Hobart Hurricanes crumbled to their lowest BBL total, and lost Matthew Wade to a calf injury, in a shambolic six-wicket loss against Melbourne Renegades in Geelong.After being asked to bat first, Hurricanes’ innings at GMHBA Stadium lasted less than 13 overs on Thursday night as they were skittled for 74. They fell well short of their previous low benchmark – 91 against Sydney Sixers in 2015.New Zealander Tim Seifert, who pulled off a remarkable catch behind the stumps, belted an unbeaten 37 as Renegades chased down 75 in only nine overs.Captain Nathan Ellis saved Hurricanes from worse embarrassment, smashing 35 after coming to the crease at 32 for 6. Ellis then bowled superbly, taking 2 for 12 from his three overs, to clearly be Hurricanes’ best player.In a further blow for Hurricanes’ hopes of breaking through for their first title, Wade was assessed for a calf injury after pulling up sore behind the stumps. Wade, who was on the player microphone for Fox Cricket, expressed his frustration via the commentary when there was a long delay in being able to get off the field.Ben McDermott eventually replaced Wade as Hurricanes’ wicketkeeper after two overs of chaotic communication. The former Australia player didn’t return to the field for the rest of the match, sitting on the bench with a compression bandage on his calf.After conceding boundaries from his first two balls, Renegades seamer Tom Rogers struck back to take 3 for 25, including being on a hat-trick. Fellow opening bowler Fergus O’Neill also claimed wickets in consecutive deliveries. Captain Will Sutherland joined Renegades’ wicket party, finishing with career-best T20 figures of 3 for 14.It was the first BBL match in Geelong since last year’s match between Renegades and Perth Scorchers was abandoned due to an unplayable pitch.Renegades move to 1-1 after losing their opening game of the tournament on Monday night against Sixers. Hurricanes will attempt to put a disastrous start to the season behind them when they host Scorchers on Saturday.
Leeds United are enjoying raiding the Bundesliga for some exciting talents this summer transfer window.
Indeed, away from Sean Longstaff’s recent £12m arrival last week, every other pick-up so far this window has come from the German top division, with that trend clear for all to see once more with the imminent £17.4m signing of Anton Stach from Hoffenheim.
Anton Stach in action for Hoffenheim.
Daniel Farke clearly trusts in the Bundesliga when attempting to make wholesale changes to his squad, with yet another target now on the Whites’ agenda from this happy hunting ground.
Leeds interested in move for £8m star
It’s not just the Bundesliga that the Whites are looking at when it comes to top European leagues; however, as reports suggest that Leeds have also cast their net out to Serie A when eyeing up Juventus forward Timothy Weah, alongside delving deeper into La Liga by reportedly approaching Getafe midfielder Christantus Uche.
Moreover, there are still Premier League stars on their mind, too, with Fulham centre-forward Rodrigo Muniz very firmly on their radar when attempting to strengthen their forward positions, as Patrick Bamford is now deemed surplus to requirements at Elland Road by Farke.
Whilst that fresh development will make a new striker a top priority, it’s not quite as pressing as Leeds’ need for a Premier League-standard goalkeeper, with the Whites’ wishes for a top-flight-ready keeper potentially coming true in the form of Augsburg stopper Finn Dahmen.
A report from German outlet BILD states that Leeds are interested in sealing a deal for the 27-year-old, who is valued at around £8m according to Transfermarkt, with this deal being considered more important to secure than Stach’s much-talked-about arrival on the scene.
Why Dahmen is a more important signing than Stach
Whilst Stach’s versatility – as can be seen looking at the table below – will be useful for Leeds as they make their way up to a gruelling new division, Farke would love to add Dahmen to his camp even more as Illan Meslier is ditched once and for all.
DM
49
3
5
CB
13
0
0
CM
8
1
1
RM
1
0
0
Last season in the Premier League saw all three promoted sides return to the EFL with a whimper, having leaked a combined 248 strikes between them.
Therefore, it will be absolutely pivotal to Leeds’ survival chances that they possess a stopper ready for the intense challenges in the Premier League, and they could have just that in their new 6-foot-1 target if his Bundesliga heroics are anything to go by.
Staggeringly, across all the major German leagues, Dahmen was voted as the goalkeeper of the season for his standout exploits during the 24/25 campaign, with the former Germany U21 international managing to give up just 19 goals in total from 19 league outings.
Dahmen’s consistent excellence between the sticks would help Sandro Wagner’s men to a comfortable 12th finish in the overall league standings come the final match day of the season, with Leeds aiming for a similarly easy-going final position back in the Premier League.
Stach did chip in with one goal and two assists himself, fighting it out for Hoffenheim, but his superb showings were nearly all in vain as Christian Ilzer’s side were narrowly close to the shock of relegation, still, in 15th spot.
