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With Newcastle United's recent injury crisis, it has allowed Eddie Howe to give multiple youngsters valuable first-team minutes in the Premier League.

Lewis Miley is a player who's taken his first-team opportunity, with the 17-year-old making 16 appearances for the Magpies in the top flight this campaign.

The talented midfielder even scored his first goal in the 3-0 win against Fulham, making him the club's youngest-ever goalscorer in the Premier League.

Although he's not featured as often as Miley, midfielder Elliot Anderson is another Academy graduate who has often featured under Howe this season, with the former Bristol Rovers loanee making 10 appearances – most of which from the substitutes bench.

Given the trust in Newcastle's young players this season, the club may regret selling a former academy player who has gone on to achieve unbelievable things in the Premier League throughout the last few seasons.

Ivan Toney's stats at Newcastle United

After arriving at St James' Park from Northampton Town back in 2015, 18-year-old Ivan Toney made his debut during the 4-1 League Cup victory over his former side.

The striker eventually joined Barnsley for two separate loan spells, where he made a combined 21 appearances, scoring two goals in his first taste of League One football.

He followed his loan move to Oakwell with loan spells at Shrewsbury Town, Wigan Athletic, and Scunthorpe United, amassing a tally of 28 goals in England's third-tier, before returning to St James' Park in the summer of 2018.

Despite his successful loan spells away from the club, Newcastle agreed to sell Toney to Peterborough United for a fee in the region of £350k, with the Magpies placing a 30% sell-on fee within the transfer.

Ivan Toney's stats since leaving Newcastle United

His move to Peterborough was the start of the striker's rapid rise through the Football League and into the Premier League.

Toney spent two successful seasons at Posh, with the former Newcastle forward making 94 appearances in all competitions, bagging himself 49 goals – a tally that caught the eye of Championship side Brentford.

He joined Brentford in a deal rising to £10m with add-ons – a deal that looks to be a bargain given his form for the Bees in the Championship and Premier League.

The striker took the Championship by storm, scoring 31 times for the Bees in the season they gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history.

Toney's tally that season broke the Championship record for most goals in a 46-game season until it was broken by Fulham's Aleksander Mitrovic just a year later.

The striker continued his brilliant form in the Premier League under Thomas Frank, scoring 12 times in his first Premier League campaign. However, it was his second season that brought all the attention to Toney for on and off-the-field reasons.

2020/21

45

31

2021/22

33

12

2022/23

33

20

2023/24

8

4

The "remarkable" forward, as dubbed by manager Frank, scored 20 times for the Bees but was hit with an FA charge for breaking betting rules that would see him serve an eight-month ban from all competitions.

His first game back from his ban was in the 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest, with Toney scoring and claiming the Player of the Match award.

Since his return, he has been linked to the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal this summer, amid reports that his club value him at up to £100m, with the Magpies missing out on a deal that would've brought them a clinical Premier League striker, but also an exceptional profit.

