أعرب وائل جمعة لاعب الأهلي السابق، عن سعادته بعد الفوز على ميدياما الغاني بهدف دون رد، خلال المباراة التي جمعتهما، اليوم الجمعة، ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.
لعبت مباراة الأهلي وميدياما الغاني على أرضية استاد بابا يارا في إطار لقاءات الجولة الخامسة من مرحلة المجموعات في دوري أبطال إفريقيا.
وقال وائل جمعة في تصريحات عبر قناة “بي إن سبورتس”: “منذ أكثر من سنة لا نضمن التأهل قبل الجولة الأخيرة، مبروك التأهل قبل الجولة الأخيرة، الأهلي بتاريخه واسمه وإمكانياته صعب يخسر في القاهرة في المباراة القادمة”.
طالع أيضاً.. موعد مباراة الأهلي القادمة بعد الفوز على ميدياما في دوري أبطال إفريقيا
وأضاف: “بداية الشوط الثاني، أحرز الأهلي هدفًا وهذا سهل عليه المباراة، كانت البداية أفضل من الشوط الأول، كان الأداء جيدًا والدخول كان مختلفًا”.
وأتم: “الهدف منح اللاعبين ثقة أكبر، وبدأت التغييرات التي قدمت أداءً جيدًا والروح أصبحت أعلى، لو أي فريق واجه الأهلي ولم يستغل الفرص سيعاقب”.
In his book, Declared, Brendon McCullum has devoted a whole chapter to describing Ross Taylor’s failings as captain and the deteriorating state of the team under Taylor’s leadership
Sidharth Monga24-Oct-2016
Brendon McCullum: The public selection process for Daniel Vettori’s captaincy successor was not good for “our relationship, or any team with the two of us in it”•AFP
Brendon McCullum has written of the uninspiring leadership of Ross Taylor and how the tension and mistrust during his captaincy left the New Zealand team on the verge of imploding. In his book , McCullum has devoted a whole chapter to “the coup that wasn’t”, describing in some detail Taylor’s failings as a captain and the circumstances that led to the souring of their relationship, and clarifying that he had no role to play in the axing of Taylor as captain.The captaincy switch from Taylor to McCullum in 2012 is one of the more bitter chapters in New Zealand’s cricket history. The timing of the fresh revelations could not have been worse, with Taylor struggling for form on New Zealand’s tour of India. The team, too, has had a tough tour, having lost all three Tests and the first ODI by the time the book was released on October 20. Since then, they won one ODI and lost another, with Taylor’s drop of Virat Kohli in the third ODI costing New Zealand 148 runs and arguably the match. NZC’s manager of public affairs Richard Boock told the that Taylor has seen media reports but is not “rushing out to find a copy” of the book.After Daniel Vettori gave up captaincy following the 2011 World Cup, Taylor edged McCullum as the next captain after a “public” process in which both of them were asked to present their cases. In the book, McCullum speaks of not being satisfied with that process, and of how the public nature of rejecting one of the candidates was not good for “our relationship, or any team with the two of us in it”.The cracks first appeared on the West Indies tour of 2012. McCullum had been rested for the limited-overs leg of the tour, but an injury to Taylor meant he was sent an SOS to lead the team. This was also the last assignment as New Zealand coach for John Wright, who was struggling to forge a good working relationship with John Buchanan, director of cricket at NZC. McCullum made it to the West Indies in time for the third ODI, but he was told Kane Williamson, who had captained in the first two, was going to continue leading for the sake of continuity. McCullum didn’t play that game, but his introduction later made little difference as New Zealand won just one ODI on a tour of two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is.”Either Ross was highly resistant to my captaining the team and leant on Wrighty to change his mind, or it was just an organisational cock-up by Wrighty,” McCullum writes in . “The rest of the tour suggested the latter, because much of it was a shambles.”Like Taylor, Wright comes out in poor light, but the appointment of Otago’s Mike Hesson as new coach widened the cracks in the relationship between McCullum and Taylor. In McCullum’s estimation, Hesson was seen as his mate whereas Wright hadn’t been seen as a big fan of McCullum. In the book, McCullum reveals he had actually recommended Australian Matthew Mott despite knowing his friend Hesson was in the fray.McCullum feels that with Hesson’s appointment, Taylor withdrew further; he had, according to McCullum, already been burdened by Wright’s failings as coach.”It seemed to me that, right from the start, Ross was suspicious of Hess’s motives,” McCullum writes. “So instead of taking