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Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has brushed aside suggestions that the one-off Test has historic relevance, saying that their focus is on putting up a strong performance against a good team instead

Mohammad Isam01-Feb-2017Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has brushed aside the portrayal of their maiden Test in India next week as a “historic” one, saying that he feels it is more important to treat the game as an opportunity to show Bangladesh’s measure in world cricket. He also hopes that a good performance in the one-off game will prompt the BCCI to invite them frequently.The team leaves Dhaka on February 2, to play a two-day practice match against India A and the Test in Hyderabad, which will be Bangladesh’s first in India since gaining ICC Full Member status in 2000. Interestingly, it was the BCCI’s push that was vital in their ascent from Associate Member, and India played against them in their inaugural Test on November 10, 2000. India toured Bangladesh four more times to play Tests thereafter.”I’m a little surprised, I don’t believe that this is a historic Test,” Mushfiqur said. “Take for example when we play against Zimbabwe. The pressure is more because if we lose against them then there is nothing more shameful than that. I will say that it is better that we are going there now and not five years ago.”We want to tell world cricket what we can do in India. I don’t think about how many years later we are going to play in India. We want to play in such a way that India invites again and again. This to me is just another Test match.”Mushfiqur, who has returned to the Test squad after missing Bangladesh’s last game in New Zealand due to a finger injury, said that he hopes the team puts together a collective performance. Bangladesh lost both Tests in New Zealand but gave the home side some tough sessions.”I hope that the recent performers will hold on to their form and put together a team performance. And to those who haven’t done well in the recent past, you have a chance to give a good account of yourself.”A team effort will give us a good result. They have a strong squad, and are always really good in their home conditions. We want to do well against them over five days, and not just two or three days,” he said.Mushfiqur said Bangladesh’s squad is balanced, with four pace bowlers and three specialist spinners and depth in the batting department.The return of Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur himself means that Bangladesh have their full batting strength back. Soumya Sarkar and Imrul are likely to be in competition for the role of Tamim Iqbal’s opening partner, while Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman will be expected to make runs in the middle order.”No matter what conditions they offer, we have a balanced side. We have enough pacers and spinners and depth in batting.”I think our batsmen will have a challenge in their hands against their world-class attack. As a bowling unit we are inexperienced, but one or two bowlers did do well in New Zealand. If we can perform as a team we can do well against any other good team.”

Real Madrid’s first-leg Champions League tie with Manchester City may not have been full of goals but it certainly delivered as a contest.

Vinicius Jr opened the scoring with a thunderous strike against the run of play, before Kevin De Bruyne’s powerful drive in the second half ensured the two teams will head to the Etihad next week with the tie in the balance.

A 1-1 draw was perhaps a fair reflection of an astute tactical battle between Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola with two of their star men coming to the party at exactly the right time.

Vinicius was a constant threat throughout, even attempting an audacious rainbow flick over Kyle Walker at one stage but it was undeniably his goal that got most talking.

Eduardo Camavinga darted forward from his left-back berth across what felt like half the pitch before playing in his Brazilian teammate. The winger let fly from range leaving Ederson with no chance in the City net.

It left plenty impressed, none less so than Rio Ferdinand who couldn’t hide his excitement on BT Sport.

How did Rio Ferdinand react to Vinicius Jr’s goal?

Gleefully. It’s safe to say that he was euphoric, perhaps showing an element of Manchester United bias as he celebrated a goal against their fierce rivals.

That said, it was a moment of pure magic and deserved the type of hype it got from the ex-centre back.

Doing punditry for BT Sport, the broadcaster shared a clip of his elation as the goal went in.

Ferdinand can be heard screaming “Vinicius Jr…that’s what he does” right at the top of his lungs.

The reaction itself got plenty on Twitter talking, with the best of the reaction from the social media platform found below…

Firstly, some seemed to think it was a jibe at the Citizens.

Others decided to slam the pundit, suggesting his reaction was completely over the top…

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has labeled Mendis the future of the national side after the batsman scored his fifth half-century in his ninth ODI during an 82-run win over Australia on Wednesday