Therefore, Newcastle had a mare with the sale of Toney as they let him for £350k, and he is now valued at significantly more than that, at £100m.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has been cleared of conflict of interest charges by the BCCI ethics officer Justice (retd.) DK Jain. Justice Jain issued the order on Thursday after conducting two hearings in response to a complaint filed by Sanjeev Gupta, a life member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA).Gupta had alleged that Dravid, who was appointed the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) this July by the BCCI, was guilty of conflict of interest because he was occupying more than one post at the time, which was not permitted as per the board’s rules. The second post that Dravid was serving, Gupta said in his complaint, was as vice-president of India Cements Pvt. Ltd, which he claimed had ties with the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the IPL.However, in his order, Justice Jain said “a case of conflict” against Dravid could not be made and hence he had “dismissed” the complaint because it was “bereft of merit.”In the order, Justice Jain noted that Dravid had rejected the allegation straightaway, in a written response on August 9. Dravid told Justice Jain that on the “advice” of BCCI and to “avoid any kind of conflict of interest” he had taken “leave of absence” without salary from India Cements during his stint at the NCA. Dravid pointed out that he had been an employee of Indian Cements for two decades, but never had “any connection, relationship or obligation” towards the Super Kings.The BCCI also told Justice Jain that the Super Kings franchise was run by Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd., registered in 2013 under the Indian Companies Act. It had nothing to do with India Cements, which was an independent entity. Hence, the BCCI said Dravid could not be an employee of the Super Kings, as Gupta had alleged.”He (Dravid) has asserted that his employment with India Cements Limited, is not and cannot be construed as an employment with the CSK franchisee, regardless of any relationship between the two entities, viz India Cements Limited and Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd.,” the order said. “He has further pleaded that at no point in time, has he been a “Team Official” of CSK.”Gupta, however, did not accept that. At the hearing on September 26 in Mumbai, Gupta told Justice Jain that Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. was a “wholly owned subsidiary” of India Cements with “some” of the directors sitting on boards of both firms. Gupta said “a mere change in nomenclature” could not absolve Dravid of the conflict of interest allegation.The ethics officer was clear about one thing. “The concept of ‘conflict of interest’, is not necessarily a question about something one does or intends to do but a question of what one can possibly or potentially do,” Justice Jain said in his order.Justice Jain even referred to the judgments he had served in the cases concerning two of Dravid’s former India team-mates – Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, both of whom were held guilty of conflict. The complaint against Ganguly had been filed by more than one member of the public, while Gupta had pressed the conflict charge against Laxman.Justice Jain pointed out that Ganguly and Laxman suffered from “tractable conflict” and fell foul of the one-man-one-post rule stated in the BCCI constitution.Dravid’s case allowed him to examine the rules deeper. “For examining an instance of ‘conflict of interest”, mere holding of posts by an individual associated with the BCCI may not per-se be sufficient for arriving at the conclusion of existence of ‘conflict of interest’,” Justice Jain said in the order. “But whether holding of such post(s) gives rise to ‘conflict of interest’ or not must also be tested on the anvil of reasonable apprehensions of, or actual favoritism, lack of objectivity, bias, benefits, etc., as contemplated in the definition of ‘conflict of interest’.”Accordingly, Justice Jain needed to test whether the two posts Dravid held “give rise to an apprehension of, lack of objectivity or bias” in each of those positions. “At least, I am unable to fathom any such circumstance (none has even been pointed out by the Complainant), which would come in the way of Mr. Rahul Dravid in fairly discharging his duties as a ‘Team Official’, without being influenced or influencing, in any manner, as a person who is in governance, management or employment of a franchisee or vice versa.”According to Justice Jain, to avoid any complications at the behest of the BCCI, Dravid had handed a written copy from Indian Cements giving a leave of absence until he was employed by the board.

Ah, just when it seemed like Tottenham Hotspur were gaining momentum, Gary O'Neil painted north London in Old Gold to pull Ange Postecoglou's side back out of the top four.

It was been a campaign that has tantalised progress but still threatened to stamp the same old inconsistency that has marred Spurs over recent years.

Heung-min Son, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr are back from international tournaments and while Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie picked up injuries recently, the spark and fluidity within this side should now be starting to coalesce into one system.

And, moreover, Wolverhampton Wanderers' unexpected victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has only allowed Aston Villa to take a two-point lead in fourth place, so Postecoglou will have a firm belief in his team's ability to craft a sequence of positive results, with the new signings combining to charge the efforts.

These new additions – players such as James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Gugliemo Vicario and Brennan Johnson – are all expected to keep leading roles within a Tottenham team challenging for prominence in the Champions League in the years to come.

Spurs already have the dream Harry Kane replacement in teen "superstar"

The north London side is chock-full of prodigious youth talent right now.

