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The programme to introduce those incarcerated in state and federal prisons to the game won the ICC Development Initiative of the Year award for 2024

Firdose Moonda12-Sep-2024Ask a cricket newbie what they find most intriguing about the game and their answer is likely to be something about how two teams can play for five days with no winner, or the lbw law. But for a group of people at Mexico’s National Commission of Physical Culture and Sport (CONADE), it was an entirely different thing.”One thing they liked in particular was how the umpire’s decision is always respected and never questioned,” Craig White, secretary of the Mexico Cricket Association (MCA) says. “They liked that discipline element.”Consider that this is a country where football referees once went on strike in protest over player behaviour, and the admiration for the umpire having the final word may start to make sense. It could also explain why they decided to include cricket as part of an extracurricular prison programme, which has won the ICC’s Development Initiative of the Year Award in 2024.Related

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Why prisons? With more than 230,000 people currently in jail, and some of the highest levels of crime in the world, they are a grim reality in Mexico. And the incarcerated, while denied the rights of the free, also need to return to society, and partly, their period in prison is about preparing them for that.Why cricket? The idea took shape in October 2021, when the MCA stepped in to host the ICC America Women’s T20 regional qualifier in place of the USA at a time when Covid-19 travel restrictions were still in place. Members of Mexico’s sports ministry were invited to watch the event at the Reforma Athletic Club in the municipality of Naucalpan, north west of Mexico City, and given a special cricket demonstration. Four months later, the MCA was invited to present a two-day workshop to the sports ministry . “We sort of taught them the basics of batting, bowling, fielding,” White says. “There was one guy in particular, Eduardo Acevedo [chief of department, CONADE], who took cricket and ran with it. He proposed it as part of the physical activity in prisons.”Initially the MCA, which is an entirely volunteer-run organisation, just provided equipment, in the form of plastic cricket sets and advice – but within a few months they were going into prisons to run sessions. Currently they have eight trainers involved in the project.A game in progress at the Reforma Athletic Club, one of Mexico’s oldest and most active cricket venues•Fernando Llano/Associated PressOne of the volunteers is Mexico women’s international Anna Septien, who is also the MCA’s treasurer and development officer. Septien had never been in a prison before. “I’ve learnt that prisons in Mexico have a lot of opportunities for integral development like yoga, knitting and sports,” she says. “The sports ministry certifies the prisoners and teaches them how to be physical trainers. When they get out, they will have this title and they will have the opportunity to work. When you’ve been in prison, you have all this stigma and it’s difficult for you to find opportunities, but this could provide an alternative opportunity for a job.”The volunteers work in four low-to-medium risk prisons in Mexico City, the country’s capital, and CONADE also has cricket programmes in two maximum-security federal prisons in the northern states of Durango and Coahuila. Both male and female prisoners play cricket, sometimes together. They have had to adapt the game to the time and space they have available, and have even created their own scoring system.”It depends on the prison, in terms of the kind of places that they play,” Septien says. “Some are on concrete, some on grass, which can be more soil than grass in many cases, and some on basketball courts.”The prisoners only get an hour of free time each per day and so they can’t always have 11 players on the team – it depends on how many are allowed to come out at the time decided. So they have made tweaks to adjust: everybody gets three chances to bat; if the ball hits the wall, it’s a four. “It’s not perfect cricket but they are trying. And for those of them whose rooms are underground, it is the only time they see daylight,” Septien says.For her, the experience of going into prisons has been both confronting and surprising. While she understands that some of the people she is dealing with are dangerous, she has learnt that they are not that different. “You expect to feel [a certain way] before you go there, and some of them do have a harsh or scary look about them, but I have to say I’ve never been in another place full of robust and big men and felt more respected,” she says. “And you know, we are all just one action away [from being in their shoes].”The humanity of the project has been highlighted in the early results of the programme. “We have heard from the government that some of the kids of the prisoners have heard that their parents are playing cricket and they have expressed an interest in becoming involved,” she says. “And we have been told that conflict in the prisons has been lowered and that is a good outcome. We are promoting cricket as a peaceful and inclusive sport.”Cricket is played in four state prisons in Mexico City and two maximum-security prisons in Durango and Coahuila•Mexico Cricket AssociationThe hope is that when these prisoners move back into communities, they will be able to spread the game by working in coaching or training roles. “Cricket is a new sport. They won’t have competition because no one else teaches cricket. So they could do that in their region. That’s the idea.”But cricket is, in fact, not that new to Mexico. The country was one of the first outside England to play the sport. It arrived in the 1820s, with those who travelled there from England to work in the silver mines, and was also reportedly played by the Emperor Maximilian; there is a photograph of him playing a Sunday game. When Mexico became a republic for the second time in the late 1860s, work and investment opportunities drew expats from Britain and Australasia, who provided patronage for the game.Cricket continued to be played in elite circles up until around the Mexican Revolution and the First World War shortly after, when many expats went home, which led to a drying up of interest in the sport.The game did not ever trickle down to the common man, who had little time and almost no access to cricket, and that has not changed much. As things stand, in a country of 127.5 million, Septien estimates that there are “less than a thousand cricket players”, and that the sport is played mainly in three cities. But there is room for expansion and some readily available facilities to support it.The Reforma Athletic Club has been a cricket venue since 1894, and one of the highest in the world. At 2300 metres above sea level, it sits more than 500 metres higher than Johannesburg and is a third as high as Mount Everest. It hosted the 2021 women’s T20 regional qualifier, although Mexico was not a participant. That could change in coming years, with Mexico putting an emphasis on growth in the women’s game in particular.Not only does the MCA have an ambitious plan to establish cricket in all 32 Mexican states by 2030, it also hopes to make cricket the No.1 girls’ sport in the country in the same time frame. So maybe if you ask a cricket newbie whether they’ve heard of the Mexican women’s team in a few years’ time, you will be surprised at the answer.

