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The South Africa quick lost 15% of his match fee over the incident, and gained one demerit point, taking his overall tally to five; eight points within a specified period mean a weighty suspension

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2018South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has picked up a fine and a demerit point for giving India opener Shikhar Dhawan a send-off in Port Elizabeth. He lost 15% of his match fee over the incident, and gained one demerit point, taking his overall tally to five.Each demerit point stays on a player’s record for a period of 24 months. Four demerit points warrant the first suspension, and eight lead to another longer suspension. Rabada was already suspended for one Test against England in mid-2017, for having accumulated four demerit points. He picked up the first three of those on February 8, 2017, following an ODI against Sri Lanka.If Rabada reaches eight points before the second week of February, 2019, he will receive a weightier penalty – a ban of two Tests, or one Test and two ODIs/T20Is, or four ODIs/T20Is – whichever comes first for the player.Rabada had dismissed Dhawan in the eighth over the India innings, caught at deep-square leg off a bouncer, then waved at the batsman, pointed him to the dressing room and, according to an ICC release, “made a comment which could have resulted in a reaction from the batsman”. Rabada admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft, so there was no formal hearing.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola could be about to get his hands on a replacement for Riyad Mahrez by signing one of Europe's most promising young wingers, according to reports.

Who is the Mahrez replacement going to be?

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has given a crucial update in Manchester City's pursuit of Rennes winger Jeremy Doku, stating on X: "Man City, advancing on Jeremy Doku deal as new verbal proposal close to €55/60m package is being discussed with Rennes.

There’s competition but City hope to reach an agreement with Rennes this week — after green light on player side since beginning of August."

Sky Sports also confirm that Manchester City are in talks with Rennes over Doku as they look to bring in another offensive player at the Etihad Stadium following the departure of Riyad Mahrez to Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli for £30 million.

It is believed that the Belgium international has emerged as a 'leading contender' to succeed Mahrez at Manchester City. West Ham United have emerged as rival suitors for the £25k-a-week ace and had a bid rejected to try and bring him to the London Stadium earlier this month, though they are unlikely to win a race against the treble winners.

Football Insider claim that personal terms have already been agreed between Manchester City and Doku while a personal 'intervention' from Guardiola has brought the proposed deal 'very close' to full completion.

Doku found himself on the Rennes substitutes bench last week amid speculation surrounding his impending move to the Premier League champions, which looks like it is now edging closer to becoming a reality.

How good actually is Jeremy Doku?

Doku possesses plenty of flair and exciting attributes and is as highly recommended as they come, having previously been hailed as "incredibly quick" by none other than Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe in the past, cited by Get French Football News.

Bringing in an exciting young talent following a period of excellent service from Algeria international Mahrez will be one of Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain's biggest priorities in the remainder of the window and it now looks as if they are close to getting one of their main targets on board.

In his time at Ligue 1 side Rennes, Doku has made 92 appearances across all competitions, registering 12 goals and ten assists in the process, as per Transfermarkt.

Of course, elite clubs pay a premium for potential in the modern day and it is easy to see what qualities the 21-year-old can bring to the table.

According to WhoScored, Doku evaded his opposition marker with regularity last term, completing 3.3 dribbles per fixture in the French top flight. He also gained an average match rating of 7.08/10 in Ligue 1, showing commendable consistency in his displays.

FBRef illustrate that the Borgerhout-born attacker has excelled in comparison to his positional peers across Europe's top five divisions concerning the art of progressive carries, managing 6.94 per 90 minutes in the last 365 days, putting him in the 99th percentile for this metric.

Under the tutelage of Guardiola and his coaching staff, Doku could go on to become a Premier League star with the correct guidance if he is to move to Manchester City.

Worcestershire’s director of cricket has left the club with immediate effect, in the wake of an internal investigation

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2017

Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, has left the club with immediate effect, in the wake of an internal investigation into the circumstances of the arrest of allrounder Alex Hepburn, who was charged with two counts of rape last month.Rhodes, a legend of the club with more than three decades of service as a player and coach, was put on indefinite leave by Worcestershire (and relieved of his duties as head coach of the England Under-19 squad) after it emerged that he had fail to report Hepburn’s arrest in a timely fashion.The club said in a statement: “We thank him for his 33 years as a player, coach and Director of Cricket. We wish him well in the future.”It is alleged that, when Hepburn was first arrested on April 1, he approached Rhodes for assistance. Rhodes agreed not to pass on details of the allegation to the club’s board and, while the investigation continued, Hepburn was selected for the first team (in T20 cricket) and signed a one-year contract extension with the club.Alex Hepburn has been charged with two counts of rape•Getty Images

News that he had subsequently been charged resulted in the matter coming to the attention of the club and the ECB. It is understood they were told on November 9 and 10.Hepburn, who is suspended on full pay, appeared at Worcester Crown Court on December 7, where he was released on unconditional bail until his hearing commences at 9am on January 4.Rhodes, who kept wicket for England in 11 Tests, had been in charge of Worcestershire since 2006, having played for the county from 1985 to 2004.The club will be making no further comment.

