Himachal Pradesh pulled ahead on a 14-wicket day in Delhi, while Punjab marched towards an innings victory in Porvorim

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2017A century from captain Faiz Fazal and a fifty from Wasim Jaffer led Vidarbha’s reply to Chhattisgarh’s 489 in Nagpur.Fazal added 105 to his overnight score of 20, before being dismissed by legspinner Jatin Saxena. Fazal’s 12th first-class hundred contained 19 fours and a six. He added 114 with Jaffer, who struck seven fours during his 104-ball 50. Shrikant Wagh (38) and Ganesh Satish (39) also pitched in with useful contributions to help trim the deficit to 158 by stumps. Seamer Prateek Sinha and left-arm spinner Sumit Ruikar took two wickets each for Chhattisgarh.Legspinner Raghu Sharma – playing only his second first-class match – and left-arm spinner Vinay Choudhary bagged seven wickets between them to put Punjab on course for an innings victory against Goa in Porvorim. In response to Punjab’s 635, Goa were dismissed for 246, and ended the day on 67 for 2 after being asked to follow on.Goa, resuming on 94 for 1, lost Swapnil Asnodkar in the second over of the day to Choudhary, who then combined with Raghu and seamer Siddarth Kaul (2-41) to cut through the rest of the batting line-up. At 176 for 9, a counterattacking 70-run partnership for the last wicket between Rituraj Singh (22) and Amit Yadav (52*) dragged the side to 246.The slide seeped into Goa’s second innings as well, with Choudhary and Kaul dismissing the openers. Captain Sagun Kamat and Amogh Desai then saw off the day without any further damage.Akash Vasisht and Pankaj Jaiswal starred with both bat and ball to help Himachal Pradesh pull ahead on a 14-wicket day against Services at the Palam A ground in Delhi. They first took six wickets between them to dismiss Services for 215 and earn a 149-run first-innings lead for Himachal Pradesh. Vasisht and Jaiswal then hit 44 and 33 respectively to extend the lead and set Services a target of 326.Resuming on 153 for 6, Services lost their last four wickets for 62 runs to be bowled out in 76.3 overs, in their first dig. Debutant Nitin Tanwar top scored for them with 55 for 67 balls.Himachal Pradesh began shakily in their second innings, and were pinned down to 58 for 6 by the 31st over. Rishi Dhawan, Vasisht and Jaiswal then cracked 17 boundaries between them to lift the score to 176 for 9 before they declared. In pursuit of 326, Services lost opener Navneet Singh early, and closed the day at 28 for 1.

West Ham United will "step up their interest in a range of players now" as they start to "make moves" in the transfer market following the sale of Declan Rice, claims journalist Paul Brown.

West Ham transfer news, what's the latest?

It was a hectic start to the transfer window this year for West Ham, not because they were signing players, but because they were negotiating the sale of club captain Rice to Arsenal for a new British record fee of £105m.

It would appear that this deal was taking up most of the East Londoners' resources as they haven't signed a single player yet, something that surely has to change going forward.

With the club now without their midfield lynchpin and flush with cash, it's hardly surprising to see that most of the players they're linked to occupy the space vacated by Rice.

A name that has followed them all the way through the Rice saga has been Fulham's Joao Palhinha.

The Portuguese international has had an unbelievable debut season in the league for the Cottagers and, because of that, has become a player that the Irons would very much like to buy as a replacement for their departed star.

Unfortunately, potentially knowing the kind of money the Hammers have, the West London side reportedly valued their star player at an eye-watering £60m, which might prove too much for West Ham, even with the Rice money burning a hole in their pocket.

Although, the Hammers have bid for Conor Gallagher, though it was rejected by Chelsea.

Earlier this month, the Guardian reported that the Conference League champions were keeping tabs on several midfielders, notably Scott McTominay, Denis Zakaria, Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, and Amadou Onana.

That said, the club wants to target other areas of the squad over the coming weeks.

What did Paul Brown say about West Ham's transfer business?

Brown outlined the areas he believed would be targeted by the Irons before saying he expects them to up their activity in the market as we advance.

