Alexi Lalas was upbeat after the United States landed in Group D for the 2026 World Cup, where they will face Paraguay, Australia and the winner of Play-Off C (Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo). He called the group not just good, but “great,” and said the USMNT under Mauricio Pochettino should be expected to advance.
West Ham are willing to take a significant financial hit by selling a mainstay player who hasn’t done enough to impress Nuno Espírito Santo, according to a new report.
West Ham enjoy mini Nuno revival ahead of Aston Villa clash
West Ham supporters have witnessed encouraging signs of recovery under Nuno, with the Hammers suffering just one defeat across their previous six fixtures as they prepare to face Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
The Portuguese’s impact has gradually manifested following a nightmare start that saw West Ham collect merely four points from nine Premier League matches.
West Ham’s results in the Premier League so far
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham
West Ham 1-5 Chelsea
Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham
West Ham 0-3 Tottenham
West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace
Everton 1-1 West Ham
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
West Ham 0-2 Brentford
Leeds 2-1 West Ham
West Ham 3-1 Newcastle
West Ham 3-2 Burnley
Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham
West Ham 0-2 Liverpool
Man United 1-1 West Ham
Brighton 1-1 West Ham
Recent performances suggest Nuno has successfully identified solutions, with his side demonstrating renewed resilience.
Their latest outing saw them salvage a dramatic 1-1 draw at Brighton on Sunday, with Jarrod Bowen’s exceptional sliding finish almost securing all three points before Georginio Rutter’s controversial stoppage-time equaliser denied them.
Prior to that, West Ham fought back to claim a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against Man United, with Soungoutou Magassa’s late intervention sending the travelling contingent into raptures.
The mini-revival includes other positive results against Newcastle, Burnley and Bournemouth, with only the 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool interrupting their momentum.
That defeat was largely self-inflicted, as Lucas Paqueta received a bizarre red card for dissent that arguably cost them the game.
Saturday’s clash at home to Aston Villa represents another significant test. Unai Emery’s side currently sit third, just three points behind Arsenal following their recent victory over the Gunners, and some suggest they could well be outside title challengers.
Villa are also on a formidable run of form, winning seven of their last seven games in all competitions, with Emery’s last defeat coming at the very start of November.
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The Hammers sporting director played a key transfer role.
ByEmilio Galantini 6 days ago
It is a tall order for West Ham to upset the applecart, especially with Villa buoyed by their dramatic weekend win over the league leaders, so they’ll need every man at their very best.
That includes £40 million defender Max Kilman, who’s attracted criticism this season.
West Ham ready to take huge loss on Max Kilman
However, according to club insider Claret & Hugh, the Englishman might not be relied upon for very long.
It is believed that West Ham are willing to green-light Kilman’s departure for £25 million in January, representing a substantial £15 million loss on their record defensive acquisition signed just 18 months ago.
The 28-year-old arrived from Wolves last year as part of Julen Lopetegui’s extensive recruitment drive that witnessed ten players secured for £145 million.
However, few acquisitions from that recruitment spree have justified their substantial price tags.
Recent speculation linking Kilman with Crystal Palace has been dismissed by C&H sources close to the London Stadium hierarchy as fabricated transfer gossip.
Nevertheless, insiders have also confirmed that West Ham would immediately accept any legitimate £25m proposal, highlighting their eagerness to recoup finances on the struggling defender.
Kilman featured regularly under both Lopetegui and Graham Potter, establishing himself as an ever-present selection despite underwhelming performances.
The same can be said under Nuno, with the centre-back starting 13 out of West Ham’s 14 league matches this season and playing the third-most minutes out of any player in their squad.
However, Kilman has apparently ‘failed to impress’ Nuno in that time, and reports suggest that West Ham are in the market for a new centre-back next month.
Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell, who was ‘close’ to joining in the summer, is believed to a top target for the club in that regard (ExWHUemployee).