ByAngus Sinclair Feb 18, 2024

This refreshing approach in the market must now be sustained to filter away the transfer discordance under chairman Daniel Levy, ensuring deals for flops such as Djed Spence do not occur again.

The fee Spurs paid for Djed Spence

In July 2022, Tottenham completed the £20m signing of Spence from Championship side Middlesbrough, with the dynamic right-back a hot prospect after an excellent loan spell with Nottingham Forest.

Brian Laws provided unreserved praise for the rising star after his short-term stint at the City Ground, where he scored three goals and provided five assists across 50 appearances in all competitions, aiding the Tricky Trees in their successful promotion push.

The former Forest star said: "He has been the standout player in the Forest side and we are talking about a full-back. Full-backs do not tend to get many headlines. He grabs them by the handful. In every single game, he has a positive impact.

"He has power going forward, he has electric pace, he has an abundance of skill, he can drop his shoulder, step over, go inside or outside — he is a major threat. I’ve been impressed with his one-to-one defending. He is decent on the back post, he is strong in the air. There is nothing I have seen that you could call a weakness.”

Effusive praise, but not without merit. Spence had indeed produced some complete performances down the right flank and looked like the player to dominate at right-back for Tottenham over the coming years.

£20m was no small sum though, and given that then Spurs boss Antonio Conte expressed that the acquisition was not actually his idea, more that he greenlit it after Levy and co pushed for an agreement, there was always the risk that it would go wrong.

Djed Spence's Spurs career

Spence, now aged 23, has failed to make his mark at Tottenham, having been loaned out to Serie A side Genoa for the 2023/24 campaign.

Once hailed for his “swashbuckling” style by pundit Ian Wright, the £25k-per-week whiz only completed six showings for the Lilywhites before completing a loan move to Rennes on January deadline day last year, and despite some flashes of ability in France, completing 89% of his passes and succeeding with 63% of his dribbles and 61% of his duels, as per Sofascore, Postecoglou was not convinced.

In fairness, the full-back wasn't really given much of a chance and failed to receive more than three minutes of Premier League action under Conte, underscoring the fact that the Italian gaffer simply didn't agree with the purchase.

But he has absolutely nothing positive to show from his time at Tottenham and may well be an even worse signing than Bryan Gil, who is widely accepted to be a disappointment at the club after making the move from Sevilla for £21m in 2021, with Erik Lamela heading the other way too.

Gil, also 23 years old, has not done anything of note this term but at least he has been a part of Postecoglou's plans, earning 11 displays and showing glimpses of fleet-footed quality.

Blighted by injuries once more this season, Spence's loan spell with Leeds United was cut short last month and he has since moved to Italy. The fact he keeps getting shipped out on loan would lend itself to the very fact that he has been a more pointless acquisition than Gil.

Of course, there will still be hope that Spence can turn the tide but it certainly doesn't look like he will take Porro's place in Spurs' starting line-up any time soon, and after being left as an unused substitute for Genoa's past two league encounters, there will be heightened concerns that he is set to endure further months of disgruntlement.

Djed Spence's current market value in 2024

According to CIES Football Observatory's valuation model, Spence is currently valued at just £4m, which marks a £16m depreciation in less than two years, at a stage of his career when the trajectory should only be pointing skyward.

This 80% decrease in value is not the nail-on-the-coffin tag that could end his hopes of flourishing, but he will need to sort out fitness issues and stabilise his form so that the figure starts to rise once again.

# Dribbling

# Blocking

# Passing

# Tackling

Source: WhoScored

As the table above shows, Spence has much natural quality and Tottenham were not exactly foolish to push for his signature, but Neil Warnock once famously said: "You could be playing for Bromley next year, or you could be in the Premier League."

Only time will tell if Spence will rise to the task and cement himself at the highest level, but it's unlikely that he will find a fruitful career down N17.

No club will hit the mark with every transfer venture but Tottenham can mitigate the inaccuracy by maintaining this new method that has, in theory, worked so well under Postecoglou so far.

