Tait’s time with Pakistan earlier means he has worked with most of the bowlers he will now take charge of

Danyal Rasool17-Dec-2023Days after appointing former Australian allrounder Shane Watson as head coach, Quetta Gladiators have announced Shaun Tait as bowling coach. Tait, who was Pakistan’s fast bowling coach until earlier this year, will take up the role ahead of the ninth season of the PSL.”I’d like to thank Nadeem Omar (Quetta Gladiators owner) who trusted me with the bowling group,” Tait said in an official statement, “including Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, and Mohammad Amir. Some great talent there to work with alongside the great Shane Watson.”Tait’s time with Pakistan means he has worked with most of the bowlers he will now take charge of. During his stint, he was vocal in his criticism of any attempts to get Pakistan’s express pace bowlers to maintain high workloads. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, he had said there was “no way – no way – express pace bowlers can currently play all three formats consistently.”In the same interview, he was effusive in his praise for Hasnain – currently recuperating from an ankle injury – who falls under his wing once more. “Hasnain has got the ability to bowl proper rapid, but there’s no doubt [there’s an air of vulnerability to him],” he said at the time. “My input with Hasnain is purely about just using his athleticism. Getting that grunt as a fast bowler and being angry. Just running in fast and feeling good.”The announcement marks Gladiators’ push towards an overhaul of the coaching staff as they look to break out of a rut that has seen them miss the playoffs for four successive seasons. Gladiators were the most consistent franchise of the PSL during its first four editions, when they reached the final three times, and also won the title in 2019.Tait was appointed Pakistan coach in February 2022 on a one-year contract. While there was uncertainty on whether it was a rolling contract, and he was understood to be keen on an extension, the contract was not renewed.The PSL starts on February 8, and runs till March 24.

Bayer Leverkusen have completed the signing of Cameroonian forward Christian Kofane after his impressive spell with Albacete in Spain's second division.

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Christian Kofane joins Bundesliga side on a four-year deal18-year-old labelled a "powerful and fast" strikerOne of the most exciting prospects in La Liga 2Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Bayer announced the arrival of Kofane on their official website, luring the player under the nose of many interested clubs. It has been less than a year since the forward joined Albacete, and he was starting for the Spanish side's first-team in a matter of mere months. The Bundesliga side are excited about their new signing and cannot wait for him to develop under the management of Erik ten Hag.

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Kofane arrived in Albacete from Nylon and joined their youth side, Albacete Balompie. After netting six goals in six games, the forward was quickly called up to join the first team where he scored another eight and provided one assist in 20 games for the club. Looking at his exceptional rise, the 2023-24 Bundesliga champions clinched the chance to sign the forward, reportedly paying Albacete more than his €5m release clause.

WHAT THE CLUB SAID

Speaking to the club's official media, Bayer sporting director Simon Rolfes said: "Christian Kofane is an extremely powerful and fast striker, technically gifted, and very assertive. He will add even more variety to our game with his strengths and has the potential to become an important part of our team in the coming years."

Kofane, who is still experiencing jet lag after his quick progression from Nylon to landing at BayArena, said: "It's incredible for me that after such a short time in Europe, I'm now playing for a Champions League club. I will give everything I can to take advantage of this opportunity in the Bundesliga. Bayer 04's history is rife with examples of young players who have achieved great things here."

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ImagoWHAT NEXT FOR LEVERKUSEN?

It's been a very busy summer transfer window for Leverkusen, who are still revamping their squad. Reportedly, the club are still pursuing more signings, with Malik Tillman and Johan Bakayoko of PSV still on the club's list of targets. The former is about to go through medical checks in the coming days.