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo 24-Aug-2016He has been an international cricketer for barely nine months, and has only played as many ODIs, but great expectations are already being thrust upon Kusal Mendis. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has labeled Mendis “the future” of the national side.”He’s going to be a big player for us,” Mathews said of Mendis, who scored his second consecutive half-century in Wednesday’s 82-run win over Australia. “He’s going to be the future of our batting. If he keeps going like this he will do wonders for the Sri Lanka team and I wish him all the very best. It was a fantastic knock today.”Mendis’ half-century in the second ODI at Khettarama was the quickest of Sri Lanka’s three fifties, despite Sri Lanka having lost both openers cheaply. It was also his fifth fifty in his nine ODIs so far – one having come in Dublin, two in England, and now two at home against Australia.Mendis was particularly good at the end of the Powerplay, as Australia attempted to sneak in an over from one of their part-timers. Travis Head saw Mendis hit the first two balls of his spell for four, before the batsman struck two more boundaries and a three to complete 19 runs off the bat in that 10th over.Mendis’ early attack on Head created problems for Steven Smith, who resorted to bowling Aaron Finch, partly because Head was proving expensive in conceding 41 from four overs. Mathews said there had been no particular plan to score quickly off Head, and gave a glowing appraisal of Mendis’ approach.”He’s just very positive,” Mathews said. “Especially after losing a couple of wickets in quick succession, the way he went out there and the way he batted was brilliant. Not too many people do that – you take a bit of time and settle in and take a look at the wicket. But he’s just going out there and playing with a lot of freedom. He’s just a different kind of player.”Mendis is just one of several young players who have produced encouraging performances during the Australia tour. The latest to impress is 23-year-old left-arm spinner Amila Aponso, who took 1 for 27 in his first ODI on Sunday, and claimed the game’s best figures of 4 for 18 in Wednesday’s second ODI.”Not all the spinners bowled very well out there, apart from Amila Aponso – in the first game as well as this game,” Mathews said. “He’s bowled in these two matches like he’s played internationals for a long time. He’s just landing it on the spot and keeping it pretty simple – just bowling it there and letting the ball do the rest. He’s been turning a few and sliding a few. It’s been extremely difficult for the batters.”More experienced players also contributed to the 82-run victory as Mathews scored 57 and claimed two wickets while Thisara Perera took 3 for 33. Also in the runs again was Dinesh Chandimal, who narrowly missed out on the Sri Lankan record for most ODI fifties on the trot, when he was given out on review for 48 to end the streak at six half-centuries.”Chandimal’s been tremendous for us in the Test series and also in England,” Mathews said. “He’s matured. He’s also playing with a lot of responsibility – as a senior. He’s anchoring the innings and that’s what we want from him. Him batting at No. 4, we want him to bat until the 46th over, so that guys like Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka can go out there and play with a lot of freedom. In our batting line up myself and Chandimal have to take the responsibility to let the youngsters play with freedom.”With young players now winning matches for Sri Lanka, it is the oldest man in the ODI side that has now been placed under pressure. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 39, collected scores of 22 and 10 in the first two games, and the selectors now may consider dropping him in order to make way for players who could conceivably play in the 2019 World Cup. However, Mathews defended Dilshan’s recent performances.”No matter how experienced you are, it doesn’t mean you will play well all the time,” Mathews said. “You can get unlucky and get out. I got out cheaply in the last game as well. Though Dilshan failed in this match, others played well and won it. We trust that he will play well in the future.”

Everton are “interested” in completing a deal to bring Sheffield United forward Iliman Ndiaye to the Premier League, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

What's the latest on Ndiaye to Everton?

The Senegal international's contract at Bramall Lane is set to expire at the end of next season, meaning that the upcoming window will be Paul Heckingbottom's side's last big opportunity to cash in, and being the Yorkshire outfit's top-performing offensive player with a match rating of 7.16, he isn't short of potential suitors.

The Star reported that the Toffees saw a £25m offer for the 23-year-old rejected in January as a result of the Blades hierarchy deciding that he wasn't for sale, despite the club needing to raise funds after being placed under a transfer embargo by the EFL, but this hasn't stopped Sean Dyche from wanting to take a second bite of the cherry.

The Sun have claimed that the Merseyside outfit have sent scouts to watch the versatile attacker, who can play in five different positions, including anywhere across the frontline, to continue to monitor his situation in the final weeks and months leading to the summer.

Taking to Twitter, Romano confirmed that Everton are indeed keeping tabs on Ndiaye as they weigh up whether to make a second approach during the upcoming window. He wrote:

“Many clubs are following the progress of Sheffield United talent Iliman Ndiaye, expected to get big move in the summer. Everton are interested in Ndiaye, Italian clubs are well informed too.”

Would Ndiaye be a good signing for Everton?

Everton are desperately in need of attacking reinforcements having failed to sign a single player in January, and being dubbed a “FIFA cheat code” by his former teammate Tom Graham, Ndiaye could be just the injection of unpredictability they have been missing.

The World Cup participant has posted an impressive 21 goal contributions (13 goals and eight assists) in 42 Championship appearances this season, form which has seen him receive seven man-of-the-match awards during that time.

