Sunderland have finally concluded a deal for Granit Xhaka, but they are far from done this summer with notable additions.

Up next, it looks as if Robin Roefs will join the building from NEC Nijmegen as the Black Cats’ brand new goalkeeper for the Premier League, having kept a promising ten clean sheets in Eredivisie action last season.

From that point on, it’s anybody’s guess as to who will be following the Dutchman in through the door, as the rumour mill continues to be active on Wearside.

Sunderland agree deal to sign new striker

Regis Le Bris and Co could well be diving straight back into the options at their disposal at Bayer Leverkusen, with Amine Adli a name that keeps popping up from the German giants.

Reports suggest that the Black Cats, West Ham United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers are all locked into a race to try and snap up the Moroccan winger, who is valued around the £26m price range.

Elsewhere, meanwhile, it was reported by Sky Sports’ Keith Downie that Sunderland had opened talks to snap up Chelsea hotshot Marc Guiu on a loan deal, having approached the 19-year-old who has previously been linked with Leeds United.

Fabrizio Romano has since followed that up by revealing that a deal has been agreed for the youngster, with Guiu set to join on a temporary move, with no option to buy for the Black Cats.

The Spanish teenager is yet to get up and running in the Premier League with the Blues, but it’s clear that he is seen as a gem for the future, with Danny Welbeck once viewed in the same light when he arrived to the Stadium of Light in 2010, only then to get his top-flight career off the ground on Wearside.

Why Guiu could be Sunderland's new Welbeck

Heading into his formative stint with the Black Cats, Welbeck only had three senior strikes to shout about, having been previously loaned out to Preston North End in the Championship away from parent side Manchester United.

Guiu can boast double that amount for Enzo Maresca’s men already, but it’s clear that he needs more consistent minutes in the top-flight, away from wreaking havoc in the much-maligned Conference League.

Sunderland could now be willing to give him that opportunity, much like when they extended their hand out to a far more raw Welbeck 15 years ago.

The now well-established 34-year-old would first make a name for himself donning Sunderland red and white, with the ex-Black Cats number 17 even getting in on the goalscoring act during his solitary season with the club, when downing Chelsea 3-0 in a surprise away win.

In total, Welbeck would bag a promising six strikes from 26 games before then going on to become a first-teamer at Old Trafford, with the Premier League veteran now up to 77 goals in the testing division when featuring for the likes of Arsenal, Watford, and Brighton and Hove Albion, away from the Red Devils and the Stadium of Light.

Welbeck’s heroics for Sunderland would help them to secure a comfortable tenth-place finish in the final top-flight standings, with Guiu hopeful he can be that same spark that makes survival a breeze, having already made quite an impression on the Stamford Bridge masses from limited starts.

Indeed, despite making just four starts overall for Maresca’s side, the ex-Barcelona youth product has a blistering six strikes next to his name, leading to Guiu being dubbed a “nightmare” to come up against by football talent scout Jacek Kulig.

Further showing off his ice-cold finishing ability on the international stage with Spain when powering home 11 goals for the U17s and U19s, on top of even having two senior Barca strikes next to his name, it’s no shock that one of his former youth coaches, Jose Lana, has stated that Guiu can “score goals from nowhere.”

It might be a tall order for Guiu to instantly break into the first-team fold, however.

But when he is unleashed into the action, the 19-year-old will surely be eager to make an impact, knowing full well that an electric loan stint on Wearside could finally kickstart his Premier League journey in style.

Bigger talent than Adingra: Sunderland race to sign "outstanding" £26m star

Sunderland could be about to win themselves a bigger talent than Simon Adingra by signing this £26m ace.

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Celtic needed a late goal from substitute Luke McCowan to kick off their defence of the Scottish Premiership title with a 1-0 win over St Mirren at Parkhead on Sunday.

The Scottish midfielder came off the bench to score a deflected strike from the edge of the box in the 87th minute, after Callum McGregor had a goal disallowed for handball earlier in the half.

Brendan Rodgers will be pleased that his side were able to claim all three points, instead of failing to break the deadlock, but will be expecting more from his team as the season goes on.

The Hoops looked too blunt in the final third for much of the clash with St Mirren, as they started the match with a front three of Daizen Maeda, Adam Idah, and Hyun-jun Yang.

