Andre Onana admits to finding it “strange” that fans chose to support him, rather than abuse, during an error-strewn start at Manchester United.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Under this amnesty, reporting any previous corrupt approach in Sri Lankan cricket will not result in the player being punished
ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2019The ICC has announced a 15-day amnesty from January 16 to 31 to participants who have previously failed to report corruption-related offences in Sri Lankan cricket. Under this amnesty, reporting a previous corrupt approach now will not result in any punishment for the player.”This is the first time the ICC has held an amnesty and it is in response to the very specific challenges we face in Sri Lanka,” Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager, said.”If any player or participant has any information concerning corrupt conduct they should come forward and share it with us now without fear of any repercussions.”ALSO READ: Jayasuriya charged under ICC anti-corruption code; Zimbabwe series in focusUnder normal circumstances, failure to report a corrupt approach without delay can result in players being banned. With the amnesty in place, this won’t happen.Three former Sri Lanka players, including Sanath Jayasuriya, have been charged under ICC anti-corruption code in the past few months. In October after Jayasuriya was charged, Marshall stated that a team was on the island “as part of [their] ongoing investigations into serious allegations of corruption in cricket in the country”.Former fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa, who had been working as a coach in the Sri Lanka system, and allrounder Dilhara Lokuhettige, have also been charged.Reports can be made 24 hours a day in the following ways:ICC Integrity App, which is available for download by searching ‘ICC Integrity’ via the Apple ‘App Store’ or ‘Android Apps’ICC ACU Hotline: +971 565 458909ICC ACU e-mail: [email protected]
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has unleashed an attack on Casemiro after the Red Devils drew 2-2 against Bournemouth last weekend.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Casemiro criticized for Bournemouth drawBen Foster calls the Brazilian a 'disgrace'Club likely to sell Casemiro in the summerWHAT HAPPENED?
The Red Devils were fortunate to avoid loss at the Vitality Stadium against Bournemouth last time out, as the Cherries were denied a late penalty, departing the south coast with a 2-2 draw. Foster was incensed with Casemiro for failing to stop Justin Kluivert's second goal for Bournemouth.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT FOSTER SAID
Speaking on his YouTube channel, The Cycling GK, Foster said [via The Mirror]: "The second goal, Casemiro, he’s a holding midfielder. He should be that engine, that rat in the midfield, the disruptor – somebody that breaks up all the attacks, gets in people’s faces.
"The second goal, for me, is an absolute disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace. He’s allowed to wander into that space and get his shot off. Casemiro almost notices at the last second, meanders in, hangs a leg in there.
"And I’m thinking, do you know what? If I was a manager of a team and my holding midfielder did that, that action there and then, I’d say that’ll do. You, come off."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Having dropped crucial points, Aston Villa's lead of 13 points has effectively ruined Man Utd's ambitions of making the top four this season. They currently sit in seventh place in the Premier League standings level on points with Newcastle. If the club drop more points than the Magpies, they will lose out on the chance to play in Europe altogether.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CASEMIRO?
It has been heavily reported that the Red Devils under the guidance of Sir Jim Ratcliffe could move Casemiro on this summer after his dismal season under Erik Ten Hag. He will likely play a major part for the rest of the season for the club with injuries plaguing the squad.
The fact that “everyone seemed to know what was happening” makes the Sylhet captain’s unusual decision legal
ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2019David Warner was in the right, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has confirmed, when he switched from batting left-handed to right and whacked Chris Gayle for 14 runs in three balls in a Bangladesh Premier League match.Struggling to get Gayle away in the 19th over of Sylhet Sixers’ innings against Rangpur Riders on Wednesday, Warner gave up trying to do the job the way most people expect him to, and changed his stance. He appeared to signal his intentions to Gayle, and Gayle responded by altering his field, which was enough for the MCC to accept the rather uncommon occurrence.”MCC has reviewed the footage of David Warner switching to batting right-handed in the Bangladesh Premier League match yesterday and feels that his actions were within the Laws of Cricket,” the MCC, the custodians of the Laws of the game, told ESPNcricinfo.”The Laws do not state that a batsman can bat only in one way and, from the footage seen, it seems clear that Warner made it obvious that he was changing to batting right-handed. The bowler, Chris Gayle, altered the field accordingly and everyone seemed to know what was happening.”