Even if he’s not always on the scoresheet, the £3.8k-per-week ace is constantly looking to produce moments of quality in the final third, ranking in the 99th percentile for successful take-ons and recording 121 shot-creating actions since the start of the current term, which is the second-highest throughout the whole of his squad. Should the opportunity to sign him arise once again, this is a no-brainer of a decision for Farhad Moshiri to make.

Leeds United fell to a second successive heavy defeat on Monday night, as they were thrashed 6-1 by Liverpool at Elland Road to increase their relegation fears.

Shipping 11 goals in their last two games now means that Javi Gracia's side officially have the worst defence in the division and with just seven games to go, the Yorkshire outfit must improve at the back if they are going to avoid a return to the Championship.

Fingers were naturally pointed at Leeds' defence after they were carved open again and again on Monday night against a seemingly revitalised Liverpool side, and it was arguably Rasmus Kristensen who was the worst performer in the embarrassing defeat.

How did Kristensen perform against Liverpool?

As per Sofascore, the Danish defender would earn a woeful 5.3 rating for his performance at Elland Road, which was the joint worst of any outfield player to feature in the game.

The right-back position has been a problem all season for Leeds and after Luke Ayling was culpable against Crystal Palace last time out, Kristensen was given the nod to start but found himself tormented throughout by the Liverpool attackers.

Three of Liverpool's goals on the night would come down Kristensen's side, with the 25-year-old failing to track the runs of Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota for the second and third, with Yorkshire Post writer Leon Wobschall lamenting his "appalling" defending, before he was left in the dust by Andrew Robertson who crossed for the fourth.

During the game, the defender, who earns £40k-per-week, was dribbled past three times and won just six of his 14 duels, which suggests that the Liverpool attackers well and truly had the better of him, as he has only been dribbled past 1.1 times on average in the Premier League this season.

Kristensen's passing was also disastrous throughout, as he completed just 19/36 passes with a success rate of 53%, which again is significantly worse than his average of 64.8% in the top flight.

All six of the summer signing's crosses and long balls would fail to find their mark, and he was guilty of giving the ball away a remarkable 24 times, which just invited the pressure from Liverpool and was clearly a factor in them dominating proceedings on Monday night.

Since signing from Red Bull Salzburg in a deal worth £10m last summer, Kristensen has done little to justify Jesse Marsch's decision to bring him in, and it would be a surprise if he was trusted again by Gracia in the remaining fixtures after another horror show against Liverpool.

Aston Villa are currently in their fourth season back in the top-flight of English football after securing a promotion from the Championship in 2019.

Dean Smith led the club to promotion via the play-offs in 2018/19 and they have remained in the Premier League to date, after spending three years in the second tier.

The Villans were initially relegated from the top division in 2016 and the side suffered a number of flops in the transfer market in their attempts to bounce back at the first time of asking.

In the 2016/17 campaign, Villa made a whopping 16 first-team signings and this included the likes of Ross McCormack, Scott Hogan, and Mile Jedinak.

One addition the club had a nightmare with was the signing of Pierluigi Gollini after the shot-stopper arrived for a fee of £4.25m from Hellas Verona during Roberto Di Matteo's tenure.

What happened to Pierluigi Gollini?

The Italian U21 international played 20 matches in the Championship and averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.79 – making one error leading to a shot or goal.

However, Steve Bruce – who replaced Di Matteo in the dugout – dropped him in favour of Mark Bunn before signing Sam Johnstone on loan from Manchester United, which opened the door for the young goalkeeper to move out on loan to Atalanta on an 18-month deal.

At the time of Gollini's exit, Bruce explained that the gem needed to learn his "trade" out on loan but the youngster only played 11 Serie A matches in his 18 months back in his home country.

This led to the Villa head coach sanctioning a permanent move for the shot-stopper in the summer of 2018 as the Italian giant joined Atalanta on a long-term deal.

FootballTransfers placed the 6 foot 4 titan's Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at just £3.2m (€3.7m) at the time of the transfer and that price soared over the following two-to-three years as he established himself as a number one in the Serie A.

Gollini played 20 times in the Italian top-flight in 2018/19 before featuring in 58 matches in the division across the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns. He kept 18 clean sheets in the latter two seasons combined and his development was reflected in his market value.

The ex-Villa man's xTV soared by a whopping 544% to £20.6m (€23.5m) by January 2021 and this shows that the colossus, who journalist Josh Bunting hailed as "improved", was able to fulfil his potential by being a capable performer in a major European league.

