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Argentina star Angel Di Maria has been linked with a sensational Stateside move to Inter Miami, where he would link up with Lionel Messi.

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Di Maria linked with Miami moveArgentine currently at BenficaWould be fourth ex-Messi teammate at MLS sideWHAT HAPPENED?

ESPN Argentina reported Thursday that the Benfica winger, whose contract expires in June, is being targeted by the South Beach MLS side.

The 36-year-old would bolster their attack, while bringing veteran leadership alongside Messi and Suarez, too.

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Di Maria and Messi are longtime friends on the Argentina national team, but the duo also played together at club level with Paris Saint Germain.

The winger has 138 caps for La Albiceleste from 2007 onward, whereas Messi has 171 since 2004.

The Argentina would likely not join the ranks at Miami until the conclusion of this summer's Copa America, though.

DID YOU KNOW?

Di Maria would be the fourth ex-teammate of Messi's to join him at Inter Miami. The Argentine would join the likes of Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at South Beach

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR INTER MIAMI AND DI MARIA?

The Herons clash with the New York Red Bulls this weekend in MLS action. As for Di Maria, though, Miami will reportedly look to pursue negotiations to secure his services so that he will be able to join the MLS side following the conclusion of Copa America 2024.

It's unknown whether or not Di Maria would be a Designated Player, Targeted Allocation Money or General Allocation Money signing – but he will require an international slot.

“I don’t think we want to play on wickets like these because it becomes too low-scoring and it becomes slightly difficult for our batters to get going,” the Super Kings captain said

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai09-Apr-20192:33

Dasgupta: Chepauk conditions shouldn’t have been alien to KKR

Weeks after expressing his displeasure over the slow, low Chepauk track in the season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni was once again critical of the pitch following another low-scoring match, against Kolkata Knight Riders.After Super Kings inserted Knight Riders, keeping the dewy conditions in Chennai in mind, the visitors laboured to 108 for 9 in 20 overs, with only Andre Russell passing 20. Super Kings’ spinners Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja bowled 15 dots each and ended with combined figures of 12-0-53-5.Super Kings’ batsmen themselves struggled to get going in the chase, but opener Faf du Plessis ushered them home with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare.Super Kings and Knight Riders played on the same pitch that was used for the hosts’ fixture against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. Dhoni likened the pitch to the opening game of the season that produced a mere a 141 runs. The spinners accounted for 10 of the 13 wickets to fall in that game.”Well, again, it became like the first game,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation on Tuesday. “We were cribbing about the track but we ended up winning the game. And [after] losing Bravo, it’s slightly difficult for us to get the combination right because we’re missing an allrounder and David [Willey] is not here, so it can’t be a straight swap.”So, if you look it looks a good wicket to us. But, I don’t think we want to play on wickets like these because it becomes too low-scoring and it becomes slightly difficult for our batters to get going. And also what happens is that it’s slightly more difficult if you’re batting first. As the dew comes in, it becomes slightly easier in the second half.”ESPNcricinfo LtdSeamer Deepak Chahar, who claimed 3 for 20, echoed his captain Dhoni’s thoughts and said Super Kings want a “better” pitch at home. He put down the sluggish nature of the pitches down to the extreme heat and humidity in Chennai.Ahead of the matches and during practice sessions, the groundstaff have shielded the playing square from getting to dry under the blazing Chennai sun by setting up a tent-like structure.”I’m happy I performed well, but obviously we’re looking for a better wicket,” Chahar said. “Nobody wants this type of a wicket. It’s [because of] the soil and heat and you can’t help it. It’s very hot here and the pitch curators are doing their best job to give us a good track. But, at the end of the day you can’t help it.”

There was likelihood of play for at least an hour in the evening session, but that was just the cue for another spell of rain

The Report by Mohammad Isam in Wellington09-Mar-2019Rain continued to play havoc with the Wellington Test with two full days now washed out. The call-off came at 4.30 pm local time after umpires Ruchira Palliyaguruge and Paul Reiffel had conducted their third inspection.It probably didn’t help that there was no wind all day – which is ironic since this is the windy city – ensuring dark clouds kept hovering over Basin Reserve.Unlike the first day however, both the Bangladesh and the New Zealand players turned up at the ground at around 4 pm and there was likelihood of play for at least an hour in the evening session. But just after the groundstaff had completed most of their work, another spell of rain came by and ruined everything. There is more forecast of rain on the third day too.Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes said it was a frustrating time for his team but probably best that neither side had to bat for such a short period in the third session.New Zealand’s batting coach Craig McMillan said, “Three days is a long time. Conditions are challenging for the batsmen. All three results are possible in this game. We have to be switched on tomorrow and ready to go.”The last time there was no play over the first two days of a Test in New Zealand was in 2001 – the Hamilton game between the same two teams.

