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The allrounder said the team had battled collectively to find the mental focus required to succeed with so much going on around Australian cricket

Daniel Brettig10-Nov-2018

Aaron Finch walks off the field•Getty Images

Marcus Stoinis, the Australia allrounder, has revealed the extent to which the national team has struggled to deal with the “noise” around them created by the aftermath of the Newlands scandal, the release of Cricket Australia’s cultural review and the subsequent round of changes to the governing body, including the loss of the coach, CEO, chairman and senior executives.The Australians broke a seven-match losing streak at Adelaide Oval on Friday night with a narrow defeat of South Africa, as Stoinis and the bowlers bailed out a batting line-up that again struggled to produce a performance of international standard. Late-order runs from Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood dragged Australia to 231, before the pacemen defended that total grandly.Much had been hoped for from Stoinis in the ODI team, but he struggled badly in England earlier this year during Justin Langer’s first assignment as the new coach. Having taken three critical wickets in Adelaide, he said the team had battled collectively to find the mental focus required to succeed with so much going on around them.”The amount of noise going on, people are drained,” Stoinis said. “We’re cooked right now and we just won. Maybe that is part of it, the mental drain. That is what we have got to work on, that is what we have got to get past. And this is a good step forward. You have got to learn. That is part of the art of playing international cricket is dealing with noise.”That’s what we’ve been working at. We work every day trying to hone our skills, and I personally think because there’s so much noise going on, cricket moves so fast, and you can’t possibly concentrate as well as you’d like to with all the noise.”So that’s part of the art of playing international cricket is we’ve got to start really internalising all that sort of stuff and focusing on what’s really important for us.”Having squared the series at one game apiece, there is a quick turnaround for both sides ahead of the decider in Hobart on Sunday. Stoinis’ indications about the physical and mental state of the home side suggested that some quick recovery work was going to be required to get them up and firing once more for the third ODI.”I’m bloody tired, we’re all bloody tired. All the bowlers are cooked,” Stoinis said. “It was a big effort, so really proud of everyone. At the end of the day, all the guys that are in that team fight so hard, want to be there so much, train so hard, think about cricket all day every day.”I know obviously we haven’t got the results that maybe the media and the Australian public would want. But these guys, we all fight, we all really want to be there, we all really want to win, and so the character of the individuals speaks for itself.”

Leeds United have now shown that they have enough quality in the big matches in the Premier League this season to clinch survival.

The 3-1 win over Chelsea saw new recruits Jaka Bijol and Dominic Calvert-Lewin come into their own as the goals were shared out, while the following 3-3 draw against Liverpool – which Daniel Farke coined as another “magic night” at Elland Road – also saw faces such as Anton Stach deliver the goods on the tense occasion.

All of these fresh signings that have contributed to the positive patch of form unfolding will hope they’re viewed in the same glowing light Raphinha is still held in down the line.

The Brazilian winger was key to Leeds beating the drop during the 2021/22 season, when collecting a memorable 11 league strikes.

Of course, while the likes of Stach have stuck out as positive influences ever since moving to England, Leeds’ success rate in the transfer department since Raphinha’s £17m switch has been rather mixed.

Rating Leeds' transfer business since signing Raphinha

While the £17m splashed out on Raphinha’s services ended up looking incredibly shrewd, other bits of business signed off on at Elland Road since this masterstroke purchase have gone down as extortionate wastes of money.

The summer window right after the South American’s departure, before the 2022/23 season kicked off, sticks out as having a lot of misfires, with nearly £70m spent on obtaining Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra, and Tyler Adams, as Aaronson has the tag next to his name of being the only remaining first-team presence today.

Thankfully, though, Leeds haven’t just been setting cash on fire since Raphinha’s exit, with the reported £10m fee to bring Joe Rodon to West Yorkshire in 2024 still looking to be a fine acquisition, as the Welshman remains an undroppable part of Farke’s starting XI, with two Premier League goals next to his name this season.

Moreover, the £7m dropped to pick up Ethan Ampadu the summer before Rodon made his move permanent is another bargain that’s arguably on the same level as Raphinha’s coup, with the ex-Chelsea man winning a mighty nine duels against his former employers and Arne Slot’s visitors, to firm up his own concrete starting spot.