Celtic are yet to replace Nicolas Kuhn, who left to sign for Como, with a new right-winger, as Benjamin Nygren has been brought in to play centrally, which may be something the club look to address in the coming weeks.

The Premiership champions may also look to address the centre-forward position before the summer transfer window slams shut, due to Idah’s performances.

Why Adam Idah should not start for Celtic

The Ireland international should not be a regular starter for the Hoops this season, unless he can turn his form around and prove that he has what it takes to be the main number nine.

As you can see in the graphic above, Idah put in a dismal display against St Mirren as a starter, missing three ‘big chances’ and failing to create a single chance for his teammates in 78 minutes on the pitch.

The former Norwich City striker, simply, did not make the most of the high-quality opportunities that came his way, crashing the crossbar from close-range with his best chance of the evening.

Idah’s output as a starter for Celtic in the 2024/25 campaign also left a lot to be desired. The Hoops attacker only scored six goals in 19 starts in the Premiership in his first full season at the club.

As you can see in the table above, the Irishman scored more goals in roughly 1,000 fewer minutes as a substitute than as a starter in the Scottish top-flight.

These statistics suggest that Idah is far more suited to coming off the bench against tired defences, using his physicality and positioning to exploit defenders who are not as sharp as they were earlier in the game.

Rodgers has a problem, though, because this means that the Hoops need to sign a new starting-calibre centre-forward in order to allow Idah to play the role of super sub this season.

The Scottish Sun recently reported that Celtic sent scout Paul Tisdale to watch Hammarby against Charleroi in a Conference League qualifier, and they picked out three players who may have caught his eye.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

One of the stars The Scottish Sun suggested as a possible transfer target for the Scottish giants was Hammarby centre-forward Jusef Erabi, who they add was linked to Celtic in the January transfer window.

Why Celtic should sign Jusef Erabi

The Hoops should part ways with the reported £4m fee that it would take to snap up the Swedish marksman before the end of the summer transfer window, because it would solve Rodgers’ Idah problem.

Erabi is a promising young striker, at the age of 22, who would come in as an exciting prospect for Celtic, although he has yet to really explode as a consistent goalscorer.

Supporters may see his return of 29 goals in 93 matches for Hammarby and wonder if he would be the main number nine that the team need to send Idah to the bench.

The Sweden U21 international, who was described as a “powerful and prolific” striker by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has underlying statistics that suggest that he could come in to be an upgrade on Idah as a starter for Celtic.

Since the start of the 2024/25 campaign, the former Norwich academy graduate has only scored 13 goals from 14.66 xG for Celtic in the Premiership, which shows that he has not been clinical enough in front of goal.

The three ‘big chances’ that he missed against St Mirren were further proof that Idah is not efficient enough in front of goal, and that is why Erabi could come in to solve the club’s problem with the Irish forward.

As you can see in the table above, the Swedish striker has outperformed his xG by 1.32 since the start of the 2024 Allsvenskan campaign for Hammarby.

Erabi has also averaged 1.18 successful dribbles per 90 and 1.93 fouls won per 90 in the league in 2025. Idah, meanwhile, averaged 0.53 successful dribbles per 90 and 0.63 fouls won per 90 in the Premiership last season.

These statistics suggest that the £4m-rated star has the potential to offer a bigger presence in the centre-forward role than Idah for the Hoops, as he has the mobility and strength to burst past defenders with the ball, whilst also being able to hold off players to win fouls.

Overall, the 22-year-old starlet could thrive in a Celtic team that creates enough chances to make the most of his clinical finishing, to help him finally explode as a regular goalscorer, and he has the attributes to offer more to the team as a complete number nine.

Celtic can drop Yang with move for "top-level talent" who earns £150k-p/w

Brendan Rodgers could drop Hyun-jun Yang with a move for this reported Celtic target.

1

By
Dan Emery

Aug 5, 2025

Therefore, Rodgers could solve his Idah problem by reigniting the club’s January interest in Erabi to bring him in as the new starting striker for the Hoops.

Tottenham were once prepared to splash the cash on a new attacker earlier this summer, specifically Morgan Gibbs-White, and chairman Daniel Levy is displaying similar ambition weeks on from that botched deal.

Spurs were on the verge of welcoming the England international to N17 in a £60 million move, going as far as to book a medical for Gibbs-White this time last month (BBC).

