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International series will determine when players from Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies and Bangladesh are available

Gaurav Sundararaman and Nagraj Gollapudi09-Feb-2022Several prominent players from Australia and South Africa could potentially miss a major chunk of the first half of IPL 2022, ranging between 10 days to more than two weeks. While the likes of Pat Cummins, David Warner and Steven Smith will be on tour in Pakistan until April 5, the South African fast bowling trio of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen will be busy with a home series against Bangladesh that ends on April 11. The IPL is likely to start on March 27, and end in late May.The Test leg of Australia’s tour of Pakistan, featuring three matches, is scheduled to end on March 25. Australia will then play a three-match ODI series in Rawalpindi, which will also host the only T20I on April 5. In an email to the franchises on Wednesday, the IPL said Cricket Australia had permitted players who were part of both the Test and white-ball leg in Pakistan, to travel from April 6. CA had also told IPL that all Australian players – contracted or not – whose state teams feature in the Sheffield Shield final starting from March 31 would be free to travel only from April 5.Related

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George Bailey, Australia’s chairman of selectors, had said on Tuesday said that while IPL was a “development opportunity”, CA would not release players when Australia was playing. “We do see the IPL as a really good development opportunity when it fits, but there’s obviously a huge amount of cricket with a series (in Sri Lanka) planned for immediately-post the IPL as well,” Bailey had said during a media briefing.”So it will be about working with the individuals to ensure they’re getting the preparation they need, but we certainly won’t be releasing players to the IPL while Australia are playing.”As for the South Africans, Cricket South Africa has indicated its players will be available only after their home series against Bangladesh is completed. South Africa captain Dean Elgar also indicated as much, saying at a press conference on February 10: “If a player is to pick up a big deal [at the IPL auction], we are going to still pull him into line because he’s got to play for us. First and foremost, playing Test cricket for your country is the ultimate. My understanding is that the players will be available to play that series against Bangladesh. I’m not sure.”* While CSA is yet to name its squads, Bangladesh’s tour will begin with a three-match ODI series between March 18 and 23, followed by a two-Test series between March 30 and April 11.The limited availability of the several key players is bound to impact the 10 teams who are busy preparing for the two-day IPL auction this weekend on February 12 and 13. Cummins, Warner and Rabada feature in 10-player marquee list, which will be the first set of players in the auction.The likes of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Holder – both expected to be in demand at the auction – could potentially miss the first week of the IPL after both ECB and Cricket West Indies said their players would be unavailable until March 28, the scheduled last day of England’s tour of West Indies. The ECB has also said that it is “committed” to start the first Test of the home series against New Zealand from June 2, so all contracted England players will be available until May 29.West Indies also are scheduled to play ODI series against Netherlands from May 31, but CWI has not said whether the white-ball players would be pulled out of the IPL – if it’s not done by then. The white-ball players will include West Indies captain Kieron Pollard, who was retained by Mumbai Indians.The IPL also said that Shakib Al Hasan would be unavailable between May 8 and 23 – this is when Bangladesh are scheduled to play a two-Test home series against Sri Lanka. But there was no mention of his unavailability in the IPL during Bangladesh’s tour of South Africa in March-April. While it is likely that he will play the ODIs there, it looks unlikely that he will be available for the South Africa Tests. Given that he is mentioned in the IPL’s list, he could be available for the home Tests against Sri Lanka.Mustafizur Rahman’s availability hinges only on his selection for the limited-overs matches Bangladesh will play, because he doesn’t feature in Test cricket for Bangladesh. The other Bangladesh entrants in the IPL auction – Litton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam – are all unavailable for the both periods. The IPL has said that the Bangladesh’s players’ availability will be based on their selections for the series against South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Pep Guardiola "expects" Kevin De Bruyne to sign an extension with Manchester City as the coach urged senior stars to stay at the struggling side.

