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Ricky Ponting has taken another step in his crusade to ensure playing for Australia remains the pinnacle for his country’s cricketers. Ponting, who guided a patched-up squad to a series win over India on Sunday, is concerned that the lucrative Twenty20 domestic leagues will sway emerging talent to push for dollars over international caps.”I’ve made no secret that I’m a bit worried about some of the attitudes of younger players … with the amount of money that’s around in Champions League and IPL,” Ponting said in the Age. “‘I’ve made it very common knowledge over the last couple of years that I just hope that the next generation of players coming through have the same sort of want and desire to play as much international cricket as I have, because that’s what it’s all about as far as I’m concerned.”Ponting, who has appeared in four IPL games for the Kolkata Knight Riders, has retired from Twenty20 internationals “to play more 50-over cricket and better Test cricket over the next few years”. However, the younger guys are more likely to be persuaded by the huge sums available in the game’s shortest form.The situation is so delicate that Ponting reminds new recruits of the importance of being in the national side. ”One thing we always try and stress, as the more experienced players in this team, is just how much of an honour it is to get a chance to play for Australia,” he said. “We really ram that home to the young guys coming in, and every young bloke I’ve seen come in has accepted just how big and special it is to play for Australia.”That’s my job and Huss’ [Michael Hussey’s] job and Michael Clarke’s job, as the senior players in the side at the moment, just to keep reinforcing that to those blokes. Hopefully, they’ll want to do what some of our older blokes have done.”

A number of Wolves supporters have been lauding Ruben Neves’ influential performance in their 1-0 win over West Ham on Saturday.

Bruno Lage’s side hosted a flying Hammers team at Molineux in what was a big test of Wanderers’ credentials. They passed with flying colours, however, with Raul Jimenez’s second-half strike proving to be the difference between the two sides.

It was a further sign of the progress that Wolves have made in recent times and the victory saw them jump to sixth place in the Premier League, going above Manchester United in the process.

One player who was exceptional for Wanderers on Saturday was Neves, with the Portuguese midfielder emerging as the highest-rated performer on the day (8.0) according to SofaScore. He completed 67 of his 76 passes (88%), won four duels and three tackles, played one key pass and eight accurate long balls, and made three interceptions in an all-round superb performance.

Wolves fans laud Neves’ performance

After the game, Wolves’ official Twitter channel hailed Neves’ efforts, and these fans responded by showing their love for the midfielder, who some supporters feel has improved significantly from last season.

“Maybe the best midfield performance I have ever seen from a #wwfc midfielder. Made Rice, who is a wonderful footballer, look 2nd best by a long way”

Credit: @robweaverwm

“Best Portuguese midfielder in the Prem”

Credit: @Curtis_M96

“Some player”

Credit: @SebLittle

“Was on fire again”

Credit: @flipflo36521997

“World class…”

Credit: @iareed

“Different player this season”

Credit: @ChrisYalee

In other news, some Wolves fans are unhappy with a transfer rumour which has emerged. Read more here.

There is a strong Australian connection to Adil Rashid’s progression into international cricket