Son Heung-min

7.00

James Maddison

6.98

Pedro Porro

6.95

Dominic Solanke

6.84

Dejan Kulusevski

6.83

via WhoScored

However, after Evangelos Marinakis blocked the transfer, sent a letter to Tottenham threatening legal action and somehow convinced Gibbs-White to pen a new £150,000-per-week deal – this time with no release clause – Levy was forced to re-enter the market for a playmaker.

It’s truly astounding how quickly the tide can turn in football.

Tottenham were about to welcome both Mohammed Kudus and Gibbs-White in a statement £115 million double deal just a few weeks ago, but since then, Spurs have lost James Maddison to an ACL rupture and their squad looks even weaker than last season.

If Thomas Frank is to make a success of his first full season in charge, the Dane is in absolutely dire need of reinforcements before this summer’s transfer deadline on September 1 – particularly in attack.

Son Heung-min recently waved an emotional goodbye to Spurs after 10 years in north London, signing a two-year contract at Los Angeles FC in the MLS, with Dejan Kulusevski also still out for a “long time” after sustaining a serious knee injury last season.

Many high-profile attackers have been linked in the past few days alone, and one of them is AC Milan’s star man Rafael Leao.

The Portugal international was offered to Spurs by intermediaries recently, according to journalist Graeme Bailey, in the aftermath of Maddison’s injury and Son’s exit.

Even though Leao’s preference is to stay at the San Siro right now, another report has claimed that hasn’t stopped Levy from planning a mammoth offer for him.

Tottenham working on "ambitious" £86m bid for AC Milan forward Rafael Leao

According to reports from Spain, Tottenham are working on an “ambitious” £86m bid for Leao, who’s now their priority going forward.

The 26-year-old bagged 12 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Milan last season, mainly as a left-winger in Son’s position, but did feature as a No.10 in their 1-0 defeat to Bologna in the Coppa Italia final.

Frank needs an elite, proven attacking player who can provide goals, assists and an end product, not to mention one who can cover multiple positions, so in this aspect, Leao appears to fit the bill.

Barcelona have also been linked with a move for the ex-Sporting CP sensation, but their well-documented financial problems could mean that Spurs hold an advantage over Hansi Flick’s side.

“Leao, he’s a strong player, he has extraordinary qualities,” said Rossoneri boss Massimiliano Allegri in a recent press conference.

“I think he’s growing, he’s at the right age to have a strong season.”

Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale admits he is "definitely" interested in getting into football ownership after failing with his Cardiff City takeover. The ex-Tottenham man was part of a consortium that tried to buy the League One team earlier this summer but it came to nothing. Despite that setback, the Welshman still wants to pursue that avenue in the future.

• Bale's Cardiff takeover fails

  The former Wales star's efforts to be part of a new era in Cardiff's history was rebuffed by Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan over the summer. However, the 36-year-old, who is enjoying family life and a slower pace of life, still feels that club ownership is something he could sink his teeth into.

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• AFP
  

  What Bale said on his future plans after Cardiff snub

  He said, via Wales Online: "I knew football wasn't going to last forever anyway. I enjoy being with family, keeping in football a little bit by doing some stuff on the TV. My kids keep me very busy, It's great to now have that time to spend with them and not be away every weekend and missing a lot of them growing up, just being able to go out and be a dad finally. At the moment I'm quite content where I am. Like I said, if something was to happen with a football club, I would definitely be interested and would love to explore it. I'm still pretty relatively new into retirement so I'm still enjoying that phase of relaxing a bit."

• Bale eager to stay in football

  It is clear Bale does not want to slip into the shadows following his retirement in 2022. The ex-winger has taken up a punditry role with TNT Sports for this season and seems to want to follow in the footsteps of Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Whether that happens remains to be seen.

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  How are Cardiff doing in League One?

  While Bale continues his TNT Sports duties, he will no doubt be keeping an eye on hometown side Cardiff as they try to secure an immediate return to the Championship following their relegation to League One in May. They currently sit fourth in the table, but suffered a 3-1 defeat to Bradford in their latest game.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Russell Martin revealed that Hamza Igamane was unable to come on as a substitute against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

The Light Blues were held to a 1-1 draw away from Ibrox, needing a goal from substitute Findlay Curtis, and they were unable to call upon the Morocco international from the bench.