Zinedine Zidane has been heavily linked with Bayern Munich, but Dietmar Hamann has explained why he will not be taking charge of Harry Kane and Co.

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Current coach preparing to step downFrench icon linked with prominent postDemichelis considered to be better optionWHAT HAPPENED?

The German giants have known since February that they will require a new manager for next season, with Thomas Tuchel announcing his intention to step down in the summer. Change is on the cards as Bayern have surrendered the Bundesliga crown to Bayer Leverkusen and have left the Champions League – where they are due to meet Real Madrid in the semi-finals – as their only route to silverware in 2024.

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Various names have been linked with Bayern, from Xabi Alonso to Jose Mourinho, and there has been talk of World Cup winner Zidane agreeing to take the reins. Hamann, though, doubts that the iconic Frenchman will be appointed, with there a former fan favourite at the Allianz Arena currently impressing with River Plate that may be a better option to lead the club into a new era.

WHAT HAMANN SAID

Ex-Bayern star Hamann, speaking in association with , has told GOAL when asked who will be calling the shots in 2024-25: “They have said that they want someone who speaks English. They don’t need to speak German, but they need to speak English. Apparently Zidane doesn’t speak any English, so that’s him out of the equation. I would give that a miss. There is talk about [Martin] Demichelis now, who is doing well in Argentina – former player, managed the second team at Bayern Munich until three seasons ago. There is still talk about [Roberto] De Zerbi. I would probably lean towards Demichelis at the moment. But they have got to make a decision at some stage because the players you bring in want to know who the manager is. There are a lot of people talking in Munich. Sometimes you can talk about things for too long and you can find positives and negatives about anybody and everybody. At some stage, someone has to make a call. They have got to the stage where they have to make a decision and commit to somebody. Whether it works out or not, you only know when they are there.”

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR BAYERN?

Zidane has been out of work since bringing his second spell in charge of Real to a close in 2021. De Zerbi is currently tied to Premier League side Brighton, while Demichelis is working on a contract at River until 2025. Bayern are expected to make a big future call soon, though, as they want to lift the cloud of uncertainty that is doing nobody any favours.

“I think it’s really important that we do involve those ex-players in the game more and give them a stronger voice”

Daniel Brettig07-Feb-2019Former Australian Test greats such as Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Simon Katich can expect high paying short stints as consultants for the national team in the wake of assistant coach David Saker’s sudden resignation. Such flexibility is necessary, said the Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts, in light of the lucrative career options now available to former players, who receive fat pay cheques to share their expertise as commentators and corporate speakers.Ponting has previously been involved with the Australian team on this basis, successfully helping to coach the T20 side during last year’s triangular series with England and New Zealand, before an Achilles tear sustained while shooting a commercial prevented him from also doing so in the UAE against Pakistan. During the home summer, he was preoccupied by working with the broadcaster Channel Seven.”There’s no doubt that the remuneration in cricket for players is far higher than the remuneration for coaches,” Roberts told ESPNcricinfo. “And that’s something that’s not without its challenges. We don’t have an unlimited pool of funds to invest in coaches, but certainly we want to be investing as much as we can, and navigating those challenges as best we can. I think there’s opportunities to utilise some of those ex-players in shorter bursts if you like, given they’re not all in a position to be a coach 52 weeks of the year either, given their other commitments in other parts of the game.”I think it’s really important that we do involve those ex-players in the game more and give them a stronger voice, embrace their perspective to a greater degree, and whether that means that’s just in open forums where we invite their feedback on some of cricket’s big questions or whether it’s involving them in a mentoring capacity or in a formal coaching capacity, we want to be covering all those bases and utilising all the expertise they’ve got.”Not all of those ex-players will have a desire to be coaches, so [for] those that don’t have a desire to be coaches, there’s other roles outside the commentary box that they can play too. So we do have the opportunity to involve them for shorter periods of time rather than all or nothing so there are a bunch of different solutions to that challenge but it is an ongoing challenge.”Roberts, who played first-class cricket for a strong New South Wales in the 1990s and formed numerous alliances with the aforementioned players, also discussed his close relationship with Waugh, a consistent source of counsel and blunt advice. Waugh and Roberts share a common grade club in Bankstown, while he and Gilchrist were housemates for a time during their younger days.”I’ve got a really good relationship with Steve Waugh and I’ve been fortunate to have had that for I guess 25 years now, and he’s one of the most universally respected people in our game, respected for his performance on the field, for his leadership, for his integrity, and for the fact that he’s such a straight shooter,” Roberts said. “He’s a person you call when you want the truth rather than wanting something to be sugar-coated. You know you’ll get the truth when you ask a question of Steve.”That’s one of the beauties of what he brings to cricket, one of the things people respect so much about him. So I’m really looking forward to his ongoing involvement – he’s been more involved in the game in the background than people would realise in recent years, mentoring a number of players and I hope that continues, and that young players really benefit from his mentorship ongoing, and I certainly benefit from the relationship and the ability to call on him, and also on many other former players and team-mates of mine.”Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, see them regularly around the commentary boxes, played quite a bit against Brendon Julian and various other commentators, Greg Blewett and I were in the Australian Under-19 team together with Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn and Kasper [Michael Kasprowicz]. So to be able to just get a sense check of how they’re feeling about the game, Ricky Ponting I played quite a bit against, and unfortunately he ran me out one day with a direct hit run out, so I don’t remember that fondly but I do really respect Ricky’s views on the game as well.”

