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Ashley Young could be set for a surprise return to his boyhood club Watford, with the Championship side looking to re-sign the 40-year-old veteran. The former Manchester United and England star is a free agent after leaving Everton and wants to finish his career where it began. Watford have no concerns over his age or fitness, and talks are reportedly ongoing.

Watford consider re-signing 40-year-old YoungVeteran full-back left Everton after two-year spell Young hopes to finish career at boyhood club Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Championship side Watford are said to be interested in bringing Young back to the club, as per talkSPORT. The 40-year-old left Everton after the end of the season after two years with the Toffees, and has been looking for a new club this summer. Head coach Paulo Pezzolano will reportedly decide whether to move forward with the deal.

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Young made 70 appearances for Everton over the past two seasons and became the fourth-oldest Premier League scorer last season. Meanwhile, Watford finished 14th in the Championship, and they believe that they could use his experience in the upcoming campaign as they look to return to the English top tier.

DID YOU KNOW?

Young started his career at Watford and played over 100 games for them before moving on from the Hornets. He has had a long and successful career with stints at Aston Villa, Manchester United, Inter Milan, and Everton. Despite turning 40, he is still fit and wants to keep playing.

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR YOUNG?

Talks are expected to continue as Watford decide on bringing Young back to the club this summer. The 40-year-old is reportedly open to returning and ending his career at Vicarage Road, and a final decision is expected before the new season begins.

Babar Azam will lead a Pakistan side for the third successive time at the T20 World Cup when he will fly out with the 15-member squad for the tournament next month. The PCB neither named a vice-captain nor any traveling reserves even though the World Cup will be played in the USA and the Caribbean over almost a month.In an announcement that came hours before the ICC deadline to submit the final squad, there were a few surprises with Pakistan sticking to the touring party they chose for the T20Is in Ireland and England. No one from outside that group was selected. Hasan Ali, who was released back to Warwickshire earlier this week, missed out, alongside Irfan Khan and Agha Salman.Abbas Afridi made the final cut, meaning Pakistan go into the tournament with five specialist fast bowlers. Imad Wasim, who came out of retirement for this tournament, was the left-arm spin option, with Abrar Ahmed the only specialist legspinner.Pakistan’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“This is an extremely talented and balanced side that has a mixture of youth and experience. These players have been playing together for some time and look well prepared and settled for next month’s event,” a statement attributed to the selection committee in a PCB release said.”Haris Rauf is fully fit and bowling well in the nets. It would have been nice if he had gotten an outing at Headingley [in the first T20I against England which was washed out], but we remain confident that he will continue to maintain an upward trajectory in the upcoming matches, as he will have an important role to play along with other strike bowlers in the T20 World Cup.”ESPNcricinfo learnt that an initial squad was finalised and sent to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on May 23, but a conflict around due process emerged, with certain members of the selection panel feeling they had not been consulted properly. Naqvi asked to see the minutes of the meeting and voting patterns of prior meetings, which had not been recorded.As a result, the squad was rejected and returned to the selection panel, with Naqvi insisting the members achieve consensus on the squad and the meeting minutes be recorded. The PCB rejected any notion of the chairman interfering in specific selection decisions, and that the reason for the initial squad being rejected was the failure to follow due process as set out for the selection committee.Pakistan had opted to not announce a provisional squad at the start of the month, something most other sides did. In the end, they were the last team to officially confirm their final squad, with all 19 other teams having submitted theirs a few days ago.Pakistan are currently in the middle of a T20I series in England, with the second match in Birmingham on Saturday. They fly out to the USA after the series concludes, with all four of Pakistan’s group stage matches in the United States. They don’t play any warm-up games before the big tournament.Pakistan begin their T20 World Cup campaign against USA in Dallas on June 6 before they play India in New York on June 9. Pakistan will stay in New York to face Canada on June 11 and then travel to Lauderhill to play Ireland on June 16 for their final group game.

Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

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Rayan Cherki has laid out his ambitions after joining Manchester City and has set his sights on winning the Ballon d'Or.