Hess on his merits, Ross seemed already closed to him. I knew there had been a bit of talk behind the scenes after Hesson’s appointment, and that some were seeing a conspiracy.”It wasn’t a very complicated scenario they were pushing: that my mate Stephen Fleming had influenced the selection board to give the coaching job to my other mate Mike Hesson, whose ultimate goal was to replace Ross as captain with me. One problem with that narrative was that I had recommended Matthew Mott to the selection panel, but details like that tend to spoil a good conspiracy theory, and as events unfolded, it was clear that logic would play an ever-diminishing role.”McCullum still felt that Hesson tried to help Taylor revive his captaincy career and the sinking team, which had by now lost both the Tests in India too. “Time and again on what became a long grind of a tour, with changes of format and players around the core group coming and going, Mike set up a lot of meetings as a group, trying to provide the perfect forum for Ross,” McCullum writes. “Wrighty had never done that for him — the only opportunities Ross got to talk to the team would be during emotional moments in games, when he’d start yelling and shouting.”At these meetings, Mike would canvass everyone’s thoughts, and then try to hand it back to Ross to synthesise what was out there, tell us the way he wanted to go forward, put his stamp on it. All Ross had to say was, ‘Thanks lads, that’s awesome and this is the direction we’re going based on your thoughts. I’m the skipper, this is what we’re doing and I need you all to buy into it.'”Ross would say nothing. Not a word. What the hell was he thinking? I had no idea.”Ross is a reasonably trusting guy in most circumstances, so someone must have been telling him to watch his back. Whatever, he put the shutters up against Hesson. A quiet guy at the best of times, going further into his shell didn’t help — he’d surface with angry outbursts, instead of a coherent plan.”Brendon McCullum writes that Ross Taylor did not speak in team meetings, despite Mike Hesson’s efforts to facilitate such interaction•Associated Press
Matters only got worse as New Zealand spiralled from one bad performance to another. They finished last in the Super Eights of the World T20 in Sri Lanka, and stayed back for a Test series where they were expected to lose again. McCullum writes he and a lot of his team-mates became frustrated over the lack of leadership. He says Taylor’s “outside” support group seems to have told him all he needed to stay on as captain was to score runs, and that that was all Taylor focused on. He says many a player asked him to speak to Taylor because they felt they couldn’t approach the captain directly, but he stayed away from doing so because he didn’t want Taylor to feel his players were ganging up on him.”I got caught in the middle of the situation of a captain who wouldn’t talk to his coach or his team,” McCullum writes. “I was keeping my powder dry in the team environment, trying to be the supportive vice-captain, but behind the scenes I became increasingly frustrated as I watched the Black Caps spiral downwards.”McCullum says that in Sri Lanka he released his frustration by running from the Galle stadium to the team hotel, and by unloading on Kerry Schwalger, his personal mental-conditioning coach, through long emails, knowing the correspondence between them would remain confidential.With Buchanan flying in just before the first Test, a meeting that Hesson called for everyone in the team to put his thoughts on the table seemed to McCullum like one final effort from Hesson. McCullum felt Hesson would get the sack after the series because “the media and public were behind Ross”. McCullum says a frustrated Hesson had told him on a couple of occasions that he would like his captain to speak at team meetings, to take charge of the team. It didn’t happen in this meeting either. New Zealand went on to lose the Galle Test by 10 wickets.”The atmosphere in the changing room after that loss at Galle was awful, and I picked up on a fair bit of animosity towards Ross,” McCullum writes. “The team was finally imploding. I decided things had gone far enough and asked Ross to come into the dunnies out the back with me.”I said to him, ‘This is your effin’ team, mate. You need to grab it by the scruff of the neck and I will help you along the way, otherwise we’re going to lose our way completely.'”McCullum writes he didn’t know Taylor had