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's05-Sep-2009

There is a strong Australian influence on Adil Rashid’s progression into international cricket. As with many young legspinners Shane Warne is his role model and, like Warne, Rashid is mentored by Terry Jenner after spending two winters at his spin academy. And the wise words are clearly paying off. Rashid’s all-round performance in the opening one-day against Australia, at The Oval, continued an impressive season as he makes further strides towards the fully-fledged England career he has always seemed destined to have.”I’ve been to see him [Jenner] twice in Australia to work on my bowling and he has been a big influence on my development,” Rashid said. “I spoke to him two weeks ago – he was in England coaching at the time in Yorkshire – just to have a general chat about my performances and where I am at the moment.”It is a friendship. I grew up with him and talking with him I learn about myself and the game. I talk to him about my development. To bowl leg spin you have got to learn the basics. Alignment and head position is the key for bowling in a consistent area and getting a shape and spin.”It was Rashid’s father who first introduced him to the magic of leg spin as a 10-year-old, but he says there is no-one better than Warne for a role model. “We played Hampshire two years ago and I went to the dressing room and had a little chat with him about my bowling and general cricket talk. We were talking about how to set batsmen up, the different types of delivery and field placing.”Rashid is being eased slowly onto the international scene, but soon there may be no holding him back. His first taste came in the World Twenty20 where he impressed with his nerve in tough circumstances and there was talk of a possible Ashes berth. That sort of rapid elevation, though, has not been part of the well mapped plan so instead he played for the England Lions and returned to Yorkshire.He made runs for the Lions against the Australians at New Road, but his season really took off shortly before the one-day squads were announced. He produced career-best scores in consecutive Championship matches – 117 against Hampshire followed by 157 against Lancashire – and also bagged five-wicket hauls in both those games.A winter tour to South Africa is virtually nailed on, probably at the expense of Monty Panesar who has regressed as quickly as Rashid has progressed, which means he’s only an injury away from a Test debut. Friday night at The Oval was the first chance for an extended viewing of Rashid at the top level and he didn’t disappoint. A controlled ten-over spell cost 37 runs and the Australians couldn’t attack him as planned. Then with England seemingly out of the match he struck 32 off 23 balls and almost pulled off the run chase.”It was nice to perform with bat and ball but I have still got a long way to go,” he said. “It has increased my confidence bowling to the Australians who are a great team. The more you play the more confidence you get and hopefully I can show that in the next game. I was a bit nervous but I was batting with Luke Wright and he helped me get through it.”However, while his batting almost got England across the line, it is Rashid’s bowling that is being keenly followed. There is a feeling around the shires that his batting skills have overtaken those with the ball – he averages 36 and 34 respectively – but Rashid is adamant that bowling is his No. 1 role. Last season he was batting in the top six for Yorkshire, but this summer he has been coming in as low as No. 8.”I have always enjoyed my batting but my main priority when I came through was my bowling,” he said. “As time has gone on my batting has improved and I became part of the Yorkshire team as an allrounder. I have still got a long way to go and I’ve got to improve a hell of a lot.”Howvever, when Australians come out praising a young English player – and allrounder James Hopes echoed the positive comments of Michael Clarke – then there is plenty to work with. “I was very impressed with his bowling,” Hopes said. “After a couple of overs it was always our plan to try and make him go without any wickets and try and take confidence away from him that way. But then he came out and batted very well as well. He’s still very young and we’ll keep taking note of him. If they keep producing dry wickets then he’ll be hard to play, but if we get him on a wicket that doesn’t suit, we’ll find out about him.”The challenge has been laid down to Rashid, and the expectations are only going to increase, but the early signs are that he has both the skills and temperament to respond.

Australia are praying for the forecast rain to avoid Cardiff over the rest of the match as they plan a big lead in the hope of grinding out a first-Test victory. Wet weather is forecast throughout Saturday and the visitors hold a 44-run buffer after finishing the third day in the excellent position of 479 for 5 following centuries to Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich.”If the rain stays away I definitely believe we can get a result,” the vice-captain Michael Clarke said. “[Saturday] is a really important day for us. If we can make another 100, or 150 runs, that wicket on day five will continue to spin, and the bounce will be more inconsistent.”Nathan Hauritz, who took 3 for 95 in the first innings, has out-performed Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, who were less effective than Paul Collingwood when he came on to deliver some off-cutters. “Haury bowled much slower than the England spinners, generally got a lot more spin and bounce,” Clarke said. “We’ll wait to see what happens, but I believe there is enough spin out there.”Ricky Ponting and Andrew Strauss agreed before the series that the lights could be turned on for bad light and they were used for the first time in a Test in Britain, allowing an extra six overs before stumps. That period, which followed a rain delay of two hours and three minutes, gained England a wicket when Clarke hooked at Stuart Broad and was caught behind for 83.When the umpires offered the batsmen the light Strauss was unhappy and it was hard to see how the conditions had deteriorated. “It was frustrating to come off, there was a new batsman in so we wanted to carry on,” James Anderson said. “[Andrew Flintoff] had a decent speed and Stuart was bowling with good control, so we would have liked to stay on.”Clarke said the conditions were fine when he was batting, but he exited in the third-last over of the day. “The ruling is once the natural light is gone and the lights take over from the natural light, [the umpires] can offer it,” Clarke said. “When I was out there the light was okay, I have no excuses for my dismissal. I just found out it was the first time it was used in Test cricket in England, so lock me down for the first wicket.”Did Clarke want to come out for the final period? “Yeah, of course we did. The wicket is good to bat on and we’re in a fantastic position. We were told there were 12 overs left in the day and Marcus North and I saw it as an opportunity to get a few more runs on the board.”England will aim to wrap up Australia’s innings as swiftly as possible on the fourth day, weather permitting. “We’re not thinking about a draw now,” Anderson said. “There’s a big first session first thing in the morning, so we’ve got to think about getting those five wickets quickly.”

