David de Gea turned down the chance to make his Premier League comeback with Nottingham Forest, seven months after his Manchester United release.
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Ghana boss Chris Hughton was subjected to scary scenes following a shock AFCON defeat to Cape Verde, with fans reportedly out to attack him.
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B Indrajith and Washington Sundar led Tamil Nadu’s fightback against Mumbai, while Rajat Patidar and Harpreet Singh Bhatia shored up Madhya Pradesh against Tripura
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2017Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari (302*) slammed his maiden triple-hundred and propelled his team to 584 for 5, before declaring the innings against Odisha in Vizianagaram. Resuming on 278 for 2, Vihari put on a 208-run stand with Ricky Bhui (100) and deflated Odisha, who had to wait 43.3 overs for their first wicket of the day. During the course of his 456-ball knock, Vihari smashed 29 fours and two sixes and added 159 to his overnight score. This was Vihari’s 13th first-class ton and second consecutive score of 150 or more.Bhui, meanwhile, brought up his fourth first-class hundred before Odisha captain Govinda Poddar trapped him lbw in the 134th over. In the next over, seamer Suryakant Pradhan dismissed D Ravi Teja to pick up his second wicket, but nothing was going to stop Vihari’s march. Odisha suffered an early jolt in their first innings when left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt had opener Natraj Behera lbw in the fourth over. Sandeep Pattanaik and Poddar, however, ensured there was no further damage as Odisha went to stumps at 32 for 1.B Indrajith (105*) and Washington Sundar (69) mounted a rescue effort with a fifth-wicket partnership of 157 runs to lift Tamil Nadu from 69 for 4 to 239 for 5 by stumps against Mumbai. Indrajith’s sixth first-class hundred, which included 12 fours, stood out as much for its elegance as its risk-free nature. While he mostly preferred to hit down the ground, he wasn’t averse to playing the horizontal shots on either side. Giving him useful company was Sundar, who drove and cut confidently, and responded swiftly to his partner’s calls for tight singles. Sundar, however, fell with 6.2 overs left in the day, after a half-hearted pull off Dhawal Kulkarni found deep square leg.Mumbai had hit the ground running in the morning with some quick wickets after being bowled out for 374. Seamer Akash Parkar cleaned up captain Abhinav Mukund in the fourth over before M Vijay (11) was caught behind by left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil in the 11th over. Mumbai captain Aditya Tare juggled the ball on a few occasions before snaffling it.After Kaushik Gandhi fell three overs later, Vijay Shankar, who had recovered from an injury scare to pick up his fourth wicket in the morning, looked to have settled down in the company of Indrajith. However, he gave Gohil the charge in the 25th over and was stumped. Indrajith, though, remained steady and took Tamil Nadu to safety in the company of R Ashwin.A 62-run partnership between opener Bishal Ghosh (65) and Gurinder Singh, who smashed a 55-ball 57, helped Tripura finish on 220 against Madhya Pradesh in Agartala after tottering on 88 for 6 at one stage.Tripura’s bowlers then reduced Madhya Pradesh to 200 for 7 to set up an interesting battle for the first-innings lead. Ishwar Pandey and Ankit Sharma finished with three wickets each for Madhya Pradesh. In their reply, Madhya Pradesh got off to a shaky start, as they lost opener Wasim Ahmed and Shubham Sharma inside the first 10 overs. With Naman Ojha (8) and captain Devendra Bundela (3), too, falling cheaply, it was left to opener Rajat Patidar (79) and Harpreet Singh Bhatia (70) to resuscitate the innings with a 104-run alliance for the fifth wicket.However, Gurinder trapped Patidar in front with his left-arm spin in the 52nd over before Ankit Sharma and Bhatia were dismissed in quick succession.
Sunderland looked like they were close to bringing in Eliezer Mayenda – but a deal is currently being held up, as reported by journalist Santi Aouna.
Who is Eliezer Mayenda?
The 18-year-old currently plays for Sochaux in France and has already burst onto the scene and their first-team picture despite being in his teens. He made his league debut for the Ligue 2 outfit during the 2022/23 season and played 15 times in total for the club, although only one of those appearances was a start.
The striker though did manage to hit the back of the net despite his youth and when you consider he managed only 3.2 lots of 90 minutes, it isn't a bad rate for the youngster.