been told before the start of the Test that Buchanan and Hesson were going to recommend to NZC after the tour that Taylor be relieved of the captaincy.It wasn’t clear, McCullum writes, at that moment if Taylor was being sacked as captain of all three international teams. When they got home, McCullum received a call, on his father’s birthday, offering him captaincy of the limited-overs teams. McCullum feels it is possible the powers had changed their minds partially after Taylor’s rousing performance in the second Test – 142 and 74 – helped to level the series in Sri Lanka.McCullum writes that he asked for time to decide. He was still mulling over his mentor Stephen Fleming’s advice not to take the captaincy – “Why would you do it? Don’t do it. You don’t need it” – when he received another call from NZC informing him that Taylor had refused to carry on as Test captain. Now the leadership of all three teams was there for the taking. McCullum writes he had only two options: take the job or retire.”I was carrying too much baggage now to hang around if someone else was captaining the side. Ross was always going to carry on, and the new captain could do without having me there too.”The problems, McCullum feels, began with the public selection process. McCullum was originally told in 2011 that the selection panel would be Wright, Mark Greatbatch, Buchanan and Justin Vaughan. McCullum went into the interview not trusting Wright, knowing of the connection between Greatbatch and Taylor from their Wairarapa days, knowing Buchanan was hard to read, and shocked by Vaughan’s absence on the interview panel. McCullum left feeling he had been set up to fail. “Within days of the public announcement of Ross’s captaincy, Greatbatch was a guest at Ross’s wedding,” McCullum writes. “That would have been a long, awkward day for Greatbatch had his panel appointed me captain!”And the fact that I hadn’t been astute enough to work out that applying for the captaincy wasn’t the right thing to do — and, worse, I’d willingly engaged in that process — proved I wasn’t ready for it. But neither was Ross. He’d made the same mistake. He was younger than me and, I believe, no more ready for the captaincy than I was. And he was just as compromised by New Zealand Cricket’s decision to have a public selection process. What happened next made us both a lot wiser — and certainly older — but it gouged a rift between us that will probably never heal.”
Aston Villa are out in full force ahead of the transfer window as a Ligue 1 ace has been linked to the club.
Unai Emery will hope to bolster his squad this summer, after securing European football for next season.
With Sevilla sporting director Monchi speculated to be joining the fellow Spaniard in the Midlands, it could be a busy summer break at Villa Park.
What’s the latest on Matteo Guendouzi to Aston Villa?
As reported by French outlet Telefoot (via journalist Yassin Nfaoui), Aston Villa remain interested in January target Matteo Guendouzi.
There was a winter transfer window saga between the Villans and the Marseille man, ending with Fabrizio Romano denying any official move for the player.
Telefoot’s report this week claims that Villa, along with Newcastle, Inter Milan and Juventus are interested in the midfielder who is under contract at Marseille until 2025.
What could Matteo Guendouzi bring to Aston Villa?
The Frenchman has a strong relationship with the Villa boss already, having been one of the Spaniard’s signings at Arsenal when he joined the club in 2019.
At the age of 19, Emery saw something in Guendouzi that prompted him to not only bring him to the Premier League but to give him valuable game time in north London also.
While things didn’t work out for the Poissy-born star at Arsenal, a second Premier League spell could be on the script for the talent dubbed as a “warrior” by Gunners legend Robert Pires, via The Athletic.
Emery could bring a talent ranked in the top 3% of attacking midfielders in Europe in terms of progressive passes via FBref, averaging 7.34 per 90 over the past year, as well as having the potential to unearth a deadly duo in the middle of the park.
Having signed his ex-Marseille teammate Boubacar Kamara last summer, the Spaniard could reunite the two monsters in claret and blue.
Playing alongside each other in the 2021/22 Ligue 1 season, Guendouzi won an average of 52% of his total duels, with Kamara getting the edge on his partner with a successful total duel rate of 58%.