Article continues below

Article continues below

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• Cherki shares his personal goals
• Wants to emulate team-mate Rodri
• Will be working to win the Ballon d'Or

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  New Manchester City signing Cherki has already set his sights on winning the Ballon d'Or at his new club, with the young attacking midfielder sharing his ambition of following in the footsteps of fellow team-mate and 2024 Ballon d'Or winner, Rodri.

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• AFP
  

  WHAT CHERKI SAID

  Speaking after a training session with his new team-mates in the United States, Cherki said: "When you see Rodri, he won the Ballon d'Or here.
  It's clear that with Manchester City it's possible and I am here for this. I want to win and I think Manchester City wants to win it all. For me that's better."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Rodri became only the second midfielder since 2008 to win the Ballon d'Or and the first since Luka Modric in 2018 when he beat Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. to the award in 2024. Cherki, an attacking midfielder himself, hopes to fulfill his potential at his new employers and emulate his team-mate. He definitely showcased an abundance in quality last season with Lyon, scoring 12 goals and delivering 20 assists in 44 games in all competitions.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR CHERKI?

  The 21-year-old will be hoping to make a mark and impress Pep Guardiola when he makes his debut for City on Wednesday, June 18, in their opening game of the Club World Cup. The Cityzens will be facing Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca.

They were due to play USA in Dallas but the facilities had taken a bit of a beating from rain

Mohammad Isam28-May-2024Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against USA was cancelled due to thunderstorms in Dallas on Tuesday morning. Heavy rain and flood warnings meant that both teams remained in the hotel. The ground suffered some damage as seen on photos shared on social media by those present there this morning.”This is to confirm that the warm-up match between Bangladesh and the USA at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas today has been cancelled due to the conditions of the facilities following the adverse weather that has affected the area,” Rabeed Iman, Bangladesh’s team manager, said at 8:54am local time. He later informed that the Bangladesh team was likely to do some gym work before leaving for New York on Wednesday. There, they will play their second warm-up game against India on June 1.This was going to be the first warm-up match for both sides ahead of the T20 World Cup. Co-hosts USA play the tournament opener against Canada on June 1. Bangladesh play their first game against Sri Lanka on June 7. Both these matches are in Dallas, so it was crucial especially for Bangladesh to know more about the venue.Related

• Cricket's trying to crack America! Again! Read our helpful 2024 T20 World Cup explainer to know all!

• T20 World Cup 2024 FAQs: Timings, venues and more

• Rishad Hossain, a package Bangladesh don't understand but can't ignore

USA beat Bangladesh 2-1 in the T20I series at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston last week. It was the home side’s first series win against a Full Member side with the likes of Harmeet Singh, Ali Khan and Corey Anderson helping script history. USA are in Group A of the T20 World Cup alongside Canada, India, Pakistan and Ireland.The shock series defeat will put more pressure on Bangladesh. They have never won more than two matches in an edition of the T20 World Cup. They are in Group D, alongside Sri Lanka, South Africa, Nepal and the Netherlands.USA are hosting an ICC tournament, the biggest one in cricket history in terms of number of participants, for the first time, along with the West Indies.

Liverpool are believed to have sent scouts to watch a £74m-rated “leader” in action in recent days, according to an exciting new transfer claim.

Van Dijk closing in on new Liverpool deal

Mohamed Salah’s contract extension at Anfield is the biggest news to emerge this week, with the Egyptian legend signing a new deal that will keep him with the Reds until the end of the 2026/27 season.

Now, Liverpool supporters will be dreaming of Virgil van Djik doing the same as his teammate, and recent reports suggest he is also closing in on committing his future to the club he has been at since midway through the 2017/18 campaign.

The Athletic’s James Pearce is among those to claim that it is now effectively a matter of time until the Dutchman pens a new contract, with a two-year deal also expected to be coming his way.

At 33, Van Dijk is not getting any younger, but he has enjoyed a wonderful season at the heart of Liverpool’s defence, and given his style of play, there is no reason why his level should drop much over the next couple of seasons.

