The former Australia fast bowler is all set to coach a Test team for the first time

Danyal Rasool29-Apr-2024Jason Gillespie’s resume makes him a strong contender for most coaching jobs, but there’s little doubt that in Pakistan, his nationality also carries weight. Pakistan’s admiration for, and in some cases obsession over, the Australian style of play has made them look to that country for roles as diverse as dressing-room mentors to pitch curators. Just weeks earlier, they made Shane Watson their primary candidate for the white-ball coaching role but he pulled out. Ever since, Gillespie has been first choice for Test coach and an agreement with him and Gary Kirsten – who takes over as white ball coach – is believed to have been agreed weeks ago.But Gillespie hasn’t become a respected coach by telling sides what they want to hear, and in his first remarks since his appointment, he warned that Pakistan shouldn’t simply look to emulate Australia or any other side. “My philosophy is – don’t try to be something that you’re not,” he told the PCB’s in-house media channel on a podcast. “I simply want the Pakistan cricket team to play the style of cricket that’s going to suit them; for me, that’s important.”You’ve got to be authentic in how you go about it. I will go out there and say: just be positive, aggressive, entertaining. Play with a smile on your faces and entertain our fans. There are going to be times when you have to grind it out, and that’s what Test cricket is. It’s a test of your skills, mental capacity, and patience. There are times to attack and times to soak up some periods of cricket from the opposition. If we can be as consistent as we can, then hopefully, the scoreboard will look after itself, and we can pick up some wins.”The former Australian fast bowler has had several coaches roles since he last played international cricket in 2006. Most successfully, Gillespie was Yorkshire’s head coach from 2011-16, overseeing their promotion from the second division in his first season, and won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. He has also taken up T20 coaching roles with Punjab Kings and Adelaide Strikers, as well as Sussex and South Australia.Related

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Gillespie appointed Pakistan men's Test coach, Kirsten named white-ball coach

“The opportunity to be the head coach of Pakistan’s Test side is fantastic,” he said. “It’s an honour. I’ve been coaching for quite a while now in various roles around the world, but one thing I haven’t done is coach an international Test side. When this opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it.”Just how Pakistan plays, and the talented and skillful players Pakistan has, it’s great to be part of the team, and hopefully, I can help the team progress, improve, and play some entertaining cricket.”Gary Kirsten has three ICC events in the next two years as Pakistan’s white-ball coach•Getty ImagesKirsten also spoke to the PCB, calling it a “wonderful privilege” to be offered the job of Pakistan white-ball coach. “I think Pakistan sits as one of the top four to five coaching jobs in the world internationally,” he said. “What is important is that I have the opportunity to work with some of the best cricketers in the world and that excites me.”Kirsten had arguably the highest profile coaching job in the world when he was appointed coach of India in 2008, famously ending his tenure on the shoulders of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, who hoisted him up for a lap of honour after India won the 2011 ODI World Cup. If he sees out his current two-year contract, he will oversee Pakistan in three white-ball ICC events: two T20 World Cups and a home Champions Trophy in 2025.”The important thing for me is to understand where the team is at and where we want to go to – whether that is winning World Cup events, which, by the way, is not easy. Often some people think you just pitch in and you’re going to win the championship.”But if you can win one of those three ICC Events, that will be an amazing achievement on its own, whether it’s the upcoming event or it’s two years from now. My job is to make sure that the team operates at its best, it’s as simple as that. And if the team is operating at its best, we will always have a good chance of winning a trophy.”So for me, it is important to understand where is the team now and where its need to go to be able to compete right at the top of the pile, and that’s winning ICC events. You can’t guarantee a trophy, but what you can do is put the steps in place to give yourself the best chance of winning a trophy. And that’s really what I’ll tend to do.”

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da pixbet： O Botafogo deve contar novamente com Marçal no clássico diante com o Fluminense. O atleta, que não atuou na derrota por 3 a 2 diante do Athletico-PR, na Copa do Brasil, devido a questões físicas, está confirmado para o Clássico Vovô marcado para este sábado, às 18h30, no Nilton Santos.