The Villa ace averaged 2.0 tackles per game that season, with Emery’s summer target averaging 1.2 per game, showing that the pair could combine to be a strong force in midfield with their added chemistry.
Most prominently, the former Arsenal gem is an expert passer of the ball, maintaining a successful pass rate of 88% this season, as well as creating six big chances with numbers that showcase his ability offensively from deep midfield.
Emery could reconnect two bonded souls to create a dangerous duo in his midfield and unearth a French core in the Midlands and with plenty of clubs interested in the £42k-per-week powerhouse, the Spaniard will have to work his charm once more to lure the Frenchman.
England secured their qualification for next year’s Women’s World Cup with a comprehensive 122-run victory over Sri Lanka in Colombo. Lauren Winfield, Heather Knight and Nat Sciver all scored half-centuries as England amassed 295 before Sri Lanka were dismissed well short of their target in the 49th over.It was England’s second win in four days but, unlike the first ODI, this match formed part of the ICC Women’s Championship. England, currently second in the table behind Australia, picked up another two points to move eight clear of fifth-placed South Africa and guarantee a top-four spot.The next Women’s World Cup will take place in England next summer, starting on June 26 and featuring eight teams.”It’s a brilliant feeling to have secured automatic qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup,” Knight, England’s captain, said. “We have the best fans in the world, so to get the opportunity to play in a World Cup on home soil is really exciting, and something that we are all already looking forward to.”Playing in that first round of the ICC Women’s Championship back in 2014 against India feels like a long time ago now. We have grown and developed so much as a squad since then, especially in the last 10 months or so, and we are learning all the time. How we played against Pakistan this summer, followed-up by the hard fought victory in the Caribbean, is testament to the work that the players are putting in.”England had too much firepower in the second of their four-match series. A 53-run opening stand was followed by Winfield and Knight adding 70; Knight struck three sixes and England were 156 for 3 when she fell in the 31st over.Sciver had already found her stride by then and raced to a 24-ball fifty. Although the lower order threatened to fall away, Georgia Elwiss made 46 and Danielle Hazell 29 to get England within sight of 300 before they were dismissed from the final ball of the innings, Inoka Ranaweera and Ama Kanchana taking three wickets apiece.Sri Lanka also managed a fifty opening stand but they soon slipped behind the required rate. Spinners Hazell and Laura Marsh accounted for the top five and Chamari Polgampola was run out after helping add 49 for the fifth wicket. Opener Hasini Perera top-scored with 35 from 90 balls before being seventh out and Knight shuffled her attack to close out victory.
نجح فريق سيراميكا كليوباترا في الفوز على المقاولون العرب بهدفين دون رد، خلال المواجهة التي جرت بينهما اليوم ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.
وحل سيراميكا كليوباترا ضيفًا على المقاولون العرب، على أرضية ملعب الأخير، في إطار مواجهات الجولة الخامسة عشر لبطولة الدوري.
وجاء هدف سيراميكا الأول في الدقيقة 39، عن طريق مدافع المقاولون العرب أحمد الشيمي بالخطأ في مرماه بعد عرضية من أحمد هاني حاول الشيمي تشتيت الكرة ولكنها مرت إلى داخل المرمى.
طالع أيضاً.. مروان عطية: حققت حلمي مع الأهلي.. ونريد إسعاد الجماهير والتتويج بكأس مصر
وسجل أحمد ياسر ريان الهدف الثاني في الدقيقة 65، بعدما سدد كرة قوية من ركلة ثابتة مرت أسفل الحائط البشري لداخل الشباك.