No result Nilakshika Silva struck the fastest fifty at this World Cup to boost a flagging Sri Lankan innings, after it looked like they were in danger of squandering their best start with the bat all tournament. It proved to be in vain, as rain washed out the game after the completion of the first innings. The result leaves them and New Zealand sharing one point apiece.Silva’s knock perfectly complemented a half-century from Chamari Athapaththu and meant that, having opted to bat first in Colombo, Sri Lanka managed to post a very competitive 258 for 6.There were also meaningful contributions from Vishmi Gunaratne and Hasini Perera, but it was Silva’s timely intervention that meant Sri Lanka managed 80 runs in the final 10 overs – a significant uptick for a side that has averaged a scoring rate under five during that period. In the end, she ended with 55 off 28, including seven boundaries and the solitary six of the innings.Sophie Devine was the pick of the bowlers, picking up three wickets – including the prize scalp of Athapaththu – but also proved expensive, going for 54 in her nine overs. There were also wickets for Bree Illing – who had replaced Lea Tahuhu in the XI – and Rosemary Mair.New Zealand were let down by their fielding, with several chances being missed out on over the course of the Lankan innings. The first miss was inside the first powerplay, where Athapaththu got a faint nick through to the keeper when on 12, but one that was not picked up by either the umpire or any of the New Zealand fielders, aside from keeper Izzy Gaze, who made a lone appeal. With the Lankan skipper going on to score a 20th W-ODI fifty, it proved to be a rather costly error in judgment.Vishmi Gunaratne and Chamari Athapaththu gave Sri Lanka a strong start•AFP/Getty Images
Sri Lanka’s innings was boosted by a host of similar missed chances and fortunate reprieves.Gunaratne was on a pained 19 off 45 when she was trapped lbw by Amelia Kerr, but with six seconds left on the clock she was convinced by Athapaththu to take the review. As it transpired, there was a just the smallest murmur on Ultra Edge to indicate that there had been some bat on the ball.Gunaratne received further lifelines across her innings. Amelia first got only fingertips on a low drive back from Gunaratne, which burst through her hands. Suzie Bates spilled a gilt-edged chance at mid-on a short while after that, also off Amelia.That period of fortune for Sri Lanka culminated with Athapaththu shanking one to deep point to hole you, but Sri Lanka kept ticking along thanks to lady luck. Several times, direct hit opportunities went begging as Sri Lanka sought tight singles, while the New Zealand outfielders were guilty of some costly misfields.Gaze, meanwhile, missed a stumping opportunity as well as a tough caught-behind chance, while Perera was fortunate not to be given lbw when she missed a pull on a Mair slower delivery. It struck her in the midriff, but replays showed the delivery was so slow that it would have dipped on to the stumps. No review was taken despite an appeal.Despite these fortunate instances, Sri Lanka’s batting was perhaps more conservative than usual, likely owing to their poor record through this tournament. Here they lost just two wickets leading up to the 40th but their scoring rate was still under five an over. By the time they felt safe enough to up the ante, they lost three wickets in the span of a couple of overs.From 183 for 2 they found themselves 198 for 5, but despite the fall of wickets, Silva was unbowed as she singlehandedly raised the rate of scoring, culminating in a trio of boundaries in a 16-run final over as Sri Lanka head to the break with the momentum. In the end, the rain made sure of an unsatisfactory conclusion.
“Playing the long game” to keep the India bowlers on the field for as long as possible might work best for Australia, says Marnus Labuschagne
Alex Malcolm19-Nov-2024Doubts surround the quality of both batting line-ups ahead of this Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, but runs might not be the only winning currency from a batting perspective.Marnus Labuschagne knows that better than most. He was the leading run-scorer across sides in the 2020-21 series in Australia, but his team didn’t win. There was a man who made 155 runs fewer than Labuschagne across eight innings but faced 78 more deliveries and was arguably the most valuable player in India’s famous win.Just as he did in 2018-19, when he made three centuries and faced 1258 balls in seven innings, Cheteshwar Pujara’s ability to absorb pressure for long periods and grind an unchanged Australian bowling line-up into the ground over a four-Test series paid handsome dividends on the final day at the Gabba, when they finally ran out of steam.Related
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Labuschagne is looking at this five-Test series through that same lens, with an aim to ask a relatively inexperienced India seam attack, Jasprit Bumrah aside, to keep backing up over a six-week tour.”It’s going to be important for all of us,” Labuschagne said on Tuesday. “I think the way we play, we’re at our best when we’re playing the long game. We understand that getting them back for their second and third spells, putting them under pressure and letting them come to us and us putting pressure back on them through overs in the field and time in the game, especially over a five-Test series, that’s really important.”Because as you get into the third, fourth, fifth Test, if they’re trying to play the same team, and those bowlers are rolling into 100, 150, 200 overs by the third Test, it’s going to make a big difference in the series.”The question will be whether this Australian top order can execute that plan to set the game up for their explosive middle-order. Batting was extremely challenging in Australia last summer. Just two players managed to score centuries in five home Tests and one of them, David Warner, is no longer in the team. The only player to score a century in Australia’s most recent series in New Zealand, Cameron Green, is also not available for this series.There will be plenty of attention on Labuschagne. He made 90 in his last Test match in Christchurch. But that 90 came after five scores of 10 or below. He also fell for 6 in the second innings in Christchurch.
