Ball dominated on the opening day in Hobart as late wickets kept Tasmania in the contest

AAP15-Oct-2025Fourteen wickets fell and Liam Haskett was the surprise spark for Western Australia as they finished day one on top in their Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania in Hobart.Ashes batting contender Jake Weatherald missed a chance to push his case for a Test debut, before Tasmania unravelled when third-change WA left-arm quick Haskett was introduced.Related

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The paceman took 3 for 26 in 10 overs, having Tim Ward flashing an edge behind then spearing deliveries through Caleb Jewell and Nivethan Radhakrishnan.A bright, unbeaten 41 from Jake Doran that included three sixes salvaged things somewhat in an otherwise horror middle session for Tasmania. Australia white-ball allrounder Aaron Hardie also played a key role with three wickets.WA were 107 for 4 at stumps, having missed a chance to be in a more dominant position when the well-set Jayden Goodwin and Hilton Cartwright were late casualties.Riley Meredith found pace and bounce in his eight overs, while former Test quick Jackson Bird took the early scalp of Cameron Bancroft for just 3 when he edged to slip.

England batter believes striving to be the very best will help her keep improving

Valkerie Baynes11-Jul-2025Alice Capsey’s development as an international cricketer mirrors the evolution of her England team as a work in progress.Capsey burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old with a Player-of-the-Match-winning 59 for Oval Invincibles in just her second appearance in the Women’s Hundred. Another half-century in just her third T20I innings before her 18th birthday fuelled the excitement around her talent.Almost three years on, much has changed for Capsey and England, particularly over the past 12 months.Related

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“For me it’s been a year of a lot of learning,” Capsey said. “Last year, I’ll be the first one to say it, I didn’t perform how I would have liked. Getting dropped from that T20 squad in South Africa was the best thing for me. To reflect, to take that step back and go, ‘okay, well, I know I want to be in that T20 team, what do I need to do to get there?'”Capsey became a casualty of England’s failed T20 World Cup campaign when she was dropped for the tour of South Africa in December. Having held her place in the ODI squad for that trip, she was ultimately called up as injury cover for the T20s but didn’t play a game.After England’s dire showing at the Women’s Ashes in January – where Capsey played one T20I, scoring 6 and taking 1 for 25 with her offbreaks, and three ODIs yielding 18 runs and three wickets – she returned to Australia as part of the England A tour. There, she was England A’s second-highest run-scorer across formats with 207 runs at 41.41, including a hundred and a half-century in the four-day match.”A lot of work went on during the winter and, along with a lot of communication with the ECB, decided to play in that A-series and that was probably one of the best things for me, to still be playing highly competitive games but it also not be in the complete spotlight of an international game of cricket,” Capsey said.

“It is difficult at some points. Every time you go onto the cricket pitch, for the last three or four years, there’s always been eyes on. But at the same time, that’s an amazing place to be”Alice Capsey