Levy engineered the transfer of Porro from Sporting Lisbon just over one year ago and there is little question that the Spaniard's performances have eclipsed anything that Spence mustered for Tottenham.

Ultimately, Spence's signing hasn't worked out and when summer comes around all parties must accept this fact candidly and work on a solution to end Spence's stay and allow him to build his career up elsewhere.

The inaugural edition starts Friday and will have six matches played over the weekend between four teams in the first leg of action

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2019Cricket South Africa (CSA) has launched the Women’s T20 Super League, a tournament that seeks to provide more game time and competition for South Africa’s best women players.The inaugural edition starts Friday at Irene Country Club, and will have six matches played over the weekend between four teams in a round-robin format. A second leg of the league will follow in Cape Town in December.”We need to address the lack of game time and provide more competitive cricket for the women’s structure in order to produce quality cricketers and to improve the pool of players for national selection,” CSA head of pathways Edward Khoza said.”The Super League is a concept that will be utilised to close the performance gaps of identified players and coaches within the CSA pipeline, introducing a minimum three Super League weekends – strength v strength – per season whereby players are drafted into four teams with the specific focus of preparing players for international competition.”The league is chiefly looking at promoting domestic talent with a pool of 52 players, and with the aim to contribute to the preparation for next year’s T20 World Cup.”This is a great way to shine a light on the growth of women’s cricket which will provide more opportunities for female cricketers around the country who will ultimately be considered for national selection,” Khoza said.Squads
Devnarain XI: Dane Van Niekerk, Andrie Steyn, Zintle Kula, Mignon du Preez, Sinalo Jafta, Faye Tunnicliffe, Eliz-Mari Marx, Shabnim Ismail, Tumi Sekhukune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tshegofatso Rampai, Jane Winster, Anri Grobbelaar
Coach: Denisha Devnarain Assistant coach: Dillon du Preez
M van der Merwe XI: Lizelle Lee, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus, Izeabella Hester Cilliers, Marizanne Kapp, Delmi Tucker, Michaela Andrews, Christine Tomlinson, Zintle Mali, Evodia Yekile, Nadia Mbokotwana, Nicole De Klerk, Tebogo Macheke
Coach: Martelize van der Merwe Assistant coach: Jimmy Kgamadi
F van der Merwe XI: Tazmin Brits, Robyn Searle, Nadine de Klerk, Gandhi Jafta, Trisha Chetty, Alyssa Elxlebben, Ayabonga Khaka, Moseline Daniels, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Khayakazi Mathe, Yolani Fourie, Carmen Nagel
Coach: Francois van der Merwe Assistant coach: Mark Charlton
Terblanche XI: Laura Wolvaardt, Annemarie Dercksen, Saarah Smith, Anneke Bosch, Chloe Tryon, Nondumiso Shangase, Verunissa Reddy, Masabata Klaas, Tatum Le Roux, Jade de Fiquerido, N Baneti, Nicolene Janse Van Rensburg, Palesa Mapoo
Coach: Claire Terblanche Assistant coach: Ephraim Nyawo

MatériaMais Notícias

Autor do gol da vitória no jogo de ida da Recopa Sul-Americana por 2 a 1 diante do Defensa y Justicia-ARG na noite desta quarta-feira (7), o meia Gustavo Scarpa destacou o triunfo na Argentina e também o fato de o Palmeiras ter a chance de conquistar um troféu inédito. O camisa 14 saiu do banco de reservas para dar a vitória ao time alviverde e projetou o duelo da semana que vem.

– Para nós, é muito significativo, é um título que o clube não tem, é a chance de marcar nosso nome na história. Vamos em busca disso, quarta que vem será um jogo difícil, mas vamos em busca de seguir colocando nosso nome na história – afirmou o jogador.

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>>ATUAÇÕES: Rony e Scarpa decidem em vitória do Palmeiras na Argentina

Scarpa também fez questão de elogiar o time argentino e ponderou que não se deve comemorar antes do apito final, pois ainda não há nada garantido.