Speaking to Football FanCast, he said: "I think West Ham want two midfielders, a defender and a forward if at all possible. Wherever the money stretches to buying four players, this window we'll see.

"But I think that's the ideal outcome really for West Ham and I think you'll see them start to make moves in the transfer market and step up interest in a range of players now."

Who have West Ham been linked to this summer?

On the striker front, Football Insider have reported that the Hammers have placed Armando Broja and Youssef En-Nesyri on a shortlist of forwards that they could try to sign.

It wouldn't be the first time the club have tried to bring Chelsea's Broja to the London Stadium, having had a £30m bid rejected in July 2022, per the Guardian.

The Albanian international had a quiet year compared to 2021/22 as he stayed in West London, playing just 12 Premier League games, 1 EFL Cup game and five Champions League games for the Blues.

With a contract set to last until June 2028, it would likely take much more than the £30m offered last year to convince the Pensioners to sell their young striker.

On the defensive side of things, Football Insider also reported that the Hammers are currently in the 'lead' in the race to sign former Manchester United captain Harry Maguire as he's deemed excess to requirements at the Red Devils.

However, the main stumbling block for all interested parties is the player's mammoth £190,000-a-week wages, which would be more than the Irons would be willing to pay.

Whatever happens, it'll be interesting to see just how much of the Rice money West Ham reinvests into their squad this summer, but they better get a move on as they have just over a month left.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Al-Nassr team-mates are reportedly set to be given 15 days off by manager Luis Castro after a gruelling run of games.

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Al-Nassr second in Saudi Pro LeagueRonaldo and Co had busy fixture listSet to be given 15 days off by managerGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

According to a member of the Saudi Sports Media Federation, Al-Nassr's players, including Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, and more, are going to be given just over a fortnight off in January. The Saudi Pro League outfit have played six games this month and still have to face Al-Taawoun on December 30. Now, manager Castro has reportedly given his players some time off after their efforts on the pitch.

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Ronaldo's Al-Nassr have plenty to play for this season. They are second in the league and are still in the King Cup of Champions and the AFC Champions League. So, a gesture such as this Castro could go down very well with the team, and potentially spur them onto success this term.

Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

Ronaldo has scored more goals than any other player in 2023 with 53. That is one better than Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, while Manchester City's Erling Haaland is back on 50 for the calendar year.

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WHAT NEXT?

Al-Nassr round off their year away to fourth-placed Al-Taawoun, looking to cut the gap to league leaders Al-Hilal to four points. After that, they will not play again until February due to a break in play from Saudi top-flight football.

Manchester United are reportedly close to signing defender Jonny Evans on a one-year deal following a successful pre-season spell.

Are Man United signing Jonny Evans?

The Red Devils and Erik ten Hag have already brought in two players so far this summer in Mason Mount and Andre Onana from Chelsea and Inter Milan.

A third big-money signing in Atalanta centre-forward Rasmus Hojlund is all but complete, with Fabrizio Romano revealing that the player has completed a medical and the first part of his media duties, with documents to be completed today.

Another player who was brought in over the summer was Evans, with Ten Hag saying he allowed the 35-year-old to initially come in and train while searching for a new club.

"I know him for a long time, so I know his place was here, in Manchester.

"He came to train with us, to work on his fitness, and when I said: yeah, not all the players are in – internationals are out, still having their break, so I thought it was a good idea to help each other out. Jonny can work on his fitness and he can help us out."

However, Evans then penned a short-term deal which allowed him to feature in friendlies against Lyon and Wrexham, and by the looks of things, a new deal appears to be close which would see him become a United player for the 2023/24 season.

Read The Latest Man United Transfer News HERE…

The Belfast Telegraph shared an update regarding Man United and Evans on Tuesday evening. The report states that the Red Devils and Ten Hag have been impressed with the player who has exceeded expectations, and that he is set to sign a 12-month contract at Old Trafford.

They also shared comments from Steven Davis, who played alongside Evans for Northern Ireland, admitting he wouldn’t be surprised if the defender, who doesn't have a weak foot, earned himself a longer stay.