“Over the past three or four years, other than domestic games where you’re still that international, you need to stand up, I probably haven’t played in any games where I can just go out and bat and work on a few different things.”Capsey played just one match for Delhi Capitals during this year’s WPL but said training with the franchise in Indian conditions “was a really great experience” and she saw the benefits of facing bowlers in the nets for hours on end there when she returned for the start of the domestic season.By that time, Charlotte Edwards had replaced Jon Lewis as England Women’s head coach and mandated that all centrally contracted players be available for the first seven rounds of the one-day cup. Capsey scored 317 runs across seven innings at 45.28 with a highest score of 125 and two fifties.During Edwards’ first international series in charge, England swept both white-ball legs of West Indies’ visit but they have been comprehensively outplayed by India in three of their four T20Is so far with one to play before a three-match ODI series.Capsey was only required to bat once in the T20s against West Indies (she scored 4). She scored 60 runs and took four wickets across the three ODIs, where the first two matches were dominated by England’s openers, Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones.Against India, she is averaging 7.50 from four innings with a highest sore of 18 batting at No. 3 having played at No. 6 in the first two games.”Deep down I know how much I’ve still got to learn, I’m nowhere near where I want to be,” Capsey said. “I want to be the best batter in the world, no doubt about it. Every player who plays international cricket will want to strive to be the best.Alice Capsey scored 317 runs from seven innings in the One-day Cup•Getty Images for Surrey CCC”If you don’t have a goal to strive for, it makes putting in the work a little bit harder. Whether it’s realistic or unrealistic, at this point it probably doesn’t really matter because if you’re striving to get better, more often than not, you’re going to get better.”With the 50-over World Cup in India just two-and-a-half months away, England have plenty of work to do. The fielding woes which let them down when West Indies knocked them out in the group stage of the T20 World Cup appeared to be improving earlier in the summer but have let them down again against India.They have one match to put that right, on Saturday at Edgbaston with India having already clinched the series, before starting afresh in the ODIs, where captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is expected to return from injury.”Our fielding has been a big talking point and we haven’t been good enough over the last 12 months and we haven’t been good enough again this series,” Capsey said. “But we are working so hard on it and no one means to drop a catch, no one means to miss a run out.”There’s no hiding away from the fact that it’s been a really tough 12 months for us and our fielding hasn’t been up to standard. We all know that. Stats don’t lie. We’ve dropped a lot of catches in really pivotal points in important games.”England are still learning how to perform on the biggest stages, but Capsey has no qualms about having grown up in the spotlight.”That’s just what I’ve known,” she said. “It’s not like I can compare. It is difficult at some points. Every time you go onto the cricket pitch, for the last three or four years, there’s always been eyes on. But at the same time, that’s an amazing place to be.””For me, it is about, being a young player, how do I manage myself through that? And how do I continue to improve? How do I continue to manage that noise? That’s half of the battle with not just being an international cricketer, but you speak to any international athlete, I think that is half the battle. It’s something that I’m learning.”If the spotlight isn’t already burning brightly on England, it will amp up in October when they face South Africa in their World Cup opener and, come this time next year at a home T20 World Cup, it will be positively blazing. They’d best get used to the heat now, and play like they don’t know any different.

أشاد فان دايك نجم دفاع الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ليفربول بقدرات زميله في الفريق موضحًا أن الأخير يعمل بجد منذ انضمامه إلى الريدز.

ووقع ليفربول مع إيزاك خلال صيف العام الحالي قادمًا من صفوف نيوكاسل يونايتد مقابل أكثر من 130 مليون يورو.

لكن إيزاك فشل في تقديم المستوى المطلوب منه مع ليفربول ووقع اللاعب تحت طاولة الانتقادات.

وبدأ إيزاك في تنفس الصعداء، بعدما سجل هدفه الأول مع ليفربول في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز هذا الموسم أمام وست هام يونايتد، وذلك يوم الأحد الماضي حيث فاز الريدز 2-0.

وأكد فيرجيل فان دايك، قائد ليفربول، أنه يعرف جيدًا جودة إيزاك حيث قال لموقع فريقه الرسمي: “لم يكن أليكس في أفضل حالاته منذ انضمامه، كما أعتقد أنه سيخبركم بنفسه لكنه كان يعمل بجد شديد خلف الكواليس ونحن نعرف جودته، إنه هداف بارع ونأمل أن يكون هذا الهدف هو الأول من بين العديد من أهدافه في الدوري بقميص ليفربول”.

وعن الفوز على وست هام أضاف فان دايك: “لا شيء في كرة القدم يضاهي شعور الفوز، وبعد أن اتخذنا خطوة في الاتجاه الصحيح ضد وست هام يوم الأحد نحن مصممون على البناء على ذلك”.

وأوضح: “لقد قلت قبل بداية عطلة نهاية الأسبوع إننا سنبذل قصارى جهدنا للخروج من هذه الفترة الصعبة، وأعتقد أن الأداء الذي قدمناه في لندن أكد ذلك”.

وأردف: “سواءً كنت في فترة جيدة أو سيئة فالأمر يعود دائمًا إلى نفس الشيء، العمل الجاد والتكاتف، وإذا بذلتَ قصارى جهدك وعملتَ كفريق فستأتي المكافأة عاجلًا أم آجلًا”.

وتابع: “لقد قدمنا أداءً رائعًا يوم الأحد، لكنها مباراة واحدة فقط ونعلم أننا بحاجة إلى مواصلة ذلك الآن وإظهار بعض الثبات، مع ذلك آمل أن تروا مدى رغبتنا في تغيير الأمور ومدى استعدادنا للعمل بجد لتحقيق ذلك”.