بهذه النتيجة، يحتل سيراميكا كليوباترا المركز الثالث في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 21 نقطة، بينما يتواجد المقاولون العرب في المركز السابع عشر ولديه 8 نقاط. أهداف مباراة سيراميكا كليوباترا والمقاولون العرب في الدوري
The BCCI is hopeful the Supreme Court can take a considered decision on the Lodha Committee’s latest recommendation to disqualify office bearers in the board and state if they do not meet the eligibility criteria
Nagraj Gollapudi21-Nov-2016
A BCCI office bearer claimed that the board had adopted “nearly 75%” of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations•BCCI
The BCCI remains hopeful India’s Supreme Court will take a considered decision on the Lodha Committee’s latest proposal to disqualify all office bearers in the board and state associations if they fail to fulfill the eligibility criteria. A few of the BCCI’s top office bearers and officials said the board will not change its stance, but was happy to sit with the committee and have a dialogue to find a solution to the long-standing feud.The latest suggestions were a part of the committee’s third status report, which was submitted in the court on November 18. The committee has told the court that despite clear timelines in place to implement the recommendations that were approved by the court in its July 18 judgement, neither the BCCI nor the state associations have obeyed the order, and have continued to be negligent.One reason for the BCCI’s optimism was because the court had earlier “refrained” from approving a proposal of the committee to supersede the top brass of the board.In an order on October 21, the court noted that although it had found “substance in the status report”, it said “at this stage” it was refraining from approving the committee’s suggestion to supersede the office bearers because the board had said in a submission to the court that “it would make every genuine effort to persuade the state associations” to comply with the recommendations.The BCCI maintains it has done so in the interim. “The committee wants us to implement all the recommendations in toto or wants all the office bearers to go,” a senior board office bearer said. “But no one understands that the BCCI has already accepted nearly 75% of the recommendations, most of those being already put into practice.”The board, however, has consistently opposed certain key reforms such as the age cap of 70 years for board officials, the tenure cap of nine years with cooling-off periods in between, and the one-state-one-vote policy, among others.Thakur and Shirke had been asked to submit written undertakings to the court stating the board would unequivocally implement the order of October 21, and then meet with the Lodha Committee. The October 21 order had limited the financial freedom of the BCCI and had also directed the board not to disburse any funds to state associations until they complied unreservedly with the recommendations.In their affidavits, both Thakur and Shirke pointed out that board members had voted against adopting all the recommendations of the committee at the BCCI special general meeting on October 1. It is understood that committee did not feel it necessary to meet the BCCI’s top office bearers after that, considering they had already stated the board would not comply with the court order.However the BCCI’s reading of the situation is different. “To ensure that cricket runs smoothly, the court had asked the committee to appoint an auditor as soon as possible,” the office bearer said. “No auditor has been appointed so far. The committee was also asked to set a threshold limit for various financial transactions the BCCI gets into. No threshold limit has been given. All our major decisions have been put on hold.”The BCCI also questioned why the committee had proposed retired bureaucrat and former home secretary GK Pillai as an “observer” to look after the governance of the board. The committee suggested Pillai could also approve the various contractual obligations of the board in the future.”On the one hand the committee says there should not be any government officials [working as an office bearer or official]. On what basis did they then pick GK Pillai? Was there a process?” the office bearer said. Incidentally the committee has never imposed any restrictions on former civil servants, which Pillai is.A top BCCI official said that an adverse court decision against the board was not likely to affect the ongoing Test series between India and England. “Already the court has approved expenses for those Test matches till December 5. For the remaining matches, we will have to wait and see what the court says,” the official said.
A big update has emerged on Celtic and their efforts to find a new manager ahead of the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership campaign…
What's the latest on Brendan Rodgers to Celtic?
According to The Guardian, the Hoops are on the verge of completing a deal to bring Brendan Rodgers back to Parkhead.
The report claims that talks between the Northern Irish head coach and the Scottish giants have progressed well and a move back to Paradise is now 'all-but sealed'.
It states that the club believe that they have landed their man to replace Ange Postecoglou, who joined Tottenham Hotspur last week, and that his strong respect for majority shareholder Dermot Desmond has played a key part in his decision to return.
Is Brendan Rodgers a good appointment?
The 50-year-old coach could be a phenomenal appointment by the Hoops as he has the potential to be the perfect replacement for the recently-departed Australian chief.
During his two years at the helm, Postecoglou won five domestic trophies and proved himself capable of dominating Scottish football.
The 57-year-old won the League Cup and Premiership double in his debut campaign before completing the domestic treble this season by adding the Scottish FA Cup alongside the other two trophies.
