All posts by h716a5.icu

It’s been a miserable month for Liverpool and things have now been made worse by another injury to Jeremie Frimpong. The summer signing, for the second time this season, is set to be sidelined for a number of games.

Defensive injuries are the last thing that Arne Slot needs. The Liverpool backline has been at its most vulnerable in recent weeks, with the right-back spot proving to be particularly inconsistent as Frimpong and Conor Bradley fail to make the position their own.

Given the form of new signing Milos Kerkez hasn’t exactly been consistent on the other side either, it’s clear that Slot desperately needs to change things up in search of a solution.

Saturday’s game against Aston Villa is simply a must-win for the Reds. A fifth-straight defeat in the Premier League is unheard of for the Premier League champions, but that’s what’s waiting for those at Anfield if they don’t provide an answer to their problems this weekend.

Despite his side’s disastrous run of form, Slot remains confident that they will turn things around. The Dutchman told reporters ahead of Aston Villa’s visit: “The thing that gives me the most confidence is the quality of the players we have and the amount of chances they are creating. This will lead to these players scoring more goals than we have done.”

Liverpool learn true price for Ezri Konsa as PSR forces Aston Villa's hand

The Reds desperately need another central defender.

1 ByTom Cunningham Oct 30, 2025

Whether the solution really is that simple remains to be seen, however. So far, the Liverpool manager has stuck to this season’s new system and stuck with struggling arrivals such as Kerkez, which could eventually lead to major consequences.

Meanwhile, after complaining about his squad depth in midweek, the news of Frimpong’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for Slot.

Every Liverpool game that Jeremie Frimpong will miss

Replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold was always going to be a difficult task, but the fact that Dominik Szoboszlai has played a more prominent role at right-back than Frimpong says it all. The Dutchman simply hasn’t got going amid an earlier injury and now his latest hamstring blow.

According to the Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele, Frimpong will now be sidelined for around six weeks after limping off with a hamstring injury against Eintracht Frankfurt. This means that he’ll miss games against both Real Madrid and Manchester City in the space of a week as well as several other games.

Liverpool vs Aston Villa

Premier League

01/11/25

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Champions League

04/11/25

Man City vs Liverpool

Premier League

09/11/25

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

Premier League

22/11/25

Liverpool vs PSV

Champions League

26/11/25

West Ham vs Liverpool

Premier League

30/11/25

Liverpool vs Sunderland

Premier League

03/12/25

Leeds vs Liverpool

Premier League

06/12/25

An “important” player under Xabi Alonso, according to the manager himself at Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool are yet to see Frimpong’s ability in full amid such a disrupted campaign that will only continue in the next six weeks.

Christian Pulisic says that he was “truly dead” a couple of days prior to delivering two-goal heroics for AC Milan in their dramatic win over Torino. The USMNT star stepped off his sick bed and the substitutes’ bench to make a decisive contribution to a contest that has taken the Rossoneri back to the top of the Serie A table – level on points with defending champions Napoli.

Bagged a brace: Pulisic settles dramatic clash with Torino

Milan were unsure whether talismanic forward Pulisic would be available to them when planning for a trip to Turin. The United States international has been nursing a nasty bout of flu, with illness limiting his involvement in training sessions.

The 27-year-old was, however, prepared to push himself for the good of the collective cause. He was required in the second-half of a clash with Torino, as Milan found themselves trailing 2-1 just past the hour mark.

Pulisic was introduced in place of Davide Bartesaghi in the 66th minute. Inside 60 seconds, he found the target and dragged the Rossoneri back into a contest that was threatening to get away from them. He then went on to grab a match-winning effort 10 minutes later.

AdvertisementCaptain America: Pulisic steps off sick bed to inspire Milan

‘Captain America’ admits that his involvement in the game was touch and go at one stage, but is delighted that he recovered enough to inspire Milan to three priceless points in their ongoing title challenge.

Pulisic told afterwards: “Two days ago I was truly dead, today I felt much better. I'm happy to have come here to help the team. Yesterday we didn't know if I could play, but this morning I felt much better.

“I'm happy with the goals, but the important thing was to win the match. I’m always happy when I can help. I want to score more goals and assists. This is my job and I’m happy with the three points.”

Pulisic now has nine goals to his name this season through 12 appearances in all competitions, with untimely injuries having prevented him from raising that bar even further.