واستكمل: “نعلم أن الأمور لم تكن على ما يرام بالنسبة لنا مؤخرًا، لكن مباراة الأحد كانت موضع ترحيب كبير سواء من حيث النتيجة أو الأداء، كان من الرائع رؤية ألكسندر إيزاك يسجل هدفه الأول في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز مع النادي”.

أقرأ أيضًا .. سلوت قبل مباراة سندرلاند: نريد مصالحة جماهير ليفربول.. وهتاف الأبطال يجسد ما نحتاج إليه

وقال: ”أود أيضًا أن أشيد بجو جميز في أول مشاركة له كأساسي في الدوري هذا الموسم، لقد قلت مرارًا وتكرارًا إنه لتحقيق النجاح نحتاج من الجميع أن يكونوا مستعدين للقيام بدورهم، سواءً من البداية أو من مقاعد البدلاء، أعتقد أن جو كان رائعًا في ذلك اليوم لذا فله كل الفضل”.

ووجه فان دايك الشكر لجماهير ليفربول ، حيث أضاف: “لا بد لي من القول أيضًا إن الدعم الذي قدمتموه لنا في نهاية الأسبوع كان رائعًا”.

وأوضح: “كما قلت نعلم أننا خذلنا أنفسنا في بعض الأحيان في الأسابيع الأخيرة، لكن دعمكم لنا كان بالغ الأهمية ومقدرًا للغاية، سنحتاجكم مجددًا هذا المساء حيث نواجه فريق سندرلاند الذي يقدم موسمًا رائعًا بعد صعوده من التشامبيونشيب”.

وأردف: “لا توجد مباراة سهلة في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز وعلينا أن نكون مستعدين للسير على خطى وست هام، وأن نحافظ على تواضعنا ونواصل التقدم، هذا يعني أولًا وقبل كل شيء، القيام بالأساسيات والمنافسة، والجري بقوة، والدفاع كفريق، ثم نأمل أن نظهر قدراتنا”.

واختتم فان دايك: “كانت مباراتانا الأخيرتان على ملعب أنفيلد مخيبتين للآمال للغاية ولا يمكننا تجاهل ذلك، نعلم أنكم تستحقون أداءً أفضل بكثير مما شاهدتموه ضد نوتينجهام فورست وآيندهوفن، وهذا ما نعتزم إظهاره لكم الليلة”.

The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 on Thursday night at Target Field. Detroit took the lead in the top of the 11th inning on a sacrafice fly. Minnesota's Ryan Jeffers led off the bottom half of the inning and got punched out on a foul tip that home plate umpire John Bacon thought Detroit catcher Dillon Dinger caught.

Jeffers thought the ball hit the ground before finding its way into Dinger's mitt. Bacon disagreed and Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli ran out to argue on Jeffers's behalf. Within a few seconds and just two F-bombs he was ejected.

There was no need for a lip reader as microphones clearly picked up Baldelli shouting, "There's no f—— way. You f—— it up."

After he was tossed, Baldelli continued to argue, kicked some dirt and threw his hat before heading back to the dugout and into the locker room.

Upon review of the slow-motion replay… can you even tell if the call was correct? Dirt kicks up but it kind of looks like he caught it. Baldelli was most certainly going along with his player in this situation. In the end, it doesn't really matter if it was right or wrong. All that really matters is that this was an incredibly worthy ejection.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Botafogo anunciou que vai reintegrar o volante Kauê ao elenco. Isso se deve ao fato do Ministério Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro arquivar a denúncia de agressão da ex-namorada.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasBotafogoEx-Vasco, volante Allan revela acerto com o Botafogo: “Já assinei”Botafogo13/05/2024BotafogoBotafogo afasta Romero e Diego Hernández por indisciplinaBotafogo13/05/2024BotafogoSegovinha confirma retorno ao Brasil após empréstimo em clube da BélgicaBotafogo13/05/2024

➡️ Tudo sobre o Fogão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Botafogo

– Ela compareceu ao IML para se submeter ao exame pericial, e o laudo não registrou qualquer vestígio das alegadas agressões. Posteriormente a suposta vítima juntou fotografias que não foram por ela juntadas quando do registro da ocorrência, e que não corroboram com o laudo técnico realizado no dia em que os fatos ocorreram – diz o laudo da perícia.