Bids were due to be submitted by December 22, but after the meeting between the PM and PCB head, bidders were informed that the process would be delayed

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2023

The bidding for the broadcast and media rights for the PSL has been delayed by two weeks to the beginning of January, meaning the ninth season of the league will only land a broadcast deal a month before it is due to start. Though bids will be submitted to the PCB, the winner will have to be approved by IPC, the government’s ministry for inter-provincial coordination.The delay once again highlights the limitations of the current interim PCB administration, which is under a government mandate to only make decisions on day-to-day affairs and organise elections to set up the Board of Governors. Zaka Ashraf, the current PCB head, met with the interim Prime Minister and patron of the PCB in Islamabad earlier in the week and was told once again that organising the elections and managing daily affairs were his priority.”The Prime Minister/Patron PCB directed PCB that all decisions having financial and contractual implications shall only be taken with the approval of Prime Minister/Patron PCB,” reads a note sent by the IPC to Ashraf after the meeting, and seen by ESPNcricinfo. “Any appointment or awards of rights or contracts of any sort will be violation of the directions of Patron PCB.”The note ends with another reminder that no progress report has been given by the PCB on the organisation of its elections.Related

Sarfaraz could be replaced as Quetta Gladiators captain

Gladiators rope in Shaun Tait as bowling coach

Shehzad quits PSL in a huff, points to 'deliberate effort' to deny him a team

Sams, Hendricks, Ngidi set for maiden PSL stints

Technical bids for PSL broadcast were due to be submitted by December 22, but after the meeting between the Prime Minister and Ashraf, potential bidders were informed by the PCB that the process would be delayed. The PSL’s broadcast rights have been an important source of revenue for the PCB, fetching USD 24 million for two seasons under the deal just ended. That, in itself, represented a 50% boost on the preceding deal.It is believed the new deal will be for two seasons, in 2024 and 2025. A number of local sports channels are expected to submit bids and there has been speculation about multiple broadcasters forming a consortium to submit bids. Traditionally, the PSL is broadcast live on multiple channels available for viewing in Pakistan, including PTV (Pakistan Television, the state-run broadcaster).Though the draft for the ninth season was held last week, a schedule has not yet been finalised for the ninth season. The start of the season is complicated by general nationwide elections in the country from February 8. The tenure for the current administration also ends on February 4. It is likely the season will begin in mid-February and though there had been talk of moving the start to the UAE, it will go ahead in Pakistan.It is unusual for the state to be directly involved in approving broadcast deals, but it illustrates the administrative limbo the game is in Pakistan at the moment. Because the authority of the administration is so limited, they have been unable to fire the previous team management set-up, but have new personnel in place. Mickey Arthur, the former team director, and Grant Bradburn, the head coach, have been replaced by Mohammad Hafeez in both capacities, but neither of them have been officially ousted by the board. When Ashraf’s tenure ends, and depending on the new government post-elections, it is very likely a new PCB administration will be in place, which may involve yet more upheaval.

Manchester United have been urged to sell Alejandro Garnacho as he has no end product and is more focused on his celebrations than scoring.

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• Parker criticises winger's lack of end product
• He claims he cares more about celebrating than scoring
• Argentine urged to stop imitating Cristiano Ronaldo

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ruben Amorim told Garnacho to find a new club after the winger and his brother spoke out against the coach following the Europa League final. And the player has also told United he wants to leave, along with Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia. No concrete offers have arrived for the Argentina international but former United defender Paul Parker has told the club to do what it takes for him to leave.

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• WHAT PARKER SAID

  Parker, speaking exclusively to GOAL via , the home of odds, said: "Sell the boy. He needs to move on, needs to understand what football is about. Not a game of golf, and you need players around you. He needs to look at his game and what he is rather than what he wants to be – he should want to be Garnacho, not the former United winger that plays for Portugal… and have a bit of humanity."

• Getty
  

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  Garnacho scored six Premier League goals last season but missed his fair share of chances, most memorably against Tottenham and West Ham. And Parker criticised his shooting and final ball. He said: "I’d say I have better end product than him. He’s more concerned about trying to score and what he’s going to do after to celebrate than actually scoring a goal. His end product is terrible, absolutely terrible."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Garnacho's bicycle kick against Everton in 2023-24 was named Goal of the Season but Parker believes the winger has not kicked on from that moment and he is still not convinced by his talents. He added: "Living off shinning an overhead kick into the top corner against Everton. I wonder what kind of player he is. Not full of tricks, not that quick. I’m trying to figure out what his game is, I really don’t know what his strengths are."