– O time deles é muito bom, defensivamente e ofensivamente. Temos que tomar todos os cuidados e precisamos impor mais nosso ritmo de jogo. Não tem nada ganho, temos de entrar para vencer o jogo da volta – alertou o meia.

O jogo de volta pela Recopa será na próxima quarta-feira (14), no estádio Mané Garrincha, em Brasília. Antes deste confronto, o Verdão tem outra final pela frente. No domingo, o time alviverde encara o Flamengo, em partida única, pela Supercopa do Brasil, também no mesmo local.

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France superstar Kylian Mbappe has delivered a positive update on his fitness after sparking injury fears ahead of Euro 2024.

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Real Madrid new boy is nursing knocksDid step off the bench in Canada friendlyExpects to be ready for major tournamentGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The Real Madrid-bound forward sat out a training session for Les Bleus ahead of their pre-European Championship friendly date with Canada. He was said to be nursing a back complaint, having already taken a blow to his knee in a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg.

AdvertisementWHAT MBAPPE SAID

Mbappe was able to see 15 minutes off the bench against Canada, as France were held to a 0-0 draw, and told reporters afterwards that his recovery from a couple of untimely knocks is “going very well” – with there seemingly no concerns on his part regarding Euros involvement.

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Didier Deschamps is also confident that his talismanic captain will be ready for a shot at European glory, saying when asked about Mbappe’s limited involvement in warm-up exercises on and off the pitch: “Kylian received a blow during the last match (against Luxembourg) on Wednesday and before the (training) session, there was significant bruising on the knee. He had treatment, he was much better today but even if he wanted to play everything, there was no risk to take.”

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Mbappe’s new Madrid team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni sat out the stalemate with Canada and is not expected to be ready for France’s Euro 2024 opener against Austria on June 17 – but he could come into contention for further Group D outings against the Netherlands and Poland.

The Bayern Munich board are convinced that Thomas Tuchel refused their offers of continuing at the club because he already had an agreement elsewhere.

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• Tuchel turned down offer of staying at Bayern
• Tuchel linked with Man Utd job
• Kompany set to take over at Bayern

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Tuchel has long been linked been linked with potentially taking over the Manchester United job at the end of the season and, according to , he has already agreed a deal with the club. The United boss, Erik ten Hag, is set to be shown the exit following Saturday's FA Cup final, regardless of result, and the Red Devils look to be moving quickly to find a replacement. Tuchel may well be their man.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  As early as February, Bayern had decided to part ways with Tuchel at the conclusion of the season. However, when their managerial search had taken them from Xabi Alonso to Ralf Rangnick to Julian Nagelsmann without success, the Bayern board tried to persuade Tuchel to remain at the club. Yet again Bayern were unsuccessful and Tuchel turned down their offer. Bayern reportedly believe the reason for that rejection is because he had already decided to become the United boss.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Bayern's quest for a new coach appears to be almost over. The Bavarian giants are close to naming Vincent Kompany as Tuchel's successor at the Allianz Arena. Most recently, Kompany was relegated with Burnley after finishing 19th in the Premier League with 24 points.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR TUCHEL?

  If Tuchel is to become the United boss, he will be watching his future side take on Manchester City in Saturday's FA Cup final. Ten Hag will oversee what is likely his last game in charge of the Red Devils and will be dreaming of ending his mixed spell at the club with a second piece of silverware.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl admits he is “very happy” as a popular Owls player recovers from injury ahead of the weekend action.

Sheff Wed's relegation battle

Rohl's side may still be languishing near the bottom of the Championship table, but there is no doubt that a feeling of positivity has returned to the club.

Wednesday have won three of their last four matches, and there have been late goals against the likes of Leicester City, Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers, highlighting how the mentality has improved within the squad.