Kauê foi acusado de agressão pela ex-namorada. Em vídeo, Isabella Ribeiro revelou ter sido agredida pelo volante do Botafogo e postou foto do rosto com manchas vermelhas. O episódio teria ocorrido após o casal terminar o relacionamento.

continua após a publicidade

Com isso, o Botafogo optou por afastar Kauê por tempo indeterminado para que os fatos fossem esclarecidos.

CONFIRA A NOTA PUBLICADA PELO BOTAFOGO:
“Após o afastamento inicial do atleta Kauê para a apuração dos fatos com a reserva e privacidade que o caso requeria, o Botafogo, diante da manifestação do Ministério Público do Rio de Janeiro pelo arquivamento do inquérito policial envolvendo o atleta, comunica que o jogador será reintegrado às atividades protocolares da equipe principal”.

Tudo sobre

BotafogoKauê

Carlos Correa is back.

One day after the Twins traded Correa back to the Astros, Correa was present with the team ahead of their game against the Red Sox on Friday.

"It's been great. [His former Astros teammates] treated me like I never left," Correa told reporters. "It feels good to be in this clubhouse again and spend the time with great guys and great players."

At just 17 years old, Correa became an Astro when they selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft. He made his MLB debut in 2015, and by 2017, made his first All-Star Game and helped the Astros win the World Series. He went on to make three All-Star Games with the Astros and was part of the organization for nearly a decade before signing with the Twins in March 2022.

Correa has spent the past three and a half seasons with the Twins, but with Minnesota trading away many players and not looking like contenders anytime soon, Correa opted to waive his no-trade clause and return to Houston.

" I never thought this would happen," Correa said. "When it started developing, we were in constant conversations with the front office of Minnesota. When it finally happened, I called my wife. That's when it started kicking in. It was surreal."

The Gold Glove-winning shortstop will now play third base as he re-joins the Astros. He will look to help Houston maintain their lead in the American League West and go after their third World Series title.

Also: what is the highest percentage of team runs contributed by two batters in a Test?