He's also clearly regarded highly at national team level as well, albeit not with the first-team. Mayenda has represented Spain at youth team level, making his debut for their Under-17 side only last year and playing three times for his country. The centre-forward then is clearly viewed as having some talent, so it's no surprise to see Tony Mowbray and Sunderland weighing up a move.
Are Sunderland signing Eliezer Mayenda?
Now, his performances could have earned him a move to England. According to journalist Santi Aouna, Sunderland have already reached an agreement to bring the 18-year-old to the Championship – but it has currently been put on hold. That is because, despite already sorting out a move for the wonderkid – and with the man himself eager to switch to the Stadium of Light – Sochaux are now holding out for more money.
"Agreement reached between Sochaux and Sunderland for the transfer Eliezer Mayenda," the reporter said.
"But the file is temporarily blocked by the Sochaliens who are now demanding more money. Striker wants to join Sunderland."
It looks as though a move could therefore hinge on whether one of the two clubs can alter their offer or valuation for Mayenda. If Sunderland don't opt to splash more funds, a move could fall through at the last hurdle, which would certainly be frustrating.
It would be a shame for the centre-forward, who seems to want to head to the EFL outfit now. It's unclear how much Sochaux are holding out for, or how much is currently on the table, but Transfermarkt suggest that his value is around the 300,000 Euro mark (or £259,900) and that would be a fairly cheap transfer for someone who is still only young but is already proven in a first-team environment.
There isn't much to go off in terms of what he could offer Sunderland, having only played those 15 league games for Sochaux so far. However, his reserve team stats make for good reading, as he bagged four in 14 in National 3 – Group J for the youth setup.
He clearly knows where the back of the net is then – and more gametime, for a side in Sunderland who do have a young team already, could allow him to prosper if he does move to the Stadium of Light.
Jake Ball and Stuart Broad are doubtful for the Royal London Cup final on Saturday and that is also bad news for England with the first Test around a week away
Jon Culley at Trent Bridge27-Jun-2017
ScorecardWith doubts lingering over Stuart Broad’s fitness for Saturday’s Royal London One-Day Cup final at Lord’s, Nottinghamshire face another anxious couple of days assessing the fitness of a second key bowling asset after injury forced Jake Ball to leave the field during the final session here.Despite playing the injury down overnight, Ball was sent for a scan by the ECB on Wednesday morning, and the selectors will be monitoring the results closely as they prepare to meet to select the squad for the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s next week.The England fast bowler, who had already struck an important blow for his team in this match at the start of Kent’s second innings, pulled up in his follow-through after bowling one delivery of his third over, feeling some pain in his right knee.After receiving attention on the field it looked at first as if he would continue but after a couple of attempts to replicate his run-up to the crease under the supervision of his county physio he asked the umpire for his cap and sweater and left the field, leaving Luke Fletcher to complete his over.Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores described his withdrawal as “a precaution” and said his prospects of resuming in this match would be assessed in the morning. However, he is being monitored by Notts and England medical teams, and he will not bowl again in the match.Broad, who was forced to miss this match after suffering a heel injury against Leicestershire last week, was still rated as doubtful on Monday but there was better news today. Put through his paces before play, he appeared to be moving well enough, although Nottinghamshire will be wary of risking any further damage with the opening Test against South Africa just over a week away.After playing his part with a flurry of boundaries with the bat in helping Nottinghamshire to a lead of 191 on first innings, Ball had dealt Kent the early blow they least wanted as they began their second innings against the pink ball in the awkward day-to-night phase.After bowling brilliantly with scant reward in the first innings, with only one tailender’s wicket to show for his efforts, Ball found success in his second over this time, producing a full and fast delivery to which Daniel Bell-Drummond, who had so valiantly held Kent together on Monday, had no answer.Yet Ball’s absence hardly made things easier for Kent, who were four wickets down and still 86 behind at the close. To make matters worse, Sam Billings, unbeaten on 39, now leaves this match to play for the Lions at Worcester. The 20-year-old batsman Joe Weatherley takes his place.Despite a career-best 168 from Steven Mullaney, who was 63 not out overnight, and a partnership of 222 between the opener and Alex Hales, Nottinghamshire had not fulfilled their objective of batting Kent out of the game, losing their last wickets for 41.They fell short even of maximum batting points, which felt almost like a formality earlier in the day when Hales and Mullaney, having come through a tough pink ball baptism on the first evening, plundered runs under the pale sky of the second afternoon.Mullaney, one half of the key partnership in the historic win over Essex that booked Nottinghamshire’s place at Lord’s, completed the 12th first-class century of his career, punching the air as he might after a bout of nausea almost forced him to leave the field in the early part of his innings on Monday.Jake Ball limped off – and that will worry England•Getty Images