A team of delivery drivers, businessmen, a student, and fathers who haven’t met their newborn children prepare to play mighty India

Shashank Kishore30-Aug-2022Hong Kong have been on the road so much of late that Babar Hayat, Ehsan Khan and Yasim Murtaza have all become fathers while away, and have only seen their newborns over video calls.Over the last three months, they’ve stopped in Namibia, Uganda and Jersey [for ICC events], South Africa and England [preparatory tours], Zimbabwe [for the T20 World Cup qualifiers], Oman [for the Asia Cup qualifiers], and now in the UAE for the Asia Cup, where they will play India and Pakistan in the group stage of the competition. The players are aware that there’s no real path to financial gain or a big-time future in the game here, but are a determined and committed lot nevertheless.While players from the more established countries can afford to take time off, the Hong Kong players would rather not; they live for this.On Wednesday, Hong Kong will play India. They haven’t played India or Pakistan in four years, and have no idea when they will face them again. When they last played India, at the 2018 Asia Cup, Hong Kong gave their superstar opponents a mighty scare. Wednesday presents them with a chance for an encore, or better.They are a motivated bunch of cricketers, but one of Trent Johnston’s challenges as head coach has been to ensure they don’t burn out after three months of non-stop cricket, coming as it has on the back of the Covid-19 lull.

“A majority of our squad have to earn a living outside of what they get from Cricket Hong Kong, who have been very supportive despite no cricket for more than two years. But we only have a certain amount of time with the players and have to maximise that”Trent Johnston, Hong Kong coach

“There were probably six lockdowns. We didn’t have training for over a year. The boys were doing their strength and conditioning sessions over Zoom, from their homes, car park and local parks,” Johnston, the former Ireland captain, told ESPNcricinfo. “The commitment they’ve shown has been phenomenal. They never questioned anything or complained but have just got on with it.”I’m pleased for the whole group that we put in three good games [against Singapore, Kuwait and UAE at the Asia Cup qualifiers] in Oman and now have an opportunity to play India and Pakistan.”Losing cricket time, as a result of the pandemic, was especially tough for the players who continue to try and find a balance between pursuing their passion and doing their regular salary-earning work.”Three or four players do private coaching, either at a cricket club or one-on-one coaching,” Johnston said. “A high percentage of the boys are delivery drivers with Food Panda or Deliveroo. Kinchit Shah, the vice-captain, is in the jewellery trade. Scott McKechnie has his own business that offers him a slight flexibility to come on out as long as he has internet. Young Ayush [Shukla], our opening bowler, is in university. A couple of guys are doing administration.”So all of them have sacrificed a lot over the past three months to come over and play cricket. I can’t thank their families enough. The wives and girlfriends, kids that are waiting for their dad to come back. Not one guy in the team has told me they have to go home. Their partners have been phenomenal and kept the house moving, I thank them a hell of a lot.”Remember Trent Johnston? He was Ireland’s captain when they beat Pakistan to reach the Super Eights in the 2007 ODI World Cup•Getty ImagesAll of it has been a challenge; off the field of play, expanding their pool of players, especially. Bringing players to a certain level of proficiency and then losing them to education or a full-time profession has been, perhaps, the biggest obstacle.Take some of the players that were around during the Asia Cup four years ago.Christopher Carter, the wicketkeeper-batter, left to attend flight school in Australia and is currently a pilot with Cathay Pacific.Jamie Atkinson, a former captain, is a PE teacher at a private school.Anshy Rath, their captain in that tournament, has moved to India, hoping to establish a career in the domestic set-up and the IPL as a local player with the use of his Indian passport.Mark Chapman, whose parents lived and worked in Hong Kong, grew up playing amid the high-rises. His father, Peter, a New Zealander, was the crown prosecutor for the Hong Kong government; his mother, Anne, a Chinese woman, worked in the lucrative finance sector. Chapman came through the age-group system in Hong Kong and made the national team before leaving for college in Auckland. The access to a first-class system, the best facilities and better pay, made his decision easy. He has played for both Hong Kong and New Zealand internationally, and is now with the New Zealand A squad in India.