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De Bruyne's contract set to end in the summerHas been linked with a move to Saudi ArabiaGuardiola wants his veterans to stay onFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Belgian midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season, with interest from Major League Soccer clubs and Saudi Arabia fuelling rumours of a potential departure. Guardiola, however, remains optimistic about keeping De Bruyne and has also called for other senior players to stay as City navigate a transitional phase.

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"There are players here that their age is over 30, but they are part of the future of this club. Kevin and the club will decide on his future. Everyone who has a contract for next season, I expect him to be here," he told reporters on Friday.

"They are going to help us. Next season will be a lot of games. We cannot do it just with our new ones. They will be able to help and be part of our season."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

City underwent a significant squad overhaul in the January transfer window, spending £180 million ($223m) on fresh talent to rejuvenate their ranks. The club brought in Omar Marmoush (26), Vitor Reis (19), Abdukodir Khusanov (20), and Nicolás González (23) as part of a long-term squad-building approach. With this youthful injection, the futures of several senior players—including Bernardo Silva, John Stones, and Éderson—have come under scrutiny.

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Reports from The Times suggest that De Bruyne is willing to remain at Manchester City beyond this season, even if it means adapting to a less prominent role in Guardiola’s squad. The Belgian reportedly recognises that he may not be able to contribute as extensively as in previous years but is prepared to play a supporting role in City’s evolving setup.

After the third international break of the season, the Premier League is finally back, and Tottenham Hotspur have the small task of an away game against Manchester City to contend with.

Ange Postecoglou would likely have preferred an easier first game back, but given the Champions’ recent struggles, now could be as good a time as any to try and come away from the Etihad with all three points.

However, to make things even harder for the North Londoners, they will be without several of their key starters as injuries have taken their toll, especially in defence.

That said, while losing Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero is far from ideal, the manager can instead start someone who impressed at the Eithad last season and has mountains of experience to call upon.

Spurs' injury problems

As things stand, Spurs will be without six players for the game this afternoon due to injury.

In attack, Postecoglou will have to make do without Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Timo Werner on the bench, who have been out for some time now, and Mikey Moore, who was ill before the international break and is still suffering the effects.

However, arguably, the biggest concern is in defence, as both starting centre-backs will miss out.

Van de Ven injured his hamstring in the League Cup clash with City last month, and unfortunately, the manager confirmed that he’ll remain out until the “middle of December.”

On the other hand, Romero injured his foot while on international duty with Argentina.

However, while his absence will be a massive miss, the prognosis isn’t as bad, with the Australian revealing in his presser that while he “won’t be right for tomorrow’s game,” the club are “hoping he’ll be right for next week.”

Overall, things aren’t looking great for the North Londoners ahead of what will undoubtedly be an incredibly tough encounter.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Nevertheless, there is a player Postecoglou can turn to, a player who’s already stood in for the club in this exact game before.

The Spurs ace who can step in against City

So, for those of you who remember, when Spurs travelled to the Etihad for a Premier League game last December, they were also without Van de Ven and Romero.

The former was due to another hamstring injury he suffered against Chelsea, and the latter was due to a straight red card he received in the very same match – when it rains, it pours.

So, with his arms tied, Postecoglou turned to his squad and opted to start Emerson Royal, who left in the summer, and a certain Ben Davies.

Despite playing two full-backs in the centre-back roles, the North Londoners came away from that game with a point in hand, and the Welsh veteran was a key reason why.

He put in an impressive performance against what was the best attack in the league and, by full-time, had earned a 7/10 match rating from respected Spurs writer Alasdair Gold, who wrote that he ‘battled away at the back’ and it was his ‘diving header that ended up setting Spurs away for Lo Celso to score.’

On top of already showing that he can step in and cope with Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut, the “outstanding” defender, as dubbed by the manager, has plenty of experience to rely on, which could help Radu Dragusin keep his cool alongside him.

For example, across his career, the 31-year-old veteran has made 337 appearances for the Lilywhites, 85 for Swansea City and won 89 senior caps for the Welsh national team, of which he’s captained nine times in the last year.

