg but was holed out next ball as he tried to repeat the process.In Rovman Powell’s company, King reached his fifty in 35 balls by finding a boundary behind point in the 13th over and then swatted Shadab for a one-handed six over the bowler’s head. But like King’s previous partner Pooran, Powell was not fluent, and was gone for an 11-ball four.Nonetheless, with six overs to go and six wickets in hand, the target was within touching distance for West Indies, more so with King out there and the line-up possessing big hitters right up to No. 9. He brought the equation down to 55 off 29 after smacking Rauf over deep midwicket for six, but just like Pooran, was out next ball trying to repeat a maximum. His 43-ball 67, though, had set the base for rest of West Indies’ batters to get to the target with a few big shots every over.Shaheen too hot for West IndiesBut Afridi still had two overs up his sleeve when West Indies needed 46 off 24, and the first of them brought three wickets. Odean found Asif on the boundary line, Dominic Drakes edged one to Rizwan and an almost-yorker rattled Walsh’s stumps. The score of 127 for 5 now read 131 for 8, only one result likely from here on.But Romario Shepherd had one last throw of the dice. After pumping a six in the 18th and a four in the 19th, the equation read 23 off the last over that was to be bowled by Rauf.Shepherd eked out two off the first ball and followed it up with a six over square leg. After refusing the No. 11 a single, Shepherd then found the third-man boundary to bring the equation down to 11 off two. The fifth ball had four written all over it after Shepherd drilled a shot over cover, but Asif ran along the boundary line and got his thigh in the way to stop the four. And with the No. 11 on strike for the final ball, Rauf ensured Pakistan claimed all ten wickets for the second night in a row by bowling a yorker that was too good for Oshane.

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Os nomes dos portugueses Jorge Jesus e Vitor Pereira despontaram como favoritos do Timão inicialmente, mas não evoluíram. Jorge não quer voltar a trabalhar antes de maio, enquanto Pereira não se mostrou disposto em trabalhar no futebol brasileiro, pois entende ter mercado na Europa.

> GALERIA -Veja todos os técnicos estrangeiros na história do Corinthians
> TABELA – Confira e simule os jogos do Timão no Paulista

A direção do clube alvinegro não descarta ambos os nomes, principalmente o segundo, mas começa a avaliar novas opções, e Nuno Espírito Santo, também lusitano, surge como uma boa opção para a cúpula corintiana.

Nuno está livre no mercado desde que saiu do Tottenham, da Inglaterra, no fim do ano passado, o que é um ponto importante financeiramente para o Corinthians. Recentemente ele esteve cotado para assumir o Everton, outro clube inglês, mas a equipe da cidade de Liverpool optou pela contratação de Frank Lampard. Vitor Pereira, citado acima, foi outro nome cogitado nos toffees.

No entanto, ainda não houve contato entre o Timão e Nuno. A princípio, o nome foi visto com bons olhos pelo ‘núcleo duro’ do clube alvinegro.

No momento, o Corinthians conta com representantes na Europa para negociar com técnicos estrangeiros.

Ben Stokes has insisted that he has never held any ambition to be England’s Test captain on a permanent basis and that Joe Root and Chris Silverwood retain the “thorough support” of the dressing room.Root enjoyed a remarkable period with the bat in 2021, breaking England’s record for most runs in a calendar year, but has come under fire for his captaincy during the Ashes with Geoffrey Boycott, Michael Atherton, Ian Chappell and Ricky Ponting among his more high-profile critics.Stokes, England’s designated vice-captain, led the Test side against West Indies in July 2020 when Root was on paternity leave and stood in as ODI captain against Pakistan last summer following a Covid-19 outbreak. He is widely seen as the only viable candidate to replace Root, but insisted that he had no intentions of doing so.Related

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“I’ve never really had an ambition to be a captain,” Stokes told reporters in Sydney. “That’s totally Joe’s decision. He shouldn’t be forced into doing it. I’m sure Cooky [Alastair Cook] felt the same way. He did it for so long. When he knew his time was up, his time was up [but] those discussions haven’t been entered anywhere near Joe.”I don’t sense that at all with Joe. He’s brought this team a long way. He’s done some great things. Obviously this series hasn’t gone too well – not from a captaincy point of view but from a team and results point of view. Unfortunately, the captain and coach bear the scrutiny for that but there are 10 other guys out there in the field beside the captain.”Captaincy is more than about setting fields, picking the team, making decisions out there in the middle. A captain is someone you want to go out and play for. Joe Root is someone I always want to play for.”Stokes also threw his support behind Silverwood, who on Sunday became the latest confirmed Covid case in England’s touring party and is self-isolating in Melbourne with his family. Silverwood looks likely to pay for England’s crushing defeat with his job but Stokes insisted that he retained the players’ support.”At the end of the day, the most important people’s opinions are those guys in the dressing room and they’ve got our thorough support,” he said. “Chris Silverwood… he’s a real players’ coach. He stands up for you as individuals and players as well.”All the hype in the media recently about their futures, it’s your [the media’s] job to write that. But they know full well they have the support of everyone in there and that’s all that matters.”Chris Silverwood is under growing pressure•Getty Images

Stokes has struggled to make an impact on his return to the Test side after missing the summer series against New Zealand and India due to a finger injury and then a mental health break. He has managed only 101 runs across six innings and has taken four wickets at 62.25, and described his own series as “pretty average”.”I look at things from a team point of view and obviously coming into the fourth game 3-0 down, there’s not a lot of positives when you say it like that,” he said.”Just getting back out there from a personal point of view – being back out amongst the lads has been great. I’d much rather the results were going our way and obviously they haven’t been. But you’re representing your country, representing England in an Ashes series, so you take the rough with the smooth.”We’ve shown in small stages that we’re capable… but we’ve not done it for long enough or consistently enough and Australia have managed to get through those periods where we’ve had the upper hand. It’s about doing it for longer than that and putting some pride back into the badge.”