“For me, as coach, working with players on an area of their game and then being able to see them execute them in games under pressure, that is what I get a buzz out of”Trent Johnston

“The expat community – you have kids who come through the pathways and then go off to school somewhere else. Carter and Jamie are available to play for us, but it’s limited. A majority of our squad have to earn a living outside of what they get from Cricket Hong Kong,” Johnston explained. “Cricket Hong Kong have been very supportive despite no cricket for more than two years. But we only have a certain amount of time with the players and have to maximise that.”They also have a living to make because Hong Kong is probably the second dearest city in the world [the dearest, for expats, according to an ECA International study]. Many of them are trying to send money back home to Pakistan. I try and get the maximum out of what I can, and they get the maximum out of what they need to do to support their families.”When the national team isn’t on tour, Johnston, who is now a Hong Kong resident too, charts their progress route. “We have the Under-16s and Under-19s that form our pathway programmes,” Johnston said. “We now have an Under-18 team heading to Oman for the Asia Cup qualifiers at the end of the month. We have quite a bit of infrastructure and participation from the cubs.”There are now five or six Chinese teams that play in various leagues. Our Premier League is now a five-team structure [as compared to three earlier], which is probably right. From the player pool point of view, you’re looking at choosing from 20 players tops if everyone is available, [accounting for] guys working and those sorts of things.”We don’t have a lot of players to choose from, but that has its advantages and disadvantages. If you’ve got guys unavailable or injured, you go to the next tier and bring on a guy who may be young and not ready but have to play them. It also gives you narrow focus, and you can concentrate on them, It is what it is, we can’t create players or bring players in. We just work with what we’ve got.Anshy Rath in action – when Hong Kong gave India an almighty scare•Getty Images”We’ve got two spinners, Ehsan Khan and Yamin, in their mid-30s, we have two fast bowlers, 19 and 22, and an experienced batting line-up. They [at the board] are working in operations and high performance, trying to enhance those structures. The women’s side of things is very good, consists mainly of local players and a mix of expats. The pathways from women’s point of view is up and running, so there are a lot of positives at the moment, and the next two games are only going to add to that.”At the Asia Cup, Johnston is realistic about Hong Kong’s chances and will measure progress through his own prism.”For me, as coach, working with players on an area of their game and then being able to see them execute them in games under pressure, that is what I get a buzz out of,” he said. “The last three games in Oman, we got most enjoyment out of it.”We missed out in the T20 World Cup qualifiers 2019 in UAE despite having Oman on the racks. Last week [at the qualifiers], against UAE, we were ruthless enough to get the win. To see the smile on their faces after the UAE game, you probably don’t see scenes like that unless you win a World Cup.”It means a lot to the guys, given the sacrifice they’ve put in. Now to be able to play India and Pakistan, they deserve to be here. We’re not just going to turn up and be the whipping boys. We’re going to try and cause an upset or two while we’re here.”

If India want their spinner to play only a holding role, they might prefer Jadeja to Ashwin

Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Feb-2020For the first few years of his career, commentators would often compare R Ashwin to VVS Laxman, finding parallels between two tall batsmen who didn’t move their feet all that much but timed the ball like a dream. There would be times when India’s top order would struggle for timing on sluggish pitches, and settle for scoring runs in prosaic ways, and then Ashwin would walk out and punch the third ball he faced to the boundary, effortlessly.India fans have seen many Ashwins at the crease over the last few years – he’s tinkered with his set-up at the crease multiple times, closing his front shoulder in his stance, then opening it up, then closing it once more; tapping his bat sometimes, holding it up and waggling it behind him at other times, experimenting with this and that.They haven’t seen that Laxmanesque touch for a while, though, not in Test cricket. When he came out to bat for the second time at Basin Reserve, he had averaged 17.78 with the bat since the start of 2017, as against 34.92 until then.The previous evening, Ashwin had said in his press conference that he had been batting too cautiously of late, too worried about getting out, and wanted to get back to batting instinctively.He had been bowled first ball by a near-unplayable ball from Tim Southee in the first innings, a dismissal he could have done little about. Now he faced up to the fast bowlers with another new stance – or perhaps he’d employed it in the first innings too. He was tapping the bat as the bowler ran up, before getting into a bat-up orientation prior to delivery. His bat, now, was going up right behind him, almost pointing towards fine leg.ALSO READ: Monga – How much does losing tosses impact visiting teams?Most coaches discourage batsmen from lifting their bat up too straight. While such a backlift can help batsmen drive through the covers, it can make it difficult for them to play down the ground or through midwicket, since they often end up having to play around their body and around their front pad, and not be able to bring their bat down straight. The incoming ball, therefore, puts them at a high risk of being trapped lbw.Ashwin knows all this, of course, and cricketers at the top level often find ways to work around non-textbook techniques and make them work. But, on this occasion in Wellington, he got through just ten balls before Southee nipped one back in, past his inside edge, and trapped him in front.R Ashwin lbw b Southee 4.It was the 20th time he had been dismissed before getting to the 30-ball mark in 36 innings since the start of 2017. He’s been dismissed six times having faced between 30 and 50 balls, and he’s lasted longer than 50 balls seven times, with his longest innings – 54 against Sri Lanka at the SSC in August 2017, his only fifty in this time – stretching to 98 balls.In this time, Ravindra Jadeja, the man Ashwin competes with for the lone spinner’s spot in overseas Tests, has taken his batting to a new level. He averages 49.80 in this period, over 21 Tests and 31 innings, of which 11 have been not-outs. He has a hundred and ten fifties in them, and he’s been at the crease for 100 balls or more on six occasions.Since the start of 2017, Jadeja has been dismissed once every 79 balls on average, and Ashwin once every 33 balls.Jadeja has turned himself into one of the top allrounders in Test cricket. Ashwin remains one of the best spinners going around, but he has slipped from genuine allrounder to occasional contributor when it comes to his batting.His skills with the bat might help Ravindra Jadeja play as the main spinner in Christchurch•Getty ImagesOver the 2019-20 home season, Ashwin outbowled Jadeja by a considerable margin, on Indian pitches that didn’t always offer a lot of assistance to spin bowlers. He was beating batsmen in the air as well as off the surface, while Jadeja seemed to have regressed to an earlier self, an upswing in his white-ball fortunes coinciding with the dulling of his wicket-taking edge as a Test bowler.This is probably what earned Ashwin the nod over Jadeja for Basin Reserve. He had looked the better bowler even in the Indians’ warm-up match in Hamilton, settling into a lovely length after taking five or six overs to find his ideal pace for the surface, getting the ball to dip and turn, and forcing the right-hand batsmen to play him to midwicket when they wanted to play him to mid-on.Ashwin largely justified his selection with his bowling performance in Wellington, finishing as the second-most impressive bowler in New Zealand’s first innings behind Ishant Sharma, and not just in terms of their figures. He asked questions of the batsmen with his drift, extracted sharp turn and bounce, and picked up three wickets, and even if he couldn’t quite settle into a length against Kane Williamson, it can happen when you’re bowling to one of the world’s best batsmen in his own conditions.But could Jadeja have matched or come close to matching Ashwin’s display with the ball, while offering more solidity at No. 8? It’s a question India will ask themselves leading into the second Test in Christchurch, because a significant seventh-wicket partnership in either innings in Wellington could have given India the sight of a way back into the match.In the first innings, India were 132 for 6 when Ashwin joined Ajinkya Rahane at the crease. In the second, they were 148 for 6, trailing New Zealand by 35 runs, when he joined Rishabh Pant. The first-innings situation, in particular, was salvageable and not too dissimilar to the one in which Ashwin joined Cheteshwar Pujara in Adelaide in December 2018. There, 127 for 6 became 189 for 7, and eventually 250 all out – it was just enough for India to scrap their way to a memorable win, with Ashwin playing a vital role with the ball.In Wellington, 132 for 6 became 132 for 7 – thanks to a superb delivery from Southee, of course – and 148 for 6 in the second innings became 162 for 7.Given Jadeja’s form as a batsman, and the level of confidence he’s attained in his own game, it’s a plain fact that India can expect more from him in such situations than they can from Ashwin in his current avatar. With the fast bowlers they have, there’s a precipitous drop in batting ability after No. 7 unless Ashwin rediscovers his batting mojo, or they pick Jadeja instead.When they go to Christchurch, India will study the pitch long and hard and see what sort of role they expect their spinner to play. If they expect him to share a considerable part of the wicket-taking burden even in the first innings, Ashwin could still keep his place. If they see the fast bowlers doing the bulk of the damage, and only see themselves needing their spinner to play a holding role in the first innings, it’s quite likely they’ll bring in Jadeja instead.

Paul Scholes believes Arsenal’s title bid will falter once again unless Mikel Arteta finds a way to improve his team's record in the Premier League’s biggest fixtures. The former Manchester United midfielder issued a pointed critique after Arsenal were beaten in agonising fashion by Aston Villa on Saturday, leaving their position at the top of the table looking increasingly fragile.