Games played
19
Goals conceded
19
Goals conceded per game
1.0
Saves
65
Goals prevented
+6.86
Ball recoveries per game
7.2
Clean sheets
9
Without Dahmen, Augsburg might well have been looking over their shoulder, too, with a mammoth 6.86 goals prevented from hitting the back of the net courtesy of the number one stopper.
In stark contrast, Meslier, away from letting in 27 goals, prevented -2.73 goals, with his errors nearly costing Leeds dear in their promotion run-in.
Leeds United's IllanMesliercelebrates
Therefore, there will be plenty of hesitation on Farke’s end about persisting with the shaky Frenchman, with Augsburg’s “1-on-1 king” – as he’s been dubbed by football journalist Archie Rhind-Tutt – instantly displacing him on his arrival.
Bayer Leverkusen's Patrik Schick in action with FC Augsburg'sFinnDahmen
Stach might well have to fight it out for a starting spot, on the contrary, whilst Dahmen readies himself to become Leeds’ number one stopper as another golden German export.
Much bigger talent than Joseph: Leeds chasing deal for "nightmare" striker
Leeds United could win the services of a bigger talent than Mateo Joseph by securing this rising starlet.
After they splashed out a club-record £30m fee to sign Habib Diarra, some may have expected Sunderland to slow their spending down. That’s far from the case, however, as new Director of Football Florent Ghisolfi and Kristjaan Speakman kick things up a notch.
Noah Sadiki: Sunderland a "huge club"
Since signing Diarra, Sunderland have also welcomed Noah Sadiki from Union Saint-Gilloise to beat Leeds United to yet another transfer target this summer. The central midfielder arrives for around £17.5m, taking the Black Cats’ summer spending to around the £50m-mark in what has been a statement-making window thus far.
After putting pen to paper, the midfielder told Sunderland’s official website: “I want to thank everyone for welcoming me to Sunderland. This is a huge Club, but what convinced me was speaking to the people.
“They spoke about the history, what they want to build, and their belief in the part that I can play. I will bring duels, forward runs, passion, and track back. Above all else, I want to win – and I carry this desire with me every time I step onto the field. This is my team now, and I’m really happy with my decision.”
Union Saint-Gilloise'sNoahSadikiin action with Rangers' Nedim Bajrami
In the middle of a busy but impressive summer, sporting director Speakman also shared his delight after welcoming Sadiki: “Noah’s enjoyed a great level of experience at a relatively young age, and alongside his drive to improve, this makes him an exciting addition to our squad.”
Gyan 2.0: Sunderland make £17m star who's "making waves" a priority target
Sunderland could find their next Asamoah Gyan by signing this striker this summer.
By
Dan Emery
Jul 5, 2025
Speakman and Ghisolfi aren’t done just yet, however. Even after splashing out around £50m, they look destined to spend £20m more to welcome an attacking reinforcement in a deal out of nowhere.
Sunderland agree quick-fire deal to sign Chemsdine Talbi
According to Fabrizio Romano, Sunderland have now reached an agreement to sign Chemsdine Talbi from Club Brugge and are expected to announce the arrival of the winger for €23m (£20m) plus add-ons. In another statement of intent from the Black Cats, the 20-year-old represents someone who is only set to get better with experience.
Dubbed “electric” by U23 scout Antonio Mango last season, Regis Le Bris will be signing a player who could instantly become one of the quickest to grace the Premier League – having clocked a faster time than Micky van de Ven last season.
On top of that, the winger possesses an eye for goal after netting seven in all competitions last time out and already has Champions League experience to his name. Out of Diarra, Le Fee and Sadiki, it could be Talbi who stands out as Sunderland’s signing of the summer.