Golden Boot race: Pulisic level with Inter striker Martinez

Milan are hoping that he will remain available for the foreseeable future, with Massimiliano Allegri’s assistant, Marco Landucci, saying of the American’s value: “We also have to praise the medical staff because Pulisic was really ill, yet he came and gave us a huge hand. [Pulisic] is a strong player, he's very calm in the locker room, but on the pitch he's nasty and in front of goal, he's a sharpshooter.”

Milan have moved onto 31 points from 14 games, the same return as Napoli and one better than arch-rivals Inter. Pulisic, who is tied with Inter star Lautaro Martinez on seven goals in the Serie A Golden Boot race, added on the need to maintain high standards from here: “It's a season in which we aren't seeing Milan dominate games a lot. I still need to find more rhythm. The team is doing very well this year. We're taking it game by game.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyFuture call: Why has Pulisic not signed new Milan contract?

While Pulisic continues to impress when fit, questions are being asked of his future at San Siro. That is because a contract offer that has been on the table for some time remains unsigned.

Former USMNT goalkeeper Brad Friedel told GOAL recently of why no extension has been agreed: “I think it suggests that he is leaving his options open. When I was at clubs, I always wanted to sign my contracts when I was happy at places. I can only go on personal experience, I liked having multiple years on the contract – you never know with injuries around the corner. If I was truly happy at a place, I really enjoyed having two or three years on a contract.

“There are only two reasons for not signing. One, you are not happy with the contract. Two, you are keeping your options open. Maybe he has given a verbal commitment. I would assume that he is keeping his options open. If you are happy somewhere and you are happy with the numbers, you sign the contract.”

Milan, with no European football on their agenda this season, will be back in Serie A action on Sunday when taking in a home date with Sassuolo.

The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their recent struggles Tuesday night with an ugly 10-7 loss at home to the Minnesota Twins. It was their 11th loss in their last 14 games and one ugly play in the top of the seventh inning summed up how things have been going for them lately.

The Twins had the bases loaded with one out when Royce Lewis hit a slow grounder up the first base line. Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez ran over and scooped up the ball and then turned a made a horrible throw to first.

MORE: Dodgers fan makes sweet catch on Ohtani's HR

How bad was it? The ball ended up bouncing off the wall in deep right field, which allowed three runs to score and sent Lewis all the way to third base.

This was something straight out of a Little League game:

The Dodgers are still in first place in the NL West with a 59-43 record but they haven't been able to get out of their own way lately.

“Tonight, it just wasn’t pretty,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game. “When you’re walking guys and the defense is spotty and things like that, it wasn’t a good one.”

It certainly wasn't.

The northern beaches cluster has grown to 38 cases, forcing a lockdown of the region by the NSW government

Daniel Brettig19-Dec-2020David Warner and Sean Abbott flew into Melbourne ahead of schedule on Saturday as Cricket Australia worked to ensure they are not caught up in the growing web of restrictions around Sydney residents in the wake of the northern beaches Covid-19 outbreak.The northern beaches cluster grew to 38 cases on Saturday, forcing a lockdown of the region by the New South Wales government, and widening the net in terms of affected residents or recent visitors to Sydney being monitored by health officials in other states.Related

