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Match details

Lucknow Super Giants (fifth) vs Mumbai Indians (ninth)
Lucknow, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – MI let down by overseas seamers

After two defeats in their last two games, MI’s playoff chances have nosedived, and if they lose on Tuesday, they will be in the same boat as Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Before the season started, MI looked one of the stronger sides despite being thin in the spin department. Somehow, that has not translated into performances, and a big reason behind that is their overseas fast bowlers’ struggles.Jason Behrendorff and Dilshan Madushanka were ruled out with injuries even before the tournament started. Their replacements – Luke Wood and Kwena Maphaka – failed to meet the expectations. Nuwan Thushara has gone for 12 an over in the two games he has played, without any wicket to show for it. Gerald Coetzee, who has 12 wickets in eight games, has also run hot and cold, and has an economy of 10.10. All that has left Jasprit Bumrah with too much to do.Related

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• How many sixes need to be hit before they lose their magic?

While LSG are also coming off a defeat, they are in a much better position on the points table. A win against MI could even propel them to second position. Apart from the advantage of playing at home, they will be boosted by the return of Mayank Yadav, who has passed all his fitness tests.

Form guide

Lucknow Super Giants LWWLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians LLWLW

Team news and impact player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Matt Henry may have to make way for Mayank. That will also allow LSG to bring in Ashton Turner for an out-of-form Devdutt Padikkal.Depending on whether LSG are batting first or bowling, one of Ayush Badoni and Yash Thakur could be the Impact Player.Mayank Yadav’s availability will offer LSG flexibility in their overseas combination•BCCI

Probable XII 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 , 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Mayank Yadav, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 Mumbai Indians
MI can consider bringing in Kumar Kartikeya for Luke Wood, especially if the pitch is on the slower side. Suryakumar Yadav (if bowling first) and Nuwan Thushara (if batting first) could be their Impact Player options.Probable XII 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 , 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Nehal Wadhera, 7 Tim David, 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Kumar Kartikeya/Luke Wood, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12

In the spotlight – Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav

Quinton de Kock started IPL 2024 with a bang, scoring two fifties in the first three games. But since then he has struggled for consistency and has crossed 20 only once in six innings. Given LSG have not been able to score freely in the powerplay – their run rate of 8.38 is the second-worst in that phase this season – they need de Kock to be at his best soon.Suryakumar Yadav was expected to revive MI’s fortunes after his return from the injury. While his 166 in six innings so far, at a strike rate of 171.13, are not bad returns, both the runs per innings and strike rate are down by around 10 compared to last season. He has had two 50-plus scores but has made only 36 runs in the other four innings, including two ducks. As MI fight for survival, Suryakumar will have a key role to play.

Stats that matter

• Rohit Sharma has fallen to Amit Mishra eight times in T20s while scoring only 87 runs in 92 balls. Only Sunil Narine has dismissed Rohit more number of times (nine).
• Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed Marcus Stoinis four times in 44 balls while giving away just 42 runs.
• Mohammad Nabi has managed to keep Nicholas Pooran quiet: 45 runs in 43 balls, one dismissal. Nabi has been equally frugal against de Kock – 32 runs in 28 balls – even though he has never dismissed him.
• Ravi Bishhnoi has troubled Ishan Kishan (21 runs off as many balls, three dismissals) and Tim David (17 off 23, two dismissals). But Hardik Pandya has taken him for 55 runs in 25 balls and Tilak Varma 38 in 20. Neither has got out to him even once.
• Hardik has managed only 14 runs in 23 balls (one dismissal) against his brother Krunal.

Pitch and conditions

In five games so far in Lucknow, no team has been able to breach 200. Given LSG have a better spin attack than Mumbai, it will not be a surprise if the pitch for Tuesday’s game is on the slower side.

Quotes

“If you look at Quinny’s [de Kock’s] season, he has played nine innings and has scored three fifties, which is not a bad thing. But also, he got out sort of in the first or second overs at times. We will know his X factor. He is a guy who on his day can take their game away from you. Do you want to make too many changes? I think with the experience he brings at the top, you don’t want to change that. Just with his history, you need to back him in that position.”
“This is a slightly bigger ground as compared to others, so that will be a relief for the spinners. We want to keep things as simple as possible – restrict runs and try to take wickets.”