Leila Ouahabi, Laura Blindkilde Brown and Jess Park were also on the scoresheet on a day where injury to the Jamaica star was the only real negative

Khadija Shaw shone as Manchester City secured a comfortable 5-0 win over West Ham to return to the top of the Women's Super League table on Sunday, though the Cityzens will be sweating over her fitness after the striker was withdrawn at half-time. Shaw pulled up towards the end of the first half and needed assistance leaving the field, that the real disappointment of an otherwise brilliant day.

There were just 24 seconds on the clock when Leila Ouahabi broke the deadlock, and that set the tone for a dominant first half, with two great finishes from Shaw putting City in a commanding position. However, West Ham grew into the game, especially as their hosts dropped their level in the second period. Khiara Keating made a superb stop to deny Viviane Asseyi and the Frenchwoman was one of three Hammers to also be denied by the woodwork, while Riko Ueki will feel she should've done better with an opportunity one-on-one.

Just as the game looked to be petering out, there was time for the home fans to get excited again when Laura Blindkilde Brown, picked up for a bumper fee in January, scored her first goal for the club in the latter stages of the second half. That appeared to spark City back into life, and Jess Park added some further gloss in the final moments with a wonderful finish.

It gave the league leaders a real boost to their goal difference, something which this title race with Chelsea could well come down to over the next few weeks, though any prolonged absence for Shaw could well dent that challenge.

GOAL rates Man City's players from the Joie Stadium…

GettyGoalkeeper & Defence

Khiara Keating (7/10):

Made an especially brilliant save to deny Asseyi in the first half.

Laia Aleixandri (7/10):

Another classy and near-faultless display.

Alanna Kennedy (7/10):

Good on the ball and relatively solid in her defensive work.

Alex Greenwood (7/10):

Made an outstanding challenge to thwart Ueki at the end of the first half.

Leila Ouahabi (7/10):

Superb strike to break the deadlock.

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Yui Hasegawa (7/10):

Dictated play well and was her usually disruptive self when City didn't have the ball.

Laura Coombs (6/10):

Could've had a goal before half-time but struck the ball right at Arnold. That was the highlight of a quiet hour or so on the pitch.

Jess Park (8/10):

Lively performance which started with a silky assist on 24 seconds. Really deserved her goal and took it well.

Getty ImagesAttack

Mary Fowler (8/10):

Not as overtly effective as Hemp on the opposite flank but played some nice passes to build attacks, especially when she darted inside.

Khadija Shaw (8/10):

A real handful for West Ham's centre-halves in the first half, as shown by her two goals. Will be a huge miss if her injury is serious.

Lauren Hemp (8/10):

Whether on the right or on the left, the Hammers didn't have an answer for her direct and positive wing play in a devastating first half.

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Chloe Kelly (5/10):

Replaced Shaw at half-time but struggled for service or to get involved as City's performance fell flat.