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da bet7： O técnico Luís Castro, porém, ainda tem dúvidas para montar a equipe que lutará pela manutenção da liderança da competição nacional.

+ Veja a tabela e os jogos da Série A do Brasileirão 2023

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As dúvidas se voltam principalmente para o meio de campo alvinegro. A forte sequência física ainda deixa em aberto algumas vagas. Marlon Freitas e Tchê Tchê podem ter um descanso.

A provável escalação conta com: Lucas Perri; Di Plácido, Adryelson, Cuesta, Marçal; Marlon Freitas (Gabriel Pires), Tchê Tchê (Lucas Fernandes) e Eduardo; Júnior Santos, Tiquinho Soares e Victor Sá.

The former Australia allrounder leaves his role as an assistant coach with Sydney Sixers

AAP14-Jun-2024

From player to coach: Cameron White is back at Melbourne Renegades•Getty Images

Former Australia white-ball captain Cameron White has been identified as the man to coach the Melbourne Renegades back into contention in the BBL.White has signed a three-year deal to replace David Saker, who moved on in May after a disappointing seventh-place finish in his third season at the helm.The 40-year-old White is taking on his first head-coaching job but has worked under Sydney Sixers boss Greg Shipperd for the past two years and was previously an assistant at the Adelaide Strikers.Related

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Josh Brown joins Melbourne Renegades in BBL coup

Melbourne Stars get first pick in BBL overseas draft

He inherits a Renegades roster that includes white-ball run-machine Jake Fraser-McGurk, superstar spinners Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon and prized recruit Josh Brown.”I’ve got so many great memories here as a player and achieving success, so to be back in Renegades colours several years later is a thrill,” White said. “The idea of working with this playing group – some really exciting players there, both young and experienced – is really exciting. I’m really looking forward to ripping in and starting my journey as coach.”Renegades came out with pick two in the BBL overseas draft order announced on Thursday.As a player, White represented Australia 142 times across all three formats.  He was best known for his contributions as a middle-order batter in the white-ball sides.While his Test career was limited to four appearances on a 2008 tour of India, White captained the T20I side six times and the ODI side once, in 2011.He was also a member of the Australia side that beat New Zealand in the final to win the ICC Champions Trophy in 2009. Domestically, White played during the Renegades’ only BBL championship in 2019.Victoria’s longest-serving Sheffield Shield captain, White amassed more than 7000 first-class runs between his debut as a teenager in the 2000-2001 summer and his final match in 2019.

Rocky Flintoff makes England bow alongside three other debutants in 65-run loss

ECB Reporters Network28-Jun-2024Sri Lanka U19 294 for 6 (Perera 58, Shanmuganathan 57, Abeywickramasingha 52) beat England U19 229 (Thain 58, Benkenstein 51) by 65 runsA fourth-wicket partnership of 90 between Essex pair Noah Thain and Luc Benkenstein on home turf at Chelmsford could not prevent England Under-19s subsiding to a 65-run defeat in the first of three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka.Benkenstein was the more flamboyant, hitting two sixes in his 50-ball 51, but Thain anchored the innings with six fours in his 58 from 69 balls.However, when Thain and his captain departed eight balls apart after a 16-over stand, it left England facing an uphill task in chasing down 295 to win in 50 overs. They fell well short with 27 balls unused.Sri Lanka’s 294 for 6 was powered by three contrasting half-centuries from the middle-order with Dinura Kalupahana smashing his 52 from just 37 balls, while Sharujan Shanmuganathan required 75 balls for his 57 and Mahith Perera taking 60 balls for his 58.Set to score at just shy of six an over, England were up with the rate after six overs when they lost their openers in the space of six balls to Sri Lanka’s off-spinner pair of Vihas Thewmika and Thisara Ekanayake. Freddie McCann was bowled by one that kept low and Keshana Fonseka, who had driven sweetly for five fours in his 25, chipped to short third man.Charlie Allison had been playing second fiddle to his Essex team-mate, Noah Thain, and tried to remedy it by hitting Thisara straight out of the ground and was caught on the boundary for eight from 20 balls.The second all-Essex partnership proved more productive with Benkenstein launched sixes over midwicket and long-off, followed by a classic cover drive for four. Benkenstein went for another big heave two ball after reaching his half-century and was caught on the midwicket boundary off Hivin Kenula.Rocky Flintoff bats on his England Under-19 debut•Getty Images