However, eventual successors will need to be found, and one such figure has been linked with a move to Anfield.

Liverpool send scouts to watch £74m "leader"

According to an update from The Boot Room, Liverpool were among the clubs who sent scouts to watch RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba last week.

His two teammates, Xavi Simons and Benjamin Sesko, were also thought to be watched by the Reds, with Arsenal and Chelsea

also reportedly having scouts present to eye up the trio.

Lukeba is a centre-back who could have a massive future in the game, so the idea of him coming in as Van Dijk’s partner – or eventual long-term replacement – at Liverpool is mouthwatering.

At just 22 years of age, the Frenchman is already an undisputed key man for Leipzig, making 19 appearances in the Bundesliga this season and averaging three clearances per game, and four in the Champions League.

Stat

Lukeba

Konate

Appearances

19

25

Starts

14

24

Minutes played

1217

2055

Clearances per game

3.0

3.9

Tackles per game

1.4

1.4

Aerial duel wins per game

1.1

2.6

Goals

0

1

Assists

0

2

Lukeba has been described as a “leader” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, while he has been valued at as much as £74m in some reports this year, highlighting what a top prospect he is.

Liverpool confident of winning race for "amazing" £60m+ star this summer

The Reds are in a good position to strike a deal…

2 BySean Markus Clifford Apr 12, 2025

While Van Dijk should remain Liverpool’s main man in defence for the foreseeable future, provided he signs a new deal, the Leipzig ace could be a perfect option to come in and partner Ibrahima Konate for years to come.

تحدث أردا جولر، نجم نادي ريال مدريد، عن المقارنات التي عقدت بينه وبين جناح نادي برشلونة، لامين يامال خلال الفترة الأخيرة.

جولر برزت موهبته وبشدة مع نادي فناربخشة، مما دفع نادي ريال مدريد للتعاقد معه قبل عامين من الآن مقابل حوالي 30 مليون يورو وبعقد طويل الأمد.

وعلى الرغم من معاناة جولر في أول موسمين له مع ريال مدريد، إلا أن الوضع قد اختلف تمامًا لابن الـ20 عامًا هذا الموسم، إذ أصبح الدولي التركي لاعبًا أساسيًا ولا غنى عنه في الفريق الملكي تحت قيادة المدير الفني تشابي ألونسو.

وفي الناحية الأخرى يعتبر يامال أهم لاعب في تشكيلة برشلونة، ومن بين أبرز المرشحين للفوز بالكرة الذهبية هذا العام.

أقرأ أيضًا .. لاعب برشلونة يغيب عن أولى مباريات فريقه في دوري أبطال أوروبا

وقال جولر عن يامال في مؤتمر صحفي نقله موقع ”Barca universal” :”أنا ويامال لا نلعب في نفس المركز، لذا، ليس من الصواب مقارنتنا، لكنني أتفهم ذلك، هو في برشلونة وأنا في ريال مدريد وأتمنى له كل التوفيق غدًا”.

ويستضيف المنتخب التركي نظيره الإسباني مساء يوم غدًا الأحد، وذلك لحساب منافسات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات، ضمن التصفيات المؤهلة لبطولة كأس العالم العام المقبل، والتي سوف تقام في كندا والولايات المتحدة الأمريكية والمكسيك.

England have a long way to go before they can claim to be the best Test side in the world. For starters, they need their batsmen to step up