That said, there’s a deal that eclipses the moves to bring both Ampadu and Rodon to Elland Road.

Underrated Leeds star must now start every game

Although Leeds have splashed the big bucks on the likes of Georginio Rutter in recent years, they have also demonstrated an eagerness to bring in cheap gems who have then exploded into life at Elland Road, as seen in the glittering examples of Rodon, Ampadu, and Raphinha.

Ao Tanaka’s name now has to be added to this ever-growing list, with the modest £2.9m the Premier League newcomers had to part ways with last year to land the Japanese midfielder from Fortuna Düsseldorf, continuing to look like an insane steal, and one of “the best bargains in Leeds history” as per writer Adonis Storr.

Tanaka has become an ice-cold figure Farke can rely on in the big moments, with his ultra-cheap price-tag justified just with his last-minute equaliser against Liverpool last time out, as the Japan international was in the right place at the right time to slam home a 96th-minute leveller.

He was also the hero against Chelsea, who gifted his relegation-threatened side a two-goal cushion, as the German just continues to get more and more out of his “unbelievable” signing, as he referred to the 27-year-old during his team’s promotion-winning exploits.

Games played

57

Goals scored

7

Assists

2

Promotions won

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Indeed, Tanaka hasn’t just shown up to the party in the Premier League, with five goals and two assists in the hustle and bustle of the Championship, helping steer the Whites to the title in emphatic style.

While Manor Solomon and Joel Piroe would steal many of the plaudits last season, Tanaka would have his own fanbase forming, too, with the “underrated” star – as per journalist Bence Bocsak – now ready to become a regular in the top-flight and start every game.

For just £2.9m, Leeds really have won themselves a once-in-a-lifetime deal, with Tanaka’s heroics continuing on, surely securing survival, as Farke hopes he remains put for the foreseeable future, unlike Raphinha.

Forget Tanaka: Leeds hero who had 100% passing now has to start every game

Leeds United’s wild week continued with a last-gasp draw against Liverpool.

ByRobbie Walls 5 days ago

CA’s implicit argument that domestic cricketers are non-earning assets, and thus less deserving of good pay, is disingenuous and unlikely to pass muster

Daniel Brettig06-Apr-20174:17

Brettig: Players want a significant say in financial matters

In May 2014, Australia’s then treasurer, Joe Hockey, handed down his first federal budget in which he characterised a point of difference between those who contributed to the nation’s economy and those who did not. “We must always remember that when one person receives an entitlement from the government,” he said, “it comes out of the pocket of another Australian.” His speech ended with the phrase “we are nation of lifters, not leaners”.A little less than three years later, a similar sentiment pervades Cricket Australia’s formal pay offer to the Australian Cricketers’ Association. The recurring theme is that international cricketers fund the game, and are doing their domestic colleagues a mighty favour by bankrolling state and Big Bash League contracts.The document is littered with references to how international players deserve credit for sharing the money they earn with domestic players. On page six: “CA commends international men for continuing to support domestic cricket.” Page eight: “International men should also be commended for continuing to support domestic players.” Page 21: “International men deserve significant credit for supporting domestic players given that domestic cricket does not generate a financial surplus.”In summary, Australia’s international players have been deemed the game’s “lifters”, and domestic players the “leaners”. Following that logic, CA have indicated that rises in domestic player wages will be minimal over the next five years, with only international players eligible to share in any surpluses above projections.

The logic applied to the pay offer would appear to suggest that Australian cricket exists in distinctly separate realms: international players having nothing to do with their domestic counterparts. This is a hard claim to justify