There is still a lot of work for the Owls to do in the relegation battle, but they are now only six points adrift of safety, which is a far smaller margin than earlier in the season, when it arguably looked as though they were doomed to an immediate League One return.

On Saturday afternoon, Wednesday welcome Cardiff City to Hillsborough before a trip to Coventry City on Boxing Day. A visit to Preston North End and a home tie against Hull City round off the festive period, with Cardiff returning to South Yorkshire for their FA Cup third-round match-up.

This latest clash should be seen as another winnable fixture, even though the Bluebirds are 12th in the table currently, with their opponents winless in six of their last eight clashes. The Owls, meanwhile, have earned 10 points from a possible 15 to haul themselves off the foot of the Championship table.

Rohl has been boosted in the injury department ahead of the game, too, as this positive period continues.

Callum Paterson injury boost

According to The Sheffield Star's Joe Crann, who cited Rohl's quotes, Callum Paterson is "back" from injury for Sheffield Wednesday and in contention to face Cardiff on Saturday afternoon.

Rohl said: "He’s back in training, he’s fine. I was very happy when I got the result from his scan and everything was fine – this was a good thing."
This is brilliant news for anyone of a Wednesday persuasion, with Paterson someone who has become a cult hero at the club in recent years.
While not necessarily the most gifted footballer around, the Scot always gives his all for the cause, and his ability to play in different positions is a great weapon for any manager to have. Former Owls manager Darren Moore lauded the 29-year-old in the past, saying:
"He works so tirelessly and is an important member of the team. He adds so much versatility. He has played in midfield, defence and up front this season."

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Sheffield Wednesday could go in for this top talent in January to boost the defence at Hillsborough.

It remains to be seen if Rohl throws Paterson straight back into his starting lineup against Cardiff this weekend, but regardless, he is going to play a big part in the relegation fight between now and the end of the season by putting his versatility and experience to good use – and no doubt chipping in with some important goals along the way.

If David Warner and Steven Smith return to the Australia squad for the World Cup, will there still be room for Usman Khawaja, their star of the 3-2 ODI series win in India, in the XI? Ricky Ponting certainly wants that to happen, saying that Khawaja, if required, could even drop down to No. 3 to accommodate Warner at his favoured position at the top of the order.ALSO READ: Khawaja makes a statement, and a strong case, for the World Cup“I think we all saw, over the last few weeks, just how skillful a player Usman Khawaja is and can be, and I think when you see him play like that, it just makes you wonder why he doesn’t do it a bit more regularly. I think that’s the disappointing thing as far as he is concerned,” Ponting said at a Delhi Capitals function ahead of the IPL of the man who topped the run-getters’ chart for the five-match series with 383 runs, including two centuries and two half-centuries.”I would be surprised if Khawaja wasn’t in the squad. Warner and he can be in the same squad; they might not necessarily play in the same XI. Or who knows, they could, you know: Khawaja could probably slot down at three when Warner comes in, and Steven Smith might bat at four or five or something, just to shore up those middle overs.”It’s a toughie for the selectors, Ponting, who will join the Australian team as its assistant coach after the IPL, conceded, with the team having tried out many players in the almost-year since Smith and Warner were banned for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in the Newlands Test against South Africa.”It’s going to be a tough job for the Australian selectors. The fact that they have played so many players over the past 12 months and given opportunities to so many players, it’s probably created a situation now that they have 20 players they’d want to have in their World Cup squad. But they have to cut that back down to 15. It’s a good position for the Australian team to be in. Thankfully I’m not a selector, because that’s going to be a tough job,” he said.Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly, coach and advisor with Delhi Capitals respectively, share a laugh at a press event•PTI