Speaking after the game, Martin said: “We had a bid this week for Hamza, we rejected it. All was fine. Trained fine yesterday [Saturday], warmed up fine. I turned around to him at 60 minutes because I wanted two strikers on the pitch. Hamza told me he was injured.”

With just under a week left to go before the end of the summer transfer window, it will be interesting to see what the future has in store for the Moroccan frontman.

Euro club make approach for Rangers striker

Whilst Martin has already confirmed that an offer has been rejected for Igamane, there is no concrete interest from a European club in one of their other forwards.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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According to L’Arena, as relayed by Calcio Hellas, Serie A side Hellas Verona have approached Rangers about a deal to sign Cyriel Dessers before the end of the window.

The report claims that the Italian outfit are looking for a loan whilst the Gers want a permanent exit for the Nigeria international, and that a compromise could be made with a loan leading to an obligation to buy next summer.

It adds that the experienced forward would cost a fee of around £3.4m, but it remains to be seen whether or not Hellas Verona will press ahead with a deal at that valuation.

Why Rangers should cash in on Cyriel Dessers

Whilst it is not exactly how these situations work, Rangers should look to cash in on Dessers ahead of Igamane if possible, as he is a worse option in the centre-forward position for this season.

If the Gers can get the Morocco international on board with Martin’s project, Rangers could have an electrifying striker who could be a real difference-maker in the final third.

Dessers, meanwhile, has been the first-choice striker for two seasons at Ibrox and has blown hot and cold. Former Aberdeen chief Keith Wyness went as far as to describe him as “marmite”, “invisible”, and “frustrating” for supporters.

The Nigerian forward has scored 34 goals in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers in just over two years at the club, but the underlying numbers suggest that Igamane has the potential to offer even more to the team as the main number nine.

24/25 Premiership

Dessers

Igamane

Appearances

35

33

Goals

18

12

Big chances missed

20

6

Big chances created

2

10

Assists

2

1

Ground duel success rate

34%

40%

Aerial duel success rate

32%

39%

Dribbles completed per game

0.3

1.3

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Igamane was significantly more efficient with the ‘big chances’ that came his way, whilst being more creative, more effective in duels, and offering more as a ball carrier.

These statistics suggest that the Moroccan star, who played off the left wing at times, could offer more to the team as a clinical goalscorer and a creative threat as the main number nine ahead of Dessers at Ibrox.

This means that a move to Hellas Verona for the former Cremonese marksman could open the door for Igamane to be the main man up front for Rangers, which could provide him with a platform to showcase his talents and attract even more interest in future transfer windows.

Martin could make that point to the striker and dangle the carrot of being the main man for the Light Blues this season in a post-Dessers world, despite interest from elsewhere in the current window, in an attempt to keep him at Ibrox.

Related As well as Aarons: Martin must drop Rangers lightweight who lost 100% duels

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Therefore, in an ideal world, Rangers could cash in on Dessers and tempt Igamane to commit to the team as the main man. However, life is not always simple, and there could be a world where the Light Blues lose both of them in the next six days, which would be far from ideal.

MatériaMais Notícias

A luta do Botafogo por se manter embalado no Campeonato Brasileiro tem novo obstáculo neste domingo (14). Às 18h30, o Alvinegro encara o Goiás no Estádio Hailé Pinheiro (Serrinha), pela sexta rodada da competição.

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A equipe de Luís Castro, única a manter 100% de aproveitamento após cinco jogos, desafia o Esmeraldino, que atualmente está no Z4 da competição.

+ Todos os jogos do Brasileirão você encontra no Prime Video. Assine já e acompanhe o seu time do coração!

Com apenas uma vitória em cinco jogos, a equipe esmeraldina tem dúvidas às vésperas de encarar o líder do Brasileiro. O meio-campista Morelli e o atacante Vinícius sentiram dores na coxa e chegaram a ser substituídos na derrota por 2 a 0 para o Flamengo. Caso não tenham condições de encarar o Botafogo, o meio-campista WIllian Oliveira e o atacante Alesson serão seus respectivos substitutos.

Em compensação, o técnico Emerson Ávila voltará a contar com sua dupla de zaga. Lucas Halter e Bruno Melo cumpriram suspensão automática na derrota para o Flamengo. Porém, o goleiro Tadeu segue se recuperando de uma fratura no dedo da mão direita.