Even this measure, allowing international men and women to share in the money raised from the staging of the matches in which they play, is merely vestigial next to what was available in the past. It is the only sliver of “blue sky” left for any players under the current deal, in sharp contrast to the fixed revenue percentage inked into all previous pay deals between CA and the ACA.Yet, the logic applied to the pay offer would appear to suggest that Australian cricket exists in distinctly separate realms: international players having nothing to do with their domestic counterparts and vice-versa. This is a hard claim to justify in light of the fact that the Sheffield Shield has long been described as the breeding ground for Australia’s Test team, while the recent growth of the BBL has put domestic players at the forefront of an area that stands to reap rich financial returns for CA over the coming decades.It has been odd to hear CA’s chief executive James Sutherland consistently talking up the BBL’s burgeoning status as a source of new fans but also new revenue for the game over the past six years, then contorting his logic in the context of the pay offer by saying: “It’s true that on the surface, the BBL may be starting to break even in certain quarters, but we’ve still got a very significant deficit from previous years”. Estimates for next year’s looming renewal of the BBL television rights deal have its value tripling from A$100 million (US$76m approx) to A$300 million (US$227m approx).Equally, all the game’s broadcast and commercial partners are happy to invest in Australian cricket out of the belief that domestic competitions are strong enough to produce international players whenever necessary. The success of the likes of Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb, two players moulded as much by the Shield as anything else, over the past season confirmed that this low-profile competition is vital to maintaining the standard of talent coming into the teams that generate the revenue CA builds its operations around.This is all without mentioning that CA has itself been pushing for greater cooperation across the nation over the past eight years, starting with the Australian Cricket Conference in 2010. That event led to reforms such as the start of the BBL, the introduction of an independent CA board of directors, and even the adoption of a national philosophy called “One Team”, meaning that CA and the state associations should all be pushing in one direction, leaving old differences behind. The pay offer’s repeated assertions that domestic players do not contribute to the financial whole make for quite the contradiction to all this – One Team, or divide and conquer?Cast in the role of Hockey for CA is Kevin Roberts, the board’s head of strategy and people, appointed after serving first as one of its first independent directors, and a former Sheffield Shield cricketer himself. Roberts is fair-minded and sharp, and has at least avoided Hockey’s mistake of being caught smoking a cigar on the day the 2014 budget was announced. But like the former treasurer, he has been caught between competing demands and ideologies – those that have been in place for two decades, and those of the new board and its chairman, the former Rio Tinto managing director David Peever.Things get curiouser still when examining the rich – and deserved – increases in pay allocated to female cricketers under the offer. In explaining why CA has moved to bring greater financial rewards to the women’s game in advance of the financial returns it currently gains, the board states that research suggests a past deficit is in need of correcting: “Independent experts have highlighted that the historical disproportionate investment in international men’s cricket relative to international women’s cricket has contributed to the value differential between the two.”That is an undeniably fair justification for bringing full professionalism to women’s cricket down under. But it is also an argument that may be applied to domestic cricket across the board, given how the BBL has flourished with the help of greater investment to promote the competition and its players. CA’s appeals to find more money for grass roots falls into similar territory – funding areas that don’t bring direct financial returns but help build the game as a whole.So it must be concluded that the reality of “lifters and leaners” in Australian cricket becomes more complex and nuanced the more closely one looks, not unlike that of the national economy. Which brings us to one more parallel between Hockey’s budget and the CA pay offer: the first was blocked from passing through the Parliament, the second stands about as much chance of being agreed to by the players.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is under immense pressure at N17, amid claims that Spurs are targeting Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi as a replacement for the Australian.

Tottenham identify potential replacements for Postecoglou

The Lilywhites lie 14th in the Premier League table, losing 13 games already this season and winning just one of their last eight top flight matches.

Club debate summer deal for Tottenham ace after dropping social media hint

They’re holding internal discussions.

ByEmilio Galantini Feb 13, 2025

Tottenham’s current injury crisis has been well-documented, with Postecoglou’s side into double digits when it comes to missing senior players. However, there is also a genuine case to be made that Spurs’ form still hasn’t been good enough, and criticism aimed at Tottenham’s manager has centered around his lack of a plan B approach.

Man United (home)

February 16th

Ipswich Town (away)

February 22nd

Man City (home)

February 26th

Bournemouth (home)

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Fulham (away)

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Spurs are believed to be doing their due-diligence on potential replacements for Postecoglou, with Brentford boss Thomas Frank, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and ex-Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzić all linked with the role recently.

Another tactician they’re believed to be very interested in, according to reports out of Italy this week, is Nerazzurri boss Inzaghi.