Sydney and Brisbane Test switch among Cricket Australia contingency plans

Australia's opener conundrum deepens as Burns fades

Cricket Australia on alert after Sydney Covid-19 outbreak

CA quizzed broadcast and media personnel on Saturday morning about whether they had been present in a range of affected Sydney postcodes after December 11, with a number of NSW residents flying home early from their work on the Adelaide Test as a precaution.The decision to move Warner and Abbott south to Victoria was made similarly, to avoid the possibility of them being stranded in NSW in the event of the southern border being closed in coming days, should the current outbreak continue to grow. It is understood that Warner took a private jet from Sydney while Abbott went to Canberra for a commercial flight to Melbourne.Warner is no certainty to play in Melbourne as he continues his recovery from a groin strain, but is making decent progress. Abbott is on the way back from a calf strain he suffered while playing for Australia A against the Indian touring team in a Sydney warm-up game.”Hopefully I can get up and about and start running at a higher tempo,” Warner told SEN radio this week. “I managed to get up to 14kmh so I’ve got to work towards a max of 26 to 30kmh by next week. If I can run between wickets and move laterally and do some ground fielding by the end of next week, I should be ready to go. Fingers are crossed.”Speaking on Friday, CA interim CEO Nick Hockley remained confident of being able to navigate this new Covid-19 outbreak with plans still in place to stage the third Test in Sydney. However, further border restrictions, especially to Queensland where the fourth Test is currently due to be played, could force a change.”We’re monitoring the situation; we’re not panicking at all, staying calm,” Hockley told SEN radio. “Adelaide, a few weeks ago we had that pizza-shop outbreak and through that process we worked very calmly to get the players in Adelaide on a charter plane, out of Adelaide within 24 hours and that really saved the summer.”We’ve got the Sydney Test and the BBL in NSW after that, so the fact we’re here in Adelaide, we’ve got the next Test in Melbourne, it’s really watch, wait and see and I think the governments around the country have handled the pandemic so well, so we’ll watch, learn and stay in touch.”

The New York Yankees are expected to be buyers at this year's MLB trade deadline, but fortifying their roster for a shot at a World Series run could come at the expense of some key pieces of the organization.

According to Joel Sherman of the , multiple teams have expressed interest in Yankees slugger Ben Rice. The team is determined to keep him on the roster, but there have been multiple organizations inquiring about his ability to play behind the plate, as Rice was a catcher throughout much of his time in the minor leagues.

Of course, moving Rice is something the team would hope to avoid, but it may be necessary if they're to acquire some of the top players on the trade market.

Among the teams the Yankees have been closely linked to at this trade deadline include the Arizona Diamondbacks, who, after being swept by the Astros, appear destined to be sellers at the month's end. Some intriguing options in Arizona include Eugenio Suarez, who would alleviate a glaring need a third base while providing elite power, as well as pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.

This season, Rice is slashing .232/.323/.468 with 15 home runs, 32 RBIs and 45 runs. He's played two complete games behind the plate in 2025 and has 12 total appearances at the position. Obviously, his profile as a hitter is hard to find for a player capable of playing solid defense at catcher, so if he's able to catch at an MLB level, it makes sense that'd be of intrigue to teams.

A win at Anfield is as sweet as they come for those of a Manchester United persuasion, with Sunday’s deserved 2-1 victory over struggling champions Liverpool having been almost ten years in the making.

In previous seasons, Cody Gakpo’s late strike may have seen the visitors crumble to a late defeat, or hold on for what would have been seen as a ‘creditable’ but frustrating draw – but not this time.

Up stepped the previously maligned Harry Maguire to deliver the goods yet again, with United’s resurgent centre-back now at the centre of calls for an England recall ahead of next year’s World Cup. So too is back three colleague, Luke Shaw.

It is worth remembering, such is the turbulent nature of the Old Trafford side, that it was just a matter of weeks ago that both men were under the microscope for their performance in the Manchester derby, having been left scrambling at the sight of the surging Erling Haaland.

These players are built up to such heights, before being reduced to such lows, with even the weekend win needing to come with a sense of calm. Such peaks and troughs, such extremes, are no good to anyone.

One man who knows all about navigating the United rollercoaster is Paul Pogba, with the marmite Frenchman having defined the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era more than most.

How Paul Pogba would fit into Amorim's 3-4-3 system

The tale of Pogba’s time in Manchester has been discussed chapter and verse. He came. He left. He came back again. He won the League Cup and Europa League, yet appeared to angle for an exit every summer after. Then he left again in 2022.

Now back in his native France with Monaco, after serving an 18-month suspension at Juventus following a doping ban, Pogba remains among the most polarising United players of modern times.

The sight of the World Cup winner trudging off for his final outing, at Anfield ironically, was fitting for an £89m move that simply didn’t pay off as expected, with the noise that surrounded him – his doing or not – having been frankly tiring.

It wasn’t seen enough, although when actually in his pomp, the fleet-footed midfield could be such a menace, memorably picking up four assists in the opening weekend win over Leeds United in August 2021.

Operating almost as a left-sided midfielder, the maverick playmaker appeared to relish the freedom of being able to get forward and attack, safe in the knowledge that there was ample cover behind him.

In that regard, he may well have been perfect as a number ten in Ruben Amorim’s current set-up, with that role seeing the likes of Mason Mount or Matheus Cunha act as a connector between the midfield and forward line.