Do lado do Botafogo, o técnico Luís Castro pode fazer mudanças para evitar que atletas sofram desgaste físico. Mesmo vindo em boa fase, o lateral-esquerdo Marçal pode dar lugar a Hugo.

No meio, Lucas Fernandes tem chances de ser lançado no lugar de Eduardo. O setor ofensivo também tem chances de trazer novidades. Junior Santos e Victor Sá podem dar lugar a Gustavo Sauer e Luis Henrique, respectivamente. Em compensação, Tiquinho Soares segue como titular absoluto do ataque.

A equipe não contará com Cuesta, suspenso pelo terceiro cartão amarelo. Luis Segovia é quem tem mais chances de formar a dupla de zaga com Adryelson.

+ Philipe Sampaio relembra chegada ao Botafogo, celebra nova fase do time, fala sobre Luís Castro e manda recado para torcida

FICHA TÉCNICA

GOIÁS x BOTAFOGO

Data e hora: 14 de maio de 2023, às 18h30 (de Brasília)

Estádio: Hailé Pinheiro (Serrinha), em Goiânia (GO)

Árbitro: Rafael Rodrigo Klein (RS)

Assistentes: Marcelo Carvalho Van Gasse (SP) e Lucio Beiersdorf Flor (RS)

VAR: Rafael Traci (SC)

Transmissão: Premiere. O LANCE! faz o tempo real.

GOIÁS (Técnico: Emerson Ávila)

Marcelo Rangel; Maguinho, Lucas Halter, Bruno Melo e Sander; Zé Ricardo, Morelli (Willian Oliveira), Diego e Palacios; Vinícius (Alesson) e Matheus Peixoto.

Lesionados: Tadeu

Suspensos: Ninguém

BOTAFOGO (Técnico: Luís Castro)

Lucas Perri, Di Plácido, Adryelson, Luis Segovia e Marçal (Hugo); Marlon Freitas, Tchê Tchê e Eduardo (Lucas Fernandes); Junior Santos (Gustavo Sauer), Victor Sá (Luis Henrique) e Tiquinho Soares.

Suspenso: Victor Cuesta (terceiro cartão amarelo)

Lesionados: Matías Segovia, Gabriel Pires, Danilo Barbosa, Rafael e Patrick de Paula

Seleção Sub-20: Matheus Nascimento.

تحدث وليد سليمان، لاعب الأهلي السابق، ونائب المدير الرياضي لقطاع الناشئين، عن تولي المدرب الهولندي أرت لانجلير، المسؤولية الفنية لقطاع الناشئين في الفترة الحالية بالقلعة الحمراء.

وكان مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي، قد أعلن عن التعاقد مع المدرب الهولندي أرت لانجلير، مديرًا فنيًا لقطاع الناشئين، وذلك منذ أول أكتوبر الجاري.

وقال سليمان خلال تصريحات عبر الموقع الرسمي للنادي الأهلي: “أرت لانجلير، بدأ مهام عمله ‏بشكل فعلي، بعدما عقد سلسلة من الاجتماعات مع مدربي القطاع، وحرص على متابعة العديد من مباريات فرق النادي المختلفة”.

وأضاف: “الكابتن محمد يوسف، المدير الرياضي، يتواجد بصفة مستمرة في قطاع الناشئين لمتابعة سير العمل، وتذليل أي ‏عقبات قد تواجه الجميع، وهو ما يعكس الاهتمام الكبير من جانب قطاع كرة القدم بالنادي.”.

وتابع: “عقدنا جلسات مطولة مع لانجلير، وهو مدرب صاحب خبرات كبيرة ويسعى إلى تحقيق نجاحات مع النادي، من خلال تجاربه السابقة، وكل الشكر لمسئولي النادي على الاهتمام الشديد بتوفير كل ‏متطلبات النجاح للقطاع”.

طالع | محمد يوسف: لدينا خطة واضحة لتطوير المواهب.. و”لانجلير” إضافة كبيرة لقطاع الناشئين في الأهلي

وأكمل: “المدرسة الهولندية لديها نجاحات عديدة، والتعاقد مع لانجلير خطوة مهمة للغاية، والمدرب الهولندي معجب بالبنية التحتية للنادي ‏وكذلك مستوى اللاعبين المتواجدين في القطاع”.