Liverpool need to move quickly to complete their summer spending after missing out on two top targets, with Jurgen Klopp's side currently without a holding midfielder.

Who do Liverpool want to sign?

According to 90min, Liverpool are considering raiding the Championship to solve their midfield woes.

The player in question is Leeds United and USMNT player Tyler Adams, who has become the focus of their attention after losing out to Chelsea for both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.

Read the latest Liverpool transfer news HERE…

Bournemouth are further along than the Reds at this stage and have triggered the player's clause, according to Fabrizio Romano, and Klopp and co will need to think fast if they do want to push ahead with a deal for the 24-year-old.

Adams is widely believed to possess a £20m release clause contract with the Whites due to the Elland Road team's relegation from the Premier League last season, highlighting the astuteness of a deal for a player who impressed despite the club's issues.

Coincidentally, he nearly signed for Chelsea, even undergoing a medical before the Blues turned their attention towards Lavia.

How good is Tyler Adams?

It's not been a good week for the Anfield side on the transfer front; technical director Jorg Schmadtke walked through the corridors of chaos and emerged with a burn, and now Liverpool's Premier League campaign has commenced and the squad very much needs further work.

Caicedo and Lavia are both tremendous talents and – especially the former – would likely have catalysed the Merseyside outfit, who failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in seven seasons last term, with the midfield's inability to effectively protect the defence cited as the crux of the decline – but then there is little point rueing the past at this stage.

Adams joined Leeds in a £20m deal from RB Leipzig one year ago, and he would record an average Sofascore rating of 6.98 despite the side's dismal performances, averaging one key pass per game, completing 82% of his passes and making 3.7 tackles per match.

Dubbed an "absolute beast" by one analyst, Adams' tackling is the standout and would offer Liverpool something they were missing last season, with Fabinho making just 1.8 tackles on average in the English top-flight and Jordan Henderson 0.9.

In fact, the 36-cap American ranks among the top 2% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles and the top 3% for blocks per 90, as per FBref, to underscore just how tenacious he is in the middle, having also been described as a "tackling machine" by Kevin Campbell.

There are shades of Manuel Ugarte in there, significant similarities that suggest that Adams' profile could be perfect for Klopp's system, given that Ugarte was attracting attention from the Reds before Paris Saint-Germain completed a transfer after meeting the Uruguayan's €60m (£52m) release clause earlier this summer.

Also regarded as a 'ball-winning machine' by Dave Kendrick, Ugarte ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Men's Next Eight divisions – outside the top European five as he played for Sporting Lisbon last season – for tackles, the top 3% for interceptions, the top 12% for blocks and the top 8% for successful take-ons per 90.

It's just what Liverpool need, there is plenty of attacking panache in the squad, but the balance is all wrong right now, and with an industrious force in the centre the Reds' lofty ambitions might just be realised.

تعقد اللجنة الأولمبية المصرية، برئاسة المهندس ياسر إدريس، اجتماعًا هامًا يوم الثلاثاء القادم مع الدكتور أشرف صبحي، وزير الشباب والرياضة، في مركز تدريب المنتخبات القومية بالمعادي.

ومن المقرر أن تقام أولمبياد باريس 2024 خلال الفترة من 26 يوليو حتى 14 أغسطس المقبل. أهداف الاجتماع

مناقشة آخر الاستعدادات للمشاركة في أولمبياد باريس 2024.

تقييم خطط اللجنة الأولمبية لضمان تأهل أكبر عدد من اللاعبين المصريين.

بحث سبل دعم اللاعبين وتوفير كافة الاحتياجات اللازمة لتحقيق أفضل النتائج.

مناقشة التوقعات الخاصة بأداء المنتخبات المصرية في مختلف الألعاب.

طالع أيضًا | عدم رفع العلم في الأولمبياد.. مكافحة المنشطات تفرض 3 عقوبات قوية على تونس

وتأتي أهمية هذا الاجتماع من كونه، يُعقد قبل أشهر قليلة من انطلاق دورة الألعاب الأولمبية، ويشهد مشاركة كبار المسؤولين في الرياضة المصرية، ويناقش خططًا طموحة لتحقيق إنجازات مميزة في أولمبياد باريس.