The 48-year-old guided Inter to a Scudetto last season and a Champions League final the campaign before that, with Inter also contending for another Serie A title this season, as they fiercely challenge Antonio Conte’s Napoli at the top of the Italian top flight.

Inzaghi is turning heads with the job he’s done at Inter, so much so that Tottenham are being privately urged to consider appointing him as a possible successor to Postecoglou, should they opt to sack the 59-year-old.

Inter Live.it reported this week that Fabio Paratici is pushing Spurs to consider Inzaghi as manager, and if they do fire Postecoglou, then the Lilywhites are apparently ready to offer the coach a “very rich contract”.

Fabrizio Romano shares Simone Inzaghi to Tottenham update

Now, amid claims of Tottenham’s serious interest, reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano has shared an update on Inzaghi’s future at the San Siro.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, the reporter claims that Inter want to hand Inzaghi a new contract as an “urgent priority”, despite him only just signing a new deal around eight months ago, with the Lilywhites and other top clubs seemingly lurking.

“It’s now an urgent topic at Inter,” said Romano on Inzaghi’s potential new contract.

“Full focus on Serie A, Champions League, they’re still fighting in all competitions and nothing will be discussed now, also because he signed a new deal 8 months ago.”

Spurs’ interest is justified considering the Inter boss’ glowing reputation among critics and players alike, but it looks like the Serie A giants will fight tooth and nail to keep him.

“He knows more about tactics than any of the other coaches that I’ve had,” said former striker Felipe Caicedo. “By playing simple football, he gets you feeling good. He makes you feel important. He makes you understand right away that he lives for football. He loves it, and he wants to win.”

MatériaMais Notícias

da roleta： Por ser o grande nome do Palmeiras nos últimos anos, Dudu recebe uma responsabilidade ainda maior na jornada pelo título do Brasileirão-2022, que está cada vez mais próximo. Apesar disso, o camisa 7 do Verdão é o jogador mais substituído do campeonato, e alguns fatores explicam esta condição.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasBrasileirãoAthletico-PR x Palmeiras: saiba onde assistir ao jogo pela 34ª rodada do BrasileirãoBrasileirão23/10/2022PalmeirasEm rodada dupla no Paulista, Sub-15 e Sub-17 do Palmeiras derrotam rivais Corinthians e SantosPalmeiras23/10/2022PalmeirasApós vitória, Palmeiras volta a treinar e já pensa em jogo contra o Athletico-PR no BrasileirãoPalmeiras23/10/2022

da mrbet： >ATUAÇÕES: Dudu faz golaço, Palmeiras goleia e se aproxima do título

Em 33 jogos no Brasileiro deste ano, Dudu foi substituído 27 vezes, mas esteve presente em todos. Desse número total de atuações, o “Baixola” terminou a partida em campo ou saiu nos últimos instantes, após o jogo já estar resolvido, em quatro no primeiro turno (Corinthians, Fluminense, Atlético-MG, Coritiba e São Paulo), e em seis no segundo (Ceará, Juventude, Flamengo, Atlético-MG, São Paulo e Avaí).

Contra o Avaí no último sábado, inclusive, o camisa 7 foi o autor de um dos gols na vitória da equipe por 3 a 0 no Allianz Parque. Mas as substituições do atleta não são baseadas em seu desempenho dentro de campo ou fora dele. Isso se dá pelas ideias de Abel Ferreira em cumprir o “plano título”.

> Veja a tabela completa e simulador do Brasileirão-2022!

Como o próprio português costuma dizer, há uma grande intenção de “refrescar o ataque” para que não haja uma queda de intensidade brusca durante as partidas de um campeonato tão longo e disputado. Naturalmente os atacantes cansam mais rápido, então é preciso preservá-los.

Dudu é um jogador muito comprometido com o físico e com as questões que melhoram seu desempenho, além de ser responsável e um cara que respeita as condições da comissão técnica. Sendo assim, é o atleta com mais minutos jogados pelo Palmeiras no ano, somando 4.589.