Praveen Maneesha then ripped the heart out of England’s batting in the space of seven deliveries when he had Thain playing around one and Haydon Mustard late on another. Rocky Flintoff, the 16-year-old son and Freddie, was Hivin’s second wicket when he tried to beat mid-off and Farhan Ahmed lasted two balls before lobbing back to Vihas Thewmika. Harry Moore played defiantly for his 26 before falling to Vihas and Noah Cornwell was bowled to end the match.Middlesex’s Cornwall claimed 3 for 54 on his ODI debut including dismissing the Sri Lankan openers in an over after England had won the toss and put the visitors in in a green-tinged wicket of variable bounce.Pulindu Perera had hooked fellow pace bowler Harry Moore over the wicketkeeper’s head for six in the previous over, but fell edging an inswinger to first slip. Thisara followed, violently pulling Cornwell to short fine leg.Thain claimed the third Sri Lankan scalp when Gayana Weerasinghe hooked into deep square leg’s hands and England were in the ascendency.Dinura led the counter-offensive, however, contributing 34 of the first fifty in a fourth-wicket stand worth 73 with Sharujan including lofting McCann over midwicket for six. But he departed one short of a half-century, playing down the wrong line to be lbw to Benkenstein.Sharujan had been more tortoise to Dinura’s hare, but scampered the single that took him to a 64-ball fifty. However, he fell seven runs later when sweeping the parsimonious off-spinner Farhan Ahmed to short fine leg after helping Mahith add 67 for the fifth wicket.Mahith and Diniru put on in the last 10 over with Mahith nudging Cornwell for the single that took him to his fifty from 55 balls. Diniru slapped Moore over square leg for a second maximum before reaching his own half-century from just 34 balls. He became Cornwell’s third victim when bowled off the penultimate ball of the innings.

Bayer Leverkusen are ready to sell midfielder Granit Xhaka, who wishes to leave the Bundesliga side amid an offer from AC Milan.

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• Leverkusen ready to offload Xhaka
• Ex-Arsenal man has an offer from Milan
• Coach Erik ten Hag wants to keep him

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Leverkusen have reportedly let their guard down and will now be willing to listen to offers for Xhaka, who is pushing for an exit amid interest from Serie A giants AC Milan.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Di Marzio reports that Leverkusen will allow the departure of Xhaka if any team would be willing to match their asking price of €8-10 million. Although the midfielder played a crucial role in the German side's sensational Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal triumphs in the 2023-24 season, Leverkusen will have a comparatively much weaker team under coach Erik ten Hag next season. Indeed, Die Werkself have already lost Jonathan Tah to Bayern Munich and the Florian Wirtz-Jeremie Frimpong duo to Liverpool, which has forced Xhaka to seek a new project.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Xhaka has already given his go-ahead for the transfer to Milan, despite Ten Hag's insistence on retaining the Swiss international next season. The Rossoneri are determined to build a successful side following the appointment of Igli Tare as new sporting director. Luka Modric, who is currently playing for Real Madrid at the ongoing Club World Cup, is close to sealing a move to the Serie A side.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR GRANIT XHAKA?

  Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has made Xhaka his top priority ahead of the 2025-26 season. Reports earlier this week mentioned that Leverkusen would not make the 32-year-old's departure easy, but it seems like the Bundesliga giants will now allow him to leave, should Milan be ready to pay €10m. Sporting director Tare is also expected to fly to Germany and hold talks with the midfielder's entourage in the coming days.