George Dobell in Bridgetown27-Jan-2019Imagine how it felt to be James Anderson on Saturday afternoon.He mentioned, after the first day of the game on Wednesday, how weary he was, having claimed four wickets as England fought back with the ball. But little more than two-and-a-half hours after West Indies’ first innings had ended on day two, he was forced to pull on his boots once more. He gave his all and looked, at times, close to exhaustion on an unresponsive pitch, under a hot sun and against a batting line-up that put a high price on their wickets. He didn’t take a wicket but he couldn’t have tried harder. Nobody can ask for more than that.But imagine how he felt as he watched his team-mates in their second innings. Imagine how he felt as he saw them squander their wickets as if this were a benefit match. Imagine how he felt, having being blunted by a batting line-up who gave him nothing, seeing his batsmen show all the fight of a pacifist kitten in the fourth innings.”There were a few very soft dismissals in there,” Joe Root admitted afterwards. “There wasn’t a huge amount on offer for West Indies and it was disappointing to see some of the dismissals.”England have suffered several batting collapses in recent years. Three times – in Dhaka, Auckland and Nottingham – they have lost 10 wickets in a session. You only have to go back to Thursday for an example of an occasion when they lost nine. It’s hard to deny the conclusion they are brittle.On each of those occasions, however, there was a degree of mitigation. On each occasion, they were faced with either outstanding bowling, demanding conditions or a combination of both.It would be hard to claim that was the case here. Roston Chase bowled nicely enough. He has excellent control, he bowled in good areas and he gave England no ‘release’ deliveries. But the pitch offered him little and, before this game, he had a Test average of 47.61. To lose eight wickets to him – eight: more than Malcolm Marshall or Joel Garner ever claimed in Test cricket – spoke of an alarming lack of application from England’s batsmen.It was, in its own way, as poor a display of batting as England have produced in Trevor Bayliss’ reign as coach.ALSO READ: ‘Holder a legend’, says Chase after mammoth winChase’s bowling was, to some extent, simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. He was the beneficiary of a performance that had seen Kemar Roach and co. dismantle England for 77 on day two and a double-century from Jason Holder that both exhausted and dispirited England in the field on day three. They had been set 628, for goodness sake. They might as well have been set a unicorn.But it was alarming how they capitulated. It’s all very well to talk of aggression and positivity, but teams need discipline and fight, too. England didn’t show enough of either here, losing their last six wickets for 31 in a sequence that included a catch on the midwicket boundary, a stumping, two slashes to slip and two forces into the leg side.We should retain some perspective. Going into this match, England had won eight of their nine previous Tests including an away series cleansweep in Sri Lanka and a home series victory over the No. 1-rated team, India. They can still win this series. “We’re better than this,” as Root insisted. “We’re still a good side.”But this was a reminder, if any were needed it, that they have a long way to go before they can claim to be the best side in the world. To see West Indies’ seamers gain life from a surface that appeared dead to England’s and to see England’s spinners thumped out of the game while West Indies’ bamboozled batsmen were reminders of perennial problems within the English game. It is not producing enough fast bowlers or spinners. Focusing on white-ball cricket – and the heart of the season now belongs to the white-ball game – dilutes the skills required for Test cricket. The Championship hasn’t produced an indisputably top-class Test opening batsman since Alastair Cook a decade-and-a-half ago.In the immediate aftermath of this defeat, attention will fall on England’s selection. And it is true, Sam Curran and Adil Rashid had disappointing games. The latter may even have played his last Test. Stuart Broad may well have offered more with the ball than Curran, who endured his first poor game, and Jack Leach would have offered more control. The selectors almost certainly got it wrong.Ben Foakes may also feel pressure in the coming days. With England having other keeping options within the squad, there will be talk of dropping him and asking Bairstow to keep in order to make way for another bowler.But it should not be forgotten: England were bowled out for 77 in the first innings and lost eight wickets against gentle offspin in the second. It is the batsmen who failed. No one is suggesting the likes of Ben Stokes or Jos Buttler be dropped, but their career averages are 33.33 and 35.77 respectively. England need more from their Nos. 5 and 6. Equally, Keaton Jennings averages 25.86 after 16 Tests and Moeen Ali is averaging 17.56 since the start of the Ashes, in November 2017, and 9.75 since the start of the Sri Lanka tour a year later. More is required of all of them if England are to achieve greater consistency.Anderson, as is fitting, was the undefeated batsman on Saturday afternoon. Some of his team-mates would do well to reflect on his commitment, discipline and desire.