He knows his game, exactly what he can do, Phil Simmons says of his premier white-ball pace weapon

Deivarayan Muthu17-Dec-2019Sheldon Cottrell is one of the smartest short-format bowlers going around at the moment, but when he started out, he was a mean left-arm tearaway, who harried batsmen with pace and bounce. Cottrell had bolted into West Indies’ T20 World Cup squad in 2014 because of those skills. Playing for the now-defunct Antigua Hawksbills against Barbados Tridents in the 2013 CPL, Cottrell had bounced out Dwayne Smith, Jonathan Carter and Shakib Al Hasan, making the Caribbean cricket community sit up and take notice.Injuries then interrupted his career and drained his pace, but Cottrell has now learned to make up for it with his guiles. It was on bright display in the ODI series opener against India at Chepauk on Sunday.ALSO READ: Is the IPL ready for Cottrell’s salute?The pitch had been relaid in Chennai, but it was still very sluggish. When Keemo Paul dug in a bouncer in the 16th over, Rohit Sharma was sitting on the back foot, waiting to switch on his pull playlist. However, the bouncer simply dawdled into Rohit’s body off the pitch and he could only flap it away to the leg side.Rohit – and India’s top order – was caught by surprise, but Cottrell wasn’t. He sussed out the conditions and the pitch so early that he bowled offcutters, legcutters and slower bouncers with the new ball.In the T20I series opener in Hyderabad, Cottrell showed he could still crank up his speeds to the higher 135kph range. But it just wasn’t needed on this Chepauk track.After starting off with two successive maidens, Cottrell shortened his length and got one to cut away from KL Rahul. The in-form opener was cramped for room and beaten by the lack of pace, splicing a leading-edge to midwicket. Boom! Out came the trademark salute.

I think he’s been brilliant for the West Indies in both formats of white-ball cricket. He was brilliant with St Kitts [and Nevis Patriots], whom I was with three years ago. He knows his game, exactly what he can doPhil Simmons on Sheldon Cottrell

Virat Kohli then got cracking with a drilled drive down the ground for four. Kieron Pollard moved his slip to short mid-off, daring Kohli to run the ball down to third man. However, Kohli didn’t have enough room or pace to do that. Cottrell floated a 124.9kph cutter and had the India captain chopping on for 4 in the same over. The salute again.After completing the double-wicket over, Cottrell was whisked away to the long-off boundary. And out came the salute again, this time from the Chennai crowd, along with chants of “Shellll-don Cottrell! Shellll-don Cottrell!” His first spell read: 5-3-12-2.Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer lifted India, but Cottrell came back and pinned the hosts down, again, with his cutters as well as yorkers. With the cutters, Cottrell has also created the illusion of swing and has made incisions with the ball going straight on, something that Zaheer Khan had mastered after injuries had cut down his pace.The straight ball has accounted for three of his five wickets in the limited-overs series in India. And in the 2019 World Cup earlier this year in England and Wales, it had accounted for seven of his 12 wickets, with the other tricks in his bag setting up the breakthroughs.Sheldon Cottrell is a livewire, with ball in hand or prowling the field•BCCI”I think he’s been brilliant for the West Indies in both formats of white-ball cricket,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons said on the eve of the T20I series decider in Mumbai. “He was brilliant with St Kitts [and Nevis Patriots], whom I was with three years ago. He knows his game, exactly what he can do.”Eoin Morgan had said pretty much the same thing when England toured the Caribbean at the start of 2019. “[He poses] a different challenge – swinging the ball both ways, and he comes back with variations with the older ball.” Cottrell even posted on his blog that he “really enjoyed” the praise from Morgan.Mind you, Cottrell wasn’t even supposed to be part of that ODI series against England. Paul was injured, as was Rovman Powell, so the West Indies selectors recalled the left-arm seamer.Cottrell marked his return with 5 for 46 in Bridgetown, helping West Indies defend 289 against a power-packed England line-up. After that, Cottrell made a splash in the World Cup, emerging as West Indies’ highest wicket-taker, with 12 wickets in nine games at an economy rate of 5.85.Cottrell’s international future was uncertain at the start of 2019, but he has turned it around, becoming the leader of the West Indies’ white-ball pace pack. How about securing the ODI series against India and bagging a maiden IPL contract to close out a bumper year now?