He learned plenty about batting at Test level during Pakistan’s tour of the UK without quite making the big scores to show for it. Now, in Dubai, he made all that learning count

Osman Samiuddin in Dubai08-Oct-20181:18

‘I have struggled a lot to overcome my knee issues’ – Haris Sohail

Sometimes it’s the 30s and 40s that end up mattering, more than some easy fifties and even hundreds. Ordinarily and just off a scorecard, Haris Sohail’s scores this summer in Pakistan’s three Tests in Ireland and England – 31, 7, 39, 39*, 28 and 8 – read like an impeccable requiem to batting frustration. Getting starts, getting set and ultimately getting nowhere. It’s not true.What Haris was doing, especially for example during that 31 in Malahide and the first innings 39 at Lord’s, was learning how to bat at this level. The Lord’s innings in particular was about as rewarding a 39 a young batsman can score in his career. The ball was darting about, off the surface and in the air throughout, and he was facing, for those conditions, two of this planet’s finest bowlers.The enduring image from it is of him playing, missing, turning back, putting his head down, the ball perhaps out of his head, facing up again and doing it all over again. And again, and again. Occasionally he struck the sweetest shots; in one Jimmy Anderson over on the second morning, he first drove a boundary through the covers in the approved manner of sexy left-handedness, on one knee; and then he bunted one straight down the ground, both as clean as soap. He then got struck on the ribs in anger and ended the over beaten twice by monster Anderson balls.If he was so inclined there was more learning to glean from that one over than some entire innings he would have played. Through the innings he worked out ways to score runs, to pull bowlers into bowling to him; he worked out a way to sustain a partnership and was, ultimately, a significant little part of a big win. At Headingley, he would start poorly before settling and then throwing his wicket away.As it turns out, all of that went into what came out today, in the form of a maiden Test hundred. Now to be honest, this was a bit of a grind, especially if you contrast it with the elegant sprightliness of his very first Test innings last year.This one contained long periods nobody will remember, and not just because there was nobody in the stadium to do the remembering. These periods were occasionally punctuated by reminders of his heightened sense of timing – a skip down the track to the spinner, a shimmering drive through extra. There was one late-afternoon push down the ground which was so deceptively well-timed, it looked for most of its existence as if it would fetch, at most, a risky single.But overall it was the kind of innings that allows people’s minds to drift away from it, because it is unhurried even as it was mostly untroubled. The kind where people get bored and instead get worked up about the pitch being a road or some such instead, and only desultorily acknowledge the innings because of the wholeness a three-figure landmark provides it. If you argued that his 39 was the better innings, no jaws would drop.It was also, as some of his more notable work has always been, an intelligent innings. Assess the conditions, the opponents in front of you, and work around that. When the ball got old and lost its seam, he figured out that run-scoring might become difficult. The outfield was heavy too, so even though he was timing some strokes well, he was getting little reward. So he stopped, because what England taught him was not to panic when things weren’t going to plan. He just waited until the new ball when he knew the runs would come.”I got out in the 30s [in England], sometimes I got a good ball, a couple of times I panicked and threw my wicket away,” he said. “Here I was consciously trying to move out of that situation where you can panic.”That was the one thing in my mind throughout this innings, that I need not panic. The time to score runs will come and I just need to cash in then, so when I got out of those panic situations, the runs started flowing.”It was almost exactly a year ago that he was making his Test debut, down the highway in Abu Dhabi. He had nearly lost his career in getting to that point and his 76 felt cathartic. It also worked as a retort. You’ll remember the circumstances around it, when he was the guy who wasn’t the guy who should’ve been.When Haris turned up at the press conference that day he was a little nervous, plenty relieved, and somewhat defensive, as if still not believing that his traumas were completely behind him, or that there wouldn’t be brickbats in the imminent future because he wasn’t Fawad Alam.Naturally, Haris was a much lighter presence today (apropos nothing, it was Fawad’s birthday today), enough to joke about being a (decent, polite) guy who ignored some mild Aussie chirping, letting it go in one ear and out the other, or that one benefit of the stadium being so empty was that he could at least hear his name being chanted clearly by the very few who did turn up.”Obviously when you get your first 100 in Test cricket, the excitement of that is different,” he said. “When I got the hundred, just everything about it was different, the excitement of that moment. It matters a huge amount to do it for your country.”