Laura Blindkilde Brown (6/10):

On just past the hour and initially had a similar problem to Kelly, but she took the one opportunity that fell to her to net her first City goal and spark the team back into life.

Gareth Taylor (8/10):

A starting XI with few surprises dominated the first half and gave his team a huge lead. His decision to introduce Blindkilde helped spark the team back into life when they were in a lull, too. Difficult to grumble at a 5-0 win, though Shaw's injury is a concern.

Next summer’s ninth edition of the Big Bash League may be pushed back to start as late as Boxing Day

Daniel Brettig22-Jan-2019Next summer’s ninth edition of the Big Bash League may be pushed back to start as late as Boxing Day, while Cricket Australia is also considering a shift of the limited-overs domestic competition away from the early season carnival format it has occupied since 2013.Amid a season in which players, broadcasters and the Australian public have been forced to make some large adjustments, particularly for the major increase in the length of the BBL from 43 games to a full 59-game home and away schedule, ESPNcricinfo understands the governing body is considering numerous tweaks to the calendar for 2019-20.Though CA and the broadcasters Seven and Fox Cricket are wholly committed to the full home and away BBL format, there has been discussion of whether to move the starting point of the tournament to later in the summer, packing more games into January before building up to the mid-February finals series that is being tried for the first time in 2018-19.Such a move would follow common complaints by BBL teams and state associations that the pre-Christmas landscape is a challenging one for attracting supporters relative to the January school holiday period. Previous discussions of BBL matches being scheduled on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day led to two matches being scheduled on December 24 this tournament, but the BBL chief Kim McConnie has always made clear that organisers were learning what works and what does not as they go along.”We don’t [have set expectations]. It’s the first time we’ve ever done it,” she told in December. “The beauty of the Big Bash is it paves the way in many areas. We like the idea of ‘we’re going to try and see and learn along the way’. We don’t have any expectations other than learning on what works and doesn’t work.”At the same time, CA is considering a move away from the September-October carnival format for the domestic 50-over tournament for the first time in six years. That move, made in 2013 at the start of the previous broadcast deal cut with the Nine and Ten networks, squeezed the premier state-based white-ball competition into a few weeks, in a marked departure from the traditional format that had Sheffield Shield and limited-overs games interspersed evenly across the season.A shift back to scheduling state matches of either format during the months now occupied by the BBL appears close to impossible, but moving the domestic limited-overs tournament into shared windows with the two halves of the Shield rounds would allow players, coaches and selectors the chance to make assessments of their white-ball skills in a far more expansive way across a season than is currently the case.After Australia won the World Cup at home in 2015, the decline in the national team’s 50-over fortunes has coincided with the continuation of the tournament format, which was adopted for reasons including its closer resemblance to an ICC event and also the easier task it created for physical management of fast bowlers in particular over the course of a season.Pat Howard, the former team performance manager, was a noted advocate of the carnival format, which has divided opinion amongst players throughout. This season saw a trade-off between the abandonment of the experimental inclusion of a CA XI for younger players in the tournament with a format that meant that every team would play in the play-off matches, regardless of how many qualifying matches they won.Howard’s departure, alongside that of the former chief executive James Sutherland, is believed to have helped open up broader discussion about the state competition, even as the tighter tournament structure continues to have numerous vocal advocates within the system. Other factors in decision-making will also include logistical concerns for state teams and the preferences of Fox Cricket for broadcasting the 50-over tournament.

Cole Palmer's hat-trick ball was tarnished with "sh*t player" comments yet again after the Chelsea star's incredible performance against Everton.

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Palmer scored successive home hat-tricksFired Chelsea to a massive 6-0 win over EvertonBut saw his hat-trick ball defaced with 'sh*t player' commentsWHAT HAPPENED?

Palmer kicked off the scoring with a breathtaking solo effort that left Everton's defence scrambling. Continuing his dominance, Palmer notched a header and capitalised on a blunder from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to complete his treble, before adding a second-half penalty to cap off a stunning performance. His stellar contributions, coupled with strikes from team-mates Nicolas Jackson and Alfie Gilchrist, ensured a comprehensive 6-0 victory for Chelsea, leaving Everton trailing as mere spectators in a disappointing outing for Sean Dyche's men.

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This remarkable performance marked Palmer's second consecutive home hat-trick, following his exceptional display against Manchester United earlier in the month. However, his night had one downside when he found that the Chelsea ball prankster had returned. After the game against United, one of his teammates wrote "sh*t player" on his hat-trick ball. Now, after his heroics against Everton, the message was reiterated: "I told you, you are a sh*t player."