تقدم النادي الأهلي، بطلب إلى مسؤولي اتحاد الكرة المصري، ساعيًا لتطبيق مبدأ الشفافية قبل انطلاق الموسم الجديد من بطولة الدوري المصري.

ومن المقرر أن تنطلق النسخة الجديدة من الدوري المصري يوم 8 أغسطس 2025، وتستمر حتى نهاية مايو 2026، وسط ترقب جماهيري كبير لموسم يُتوقع أن يكون استثنائيًا من الناحيتين الفنية والتنظيمية.

الأهلي يتقدم بشكوى رسمية ضد لاعبه السابق

وأعلن اتحاد الكرة المصري، إيقاف القيد لـ 3 أندية، وهي الزمالك والإسماعيلي وفاركو، قبل انطلاق الموسم الجديد من الدوري المصري الممتاز، وجاء القرار بسبب المديونيات المطلوب تسويتها مع اتحاد الكرة.

وتوصل اتحاد الكرة لاتفاق مع مسؤولي الزمالك لحل أزمة المديونيات المتأخرة بعد إرسال شيكات بنكية بدون رصيد.

وعلم بطولات، أن الأهلي طالب اتحاد الكرة بإعلان مديونيات الأندية ومعايير الجدولة الخاصة بها تطبيقا لمبادئ الشفافية.

وأكد الأهلي في موقفه ضرورة تطبيق مبادئ اللعب المالي النظيف وعدم المساواة في منح التراخيص بين من يلتزم بسداد ديونه ومن يتعثر.

Virat Kohli has left South Africa for personal reasons, but is likely to rejoin the Test squad ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. Kohli didn’t take part in the Indians’ three-day intra-squad match, the only red-ball outing for a number of senior players including captain Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, ahead of the two-Test series.Ruturaj Gaikwad, meanwhile, has been ruled out of the two-Test series because of a finger injury. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is currently part of the India A squad that is on a shadow tour of South Africa, has been named* as Gaikwad’s replacement as the reserve opener. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal are likely to continue their partnership at the top of the order, like they did in the Caribbean in July-August, which was India’s most recent Test assignment.Abhimanyu struck an unbeaten 61 on the second day of the practice game in Pretoria before he was retired by the team management. Abhimanyu is expected to feature for India A in the second four-day match against South Africa A, also beginning on December 26, barring any last-minute changes. He will then link up with the national squad ahead of the New Year’s Test in Cape Town.Gaikwad is expected to head back home and to the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He picked up the injury on the ring finger of his right hand while fielding during the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. In his absence, India handed a debut to Rajat Patidar for the series-deciding final ODI in Paarl, which India won.India’s Test squad has been in preparation for the past four days in Pretoria under Rahul Dravid’s coaching staff. KL Rahul, India’s stand-in ODI captain, and Mukesh Kumar are expected to link up with the Test squad after a day’s rest following the ODI series. Shreyas Iyer, who was also part of the ODI mix, had been released from the squad after the first ODI to prepare for the Tests.Iyer and Rahul will be returning to Test cricket after a prolonged absence. Both of them last featured for India during the Border-Gavaskar series at home against Australia in February. Rahul, who opened in the series, lost his place after the second Test. He missed the subsequent WTC final and the Caribbean tour because of a hamstring injury. He is likely to take over wicketkeeping duties for the Tests. Iyer, too, hasn’t played a first-class game since March, and has been on a steady diet of ODI cricket following his comeback from back surgery.The upcoming series is India’s second assignment in the new WTC cycle for 2023-25. They won the first Test in the Caribbean and were denied an opportunity to win the second by rain.

But batter insists tourists’ total of 246 is “an above-par score”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2024England were not expecting Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, India’s openers, to play with the attacking intent that they did on the first evening of the first Test in Hyderabad. That is according to Ben Duckett, who insisted that England’s total of 246 was “an above-par score” after nine wickets fell to spin across the opening day of the five-match series.”It’s spinning quite a lot on day one,” Duckett told talkSPORT. “We could have easily had three or four [wickets] there tonight and it could have been very different. The way they played at the top was quite positive, and that’s fair play to them. I don’t think we necessarily thought they were going to come out and play like that, but Stokesy [Ben Stokes] got us to what we think was an above-par score.”It was quite a good day. I thought we were pretty happy there, getting bowled out for what we were. I thought Stokesy was superb. We found it pretty tricky and I think, to be honest, they played well and really positively tonight. It’s tough work against that attack, and I thought we grafted really well today… when the ball is spinning like that on day one, it can be quite tough.”Ben Duckett reached 35•Getty ImagesJaiswal and Rohit put on 80 for the first wicket in 12.2 overs before Jack Leach took England’s only wicket of the first day, when Rohit was caught by a back-pedalling Stokes at mid-on. Jaiswal was unbeaten at stumps after reaching 76 off 70 balls, with Shubman Gill playing more watchfully from No. 3 to finish 14 not out.Duckett suggested that India’s decision to attack was informed by a belief that the pitch will deteriorate as the game wears on. “You have to pay credit to them: they played really well tonight and were very attacking, which is positive,” he told reporters. “They don’t always go about it like that, so to go about it that way shows that they probably think that pitch is going to get quite a bit worse.”England lost wickets in clusters during their innings, with Duckett’s own dismissal – lbw to R Ashwin for 35 – quickly followed by Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley falling to spin. “That’s going to happen out here, and that’s something that we’ll have good belief in when we’re bowling,” Duckett said. “We could easily take three or four [wickets] tomorrow morning for 10 runs.”It feels like a tricky pitch to start on. Shubman there, we could have had him there. It looked like a dead lbw [when he was struck on the pad by Tom Hartley on 1] and somehow, it’s bouncing over the stumps. It’s one of those things. We’ll stick to our mantra and that’s taking wickets and looking to be positive. Hopefully that will happen for us as well.”On Jaiswal, who is playing against England for the first time in his international career, Duckett said: “I think he played beautifully. These are home conditions [for India] and you’d expect nothing less of their lads than to play well out here. Even the wicket to get Rohit, they were looking quite set with those two and then that happened.”Fingers crossed, if moments like that happen tomorrow, we can stick three or four [wickets] on them and you never know. If we can keep them to around our score, or even a little bit of a lead, I think we’re right in the game.”

Afghanistan’s top order fought back in the second innings, but they lost 9 for 82 to collapse on fourth day

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Feb-2024

Sri Lanka’s use of the second new ball sent Afghanistan tumbling to a ten-wicket defeat on day four. Having begun the day with only one wicket down and within striking distance of the lead, Afghanistan crashed, losing their remaining nine for 82 runs. Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was the primary destroyer, taking five wickets in a devastating spell either side of lunch. Asitha Fernando claimed two more wickets to add to his one from yesterday, and Kasun Rajitha also struck twice.Some lower-order hitting extended Afghanistan’s total to 296, but they will be disheartened that having begun their second innings with two century partnerships, none of the rest of their stands breached even 25. They set Sri Lanka 56 runs for victory. With little pressure on them, Sri Lanka’s openers knocked off the runs inside eight overs, with Dimuth Karunaratne racing to 32 off 22 and Nishan Madushka striking 22.The second new ball became due five overs into the day. Sri Lanka took it immediately, and found success soon after. It was Rajitha – playing as a concussion substitute for Chamika Gunasekara – who made the first incision to end the 108-run second-wicket stand between Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah. In his first over with the second new ball, Rajitha angled one in to Rahmat, then straightened it slightly off the seam on about a fourth-stump line. Rahmat was forced to play, and ended up providing a thin edge through the wicketkeeper.Jayasuriya then entered the fray, and immediately found that the harder seam of this ball allowed his deliveries to grip and leap off the surface. He had Ibrahim dropped by Dinesh Chandimal on the deep-square leg fence on 109, but flummoxed the batter not long after.The ball now beginning to take turn, Ibrahim played for one that spun in the 90th over, but this one just went on with the arm, whizzed between bat and pad, and clattered into off stump, ending Afghanistan’s best innings of the match so far. Ibrahim had added only 13 to his overnight score, as he fell for 114.Hashmatullah Shahidi was out to one that did turn and take his outside edge; Qais Ahmad was caught beautifully by Dhananjaya de Silva, who dived forward at slip and intercepted the ball centimetres from the ground; and Zia-ur-Rehman left a Jayasuriya delivery that continued with the arm and crashed into off stump – the second time this match Jayasuriya claimed such a dismissal.In between the Jayasuriya wickets, Asitha – the best of Sri Lanka’s seamers in this match – also added one to his wicket column. Bowling back of a length and outside off stump, he had Ikram Alikhil edge one to second slip, where Kusal Mendis also took an excellent low catch diving forward.Afghanistan had lost five wickets for 13 runs in the space of eight overs at this stage, but after lunch, Nasir Jamal showed a little more spunk, striking five fours and a six in his unbeaten 41. It always looked like it would be insufficient, though. Jayasuriya slipped into Naveed Zadran’s stumps to complete his five-wicket haul. Asitha and Rajitha then wiped out the tail.There were no hiccups in the chase. Madushka and Karunaratne batted in much the same aggressive manner they had played with in the first innings. Between them they struck seven fours and a six.

أبدى مسؤولو اتحاد الكرة، استياءهم من إحدى الظواهر الجديدة التي ظهرت في الجولة الأولى من الدوري المصري للموسم الحالي 2025-2026.

وانطلقت النسخة 67 من عمر بطولة الدوري المصري، يوم الجمعة الماضي، ويتصدر ترتيب جدول الدوري المصري، بعد انتهاء الجولة الأولى، فريق المصري برصيد 3 نقاط ويأتي بنفس الرصيد الزمالك وزد والجونة على الترتيب.

طالع | حكم مباراة الأهلي وفاركو في الدوري المصري

وقال المصدر في تصريحات خاصة لـ بطولات: “اتحاد الكرة غير راض عن ظاهرة احتساب وقت بدل من ضائع كبير في مباريات الدوري”.

وأكمل: “واحتسب الحكام وقت دقائق وصل لـ10 دقائق في مباريات بالجولة الأولى بالدوري، وأشواط أخرى 9 دقائق و8 دقائق و7 دقائق وكل هذا يعتبره اتحاد الكرة أمر غير جيد، حيث إن هذا الأمر تكرر في معظم مباريات الجولة الأولى بالدوري”.

وأتم: “سيتحدث مسؤولو اتحاد الكرة مع أوسكار رويز رئيس لجنة الحكام في هذا الأمر ومحاولة وضع حلول لهذا”.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Corinthians não conseguiu terminar o Campeonato Brasileiro com vitória. O time foi superado, em casa, pelo Atlético-MG, por 1 a 0, mas terminou a competição em quarto lugar, com 65 pontos, e vaga direta para a Copa Libertadores do ano que vem. O meio-campista Renato Augusto avaliou a temporada corintiana como boa.

>ATUAÇÕES: Cássio evita resultado ainda pior em derrota do Corinthians em Itaquera

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansCom Fausto Vera, Corinthians faz último treino da temporada e talvez da era Vítor PereiraCorinthians12/11/2022CorinthiansATUAÇÕES: Cássio evita resultado ainda pior em derrota do Corinthians em ItaqueraCorinthians13/11/2022Futebol NacionalVargas marca, Atlético-MG vence o Corinthians e se classifica à LibertadoresFutebol Nacional13/11/2022

– Difícil quando muitos jogadores chegam durante a temporada, claro que alguns já tinha passado pelo clube, então tinham a ideia. Outros chegaram e conseguimos rapidamente abraçá-los. No final das contas foi um ano muito bom, claro que tivemos altos e baixos, momentos difíceis – avaliou Renato Augusto, após o jogo.

Um dos principais jogadores do time corintiano na temporada, o meia celebrou o fato de o Corinthians ter conseguiu se classificar para o torneio continental, o que era um dos objetivos.

– Quase conseguimos um título, mas de qualquer maneira classificamos na Libertadores, que era nosso objetivo no Brasileiro. Agora é chegar ano que vem mais forte, para aí sim conquistar um título – completou o meio-campista corintiano.