“I think for me, probably just getting away from the process of what makes me a good player, and just making sure I stay consistent to that process and really trusting the system”Marnus Labuschagne on returning to what worked for him
Labuschagne’s form at the start of this summer has been far from prolific. He made a sublime 77 not out in his first ODI in England in September, but then returned scores 19, 0, 4, 16 and 6 in ODI cricket. In the midst of those scores he made 77 and 35 not out in his first Sheffield Shield game at the WACA ground in October and then followed that with returns of 11, 22 and 10 for Queensland.There has been a familiarity to his dismissals in recent times. Having overcome a period in international cricket where teams were attacking his front pad, suddenly he has found himself being opened up outside off stump and nicking balls he has not played at in the past. He’s aware of how India will attack him in Perth.”I think there might be areas that they’ll attack first this time around, bowling that channel and try and nick you off,” Labuschagne said. “I think especially in Perth, with the bouncy wicket.”Perth Stadium is a place Labuschagne loves. He has an extraordinary record there in just three Test matches, scoring three centuries and averaging 103.80. He loves it because it plays so similarly to his home ground of the Gabba. And the hallmark of his success in Perth has been his ability to leave well early on. He has trusted the bounce and made the bowlers bowl at him, using the pace and bounce to his advantage.It is those things, he noted, that he has perhaps strayed away from in the past 18 months. “I think for me, probably just getting away from the process of what makes me a good player, and just making sure I stay consistent to that process and really trusting the system.”Marnus Labuschagne has been in patchy form in the Sheffield Shield•Getty ImagesHis batting is not the only area where he will relish Perth’s pace and bounce. Eyebrows have been raised within Australia’s camp about the amount of medium-pace bowling he had done in the early part of the Shield season while captaining Queensland.There was much ribbing from the coaching staff and team-mates at the start of the ODI series when he immediately returned to bowling legspin in the nets, with captain Pat Cummins stating he much preferred Labuschagne’s legbreaks to his medium pace.But Labuschagne had no hesitation steaming in off the long run at the WACA centre wicket on Monday and delivering a bouncer barrage to Cummins and Mitchell Starc. He wants to dish more out in the Test match in the absence of Green.”I bowled one bouncer and I think Mitchell Starc said, ‘We’ve got short memories’. And I said, ‘Well, I’m going to get them anyway, so I might as well dish them out’,” Labuschagne said. “There’s nothing more enjoyable than bowling bouncers. I love it.”There was a bit worry. When I bowled I think about 28 overs of pace in a Shield game, and my workloads were zero before then, so some would say that’s a big spike. But my body’s pretty durable.”It’s something that I’ve done from a young age. I’ve always bowled pace.”