Once something of a bit-part player among stars at Trent Bridge, Mullaney has become a key figure in all formats. Always an all-round asset in the one-day sides, he has found his niche at the top of the order in the four-day side, and a useful partnership-breaking bowler to boot. Well respected in the dressing room, he led the side in Chris Read’s absence last season and looks a natural choice to take on the captaincy in his own right when Read retires at the end of the season.As a batsman, he may lack the flair and natural timing of Samit Patel, with whom he shared that epic stand at Chelmsford, and he does not dominate in the way Hales sometimes does. Yet he has the temperament to concentrate for long periods and packs a punch when the moment arrives to up the tempo.He and Hales were together for 47.5 overs for the fourth wicket before Hales was caught on the rope attempting a second six straight off Joe Denly’s leg spin, missing out by 15 on what appeared to be a certain hundred.The innings lost some of its impetus after Hales. Riki Wessels was unusually subdued and Mullaney went an hour without scoring a boundary before a couple in quick succession off Adam Milne eased the pressure.He passed his previous best, 166 against Somerset here last year, with a six off Will Gidman and the applause that accompanied his return to the pavilion, caught behind off Matt Coles, was a measure of his popularity. He acknowledged it properly, too, raising his bat to all corners of the ground.Kent’s bowlers have to be commended for the way they maintained their discipline and in denying Nottinghamshire their full complement of points they might consider they scored a minor triumph.Yet, the possibly unwelcome consequence of this was that it was their batsman who were exposed to the day-into-night phase. After Bell-Drummond, Denly edged a fine, swinging ball from Fletcher to be caught behind before Harry Gurney struck twice, Sam Northeast following a ball outside off-stump to be caught behind, Sean Dickson edging to Brendan Taylor at third slip.July 28, 11.36am – This story was updated with news of Ball’s knee scan
West Ham United can be forgiven for being distracted by negotiations with Arsenal over a payment structure for £105m midfielder Declan Rice, but David Moyes' side are at risk of being left short come the start of the new Premier League season.
What new players have West Ham bought?
With five weeks to go until their trip to Bournemouth to kick off the 2023-24 season, West Ham have yet to make any signings this window.
That will surely frustrate manager Moyes, who will be fully aware that his squad is in need of freshening up, with May's Europa Conference League triumph papering over the cracks of a poor Premier League season.
A new central midfielder is top of Moyes' list of targets – or indeed a couple if a like-for-like Rice replacement cannot be found – with Ajax's Edson Alvarez, Manchester United's Scott McTominay and Everton's Amadou Onana all rumoured targets.
According to The Guardian, West Ham also hold an interest in Bristol City's Alex Scott, who is on the radar of fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
How much is Bristol City's Alex Scott worth?
Scott may have spent his senior career to date in the Championship, yet he is reportedly worth at least £20m to Bristol City due to the fact he has two years to run on his Ashton Gate contract.
Despite being just 19 years old, Scott already has 81 Championship appearances under his belt, having been a regular for the Robins over the past two campaigns.
The teenage midfielder rose to prominence earlier this year after impressing Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola in an FA Cup tie, with the Catalan describing him as an "unbelievable player".
As pointed out by football talent scout Jacek Kulig after Scott was named the Championship's Young Player of the Year, he has a "big future ahead" of him.
Scott cannot be expected to slot straight in and take over the role of Rice, of course. Then again, who could?
Instead, the Guernsey native can provide some versatility for Moyes, given he featured in defensive midfield, central midfield, attacking midfield and on both flanks last season, as per WhoScored.
Versatile he may be, but it is as a pure central midfielder that Scott thrives. The Englishman ranks in the top 11% of all midfielders in the eight competitions most similar to the Championship for progressive carries (2.34 per 90 minutes), as per FBref, and in the top 16% for successful take-ons (1.22).