Cricket South Africa’s High Performance coach, has shrugged off the disappointment of South Africa’s surprise defeat in the Emerging Players Tournament final to India

Cricinfo staff04-Aug-2009Corrie van Zyl, Cricket South Africa’s High Performance coach, has shrugged off the disappointment of South Africa’s surprise defeat in the Emerging Players Tournament final in Brisbane to India, saying his team gained more from the experience. South Africa were the favourites to take the title, having won all their eight matches before choking in the final when faced with a target of 284.”Obviously it would have been nice to have won the final but it was not to be and, if somebody had told me before the tournament that we would win eight out of nine matches I would certainly have taken it,” van Zyl told SAPA.”This tour was an opportunity to grow as a team and to get a taste of international cricket, of touring and all the associated experiences that go with it. In that sense the tour was a huge success and the commitment of every player throughout the tournament was excellent, whether they were in the actual playing XI or not.”Fast bowler CJD de Villiers, with 10 wickets, and batsman Heino Kuhn (286 runs) were the main performers for South Africa. van Zyl also singled out offspinner Thandi Tshabalala, who took four wickets in two games.”CJ was outstanding while Thandi towards the end of last season and again on this tour has shown signs of reaching his true potential,” he said. “But really it was a team effort and there was always a player to put his hand up when it was needed.”

A number of Aston Villa fans hailed the performance of midfielder John McGinn on Saturday despite their calamitous late collapse in the Midlands derby against Wolves.

Dean Smith’s side found themselves two goals to the good with little over 10 minutes left to play at Villa Park, the Scot’s deflected shot on 68 minutes putting them 2-0 up and seemingly out of sight. However, the visitors staged a dramatic late comeback, turning the game on its head and coming away with a 3-2 victory after Ruben Neves, off whom the ball deflected for McGinn’s goal, saw his free kick take a deflection on its way into the net, leaving the home side stunned. [Sky Sports]

Despite the extraordinary surrendering of what had seemed a comfortable lead for Villa, their Scottish midfielder can come away from the match feeling pleased with his own personal contribution.

Aside from the goal he netted – his second in a week after bagging for Scotland against Israel on international duty – he also claimed an assist for Danny Ings’ opener yesterday and gave an all-round strong performance. As per SofaScore, he had three successful dribbles, won four tackles and came out on top in eight of his 13 duels.

His display won the praise of Birmingham Live’s Ashley Preece, who wrote that the midfielder (who turns 27 tomorrow) “did everything that was asked and more”. It also made an impression on numerous Villa fans on Twitter, one of whom called McGinn an “elite level” player.

Check out some of the online reaction below.

Aston Villa fans praise John McGinn

“When in form, John McGinn is practically unplayable. Such a dynamic, Swiss Army knife of a footballer.”

Credit: @CianByNature

“John McGinn has reached elite level. Been saying it all season but today he’s something else. #AVFC”

Credit: @greggevans40

“So many fans on here with egg on their face, Super John McGinn is on another level, performances like today sets him above any other player at the club, but I’ve been saying this since day dot, some of our fanbase really don’t know football. Super @jmcginn7  MOTM @AVFCOfficial”

Credit: @MrPJLinton

“Shout out to the meatball…..levels above anyone else on the pitch today @jmcginn7 #avfc”

Credit: @deano7villa

“John McGinn is on another level this season! #AVFC”

Credit: @7500toHolte

“John McGinn is a machine. Best @AVFCOfficial player since God”

Credit: @CallumK54024687

“We’re so lucky to have John McGinn, what a player”

Credit: @JoeSpencerAV

In other news, one of McGinn’s team-mates got a rather frostier reaction from some Villa fans for his performance yesterday

فجرت تقارير صحفية منذ قليل، مفاجأة قوية بتأكيدها على أن أحد الأندية التركية تواصلت مع النجم البرتغالي كريستيانو رونالدو لبحث إمكانية ضمه من مانشستر يونايتد هذا الصيف.

ويسعى رونالدو إلى مغادرة الأولد ترافورد في موسم الانتقالات الصيفي الحالي، في سبيل المشاركة في دوري أبطال أوروبا الموسم الجديد.

وارتبط صاحب الـ37 عامًا بالعديد من الأندية الأوروبية، أبرزها تشيلسي، بايرن ميونخ، باريس سان جيرمان وأتلتيكو مدريد، ولكن لم يحاول أي منهم التقدم بعرض للظفر بخدماته.

وتفاعل رونالدو بشكل إيجابي مع أحد الأشخاص عبر إنستجرام، اليوم الجمعة، بعدما طُلب منه القدوم إلى جالطة سراي.

ويبدو أن الأمر حقيقي بالفعل، حيث ذكر الصحفي التركي Ali Naci Küçük عبر حسابه الشخصي بموقع “تويتر”، أن جالطة سراي تواصل مع رونالدو لبحث إمكانية ضمه.