Surrey 164 for 5 (Sibley 67, Curran 52) beat Durham 162 for 8 (Jones 37, Worrall 2-14) by five wicketsDominic Sibley and Sam Curran shared a stand of 95 in 63 balls as Surrey romped to Vitality Blast final’s day with a five-wicket win over Durham at the Kia Oval.Former England opener Sibley plundered 67 in 48 balls (two sixes and six fours) while Curran, who made a hundred earlier in the competition, hit 52 in 34 balls, including four sixes as the hosts chased down a target of 163 with 12 balls to spare.The fact they needed so many was credit to the visitors who fought back from 69 for 6 thanks to 37 from Michael Jones, 24 in 15 from Bas De Leede and a gem of a cameo from Ben Raine (23 from 8) to post 162 for 8. Dan Worrall (2 for 14) and Reece Topley (2 for 20) wreaked havoc in the powerplay for Surrey.Thanks to Worrall and Topley, Surrey dominated early on. Durham’s leading scorer in the competition, Graham Clark, spooned the fifth ball from Worrall to Jordan at extra cover and Ollie Robinson chewed up 11 balls swinging and missing before being bowled by Topley.Worrall cleaned up Alex Lees with a brute of a yorker and although Brydon Carse struck his first ball over the ropes, he left soon afterwards edging Topley to wicketkeeper Burns.Colin Ackerman was run out by a brilliant direct hit from Sam Curran and when Ashton Turner’s brief counterattack (26 from 21) was ended by Sibley’s catch at deep square Durham were 69 for 6 in the 13th over.Scottish international Jones hit back, clubbing Jordan over extra for six. De Leede, who survived a bungled run-out attempt by Burns, followed suit as the pair raised a 50-stand in 30 balls before Sam Curran bowled De Leede off his pads.Jones though kept swinging and Raine (23 from 8), twice cleared the ropes in the final over bowled by Jordan to take the visitors to 162.Buoyed by taking 92 from the last seven, Durham began well in the field, Carse striking twice in five balls to remove first the dangerous Will Jacks and then Laurie Evans caught at slip.Two men who not so long ago were opening for England, Rory Burns and Sibley were trusted with steadying the ship and the latter defied his reputation as something of a plodder with four boundaries in the powerplay.The introduction of spin for the first time on the night in the shape of Callum Parkinson was the undoing of Burns, who hoisted him to safe hands in the deep.Sam Curran joined Sibley as the run-rate rose, 30 balls ticking by without a boundary before the former broke the shackles with a huge six off Nathan Sowter. Parkinson was similarly dispatched.De Leede spurned the chance to take the England all-rounder’s scalp when he dropped a tough caught and bowled with Curran on 31 and with that the hosts assumed complete command.Sibley went to 50 with a glorious six over mid-on before Curran struck a delivery from Sowter almost clean out of The Oval.Only 15 were needed when Sibley fell and though Curran too left before the end, Surrey got home comfortably.
Sheffield United are on the lookout for reinforcements to put themselves in a position to claim promotion and two Tottenham Hotspur stars are now said to be on their radar.
Sheffield United close to finalising Chris Wilder's replacement
Despite achieving 92 points last season, the Blades are set to relieve Chris Wilder of his duties, and the search for his replacement is firmly in the works at Bramall Lane.
Wasting no time, Sheffield United are in advanced talks with Ruben Selles, and he is expected to become the new man in charge following his spell at fellow EFL Championship outfit Hull City.
Showing his frustration at events, BBC reporter Andy Giddings believes sacking Wilder is a decision that shows ‘naivety’ in light of his respectable points tally and record across two spells in Yorkshire.
He explained: “The delay in holding these talks over his future and the time it’s taken to resolve the situation shows a lack of respect to Wilder, in my opinion, a lack of clarity at the top of the club, and a naivety in offering him a new three-year deal in January, when it was known significant changes to the club’s methods of recruitment were coming.”
With their managerial vacancy set to be filled, the Blades will now turn their attention to potential incoming after a heartbreaking playoff final loss to Sunderland.
Chris Wilder’s record in charge at Sheffield United
Matches in charge
305
Wins
140
Draws
57
Losses
108
Trophies/promotions
EFL League One title in 2016/17 EFL Championship runners-up in 2018/19
Looking to the division below, Sheffield United have reportedly made contact with Leyton Orient over Ethan Galbraith, and his versatility could offer a sense of variation for Selles, given he can feature at right-back, in midfield or on either flank.
Nevertheless, the club’s hierarchy could actually be set to raid the Premier League for two rising stars amid recent developments.
Sheffield United want to sign Tottenham Hotspur duo
According to the Sheffield Star, Sheffield United want to sign Tottenham due Ashley Phillips and Alfie Devine to help their promotion push next campaign.
Defender Phillips spent last season on loan at Stoke City and made 39 appearances across all competitions. Meanwhile, the latter racked up six strikes and a solitary assist in 32 outings in midfield for K.V.C Westerlo in Belgium.
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Sheffield United are now in a race to sign a Championship striker on a free transfer.
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Labelled “outstanding” by former Port Vale boss Andy Crosby, Devine is highly rated within the corridors of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and they may feel a move to Yorkshire could be advantageous regarding his development.
In the case of Phillips, it isn’t explicitly clear whether any move for him would be a loan agreement or on a permanent basis. Either way, Anel Ahmedhodzic and Jack Robinson are the only senior central defenders on the books at Bramall Lane right now, signifying a need for cover.
Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy, following the club’s historic Europa League celebrations, now has some key decisions to make ahead of the summer transfer window, discounting the obvious debate surrounding Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham celebrate first major trophy in 17 years after Europa League triumph
Amid a dismal domestic campaign, where Spurs have recorded 21 Premier League defeats and counting, Postecoglou finally gave supporters something to smile about on Wednesday evening.
Postecoglou sack stance after Levy holds fresh Tottenham boardroom talks
The Australian is now a history-maker.