"Having played with him for so many years I know the quality he possesses and what he brings with his experience to a dressing room.

"I'm sure that was noticed quite early on having been away from the club for a few years. I wouldn't put it past him extending his stay there beyond pre-season. I think we were all surprised when Man United let him go because whenever you play with him and see the quality he has first hand, it is a player every one rates very highly."

Who else could Man United sign?

Evans, hailed as "intelligent" by Brendan Rodgers, could well provide more cover at centre-back for Ten Hag as the season goes on, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez seemingly the first-choice pairing ahead of the new season.

Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly could leave before the window closes, which could leave Evans and Victor Lindelof as potential experienced back-up options. However, Man United may not stop there when it comes to new signings, with another new midfielder thought to be on the cards.

Reports have claimed that Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat is close to a £26m move to Old Trafford to reunite with Ten Hag, so that could be the next focus after deals for Hojlund and Evans, meaning it could be a busy month both on and off the pitch.

In his maiden first-class season, it took Nitish Rana nine innings to be dismissed for fewer than 25 runs. It was his only single-digit score in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy. The first hundred, though, came in the last innings of the season, and in the second innings, which is rarely counted as important runs in this tournament. Rana went up to seniors, including Gautam Gambhir, and asked, “Why am I getting out on 50? 70? Why am I not scoring big runs?”The reply he got from them had to do with concentration. “They told me when you play under-16, under-19 or under-23, you get one or two quality bowlers in the opposition. So you can get away with breaks in concentration after you have seen off the main bowlers. In Ranji Trophy there are more quality bowlers, and you have to concentrate for longer.”Rana says he went to the nets and started to bat longer and harder, and made sure he was only concentrating on the next ball. He also got an IPL call-up from Mumbai Indians, with whom he said he grew mentally and technically as a player. All of that was on display at the Airforce Sports Complex in Palam, Delhi, where his innings of 174 buried Maharashtra under a mountain of runs (419) on a pitch with uneven bounce. Delhi bowlers used the advantage handsomely to leave the visitors on the brink of a follow-on at 59 for 8.Delhi began the day at 260 for 4 with Rana unbeaten on 110, but the 23-year old showed awareness that his job was far from done. He batted through the first session, in partnership with impressive debutant Lalit Yadav who scored 52, and only after he felt Delhi were secure did he try to get adventurous. This was his fourth first-class hundred and his highest score.The significance of that innings showed in how Ishant Sharma – back from the India squad once he was not picked for the Kolkata Test – ran through the Maharashtra top order with the quality of bowling India could have done with at Eden Gardens. Ishant was on the target – full but short of driving length just outside off – from ball one, and it was almost unfair on the batsmen facing the new ball after 111.1 overs in the field.The bounce had been uneven for other bowlers too but, largely, it deviated on the lower side. Ishant started hitting both bands of the spectrum. Rututuraj Gaikwad fell in the first over, forced to play outside off. Murtaza Trunkwala fell to similar fate, and Ankit Bawne was rapped on the gloves as soon as he came in. Rahul Tripathi, another IPL star, hit Ishant for a four but would soon nick another length ball outside off. Ishant’s spell of 6-2-14-3, in which he barely bowled a loose ball, left Maharashtra reeling at 14 for 4. Nitin Saini then got rid of Rohit Motwani to make it 51 for 5.Maharashtra would have sighed in relief when bad light sent players off early but 10 minutes later the conditions improved, and they lost a further three wickets in the 15 minutes of play possible after resumption. Lalit added two wickets to his debut half-century, and Manan Sharma chipped in with one. Despite the loss of 43 overs to bad light on the first two days, Delhi were now almost assured three points, and could even dream of a full complement of seven if they can enforce the follow-on and then win by an innings or by 10 wickets. The latter could ensure their progress to the knockouts even before the final round of league matches.