No geral, são 63 jogos disputados por Dudu em 2022, além de nove gols marcados e dez assistências distribuídas. O Verdão agora conta ainda mais com seu ídolo e seu poderio decisivo para carimbar de fato o título brasileiro.

continua após a publicidade

Having come close to taking his side over the line in Sunrisers’ last match, Samad proves that he is “worth the investment” with a last-ball six

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-20232:13

Moody: Samad reminds me of a young Yusuf Pathan

A last-ball six to overhaul a target of 215 and keep Sunrisers Hyderabad’s play-off hopes alive could be “the turning point” in Abdul Samad’s young career, according to his ex-coach Tom Moody.Samad is only 21 but is already in his fourth IPL season, and has found himself in and out of the Sunrisers team this year. By his own admission, he “got lucky” when Sandeep Sharma’s overstep on what should have been the last ball of the game granted him a second chance, but he took full advantage in drilling the free hit back over his head for six to clinch a win for his side.Related

• Royals stick to the sexy but their yorker plan goes bust, as it often does

• Samson: 'Mindset can change for few moments when you think the job is done'

• Stats – Sunrisers' first successful 200+ chase

• Glenn Phillips and Abdul Samad pull off stunning heist for Sunrisers Hyderabad

Thirty-one games into his IPL career, Samad is averaging just 18.63 but has scored his runs at a strike rate of 136.67. He is also among a rare group of players who have hit more sixes (21) than fours (20) in the league – a statistic which underlines his power.”What Abdul Samad has got as a young, emerging player is a rare ability to hit the ball out of the ground,” Moody, who worked with Samad in 2021 and 2022, said on ESPNcricinfo’s show. “He reminds me of a young Yusuf Pathan. He’s got that strength, power, and it’s a very hard role to play.”I hope that it gives the management and the franchise confidence that they have got the right person, because that is the hardest part. Forget about the player having confidence, you need the organisation – wherever you are – to have confidence in you, and I think if you look at his erratic selection over the last two years, I think that hopefully this is the turning point for him.”Samad was unable to get Sunrisers over the line in their narrow defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday night, falling in the final over of the game for 21 off 18 balls. Hemang Badani, Sunrisers’ batting coach, said that Samad had taken responsibility for the defeat and “stayed strong” in the aftermath.2:31

Hemang Badani: ‘The win will give confidence to players like Samad’

“Let me start off by saying I have to give full marks to Samad,” Badani said, “because he was the first one to come up to me after the previous game and said, ‘I should have finished the game.'”He took ownership of it, and said with nine off six balls, more often than not, batters in the middle would finish games for their side, and he didn’t finish it and he was a little unhappy about it. He had a similar instance with the game against Mumbai [Indians]; that again was a game that he felt he could have finished.”And he was hurting, to be honest. He was hurting. He was like, ‘I’ve been around with SRH, this is my third [fourth] year, I’m a retained player and I really want to make it count. I really want to try and show them that I am worth your time and I am worth the investment.’ I think he’s ensured that he’s stayed strong.”Samad hardly reacted after his winning shot, which Moody said fitted his character. “He’s not charging off with his bat in the air; he’s a very humble, quietly-spoken guy,” he said.”But behind all that is someone that works extremely hard at his craft and is constantly trying to improve on his game in a role that is exceptionally hard to play. More often than not, you see your mature players playing in those roles, not a 21-year-old.”Abdul Samad’s 21, and we are judging him on his history as a 21-year-old. Let’s judge him on his history when he’s 28, and then make judgement on whether he’s consistent in one of the hardest roles to play.”Badani, meanwhile, said that Samad – and Sunrisers – would take confidence from their victory, which still leaves them in ninth place but with the points table incredibly tight.”It’s a great win, because it gives us momentum,” he said. “It will obviously give us confidence. It will obviously give a lot of belief for guys like Samad, because Samad would have felt that he missed out a couple of times.”To have done it here, the next time he comes in to bat, the next time he’s in a situation like this, he’ll be a lot more different to what he was in the past.”