3 ByEmilio Galantini May 24, 2025
After a tense battle with Man United, the Australian and his team ended Tottenham’s 17-year wait for a piece of major silverware, with Brennan Johnson’s scrappy winning goal proving the decider on a historic night in Bilbao.
Postecoglou did wonders to transform the narrative surrounding the club’s ‘Spursy’ tag, having long suffered from a reputation of being the ‘nearly team’, and he’s given Levy something to seriously think about in terms of a potential dismissal.
Player
Rating
Guglielmo Vicario
7.7
Yves Bissouma
7.6
Cristian Romero
7.4
Bruno Fernandes
7.4
Destiny Udogie
7.2
While David Ornstein suggests that Tottenham are still leaning in the direction of sacking Postecoglou, the emotion of such a momentous occasion, and the promise of Champions League football next season, makes you wonder whether the 59-year-old should be given a third season.
Injury problems took their toll on a ravaged Spurs squad, and it would be interesting to see if Postecoglou could have better luck next term, especially after a summer transfer window boosted by their place in Europe’s most prestigious competition for 2025/26.
“As much as you try to understand what a trophy would mean to these people, seeing them out there today, is why we do what we do,” said Postecoglou in a rousing speech during their Europa League trophy parade.
“That’s the priceless bit, for this feeling. I’m super pleased that these boys could deliver. All good things come through hard work, toil, perseverance and belief. This group have that in spades, and I’m so pleased that we could crack that stone and now everyone can enjoy it.
“We had to dig deep, for sure, but what the history books will say is that we’re the Europa Cup winners, and it doesn’t say how we did it, just that we did it.”
Cristian Romero informs Daniel Levy of decision to leave Tottenham
Beyond Postecoglou’s long-term future in the dugout, Levy also has some key calls to think about when it comes to £165,000-per-week defender Cristian Romero.
He was crowned the Europa League’s Player of the Season and put in a match-winning performance against United earlier this week, proving integral to Spurs’ trophy glory, but it is believed Atlético Madrid are seriously pursuing a summer move for the Argentinian.
There are even some suggestions that Diego Simeone is personally pushing for Atletico to sign Romero, with Spanish newspaper Marca sharing another update on his future.
The outlet reports that Romero has informed Levy of his desire to leave Tottenham and join Atlético, and this stance hasn’t changed, despite their victory at the Estadio de San Mamés.
As has been the theme of this developing story, there is still a gap in valuation for the player. Spurs ideally want nearly £60 million for Romero, and will categorically refuse to go lower than £44 million. Atlético’s wish is to “significantly” lower Romero’s asking price, but Simeone’s side still need to invest a lot in his signature.
“Underrated? Cristian Romero. Top, top centre-back,” said teammate James Maddison on TikTok when asked about Spurs’ most underrated player.
“For some reason in England, I feel like he has the perception of being a hot head who gets a lot of red cards and isn’t disciplined, but it’s the opposite, he’s a World Cup winner and he’s a top player.”
After putting on five-star display against Crystal Palace, the good news could be short-lived for Manchester City amid reports that one midfield star is willing to take a pay cut to get his move this summer.
Man City put five past Crystal Palace
When Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards struck to hand Crystal Palace a shock 2-0 lead at the Etihad, it looked set to be an all too familiar story for Pep Guardiola’s side. That is, until Kevin De Bruyne took a hold on proceedings.
The Belgian, into his last six games of his Manchester City career, scored a stunning free-kick before playing his part in Omar Marmoush’s swift equaliser midway through the first period.
Putting on a show, Manchester City then hit three goals without a response to seal all three points against an in-form Crystal Palace side. Speaking after an excellent display, De Bruyne told TNT Sports: “I thought the first 20 minutes, it was actually alright. We had a couple of chances but they pounced on two chances, one a corner and then obviously the Eze chance.
“I was wondering, ‘What’s going on here?’, but I think the reaction was really good. Obviously, scoring very quickly the first and the second changed the feeling of the game. I think overall we played really well.”
Man City in contact with "electric" £30m full-back with Walker-esque pace
The Citizens could land a bargain deal…
ByTom Cunningham Apr 11, 2025
It may well prove to be an all-important victory for the Citizens as they battle to secure Champions League qualification, with De Bruyne hoping to ensure of a fitting farewell in the process. That said, the Belgian may not be the only one saying his goodbyes in the coming weeks if recent reports are anything to go by.
Benfica eyeing Bernardo Silva move
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, as relayed by Sport Witness, Benfica are now plotting a move to sign Bernardo Silva, who is reportedly willing to take a pay cut in order to secure an exit away from Manchester City.
In doing so, the midfielder would be going full circle back to his boyhood club. Now 30 years old and a player who’s been past his excellent best at times this season, Silva would be completing a fitting move.