England’s women have capped a memorable year by claiming the Team of the Year award at the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2017

The England women’s cricket team have capped a memorable year in which they won the World Cup at Lord’s in a pulsating final against India, by claiming the Team of the Year award at the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards in Liverpool.On a memorable night for England’s women cricketers, who have for so long lived in the shadows of their male counterparts, Heather Knight’s team topped a shortlist of teams including the British & Irish Lions, Celtic, Team GB’s para-athletics and England’s World-Cup-winning U17s footballers.Their award was richly deserved following a World Cup triumph that could hardly have been a more worthy advertisement for their sport. In a showpiece event in front of a packed house at Lord’s, England battled back from the brink of defeat thanks largely to the efforts of Anya Shrubsole, who claimed five wickets in nine balls to seal an agonising nine-run victory with figures of 6 for 46.Off the back of her efforts, Shrubsole became the first women’s cricketer to be nominated for the individual SPOTY award, which was eventually claimed by the athlete, Sir Mo Farah.The announcement was a timely fillip for English cricket, coming as it did on the eve of what could well be an Ashes-sealing defeat for the men in Australia, when play resumes at Perth overnight. The women’s team were also unsuccessful in their own Ashes campaign in October, although they did emerge with honour intact after battling back from an 8-4 points deficit to square the multi-format series 8-8.Despite still being considered the national summer sport, cricket has been noticeably under-represented at the SPOTY awards in recent years – arguably due to the sport’s invisibility on free-to-air TV. The last player to be nominated for the individual award was Ian Bell in 2013, while Andrew Flintoff was the last winner, following his starring role in the 2005 Ashes victory.”Without a doubt I sense this is a good thing for the sport, not just women’s cricket,” Shrubsole told The Guardian in the wake of her individual nomination. “Anytime cricket gets recognised on something like that – on a national scale, on a huge evening celebrating sport – it’s brilliant. And having a female cricketer shows where the sport is at. A few years ago, you’d never have had that.”

Chelsea are reportedly shelling out a substantial amount for the protection of £100m man Moises Caicedo and Kendry Paez's families in Ecuador.

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• Ecuador facing serious civil unrest
• Paez and family still in South America
• Chelsea have hired personal security for Paez and Caicedo's families

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The South American country is facing civil unrest having seen several attacks orchestrated by criminal organisations which has forced the Blues to finance round-the-clock security for 16-year-old Paez and his family, according toSimilar support has been provided to the family members of Caicedo who still reside in Ecuador.

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  Concerns about the safety of Paez and his family have risen due to the turbulent situation in Ecuador, marked by incidents such as gunmen storming a television station live on air. Chelsea maintains regular contact with Paez and Caicedo's families and has vowed to provide support until normalcy returns.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Paez made history last October as the youngest-ever South American to score in a World Cup qualifier at just 16 years and 161 days. His achievements include being the youngest appearance-maker and goalscorer in Liga Pro, leading Ecuador to the final of the South American Under-17 Championship, and holding the record for the youngest scorer at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Paez will continue playing for Independiente until he turns 18 in May 2025. Meanwhile, Caicedo will be back in action in west London next Wednesday against Middlesbrough in the second leg of the EFL Cup semifinal hoping to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.

Jamaica’s spin duo of Nikita Miller and Damion Jacobs spun a web around Leeward Islands to register a massive 157-run win in St Kitts

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2017WICB

Jamaica’s duo of Nikita Miller and Damion Jacobs spun a web around Leeward Islands to register a massive 157-run win in St Kitts. Left-arm spinner Miller collected 10 wickets while Jacobs picked two three-fors to bundle out Leeward for 232 and 144. Jamaica, however, are still second from bottom on the table after picking 18.4 points from the win.Jamaica put on a respectable score of 342 after winning the toss, on the back of half-centuries from Paul Palmer (86), Assad Fudadin (58) and John Campbell (57) as offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall’s 4 for 86 meant Jamaica didn’t put on a competitive total. The Leeward batsmen could not capitalise though, as Miller’s 5 for 56 and Jacobs’ 3 for 35 allowed only one batsman – Montcin Hodge – to reach 50, and they conceded a lead of 110.Cornwall took four wickets again and troubled Jamaica’s middle order to restrict them to 191, as No. 7 Derval Green provided resistance with his 51. Jacobs and Miller troubled Leeward with the bat too, putting on 46 for the ninth wicket before combining to take eight wickets as Leeward chased 302 for a win. With only two batsmen reaching 30, they were kept to 144 for only six points but are still second on the table behind Guyana.