Steven Lynch29-Jul-2025I know Charles Bannerman still holds the record for the highest percentage of a completed Test innings. But what’s the record for the highest percentage by two batters? Did Harry Brook and Jamie Smith get close at Birmingham? asked Kunal from India
Harry Brook scored 158 and Jamie Smith an unbeaten 184 in England’s 407 in the second Test against India at Edgbaston earlier this month. That’s 84.03%, which comes in fourth on the list for a pair of batters in a completed Test innings. Leading the way are Mushfiqur Rahim (175 not out) and Liton Das (141), who made 86.58% of the runs in Bangladesh’s 365 against Sri Lanka in Mirpur in 2022.Next come Kepler Wessels (74) and Peter Kirsten (52) with 85.14% of South Africa’s 148 in their comeback Test against West Indies in Bridgetown, in 1992, and Rohan Kanhai (84) and Seymour Nurse (70) with 85.08% of West Indies’ 181 against Australia in Melbourne in 1960. Nurse features in fifth place too: in his final Test, against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1969, he scored 258 and Joey Carew 91 – 83.69% of the total of 417.It’s probably worth repeating that Charles Bannerman does still hold the record for one batter in a completed Test innings, set in the very first Test of all, in Melbourne in March 1877. His 165 (retired hurt) in Australia’s first innings represented 67.34% of the total of 245.Shubman Gill’s batting average improved by 6.15 after the second Test. Was this the highest jump for anyone who had played 50 or more innings? asked Sagar Iyer from India
Shubman Gill’s Test batting average climbed from 36.57 to 42.72 after that stunning double of 269 and 161 in the second Test against England at Edgbaston earlier this month. It was his 34th Test, and his 62nd and 63rd innings.This is indeed the biggest improvement in a player’s Test batting average, given a minimum of 50 innings: Gill just squeezed past England’s Wally Hammond, whose 336 not out against New Zealand in Christchurch early in 1933 – his 64th innings – improved his average by exactly 6.00, from 60.63 to 66.33. The 311 (and 4 not out) of Australia’s Bob Simpson at Old Trafford in 1964 raised his average by 5.94 to 41.87, while Zaheer Abbas’s 235 and 34 – both not out – against India in Lahore in 1978 improved his by 5.60 to 44.25. Another Pakistani, Younis Khan, boosted his average by 5.38 by scoring 267 and 84 not out against India in Bangalore in 2005.Leicestershire’s total of 398 the other day included three centuries, one of them over 150 – surely a record? asked Ben Preedy from England
That remarkable innings in Leicestershire’s Championship match in Derby last week included 115 from Rehan Ahmed, 151 from Lewis Hill and 101 from skipper Peter Handscomb. The other eight batters contributed just 15 runs between them – there were four ducks (and a 0 not out).Almost as remarkably, this is not the lowest all-out total to include three centuries: in a Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Bangalore in 2014, three batters – Robin Uthappa, Karun Nair and Chidhambaram Gautam – all made exactly 100 as Karnataka scored 349 against Uttar Pradesh. There were four ducks too. Leicestershire’s innings, though, is the lowest to include three centuries of which one was above 150.Mohammad Siraj is one of three bowlers to take five-fors inside 16 balls•Associated PressI noticed that in a one-day international in 2017 the Pakistan fast bowler Usman Shinwari took his fifth wicket with his 21st delivery. Was this the fastest five-wicket haul by balls? asked Zaheer Ahmed from Pakistan
That feat by left-armer Usman Shinwari came against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in October 2017. It is the quickest-known five-wicket haul for Pakistan in ODIs (we don’t have ball-by-ball details for all games), but there are a few faster ones overall.Three bowlers have taken their fifth wicket of an ODI innings with their 16th ball. Chaminda Vaas did so for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh during the 2003 World Cup, in Pietermaritzburg, where he took a hat-trick with the first three balls of the match and added another wicket in the first over. Mohammed Siraj followed suit for India against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2023. And you could be forgiven for having overlooked the United States seamer Ali Khan, who did it against Jersey in Windhoek (Namibia) in 2023.Shinwari was playing in his second ODI. Scotland’s Charlie Cassell started his international career against Oman in Dundee last July by taking five wickets in his first 19 balls, on the way to debut figures of 7 for 21. Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe) and Aryan Dutt (Netherlands) have picked up five wickets with their first 18 balls in a one-day international, while Timm van der Gugten of the Netherlands has done it in 20.Further to my recent query about players who scored centuries in the second and third innings of a Test, has anyone done it in the first and fourth innings? asked Nirmal Mendis from Sri Lanka
There were only two answers to your original question – and only one to this one! It requires someone to score a century in the first innings of a match, then watch the opposition follow-on but score enough runs to allow him to reach three figures in the final innings of the match. And that’s what happened to South Africa’s captain Alan Melville, in the first Test against England at Trent Bridge in 1947. He scored 189 as his side ran up 533, then England managed only 208. Denis Compton made 163 in the follow-on as England reached 551, which left South Africa a target of 227 in the four-day match. They made 166 for 1, with Melville reaching his second hundred of the match shortly before the draw was agreed.It gave Melville three centuries in successive Test innings, the first having come more than eight years before, in the famous Timeless Test in Durban in March 1939, and he added a fourth in the first innings of the next Test, at Lord’s.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Kostas Tsimikas is keen to make a return to Merseyside when his season-long loan with Serie A side Roma comes to end, saying he’s a “Greek Scouser and always will be”. Tsimikas has had to battle for his place at Roma, but with Liverpool’s defensive frailties, he believes he can still make an impact at Anfield.

• Greek star struggles in Eternal City

  Tsimikas has made six appearances in Serie A and four in the Europa League, but has struggled to cement a regular place in the team and has fallen down the pecking order behind Angelino and other defenders. Roma only agreed to a straight loan deal with no obligation to buy, a decision the club is reportedly happy about given his limited impact and inconsistent performances. Operating primarily as a left wing-back in manager Gian Piero Gasperini's 3-4-3 formation, Tsimikas has struggled to nail down the left-back slot. Notably, during a Europa League match against Lille in October it was his crucial early error which led to the only goal of the game, and Tsimikas was substituted at half-time, with Italian media labeling his performance a "nightmare".

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  Tsimikas: 'I was the Greek Scouser'

  Tsimikas told : "I miss the city. I lived there for five years. I love everything in Liverpool. They have a special part of my heart. The people are very kind, some of the kindest I’ve ever met in football. They’d always try to support the team, in good, in bad, they would always do their best to try to help you. I want everything for this club, because from day one, I was fully committed there. I was the Greek Scouser and I always will be, I’ll keep it for my whole life."