Questions will be asked about when SA will take the next step, but for now the answer is: not this time
Firdose Moonda02-Nov-20252:48
Wolvaardt: Reaching three finals shows we’re doing something right
The first time South Africa reached a World Cup final, at the home T20 World Cup in 2023, they were just happy to be there. The second time, a year later, they were spent from playing the game of their lives in the semi-final and beating perennial champions Australia. But the third – this time and also their first in the ODI World Cup – seemed set to be the charm, until South Africa fell short again.It’s worth remembering that’s all it was: they fell short. They neither disgraced themselves, nor choked. They lost a game of cricket against a team who were better, indeed who saw this as their date with destiny and sometimes, in sport, these things happen.Still, in the immediate aftermath, that did not soften the blow. Marizanne Kapp, probably playing in her last ODI World Cup, sat in the dugout, her eyes brimming with tears, and ignored the hand of comfort on her shoulder. Laura Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk sat together, the shock still writ across their faces, even as they feigned a few smiles. Tazmin Brits sat alone, staring at nothing in particular, what-ifs running through her mind.Spare a thought specifically for Wolvaardt, who is now the leading run-scorer in a single edition of any ODI World Cup and the second-highest World Cup run-scorer overall.With centuries in the semi-final and the final, eight catches in the tournament and increasingly more astute captaincy, she may feel she deserved more than a runners up medal, but sport can be cruel and Wolvaardt has been dealt a particularly tough hand.Related
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Ask her and she’ll probably say she’d trade in all those accolades for the trophy but she took defeat on the chin. “We were outplayed tonight,” Wolvaardt said at the post-match presentation before telling the press conference that she could already see the silver lining. “We’ll still look back at this tournament as having a lot of positives.”We’ve played some really good cricket throughout this tournament. At one stage we won five games in a row, which is pretty big for our group. We’re just searching for that consistency, which is something that we don’t necessarily have in bilaterals. So, I’m really proud that we’re able to perform in big tournaments.”South Africa came into this World Cup having won six out of 13 ODIs in the year preceding the tournament, which included a series loss to England and failing to make the final of a triangular series which included India and Sri Lanka.That they beat both India and Sri Lanka in the group stage and rallied from 69 all out against England before the knockouts to beat them by 125 runs in the semi-final speaks both to how bilateral form can rarely be a gauge for major tournament success and that South Africa can pick themselves up quickly when things go wrong.Those are both signs of a maturing team but still, just 12 years since professionalisation, they remain a work in progress.”We’re learning on the job and we showed that we were able to grow and actually get to the final like we did now,” Mandla Mashimbyi, South Africa’s coach, who has only been in charge for 10 months said. “To see how the team has progressed from the time that I took over, is a humbling experience for me. But at the same time, I’m excited because when nobody gave us a chance, we gave ourselves a chance.”Laura Wolvaardt kept the chase alive with a stunning century•ICC/Getty ImagesWolvaardt pointed to “different people” who “put up their hands at different stages” including how South Africa played against spin (the England and Australia blow outs which included an Alana King seven-for excluded) and how their spinners bowled.”That’s always been a big talking point with our group, is how we play spin so to make it to the final of the World Cup in subcontinent conditions (was rewarding),” she said. “Our seamers bowled pretty well in subcontinent conditions as well. They often bowled better than our spinners did, economy-wise. Kappie was great for us. And Nadine was excellent. It was really nice to see.”De Klerk’s finishing with the bat against India and Bangladesh and Kapp’s five-for in the semi-final will be talked about for years to come, but so will Nonkululekho Mlaba’s 13 wickets, which puts her as the joint fifth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament.For all the celebration of individual contributions, there also needs to be an acknowledgement of which players did not perform, coupled with the empathy that comes with such an assessment.Everyone goes into a tournament wanting to give their absolute best but for some, that just doesn’t happen. Anneke Bosch scored just 35 runs in six innings at the tournament, including three ducks, and dropped Shafali Verma on 56 in the final, a chance that cost South Africa 31 runs. There were arguments to be made for leaving her out of the final XI in place of an extra seamer like Masabata Klaas but South Africa always felt they needed a batting cushion for a big chase.That may also be because they stuck rigidly to the pre-tournament plan of using Sinalo Jafta at No.6 and though she looks better than she has than at any other stage of her career, she still uses up too many dot balls. Jafta twice made her career-best at this World Cup, but her tournament strike rate was under 70 and at this level, South Africa needed more.Naturally, South Africa will wonder about the plans they didn’t make and chances they didn’t take but some perspective will remind them that they still defied expectations getting to the final. They also continued a line of excellence that stretches back to 2023 when this same team broke new ground by becoming the first senior side to reach a World Cup final. But they can’t ride on that forever even though they are doing what they can to see the bigger picture.”Cricket in South Africa is thriving. Sometimes things have to go wrong to go right and I think that was the case,” Mashimbyi, who worked extensively in men’s domestic cricket before moving to the women’s team, said. “In terms of the talent that’s coming through in South African cricket in both men and women, it’s actually quite scary. The future of South African cricket looks bright.”But now that they can reach finals (six across all formats, genders and age-groups since that T20 final in 2023) questions will be asked about when South Africa will take the next step and win trophies. For now, the answer is: not this time.
MatériaMais Notícias
O MetrôRio anunciou o esquema de funcionamento para a noite desta quinta-feira (11/12), quando Vasco da Gama e Fluminense se enfrentam no Maracanã, às 20h (de Brasília), pelo jogo de ida da semifinal da Copa do Brasil. A concessionária informou que o sistema operará em horário regular de dia útil, das 5h à meia-noite, com reforço no efetivo de segurança e de operadores em estações estratégicas para garantir maior fluidez no acesso dos torcedores.
continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasVascoMuito trabalho: Vasco tenta ajustar defesa e ataque antes de clássico com o FluminenseVasco10/12/2025FluminenseFluminense tem tabu a quebrar contra o Vasco na Copa do Brasil; relembre os confrontosFluminense10/12/2025Futebol NacionalPolícia frustra planos de organizada do Vasco antes de clássico contra o Fluminense na Copa do BrasilFutebol Nacional09/12/2025
➡️ Vasco x Fluminense: onde assistir, horário e prováveis escalações do jogo pela Copa do Brasil
Operação das linhas para a partida entre Vasco X Fluminense
A Linha 2 vai circular normalmente entre Pavuna e Botafogo, permitindo que os passageiros façam a transferência para a Linha 1 no trecho compartilhado entre as estações Central do Brasil/Centro e Botafogo. Segundo o MetrôRio, esse esquema oferece deslocamento contínuo para quem se dirige ao estádio e também para quem retorna após a partida.
Estações indicadas para cada setor do Maracanã
A concessionária orienta que os torcedores planejem o deslocamento com antecedência e verifiquem qual é a estação mais próxima de seu setor no estádio.
continua após a publicidadePortões A, B e C (Oeste e Sul): desembarque recomendado na Estação Maracanã (Linha 2).Portões D, E e F (Leste e Norte): desembarque ideal na Estação São Cristóvão (Linha 2).
➡️Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance!
Formas de pagamento e organização
Para evitar filas, o MetrôRio solicita que os clientes recarreguem seus cartões com antecedência ou utilizem pagamento por aproximação diretamente nas catracas, opção que tem se tornado cada vez mais prática em dias de grande movimento.
➡️ Tudo sobre o Tricolor agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Fluminense
Serviço – Funcionamento do Metrô nesta quinta (11/12)
Linhas 1, 2 e 4: funcionamento das 5h à meia-noiteTransferência entre as linhas 1 e 2: disponível no trecho compartilhado entre Central do Brasil/Centro e Botafogo
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On April 11 of this year, Liverpool posted a video on their social media channels accompanied by the words 'The story continues' and a crown emoji. Nobody had to press play to understand what it all meant: after months and months of incessant speculation over Mohamed Salah's future, Anfield's Egyptian King had finally agreed a new contract with the club.
"I'm very excited," the winger said of his two-year extension. "We have a great team now. Before also we had a great team, but signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football. It's great, I had my best years here. I played eight years; hopefully, it's going to be 10."
Right now, though, that looks highly unlikely. Indeed, former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp says that he'd be "amazed if Salah sees out the last year-and-a-half of his contract" – and it's surprisingly easy to understand why.
Getty'Gamble' pays off spectacularly
The idea of Salah leaving Liverpool just over six months after signing a new contract should be absurd. As if anyone needs reminding, he didn't just play a part in the Reds romping to a record-equalling 20th English title last season, he took centre stage by producing one of the greatest individual campaigns in Premier League history.
Salah racked up 29 goals and 18 assists, resulting in him becoming the first man ever to win the Golden Boot, the Playmaker Award and Player of the Season in the same year. As far as Salah was concerned, his numerous records and sensational stats were a direct consequence of new coach Arne Slot ceding to his request to let him focus solely on scoring and creating goals.
"The tactics are quite different [to the Jurgen Klopp era]," Salah told . "Now I don't defend much. I said [to Slot] 'As long as you rest me defensively, I will provide offensively', so I am glad that I did. He listened a lot and you can see the numbers. When you play in the Premier League you have to defend, but I said that I can gamble and somehow I can make a difference."
Unfortunately for Salah, Slot and Liverpool, the risk is no longer proving worth the reward.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTarget for opponents
Salah is by no means the only reason why Liverpool are struggling this season: the defence is a disaster, the forwards are misfiring, while Dominik Szoboszlai is the only midfielder playing well. However, the dramatic drop in Salah's productivity is startling – and seriously hurting his side.
For example, after 14 rounds of last season's Premier League, Salah had propelled Liverpool to the top of the table with 13 goals and seven assists. This time around, the Reds are currently languishing in eighth place, with Salah having contributed just four goals and two assists.