وتسعى مصر في هذه الدورة إلى، المشاركة بأكبر بعثة في تاريخها، حيث تأهل 140 لاعبًا ولاعبة حتى الآن، وهو الرقم الأكبر بين الدول العربية والإفريقية.

بالإضافة إلى تحقيق أكبر عدد من الميداليات الأولمبية، وتحسين الأداء في مختلف الألعاب.

وتُعدّ الاستعدادات الجارية مؤشرًا قويًا على عزم مصر على تحقيق نتائج استثنائية في أولمبياد باريس 2024، وننتظر بشغف مشاركة مشرفة للمنتخبات المصرية تُسطر إنجازات جديدة في تاريخ الرياضة المصرية.

Leeds United have seen an offer for Bayern Munich goalkeeper Alexander Nubel turned down, according to fresh reports from Germany.

Who is Alexander Nubel?

Nubel is a goalkeeper who first arrived at the Allianz Arena on a free transfer from FC Schalke back in 2020, but the following term, he completed a two-year loan switch to Monaco meaning that he’s only recently returned to his parent club in the Bundesliga, as per Transfermarkt.

During his time with Adi Hutter’s side, the 26-year-old started all 38 games in Ligue 1 and firmly established himself as their first-choice, a luxury he’s never been used with Thomas Tuchel’s outfit whose official number one and captain is Manuel Neuer, hence why the former moved elsewhere to receive more regular game time.

Bild recently reported that the German doesn’t see his long-term future at the club and has made it clear to them that he wants to leave, and it was stated that Stuttgart want to take him on loan whilst the Whites were more so looking to wrap up a permanent deal.

Sky Sports in his homeland soon after claimed that Bayern were set to make a final decision on his future by Monday, and if the following update is to be believed, Daniel Farke and the 49ers have already learned their fate as to whether they were successful in their pursuit.

Are Leeds signing Alexander Nubel?

According to Kicker (via Sport Witness), Leeds, and by extension new owners the 49ers Enterprises, “made an offer” for Nubel worth in excess of €10m (£8m) plus bonuses after learning that Stuttgart had failed in their opening attempt to land him.

Bayern’s shot-stopper is believed to hold a “negative attitude” towards the project in Yorkshire, with relegation to the Championship having not “helped them”, and therefore, doesn't want to make the move. The German giants are claimed to have since resumed discussions and have reached an agreement over a loan move with Stuttgart, therefore meaning that he won’t be going to Elland Road.

Is Leeds missing out on Alexander Nubel a blow for Farke?

Leeds might have to enter the market for a new goalkeeper this summer should Illan Meslier depart, which there’s a strong chance he will having admitted that he would be open to a move to Chelsea, and Nubel could have been the perfect replacement having been hailed “top class” by journalist Josh Bunting.

At Monaco, the 6 foot 3 colossus kept nine clean sheets from 38 Ligue 1 matches last season and he recorded a total of 140 saves from 195 shots on target against, giving him a success rate of 72.8%,via FBRef, a percentage that’s significantly higher than Meslier’s 59.5%, showing that he could have been an upgrade on Farke’s current number one.

Nubel, who has experience of playing in both the Champions League and Europa League, also has an extremely strong range of passing having completed 99.2% of his short dispatches and 97.5% of his medium dispatches so has an eye for picking passes to his outfield teammates, but this is a quality that the boss will have to do without after seeing his approach turned down.

Vernon Philander has been passed fit for South Africa’s opening Test against England at Lord’s

Firdose Moonda02-Jul-2017Vernon Philander has been passed fit for South Africa’s opening Test against England at Lord’s. Philander sat out the warm-up match in Worcester last week as he recovered from an ankle injury, sustained while on a county stint with Sussex, but has made a full recovery.That means South Africa will have a full-strength attack including Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel, while back-up allrounders Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo will likely have to wait their turns.South Africa are still waiting to confirm Faf du Plessis’ availability for the match after he returned home of the birth of his first child. A difficult birth may keep the captain from joining the camp immediately. A decision is expected to be taken on Monday.Should du Plessis miss the match, Dean Elgar will stand in as captain with one of Theunis de Bruyn or Aiden Markram coming in in du Plessis’ place.

Leeds United's relegation last season was a culmination of numerous failures, from top to bottom.

The hierarchy's questionable decision-making led to three different managers taking the Elland Road dugout in one campaign, and their patience to sack Jesse Marsch arguably outranked all of their failures.

As such, the American was trusted with two transfer windows, of which many of his acquisitions failed him.

However, few proved to be as disastrous as Brenden Aaronson, who was welcomed from Red Bull Salzburg in a deal worth £24.7m.