DID YOU KNOW?

With his hat-trick against Everton, Palmer joins Erling Haaland at the pinnacle of the Premier League's goalscoring charts with 20 goals to his name. Notably, Palmer's feat makes him the first Chelsea player since Eden Hazard in 2018-19 to reach this milestone and the first Englishman for the Blues since Frank Lampard's tally of 27 goals in the 2009-10 season.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

Palmer's exceptional form has propelled Chelsea up the league standings, positioning them within touching distance of sixth-placed Newcastle United with a game in hand, reigniting hopes of securing European qualification.

With crucial fixtures against fourth-placed Aston Villa, fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, and eighth-placed West Ham United on the horizon, Chelsea's destiny lies largely in their own hands. However, their immediate focus shifts to an FA Cup semi-final clash against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on April 20, where Palmer will aim to continue his stellar form and lead his team to further success.

After finishing last in the last three editions of the PSL, Lahore Qalandars have turned to Hafeez in a bid to improve their record

Umar Farooq09-Dec-2018Lahore Qalandars have appointed Mohammad Hafeez as captain for the fourth season of the Pakistan Super League. Fakhar Zaman and Yasir Shah had also been considered, but Qalandars went with the more experienced captain.In the last three seasons, Lahore Qalandars went with the Pakistan Test batsman Azhar Alias captain, followed by Brendon McCullum for the following two seasons. Azhar, their first captain, was removed from the job and never played again even though he was initially retained for the 2017 season, before being released. Two seasons with McCullum as captain did not help improve their fate either, with the side finishing bottom every year since the PSL’s inception. Over the three seasons, they lost 18 out of 26 games.Since the first season, other teams retaining their local captains had left the Qalandars short on options. But for the upcoming fourth season, they had a wider pool of Pakistan players to pick a captain from, with Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi all in the draft. They went on to pick Hafeez as their platinum player last month, believing a local captain would bring better results.Both Yasir and Fakhar were considered for the top job, with the proposition never quite materialising. The release of Hafeez from the Peshawar Zalmi roster this year made Hafeez the favoured pick.Hafeez, 38, retired from Test cricket after the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand in UAE in a bid to focus on his limited-overs career. He has played 248 T20 matches, scoring 5244 runs at a strike rate of 122.35. He captained Pakistan in T20Is between 2012 and 2014 before stepping down just days after the team’s exit from the group stage of the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.During his stint as T20I captain, he led Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka. However, the team exited at the group stage of the 2014 edition, after losing to West Indies by 84 runs. It was the first time Pakistan had failed to progress to the semi-finals in five editions of the tournament. Hafeez’s overall T20I record stands at 18 wins (one via a one-over eliminator) and 11 losses from 29 matches.

The tunnel clash involving Lionel Messi and Monterrey coaching staff has landed Inter Miami a fine and the threat of “more severe sanctions”.

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Herons suffered Champions Cup defeatTempers boiled over after final whistleMLS side accused of having 'lack of security'WHAT HAPPENED?

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi did not take to the field during the first leg of the Herons’ CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final meeting with Mexican opposition. He was, however, involved in angry exchanges afterwards with match officials and members of the visiting team.

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Monterrey coach Fernando Ortiz had helped to light that fuse with pre-game comments regarding favourable refereeing, while his assistant, Nico Sanchez, has apologised for branding Messi a “possessed dwarf” during unsightly scenes in the tunnel.

WHAT CONCACAF SAID

The Liga MX outfit requested that CONCACAF carry out an investigation into what happened, and the results of that are that Inter Miami have been hit with a financial penalty. An official statement read: “After considering the documentation and evidence gathered during their investigation, which included requesting written statements from both clubs and thoroughly reviewing the reports submitted by the match officials, and based on the competiton’s regulations and the applicable Disciplinary Code, the Disciplinary Committee has fined Inter Miami CF an undisclosed amount for lack of security in their stadium,” said the Concacaf statement. Furthermore, the Committee has warned Inter Miami CF that more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during their future matches in Concacaf club competitions.”

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Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Tata Martino were also involved in the post-match skirmishes, as they questioned some big decisions. Inter Miami would go on to lose their tie with Monterrey 5-2 on aggregate, with Messi unable to inspire them to victory when playing the full 90 minutes of the second leg in Mexico.