Tom Moody, the Rangpur coach who has also worked with his country-mate Warner at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, wasn’t surprised to see the batsman make the swap as such, but said he hadn’t expected to see it happen in a competitive match.”I’m not surprised to see him do it because I have seen him bat right-handed on a number of occasions having worked with him for a number of years,” Moody said. “Seeing him do it last night was a surprise, though, in a match situation, in that given situation, but I’ll never ever write off what Warner can’t do.”I’d suggest to others that if they want to bat the other side, they’ll have to do a hell of a lot of practice to get it right, because it’s not easy.”Speaking to in 2016, sports scientist David Mann had in fact discussed Warner’s ability to bat both right-handed and left-handed.Warner’s ambidexterity, as described in an interview with •ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Warner, batting at No. 3, scored an unbeaten 36-ball 61 and Liton Das, the opener, hit 70 off 43 balls to help Sylhet score 187 for 5 and subsequently beat Rangpur by 27 runs.
Umesh Yadav took his best-ever match figures as Vidarbha stormed into the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 final, one step away from the defending the title they won last seasonUmesh took 5 for 31 in the second innings as Kerala hurtled to 91 all out at the Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad, losing by an innings and 11 runs shortly after lunch on the second day. Umesh had taken a career best 7 for 48 in the first innings, and ended with match figures of 12 for 79. It was Umesh’s second consecutive Man-of-the-Match performance, having taken nine wickets in the quarter-final against Uttarakhand, which was also the first game he had played in the tournament.Kerala had a good opening hour on Friday, with Sandeep Warrier taking 5 for 57 as Vidarbha were bowled out for 208 after being 170 for 2 at one stage. Then, the rejigged batting order of KB Arun Karthik and Jalaj Saxena as openers, and Vishnu Vinod at No.3, took them 59 for 1 in the second innings.But that was as good as things got for Kerala, with Umesh bursting through to inflict a spectacular collapse. Kerala lost nine wickets in just 12.3 overs either side of lunch. Yash Thakur, the 19-year-old right-arm seamer playing only his third first-class match, took 4 for 28, also a personal best.On the morning of the second day, Vidarbha had resumed on 171 for 5, but couldn’t add too many runs. Warrier and Basil Thampi combined to bring a swift end to the innings, though not before Umesh had fun with the bat in hand too, hitting two sixes off Thampi to take Vidarbha’s lead to 102.It was still a sizeable advantage, but a lot less than they looked like getting when they were 170 for 2 with Faiz Fazal batting on 75.For a while, it looked like Kerala would fight back in the second innings, but they crumbled. The dominance of Vidarbha’s pacers was illustrated by their highest wicket-taker this season – left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate – not bowling a single over all through the match.