Worse still, opponents are now targeting Liverpool's right-hand side even more than they did when Trent Alexander-Arnold was stationed behind Salah – and to great effect.
"We know that Salah is always ready for the counter-attack," Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella told after setting up Estevao for a last-minute winner against the Reds on October 4. "So, we practiced that, and the manager (Enzo Maresca) said that the space might be there."
Getty Images SportNo longer a difference-maker
Slot initially defended the freedom afforded to Salah, arguing that in the very same game against Chelsea there were "five or six moments where Mo could have made the difference for us" because the Egypt international was still being allowed to remain so high up the field.
"And if that would have happened, then we would have had a conversation like last season, where he so many times made the difference for us," Slot told reporters. "But if that doesn't happen then you get comments like this [from Cucurella]. It's always about the balance between winger and full-backs. I want our full-backs to attack as well, so we have to find the right balance in that, but we are conceding too many crosses compared to last season, and this is something I'm aware of and we have to do better."
It seems that Slot has now decided that taking Salah out of the starting line-up is the best solution to this particular problem.
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Getty Images SportDropped
Against West Ham last Sunday, Slot deployed the multi-talented Szoboszlai on the right-hand side, with Joe Gomez tucked in behind him. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool looked far more solid in defence and kept their first clean sheet for nearly a month. In addition, Florian Wirtz flourished in the attacking midfield role vacated by Szoboszlai.
Consequently, Slot elected to make just one change for Wednesday's visit of Sunderland, with Andy Robertson taking over at left-back from Milos Kerkez, who had gone down with a cramp at the London Stadium. However, Jamie Carragher, who has been very critical of Salah's media silence during Liverpool's shocking slump, was "surprised" by the decision not to recall the forward.
"I've said this season I don't think Mo Salah should play every game, but when I said that I was thinking predominantly away games – not so much at Anfield," Carragher explained on . "Arne Slot can dress the weekend up as Liverpool have four games in 10 days, and you have to look at which games you play him in.
"Sunderland will play deep and make it difficult so I expected this to be the one where Salah plays. For him to be on the bench doesn't feel like rest or rotation; it's dropped. But sooner or later Liverpool do have to pivot away from being the Salah team and towards being the Wirtz and (Alexander) Isak team, and maybe we saw a glimpse of that [at West Ham]."
However, if Sunday at least hinted at a brighter future, Wednesday provided an immediate reminder of the grim reality of Liverpool's present predicament.
All you need to know about the SA20 2025-26 auction
Firdose Moonda08-Sep-2025The SA20 is avoiding the word mega (because that belongs to the IPL) but the auction of season four is big. Very big.Almost two-thirds of the player pool is up for grabs, with 84 of the 114 player spots across the six franchises available. The teams were permitted no more than six retentions or pre-signed players and were also allowed to sign a wildcard player, who falls outside the R41 million (approx USD 2.31 million) salary cap.There is no rookie draft in place anymore to prevent a high turnover of young players and instead, franchises must sign a minimum of two under-23 players in their final squads.Related
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Squad composition is unchanged from the previous three seasons, with 19 players per squad and a maximum of seven overseas players. Here’s the lowdown before the first gavel hits.Who has what going in?
Pretoria Capitals, who will be under a new coach in Sourav Ganguly for season four, have the biggest purse of R32.5 million (approx USD 1.85 million) and most number of spots to fill – 16. They are also the only franchise with two Right to Match (RTM) cards available to them. Similar to the IPL, the RTM can be used to buy back a player who was part of a franchise in the previous season by matching the winning bid. All three of Pretoria’s current players – Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford and wildcard Andre Russell – are overseas players so they only have four international spots left.Durban’s Super Giants have R29.5 million (approx USD 1.68 million) and 15 spots available with one RTM card. They also have four overseas places available after pre-signing Sunil Narine and Jos Buttler and retaining Noor Ahmed. Heinrich Klaasen is their wildcard.Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings both have R21.5 million (approx USD1.2 million) and 14 player spots available, four for overseas players, with one RTM card each. Paarl Royals have R14.5 million (approx USD826,000) and 13 spots, including five overseas while MI Cape Town have R11.5 million (US$650,000) and only 12 places to fill but four for overseas players. Neither Paarl nor MICT have an RTM card. What do the base prices look like?