Being nudged into a more advanced berth briefly brought the best out of Pogba following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival to replace Jose Mourinho, with the 6 foot 3 machine ending 2018/19 with 27 goals and assists to his name in all competitions, as per Transfermarkt – his best return for United.

Perhaps ill-utilised at Old Trafford, or also not capable of taking on the talismanic role that was expected of him, the now 32-year-old will forever remain a quandary for the Red Devils.

Hopefully, the newest Pogba-type figure can be far more effective under Amorim’s watch.

Man Utd's new Paul Pogba under Amorim

Pogba’s time in United will, rightly, be lost to history before too long. A player who promised so much upon his return in 2016 ultimately delivered so little.

That is in stark contrast to his former teammate, Bruno Fernandes, with the Portuguese truly emerging as the main man in midfield, his record of 100 goals and 87 assists for the club in 299 games proving as much.

Unlike the Frenchman, even when shifted into a less-suited role the United skipper can still flourish, with Sunday seeing him deliver the crucial assist to Maguire, amid an influential showing in his deep-lying berth.

That decision to drop Fernandes deeper has been in order to accommodate the likes of Mount and Cunha in attack, with the latter man particularly impressing against Arne Slot’s side.

A wait for a goal or assist continues for the £62.5m Brazilian, yet – as noted by journalist Sam Pilger – he already looks to be an “incredible signing”, having led the line superbly last time out.

Described as a “maverick” by ex-MEN correspondent Samuel Luckhurst, there are shades of Pogba about the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man, having already proven himself to be a powerful ball carrier in his left-sided – or central – role.

Against the Merseysiders, the 26-year-old completed 100% of his dribbles, as per Sofascore, while winning two fouls for his side, representing a particular outlet late on when United needed to retain possession.

Minutes played

90+

Touches

55

Successful dribbles

2/2

Total shots

2

Fouls won

2

Possession lost

14

Pass accuracy

83%

Ground duels

4/9

Aerial duels

1/4

Not blessed with blistering pace, much like Pogba, Cunha has that knack for being able to fend off his opposite man, while also boasting the quality to be able to slalom his way up the pitch.

Indeed, among forwards in Europe’s top five leagues, he currently ranks in the top 3% for progressive carries – and the top 1% for progressive passes – as per FBref. Pogba, for instance, ranked in the top 19% and top 4% of midfielders for those two metrics, respectively, during his 2018/19 pomp.

Powerful but with the poise to match, Cunha appears to boast the very best attributes of Pogba, acting as a figure who sucks defenders towards him, yet can easily manoeuvre space for himself with a delightful turn or dribble.

The telling difference between him and the Frenchman, however, is that he is also a “workhorse” – as noted by Luckhurst – with there simply so many facets to his game to enjoy.

He’s not perfect, having been given a four-game ban last season at Molineux, but he does certainly look to be the new ‘maverick’ figure at Old Trafford. That sort of status may not have been worn well by Pogba, yet hopefully Cunha’s addition will prove to be far more fruitful.

The early signs are no doubt promising.

£62m Man Utd star looks like their best player "since Fergie retired"

Manchester United might just have turned a corner under Ruben Amorim’s wing.

2 ByAngus Sinclair Oct 20, 2025

Opener produces vital half-century to help revive England from another wobbly start