Adelaide Strikers crash out of the Big Bash League after sliding to six-wicket defeat
Sam Perry in Adelaide03-Feb-2019An extraordinary display of power and precision from Matt Renshaw saw Brisbane Heat defeat Adelaide Strikers in Adelaide on Sunday, the visitors chasing down a competitive 177-run target with eight balls to spare.After a horrific start, which saw the Heat slump to 3 for 18, Renshaw’s 90 not out from 50 deliveries wrested the game away from the Strikers, who now find their season over in terms of higher honours.Leading into the match, it was last chance saloon for the two teams, both of whom were closer to the foot of the table than the summit. A win would keep one team with an outside chance of a semi-final slot, while a loss would confirm curtains drawn.On a hot Adelaide night and a wonderful batting wicket, Chris Lynn won the flip and sent the Strikers in.Strikers stutter at the start
It was a horror start for the Strikers, losing Jake Weatherald and Jake Lehmann in the opening two overs. Weatherald was first to go, top-edging a rank short ball from Renshaw to Lynn at backward point, before Lehmann carved Josh Lalor straight to Alex Ross on the point boundary. Both were disappointing dismissals, and put the home side on the back foot in the game’s early phase.ALSO READ: Michael Klinger announces BBL retirementAlex Carey and Colin Ingram commenced the rebuild, but it was only partial. With the score on 42 in the final over of the Powerplay, Carey scooped a full Ben Cutting delivery straight to point. At the end of the six overs, the Strikers were 3 for 43.Jonathan Wells arrived and immediately found his busy disposition, combining well with Ingram, who had started to hit the short boundary with regularity. Six overs into their partnership, Strikers captain Ingram tried to find the short boundary again but this time failed. He was taken by Brendon McCullum, giving Lalor his second.Strikers turn the tide
When Wells followed, bowled by a superb Mitchell Swepson wrong ‘un, the Strikers faced an uphill battle to post a competitive total. McCullum then nearly instigated the catch of the tournament – athletically taking one on the boundary, then performing a swivel-flick of the ball to Cutting, who dived forward to take it – before confirming that he’d touched the rope, rendering the ball a six.It signalled a slight turning of the tide for the Strikers, who upped the ante through Harry Nielsen (21 off 16), Michael Neser (18 off 13), Rashid Khan (19 off six) and Cameron Valente (19 off eight) and delivered a huge 67 runs from their final 30 balls. It meant they finished on a healthy 8 for 176; a total approaching par.Renshaw delivers mighty blows
When the Heat batted, the Strikers continued where they had left off, claiming two wickets at greater pace than they had lost. Cutting, promoted to open, swung early and wildly, miscuing a pull shot that was well taken by Rashid running back with the flight of the ball. It brought Lynn to the crease, but he departed after two balls, slashing at Valente and edging it through to Carey.Max Bryant was next to go. Peter Siddle delivered full, Bryant played across the line, and the ball struck the youngster on the knee roll. Siddle appealed impressively, and the umpire complied. Replays showed the ball was missing leg by quite a distance, but it mattered not. It left the Heat 3 for 18 and a mountain to climb.But the entrance of McCullum and Renshaw shifted the momentum. Both unveiled a raft of shots on both sides of the wicket, reaching a crescendo when Renshaw took Valente for 20 from the last over of the Powerplay, leaving the Heat 3 for 56 at the end of that phase, some 13 runs ahead of the Strikers at the same juncture.From there, Renshaw accelerated. Playing with an almost unseen belligerence, he flicked, whipped, and crunched the Strikers attack to all parts, racing to his half-century from 26 deliveries. Few people would have expected McCullum to play second fiddle to a blazing Renshaw, but it proved different on the night. When McCullum departed, LBW to Rashid for a comparatively sedate 51 from 39 balls, Renshaw was already in the 70s.McCullum’s exit proved no problem for the Heat, as Ross came in and swept aggressively to continue the Heat’s dominance. What originally seemed a marathon was eventually rendered a stroll, as the visitors walked in the total with lots to spare.