In that aforementioned FA Cup tie with Man City last season, which Bristol City lost 3-0, Scott's five dribbles were the joint-most of any player on the field, level with opponent Phil Foden – quite the company.
As per WhoScored, Scott's pass accuracy of 83.3% that day was also the third-most of any Robins player to attempt 10 passes or more, which is made all the more impressive when you factor in he was playing as an attacking midfielder.
Scott is not exactly a hidden gem, which explains his price tag, but he could be a very smart option for West Ham to kick off their transfer business in the post-Declan Rice era.
A five-wicket haul from Bhuvneshwar Kumar won Sunrisers Hyderabad a tight game against Kings XI Punjab despite a 50-ball 95 from Manan Vohra
The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:05
Agarkar: 160 was gettable without Bhuvneshwar
Manan Vohra defied a pitch of inconsistent pace and bounce and a situation stacked against his team to produce one of the IPL’s great backs-to-the-walls innings. His 95 off 50 balls revived a floundering chase, taking Kings XI Punjab to within 15 runs of victory, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar would ensure he wouldn’t be able to finish the match, taking two wickets in the 19th over to finish with 5 for 19.In the end, neither of them would be involved in what became the nerviest finish of the season. Eleven off six balls usually favours the chasing side, but seldom is a chasing side nine down at that stage. Siddarth Kaul conceded four off the first two legal balls, slipping in two wides, but pulled himself together to send down the perfect yorker with six needed off three. Ishant Sharma couldn’t put bat to it, and Sunrisers just about held on to their undefeated home record this season.Difficult pitch, quiet PowerplayA pitch full of cracks turned out slower than is usually the case in Hyderabad, with some balls skidding through and others stopping with tennis-ball bounce. Kings XI’s seamers looked to exploit this by bowling at the stumps and pitching just short of a good length.Denied the drive-able ball, the batsmen couldn’t play square with too much confidence either – given the line and the tendency of the ball to keep low. Sunrisers only scored 29 in the Powerplay, hitting just one four and losing the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, caught behind off the glove looking to pull Mohit Sharma.Warner adapts and prospersSpin came on for the first time in the seventh over, and David Warner immediately picked up his first boundary with a reverse-sweep off KC Cariappa. In his next over, he switch-hit him for six. By the end of Sunrisers’ innings, all but two of Warner’s nine boundaries would come behind the wicket.Wickets kept falling at the other end – Axar Patel dismissed Moises Henriques and Yuvraj Singh off successive balls in the 10th over – but Warner, with a bit of help from Naman Ojha, ensured Sunrisers reached a competitive total. Having scored only 6 off his first 16 balls – all in the Powerplay – Warner went at a strike rate of 168.42 thereafter to finish unbeaten on 70 off 54.Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Act 1Interviewed between innings, VVS Laxman, the Sunrisers mentor, felt 159 was a match-winning total given the conditions and his team’s bowling resources. As it happened, it wasn’t the pitch that gave Sunrisers an early wicket but Bhuvneshwar’s swing and full length, trapping Hashim Amla lbw first ball. Glenn Maxwell promoted himself to No. 3 for the first time this season, and Bhuvneshwar dismissed him as well. This time it was the slower ball, coupled with a change of field – he brought third man into the circle, pushed mid-off back, and Maxwell took him on, unwisely.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Those skiddy Afghan spinnersFor the first time this season, Sunrisers were playing both Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan. They bowled expensive first overs – Vohra and Eoin Morgan took 29 off the fifth and sixth overs of the chase – and Warner had to pull both out of the attack. After a quiet over each from Moises Henriques and Kaul, he brought them back.Nabi struck immediately, bowling Morgan with one that skidded on, and skid would give Rashid two wickets in the next over – bye bye, David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha. Kings XI were 62 for 5 after 10 overs, and an offbreak from Nabi at the start of the next over could have easily had them 62 for 6. Vohra, though, was saved by the umpire Anil Dandekar, who saw or heard an inside edge when there was none. At that stage, he was batting on 32. In the last ball of the same over, Nabi dropped the simplest of return catches off Axar Patel.Vohra unrolls his own pitchEven in the early part of his innings, Vohra had timed the ball better than anyone from either side. What he was also doing, better than most batsmen this season, was picking Rashid’s googly out of the hand. Having brought up his fifty in the previous over, the 15th, Vohra went after Rashid again, pulling and lofting him for 4, 0, 6, 6, 4. Suddenly, Kings XI only needed 35 from 24 balls.Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Act IIKings XI, however, had already lost six wickets, and they lost a seventh when Mohit Sharma sliced Bhuvneshwar straight to deep point in the 17th over. Two balls later, Vohra timed a back-foot punch so sweetly that he hit it to the same fielder on the full, only for Shikhar Dhawan to drop it. A big six off Kaul in the next over brought the equation down to 16 off the last two, but Bhuvneshwar wasn’t done yet.KC Cariappa, for reasons unknown, decided to slog rather than give Vohra the strike, and Bhuvneshwar went through him with a yorker. Another yorker – or near-yorker – followed when Vohra got back the strike. It struck Vohra on the ankle, on the full, right in front, as he walked across to flick, and Bhuvneshwar had bowled the most important ball of the match.