وواصل: “هناك إيجابيات عديدة تحققت خلال الفترة الماضية، وهو ما ظهر من خلال تصعيد أكثر من لاعب للفريق الأول، إلى ‏جانب دعوات المعايشة الخارجية التى تلقاها عدد كبيرمن اللاعبين، فضلا عن اعتماد المنتخبات الوطنية المختلفة على العناصر الواعدة من الأهلي، مثل منتخب ‏‏2009 الذي يضم ما بين 9 إلى 11 لاعبا، وكذلك منتخب 2008، كما تواجد لاعبان من مواليد 2007 مع منتخب 2005”.

وأتم: “لدينا أسماء مميزة نالت إشادة الجميع، ومع الحصول على فرصة أكبر واحتكاك أفضل سيكون لهم مستقبل واعد، ونحرص ‏على إكساب اللاعبين مقومات شخصية الأهلي والتعود على الضغوط، ونحرص على حضورهم المباريات الجماهيرية، ونؤكد لهم دائما أن ‏التواجد في النادي ميزة كبيرة، يجب استغلالها من خلال الشغف والإصرار لتحقيق النجاح في مسيرتهم”.

Rain had the final say on the fourth day in Bulawayo as only 31 overs were possible with the first of two Tests between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan headed to a draw. Zimbabwe managed to end the mammoth 364-run third-wicket partnership between Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi – both of whom batted the entire third day – with the former falling on 234. He added just three runs to his overnight score before left-arm quick Newman Nyamhuri, on debut, managed to have him caught at gully.Shahidi was still batting on 179 while Afsar Zazai was in sights of his maiden Test half-century, finishing unbeaten on 46 as the pair added an unbroken 87 for the fourth wicket.Rahmat fell in the second over of the day, when he drove at one far away from his body and edged it to Ben Curran after adding just three to his overnight tally. Nyamhuri bowled it from around the stumps and floated it wide; Rahmat could not resist. That ended what is the eighth-highest third-wicket partnership in men’s Tests.Both Nyamhuri and Blessing Muzarabani got seam movement – and at times even extra bounce – but Shahidi and new batter Afsar Zazai remained watchful. Each time the line was wide, neither batter shied away from lofting or slashing at the ball. Shahidi reached 150 in the 131st over, when he clipped Nyamhuri wide of fine leg. Largely, both quicks kept it tight.The first boundary of the day came only in the 137th over. Trevor Gwandu angled one across to Shahidi, who played a lovely drive to bisect cover and mid-off. Thereafter, it was Zazai who kept finding the boundary, while Shahidi looked much calmer at the other end.Three overs later, Zazai hit his first boundary through midwicket when Sean Williams pitched one short. In the 141st over, Zazai threw his bat at a full and wide one outside off from Gwandu, only for the ball to fly for four over gully. After two overs, Zazai cut Gwandu for another boundary just after his partnership with Shahidi had crossed fifty.Zazai picked up his only six by pulling Williams over square leg. Sensing he was picking up pace, Zimbabwe slowed things down through Muzarabani, Brandon Mavuta and Brian Bennett. Afghanistan managed only 14 runs from the next seven overs, and that ended the morning session.Shahidi drove the second delivery after lunch for four to deep extra cover, but only two overs were possible in the afternoon. Seeing ominous grey clouds form, the umpires stopped play at 12:53pm sensing a heavy downpour, which arrived soon.The rain eased an hour later with the ground staff starting to peel the covers off. But that effort proved futile with another downpour starting. That spell of rain was relentless and stumps were called at 4:35pm.

The two matches will provide Australia’s preparation for the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2025

An extra ODI has been added to Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka which will provide the visitors additional preparation for the Champions Trophy.The two matches will now take place on February 12 and 14 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and will be day games.The first of the games begins just two days after the scheduled fifth day of the second Test in Galle so it remains to be seen how many players featuring in that match can turnaround for the one-dayer if the Test goes the distance.However, Australia have nine players in their preliminary Champions Trophy squad who aren’t part of the Test series, including captain Pat Cummins and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood.But Cummins’ participation remains uncertain as he is carrying an ankle injury which he played with during the India Test series.Australia’s ODI players are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka around the start of the second Test. Their first match in the Champions Trophy is against England on February 22 followed by South Africa on February 25 and Afghanistan on February 28.The first semi-final will take place in Dubai on March 4 with the second in Lahore on March 5 following confirmation of the hybrid model due to India not traveling to Pakistan. The final will be on March 9, in either Dubai or Lahore depending on whether India qualify.