Therefore, Bruce endured a nightmare with the former Verona talent as his development after leaving the Villans suggests that they either missed out on a big payday, with £20.6m being a significant profit on the £4.25m they paid for him, or an impressive goalkeeper.

Instead of using his loan as a springboard to kickstart his career at Villa, the head coach axed the player from the squad and that turned out to be a miscalculation from the English boss, who was later replaced by Smith.

Gollini has gone on to play for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and is currently on loan at Napoli in Italy and Villans supporters may wonder what could have been for the goalkeeper at Villa Park if Bruce had more faith in him.

West Ham manager David Moyes has seemingly been dealt a behind-the-scenes blow as reliable reporter Jacob Steinberg makes a dressing room claim.

The Lowdown: Moyes under-fire…

The Scotsman, after a bitter 4-0 defeat to Brighton at the Amex last weekend, is now under pressure yet again with reports suggesting he is running out of time.

West Ham appear to have little choice but to stick with their head coach, at least for now, with club insider Claret & Hugh claiming earlier this week that desired alternatives are currently unattainable.

That hasn’t stopped links with the likes of Jose Mourinho with Moyes now being handed a real worry behind-the-scenes at Rush Green.

The Latest: West Ham players lose faith…

According to Steinberg, writing for The Guardian, there is an ‘increasing lack of faith’ in Moyes from members of the West Ham squad who feel he is holding them back.

The performance against Brighton has also caused ‘alarm’ as West Ham’s tactician now faces a ‘battle to quell growing discontent’ among his team.

The report adds that his tactics, particularly defensive, have caused ‘unease in the dressing room’.

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The Verdict: Blow for Moyes…

Even though Moyes still retains a level of faith from the West Ham hierarchy, squad members starting to lose faith could come as the beginning of the end.

The managerial merry-go-round which accompanies Premier League football can often be relentless, with as many as eight head coaches losing their jobs this season alone.

Indeed, Scott Parker, Thomas Tuchel, Bruno Lage, Steven Gerrard, Ralph Hasenhuttl, Frank Lampard, Jesse Marsch and Nathan Jones were all shown their marching orders earlier this season.

If the mood becomes any more fractious at West Ham, it’s certainly possible Moyes could follow this array of big names.

Tottenham Hotspur are now discussing sacking Thomas Frank, with an “intelligent” manager emerging as a major target following the disappointing defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Frank under pressure after City Ground defeat

Tottenham fell to their third loss in their last five Premier League games on Sunday, with Forest emerging as 3-0 winners at the City Ground, but Frank called for patience in the wake of the defeat, which leaves them 11th in the table.

The Dane said: “I was also very honest, today was a very bad performance. No two ways about that, but also know that to change this, this will take some time.

“No one will want to hear about that. It’s just reality. I think the ones who have followed the club and the team, I think it’s fair to say there’s been a few not too consistent performances, and that’s the thing. We are working very hard.”

Losing so heavily against a relegation-threatened side will be very concerning, and things won’t get any easier in the coming weeks, with tricky fixtures against Liverpool and Crystal Palace coming up before the start of 2026.

As such, Frank is now under serious pressure, according to a report from Spain, which states Tottenham are now openly discussing sacking their manager if results don’t improve ‘immediately’, with ENIC particularly worried about the lack of a clear playing style.

Xavi Hernandez has now emerged as one of the main targets to replace the 52-year-old, with the board eager to start a new era by bringing in a manager with a distinct style of play.

There is concern that no real progress has been made since Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou in the dugout, and the Spaniard is currently available, having been out of work since leaving Barcelona back in 2024.

"Intelligent" Xavi lauded by Rafa Benitez

Rafa Benitez is a big fan of the ex-Barca manager, describing him as “intelligent”, and he did a good job at the Camp Nou, winning the La Liga title in the 2022-23 season, while also lifting the Spanish Super Cup.

The 4-3-3 attacking manager also won six trophies during his time as Al-Sadd SC manager, so he would arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a proven track record of winning silverware.

Tottenham now hold serious interest in signing £70m Premier League striker

Spurs are keen on signing a new forward, who has been in fantastic form this season.

ByDominic Lund 2 days ago

Frank, on the other hand, has never won a trophy in his managerial career, and the result at the City Ground is very alarming, with his side looking very poor from an attacking point of view, recording an xG of just 0.33.

With Spurs languishing in mid-table, and the manner of the recent loss particularly concerning, it is difficult to see how Frank survives much longer, and Xavi could be an exciting replacement.