However, the Greek-born tactician did not have it all his own way when competing in Europe.
Across the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League, he won three of his 14 games on the continent outside of qualifying matches and did not win a single knockout clash.
Former Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers could come in and replicate the impact that Postecoglou had at Parkhead as the Northern Irishman has already proven himself in Scotland.
During his two-and-a-bit year stint in Glasgow earlier in his career, the ex-Swansea boss won seven domestic trophies and won back-to-back trebles in his two full seasons in charge.
This shows that the 4-2-3-1 coach knows exactly how to dominate the league and cups in Scottish football, in the same way that the now-Spurs chief did in the campaign just gone.
The former Liverpool manager, who was hailed as "very confident" by his former captain and Anfield legend Steven Gerrard, also struggled in Europe whilst at Celtic.
He failed to get past the group stage of the Champions League in two attempts but did win four knockout games in the Europa League, which suggests that the talented boss may fare slightly better than Postecoglou on the continent.
Therefore, Desmond could be about to land a perfect replacement for the Australian boss by securing this deal for the free-agent Northern Irishman, who could come in and hit the ground running at Parkhead.
يرى المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي صن داونز، رولاني موكوينا، أنهم يحتاجون للقليل من الحظ من أجل التتويج بلقب دوري أبطال إفريقيا هذا الموسم.
وفشل صن داونز في الفوز باللقب بعد نسخة عام 2016 على حساب الزمالك، رغم قوة الفريق الجنوب إفريقي ولكن في العام الماضي الحظ عانده وخرج بالأهداف الاعتبارية أمام الوداد البيضاوي.
واعترف موكوينا في تصريحات سابقة أن الخروج بتلك الطريقة من النسخة الماضية كان مريرًا بالفعل، لأنه هزم الكثير من الفرق الكبرى بما فيها الأهلي 5-2.
اقرأ أيضًا.. موعد والقناة الناقلة لمباراة بيراميدز ونواذيبو اليوم في دوري أبطال إفريقيا
وفي تصريحات جديدة وقبل مباراة مازيمبي في الجولة الأخيرة من دور المجموعات اليوم، السبت، قال موكوينا بمؤتمره الصحفي: “نحتاج إلى القليل من الحظ للفوز بالبطولة”.
وتابع: “في الموسم الماضي على سبيل المثال، وقبل آخر مباراة في دور المجموعات، كان الأهلي خارج البطولة بالفعل، لكنه عاد وفاز باللقب في النهاية”.
وأضاف: “أنظر إلى ما حدث في بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا الأخيرة، لم يكن هناك أي فارق بين فريق صغير أو كبير، علينا أن نعمل بجدية من أجل الوصول إلى هدفنا مع القليل من الحظ”.
واستمر: “كوت ديفوار فاز بالبطولة، كانت خارجها بالفعل، لكنهم تأهلوا بعد آخر مباراة في دور المجموعات، أثبتوا أنفسهم بعد ذلك وتوجوا بالكأس ونفس الشيء حدث مع الأهلي”.
وعن فوز صن داونز ببطولة دوري السوبر الإفريقي: “لقد لعبنا في القاهرة ضد الأهلي هناك، في الشوط الأول تحتسب ضدك ركلة جزاء وتلعب بعد ذلك منقوصًا للطرد”.
وزاد: “عليك كفريق أن تظهر شجاعتك، إلى مد جناحيك من أجل الفوز والتأهل، نريد أن نفعل ذلك للفوز ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا”.
وأتم: “اعتقد أنه لقب يمكننا تحقيقه في المستقبل، في متناول اليد، علينا أن نبذل قصارى جهدنا في كل مرة، يجب أن يبتسم لك الحظ في كرة القدم”.