Michael Neser’s unbeaten 75 had earlier lifted Queensland well over 400 on a good batting surface
Alex Malcolm24-Feb-2019
Marcus Harris drives through the off side•Getty Images
Australia opener Marcus Harris fell agonisingly short of a second Sheffield Shield century of the summer to leave Victoria’s clash with Queensland evenly poised at stumps on day two.Harris was given out caught behind for 95 off the bowling of Mitch Swepson in the second last over before the close. He was bitterly disappointed having hit his pad with his bat as he defended from the crease but the umpire deemed the ball scratched his outside edge.”I didn’t hit it,” Harris said after play. “I hit my back pad. But it doesn’t matter.”It was the first time Harris had been dismissed in the 90s in his first-class career having struck 15 fours in a very fluent 155-ball innings. He was savage on anything straight as Queensland’s quicks overpitched on his pads on seven occasions.He did have some fortune early with two loose shots wide of off stump flying safely off the edge wide of the cordon. He also edged a ball on 55 at knee height through a vacant third slip.Harris, who had a lean Test series against Sri Lanka after impressing against India, put on 82 with Nic Maddinson after stands of 49 and 56 with Travis Dean and Will Pucovski respectively. Dean edged Michael Neser to slip for 26 while Pucovski looked very comfortable for his 22 before gloving a pull shot down the leg side off Mark Steketee.Maddinson finished the day 36 not out alongside nightwatchman Scott Boland with Victoria 257 runs behind.Earlier, Charlie Hemphrey fell seven runs shy of his fifth first-class century on a day of near misses. Victoria’s quicks starved him of scoring opportunities in the morning and he finally succumbed slashing and edging a wide one from Peter Siddle for 93.Neser proved a thorn in Victoria’s side making an unbeaten 75, his fifth half-century of the Shield summer. It was the first time he batted at No.7 in his career after pestering the Bulls coaching staff for an opportunity to move one spot higher in the order. He was very fortunate to survive an lbw shout on 38 when Siddle him on the back pad in front of off stump but the umpire gave it not out. The decision allowed Neser to help propel Queensland’s total well beyond 400.
Lionel Messi’s special qualities have been hailed by an MLS rival, with the Inter Miami star’s latest performance reiterating “why he’s the best”.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Melbourne Renegades completed a defence of 152 to defeat the Sydney Thunder – one of their nearest rivals on the competition table – by 12 runs in Sydney
The Report by Daniel Brettig22-Jan-2019Melbourne Renegades solidified their place in the Big Bash League top four with a stout defence of 152 to defeat the Sydney Thunder – one of their nearest rivals on the competition table – by 12 runs in a defensive affair at the Sydney Showground Stadium.The visiting captain, Aaron Finch, made a vital half-century, not only for the Renegades but his own peace of mind after a difficult summer, and with assistance from Cameron White was able to lift the Melbourne side to a defensible total on a somewhat sluggish pitch.In the chase, Callum Ferguson appeared to have given the Thunder a strong chance to chase down their target, but his dismissal amid an admirably tight spell by Cameron Boyce – who had been unsuccessfully promoted to open with Finch – left the young batsman Jason Sangha unable to summon the big hits required to finish off the job.Finch begins finding himselfOver a summer in which he graduated into, then flunked out of, the Australian Test team, Finch has seemed to get increasingly frazzled by the array of formats and tasks confronting him, to the point that his role as the national limited-overs captain in a World Cup year has become in danger of being affected. At the conclusion of the ODI series against India, the Australian coach Justin Langer expressed hope that Finch would regain some equilibrium via the BBL.A halting stay worth only 14 in the Melbourne Derby was not exactly promising, but against the Thunder Finch was able to get himself going in the sort of manner he will hope to make a habit of over the next six months or more. Though the Renegades started off with the experimental presence of Cameron Boyce at the top of the order alongside Finch, the captain was able to build into an innings of confidence and some heavy hitting that reaped four sixes while not giving a chance until he fell to Sandhu. It’s a long way from the World Cup final, but it’s a start.Sams, Sandhu keep Renegades in checkAt 3 for 116 in the 16th over, the Renegades had successfully absorbed the loss of early wickets and also a parsimonious spell by Fawad Ahmed to appear set for a late ransacking of runs. However, Sandhu’s fooling of Finch with a slower ball was to set the scene for a twist in the innings, as Sandhu and Sams put the clamps on by claiming regular wickets.White’s innings of 40, featuring 14 cuffed from