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2025After their combined tally of eight runs in four innings at Perth, it proved to be a day of revived fortunes at the Gabba for two of the most scrutinised batters in England’s ranks. While Joe Root secured the plaudits for his magnificent maiden century on Australian soil, Zak Crawley’s bounce-back from a first-Test pair proved a similarly cathartic display.Though he fell when well set, gloving a pull off Michael Neser shortly after the first interval, his 76 from 93 balls was nonetheless a crucial contribution, coming as it did after his first-Test nemesis Mitchell Starc had again struck hard with the new ball, dismissing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for ducks in his first two overs.Crawley, by then, had already driven Starc through the covers for four, to bring up his first runs of the series, and he carried on in a similar vein, picking off a total of 11 boundaries, the majority coming when Australia’s bowlers strayed into his arc.”I did feel good, to be honest,” Crawley told TNT Sports at the close of the first day’s play. “I felt much better than Perth. I was just trying to keep it simple, just trying to score straight on the leg side, and then if it was really full, maybe on the off side. Yeah, I was happy with my knock.”Crawley’s relative watchfulness outside off was the key feature of his innings, and a tribute to the hours in the nets that England have put in (in between some notable moments of downtime) since their two-day defeat in the series opener.”I think it’d have felt a long break if I’d have got two hundreds, to be honest,” he said. “It was big old gap after a two-day game. But yeah, it’s a good chance to get some practice in. And I felt comfortable. I felt calm today, and managed to settle the nerves. So I was pleased with how I played.”I had a clear plan and I stuck to it. There were still a couple of loose shots in there, as I tend to do, but got away with them, and I played nicely down the ground as well. By trying to score on the leg side, that made me leave a bit better outside off with the extra bounce today, and then when I got in, the ball started doing a bit less.”England’s close-of-play score of 325 for 9 looked significantly more healthy thanks to an unbeaten tenth-wicket stand of 61 between Root, who finished unbeaten on 135, and Jofra Archer, whose 32 not out was his highest Test score, in just his second innings at No.11.Until Australia have batted, it will be hard to tell how good that score actually is, but after the groundstaff had given the pitch a final trim to 3mm of grass before the match, Crawley knew it had been a good toss for England to win, notwithstanding their early collapse to 5 for 2.Related

Lyon 'absolutely filthy' after being left out of consecutive pink-ball Tests

Rip me up and start again: cricket's most thrilling art is also the most self-destructive

The world where Lyon doesn't play at the Gabba

Wood set to miss second Test after long road back from injury

“The last few days, it’s been really green here. So we all thought it’s going to be a green nipper again. And they obviously shaved it this morning, so it looked like a great wicket to bat on, with the overheads as well.”I was gutted to get out when I did, the pitch was just getting a bit flatter there,” he added. “But obviously we finished the day well with Rooty and Jof at the end there. So it’s good day.”At 264 for 9 with approximately half an hour of the day remaining, there had been some speculation that England might declare to insert Australia under the lights, much as they had done in their previous pink-ball Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui two years ago. But with Root going strong, and with memories of England’s infamous declaration at Edgbaston in 2023, Crawley said a repeat scenario had not been on the cards.”No talk of declaring,” he said. “We were talking about boys going really hard, and if they got out, then it was kind of a win-win situation. So they went hard, and they came off, and there’s a valuable 50 runs there for us.”Root will be on strike when day two gets underway, and will have the chance to extend England’s innings into the morning session, with six overs to come until the new ball is due. For now, though, he will have a chance to savour a significant landmark in his career, and one that may just confirm his credentials as England’s greatest Test batter.”I’m chuffed for him,” Crawley said, after Root’s 40th Test hundred and his first in Australia. “He hasn’t been speaking about it at all to us, that’s just the outside noise. He’s just very focused on just getting whatever score is needed on the day, and proved to be a hundred today.”But he’s the best player I’ve ever played with, or probably against as well. And he’s a champion bloke. I’m chuffed to bits for him.”

Manchester United have been warned off a £100 million ($134m) move for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, with ex-Red Devils defender Paul Parker explaining to GOAL why such a swoop would be “foolhardy”. Transfer plans at Old Trafford are being drawn up heading towards 2026, but they are being advised to steer clear of a highly-rated England international.

Wanted man: Anderson attracting attention

Anderson has been generating plenty of hype since bursting onto the Three Lions scene under Thomas Tuchel. He helped England to secure faultless qualification for the 2026 World Cup and is expected to figure prominently at that tournament.

Said event will provide the classy 23-year-old with a global window in which to showcase his talent. The expectation is that more names will be added to what is an ever-growing list of suitors – with United reportedly forming part of that pack.

AdvertisementGettyEngine room: Man Utd looking for midfield reinforcements

The Red Devils are mulling over additions to their engine room as questions continue to be asked of how long Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro will remain at Old Trafford. The former is being linked with teams across Europe and the Saudi Pro League, while the latter is seeing his contract run down towards free agency.

Anderson would be a different kind of ‘No.6’ to Casemiro, with his game more about retaining the ball than winning it back, but would he be a good fit at Old Trafford at the price being mooted?

Price tag: Would Man Utd spend £100m on Anderson?