Days after making a century on Test debut, Keaton Jennings has been named captain of England Lions for their tour of Sri Lanka next year
ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2016
Keaton Jennings celebrates his hundred on Test debut•AFP
Days after making a century on Test debut, Keaton Jennings has been named captain of England Lions for their tour of Sri Lanka next year. Jennings will be joined in the four-day squad by the man he replaced in the Test side, as Haseeb Hameed works back to full fitness after suffering a broken finger in India.Another man to have opened the batting alongside Alastair Cook in recent weeks, Ben Duckett, is also named in the Lions party, although only for the one-day fixtures. The Lions will play two four-day games followed by a five-match 50-over series in February and March 2017.England’s lack of Test cricket between December and July, when they host South Africa, means that the Lions tour comes at a good time for Jennings and Hameed, who required surgery after being struck on the hand in Mohali. It will also provide another opportunity for Duckett to press his white-ball credentials, having been left out of the limited-overs squads to play India next month after an impressive ODI debut in Bangladesh.The Lions have been in the UAE for the past few weeks, playing a four-day match against Afghanistan and three 50-over fixtures with UAE. Jennings scored a century on his Lions debut, too, and captained the team to victory in the first two one-day games.”The Lions play such an important role in bridging the gap between county and international cricket, and after a successful training camp in the UAE culminating in an excellent win against Afghanistan, this tour of Sri Lanka is a great opportunity for the players to gain experience of playing on the subcontinent,” James Whitaker, the national selector, said.”Keaton Jennings impressed everyone on the Lions programme, with his leadership skills as well as his batting. That has already led to his call into the England Test set-up in India, but the Sri Lanka tour offers him the chance to gain further captaincy experience as well as playing some high-quality cricket in different and challenging conditions.”Haseeb Hameed had also made such a promising start in Test cricket before it was cut short by injury. Like Keaton and Ben Duckett, who will be returning to the Lions after playing some brilliant innings for them in the home tri-series against Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A last summer, I know he will relish the chance of playing some quality cricket in Sri Lanka in the New Year.”Among a host of regular Lions selections, Warwickshire legspinner Josh Poysden has won his first call-up for the 50-over leg in Sri Lanka, while Middlesex quick Tom Helm is included in both squads after being fast-tracked from the Pace Programme in Dubai.The tour will take place between February 6 and March 13, 2017, with details of the fixtures to be announced in due course.England Lions four-day squad: Keaton Jennings (capt), Haseeb Hameed, Nick Gubbins, Tom Alsop, Tom Westley, Joe Clarke, Liam Livingstone, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Toby Roland-Jones, Tom Helm, Craig Overton, Ollie Rayner, Jack LeachEngland Lions 50-over squad: Keaton Jennings (capt), Daniel Bell-Drummond, Tom Alsop, Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke, Liam Livingstone, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Craig Overton, Tom Helm, James Fuller, Ollie Rayner, Josh Poysden
كشفت تقارير صحفية إنجليزية، عن رغبة نادي تشيلسي في التوقيع مع أحد نجوم الدوري الإسباني خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية المقبلة.
ويرغب المدير الفني لفريق تشيلسي، ماوريسيو بوتشيتينو، في تعزيز خياراته الهجومية بالتعاقد مع مهاجم فريق أتلتيك بلباو بالفترة القادمة.
اقرأ ايضاً.. بوتشيتينو عن هتاف جماهير تشيلسي ضده: علاقتي معهم متوترة لهذا السبب
وأشارت صحيفة تيليغراف الإنجليزية، إلى أن تشيلسي يفكر في التعاقد مع الدولي الإسباني، نيكو ويليامز، قادمًا من أتلتيك بلباو خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية المقبلة.
وأحرز ويليامز 6 أهداف هذا الموسم بجميع المسابقات، واستطاع أن يقدم 10 تمريرات حاسمة طوال الموسم.
وتابعت الصحيفة الإنجليزية، أن ويليامز يمتلك شرطا جزائيا في عقده مع الفريق الإسباني بقيمة 43 مليون إسترليني، حيث سينتهي عقد اللاعب مع أتلتيك بلباو في صيف 2027.
ويحظى نيكو ويليامز بإعجاب شديد من قبل المدير الفني لفريق تشيلسي، ماوريسيو بوتشيتينو، الذي يسعى إلى تعزيز هجوم البلوز بالموسم المقبل.