Team

Appearances

Goals + Assists

Tottenham

337

32

Swansea

85

6

Wales

89

7

Ultimately, Spurs are going to be in for a challenging game this afternoon, made all the tougher thanks to Van de Ven and Romero’s absences, but with Davies in the side, they know that they can get a result at the Etihad.

Spurs struck gold on "world-class" ace who's a £125m star in the making

The sensationally gifted international is one of Spurs’ best players.

1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 21, 2024

Irish batter available under updated Covid protocols following negative test

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2022Paul Stirling is set to become Islamabad United’s second high-profile surprise return in two days, this time for Friday’s eliminator against Lahore Qalandars. If Islamabad win tonight, they will have brought back the opening pair that lit up the opening stages of the season, for the PSL final on Sunday. Multan Sultans will be awaiting the winner of tonight’s game.A tweak in the PCB’s Covid-19 policy for the tournament that allowed Alex Hales to return for Thursday’s win over Peshawar Zalmi will see Stirling immediately eligible to compete. The franchise confirmed in a tweet on Friday that he had returned a negative PCR test. Before the amendment to the protocols, agreed upon by all franchises, anyone arriving from outside Pakistan would have had to quarantine for three days before being allowed to play.Stirling played the first five games of the PSL for United before leaving for international duty with Ireland. He took part in a T20 quadrangular series in Oman and then in the T20 World Cup qualifiers in which, though Ireland lost in the final to the UAE, they qualified for the World Cup in Australia. Stirling’s performances in Oman were not spectacular – he averaged just over 23 with a strike rate of 111 across five games. In the five games he did play for Islamabad, however, he was averaging 37.40 with a strike rate of 181.55. With Hales in tow, the pair were the most destructive opening pair during that first leg, especially in the Powerplay.Hales had also departed the season early, though in his case he cited the mental fatigue of bio-bubbles as his reason for doing so. But he returned for Thursday’s eliminator against Peshawar, with his 49-ball 62 – his third fifty of the season – helping set up United’s successful chase. The innings earned him the player of the match award.As with Hales, Stirling is expected to follow the same distancing protocols and will be kept apart from the team as much as possible, including not having access to the team’s dressing room, staying in a separate area of the hotel and traveling in a separate car to the stadium.

GOAL rates all of the Reds on show at the Parc des Princes as Arne Slot's side claimed the unlikeliest of 1-0 wins

Liverpool were played off the pitch at Parc des Princes on Wednesday, completely outclassed by a scintillating Paris Saint-Germain side – and yet the Reds will return to Anfield for the second leg of this Champions League last-16 tie with a 1-0 lead after the greatest smash-and-grab you're ever likely to see.

The hosts were magnificent from the first whistle, with Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola taking it in turns to torment Liverpool's back four, while Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha absolutely ran the show in midfield. However, Alisson Becker just wasn't in the mood to be beaten, and as the brilliant Brazilian repelled one effort after another, the feeling began to grow that Liverpool might actually nick a win – and that's exactly what they did.

In the 87th-minute of an arguably even more one-sided first leg than Arsenal's 7-1 rout of PSV the night before, Darwin Nunez teed up fellow substitute Harvey Elliott for the unlikeliest of winners.

GOAL ranks all of the Reds on show in Paris as Arne Slot's side pulled off one of the greatest escapes in Champions League history…

AFPGoalkeeper & Defence

Alisson Becker (9.5/10):

Simply put, the game wouldn't have finished 1-0 if it hadn't been for the Brazil No.1, who made one sensational save after another. He's rescued the Reds on many occasions over the years, but nothing compares to this heroic and decisive display of shot-stopping. He went full Thibaut Courtois in the 2022 Champions League final!

Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/10):

The England international's passing was unusually awful but, on the flip side, he was actually very good defensively, putting in some perfectly-timed challenges on Kvaratskhelia & Co.

Ibrahima Konate (4/10):

So, so lucky to stay on the field after a clear push on Barcola as the winger bore down on goal. Can't fault his commitment thereafter, but he remains a walking liability.