Liverpool are prepared to play the waiting game as they aim to complete the "dream transfer" of Alexander Isak this summer.

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Liverpool still want IsakReady to play waiting gameSet key deadline for moveFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Liverpool Echo report that the Reds are still keen on landing Isak but that they are prepared to be patient having done the bulk of their business already this summer. The Premier League champions are likely to wait until after June 30, when the PSR cycle resets, to consider their options in terms of a bid.

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A fee of well over £100m is likely to be required to land Isak, a threshold Liverpool have already broken this summer with the purchase of Florian Wirtz. Though breaking the bank on two players may be a stretch, the sales of Jarell Quansah and Darwin Nunez could help soften the blow.

DID YOU KNOW?

Isak still has three years remaining on his deal at Newcastle but may have to offer him considerably more to persuade him to extend. The Swede reportedly earns £130,000 a week, a figure Liverpool could easily trump.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

The report is also clear that Liverpool will not sign a centre-forward for the sake of it this summer. A deal for Isak may be pursued but the club will not necessarily turn to plan B or plan C.

A first-hand account of Friday afternoon, when the Bangladesh team found itself yards away from the scene of the worst terrorist attack in New Zealand’s history

As told to Mohammad Isam16-Mar-2019Tamim Iqbal spoke to ESPNcricinfo’s Mohammad Isam about ‪the events of Friday afternoon‬, when the Bangladesh team had a brush with death near one of the two mosques in Christchurch that were the target of terrorist attacks that have claimed at least 49 lives.***Let me tell you what happened before we got on the bus. It will help you understand how those two or three minutes made such a huge difference for us. Normally Mushfiq [Rahim] and Riyad [Mahmudullah] want to be present during the [sermon], which is why we want to reach the prayers early. The bus was scheduled to leave ‪at 1.30 pm‬, but Riyad had gone to the press conference. A bit of time was spent there, and after finishing the press conference, he came to the dressing room.In the dressing room, we got engaged in a game of football. Taijul [Islam] didn’t want to lose, but the others wanted him to lose in that game. Taijul and Mushfiq were having a one-on-one game, which took up a few more minutes. These little things saved us in the end.ALSO READ – Bangladesh team leaves Christchurch and tries to move onWe got on the bus right after that. The plan was to go to the team hotel after prayers, which is why Shree [team analyst Shrinivas Chandrasekaran] and Soumya Sarkar (both non-Muslims) were with us. Since it was optional training, those who weren’t going to practice, they’d stay back at the hotel, and those who had practice, they’d come back to the ground. This was the plan.I always sit on the sixth seat on the left. When we were getting near the mosque, everyone on my right started to see something outside the window. I saw that a body was lying on the floor. Naturally, we thought either he was drunk or had fainted. So then the bus kept going, and stopped near the mosque. But everyone’s attention remained with that man lying on the ground.While that was happening, my attention went to another man, bloodied, and about to fall down. Panic set in at that point.Our bus stopped in front of a car near the mosque. We saw that the bus driver was talking to a lady who was literally shaking and crying. She was saying, ‘There’s some shooting going on, don’t go, don’t go’.Bangladesh players arrive at Christchurch airport to catch their flight to Dhaka•AFPOur bus driver said that these guys are going to the mosque. She replied, ‘No no no, don’t go to the mosque. It is happening in the mosque.’ She started to cry. Everyone heard and saw her, and we started to panic a little more. At that point we were about 20 yards from the mosque. Literally get out of the bus and walk to the mosque. That close. We saw some more bloodied bodies lying around the mosque.When we saw more dead bodies, we couldn’t figure out what to do. Those wearing the cap, they took it off in fear. I mean, we figured out that something was going on. Those wearing punjabi [shalwar kameez] they started to wear a jacket over it. What else to do?We then just lay down on the floor of the bus. It had been about seven or eight minutes at that stage. We still didn’t exactly know what it was but we knew that there was some kind of violence happening.We were panicking big time. Look at me, I can’t even talk properly. We told the bus driver to get us out of there. Do something. But he wasn’t moving. Everyone started to shout at him. I was shouting at him. For those six or seven minutes, there was no police.Then suddenly the police appeared, and the way the special forces stormed the mosque, we just went numb. My whole body went cold. More injured and bloodied people started to come out of the mosque.ALSO READ – ‘There’s shooting here, please save us’That was the time we couldn’t control ourselves. We started screaming, ‘let us go!’ Someone said, ‘What if they shoot us when we get out?’ Someone else said, ‘We are in danger if we are stuck in the bus.’ I also felt that we would have a chance to escape if we got out of the bus. We become a big target in the bus. But where will we go? Both doors are closed.Right at that point, for some reason, the driver took the bus 10 metres ahead. I don’t know why he did this. We were at breaking point at that point. Everyone lost it. We started to bang the middle door. We were kicking and punching that door. He opened the door.When he took the bus forward, I started calling you. You thought I was joking. I was not in a position to tell you, ‘Isam I am being serious.’ You heard me, right? I lost my mind when I saw Mazhar [Uddin, another journalist] calling me. I didn’t know what was happening.It was about eight minutes when we finally got out of the bus. Everyone said let’s run though the park. Someone said that we become easier targets in the park [Hagley Park], what if the shooters just notice us there and start shooting?The Bangladesh team left Christchurch on Saturday•AFPThe next thing that really scared us was how the police may react seeing us running with bags, etc. By that time I saw you three there [Isam and fellow journalists Utpal Shuvro and Mazhar Uddin]. I didn’t realise it then but last night, I realised how big a risk you three took.There will be very few people on earth who will take that risk. I don’t think many close people would have turned up in that situation, like you came. I actually got relieved when I saw you guys. Then we all started to walk. By the time we had gone a fair distance, everyone started to run towards the ground [Hagley Oval].You know, you had seen death with your own eyes. Your body goes cold. It was something we will never forget. And it is such a thing, it is getting worse with every hour we pass. I have spoken to a lot of my team-mates, and everyone is talking about it. The good thing is that everyone still has a little smile on their face. But trust me, inside, everyone is shattered.We returned to the team hotel and went straight to Riyad ‘s room. We started to watch the shooter’s video. The players started to weep, like they were doing in the dressing room.One thing for sure, Isam , it will take a long time to get over. I hope the families help us. We might need counselling. I close my eyes, and I am seeing those scenes. Last night most of the cricketers slept in groups. I slept with [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz and [masseur Mohammad] Sohel . I dreamt that those guys are shooting in a bike.On our way to the airport, we were telling each other that if things had gone wrong by even a little bit, it would have been our dead bodies, not us, going home. It was just a matter of 30 seconds.

Cricket Australia will consult BBL clubs over potential changes to contracting rules in a bid to try and keep overseas stars for future finals series.The BBL celebrated a return to life this summer with the shorter home-and-away season coinciding with a 27 per cent increase in average crowds. There were crowds of beyond 40,000 in five matches for the first time since 2017-18, while the Melbourne Renegades saw their average increase by 63 per cent.But officials know challenges still loom. Six overseas players will miss the finals having jetted out for the UAE’s lucrative ILT20 after the last round-robin week of competition. Perth Scorchers’ Laurie Evans, Brisbane Heat’s Sam Billings and Colin Munro, Sydney Sixers’ James Vince and Adelaide Strikers’ Jamie Overton and Adam Hose will all be absent.Related

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• Bartlett for Australia? Quick's rise as Brisbane Heat's true X factor

Clubs were aware of the player availability when they were picked in the draft, with the huge money on offer in the UAE from clubs often owned by players’ IPL franchises hard to resist. Officials hope to find an answer for future seasons and finals series, with an overwhelming message from players that they would like to stay.It is understood that contractual discussions are likely to feature in end-of-season talks when the embargo period ends after Wednesday’s final. One suggestion, floated by Billings, is more security for overseas players out of the draft, with multi-year deals one idea to offer more certainty when negotiating arrival dates with rival leagues.”We have seen this year the role overseas players continue to play in the BBL,” BBL boss Alistair Dobson told AAP. “They have been great performers on the field, they are fan favourites and the broadcasters love them.Laurie Evans has left the BBL for the ILT20•Getty Images