Coaches who knew of his immense talent kept quiet about it – he had to stay focused on first-class cricket

Mohammad Isam07-Feb-2020Saif Hassan’s development into a Test cricketer, in a country increasingly obsessed with the shorter formats, has the feel of a top-secret project. The story goes that at age-group levels, Hassan took long-format matches very seriously. As he grew older, batting for long periods became his thing. The captains and coaches he played for encouraged him to continue to bat his way because, in a country where nearly every batsman wants to hit fours and sixes, Hassan’s approach helped stabilise batting line-ups.On his first tour with the Bangladesh Under-17 team, he scored 96 and 72 in three-day games against Madhya Pradesh Under-17 at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. He spent six hours and 14 minutes, and four hours and 20 minutes batting, respectively, during those innings. Then when he batted with caution in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, people called him “slow”. Some doubted whether he even had any shots. But Hassan was just following the coach’s orders to be at the anchor at one end, giving big-hitters Pinak Ghosh and Najmul Hossain Shanto the chance to go after bowling attacks.Naturally, Hassan missed out on his first opportunity at big-money cricket in Bangladesh – the 2018-19 BPL – when, despite impressive numbers in domestic cricket, he wasn’t picked by any of the franchises. His worth as a batsman was known to many coaches, but they kept quiet about him, hoping that he kept his interest in the longest format. No one really wanted to change his mindset. Lest he suddenly found the shorter versions more enticing.Hassan used that time away from the BPL well. The long hours he spent in the nets during that tournament helped him become the highest run-scorer in that season’s Dhaka Premier League, the one-day competition so revered in the Bangladesh domestic cricket.Given this background, it is no coincidence that Hassan’s first senior call-up, in November 2019, was to the Bangladesh Test side for the tour of India. Usually the Bangladesh selectors tend to give youngsters a T20I or ODI series for their first tour. Hassan was deemed likely to play the second Test, in Kolkata, but he injured his hand while taking a diving catch at gully, to see off Cheteshwar Pujara, as a substitute fielder in the first Test.Once recovered from the injury, he finally made his BPL debut, for Khulna Tigers. More recently – and more significantly – he played a first-class game in which he batted five and a half hours to make 58. In the same game, Tamim Iqbal, the player he will likely partner at the top of the order on his Bangladesh debut, made a record breaking 334 not out. There must have been a lesson or two for young Hassan from the accomplished opener. Later, Hassan said that it is his childhood dream to open the batting with him.Patience in age-group cricket, four years in top-flight domestic cricket, two double-hundreds in first-class cricket with an average over 45, a history of helping sides out of trouble both against the new and old ball, against pace and spin… it is now pretty clear where 21-year-old Hassan stands as a cricketer.Coach Mizanur Rahman, who has worked with Hassan at age-group and club level, says that he has prepared well over the years to be where he is today.

“Hard work pays off, everyone around me says this. I like to practise on my own, so I usually stay back after the team leaves to bat a bit longer”Saif Hassan