وأوضح أن جالطة سراي استفسر من رونالدو عن شروطه للانتقال إلى الفريق التركي في فترة الانتقالات الصيفية لهذا العام.

وأشار الصحفي إلى أن رونالدو رد قائلًا: “جالطة سراي نادِ كبير، ولكنني لن أذهب إلى فريق ليس في دوري أبطال أوروبا”.

🤝👊Ronaldo ile temasa geçildi…

😳Şaka değil cidden Galatasaray büyük düşünüyor

☄️Şartlarını soruyor…

🟡🔴Ronaldo ise Galatasaray’a teşekkür edip şu yanıtı veriyor

🔴“ Galatasaray büyük bir kulüp ama Şampiyonlar Ligi’nde olmayan bir takıma gitmem” — Ali Naci Küçük (@AliNaciKucuk) August 5, 2022

وفشل جالطة سراي في التأهل إلى النسخة القادمة من دوري أبطال أوروبا بعدما أنهى الموسم الماضي من الدوري التركي في المركز الثالث عشر.

يُذكر أن مانشستر يونايتد سيبدأ مشواره في الموسم الجديد من الدوري الإنجليزي بمواجهة برايتون يوم الأحد المقبل.

Easterns thrashed a weakened Westerns side by an innings and 275 runs at Zimbabwe Cricket Academy in the opening round of the 2008-09 Logan Cup. With a number of their key players on duty with Zimbabwe’s A team, Westerns’ batting was always off the pace as they were bowled out for 156 and 110. Had Easterns’ fielding not been sloppy they would have struggled to reach three figures. Westerns’ bowling wasn’t much better as Easterns cruised to 541 for 9, with Forster Mutizwa (124), Steven Nyamuzinga (120), Stuart Matsikenyeri (111) and Hamilton Masakadza (107) all making hundreds.At Harare Sports Club, Northerns beat Centrals by three wickets in a much closer if low-scoring contest. Centrals made 184, Malcolm Waller providing the backbone with 69, and Elton Chigumbura’s 82 helped Northerns reply with 186. Waller was again in good form, making 73, as Centrals scored 180, setting a target of 181. ed Rainsford took 4 for 20 but that was not enough to prevent Northerns edging home, Ray Price leading the charge with 58 off 77 balls.

يقود خالد الدرندلي نائب رئيس الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، اتجاهًا داخل المجلس بتوحيد المدرسة البرتغالية في منصب المدير الفني للمنتخب الأول والمنتخب الأولمبي والمدير الفني لاتحاد الكرة.

وعلم “بطولات” أن خالد الدرندلي يرغب بأن يتواجد مدير فني برتغالي لمنتخب مصر الأولمبي، وأيضًا برتغالي لمنصب المدير الفني لاتحاد الكرة.

طالع | وزارة الرياضة تستفسر من اتحاد الكرة عن حقيقة المراهنات.. وإجراء منتظر حال ثبوت تورطه

ويأتي ذلك حتى يكون هناك انسجام بين الثنائي مع البرتغالي روي فيتوريا المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر الأول.

وينظر اتحاد الكرة في المرشحين لمنصبي المدير الفني للمنتخب الأولمبي والمدير الفني لاتحاد الكرة.

ومن المقرر أن يتم الاستعانة برأي روي فيتوريا في الاسم الذي سيتم اختياره للمنصبين.

According to Roker Report, Sunderland are closing in on the signing of Ron-Thorben Hoffmann on loan from Bayern Munich.

The Lowdown: Sunderland busy

The Black Cats have made the most of this transfer window, bringing in no less than seven new players with ten others departing (Transfermarkt), successfully rebuilding the squad who fell just short of promotion last time out.

In the final few hours of the window, they may end up doing some more business.

The Latest: Hoffmann on the radar

As per this latest claim from Roker Report, Sunderland are looking to capture the services of Hoffmann on a temporary basis.

The Stadium of Light outfit will be looking to sign him on loan with an option buy.

The report details that the ‘towering’ 6 foot 4 youngster has become a target after talks were halted with Vito Mannone.

The Verdict: Clever target

Capturing 22-year-old Hoffmann could be a fantastic piece of business for Sunderland. At the moment, Lee Johnson only has Lee Burge in terms of senior goalkeepers with experience, although Anthony Patterson has been promoted to the senior squad.

Although without an appearance for 30-time Bundesliga champions Bayern’s senior outfit, he has played 49 times for their second side. Even if he was signed to play a back-up role at first, it could be a clever piece of business from the north-east side.

In other news, Sunderland fans were livid with this former player’s comments.