Arsenal's lead cut after late collapse at Villa Park

Arsenal remain two points clear at the summit, but the mood around the club noticeably turned sour after Emiliano Buendía struck deep into stoppage time to hand Villa a 2-1 win. Leandro Trossard had earlier cancelled out Matty Cash’s opener, and for long stretches Arsenal appeared destined to escape with an unconvincing draw. Instead, they left Birmingham empty-handed and with renewed doubts hanging over their title ambitions. Those doubts were amplified hours later when Manchester City dispatched Sunderland 3-0, a result that tightened the title race. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportScholes believes Arsenal will falter again

Speaking on podcast, Scholes was unequivocal. Arsenal, he argued, will not end their 22-year wait for a league title unless they begin winning the defining matches of the season.

"Man City have a great chance now, don’t they?" the United legend asked. "I still don’t think they’re quite right but they always get better in the second-half of the season and the thing with Arsenal is they can’t win a big game."

Scholes cited defeats to Liverpool and Villa, as well as draws against Manchester City and Chelsea, as evidence of Arsenal’s limitations.

"Until they start winning big games they’ve got no chance of winning the league," he said. "They lost to Liverpool, they couldn’t beat Man City at home when they were struggling. Aston Villa are a good team, don’t get me wrong, but Arsenal just can’t win big games. They couldn’t beat Chelsea after they went down to ten men. If you’re going to win the league you’ve got to start winning some big games, you’ve got to beat your rivals, and they can’t do it. Historically Man City always get better after January. They were in the Club World Cup so they didn’t really have a pre-season."

Scholes’ former team-mate Nicky Butt echoed those sentiments, predicting that Pep Guardiola’s side are building towards yet another late-season surge.

"I did say I fancied Man City for the title about a month ago," Butt said. "They’re suddenly clicking. The reason I think Man City will win the league is Pep [Guardiola]. He’s got the experience. I can see him winning the league this year and then leaving."

Getty Gvardiol fuels title talk

City have overturned Arsenal’s advantage twice in the past three seasons. In 2022-23, Arsenal spent 248 days at the summit and were eight points clear in April, only to unravel in the final weeks. City thrashed Arsenal 4-1 at the Etihad during the run-in and ultimately finished five points ahead. In the next season, things were closer, but the ending was familiar as City again found a higher gear, sealing the title with two points to spare. 

However, Josko Gvardiol warned that the pressure will intensify for both teams as they approach the halfway point of the season.

"I remember in my first season we were on the top and fighting for the Premier League and you go Fulham away, all the games, you need to win. If you lose or drop points that's it," the City defender told reporters. "First of all they have a good team. It's not just them, it's Aston Villa, Chelsea is good. Sunderland two weeks ago were there at the top. It won't be easy and the season is long. We're not even at the halfway stage. Still a lot of games to play. Two points behind so we are getting closer. We need to build it up like we have for the last two or three months. We will see at the end. Every game is important and we need to win every game."

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Arsenal look to regroup ahead of Wolves test

Arteta has consistently insisted that his team are evolving and learning from narrow defeats, but the narrative of his side falling short in high-stakes clashes is becoming harder to ignore. However, Saturday’s home match against bottom-placed Wolves presents Arteta with an opportunity to steady the ship and reassert authority at the top of the table. 

Manchester City were delighted after VAR intervened to stop the award of a penalty to Real Madrid in just the second minute of the Champions League clash at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night. Vinicius Jr was seen punching the air in delight after the referee pointed to the spot, but Matheus Nunes' foul was adjudged to have happened just outside the box on a night where City ran out 2-1 victors over the Spaniards.

Thriller at the Bernabeu

The defeat puts significant pressure on Madrid manager Xabi Alonso, who has seen his side relinquish the lead at the top of La Liga to arch rivals Barcelona and now drop down the European rankings after losing to Pep Guardiola’s side. Rodrygo opened the scoring for Real Madrid in the 28th minute with a low shot from a counter-attack, ending his long goal drought, but City responded quickly, with Nico O'Reilly poking home an equaliser from close range after a goalmouth scramble. Just before half-time, Erling Haaland converted a penalty after Antonio Rudiger fouled him in the box, sealing the comeback win for City. Despite a second-half push from Real, including a Jude Bellingham chip over the bar and an Endrick header clipping the crossbar, City held on to a crucial victory. The win moves Guardiola's men to fourth in the Champions League standings, while Real drop to seventh. 

But one of the main talking points from the evening will be the early would-be spot-kick, which was controversially overturned by VAR.

AdvertisementWatch the clipHaaland: 'We need to finish strong'

Speaking to after the match, Haaland told reporters: "Difficult to come here, it's a tough place. Game was a bit chaotic, we couldn't really control it. We get the win in the end, super happy. This is a place you want to play, these are games you want to play. With this new format in Champions League you get to play more games which is nice. I like it. It could have looked completely different today if we didn't win because of the Leverkusen defeat, this win is really important. Two more games left. We need to finish strong and hopefully we can be in the first eight because then we're through." 