If that is to be that for the Portugal international in Manchester, there’s no doubt that he’ll be bowing out as a modern-day legend at the home of the Premier League champions. Guardiola’s praise has often reflected that legend status, too.
The Spaniard told reporters in December: “We are lucky with the players we have, for example, like Bernardo. I know he’s a special player for me, but how he puts his heart into those positions.
“He is an incredible winner and example for us in how he behaves in different positions and always tries to help and read what happens in certain positions. Playing attacking midfield, holding midfield, always defensively he makes an incredible effort.”
They used one of their three trump cards and had almost everything with their four experienced batters go right for them
Sidharth Monga24-Jun-20254:09
Gambhir: We had opportunities on all five days
India’s big guns have all fired. Rishabh Pant has scored two creative centuries, the openers have each hit a classy one in each innings, the captain has notched up a regal one, their gun bowler has exhausted one of the three Tests he is going to play and has delivered a five-for. And yet they are down 1-0. They have lost the unlosable Test.Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Their last four aggregated nine runs in both innings put together, becoming parts of collapses of 7 for 41 and 6 for 31 in pretty flat conditions. They dropped more catches than any team in a Test in England in the last 20 years. Their third and fourth fast bowlers provided them neither control nor penetration. They could have batted England out on the second day; they didn’t. They could have secured a huge lead had they held their catches; they didn’t. They could have batted England out again on the fourth day; they didn’t.It was a proper baptism by fire for captain Shubman Gill, having to lead a transitioning bowling unit on one of the more idiosyncratic grounds of the world against a side that might not have the quality of some of India’s recent opponents but are intimidating frontrunners. A new slips cordon had to come to terms with fielding about a foot or two below the pitch level, bowlers needed to quickly adjust to running in up and down the slope, and their mistakes with the bat forced them to defend more than they could attack on a notoriously difficult-to-defend ground with pitches running all the way to the boundary. He also has to deal with his lead bowler playing only three Tests.Related
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However, Gill will need to lay down the law here. It wasn’t long ago that the India tail used to dig in and fight for whatever runs they could claw out. On their last trip to England, India got the lead because of the runs the lower order scored. It’s not that Nos. 8 to 11 aggregated only nine runs in two innings. Dismissals can happen. Even to specialist batters. It was more the nature of the dismissals. They batted like millionaires without getting a feel for the conditions despite having a proper batter at the other end. They played Shardul Thakur precisely to provide them batting depth, but he was out playing expansive drives eighth ball and 12th balls.Gill just needs to imagine what would have happened if the tail had displayed such a casual attitude when Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma was captain. Once, leave alone twice, in the same match. Gill will soon learn it is nice to have a great atmosphere and respect in the dressing room, but there needs to be some fear of the leaders as well.The lower-order flop is not the only reason why India lost the unlosable Test but it was a symptom of general drops in intensity that a captain needs to watch out against. Test cricket is more about playing good cricket for longer periods of time than flashes of brilliance. This is why an attack of four good fast bowlers is better than one world-beater, one good bowler and two bowling ordinarily. You need fitness, intensity, and ruthlessness to be up six hours a day, each day for five days, or however long it takes.3:26
Harmison: Not sure India believed they could get Duckett out
On the final day, when finally none of the big guns fired, India didn’t seem to have a plan on how to put together a consistent set of overs. Jasprit Bumrah should be allowed to have a day on which he is not bowling an unplayable delivery every over. The bowling choices need to be made based not just on numbers that day. Mohammed Siraj, the best bowler on display on the final day, wasn’t bowled from overs 42 to 80, a period of not just 39 overs but also two rain breaks. Ravindra Jadeja took a little too long to shift his line wider, into the rough, to challenge Ben Duckett’s reverse-sweeps. At one point Ben Duckett punched Jadeja towards mid-off, and he looked up to see there wasn’t one. Not short, not wide, not deep. Just no mid-off at all.In a Test that you make only one or two such mistakes, they can have only a trivial impact on the eventual outcome, but all these things add up.This was also collectively India’s worst fielding performance in a long time. Thakur misfielded because he slipped, but took forever to get back up and retrieve the ball. As Rishabh Pant could be heard saying on the stumps mic, “It is okay to misfield, but you need to recover.” It should have come from Gill. If you zoomed-out a little and looked at the whole field as events unfolded during the final day, it was hard to tell if Gill was in charge. At various times, Pant and KL Rahul set the fields and talked to the bowlers.1:59
Why were Indian seamers ineffective on day 5?