  And when pressed on whether he’d like to return to Anfield, Tsimikas added: "You never know. The most important thing for me is to be healthy, to train hard, to play more games. Next year is a different story for me. I want to be successful, I want to win things. Only God knows what will happen in the next year."

• Three years, three very different managers

  Tsimikas joined Liverpool in Jurgen Klopp’s final year and then spent a season under Arne Slot before joining Roma under Gasperini, three managers with very different football ideals. But Tsimikas says he’s trying to learn something different from each one of them. He said: “I think Gasperini is more direct. Slot was more detailed about the game plan, whereas Gasperini is a lot more physical as well. At the moment, for me, it’s about getting used to the playing style, and it’s a little tougher for me. But I have to try to give my best every time the coach gives me the opportunity to play. The team comes first, and I want to be a big part of that, hopefully celebrating at the end of the season with a trophy.” 

  He added: "I remember going to Denmark (to play for Esbjerg). I was just a kid. Everything was dark because I went at Christmas time. It was the first time I left Greece. And it made me more physical, it made me into a man."

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  West Ham test facing struggling Reds

  The Greece international will be keeping a keen eye on Liverpool’s match with West Ham today and the line-up chosen by beleaguered Reds boss Slot, who is under pressure to ring the changes, particularly in defence. The Anfield side’s defence has been leaky this season, with a number of basic errors from defenders contributing to their demise on a regular basis, the recent 4-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven was marked by a blatant handball from captain Virgil van Dijk to concede a penalty and Ibrahima Konate allowed the ball to bounce past him for PSV’s third goal.

Appointment of Washington Freedom director of cricket helps to strengthen ties at newly acquired franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2025

Michael Klinger, the former Australia batter and current director of cricket at Washington Freedom in the MLC, has joined Welsh Fire in a senior management role and will also take over as head coach of their Women’s Hundred team.Klinger’s appointment, on a two-year contract, further strengthens ties between Glamorgan County Cricket Club and Washington Freedom, whose owner – Sanjay Govil, the US-based tech entrepreneur – acquired a 49% stake in Welsh Fire during the Hundred equity sale earlier this year.Klinger will retain his role at Washington Freedom, and will work closely with Fire’s general manager Mark Wallace to oversee recruitment for both the men’s and women’s teams.Gareth Breese, who oversaw the women’s squad in this year’s Hundred, will stay on as an Assistant Coach in the restructured team, while Mike Hussey – Klinger’s fellow Australian – retains his role as head coach of the men’s team.In the 2025 Hundred season, Klinger was head coach of Manchester Originals women’s team, and has also served in coaching roles at Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League in India, the Melbourne Renegades Men’s Team in the Big Bash League and the Sydney Thunder Women’s team.”I’m thrilled to be taking on an expanded role with Welsh Fire, leading list management for both the men’s and women’s teams, alongside being Head Coach of the Women’s side,” Klinger said.”I’d like to thank Manchester Originals for the opportunity to work with them last year. It was a fantastic and rewarding experience for which I’m very grateful.”This new role allows me to combine coaching with a broader strategic focus and to continue strengthening my connections with the Washington Freedom organisation, as well as with the current management and coaches at Welsh Fire.”Glamorgan and Welsh Fire CEO, Dan Cherry, added: “We’re thrilled to welcome Michael to the Welsh Fire family. From his career to date, Michael’s experience, pedigree and enthusiasm matches our long-term strategic vision of ambition and success for the franchise.”Michael adds real quality to our recruitment and coaching capabilities, while his arrival allows Mark to focus directly on implementing our wider cricket strategy. We are hopeful that Gareth Breese will stay on to support Michael after leading the team to the final in 2024.”It’s great also to continue our partnership with Mike Hussey. Mike is an outstanding leader who has made great strides with our Men’s team in recent years. We are all excited for this new chapter as we maximise our partnership with Sanjay Govil and his team to take progressive steps forward on and off the field.”

The Premier League is back after a third international break in as many months. Typically, this would be a moment of great excitement for Liverpool, but recent results have laced the build-up to the next phase of action with anxiety.

