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Steven Smith continues to top the table, 25 points in front of the second-placed duo

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2020

Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli are tied on points, not too far behind Steven Smith•AFP via Getty Images

Kane Williamson, who began New Zealand’s Test summer at home with a career-best 251 in the first of two Tests against West Indies in Hamilton, has jumped to joint-second with Virat Kohli in the ICC Test rankings. The two of them are on 886 rating points, 25 behind the top-ranked Steven Smith.Smith, however, might be in with a shot of extending his lead, because while Australia, India and New Zealand are all scheduled to play Test cricket over the next six weeks, Kohli is likely to miss three of India’s four Tests in Australia as he goes on paternity leave. Williamson, too, could miss some Test action at home against Pakistan to be with his partner for the birth of their first child. He should, however, play the second Test against West Indies, and could be back for the second Test against Pakistan, starting January 3.A little distance below the top, Tom Latham has jumped to a career-best No. 10 following his knock of 86, the best behind Williamson’s double-ton, in New Zealand’s only innings.The bowling chart too saw a big change with Neil Wagner shading Stuart Broad to take the second spot behind Pat Cummins, though there is a big gap between Wagner (849 points) and Cummins (904). Wagner made the jump after finishing with a match haul of 6 for 99 in Hamilton. Incidentally, Wagner had also become No. 2 in December 2019.Doubts over the possibility of England’s Test series in South Africa could mean Broad might now have to wait until February, when they are due to play India in four Tests away, to improve his ranking and tally of 845 points.Wagner’s colleague Tim Southee is now ranked No. 4, his best position since his Test debut in 2008, while Kagiso Rabada rounds off the top five. Jasprit Bumrah, who is expected to spearhead India’s pace attack in the upcoming Tests in Australia, is currently ranked ninth.Meanwhile, a wicketless first Test in Hamilton has cost Jason Holder the top spot in the allrounders’ table. Ben Stokes is on top there, 12 points in front of the West Indies captain. Stokes briefly held the top spot during the summer, having snatched it from Holder after the second Test against West Indies at home, before Holder reclaimed it.

Josh Inglis backed up a return to form from the previous Perth Scorchers outing with his first half-century of the season, as he and Colin Munro, who also made his first fifty of the BBL in a display that included five sixes, combined in a match-defining 117-run stand as the Melbourne Renegades’ miserable tournament continued.This was a contest between the bottom two teams in the league at the start of the day and it was the Scorchers who moved forward. In the first professional cricket match played in Perth this season because of border restrictions, they put in a supreme display much to the delight of a passionate home crowd, that has been starved of cricket action.The Renegades had reshuffled their batting order – with Australia captain Aaron Finch surprisingly moving to No. 3 – but they put in an awful display, adding 89 all out to previous collapses this season for 60 and 80. Although because the Scorchers had earlier made just 63 in their first ten overs, the Renegades were able to take the Bash Boost point despite being 8 for 71.Calm before the stormIt was a solid but unspectacular start from the Scorchers. They were 0 for 29 after the four-over powerplay and had 41 on the board when Liam Livingstone was stumped, charging at 16-year-old birthday boy Noor Ahmad, who comprehensively defeated him for length. The next three overs brought just 15 runs with Jason Roy held to an uncharacteristic strike rate of 84.38 before he picked out mid-off. At the ten-over mark, they were an underwhelming 2 for 63, but two balls into the 11th came a crucial moment when Inglis, on 10, was caught at third man but Peter Hatzoglou stepped on to the rope.Going through the gearsThe Scorchers called the Power Surge in the 13th over and, unlike a few recently, it had the desired effect as the two overs brought 26 runs and injected some much-needed momentum into the innings. That pace was continued, and lifted, as the three overs that followed went for 47. Inglis brought up a 30-ball fifty with a pulled six off Josh Lalor and Munro’s came from a rapid 24 deliveries as the Renegades wilted under the pressure. Two poor pieces of fielding by Mohammad Nabi – a dropped catch off Inglis and a boundary let through his legs in the final over – summed things up for the visitors. When Mitchell Marsh signed off the innings with a huge leg-side six, 122 runs had come from the second ten overs.Batting horror show, but a boostSam Harper, promoted to open the batting in place of Finch, dragged on the second ball from Jhye Richardson and things did not get any better. If any further signs were needed as to how things were going for the Renegades, it came when Finch was run-out backing up as a fierce straight drive from Shaun Marsh clipped Jason Behrendorff’s fingers. The in-form Marsh then fell to a stunning catch at backward point by Roy, which wasn’t far off matching MacKenzie Harvey’s amazing effort a few days ago. When Fawad Ahmed produced a double-wicket maiden in the ninth over it appeared the Renegades might even mess up getting to Bash Boost, but a pulled six from Jack Prestwidge did the job in the tenth over. It was a little game-within-a-game, but it can be debated if it was earned.