One of the trickier bits for the team is the form of Aaron Finch, their limited-overs captain. Finch has endured a poor run of form across formats of late, with the 93 he scored against India in the third ODI his only major score. He will lead the team in the upcoming series of ODIs in the UAE against Pakistan too, but his form will most certainly be under the microscope.Ponting said he was “pretty sure” Finch would lead Australia at the World Cup, adding that he should make use of Smith’s presence on the field when necessary.”He (Smith) is still out on the field, so he can help Aaron Finch out. I think that’s the way the team will work. With David Warner and Steve Smith coming back, you’ve got two very experienced players coming back into the line-up, and two very, very good players. So I would imagine that Aaron Finch would be leaning on Steven Smith a lot for a bit of advice, maybe leading into the games, as far as their preparations and everything is concerned, and maybe a bit of advice and knowledge as the game is being played,” Ponting said.”I don’t see it as a concern. I think it showed great character from Aaron Finch to be able to, even though he wasn’t playing well personally for a long time, to come to India and play that one really good innings where he made 97 [93]; but to be able to lead well when he wasn’t playing well says a lot about him. What we know about Aaron Finch is that he is a very, very good white-ball player, he’s probably been Australia’s best one-day player for the last couple of years.”It’s a good sign for Australia that even though he’s out of form, if he gets into form just before the World Cup, then it’s a real positive for Australia.”The series win in India has changed people’s perceptions about Australia. They had been in a trough of sorts for the best part of 2018, but beating India has come at an excellent time keeping the World Cup in mind.”It’s funny how quickly things can change. Two weeks ago, not a single person in the world would have given Australia a chance of winning the World Cup. On the back of three really good wins over here, everyone’s talking about Australia again,” Ponting said.”What’s happened of late, I don’t think any team will be taking Australia for granted, as they won’t take India for granted on the back of losing that series. Everyone’s making a lot about the result from Australia and being a bit more negative towards India. There’s no need for that at all. This Indian cricket team is a very, very good cricket team. Whatever position they have up for grabs in their batting order [the No. 4 batsman], they’ll fill that with a quality player. And they will go into the World Cup as one of the favourites, if not the favourite.”

Johnny Russell, a domestic rival of Inter Miami star Lionel Messi, has told MLS why it is “good to be different” without promotion and relegation.

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No up and down in American soccerAlways a thrilling fight to the finishInterest is building across the worldGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The top tier of American soccer is expanding its reach around the world, with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi aiding that cause following his stunning move to Florida in 2023. He is pulling in A-list guests desperate to catch a glimpse of him in the flesh, while viewers are tuning in from every corner of the planet.

Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowAdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

MLS has always prided itself on breaking from the norm, with there no threat of demotion from their two geographical conferences. Instead of teams heading up and down, focus at the end of any given campaign is narrowed on the play-offs and a thrilling fight for ultimate glory.

GettyWHAT RUSSELL SAID

Messi is now embracing that structure, while ex-Scotland international Russell has been on the books at Sporting Kansas City since 2018. He has told the podcast of what makes MLS special: “People can have their opinions of the promotion, relegation, all that kind of stuff. And then… it doesn't really matter what you do in the regular season. It really doesn't. As soon as as that time hits for play-offs, that's when it counts. And yes, those leagues I played in there's play-offs as well, but there's also the automatic promotion and relegation as well. So this league is just solely focused on post-season, that's it, end of the season. I don't know. I probably think it is a good thing. It's different from everywhere else. It's good to be different. I mean, how many teams have we seen win the Supporters Shield with record points and then you're gone first round of the play-offs. And that is probably what makes it so unique as well. Everyone knows that it's play-offs and it's just whoever's the best team through that, whoever does whatever it takes to win, who's got what it takes to win as well. There can only be one winner. You've got 29 teams trying to do it.”

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Messi and Inter Miami currently sit top of the Eastern Conference, with a recent 3-2 victory over Russell and Co in front of 72,000 spectators at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas helping them to the summit. It promises to be another intriguing scrap for MLS Cup glory in 2024, with no side having gone back-to-back since the LA Galaxy of David Beckham and Robbie Keane in 2011 and 2012.