“However, we need to continue to evolve our competition and make our competition appealing to the players to come and play in the BBL. And ideally, [to] have them play as many games as possible has been and will continue to be a clear focus for us.”A more compressed schedule next season with no break for the Perth Test is also expected to aid in luring overseas talent for more matches.In a big summer for the BBL, first-placed Brisbane had average crowds increase by 45 per cent before Friday night’s grand-final qualifier against Sydney Sixers on the Gold Coast. Perth were also up 35 per cent, while attendances in Melbourne grew by 39 per cent.The rise comes despite five abandoned matches included in the figures, with numbers close to what they were in 2018-19 before the competition’s slide.The reduction from 56 regular season games to 40 is part of that, allowing organisers and broadcasters to return to the every-game-is-an-event mantra that the BBL thrived on its early years.”This year it has only got stronger and gives us a bigger platform for next year and beyond,” Dobson said. “Fewer games adds scarcity, but it also provides capacity and oxygen to our schedule and ensures every game is promoted in a bigger and better fashion.”

In a major boost ahead of the summer transfer window, Everton have reportedly been given the green light by one particular midfield target to push on and complete their move.

Friedkin could hand Moyes midfield boost

Everton could be one of the sides to watch this summer. The arrival of The Friedkin Group already resulted in the loan arrival of Carlos Alcaraz in January and now they’ve seemingly set their sights on further reinforcements in the next transfer window.

Names such as Tammy Abraham and Hamza Igamane have already been mentioned and it should come as no shock to see the Toffees in pursuit of attacking reinforcements. Abraham would be a particularly interesting arrival, given his past Premier League experience at Chelsea before leaving for Italy where he has enjoyed a mixed spell.

In joining Everton, the experienced striker would be replacing Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is set to become a free agent this summer when his current contract expires. If that is to be that for the academy graduate, then his Goodison Park spell may well be summarised by injuries rather than his inconsistent goalscoring record.

Meanwhile, it’s not just Abraham who could arrive. As Graeme Bailey told Everton News, Everton have now been given the green light to sign Sean Longstaff this summer with a move to Bramley-Moore Dock one that appeals to the Newcastle United midfielder.

He earns more than Ndiaye: Everton must axe Thelwell's "disaster" signing

The Everton board surely can’t wait to see the back of this miserable signing.

ByAngus Sinclair Mar 12, 2025

He could come fairly cheap too. Just last summer, Newcastle set his price tag at just £12m. Now, one season later and into the final year of Longstaff’s contract, the midfielder’s valuation should – in theory – remain the same or be even more accessible.

A player with Champions League experience, David Moyes is reportedly a fan of the midfielder and could welcome him with open arms in pursuit of taking Everton back into the top half next season.

"Excellent" Longstaff could partner Gueye

Whilst a place in Eddie Howe’s midfield three ahead of Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali is far harder to come by these days, Longstaff would have an instant role to play at the heart of Moyes’ Everton side next to Idrissa Gana Gueye.

Likely taking the place of the less experienced James Garner, Longstaff could complete a solid foundation that should see the Toffees push beyond relegation scraps.

Starts

8

25

Progressive Passes

4.58

4.21

Tackles Won

1.93

2.69

Ball Recoveries

3.49

5.91

Just eight league starts sum up the struggles that Longstaff has endured at St James’ Park, with a move away no unsurprisingly on the cards. There was, of course, a stage in which the midfielder had an important role to play at his boyhood club – earning praise from Howe as a result.

The Newcastle boss told reporters in 2023 after Longstaff netted twice against Southampton in the FA Cup: “I’m so pleased that he’s got the headlines tonight. The two goals were great finishes. His all-round performances this season have been excellent. He’s getting the rewards for what I saw last year.”