The most important job for Gill and Gautam Gambhir will be to lift the team after they have lost a Test in which they used one of the three trump cards given to them and had almost everything with their four experienced batters go right for them. As has been said in this space before, Gill’s real test will be if he plays Thakur as the bowling allrounder and it doesn’t work out. The ideal response will be to double down on the need to take 20 wickets and bring in a proper bowler – possibly Kuldeep Yadav – but their collapses have given them every reason to be conservative.A captaincy debut which started like a dream for Gill has ended up being a nightmare. This was only his sixth first-class match as captain. He needs to be cut some slack, but this is a job that comes with a lot of prestige and also responsibility. He has no option but to learn quickly on the job. There is no magic potion that can maintain the love and care but still instil fear and accountability.This is not to say the players are not hurting for this loss. They are hurting more than anyone on the outside can. They will all have to dust themselves off and do the good things again but also make sure their intensity doesn’t drop. The England bowling attack can be taken down. They just need their bowlers to be in the good areas more often than at Headingley, and then be switched on in the field.If there is any consolation, it has been done before. Kohli’s first Test as captain is remembered for his brilliant twin hundreds, but even that game featured ordinary selections and lower-order disasters. In his first series as the full-time captain, Kohli lost what seemed like the unlosable Test in Galle to start off with. You can quibble with other things, but it is hard to remember drops in intensity in the side after that.
The 17-year-old UAE international is set to make her England debut after a stellar summer
S Sudarshanan30-Aug-20232:08
Mahika Gaur talks about her idols, MS Dhoni and Mitchell Starc
Left-arm seamer Mahika Gaur was only 12 when she made her international debut for UAE. Four years on, she is set to become a double-international after being called up for England’s white-ball series at home against Sri Lanka.If you were to create a left-arm seamer in a lab, the ideal ingredients would be a tall frame, lean build, and an ability to move the ball, all of which Gaur, who is over six feet tall, has. In terms of pace, she is not yet Mitchell Starc, one of her idols, but in a short span, she has been able to use her height and discipline to trouble some of the top batters in the game.In Gaur’s first match at this year’s FairBreak Invitational Tournament in Hong Kong, she got a length delivery to lift off the surface and jag back into the hard-hitting Deandra Dottin, who swayed away but could only glove it to the keeper. In her second match in the Women’s Hundred, Gaur kept Oval Invincibles openers Suzie Bates and Lauren Winfield-Hill on a tight leash with her swing while mixing her lengths. She bowled 15 of her 20 balls inside the 25-ball powerplay for only seven runs and got the wicket of Winfield-Hill.Born in Reading in the south of England, Gaur was inspired to take up cricket after watching an IPL match in Jaipur in 2011: Shane Warne had starred in a Rajasthan Royals win over Delhi Daredevils and the atmosphere at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium captivated Gaur so much that she wanted to play as soon as she got back to England.”I was practising bowling in the garden. I think my dad was just surprised that I could roll my arm fully without chucking the ball,” Gaur said on the sidelines of the Fairbreak Invitational in April this year. “He was a left-arm bowler in college but never got to do his cricket thing. But when he saw that I have potential, he’s always been on board.”Three years later, when the family moved to Dubai, Gaur enrolled in the ICC Academy, where she met Chaya Mughal, who later became UAE Women’s captain. “The first time I went into ICC [Academy], she was training indoors and the coach over there, Adnan [Sabri] sir said that I can bowl to her.”I was bowling loopy full tosses and she was defending them. She was the first person I bowled to there and I was star-struck. My dad told me she’s from the UAE national team – that was pretty cool.”In 19 T20Is for UAE, Gaur took nine wickets and conceded 5.15 runs an over•Alex Davidson/ECB/Getty ImagesMughal also remembers her first sightings of a young Gaur, whom she went on to captain in 16 T20Is for UAE. “A young girl, taking a long run-up, high-arm action, left arm – I was surprised to see a full package,” she said. “The first thought that came to my mind was, ‘Wow, she is going to be a fantastic player for the UAE side!'”She was continuously hitting the hard length and wanted the ball to come into me. I was amazed to see such a talent and she was putting in a lot of effort in every ball. She wanted to do something new in every ball she bowled. The spark she had took me aback.”Twelve-year-old Gaur didn’t quite grasp the significance of her international debut, in 2019, and wondered why her parents and older sister were “making such a big deal of it”. She only realised how momentous her debut was when Theertha Satish and Khushi Sharma, two of her best friends in the UAE set-up, got their T20I caps in 2021 at ages 17 and 19 respectively.But the major turning point in her life came in 2020. After a training session with UAE was cancelled, Gaur found herself bowling in a masterclass session with Manchester Originals at the Dubai Expo. Lancashire men’s captain Keaton Jennings and former wicketkeeper Warren Hegg, the cricket operations executive at Lancashire and Originals, were impressed by what they saw.”