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Getty Images SportKey man Mbappe misses out 

France superstar Kylian Mbappe was an unused substitute after picking up a muscle injury. And the French superstar's absence was a big miss for the hosts. Haaland added: "We know about their injuries, we have some too but they have many. You don't want anyone to be injured but we expected him to play. I expected to come up against Kylian today. But when a player like that is out – you're not happy because you want to play the best – but it gives you a bit of a psychological boost. You want to play the best players and after one minute (Raul) Asencio was trying to push me and beef with me which I like personally – I don't mind it. With Antonio Rudiger as well we have had some great battles, but today he wanted it too much and we got the penalty."

يحل فريق ريال مدريد الإسباني ضيفًا على خصمه فريق أولمبياكوس اليوناني، مساء يوم الأربعاء، في إطار منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، موسم 2025/26.

تأتي تلك المباراة في خضم منافسات الجولة الخامسة من دوري أبطال أوروبا، مرحلة الدوري لذلك الموسم، على ملعب “كارايسكاكيس”.

طالع | تشكيل ريال مدريد الرسمي أمام أولمبياكوس في دوري أبطال أوروبا.. موقف فينيسيوس

ويدخل ريال مدريد تلك المباراة وهو يمتلك 9 نقاط، بواقع 3 انتصارات وخسارة، في حين أن أولمبياكوس لا يمتلك سوى نقطتين.

ويأمل ريال مدريد تحقيق الفوز في مباراة اليوم خاصة بعدما خسر في الجولة الماضية أمام ليفربول بهدف دون رد على ملعب “الأنفيلد”، كما يسعى المدرب تشابي ألونسو إلى تصحيح المسار بعد النتائج المتذبذبة مؤخرًا.

ويفتقد ريال مدريد خدمات الحارس تيبو كورتوا بسبب نزلة فيروسية قوية، كما يغيب دين هويسن وإيدير ميليتاو للإصابة. تشكيل ريال مدريد المتوقع أمام أولمبياكوس اليوم في دوري أبطال أوروبا

حراسة المرمى: لونين.

خط الدفاع: ترينت ألكسندر أرنولد، راؤول أسينسيو، ميندي، ألفارو كاريراس.

خط الوسط: فيدي فالفيردي، كامافينجا.

خط الوسط الهجومي: أردا جولر، بيلينجهام، كيليان مبابي.

خط الهجوم: فينيسيوس جونيور.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنـــا

Big picture

If recent form is anything to go by, Australia have been bossing ODIs like, well, the world champions, whereas New Zealand, ranked fourth in ODIs, have a forgettable streak coming into this World Cup. Australia have won their last nine ODI series, last going down in the ODI leg of the 2023 Ashes in England, brushing teams aside both at home and away. They have been touring India almost every year in recent times, their top players have been getting used to the conditions in the WPL for the last three years, and they even played a three-match series in north India as a warm-up for this World Cup, which they won 2-1.Related

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New Zealand have no such records or achievements to show for. Jogging their memory back to the 2022 World Cup will only bring back disappointing recollections as they finished sixth out of eight teams in a home World Cup, they were rolled over for 128 by Australia for a 141-run thrashing in Wellington, and they haven’t played an ODI in six months.But they had shown last year that form and records are not much to go by. New Zealand entered the T20 World Cup with 10 consecutive losses in the format but went on to lift their maiden T20 World Cup with a stellar all-round show in alien conditions in the UAE. And they have a big chunk of players from that campaign to turn things around this time: captain Sophie Devine, former captain Suzie Bates, leader of the pace attack Lea Tahuhu, ace allrounder Amelia Kerr, among others.These two teams will clash it out at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, which is known for its flat tracks and will host its maiden women’s international on Wednesday.

Form guide

Australia WLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWLLL

In the spotlight: Alyssa Healy and Sophie Devine

The last time Alyssa Healy turned out in a World Cup, she finished the 2022 edition by smashing back-to-back centuries in the semis and final to help Australia lift their record seventh title. Things are a lot different this time; it’s her maiden ODI World Cup as captain, after Meg Lanning’s departure, and she has just returned to action after a long injury layoff of a stress fracture in the foot. She got in the groove of international cricket with modest scores of 1, 30 and 9 in the recent bilaterals in India, but would want to use the big stage to get some runs going on a flat pitch. She averages 31.40 against New Zealand with a strike rate of 89.97 against New Zealand much lower than her overall ODI strike rate of 97.90, and New Zealand would want to keeps those numbers down on Wednesday too.This is going to be Sophie Devine‘s farewell ODI series, only available for T20Is after this. Having led her side to T20 World Cup glory less than 12 months ago, she wants to end her ODI career with a double and her all-round skills could play a major role, starting Wednesday. She comes into the tournament after a rich run of form in the Hundred and bucket loads of experience of Indian conditions, having first toured the country back in 2007 when she was just 17.2:19