Hardie suffered calf tightness in the Shield match against Tasmania and was withdrawn as a precaution

Alex Malcolm18-Feb-20241:43

Where does Glenn Maxwell rank in T20 cricket?

Aaron Hardie has missed out on an opportunity to press his T20 World Cup case after being withdrawn from the New Zealand series with a minor calf issue as Australia’s revolving door of white-ball selections continues with Spencer Johnson called in at short notice.Hardie was not originally selected for the three-match series starting in Wellington on Wednesday but was called into the squad on Friday when Marcus Stoinis was ruled out with a back injury. He was playing in Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania in Hobart and did not travel with the squad on Saturday.Related

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He was due to fly to Wellington on Monday morning and was set to miss day four of the Shield clash. But he experienced calf tightness while bowling on the second day and was sent for a scan.It is understood the initial scan did not reveal any damage but he was kept off the field on day three as a precaution and was also withdrawn from the New Zealand series. WA coach Adam Voges confirmed he will be available to bat on the final day if required.”He’s got a tight calf,” Voges said. “It’s more precautionary. He’ll bat if required tomorrow. Hopefully, it’s nothing too significant.”Cricket Australia confirmed on Sunday night that Johnson would be called into the squad. Australia will also be without vice-captain and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade for the opening match of the series as he has stayed in Hobart for a few extra days due to the birth of his first child. He is expected to be available for the second and third T20Is in Auckland on Friday and Saturday.Aaron Hardie suffered a tight calf in the Sheffield Shield game•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Matthew Short is also returning from a low-grade hamstring injury while Nathan Ellis is coming back from a rib injury. He is behind Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in Australia’s T20 fast bowling pecking order, with all three set to play in the New Zealand series after resting for all or part of the series against West Indies. Ellis is hopeful of bedding down a berth in Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad.”I was spewing to miss that West Indies series,” Ellis said in Wellington on Sunday. “For me now it’s time to hit the ground running and put my name forward for the World Cup.”There’s not a lot of cricket outside of IPL [before] the World Cup after this series. Security [of a spot] isn’t there. I don’t think it’s ever there. It still feels like a dream to play for Australia so I just want to relish every opportunity I get. The goal is to play a World Cup for Australia so I’ll be doing my best to keep my hat in the ring.”

Naveen will instead take part in the SA20 league, which runs almost concurrently with the ILT20

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2023

Naveen-ul-Haq has been banned by the UAE’s ILT20 for 20 months for breaching his player agreement with Sharjah Warriors when he “refused to sign the retention notice” for the second season of the tournament, to be played in January-February next year.The decision effectively bars Naveen from playing in the ILT20 in 2024 and 2025, but he has signed with Durban’s Super Giants – owned by the group that owns IPL team Lucknow Super Giants, of which he is a part – in the South African SA20 league, which will be played almost concurrently with the ILT20.Warriors, who had signed Naveen on for the inaugural edition of the league in 2023, had “earlier this year sent him a retention notice on the same terms and conditions,” an ILT20 statement said. “Sharjah Warriors approached the ILT20 to intervene in this dispute. The ILT20 first initiated a mediation process through an independent third-party mediator, however the mediation failed.”The league’s disciplinary committee, comprising ILT20 chief executive David White, head of security and anti-corruption Col Azam, and Zayed Abbas, member of the Emirates Cricket Board, heard the points of view of both Warriors and Naveen and examined the evidence before them before communicating their verdict.”We do not take pride in making this announcement but all parties are expected to comply with their contractual commitments and recognize that non-compliance can cause damage to the other party,” White said. “Unfortunately, Naveen-ul-Haq failed to honour his contractual obligations with the Sharjah Warriors and as such the league had no option but to impose this 20-month ban on him.”The disciplinary proceedings against Naveen were conducted in a transparent manner and both parties involved were given opportunities to prepare and present their submissions.”Naveen was one of the better performers for Warriors in the 2023 season, finishing as their joint-highest wicket-taker (11 wickets) along with Junaid Siddique. Warriors, however, had a rough time of it, winning just three of their ten games to miss the playoffs.