When that question was put to Parker, the former United full-back – speaking in association with gambling portal British Gambler – told GOAL: “I keep seeing his name bandied about. When it’s Manchester United, everybody wants to throw out someone all the time. Everyone goes with it.

“I’m not used to labelling players with numbers. You just want a midfield player who has got the capability to go up and down, wants to go up and down, and he definitely has that. I’m quite sure a lot of these young players don’t want to be labelled anymore. They did all that when they were kids playing FIFA. When it gets to the real world, you see that they want to get about. In my opinion you want midfield players like a Roy Keane, a Paul Ince, a Bryan Robson – players who can and want to do everything.

“I see where he is [Anderson] and I quite like him. The moment you mention it with Manchester United it’s £100m. That seems to be the going rate. Are United going to go and spend that kind of money on one player? I think it would be foolhardy if they go and do that.

“When you look at Anderson, he is a high-energy player but there are a lot of high-energy players out there. To be in the Premier League now, it is about how athletic your team is. There is a lot better chance of getting results at weekends, gives you an advantage and opportunity, when you have got athletic players. Sunderland are proving that at the moment. One player for me in midfield is not enough. They need a major rebuild.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyWorld Cup window: Man Utd could explore other options

It remains to be seen whether United formalise their supposed interest in Anderson. Ruben Amorim also needs to determine how he is going to split any transfer funds that are made available to him. As alluded to by Parker, it is unlikely that all of his recruitment eggs will be lumped into one basket.

Forest will not be dropping their demands, though, so anybody wanting to lure Newcastle academy graduate Anderson away from the City Ground will need to dig deep. He is tied to a contract on Trentside that is due to run until the summer of 2029.

The Reds are under no pressure to sell and that may force the likes of United to use next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico as an opportunity to assess alternative options that come with a slightly more budget-friendly price tag.

Broadcaster miffed by changes in the calendar but it only has itself to blame for mounting debt

Daniel Brettig01-Dec-2020If there is anything consistent running through the affidavit filed in Federal Court by Seven West Media as part of its campaign for broadcast rights discounts to the deal signed with Cricket Australia in 2018, it is a growing body of evidence that the network is but one piece of a global cricket calendar made even more complex than usual by Covid-19.The remarkable thing about all this evidence, however, is that at no stage have Seven’s head of Sport, Lewis Martin, or his chief executive James Warburton and multibillionaire chairman Kerry Stokes, seemed to have reached the realisation that the cricket world simply does not revolve around them in the same way a reality TV show they commissioned might.By alleging that there is an inherent breach of contract in CA’s need to work with other parties, such as India’s powerful BCCI, fellow rights holders Foxtel and federal and state governments including that of Tasmania, the network has revealed that in its current debt-ridden state, perspective is sorely missing.The BCCI got priority in scheduling over Seven’s desire for a “fast start” to the Big Bash League? The world’s biggest cricket nation does so every time it wants a change to the schedule, but this season is playing a day-night Test away from home for the first time in its history – live on Seven.Foxtel got the chance to launch the season with white-ball games against India that Seven doesn’t have the rights to? They weren’t so valuable when Seven signed the deal in 2018.And the Tasmanian government was afforded the chance to host a block of BBL games over the protests of Seven because of production costs? The clue is in the title, Cricket .Undoubtedly, the public airing of such private dirty laundry is embarrassing for all concerned. Certainly CA’s head of commercial Steph Beltrame, head of cricket operations Peter Roach and head of the BBL Alistair Dobson couldn’t have imagined their conversations with Martin being quoted verbatim in publicly available court documents. It all carries more than a passing resemblance to some of the unsavoury claims publicised in 2013 during the ex-coach Mickey Arthur’s pursuit of a fairer contract settlement after his sacking as coach of Australia.At the time, it was well known that Michael Clarke and Shane Watson were not on the best of terms, but the Fair Work Commission documents had the captain claiming that his former deputy was a “cancer” on the team. It’s the sort of affair that stays with the participants, and provokes a deep loss of trust.Nevertheless, the overwhelming impression is of a broadcaster that, having signed a A$450 million deal that did not offer it even a single ball of exclusive cricket content over six years, has come to the realisation that the negotiation in 2018 did not result in the bonanza required to pull it out of what is now a long-running debt spiral.The sale of all cricket in Australia to a subscription broadcaster in Foxtel has had numerous spin-off effects unforeseen at the time, but the biggest one has been the increasing level of discontent at Seven about the cricket it has to broadcast, specifically the BBL. This discontent appears to have risen in blithe ignorance of the realities of international cricket, and CA’s own approaches to managing the same while also scheduling domestic leagues for men and women.Any cursory glance at the history of the BBL prior to 2018 would have told Seven’s negotiators that it was already trending down even before a vast expansion to a 14-game home and away season, and that it had never secured the services of the top Australian players for more than a handful of games at the fringes of the Test, ODI and T20I schedules. Likewise, the international season is an ever-changing beast, so much so that CA’s own financial modelling is based around a four-year cycle that generally includes one visit each by India and England.In other words, to sign up with cricket was to get a very different product than that offered by the Australian Open tennis, for so long Seven’s summer staple. By contrast to cricket’s moving feast over several months, the year’s first Grand Slam affords two weeks of major event broadcast audiences immediately before the start of the “official ratings period” that networks stake their annual advertising revenue upon.That, clearly, is the type of product that Seven tricked itself into thinking it was getting with CA, meaning that if chairman Stokes wants an explanation for why cricket has not panned out as planned, he should perhaps look in the mirror, given he personally finalised the deal alongside his son Ryan and the former chief executive Tim Worner a little over two years ago.Seven were, by all accounts, agitating for changes to their deal with CA even before Covid-19 scythed through the plans of so many from March onwards. What’s happened since is a reminder that sport in general and cricket in particular must operate according to the demands of many partners, not just one indebted broadcaster.To prove the point, the Australian Open itself is now likely to be moved out of its traditional, broadcast friendly slot. As Beltrame put it in her conversation with Martin: “It is a worldwide pandemic for god’s sake.”