[Hegg] was just talking to me and found out I have a British passport,” Gaur said. “So I could play in England as a domestic player. They got in touch with my parents and I moved to Manchester in December 2021.”The following June, Gaur took 11 wickets for UAE in the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifiers – the most among fast bowlers and second overall, and her economy rate of 1.36 was the best for any bowler with at least four overs in the tournament. Originals picked her in their squad as a reserve and she made her Hundred debut this August.By then there was already enough indication that England were also interested in the tall seamer. In June this year Gaur was selected to play T20s for England A against Australia A in a shadow tour alongside the Women’s Ashes. She also took 11 white-ball wickets for her domestic side, Thunder, in 13 innings during this period.Gaur says she learnt a lot from her more experienced team-mates, including Nicola Carey, Bismah Maroof and Ayabonga Khaka, during the FairBreak Invitational Tournament earlier this year•Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Getty ImagesWhat has stood out in most of these appearances is her calm and her ability to keep batters in check with the new ball. In May at Old Trafford in a 50-over domestic game for Thunder against Sparks, she prevented a set Davina Perrin and Grace Potts from scoring eight in the final over; the match was tied.Gaur’s calm perhaps comes from wanting to emulate the other “Mahi”, MS Dhoni.”One of the players I looked up to was Dhoni,” she said. “He is the CSK captain, so I am a big CSK fan. We would watch all his finishes. My first ever cricket jersey was a picture of Dhoni and on the back it said ‘Mahi 7’ because he’s Mahi and I am Mahi as well.”I think it’s why I started liking cricket, because he was making the team win from impossible situations. When I was younger, I would also dream of finishing matches like he did.”Her other idol, Starc, sent her a video message on her 16th birthday that “made my day”.”I was just in shock. That was really kind of him, and hopefully in the future, I’ll get to meet and talk to him about bowling.”For now, Gaur is enjoying learning from her more experienced team-mates across the world. At FairBreak, she shared a dressing room with Australia’s Nicola Carey, Pakistan’s Bismah Maroof and South Africa’s Ayabonga Khaka.”I prefer to know about how [the experienced players] approach something,” she said. “We were in trouble chasing a tall total against Tornadoes when Nicola Carey went out to bat. From the dugout we just watched how she took responsibility and made us win comfortably when it looked like we were not going to win.”Similarly, in one of the games, Bismah played a great innings but we lost. I asked her about what she was thinking on that surface that was tough to bat on.”Ayabonga Khaka was telling me about when she goes to her yorkers and when is the right time to bowl a slower ball. When I got hit, she would tell me what I could have done [differently]. Just small stuff like that, not overcomplicating it. They just keep it super simple.”Gaur narrowly missed out being part of the inaugural Women’s Premier League in March in India. Gujarat Giants put in a late bid for her at the auction but they had already exhausted their overseas quota. Had she been picked, she might have played as the fifth overseas player in the XI, since she was from an Associate side. Still, she was happy a team had bid for her.Outside the game, Gaur is continuing with her education – she’s studying biology, maths and psychology – but says juggling school and cricket has been difficult. “As much as I want to study, I don’t want to just always be studying when we’re in a new country [for cricket]. It’s good to go out. I am not too upset that I haven’t been studying that much. It is good in a way because I’m always busy, [either] studying or playing cricket.”Bigger challenges await her as an England international. There will be more competition for a spot in the XI, but also more game time compared to her UAE days, which means more opportunity for the opposition to dissect her skills. However, FairBreak and the Hundred have shown she has the appetite to put up a fight.
The franchise system is out, and a lot of other things are in
Firdose Moonda23-Sep-2021It took a legal challenge, a consultation process headed by former ICC CEO David Richardson and 75 job losses, but finally it’s here: South Africa’s new domestic system. Gone are the complications of franchises and back is the simplicity of a provincial structure, with some additions.Not only are each of South Africa’s nine provinces represented in the new system, but some of them have multiple teams. Gauteng has three: the Johannesburg-based Lions, Northerns in Centurion and Easterns in Benoni. The Western Cape has Cape Town’s Western Province, the Rocks in Boland and South-Western Districts in Oudtshoorn, while Eastern Province has teams in Gqeberha and East London, and Kwa-Zulu Natal has a coastal and inland team. Each of the Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, North-West and Mpumalanga also have their own teams, ensuring that cricket crosses the length and breadth of the country to broaden the talent pool available to the national selectors.Related