Virgil van Dijk (5.5/10):

Went missing on one PSG attack and it's rare that you ever see him so loose in possession but, despite being nowhere near his best, he remained the glue that held a fragile back four together.

Andy Robertson (5/10):

The Scot worked hard to win the ball back, but his passing was terrible and he was powerless to prevent Dembele from repeatedly blazing past him.

AdvertisementAFPMidfield

Ryan Gravenberch (3/10):

His worst performance of the season – and by some distance. The Dutchman's distribution was atrocious and he was repeatedly found wanting defensive. Probably should have been taken off much earlier.

Alexis Mac Allister (5/10):

Full of fight but twice left trailing in Dembele's wake inside the opening 20 minutes and that set the tone for a poor performance, with the Argentine failing to exert any influence over the game until late on.

Dominik Szoboszlai (5.5/10):

Full of running as always and also led a couple of counter-attacks, but he also did little to help Liverpool to gain a foothold in the middle of the park.

AFPAttack

Mohamed Salah (3/10):

A painfully ineffective performance from the Premier League's best player. Salah got absolutely no change out of the very impressive Nuno Mendes all evening and even on the rare occasions he did get on the ball in a bit of space, he gave it away. In truth, he was lucky to last 86 minutes.

Diogo Jota (4.5/10):

Didn't want for effort, but he struggled badly to hold the ball up and relieve some pressure on the Reds defence. In fairness, he's still not match fit and it was no surprise to see him hooked after an hour.

Luis Diaz (3/10):

Looked lively enough in the opening 10 minutes, but just got worse the longer the game wore on, repeatedly running down blind alleys as he proved incapable of offering his team any kind of out-ball.

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Curtis Jones (6/10):

Brought some much-needed intensity and tenacity to the midfield when he came on.

Darwin Nunez (7/10):

He didn't score (obviously!) but the Uruguayan produced a priceless assist after bossing Marquinhos in the air before weighting a lovely ball into the path of Elliott. His key contribution should do his confidence the power of good.

Harvey Elliott (7.5/10):

The return of Liverpool's super-sub! The versatile attacker replaced the struggling Salah with just a few minutes to go and made an immediate impact by beating Gigi Donnarumma with a low strike just 46 seconds after coming off the bench.

Wataru Endo (7/10):

Unsurprisingly, the reliable Japanese midfielder's energy made a huge difference when he took over from the terribly ineffective Gravenberch. Such a valuable player to have in reserve.

Arne Slot (7/10):

Hard to criticise the Dutchman for his side's struggles in the first half, given he picked the starting line-up everyone expected. There was also a fear that he left it too long to inject some freshness into a tired team but, credit where it's due, Endo, Darwin and Elliott all made a big difference when they came on.

Everton had an extra-man advantage for almost an hour on Saturday. Brentford had been reduced to ten after Christian Nørgaard was dismissed for a high challenge on Jordan Pickford.

Three Premier League games have come and gone since Everton last scored a goal, albeit Sean Dyche’s side have kept clean sheets across their past two matches too.

Things need to change, and with The Friedkin Group looking to take over the Merseyside outfit, change is certainly going to be afoot. What, though, needs to happen for positive growth?

The things TFG need to change at Everton

While Everton’s defence is largely up to scratch, the frontline has flattered to deceive all season. Dwight McNeil is the shining light in terms of potency, and the electric Iliman Ndiaye has proved to be a promising signing, but still, the Toffees fail to bring it all together.

The tactics and attacking intent (or lack thereof) have led to an incensed fanbase that demand change. The board will point toward a steelier recent record that has bred just one defeat from eight matches, but the discerning supporters will reject any notion of tangible progress, and rightly so.

The manager, then. Dyche is losing more of Goodison Park each match, and you have to wonder how much more bland football needs to be played out before the bullet is bitten and the wheel is turned.

15.

Newcastle

10th

13

15=

Man United

12th

13

17=

Ipswich Town

18th

13

18.