“He is ready for Test cricket,” Rahman says. “I think he is more Test-ready than some of his peers.”Saif is patient as a batsman. He has shown this quality in many competitions. He was apprehensive about playing shots when he first arrived in the Under-19 team but, with time, he gained skills. Now he has improved by playing a lot of first-class cricket.”Hassan points out that, despite the popular opinion on him, he has been working on his batting for all three formats – it was after all in the one-day format Dhaka Premier League where he made 814 runs at 62.61 following his BPL snub. He carried that form into his time with Bangladesh A, impressing during a four-day competition in Bengaluru, as well as on a tour of Sri Lanka last month.”I worked hard during the BPL last year as I wasn’t picked by any of the franchises,” Hassan told ESPNcricinfo a few days after his call-up to the national side. “I worked on areas outside my comfort zone. It gave me a good preparation for the Dhaka Premier League with Babul [Mizanur Rahman] sir. I used to come to the academy and bat for long hours in the nets.”I didn’t set a big target in the DPL last season. I just took it match by match, thinking that every match is important. I did the same when I played for Bangladesh A. I think any match can change my life.”Hassan got into cricket only after returning to Bangladesh from Saudi Arabia, where his father was employed. Once he was enrolled in a school in Bangladesh, it was time to play cricket.”I used to play a little in Saudi Arabia, but I started to take training seriously at the Dhanmondi Cricket Academy. I played third-division qualifying matches for the club. I try to go there every time I am free and bat for long hours.”Hassan, who then moved to the Indoor Cricket Academy, credits his parents for letting him play rather than asking him to put all his focus on academics as most parents do in Dhaka. “When I started practising in DCA, there were many better cricketers than me,” he says. “[But] my parents constantly supported me. They were never a barrier to my cricket dreams.”Hassan is known in cricketing circles for how he puts in extra work after training sessions. “Hard work pays off, everyone around me says this. I like to practise on my own, so I usually stay back after the team leaves to bat a bit longer.”Bigger tests await Hassan in the days ahead. But, his unique career path so far suggests that he has resolve and the skills to handle them, whatever they may be.

RB Leipzig are demanding the impending bonus amount of around €3 million for Dani Olmo, possibly complicating Barcelona's Nico Williams pursuit.

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Leipzig demand bonus cash for Olmo transferMultiple payments could be on the cards for La Liga championsCatalans scrambling to make ends meet amid Williams pursuitFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

RB Leipzig can apparently look forward to a windfall worth millions. According to , Barcelona are being forced to make a payment for last summer's transfer of Olmo. The report explains that the Catalans must transfer €2.8m to the Bundesliga club because negotiated bonuses are due.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Barca paid a reported €55m for the 27-year-old's services around a year ago, before Olmo's eligibility to play ended in chaos. Nonetheless, the attacking midfielder contributed 10 goals and four assists in 25 league games, playing a decisive role in winning the title. According to , the bonus payment could not be the last. If Olmo meets further criteria for coach Hansi Flick's team, another €4.2m would be added.

DID YOU KNOW?

Meanwhile, Barca's financial situation is anything but easy due to the Olmo money. According to reports, the club is currently working flat out to secure the signing of their most desired transfer target this summer, Nico Williams. However, he wants a guarantee that he will not face a similar disaster to Olmo when registering for competitive matches. As a result, Bayern Munich are also said to be lying in wait. The Athletic Club winger is also considered the ideal solution in Munich.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

La Liga president Javier Tebas reportedly informed Barcelona president Joan Laporta that they have returned to the 1:1 rule, despite the former repeatedly reiterating how the Catalans are incapable of registering Williams. As things stand, the Liga champions are expected to trigger the 22-year-old's release clause this month.

The Southampton hierarchy have now spoken to a 4-3-3 style manager as a possible alternative to the heavily linked Eric Ramsay, according to a recent report.

Latest on Southampton’s search for a new manager

It is now 11 games since the Saints tasted victory, as they were once again beaten over the weekend, this time by Fulham, who came from one goal down to win 2-1 in the final minutes. Southampton are already heading to the Championship, but with four games remaining in the Premier League, they are looking to eclipse Derby County’s lowest ever points tally in the top flight.

Sky Sports: Southampton eye "secret weapon" coach who knows Kieran McKenna

The Saints need to make a new appointment.

BySean Markus Clifford Apr 27, 2025

But the club’s hierarchy are going to use these coming weeks to find a new permanent manager, with several names being mentioned to the vacancy. Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Rohl is someone who has been linked with a move to Southampton on a couple of occasions, and he is among the names the club are interested in, but they do face competition from fellow relegated side Leicester City, who are also keen on Rohl.

Former Rangers and Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is also on the Saints’ managerial shortlist, but it remains to be seen if he is interested in managing in the Championship.

Sky Sports have also reported that former Chelsea and Manchester United coach and current Minnesota United manager Eric Ramsay is in the hunt to become the new Southampton manager. Ramsay’s ability to speak French and Spanish has made him an attractive proposition.