‘NZ might find it tough switching to ODI mode’

Team news: one concern for New Zealand

Australia’s full squad trained on Tuesday evening under the lights after a few injury concerns to Phoebe Litchfield (low-grade quad strain), Annabel Sutherland (hip soreness) and Darcie Brown (back spasms) during the recent bilateral games against India, and Ellyse Perry was down with an illness during the warm-ups. Vice-captain Tahlia McGrath, however, confirmed on Tuesday that everyone in the squad will be available for selection. What mix of spinners and pace bowlers they finalise is the only question that remains, as Sophie Molineux returned to action after a knee surgery, in the warm-up against England, and Australia could think about leaving out one of the legspinners – Alana King or Georgia Wareham – to make place for her.Australia (probable): 1 Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), 2 Phoebe Litchfield, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Beth Mooney, 5 Annabel Sutherland, 6 Ashleigh Gardner, 7 Tahlia McGrath, 8 Sophie Molineux, 9 Kim Garth, 10 Alana King/Georgia Wareham, 11 Megan SchuttNew Zealand have one injury concern and Devine intentionally kept her name under wraps at the press conference on Tuesday. Their line-up is otherwise a great blend of youth and experience and if that mysterious player with a niggle is also fit on Wednesday, they won’t have too many headaches for the final XI. Devine also didn’t rule out uncapped 22-year-old left-arm spinner Flora Devonshire making her ODI in their opener.New Zealand (probable): 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Isabella Gaze (wk), 8 Eden Carsen, 9 Jess Kerr, 10 Flora Devonshire, 11 Lea Tahuhu2:02

McGrath on playing NZ: ‘We know each other’s game really well’

Pitch and conditions

The curator at Indore has decided to roll out a flat track for its maiden women’s international, testified by both Devine and McGrath after they saw the pitch. They had no hesitations to call it “an incredibly flat” pitch which has the makings of a “run fest,” as is often the case there in men’s white-ball matches. Indore has been muggy in the lead up to this game, with plenty of clouds spread across and the sun appearing in parts. Temperatures are unlikely to cross 30 degrees Celsius but it could feel a lot worse with the humidity when the match starts, for the fielding team.

Stats and trivia

Nicky Butt has warned a manager who Gary Neville called “incredible” not to take the Manchester United job, saying “it could ruin him.”

Respite for Amorim after Sunderland victory

The 2-0 victory over newly-promoted Sunderland prior to the international break provided Ruben Amorim with a little respite, but there will be much tougher tests to come in the coming weeks, with a daunting trip to Anfield this Sunday up first.

There has been plenty of speculation about Amorim’s future already this season, with Jamie Carragher suggesting the writing may already be on the wall, given that the 40-year-old simply isn’t a good fit for Man United.

Carragher said: “What he did at Sporting Lisbon was fantastic. But bringing a manager like that in with the system he plays I don’t think ever suited a club like Manchester United with the traditions at Manchester United.

“We are just waiting for the inevitable, unfortunately, because you don’t want people to lose their jobs. But this [Amorim’s time in charge] has to end as quickly as possible.”

It appears as though Sir Jim Ratcliffe is very committed to the Amorim project, however, having recently insisted he wants to give the Portuguese coach three years to prove himself.

That said, if there is not a major improvement in performances and results, it is very difficult to envisage the United boss lasting that long, and the rumour mill about potential replacements is already in full swing.

Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Paddy McGuinness recently asked Paul Scholes and Butt whether they’d like to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer return to Old Trafford, but the latter was emphatic in his response, stating his former teammate shouldn’t consider the move.

The former Man United midfielder said: “The hard thing for Ole would be, if you come back the second time – it could ruin him. It won’t because of his legacy at the football club, but you could bring prime Sir Alex or Jose in at the minute and they wouldn’t be able to do anything with that squad. So for me, I hope it wouldn’t happen.”

Appointing "incredible" Ole would be step backwards

It is undeniable that Ole is one of the Red Devils’ best managers post Sir Alex Ferguson, with the Norwegian leading them to a second-placed finish in the 2020-21 campaign, but it would be a step backwards to bring him back to Old Trafford.

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United sacked the 52-year-old back in November 2021, after failing to win a trophy in nearly three years as manager, and he has since failed to make an impact at Besiktas, with the Turkish club dismissing the former striker back in August.

As such, despite being lauded as “incredible” by Neville for the job he did at Man United last time around, Ole shouldn’t be considered as a replacement for Amorim, who rakes in £6.5m-per-year.

India allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour of England after suffering an injury in his left knee. ESPNcricinfo had reported on Sunday that Reddy had picked up the injury while training in the gym, and a BCCI update on Monday morning confirmed he was out of the series and would fly back home.*The same BCCI release also stated left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh had been ruled out of the fourth Test after sustaining an impact injury to his left thumb while bowling in the nets in Beckenham. He is being monitored by the BCCI medical team and the selectors have added Haryana seam bowler Anshul Kamboj to the squad.The development is another blow to India’s preparations for the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Manchester, which starts on July 23, with fast bowler Akash Deep also nursing an injury that could keep him out of the match.Related

• Injured Akash Deep ruled out of Manchester Test

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• India 'leaning towards' playing Bumrah at Old Trafford

• India weigh up option of Jurel as keeper, Pant as batter

All this comes in addition to workload-management concerns limiting Jasprit Bumrah to just three out of the five Tests of the series. Bumrah played the first and third Tests, and India have indicated that they are “leaning towards” including him at Old Trafford, with the players getting an eight-day break between the third and fourth Tests.After sitting out the series-opener in Leeds, Reddy played the second and third Tests. He did not make much of an impact in Birmingham, with just two runs and six wicketless overs. He, however, took crucial top-order wickets at Lord’s, sending back openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in the same over in the first innings, and dismissing Crawley again in the second, while scoring 30 and 13 with the bat.Reddy would have fancied his chances of playing the fourth Test, though he may have potentially contested for a spot with Dhruv Jurel, who could be in contention to play as wicketkeeper at Old Trafford in case Rishabh Pant, who is recovering from a finger injury, has to play as a specialist batter.India have played a seam-bowling allrounder in all three Tests so far, with Shardul Thakur playing the first Test before Reddy replaced him in Birmingham. Thakur could return at Old Trafford if India want to keep the same combination as Reddy is now unavailable.England lead the series 2-1 going into the fourth Test.*0630 GMT: The story was updated after the BCCI issued a release

Table-toppers maintain unbeaten start to Blast campaign with five-wicket win at Grace Road

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay19-Jun-2025

Nottingham-based The Blaze maintained their unbeaten record in the Vitality Blast women’s competition with a five-wicket victory over Lancashire Thunder at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester.England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, making her first appearance in English domestic cricket for almost two years, made 31 from 25 balls with former England international all-rounder Georgia Elwiss top-scoring with an unbeaten 43 off 30 as The Blaze won with 10 balls to spare.Scotland international Ailsa Lister rescued an otherwise sub-par effort from Lancashire, thundering nine fours and three sixes in a 38-ball 79 – the highest individual score for Thunder in this year’s women’s Blast, helping her side from 47 for three after 10 overs to 150 for nine, regaining second place in the points table.Australia all-rounder Heather Graham took three for 36, Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon picking up two for 24.The scheduling had been tough on Thunder, who were in action at The Kia Oval only 24 hours earlier; the Blaze, by contrast, had enjoyed a six-day hiatus between fixtures, although the break had allowed both Surrey Women and Bears Women to overtake them in the Blast table.Put in, Thunder struggled to 29 for two in the powerplay. Emma Lamb was run out at the non-striker’s end when bowler Sarah Glenn deflected Eve Jones’s drive into the stumps, Jones falling to the last ball of the sixth, well taken by Gordon at mid-on. Lister had an escape when she was dropped at mid-wicket on three but Thunder still faced a big task to post a meaningful score at 41 for three after Elwiss had Ellie Threlkeld caught behind for six.They were four down for 65 in the 12th, but the fifth-wicket pair almost doubled the total before Morris hit Graham straight to backward point, sparking a rush of wickets. King holed out to mid-on next ball before Gordon took two in two deliveries at the end of the 19th as Kate Cross was stumped and Tara Norris found long-on.Lister – dropped again on 62 – could not be shifted until slicing Graham to third man off the last ball, having cleared the rope off the Australian for the second time at the start of the final over.The Blaze lost Tammy Beaumont, leg before playing across the line to Kate Cross, and Kathryn Bryce yorked by Tara Norris, but were 48 for two from six thanks mainly to Sciver-Brunt hitting four of her first 10 balls to the boundary. Marie Kelly stepped right across her stumps to be bowled by Australian leg-spinner Alana King at 55 for three. Nonetheless, the home side looked comfortable at the halfway point, needing 78 to win.They would have felt less so eight balls later when Sciver-Brunt missed a straight ball from Grace Potts that hit the top of off-stump. The departure of one England player ushered in another in Amy Jones but after adding 29 in 19 balls with Elwiss, Jones miscued to mid-on for 16.The departure of the in-form Jones gave Thunder brief hope but three fours from Graham regained momentum for the home side, Elwiss thumping her seventh four down the ground off King to win the contest.