one over from Chris Jordan, ensured the Renegades did not lose all momentum, but three wickets apiece for Sandhu and Sams had the Thunder looking confident at the innings break.Ferguson sets things upDuring a long career that might have featured more international cricket but for a terribly timed knee injury in 2009, Ferguson has proven himself to be an expert at the sorts of modulated, balanced innings critical to white-ball success. Coming in at the fall of Anton Devcich in the very first over, pouched at third man, Ferguson shrugged off the loss of the powerful Shane Watson shortly after to appear to set up the Thunder for a fruitful chase.His stand with Jason Sangha relied upon Ferguson finding the boundary with some regularity, and when Sangha advanced to dispatch Boyce inside-out over cover in the 13th over, the partnership appeared set to enter another gear. That, though, was to reckon without Boyce.Boyce holds the Renegades centreDiscarded by Tasmania and unwanted by Queensland after the Bulls chose to move on to the younger Mitchell Swepson, Boyce has proven an excellent acquisition by the Renegades as a willing wristspinner who has found an artful balance between defence and attack. His spell to the Thunder rather summed this up, as he conceded only a single boundary in four overs.At the same time he was able to coax Ferguson into a blow that fell fractionally short of the long-on boundary and into the hands of a jumping Dan Christian, leaving Sangha to fight an ultimately losing battle with his own timing and boundary-scoring as the Renegades squeaked their way to victory.
The Football Association (FA) has released a fresh statement backing their decision to scrap FA Cup replays amid widespread backlash.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
FA Cup replays have been axed completelyDisgruntled fans severely criticise the decisionFA insist on the need for reformsWHAT HAPPENED?
The FA's move signals a significant shift in the format of the historic tournament, with all rounds set to be played on weekends starting from the 2024-25 season, and replays abolished altogether. While the decision to scrap replays has sparked controversy, particularly among fans and clubs in the lower echelons of English football, the FA maintains that the move was necessary to ensure the sustainability of the tournament. The CEO of the advocacy group Fair Game criticised the FA's decision, describing it as "another nail in the coffin" for the already crumbling football pyramid.
AdvertisementGetty THE BIGGER PICTURE
Nonetheless, the governing body remains resolute in its new decision. They clarified that discussions regarding the calendar for the 2024-25 season had been ongoing for over a year, with representatives from the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL) actively involved in the process. The decision to eliminate FA Cup replays was reportedly a topic of early deliberation, with consensus reached among all parties that replays were no longer viable.
WHAT THE FA SAID
A fresh statement put out by FA read: "We have listened to the concerns expressed over the last 24 hours, and would like to outline the approval process which was undertaken for the 2024-25 professional game football calendar. We have been discussing the calendar for the 2024-25 season with the Premier League and EFL for well over a year.
"Removing Emirates FA Cup replays was discussed in the early meetings and all parties accepted that they could not continue. The discussions then focused on how to make all of our competitions stronger, despite having fewer dates available and wanting to maintain player welfare. The changes to the Emirates FA Cup achieve this by returning it to a weekend competition on every round, and ensuring that we have exclusive broadcast slots in an increasingly congested calendar."
DID YOU KNOW?
The FA emphasised its commitment to supporting clubs in the lower divisions by exploring alternative revenue streams.
The statement further read: "To clarify, we have also increased the number of Emirates FA Cup matches that will be broadcast in the early rounds, which will lead to additional guaranteed broadcast revenue for EFL and National League teams. Additionally, we review the prize money annually for the competition, together with representatives from the EFL and Premier League and will do the same for the 2024-25 season.
"The calendar for next season was approved last month by the Professional Game Board, which consists of four EFL representatives and four Premier League representatives and then by the FA Board, which includes Premier League, EFL, National Game and grassroots representation. This is the process we undergo every year to approve the calendar. We understand the concerns expressed over the last 24 hours, and we will be sharing more details with clubs very shortly to explain the additional revenue opportunities in the early rounds. We will keep this under review as the new calendar begins to ensure that EFL and National League clubs do not lose out."