Gloucestershire seamer Josh Shaw joins exodus after agreeing Somerset switch

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2025Northamptonshire have re-signed Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Australian seamer Harry Conway as overseas players for next season.Conway, who took 20 wickets in four Championship appearances earlier this year, will return for the start of the 2026 campaign. The 33-year-old is expected to be available for the first block of seven games in April and May.Chahal, meanwhile, has agreed to return for a third consecutive summer at Northants, joining for the second half of the season to play in the County Championship and Metro Bank One-Day Cup. Overall, he has taken 44 first-class wickets and seven in List A for the club.”Yuzi is a magnificent asset to this squad,” Northamptonshire’s head coach, Darren Lehmann, said. “His record across his career speaks for itself and he brings so much class and experience to the group. I loved working with him this year and am excited to go again in 2026.””For young spinners in the group like Nirvan Ramesh and Stuart van der Merwe, having Yuzi around to guide them will be a huge plus for their game.”On Conway, Lehmann added: “Harry is an excellent addition for 2026. His form last year was fantastic, and I am excited to work with him for a longer period. His ability to take wickets on all surfaces and presence around the team makes him an invaluable player.”Northants have also signed batter Louis Kimber on a two-year deal from Leicestershire. Largely known as a white-ball hitter and occasional offspinner, Kimber made headlines in 2023 after scoring 243 off 127 balls in the County Championship at Hove.”Louis brings with him a huge amount of knowledge and experience around county cricket as well as boosting our batting firepower,” Lehmann said. “He will no doubt attract people to Wantage Road with his explosive batting and I can’t wait to start working with him.”Josh Shaw joins SomersetJosh Shaw spent six years at Gloucestershire•Dan Istitene/Getty ImagesGloucestershire have seen another member of their seam-bowling group depart, after Josh Shaw signed for Somerset earlier this week.Shaw, 29, had been under contract at Bristol since 2019, having previously played on loan from Yorkshire. He follows Ajeet Singh Dale (Lancashire), Zaman Akhter (Essex), Archie Bailey (Durham), Tom Price and Dom Goodman (both Sussex) in leaving over the close season.”We have seen first-hand how impactful Josh can be,” Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry, said. “He has the ability to swing and seam the ball, and he is an excellent addition to our bowling unit.”We are fully aware of Josh’s strong character traits and his willingness to be the best version of himself, which will add real value to the dressing room as well as on the pitch. These attributes will be vital for us as we continue to compete across all competitions.”