In search of their replacement for Raphael Varane, Manchester United are now reportedly in pole position to sign a European star for Erik ten Hag in this summer's transfer window, having been given the green light by the player this week.

Man Utd transfer news

Whilst they're yet to officially get their summer business underway, Manchester United have been linked with plenty of names, including Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte. Both players would instantly help Ten Hag solve two major problems in his current side, with Casemiro struggling in defensive midfield and United's attacking options far from thriving last season.

Replacing Casemiro is particularly important this summer, given that he sits at the heart of Ten Hag's side. The Brazilian, now 32 years old, began to show signs that he's past his best last season and has since been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Even without that move, however, United should prioritise welcoming a replacement in the form of Ugarte in the coming months.

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The impressive full-back could be a game-changer for United.

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Casemiro isn't the only player who will need replacing, either, following the departure of Varane at the end of last season. The Frenchman left as a free agent to create a gaping hole in United's defence that one European star could now fill.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United are now in pole position to sign Matthijs de Ligt this summer and have opened negotiations with Bayern Munich over a potential deal. The Dutchman, meanwhile, has reportedly given the green light regarding a move to Old Trafford in the coming months.

With De Ligt seemingly keen on the move, Manchester United have the chance to sign a defender who is more than capable of replacing Varane and more next season.

"Wonderful" De Ligt can lead Man Utd's backline

Earning a reported £261k-a-week, De Ligt already has plenty of experience at levels that some Manchester United players are yet to even see for themselves, having played in Champions League semi-finals and won league titles at both Ajax and Bayern Munich.

The Dutchman, currently at the Euros with his country, now has the chance to become the defensive leader that the Red Devils are so desperately crying out for next to Harry Maguire, or when fit Lisandro Martinez.

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It's a surprise that Bayern Munich have so willingly entered talks with Manchester United, given the praise that former sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic had for De Ligt when the central defender arrived in 2022, saying via the Bundesliga website: “We wanted to bring Matthijs to Munich three years ago. We were convinced of his qualities as a defender then, and we are even more so today.

"With his professionalism, his desire and his wonderful character, Matthijs fits our team as well as our ambitions. He will play an important role at Bayern on and off the pitch. He was already a leading player at Ajax as a youngster, and he is still capable of development at the high level he is at, at the age of 22.”

PCB says it’s pleased the coach has “promptly and swiftly” resolved the issues that led to the NOC being denied earlier

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2020Faisal Iqbal is set to rejoin the Balochistan team for the National T20 Cup tournament that starts on Saturday, after he was granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), his parent organisation, on Friday.Faisal is already in isolation in Muridke and ready to join the squad in Multan. He was initially withdrawn as the head coach for the Balochistan first XI when PIA had delayed in issuing him an NOC. ESPNcricinfo understands the reason for the delay was an inquiry about discrepancies in his date of birth in two official documents he had submitted to PIA. Iqbal also had to extend his stay in a bio-secure environment by five days after he violated protocol alongwith assistant coach Wasim Haider.However, the PCB said – via a statement issued by Junaid Zia, the general manager for domestic cricket – on Friday that Iqbal had “promptly and swiftly” resolved the matter and will rejoin the Balochistan side now.”The PCB is pleased Faisal Iqbal has promptly and swiftly resolved an ongoing matter that could have resulted in distraction during an important period for his side and the tournament,” Zia said. “Hopefully, Faisal will now fully focus on the job at hand and make meaningful contribution as head coach of the Balochistan cricket team.”Balochistan will play their tournament opener against Sindh on October 1.

Several top Premier League clubs are all set to grill PGMOL chief Howard Webb over poor refereeing in the ongoing season.

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• English clubs to grill Webb
• PGMOL chief to be called on over poor refereeing
• Arsenal and Man City left furious after Sunday's clash

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Premier League referees have come under scrutiny after just five rounds of the league in the current 2024/25 campaign due to some controversial decisions that have left top English clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester City angry. Per The Times, the clubs are now planning to call on Professional Game Match Officials Ltd chief Howard Webb and vent out their frustrations.