Less than 24 hours out from ball one, Shan Masood and his team were still weighing up whether to play a spinner at the expense of a fast bowler in the XI

Danyal Rasool02-Jan-2025There’s a fine line between maximum preparation and cluelessness, and Pakistan are trying to make sure they tread the right side of it. With less than 24 hours to go before the second Test, Pakistan have not yet named a final XI, wanting to glean as much information as possible about what the Newlands surface will do. However, the later, they leave it, the harder it is to make the case the visitors have a side they will be comfortable with heading into the game.The captain Shan Masood admitted balancing the team was “tricky”. “We’d like to have one final look at the pitch,” he said. “Looks a bit different, less grass cover. South Africa have had the luxury of having a training session earlier than us. We’d like to take our time and see what the best possible XI is.”The Newlands surface is under scrutiny following what happened in the previous Test played here. In the first Test for new groundsman Braam Mong, India beat South Africa in a game which lasted barely 100 overs. Fast bowlers dominated the game, with uneven bounce between bat and ball, with no spin bowled; the pitch was given an “unsatisfactory” rating.Related

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With this being the same groundsman’s second Test, interest in the nature of this strip is high on both sides, with Temba Bavuma half-joking he was told he “wasn’t allowed to talk about the pitch”. Over the last couple of days, the strip that will see the Test played has had a significant amount of grass removed from it, with heavy rollers going over the surface multiple times.Either way, South Africa have named their side, with spinner Keshav Maharaj coming in. But it’s a bit more complex for Pakistan. Masood pointed out one of South Africa’s strengths was their seam bowling allrounders and deep batting line-up, saying it went right down to “Rabada at 10″, following his heroics in the fourth innings in Centurion.If Pakistan are to play a specialist spinner, it will invariably come at the expense of a seam bowler. That leaves them with just three seamers, which Masood appeared reluctant to commit to.”South Africa still have four seamers playing,” Masood said. “They have the luxury of quite a lot of allrounders in the squad. Mulder, Jansen, Bosch, so they can afford to make those decisions. For us, it’ll be slightly trickier. We still feel pace will have a large role to play in these conditions. There was a pattern that was successful for us where [Salman] Agha bowled really well in Australia and take that forward with us. We’ll have to see and probably make a decision in the evening.

“It’s heartening to compete, but we have to be ruthless, and we have to cross that line somewhere. There’s a lot of potential in that side, and if we’re not crossing the line, we’re not doing our talent and ability justice.”Shan Masood wants his team to do more than merely get into dominant positions in games

Further complicating matters, Aamer Jamal, who played the least significant role among the quicks in Centurion for Pakistan, is their only allrounder, with Masood effectively confirming his place in the XI.”Aamer links the team together. He’s a very important player in the Test team going forward. That No. 8 position where you can bat as a very decent batter and bowl like a proper fast bowler. Unfortunately, the situation of the match was such apart from his first spell at Centurion he didn’t really get a go. He was brought on at a time where we just took a gamble to have something different, maybe hit the wicket and force Rabada or Jansen to do something else. That was the reason behind that. But we hope he’ll bowl more on this surface.”It means whichever way Pakistan go, there will be compromises one way or another. But Masood said Pakistan had been taking heart from the way they competed against the side that are “No. 1″ in Test cricket. But with Pakistan letting slip a number of dominant positions over the last nine Tests, seven of which Pakistan lost, he understands belief in a side or a system can fall apart if results to prop it up aren’t forthcoming.”You want to compete against the best, and win against the best,” he said. “It’s heartening to compete, but we have to be ruthless, and we have to cross that line somewhere. There’s a lot of potential in that side, and if we’re not crossing the line, we’re not doing our talent and ability justice. That only comes from a place of care, and yes we all make mistakes and sometimes don’t cross this line, but I really believe this side has the ability, and people have seen there is a lot more to this side than the results suggest.”Moments after Pakistan finished training, the pitch was, unconventionally, given another heavy dose of watering under a hot sun. After that, the groundstaff threw a white sheet over the strip, and the two surrounding it. The secrets of this Newlands pitch remain concealed overnight, although, even when it stood exposed, few – especially in the Pakistan camp – seemed to really know what to expect from it.