Delhi Capitals have roped in former Surrey, Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire wicketkeeper-batter Jonathan Batty as their head coach for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL).Former India international Hemlata Kala, and Lisa Keightley, the former Australia cricketer with vast coaching experience, have been named the team’s assistant coaches. And Biju George, who has previously worked with the India women’s team, has been named the fielding coach. He is also the fielding coach of the Capitals men’s side.Batty has extensive coaching experience when it comes to women’s cricket. He coached Oval Invincibles to the title at the women’s Hundred in 2021 and 2022, and has also been head coach at Melbourne Stars in the WBBL and the Surrey women’s side.Related

• From Mandhana to Kapp – five players who could fetch big money at the WPL auction

• WPL auction: 409 players to go under the hammer

• Women's Premier League to begin on March 4

• Keightley joins WBBL side Sydney Thunder as head coach

“It’s an incredible time to be involved in Women’s cricket and the WPL has the potential to transform the landscape of women’s professional sport globally,” Batty said in a statement.Kala played seven Tests, 78 ODIs and one T20I and has also been chief selector for women in the past. “I am looking forward to putting together our squad ahead of the inaugural edition of the tournament, which I am confident will be a gamechanger for women’s cricket,” she said of the player auction.Keightley, the current Sydney Thunder head coach, played nine Tests, 82 ODIs and one T20I in a decade-long career. She was at the helm of the England team when they made the final of the 2022 ODI World Cup, before stepping down in August last year. She has also been head coach of Perth Scorchers in the past.”I’m very excited to be involved with the Delhi Capitals and to be working with so many different players and staff from around the world,” she said. “WPL is a game changer for women’s sports around the world, and we have the opportunity to showcase cricket to a new audience.”The player auction ahead of the inaugural WPL will be held on February 13 in Mumbai, while the tournament will be played between March 4 and 26. All the matches will be held in Mumbai.

ESPNcricinfo picks out the main names to follow during the first edition of the Women’s Super League which begins this weekend

Melinda Farrell29-Jul-2016Lancashire ThunderWest Indies won the Women’s WT20 in April and two of Lancashire’s signings were instrumental to their success. Deandra Dottin’s power hitting makes her one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world. She has a 38-ball T20 century to her name – it was the first T20 century by a woman – and she is also a handy bowler, taking nine wickets at 13.55 during West Indies’ WWT20 campaign. It was rising star Hayley Matthews, however, who stole the show in the final at Eden Gardens. The 18-year-old showed poise and power in making 66 off 45 deliveries as the West Indies defeated three-time champions, Australia. Her innings included six boundaries and three sixes. Lancashire won’t be lacking in batting firepower. Loughborough LightingEllyse Perry is arguably the biggest star in the women’s game, and with good reason. The 25-year-old is already a veteran, with nine years of international cricket under her belt. She was Player-of-the-Series when Australia regained the Ashes in England last summer after making more runs and taking more wickets than any other player. While initially seen more of a bowling allrounder, her batting has been a revelation in recent years. The Lightning also have solid all-round support from the experienced New Zealander Sophie Devine and England’s Georgia Elwiss will step in as captain for the absent Sarah Taylor. Southern VipersIt will be fascinating to see how Vipers captain, Charlotte Edwards, fares in the tournament. Suddenly stripped of the England captaincy at the start of the summer, Edwards has 95 T20I’s under her belt and has the chance to prove she’s not done yet. She has a couple of formidable New Zealand weapons in her armoury, in Suzie Bates and Sara McGlashan. Bates was recently named the Wisden Women’s Cricketer of the Year after an outstanding 2015 as New Zealand captain. The veteran McGlashan was a standout in the WBBL, her explosive batting a key to the Sydney Sixers making the final. Surrey StarsSurrey have one of the most promising line ups in the competition, despite the late withdrawal of Australian captain, Meg Lanning. Tammy Beaumont comes into the tournament in the form of her life, having scored back-to-back centuries opening for England against Pakistan – including a magnificent unbeaten 168 – and following up with two half-centuries in the T20Is. She’s joined by England’s best allrounder, Nat Sciver, who belted 80 runs of 33 deliveries in the second ODI against Pakistan, the fastest half-century in ODIs. Add fiery South African allrounder, Marizanne Kapp, and one of Australia’s best bowlers, Rene Farrell, to the mix and the Stars look like a very difficult team to beat. Western StormTwo international captains with different styles join forces at the Western Storm with England skipper, Heather Knight, taking the reins and having her West Indies counterpart, Stafanie Taylor, on board. Taylor was outstanding in leading her side to their WWT20 title; she was the highest run-scorer, made a vital 59 in the final and was deservedly named Player of the Tournament. She also took eight wickets in that tournament, giving Knight some terrific options in the bowling: England opener Anya Shrubsole will also give the attack venom, with her inswingers among the best in the women’s game. Yorkshire DiamondsKatherine Brunt, Shrubsole’s opening bowling partner for England, is as Yorkshire as they come and it was no surprise to see her name on the Diamonds’ squad list. One of the most entertaining and competitive players in the world, Brunt wears her heart on her sleeve and bats with a ferocity that matches her bowling. Lauren Winfield is another who has blossomed for England under Mark Robinson’s new regime; the Diamond’s captain made two half-centuries in the T20I series and a century in the ODI series against Pakistan. If she needs any advice, she has Alex Blackwell on hand. The Australian vice-captain led the Sydney Thunder to victory in the WBBL and is one of the canniest tacticians in international cricket.