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  The report further claimed that both Arsenal and Manchester City are furious with Michael Oliver's way of conducting the mega Premier League clash between the two title rivals at Etihad on Sunday. While Arsenal are unhappy with Oliver's decision to show a second yellow card and send off Leandro Trossard in the first half for kicking the ball, after Jeremy Doku got away without punishment for doing a similar thing earlier, the Cityzens were left astonished by the official in the buildup to Riccardo Calafiori's equaliser.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Earlier PGMOL had stopped Anthony Taylor from refereeing in any of the 10 matches that were held last weekend after officiating in Chelsea's feisty win at Bournemouth where Taylor had handed a Premier League record 14 yellow cards. The official was subject to severe social media abuse in the wake of the match.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  The Premier League will be back in action this weekend with Newcastle United kicking off the game week with a blockbuster clash against reigning champions Manchester City on Saturday.

CSK batsman explains why he left, but also does not rule out returning to Dubai if the “situation” improves

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2020Suresh Raina has said he did not want to “take a chance” in the UAE as the situation in the Chennai Super Kings camp was “not looking good” after as many as 13 personnel tested positive for Covid-19 last week. With three weeks still to go for the IPL to start, Raina said he thought of his family back home and decided to return to India.”When the bio-bubble is not safe how does one take a chance? I have a family with two little kids and elderly parents,” Raina told of Srinivasan’s comments. “Srinivasan sir is like a father figure for me and he’s always stood by me and is close to my heart, he treats me like his younger son.”Super Kings have not named a replacement for Raina and are preparing for their first training session since arriving in Dubai on August 21. They were forced to go into extended quarantine after 11 of their staff and two players tested positive for Covid-19. While those 13 were moved to a separate hotel and need to undergo two weeks of quarantine, the remaining contingent underwent another test on Monday and were found negative for Covid-19. They are scheduled for another Covid-19 test on September 3; if they clear that, they can start training from September 4.

تمكن فريق نوتينجهام فورست من تحقيق فوز ثمين على إيبسويتش تاون بنتيجة 1/0، في إطار منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وواجه نوتينجهام فورست نظيره إيبسويتش تاون، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثالثة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، على ملعب “سيتي جراوند”.

وشارك الدولي المصري، سام مرسي، قائد فريق إيبسويتش تاون في مواجهة اليوم، وخاض المباراة أساسياً وبشكل كامل.

طالع | ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي بعد هدفي ويسا وكريس وود

انتهى الشوط الأول سلبي النتيجة بين الفريقين، وشهد تكافؤ في السيطرة بين نوتينجهام وإيبسويتش تاون.

في الشوط الثاني وعند الدقيقة 50، أحرز كريس وود هدف نوتينجهام فورست الأول من علامة الجزاء معلناً تقدم أصحاب الأرض في النتيجة.

وواصل لاعبو نوتينجهام فرض سيطرتهم على أحداث اللقاء وسط تراجع من لاعبو إيبسويتش، حيث فشلوا في تهديد مرمى كتيبة نونو سانتو.

وبهذه النتيجة، ارتفع رصيد نوتينجهام فورست إلى النقطة 22 في المركز السادس بترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، بينما تجمد رصيد إيبسويتش تاون عند النقطة 9 في المركز الثامن عشر. أهداف مباراة إيبسويتش تاون ونوتينجهام اليوم في الدوري الإنجليزي 

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine has said that his batsmen should have taken advantage of the drizzle to stay in the one-off Test against Bangladesh for longer. The visitors were bowled out for 189 in their second innings, eventually losing by an innings and 106 runs. They lasted just 52.3 overs on a cloudy fourth day with occasional drizzle.Ervine said that the batsmen shouldn’t have played shots in the air, rather let the ball get soaked more in the rain. “Batting first, we should have got at least 400,” Ervine said. “The wicket was good enough to post a score like that. Getting bowled out for 265 put us on the back foot and allowed Bangladesh to go past us. We could have also batted better in the second innings. The wicket wasn’t really that bad. I thought our bowlers worked hard to get those six wickets. Obviously [we] didn’t hit the right areas enough, but I just thought that our batting let us down.”It was a combination of application and execution. The guys obviously tried to go over the top and didn’t execute the plans properly. In the past, it has been difficult to bat last in Dhaka. Possibly, guys played a few too many shots because of the turn. But the ball was wet because of the drizzle.”Zimbabwe still had some conviction left in their batting when Ervine, who made a century in the first innings, got set with Sikandar Raza. They added 60 for the fifth wicket before Mominul Haque ran out his opposite number with an excellent direct hit from the covers.”It was very disappointing,” said Ervine. “At the time it seemed like myself and Raza were going well. We got some momentum on our side, and then we basically gave it back to Bangladesh. I have always wanted to get back-to-back hundreds in a game, and I thought today was the perfect opportunity.”He said that Zimbabwe missed Sean Williams the most, but also suffered due to an inexperienced bowling attack.”Sean Williams is a big part of our team,” Ervine said. “He contributes with the bat, ball and field. We missed him hugely.”We have an inexperienced bowling line-up. Charlton Tshuma was playing his first game. Victor was playing his third Test match. Ainsley played a handful of games. Donald Tiripano is the experienced one. We just didn’t hit the right areas for long enough. Without doing that, you can’t build any pressure.”

A promising Rangers injury update has emerged ahead of the Scottish Premiership clash with Dundee on Wednesday evening, shared on social media by journalist Joshua Barrie.

Rangers face huge clash with Dundee

The Gers suffered a damaging 3-2 defeat away to Ross County last weekend, in a result that could ultimately prove to be so costly come the end of the season. At half-time, it looked as though Philippe Clement's side were on their way to another victory, leading 1-0, but the manner in which they fell apart was a real concern.

Having drawn 3-3 at home to Celtic as well, the importance of victory away to Dundee in midweek cannot be downplayed, having allowed the Hoops an advantage in the Scottish Premiership title race.

They now have a four-point lead at the top of the table, but Rangers' game on Wednesday will give them the chance to narrow the gap to just one. Going into the match, there are still injury concerns for Clement, with a number of players unavailable for yet another hugely important game. That includes the likes of Ridvan Yilmaz, Oscar Cortes and Ryan Jack, meaning they won't be at full strength for their midweek showdown.

Journalist drops key Rangers injury update

Taking to X on Tuesday, Barrie claimed that Yilmaz won't be out injured in the long-term, even though he is out of the Dundee game, providing quotes from Clement's pre-match press conference in the process:

"Clement is confident Ridvan won't be out long-term but can't put a timeframe on his return yet. 'I'm sure it's not going to be long-term, he's on the pitch training individually.'"

This has to be considered good news for Rangers, even though they won't be able to call upon the services of Yilmaz on Wednesday night, considering there will have been fears about him potentially being out for the rest of the season.

The Turk hasn't featured for the Gers since the middle of the March, playing in the 1-0 defeat at home to Benfica in the Europa League, and Clement needs him back in the fold as soon as possible. That has only heightened because of Borna Barisic's form, with the left-back taken off early in the loss to Ross County, being handed a three-out-of-10 rating in the process.

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ByHenry Jackson Apr 16, 2024

It is important that Rangers don't rush Yilmaz back prematurely – fielding an under-cooked player is something that won't be of any help to anyone – but the hope is that he is fit and available for the end of the season, coming back into the team and playing his part in what could be a memorable Scottish Premiership title triumph for Clement and his players.

For now, three points at Dundee simply have to be taken, closing the gap on Celtic and ensuring that the Gers' slight blip in recent matches comes to an end sooner rather than later.

Manchester City have sold defender Yan Couto to Borussia Dortmund, with the defender moving on an initial loan with an obligation to buy.

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Man City sell defender to DortmundBrazilian full-back never played for the Premier League sideLeaves on initial loan deal with obligation to buyWHAT HAPPENED?

The Brazilian full-back joined the Cityzens from Coritiba in 2020 on a five-year deal but never made a single appearance for the club. He spent the last four seasons out on loan, out of which three years were with City Group-owned La Liga side Girona, and has now completed a switch to Germany.

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Now, Dortmund have confirmed that the English champions have agreed to let the player leave on an initial loan with an obligation to buy him for a fee of €30 million (£25.3m/$32.6m) next summer. Couto was an integral part of Girona's historic 2023-24 campaign where they finished third in La Liga. He appeared in 34 league games last season where he scored once and provided 10 assists.

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The reigning English champions could also see two of their star players Ederson and Kevin De Bruyne leave the club this summer amid interest from Saudi Pro League teams.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY?

Pep Guardiola's side will play their final pre-season friendly in the United States against Chelsea on Saturday before they face Manchester United in the Community Shield on August 10.