The USA international was expected to underpin this all-action philosophy of their head coach, with an injection of creativity and goalscoring know-how to get fans off their seats.

However, what they instead received was an attacking midfielder so dreadfully unprepared for the physicality of English football, who was effectively bullied into submission every week.

Daniel Farke will be desperate to ensure that he does not repeat these blunders of the past, with this summer window sure to be imperative if they are to achieve an immediate Premier League return.

They cannot afford to take such lucrative risks when the potential reward is so unlikely, so the addition of some steelier characters is to be expected. That feeds into the recent links that suggest a move for Coventry City's Gustavo Hamer is on the cards, who is reportedly available for just £10m.

Such a swoop would mark a return to sensible business once more, given how the 26-year-old dominated this division last campaign for the Sky Blues.

How many goals has Gustavo Hamer scored?

With Aaronson having immediately been shipped out by the new manager, it is clear that his future lies outside of Yorkshire. The hope will be that his loan spell at Union Berlin can reignite his career, and allow the Whites to recoup at least some of the astronomical fee initially paid.

The sum was made even more embarrassing by the fact that the 22-year-old would score only one senior goal all year, enduring a 33-match run in the league without finding the back of the net as the season concluded.

It was, therefore, no surprise to see pundit Jon Newsome brand him "lightweight" when talking on BBC Radio Leeds.

Meanwhile, Hamer was tearing up defences in the Championship, spearheading his side's unlikely playoff push which was felled at the final step.

The Dutch-Brazilian playmaker scored nine goals and assisted a further ten in the league, not to mention his deciding goal against Middlesbrough in the playoff semi-final as well as his equaliser against Luton Town in the final.

Such imperious form was always sure to draw praise, with teammate Marko Marosi keen to add his opinion on the goalscoring midfielder:

"Gustavo is unbelievable. He is a funny guy as well and a great character."

This year was no fluke either, as the former Feyenoord star had posted ten assists in the Championship the year before for a comfortably mid-table outfit, and a total of 38 goals across a career where he has features in numerous roles.

It seems with each passing campaign Hamer only improves, as he edges closer to that elusive promotion. Perhaps a switch to Elland Road, under the tutelage of a proven winner at this level, could prove to be the catalyst that returns this massive club back to where the fans will feel it belongs and exorcise the demons of last summer's signing within that position.

New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling says the team is not judging its season on the loss to South Africa in Wellington, but might do so on its performance in the final Test in Hamilton

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton22-Mar-2017

As New Zealand enter their final fixture of a summer that began nine months ago in August, wicketkeeper BJ Watling has cautioned against an over-reaction to their three-day defeat to South Africa in Wellington, but admitted the last match of the series could define this season.”It’s not a calamity. There’s a lot of talk about the collapse and these things happen and we are obviously very disappointed but we’re not going to dwell on that,” Watling said. “This is a very important game coming up for us. I don’t think we will judge our season on that last game. But we might on this one.”It has become something of a team mantra to talk of the Wellington woes as “one bad day,” as Kane Williamson described it. They may even be able to distill it down to one bad hour.New Zealand were 139 for 5 at tea on third day and added 16 runs to that score before losing 5 for 16 in less than six overs to set South Africa a modest 81. That four of the five wickets fell to Keshav Maharaj on the most seamer-friendly deck of the series, was of particular annoyance to selector Gavin Larsen and Watling confirmed the squad has been addressing that issue.”It was a pretty good wicket to bat on against spin and we were probably not quite as disciplined as we would like to be,” he said. “We’ve got to take better options and make better decisions than what we did in that last innings.”The Seddon Park surface is expected to take more turn than either University Oval – which was low and slow but not raging – or the Basin Reserve, which only offered a little something out of the rough, so New Zealand need to be even more alert. Watling, a Hamilton local, is also predicting some seam and swing.The former will bring Vernon Philander, who took a series-winning 10 for 114 including 6 for 44 in the second innings, the last time South Africa were in Hamilton, into the game. Philander only has two wickets in the series so far and the statistics might suggest New Zealand have not had to deal with the full might of him yet, but they know that is not entirely correct.The pressure Philander and Morne Morkel created in Wellington was key to Maharaj’s success and Watling wants his team-mates to ride out the quicks better in Hamilton while not letting their guard down at the other end. “They bowled very well and put us under pressure and there were some testing spells,” Watling said. We’ve got to get through those spells and make sure we are not slacking at the other end.”For that, New Zealand need their top six to build on starts and will want to see runs from Tom Latham and Neil Broom, who have yet to contribute, because they feel that is the only way to properly challenge a strong South African attack. “There’s been some glimpses of good batting and we’ve talked about those starts and we need to turn them to bigger scores to really put South Africa under pressure,” Watling said. “We’ve got to be better as a unit, all the way down to 11. We’ve got to build partnerships and take these guys really deep. We saw in Dunedin, that we took them deep and they felt the pressure. We had them in positions we were pretty happy with.”Watling has been one of the key men in counter-attacking in this series. His fifty in Dunedin came alongside Kane Williamson, with whom he shared an 84-run stand to help put New Zealand in a position to take a first-innings lead. Then, Watling spent almost three hours at the crease in scoring 34 in the first innings in Wellington, off 132, balls and he shared in the biggest partnership of the innings, 116 with Henry Nicholls. In the second dig, Watling partnered Jeet Raval in a sixth-wicket stand of 65, New Zealand’s only stand over fifty in that innings.His appetite for a fight may result in calls for him to bat higher up, especially as New Zealand are without Ross Taylor, who is recovering from a low-grade calf tear, but the man himself says there has been no discussion about being promoted mostly because it may affect his wicket-keeping duties. “My role has always been No.7, for the majority of my keeping days,” he said. “Keeping can be quite tough and a mental drain sometimes, focusing on every ball in the field and with batting at No.7, you get a bit of a break.”South Africa use the same argument for not using Quinton de Kock higher up despite his ability to accelerate the scoring rate almost single-handedly. It’s the “almost” that’s important though, because de Kock can’t operate without a partner and he has found a promising one in patient Temba Bavuma. Watling needs someone like that at the other end, otherwise New Zealand may find him trying to do both jobs and that could end in calamity.”I love batting and I hate getting out. You respect each delivery as well and the South Africans bowl a lot of good balls that you’ve got to respect and you’ve got to wait a bit longer to get the balls to put away,” he said. “Some days its about being aggressive and take a lot more positive options and other days you might have to soak it up a bit more.”