The base prices range from R200,000 (approx USD11,400) to R1.5 million (approx USD85,500), which is what some of the high-profile international names such as Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mustafizur Rahman, Moeen Ali, Jason Roy, Maheesha Theeksana and Johnson Charles have set for themselves. A further 32 players including James Anderson, Shakib Al Hasan, Reece Topley, Craig Overton, Logan van Beek, Corey Anderson and Bhanuka Rajapaksa have set their base prices at R1 million (approx USD57,000).In-form Matthew Breetzke is among players expected to attract big bids•AFP/Getty ImagesMost of the 549 players on the auction list have opted for the lowest base price but South Africa’s premier bowlers have rated themselves slightly higher with a host of them opting for base prices of R500,000 (approx USD 28,500). Among them are a resurgent Lungi Ngidi, who has maintained fitness across formats, teenage left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka, Gerald Coetzee, who only played one match for JSK last year as he battled with injury, Anrich Nortje, who has not played any cricket since the IPL, Lizaad Williams, who has recovered from knee surgery and was awarded a national contract in this cycle, left-armer Nandre Burger and allrounder Wiaan Mulder.Leading spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, and veteran Imran Tahir have also opted for a R500,000 base price alongside experienced batters Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen. Dewald Brevis, who has enjoyed a breakthrough year across formats, is also at R500,000.Will someone cross the R10 million mark?
Unless you’re South African this number may not mean anything but it’s considered the high-water mark for this auction after Tristan Stubbs was picked up for R9.2 (approx USD 525,180) million in the first auction in 2023. Should a player command a R10 million price tag, that would be worth more than half a million US dollars, (around USD 570,000) which, for anyone, is a tidy payday.Some of the favourites to attract that kind of money include South Africa’s T20I captain and two-time title-winning SA20 captain Markram (but he has only scored 20 or more twice in his last ten T20I innings), Maharaj and in-form batters Matthew Breetzke and Brevis.Are there any overseas names to look out for?
The absence of England’s Test players, who will be involved in the Ashes, is the biggest talking point of this season after Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were two of the major catches in the previous edition but there is still a strong contingent at the auction. Headlined by Anderson, who had three matches in the Hundred this summer, there are 96 English names on the auction list. Contrastingly, there are only two Australians – D’Arcy Short and Peter Hatzoglou.James Anderson will have a base price of R1 million at the auction•Getty ImagesWest Indies have 28 players in the auction list, Sri Lanka 24 and Afghanistan, who have historically had a strong contingent of players in the SA20, have 19, followed by Bangladesh with 15 and New Zealand with six. Of the other Full Members there are five Zimbabweans – Brian Bennett, who was schooled in the Eastern Cape, Ryan Burl, Richard Ngarava, Sean Williams and Brad Evans – and five Irish players have thrown their names into the hat.Notably, there are no Pakistan players in the auction list. While the SA20 has always said it remains open to players from across the cricketing world, all six franchises are owned by IPL team owners.From Associate nations, 16 players from the USA, eight Netherlands players including former South African international Roelof van der Merwe, six Scottish players, four Namibians including captain Gerhard Erasmus, four from the UAE, and one Nepal player Dipendra Singh Airee are in the list. When and where is the auction?
The auction will take place on Tuesday, September 9 from 2pm South African time (5.30pm IST) and will be held in Johannesburg.
Taylor Ward is lucky he has attentive teammates.
The Los Angeles Angels outfielder ran headfirst into the left field wall while attempting to chase down a fly ball off the bat of Houston Astros second baseman Ramon Urias in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ward missed the ball, but got a face-ful of the wall and fell to the field in a heap.
He eventually got up and signaled to the Angels' bullpen that he needed help, and the team's relievers responded, rushing out to check on him and provided a towel to soak up the blood running down his face.
Video is below.
That is a scary scene.
The outfield at Daikin Park can be difficult to navigate due to its intricate angles.
Ward left the game and was replaced in left field by Luis Rengifo, who moved from second base, with Christian Moore taking over that spot.
Despite Ward's absence, the Angels won the game 3-0. Hopefully, he winds up being OK.
Neymar was left in utter shock during Santos' 3-2 defeat to Flamengo as his teammates appeared to completely ignore his instructions in a bizarre second-half moment that summed up the club’s chaotic season. The veteran forward, visibly frustrated, later stormed off after being substituted, capping off a night of confusion and controversy for the struggling Brazilian giants.