As those at Elland Road gear up for their return to action after the international break, former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes that the 49ers Enterprises have now made an “audacious bid” to sign a Premier League winner.

Leeds transfer rumours

Set to square off against Swansea City in their first game back from the international break, Leeds could end the weekend at the top of the Championship if results go their way in what would be the perfect way to enter a busy festive period of fixtures. A win would also take Daniel Farke’s current run to just one defeat in his last five games in charge of the Yorkshire club.

The German deserves great credit for how he’s turned around a tough start to the campaign and adjusted to life without both Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev in two major injury blows.

That’s not to say that he won’t be keen for the chance for further reinforcements to arrive in 2025, however, with Robinson now backing those at Elland Road to go in pursuit of a major coup.

Leeds and Farke keen on £45k-a-week "key player" in possible free transfer

The Whites are among the teams chasing a player who could arrive for nothing in 2025.

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By
Brett Worthington

Nov 21, 2024

According to Robinson, the 49ers and Leeds have now made an “audacious bid” to sign James McAtee from Manchester City in 2025. The former goalkeeper told Football Insider: “Leeds have made an audacious bid for him. He’s had two really good loans at Sheffield United, West Ham have been in the mix and he’s been linked with Fulham, but it’s not just going to be them.

“And what would they be getting for him in January? £20-25million? £30million? There are a lot of clubs that would take James McAtee, whether it be on a permanent or loan deal. But I think Pep Guardiola might be selfish between now and the end of the season and keep him.

“He wants him to be a part of his squad and I think they’re going to need him. The amount of injuries this season, you’d have thought he would already have broken into that first-team with the talent he has.“

Robinson’s statement follows earlier reports that Leeds are eyeing a January loan move to sign the Manchester City academy graduate, who has also attracted the interest of West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.

"Talented" McAtee could push Leeds towards promotion

If Leeds push ahead and secure McAtee’s signature as early as the January transfer window, then he could make the difference in their race to secure promotion. The Premier League winner did exactly that for Sheffield United during the 2022/23 campaign to help them back towards the Premier League, scoring nine goals and assisting a further three. Now, it could be Leeds who benefit.

Described as “talented” by Football Talent Scout’s Jacek Kulig, McAtee looks on course to become the next top prospect to depart The Etihad, following in the footsteps of Cole Palmer. And if he’s anything like the Chelsea star, then Leeds could welcome a player who would take them up another level entirely.