Everton

16th

10

18=

Crystal Palace

19th

10

20.

Southampton

20th

9

The goals are not coming, and while Dyche must take the responsibility, he’s being let down by his star centre-forward. Indeed, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is struggling, and though he’s out of contract next summer, perhaps it would be wise to get rid of him this winter.

Why Everton need to get rid of Calvert-Lewin

Everton have enjoyed Calvert-Lewin’s talents for many years, joining as he did from Sheffield United for just £1.5m in 2016. The 27-year-old striker has had his share of injury troubles but has spent most of the past two seasons fit, albeit lacking a clinical edge.

This season, his inefficacy at number nine has been emblematic of Everton’s struggle, of Dyche’s rust-spreading system. He’s started each of the Blues’ 12 Premier League fixtures but has now blanked across eight games, failing to assist too, having missed seven big chances and completed a rather shocking 59% of his passes, as per Sofascore.

It would appear his head is elsewhere.

It’s time for Everton to get rid. As per Football Insider, Everton are getting ready to peruse the market for a striker this January, and this might mean that the England international needs to be sold for a small sum before he can leave on a free.

AS Roma and Juventus are interested in a potential January deal, according to sources relayed by Sport Witness, and he’s clearly not going to hit his erstwhile heights again at Everton this season.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast's 'First Impressions' series has everything you need.

It was once so different. Talent scout Jacek Kulig had hailed Calvert-Lewin as an “absolute monster” during his free-scoring exploits of the past, with his former teammate, Richarlison, even heralding him with the loftiest of praise.

Having been called up to the Three Lions squad in 2020, Calvert-Lewin’s efforts led Richarlison to make quite the declaration: “He must be a nightmare to play against and he has an incredible leap on him like Cristiano Ronaldo.”

Transfermarkt record that Ronaldo has scored 120 headed goals at club level, which makes up about 15% of his career total (excluding Portugal). Calvert-Lewin, conversely, has only scored 22 headed goals at club level but then has bagged far less than one of the greatest forwards of all time, with his own headed strike rate equating to a rate of 0.25.

Oh, look at that. Stay in line, Cristiano.

Just kidding. But it does show why Richarlison made that remark once. Unfortunately, Calvert-Lewin has lost his way on Merseyside, and must be sold promptly to help TFG rewrite the narrative at Everton.

Their own Palmer: Everton have struck gold with a special £20m signing

Everton’s key man is producing performances that have likened him to Cole Palmer this season.

ByAngus Sinclair Nov 25, 2024

Steven Mullaney digs in for unbeaten 78 after visitors slide precariously to 52 for 4

Paul Edwards08-Apr-2022Steven Mullaney is far too respectful a professional to say so publicly but his chief thought in asking Sussex to bat first on the opening morning of this match was that his fine attack could use an April-fresh pitch to trample on a weakened batting line-up, thus creating an immediate victory opportunity. 148 plays 110-1 at the end of the day might have been something like the line-score he envisaged. Well, Burns – both Rabbie and Rory after the latest Ashes series – could have advised one of Warrington’s more famous sons that such schemes “gang aft agley”, an observation that might not have enlightened Mullaney greatly, unversed as he surely is in late 18th century Scots. “Tits up” probably carries greater resonance in the Trent Bridge dressing room.Such a brusque verdict is too harsh an assessment of the first day’s play at Hove but by this second afternoon with the floodlights on and the ball seaming around, some variety of utter balls-up was suddenly more likely. For at that point Nottinghamshire’s skipper had seen Sussex make 375 in their first innings before his own team shambled to a miserable 53 for 4 in reply with their marquee players in the pavilion, two of them removed by the 33-year-old debutant, Steven Finn. Mullaney, though, has always been a scrapper as well as a leader and he was joined in a rescue operation by the highly regarded Lyndon James, who, as a Nottinghamshire-born Nottinghamshire batsman would probably earn you 500pts or so in The Observer’s Book of CricketersMatt Critchley debut ton adds to riches of new surroundings