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All 15 sides, along with the South African under-19 team, will be in action in the first competition of the season, a T20 tournament, that kicks off on Friday. It’s a fitting start because September 24 is a public holiday; the day on which South Africans celebrate their diverse heritages. The only drawbacks are that none of the members of the T20 World Cup squad will be involved as they go into a camp to prepare for the tournament, and then to quarantine in the UAE. While this competition competes with the IPL for eyeballs, it still signals the start of summer in the southern hemisphere. To mark the occasion, we take a look at five major talking points ahead of the South African domestic season.Map of South Africa’s new domestic teams•ESPNcricinfo LtdSame, same but different South African domestic cricket has, for the last 16 summers, been fairly confusing for outsiders to understand, because of the franchise system. The six teams were amalgamations of provincial teams, some of whom would never have imagined joining together to form one unit, but did anyway. An example is Northerns, who play in Centurion – as the name would suggest, to the north of Johannesburg – who partnered with Easterns, who play in Benoni, to the east of the city, to become the Titans. Inevitably, most of the Titans activity took place at SuperSport Park while Willowmoore Park was the forgotten cousin. All of that has been restructured away, even though some of the provincial unions will keep their franchises names, so each province plays independently.Northerns, the bigger of the teams that became the Titans, keeps the Titans name and Easterns will be known as Easterns. The Lions’ name has been retained by Gauteng, the Dolphins by Kwa-Zulu Natal, the Warriors by Eastern Province and Knights by Free State. The Cobras name has been dropped entirely and Western Province will be known as such. The Titans, Lions, Dolphins, Warriors, Knights and Western Province are joined by the Rocks (based in Paarl) and the North-West Dragons (based in Potchefstroom) in Division 1. Border, Easterns, Northern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and South-Western Districts make up Division 2.What hasn’t changed is that there is still a hierarchy in the domestic system but it is no longer based on professional franchises and semi-professional provinces as was the case before. Now, it’s simply Division 1 and Division 2 but actually, that’s all just semantics. Teams in Division 1 have the budget to contract more players (16) than teams in Division 2 (11), have the nationally contracted players on their books and, when first-class and one-day matches are televised, it will likely be Division 1 on the silver screen. But, these divisions are not set in stone and a promotion-relegation system will be in place from the 2023/24 season, though it is yet to be decided if one or two teams will be moved between divisions. Both divisions play in the season-opening T20 competition.Getty ImagesBig movers While many players have stayed with the provincial unions attached to their former franchises, there have been some notable moves – most obviously in the formation of the two new top-tier teams, Boland and North-West. Boland have acquired the services of international batters, Janneman and Pieter Malan from the Cobras (now Western Province) while North-West have signed Dwaine Pretorius, who played at the Lions, and Senuran Muthusamy, the third-leading wicket-taker in last season’s four-day competition from the title-holders, Dolphins. Thando Ntini has moved from the Titans to the Dolphins, having started his career in Cape Town, Beuran Hendricks has gone from the Lions to Western Province, and Dane Paterson will play for Eastern Province after spending the bulk of his career in Cape Town before a stint as an overseas player for Nottinghamshire.Returning KolpaksKyle Abbott will be eligible for South Africa selection again•Cricket South AfricaThe South African domestic set-up also welcomes back several players who ended their international careers to take up Kolpak deals. Boland are the biggest beneficiaries and have secured the services of batter Stiaan van Zyl and fast bowlers Hardus Viljoen and Kyle Abbott. North-West have also laid claim to a share of the returnees and signed Heino Kuhn. Duanne Olivier will play for the Lions, Simon Harmer for Titans, and allrounder Wayne Parnell returns to Western Province, where he will captain the team in the T20 tournament. The Kolpak system no longer exists, which also makes these players eligible for South Africa again.Involvement of former internationals in coaching structuresThough South African cricket has suffered a brain drain with the loss of Cobras coach Ashwell Prince to Bangladesh as a batting consultant, and Vernon Philander, who was due to play for Western Province, to Pakistan as a bowling coach, there are still former players in the system. For instance, Imraan Khan, who played one Test for South Africa in 2009 and was a stalwart of the domestic set-up, won the first-class tournament with the Dolphins last year and remains their head coach. Robin Peterson head Eastern Province, Allan Donald is in charge at Free State, and Paul Adams has landed a role as head coach of Border, after last coaching at the Cobras in 2016.There’s also a big-name among the support staff. JP Duminy, who retired from international cricket after the 2019 World Cup, is the batting consultant for the Lions and has been seconded to the South African team for the T20 World Cup.Other former players, albeit not internationals, who are involved are Adrian Birrell, former Ireland coach and South African assistant coach, who will be in charge of Boland, former Lions player Richard das Neves, who will coach Easterns and will join Namibia for the T20 Word Cup, and Dumi Makalima, former Border and Gauteng player who will take charge at Limpopo.Commentary in isiXhosa The high-profile names don’t stop on the field. Three former international bowlers will be behind the microphone for dedicated isiXhosa commentary. Makhaya Ntini, Monde Zondeki, and Mfuneko Ngam make up a five-person team which also includes seasoned broadcasters Mluleki Ntsabo and Sixolele Sotyelelwa. Though this is not the first time commentary will be offered in isiXhosa, it appears to be the start of a more regular offering in a language outside of English or Afrikaans and will hopefully be the trend throughout the summer.