Big picture

It’s pretty straightforward, as Wayne Parnell put it: South Africa are in the knockout stages. They must beat Netherlands to go through to the semi-finals and if you’d said that pre-tournament, many would have thought the conclusion foregone, but this has been a World Cup of surprises and perhaps there’s one more?Netherlands looked to be steadily improving from the first round, when they nearly toppled Bangladesh in their Super 12 opener, but then they ran into India and Pakistan and came apart. Had they also lost to Zimbabwe, they might have considered this campaign something of a waste, but they rallied and now have the opportunity to bow out on a high – and do Pakistan a favour.If Netherlands beat South Africa in first of three Group 2 games on Sunday, Pakistan only need to beat Bangladesh to go through to the semi-finals. If South Africa win, the result of the second match between Pakistan and Bangladesh will dictate what India have to do to ensure they qualify. That’s a lot of ifs before we even get to wondering what kind of contest this will be.South Africa and Netherlands have only played one T20I against each other but they have some recent history. Netherlands were in South Africa for a three-match World Cup Super League ODI series last November, when the omicron variant of Covid-19 hit and they left the tour early, but not before taking 10 points off South Africa in a washed-out match. South Africa will host Netherlands again in April 2023 and those matches are crucial to ensuring their automatic qualification for the ODI World Cup so there’s some wider context to the clash. And there’s also the obvious niggle: Netherlands are coached by a South African – Ryan Cook – and have as many as four South African-born players in their squad. Even if South Africa may not know much about the Dutch approach in the shortest format, they will know plenty about the players involved.For South Africa, their blueprint has mostly worked but there’s still work to do in the batting department. They will view this game as a final opportunity to get the likes of Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs into form and a chance to make a statement about whether they can justify the favourites’ tag placed on them just a few days ago.Temba Bavuma’s batting form is still a concern for South Africa•Getty Images

Form guide

South Africa LWWWL(last five completed matches, most recent first)
NetherlandsWLLLL

In the spotlight

In a pace pack that seems to have it all, Kagiso Rabada has flown under the radar. He has taken only two wickets from four matches so far and has the highest economy rate of any of the South African bowlers. In dealing with swing from Parnell, pace from Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi’s slew of slower balls, line-ups have identified Rabada as a bowler they can target, which is unlikely to sit well with him. Although he has long shied away from being called the leader of the attack, Rabada is South Africa’s most experienced bowler, and he will want to turn in a big performance as the tournament approaches the business end.It had to be a South African expat and though Roelof van der Merwe is the headliner, Colin Ackermann is a player many will be interested in as he plays his first T20I against his home country. Ackermann made his name as a red-ball player in South Africa and, with a first-class average over 40, there was much consternation when it turned out that he was unavailable for national selection. He hasn’t had quite the same impact in shorter formats, with just 96 runs from his four ODIs and a T20I average under 25. He has had a fairly quiet tournament so far, apart from a 62 against Bangladesh, and should see this match as a final opportunity to go out with a bang.

Team news

David Miller sat out the match against Pakistan with lower back spasms and South Africa will be keen to get him up and running as soon as he is fit. If that’s in this game, Tristan Stubbs may miss out with Heinrich Klaasen retaining his place. South Africa may also bring back Keshav Maharaj at the expense of one of the quicks.South Africa: : (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma, 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 David Miller, 6 Heinrich Klaasen/Tristan Stubbs 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Keshav Maharaj/ Anrich Nortje, 9 Lungi Ngidi, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Kagiso RabadaAfter a convincing win over Zimbabwe, Netherlands are likely to go in unchanged.Netherlands: 1 Stephan Myburgh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Tom Cooper, 4 Colin Ackermann, 5 Bas de Leede, 6 Scott Edwards (capt, wk), 7 Roelof van der Merwe, 8 Logan van Beek, 9 Fred Klaassen, 10 Paul van Meekeren, 11 Brandon Glover

Pitch and conditions

An early start may prove challenging for the batters because the ball won’t skid on as it does at night. Expect inconsistent bounce and a slowish start, although runs may come from the short, square boundaries. The surface also won’t offer the quicks as much as some of the other venues, which could take the sting out of the contest to some degree. There’s been rain in the lead-up to this match but Sunday’s forecast is clear.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa and Netherlands have met once in a T20I before, at the 2014 World Cup. South Africa won by six runs.
• In four matches at this venue so far in this World Cup, the average first innings score is 164, and the chasing team has only won once.

Quotes

“It’s a crucial game for us. In T20 cricket, teams get closer. We still have to play well to beat them. They are a quality side. They’ve shown they can play good cricket. Hopefully it’s only in patches and if we bring our A game, I reckon we should have enough.”
“We do understand the significance of the game if we do beat South Africa. But obviously for us it’s just playing a game and beating South Africa, so we don’t think too far outside of that. But we just have to do what we’ve done well, and if we do that well against South Africa, you never know, we might have a good day against them.”