He has not pondered what it would mean for him, or the team, if the move wasn’t a success

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-20240:51

Clarke on Smith: He’ll be the No. 1 Test opener within 12 months

A reinvigorated Steven Smith has not considered what it would mean for his future if the move to Test opener does not pay off for Australia.Three days out from the first Test against the West Indies, Smith’s life at the top of the order began when he faced the new ball in the Adelaide Oval nets on Sunday.One of Australia’s greatest ever batters, Smith revealed he first flagged the idea of replacing the retiring David Warner as opener during last year’s Ashes. He mentioned it again last month, but did not believe the idea was taken seriously until talking with coaches during the SCG Test against Pakistan.Related

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Undecided at first, selectors have been won over by a history of players succeeding when going to the top.”I’ve kind of been pushing it for a few weeks, even before Perth I think, and I might have been floated in England just randomly and said ‘I’ll get up top and I’m happy to play up top’,” he said. “In Perth, I kind of said ‘you know after Davey’s done I’m actually keen to get up there’.”I don’t think they sort of took me seriously until I got to Sydney and I was like ‘I’m actually being genuine here. I’d be keen to get up top and face the new ball.’ And they were like, ‘all right, well, we’ll take that under advisement and see how it all looks.’But the move doesn’t come without risk. And the question remains that if Smith does not succeed and Cameron Green excels at No. 4, what would it mean for the former captain’s place in the side?”I don’t like thinking that way,” Smith said. “I don’t want to think negative thoughts at all. I’m not sure. If someone gets injured in the middle and the next batters in are genuine openers, then maybe they slot back in [at the top] and I go back down. I don’t know the answer. But for right now we’ve got what we believe is our best six batters playing.”Steven Smith hopes to be able to score more freely•Getty Images

Smith does see significant upside in the move, having only dropped down from No. 3 to No. 4 in 2017 to juggle the demands of captaincy.The 34-year-old believes he is at his best against the new ball. He averages 106.2 when walking to the wicket in the first two overs.Warner has also said teams would be unlikely to continue to regularly bounce Smith early in the innings, a tactic which has slowed the right-hander’s scoring down in recent years.”It would be pretty game if you’ve got a brand new ball bowling short stuff and wasting it,” Smith added. “It helps the scoring rate when you’re facing the new ball and there’s a bit more attacking going on.”Over the last few years I’ve come in after quite a lot of runs, the ball’s a bit softer. “[They] have a cover in and maybe four on the legside, guys are bowling straight and able to control the scoreboard a little bit more. That’s probably kept me quieter and made me face a lot more balls to score runs.”Perhaps that changes a bit with the new ball. You obviously have a bit more attacking fields and more gaps out there to score runs. I’m looking forward to that.”Sick of watching and waiting to bat, Smith said a desire to move was partly driven by the idea of a new challenge at this point in his career.But he also felt it unfair that Green could be forced to open this early in his career if the selectors’ desire to have the allrounder back in the team landed him there.”It didn’t sit right having him come in and bat up top,” Smith said. “I’ve played for a long time and I’m an experienced player and think it’s something that I should have done. He’s suited to No. 4. Plays there in Shield cricket, does well there.”

The home side were bundled out for 157 as the game rushed to a three-day finish

AAP05-Oct-2023Tasmanian Beau Webster’s all-round excellence was instrumental in his side’s seven-wicket Sheffield Shield win against South Australia.Webster took a career-best 4 for 32 as the home side folded for just 157 in their second innings at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval on Thursday.The meagre total left Tasmania needing 84 runs to win, achieved just after tea on day three.SA posted 307 in their first innings and in reply Webster made 62 as the visitors compiled 381.SA resumed in trouble on day three at 47 for 3, and any hope of setting the Tasmanians a challenging target vanished early.Captain Jake Lehmann was soon out for 8, trapped lbw by paceman Gabe Bell. And a brief Jake Fraser-McGurk cameo of 29 from 20 balls ended when he shouldered arms to a Lawrence Neil-Smith ball, which slid off the bat-face to his stumps.Webster, 29, once a potential AFL draftee from the Tassie Mariners who opted for cricket, soon captured the big wicket of Nathan McSweeney.McSweeney had anchored SA’s innings, striking eight fours in making 48 from 97 balls, but edged to wicketkeeper Matthew Wade.Webster’s impact heightened in the next over when, at second slip, he grasped a sharp catch, diving low and forward, to dismiss Harry Nielsen as Bell struck again.Webster then mopped up the SA tail, taking the last three wickets for his best bowling figures in 72 first-class matches.In the run chase, Tasmanian opener Caleb Jewell, after making 87 in the first dig, was trapped lbw for a second-ball duck by paceman Wes Agar.First-innings centurion Charlie Wakim and ex-Redback Jake Weatherald both fell to SA quick Jordan Buckingham.Captain Jordan Silk was unbeaten on 24 when the Tasmanians secured a comprehensive win to open their Shield campaign.

Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford is eyeing a move to Barcelona and the Catalan side are reportedly open to signing the England international.

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• Rashford wants to make move to Barcelona
• Barcelona said to still be interested in winger
• Forward certain that he wants to leave United

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rashford decided to part ways with his boyhood club, Manchester United, in January after falling down the order under Ruben Amorim, with Barcelona having been said to be interested. However, after being unable to secure a move to Catalonia, he moved to Aston Villa on a short loan deal without an option to buy in the summer for the Midlands club.

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• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Rashford is said to still be keen on leaving United in the summer after having impressed on his loan stint with Aston Villa, and is hoping that a move to Barcelona can come to fruition. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed that the Catalan side are still open to a move for the England winger as they are keen on signing a left-winger this summer.

• WHAT ROMANO SAID

  Speaking to CaughtOffside, Romano said: “Let me tell you that, internally at Barcelona, they still believe that Marcus Rashford could be an option for the summer transfer window.

  “They believe at Barcelona that Rashford might be available on the market. They believe at Barcelona that Rashford could be a good solution because he can play as number nine, he can play on the wing, so he can help in several positions and he’s a player appreciated by those at Barcelona.

  “Barca already wanted Rashford in January. It didn’t happen because Ansu Fati didn’t leave, and so in terms of Financial Fair Play it was not possible to balance the deal, but Marcus Rashford remains on the list of Barcelona.

  “If Rashford is not staying at Aston Villa, we will see what happens as he is one of the options under consideration at Barcelona.”

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR RASHFORD?

  The 27-year-old has already taken a major step to try and sign with Barcelona as he is working with super agent Pini Zahavi, who is said to be very close to the Catalan club's top management, including president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco.

حقق الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، فوزًا مثيرًا على نظيره فاركو برباعية مقابل هدف، في المباراة التي جمعتهما اليوم الجمعة، ضمن منافسات مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

والتقى الأهلي مع فاركو على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز موسم 2025-2026.

وحقق الأهلي أول انتصاراته في مسابقة الدوري بعد التعثر بالتعادل مع مودرن سبورت بهدفين لكل فريق.

طالع.. فيديو | “قص الشريط”.. زيزو يسجل هدف الأهلي الثاني أمام فاركو برأسية رائعة

وافتتح محمد شريف العائد إلى الأهلي في فترة الانتقالات الصيفية، الأهداف في الدقيقة العاشرة بعد عرضية من محمد هاني قابلها برأسه في الشباك.

ووسع أحمد سيد زيزو الفارق بالهدف الثاني، في الدقيقة الحادية والعشرين بعد عرضية من محمد علي بن رمضان، قابلها برأسية رائعة في الشباك.

وجاء هدف الأهلي الثالث عن طريق زيزو في الدقيقة 59 بعد عرضية من أشرف بن شرقي قابلها زيزو بقدمه اليمنى في الشباك.

وسجل محمد فخري في الدقيقة 70 هدف فاركو الوحيد بعدما لعب محمد هاني الكرة برأسه بمصطفى شوبير الذي أخطأ في إدخال الكرة للملعب ليسددها فخري في الشباك.

وأحرز جراديشار الهدف الرابع للأهلي في الدقيقة 81 من عمر المباراة بعد انفراد مع حارس فاركو ليراوغه السلوفيني ويسددها في الشباك.

ورفع الأهلي رصيده إلى 4 نقاط في المركز الثاني من جدول ترتيب مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز، بينما فاركو في المركز التاسع عشر برصيد نقطة وحيدة. أهداف الأهلي وفاركو اليوم في الدوري المصري