Southampton hold talks with Lens boss Will Still

But the list of options that the Saints are currently evaluating doesn’t stop there, as according to TalkSPORT, Southampton have held talks with Lens manager Will Still about becoming their new manager.

The report states that the Saints have met with Still and have held talks over their managerial vacancy but are not going to rush into any decision and will take their time over making an appointment. As well as speaking to Still, Southampton do also hold an interest in former Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner and current Coventry City boss Frank Lampard, while it states that Gerrard is not under consideration.

Still, who prefers to play an attacking 4-3-3 style as manager, joined Lens in the summer after having an interview with Sunderland over becoming their new manager. His move to Lens came after impressing with fellow French side Stade Reims, where he was manager for two seasons, averaging 1.44 points per game in 64 matches.

Games

34

Won

14

Drawn

6

Lost

14

Points

48

Points per game

1.41

Still is very early into his managerial career, and except for being a manager in Preston North End’s academy in 2011, he has no experience of managing in England. However, given how well he has done in France, the Saints will hope his managerial pedigree can help him fit into the Championship and build an exciting team to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Glamorgan 109 for 4 (B Root 51) vs Yorkshire Glamorgan opener Billy Root scored a half-century against a Yorkshire side including his older brother Joe during a weather-affected opening day of the Vitality County Championship clash at Headingley.Left-hander Billy, aged 31 and almost two years Joe’s junior, posted a measured 51 off 95 balls before lunch, with Glamorgan going on to close at 109 for four from 41 overs having elected to bat first.Rain forced a three-and-a-half-hour delay from 1.45pm, before Yorkshire struck twice quickly in the delayed and mini evening session. Bad light then meant no play beyond 6pm.Yorkshire are playing two frontline spinners in Dan Moriarty and Dom Bess on the pitch used for last weekend’s draw against Derbyshire. Neither bowler played in that fixture, but both claimed a wicket apiece here.It is actually the first time since 2013 that Yorkshire have played two spinners in the same Championship match at Headingley. Adil Rashid and Azeem Rafiq played in an August draw against Warwickshire that season, striking once between them.Moriarty and Bess matched that haul in the morning session, the former striking with the last ball before lunch when the left-armer had Root caught at short-leg, leaving Glamorgan 92 for two after 32 overs.This is not a venue known for suiting spin, but the hosts are desperate to secure a first win in their fifth match of the season to give their Division Two promotion bid lift off.Earlier Coad trapped Eddie Byrom lbw – 18 for one. Root drove nicely against seam and swept and reverse swept against spin during a 74-run stand with captain Sam Northeast, who went on to make 29 before being run out in the evening.Root versus Root has happened three times previously in county cricket, be it with Billy playing for either Nottinghamshire or Glamorgan. In the build-up to this game, England’s Joe described the experience of meeting his brother as a “horrible situation”.But both have done well against each other previously.In the two Championship matches they played – both draws between these two counties – in early 2021, Billy scored a century at Headingley and Joe a 99 at Cardiff.The first main piece of action in this fixture saw Joe fail to hold a tough first slip catch going to his right off new ball seamer Coad with Billy on six.Coad then had Byrom lbw stuck on the crease before Root got an inside-edge onto pad against Moriarty and looped a catch up to Fin Bean at short-leg.Off-spinner Bess is playing his first match of the season after some encouraging form in Yorkshire’s second team.When play resumed at 5.30pm following afternoon rain, Northeast was run out backing up two balls into the delayed evening, leaving Glamorgan at 96 for three in the 34th over.Matthew Fisher got a hand on a crisp Kiran Carlson drive and deflected it onto the stumps.Bess then had Carlson caught and bowled off an inside-edge with the first ball of his second over, his first of the session – 97 for four.Moriarty finished with one for 29 from 15 overs and Bess one for 14 from four.Both sides are searching for their first win of 2024.While Yorkshire have drawn three and lost one, Glamorgan have drawn all three and came into this fixture bottom of the embryonic Division Two table.The day’s play was preceded by a minute’s silence in memory of Worcestershire spinner Josh Baker, whose death at the age of 20 was announced on Thursday.