But Arne Slot’s side are a distance short of emulating last season’s smooth-sailing Premier League champions. Well adrift of first-placed Arsenal after losing five of six top-flight fixtures, there can be no doubting that this is a crisis for the Reds.

But Liverpool have weathered storms before, and it certainly feels like a matter of when, not if, Liverpool will click together after a summer of sweeping change.

Slot has played down chatter of a winter bid for a centre-back. Giovanni Leoni was signed for around £27m this summer, but the former Parma defender is out for the campaign after suffering an ACL injury on his debut. Liverpool missed out on Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day.

Liverpool do appear set to complete some winter business, though, with rumours regarding Antoine Semenyo’s future at Bournemouth gathering speed.

Liverpool planning for winter business

It has been confirmed by the powers that be on the transfer scene that Liverpool are interested in Semenyo, whose £65m release clause with the Cherries becomes active during the January transfer market.

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed FSG’s vested interest, but Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are among the suitors too.

This would be a significant deal for the Reds, who failed to seal a direct Luis Diaz replacement this summer, but sporting director Richard Hughes’ eye falls over more than one position, with another Premier League sensation earmarked ahead of 2026.

Indeed, according to a recent report from The Times, Liverpool have entered the race for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, though they face stiff competition from Manchester United and Newcastle United.

The Tricky Trees don’t want to part with their prized player, though Evangelos Marinakis concedes that keeping him for the long run will prove difficult. Therefore, he has been listed at £100m.

Why FSG want to sign Elliot Anderson

Liverpool have a robust crop of midfield players, but Anderson’s complete and combative style suggests he might be the missing link in an engine room lacking its typical efficiency.

Forged in Newcastle’s academy, Anderson was sold to Forest in 2024 as Eddie Howe sought to ease his side’s financial worries. It would have been a rueful transfer for the 23-year-old, though he has only gone from strength to strength since the switch, and now he is a fully-fledged England international, regarded as one of the finest midfielders in his homeland.

Instrumental for Forest since the start of last season, Anderson really is the full package, strong in the duel, utterly tireless and a developing playmaker, his range of passing growing by the month.

In fact, Anderson is among the best across a number of statistical metrics this season. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 1% of Premier League midfielders for passes attempted, progressive passes and ball recoveries, the top 5% for shot-creating actions, the top 3% for successful take-ons, and the top 7% for crosses completed per 90. Quite the jack of all trades.

He’s an all-rounder, alright, a real force in the middle of the park. In this, he is an echo of Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, and one who is far outstripping the Argentine at the moment – and that’s not up for debate, sadly.

Matches (starts)

11 (11)

10 (9)

Goals

1

0

Assists

1

2

Touches*

94.4

45.1

Accurate passes*

62.1 (87%)

30.3 (86%)

Chances created*

1.4

0.9

Dribbles*

1.3

0.0

Ball recoveries*

8.4

2.9

Tackles + interceptions*

3.5

1.6

Duels (won)*

7.5 (55%)

2.5 (45%)

The sum of Liverpool’s plight this season is greater than its individual parts, but it is hardly helping that Slot’s trusted midfield lieutenant is flattering to deceive.

While adding Semenyo to the ranks would be a positive move for Slot’s side, you have to wonder whether Liverpool need to complete such a deal. After all, the reason behind opting against a direct Diaz replacement was to ensure Rio Ngumoha has a clear pathway to consistent first-team minutes.

With Cody Gakpo also in the mix, it feels like a deal for Semenyo could run counter to that previously outlined ambition. Of course, Mohamed Salah is not getting any younger, and Semenyo is equally as dangerous on the right as he is coming off the left flank, but Semenyo would struggle to displace the Egyptian legend from the outset, and Salah is contracted to Anfield until the end of next season.

A lot for Hughes and Slot to ponder. With the need for a central defender also intense, Liverpool may struggle to pull off deals for all of these aforementioned players.

They might have to be savvy about it, and while Anderson would be the most expensive of the lot, he would also mark the most impactful addition, described as a “superstar in the making” by journalist Louis Wheeldon, with the potential to become a leading man in the Premier League over the next decade.

Diaz 2.0: Liverpool prepare £88m bid to sign "the best player in the world"

Liverpool have lacked balance and sharpness in the final third this season.

1 ByAngus Sinclair Nov 21, 2025