Cameron Carter-Vickers is in no rush to head back to the Premier League, with the USMNT star continuing to generate transfer talk.
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Debutant Cameron Green took five wickets as Tasmania were bowled out for 198 before Western Australia’s openers reduced the first-innings deficit to 49 at the end of first day’s play in Hobart
ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Jonathan Wells’ 78 included 68 runs scored off boundaries•Getty Images
Western Australia dominated Tasmania on day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.Winning the toss to have first use of a fresh pitch with the experimental Dukes ball, the Warriors bundled the Tigers out for 198 before making major inroads towards the hosts’ first-innings tally.Simon Mackin, so dominant in WA’s win over South Australia at Glenelg Oval in the previous round, plucked another four wickets to lead the visitors’ attack, while the 17-year-old debutant Cameron Green improved from a first up no-ball by claiming five wickets as he started the ball around disconcertingly.Tasmania were awfully placed at 9 for 128 before the last pair of Sam Rainbird and Cameron Stevenson offered some resistance with a swift stand of 70. George Bailey top-scored with 75.In reply, Western Australia gained the ideal start through Jonathan Wells and Cameron Bancroft. They added 130 before Wells was out to the allrounder James Faulkner for 78, leaving the Sydney Test debutant Hilton Cartwright to accompany Bancroft – not out at 58 – to the close.
Everton midfielder Amadou Onana is being targeted by Premier League rivals Manchester United ahead of a potential move to Old Trafford, according to reports.
What's the latest on Onana's future?
The Belgian international only arrived at Goodison Park from Lille last summer, but having impressed during his 32 appearances in his debut season in the top-flight, has already been attracting interest from the Emirates Stadium and Stamford Bridge.
Football Insider have reported that Arsenal and Chelsea both hold a seriously strong interest in the 21-year-old, with the Toffees having accepted the fact that he will leave if they get relegated at the end of the season, and the task to keep hold of him just got a whole lot harder as a third potential suitor has now entered the race to secure his services ahead of the 2023/24 term.
According to TEAMtalk, Manchester United are “plotting a move” for Onana on the basis that Everton drop down to the Championship. The Red Devils are on the hunt to recruit a new midfielder during the upcoming window and have been “impressed” by Sean Dyche’s talisman’s instant impact on Merseyside.
Erik Ten Hag’s outfit are “actively monitoring” his situation and have placed themselves firmly in the running to compete with their rivals for his signature. It’s believed that the player is “interested” in joining a club at the highest level in a bid to nail down a regular spot for Belgium.
Should Everton keep or sell Onana?
Everton have a real defensive midfield gem on their hands in Onana, who has already been dubbed a “one-man army” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, so Dyche needs to do everything he can to maintain the side’s top-flight status and retain his services beyond the summer.
The 6 foot 4 colossus, who currently pockets £100k-per-week, has won 43 tackles from 68 players challenged this season which is the second-highest throughout the whole of the squad, alongside averaging 1.8 successful aerial duels per league game with his height.
The World Cup participant also has the ability to chip in at the opposite end of the pitch with two assists and one goal to his name since joining, via Transfermarkt, so is a hugely useful option for the boss to have available at his disposal.
Finally, Onana provides wonderful versatility having already operated in defensive, central and attacking midfield during his opening campaign so even the thought of losing him will be a huge blow to the boss, the board and no doubt the supporters too.