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Udinese striker Beto this summer to ease starring talisman Harry Kane's workload, according to recent reports.

What's the latest on Beto to Tottenham?

That's according to one Spanish outlet, who claim that Spurs – alongside Bayern Munich, Napoli and Real Madrid – could secure the services of the formidable forward.

Beto is valued at €30m (£26m) by his Serie A outfit – the fee a clause in his contract – and with I Bianconeri unwilling to conduct business for a lesser fee, the interested suitors are yet to commence negotiations.

With recent reports that Bayern are pushing for the transfer of Kane, reaching an agreement in principle despite facing an obstinate hurdle in Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, the requirement to sign a new first-rate forward is only magnified.

Should Tottenham sign Beto?

While the emphasis at Tottenham this summer will be on bolstering the backline and restoring balance to the squad through eradicating the seasonal issues of a leaky defence, targetting a centre-forward is certainly not a bad shout.

Manager Ange Postecoglou will have his work cut out in replenishing Spurs after an eighth-placed finish confirmed European football to be outside the side's reach next year, and Beto would add a new dimension to the fold.

Standing at 6 foot 4, the £3k-per-week ace has maintained a steady rate of scoring in Italy, bagging ten times in Serie A last term before netting 11 strikes this time around.

The Brazilian menace would also add a new dimension to the fold, offering greater physicality than Kane and perhaps utilising his imposing stature to serve as a conduit, and a focal point from which the likes of Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski could wreak havoc with well-timed inversions.

This is evidenced through FBref, with the 25-year-old ranking among the top 18% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons, the top 11% for clearances, the top 26% for interceptions and the top 25% for aerials won per 90.

The consistency within the top quarter of positional peers across the aforementioned metrics illustrates an aptitude in physicality across the park.

And for all Kane's excellence – having scored 30 goals from 38 league matches this year – he ranks below the bottom 50% mark for each defensive statistic FBref has to offer.

Reporter Sam Tighe even said: "The way Beto spooks defenders is amazing. Chuck a ball into the channel for him to chase and even if he doesn't latch onto it, defenders panic under his pressure and end up making the craziest decisions or panicked clearances."

With statistical likeness to Alexander Mitrovic and Ollie Watkins, with the Fulham striker hailed as a "monster" by Andy Naylor while Aston Villa's goal-happy striker has been dubbed "lethal" by pundit Trevor Sinclair, the Lilywhites would secure a gem with qualities fit for Premier League football.

He would bring a brutish presence and a new angle for the attack, Kane is one of Europe's foremost forwards and deserves all the plaudits for his prolific brilliance and leadership skills, but perhaps what the club needs is a new striker to add something different when the situation demands it.