Despite Australia having claimed the Ashes, both the hosts and England will have something to play for, especially in light of the World T20 in the Caribbean next year

Adam Collins in Canberra18-Nov-2017One benefit of the multi-format Women’s Ashes system is that it takes quite a lot for a rubber to be truly dead. So now, despite the series, at large, having been determined on Friday with the trophy in Australia’s safe-keeping for another two years, both sides still have something to play for. The remainder of the series assumes greater currency for them when casting their gaze forward to the World T20 – their next major global assignment, this time next year, in the Caribbean.Elated as Australia captain Rachael Haynes was after the home side retained the trophy, there was no suggestion of tinkering with her XI for the final two contests between the teams, in Canberra on Sunday and Tuesday. “We want to win the series,” she said of the T20I leg. “So we will pick the best team as we have done throughout.”That sentiment was shared by seamer Megan Schutt, who popped her head up to speak the day after the night before, where a few drinks and an enthusiastic singalong were enjoyed after the home side easily accounted for England in the opening T20. “We want to win the series 12-4,” she said. “We haven’t won a T20 series in a little while and that is something we are quite aware of.”Both acknowledged the strip that they will be presented with at the Manuka Oval will be hard work for bowlers. Comparisons to the barren Federal Highway that leads into town are supported by the volume of runs scored at the ground in recent summers.The Australians arrive in the nation’s capital satisfied with what they have achieved after a tough year. “It really hit us then that we have regained the Ashes on home soil,” Schutt said. “For me, it has been a little bit emotional. Just the way this team sticks together is something really brilliant. We really do have a special group.”For Haynes’ part, she said it was made all the better after the “bitter disappointment” of having been bundled out of the World Cup in July in the semi-final. “That was obviously a hard loss,” Schutt added. “We did some clear planning coming into this and it has paid off. We have plans and are accountable for what we said we are going to do.”The South Australian has bowled exceptionally across the four white-ball fixtures to date, capturing 14 wickets at an outstanding average of 9.71. Her returns of 4 for 22 on Friday earned Schutt her third four-wicket haul in the limited-overs contests. By contrast, in the World Cup, she took 10 wickets at close to 31 and conceded 4.79 runs an over, the most profligate non-spinner on the list of those with double-digit victim counts.”It is swinging again,” Schutt, the right-arm opening bowler said simply of her return to top form. “I don’t really know why that is, so I am just really happy it is going that way at the moment.”England were shattered that they had not been able to bounce from their World Cup win to also capture a rare Ashes triumph away from home. It was visible that they were exhausted, a risk that coach Mark Robinson spoke of before boarding the plane following on from their most taxing home summer since turning full professional in 2014.”It was quite a hard ask,” he said after the North Sydney Oval loss. “We came here at the request of Cricket Australia because they wanted to do this one-off, standalone series. It didn’t really suit us.” This raises a secondary question about scheduling, but that is a debate for another day as the England camp doesn’t want to take any gloss over the hosts’ victory.England captain Heather Knight said her team had learned the hard way what a difficult place Australia can be as a touring side under pressure. “We came out here to try and get [the Women’s Ashes] back and we haven’t done that and it hurts,” she said.But she was also quick to offer praise to her team for fighting back after a top-order collapse in Sydney. She was particularly praiseful of Danielle Wyatt, who made her maiden international half-century on Friday in what was her first innings of the tour and saved the tourists from embarrassment. “I couldn’t be more proud of how the girls have fought and stood up to that toughness and tried to throw a few punches back.”

Jake Lehmann won the Player-of-the-Match award for his double of 103 and 93 as South Australia fell two wickets short of outright victory over Victoria

The report by Daniel Brettig07-Nov-2017
ScorecardAssociated PressAshes aspirant Glenn Maxwell made his second decent score of the match before South Australia fell two wickets short of outright victory over Victoria on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG.By following up a first innings 60 with 64, Maxwell showed the sort of consistency the national selectors want from him if they are to consider retaining him in the top six for the first Test against England at the Gabba later this month.But he was unable to go on to a match-shaping hundred, and after the captain Peter Handscomb and Aaron Finch also fell soon after passing 50, the Bushrangers had to scrap to avoid defeat in the closing overs.Joe Mennie, who played his one Test match in Hobart last year, claimed four vital wickets for the Redbacks, but was curiously unused when SA’s captain Travis Head threw the second new ball to Daniel Worrall and Chadd Sayers with four overs remaining and two wickets required. Peter Siddle and Scott Boland were able to survive, which amounted to the honours being shared. Jake Lehmann won the Player-of-the-Match award for his double of 103 and 93 – scores that added him to the list of players for the Test selectors to consider.