USMNT star Christian Pulisic has been named to Opta Data's Serie A team of the season so far, while Weston McKennie was snubbed.

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Pulisic named to Serie A best XI11 goal contributions so farUSMNT's McKennie snubbedWHAT HAPPENED?

After notching six goals and five assists in 17 appearances in Serie A for the Rossoneri this season, the American earned a spot on the wing in the best XI. He is the only player from Milan to find themselves in the mix, while international teammate Weston McKennie was nowhere to be seen in the midfield.

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Pulisic has been outstanding for Milan this campaign, helping them secure a spot in the UEFA Europa League after surviving the Group of Death in Champions League action while also guiding them to third in the Serie A table. McKennie, meanwhile, has been Juventus's top-performing midfielder this season, helping them secure a recent come-from-behind win over Salernitana in Serie A.

DID YOU KNOW?

This is the quickest Pulisic has reached 11 goal contributions in a league season in his professional career. He currently has six Serie A goals and five assists for the campaign.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR PULISIC AND MCKENNIE

The Rossoneri are back in action Wednesday, with a match against Atalanta in the Coppa Italia on the cards. McKennie, meanwhile, will report to the pitch on Thursday for a contest against Frosinone in the same competition.

One of the first questions asked when Kai Havertz joined Arsenal for a reported £65m was about the role that he would play under Mikel Arteta. Often used as a striker at Chelsea, where he struggled at times, rumours quickly spread that the Gunners could deploy their new signing in an unexpected midfield role.Initially, pre-season failed to give us an answer to the questions posed over the German’s role, too, with Arteta seemingly struggling to find the best position for his new arrival.The Arsenal manager even admitted in the early stages of the summerthat he was still working out where best to play Havertz in his side. When asked, the manager said, via the Evening Standard: “We will see.”We have to see how he adapts and get to know each other and build relationships.”Football is about that and time will tell where he sees best.”It looks as though the Spaniard has finally cracked the Havertz code, however, with the former Chelsea man impressing in a new role in Arsenal’s final pre-season friendly against AS Monaco.

Kai Havertz impresses in new role

As you can see from the tactical analysis of his cameo, Havertz looked more than comfortable in Granit Xhaka’s former role in midfield, which could give us a major indication as to where he could fit into Arteta’s side.

Though a forward at Chelsea, Havertz showed all the traits necessary to thrive in midfield against Monaco, both going forward and defensively, tracking back and winning the ball back for the Gunners.

It was an impressive display, and one which highlighted just how intelligent a player the new arrival really is, as Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw, before defeating Monaco on penalties.

Speaking after the game, Arteta said, via The Mirror: “Especially for a lot of players that haven’t had many minutes in pre-season and as well, for the new players to play for the first time at Emirates Stadium it was special.

“You could feel the atmosphere and how excited the fans were. In terms of the game, we struggled a little bit to dominate completely and have the game that we want, we had much better periods in the second half.

“I think we were still a bit leggy and jet legged from when we came, we trained really hard the last three days to be fair and we wanted that task for us, when we are not fresh enough to play, how can we compete. So, it was a good test for us and we’re happy with the outcome.”

Those at The Emirates will certainly feel relieved after Havertz’s display, with the Community Shield against Manchester City fast approaching.

How have Arsenal performed in pre-season?

Arsenal have had a mixed run of results throughout pre-season, with two wins, two draws, and one loss in total. Their victories came in impressive fashion, defeating MLS All-Stars 5-0, in which Havertz scored his first goal, before overcoming Barcelona 5-3.

Their one loss, meanwhile, came in frustrating fashion against Manchester United, whilst they were also denied victory against Nurnberg, and Monaco.

As Havertz impressed in his new role against Monaco, however, fans were quick to forget the result, reacting to the German’s display: