Fans in Bulawayo have been asked to join a peaceful protest during the second Test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Bulawayo as part of the #thisflag demonstrations that havae been held throughout the country in recent weeks

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2016Fans in Bulawayo have been asked to join a peaceful protest during the second Test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Bulawayo as part of the #thisflag demonstrations that have been held throughout the country in recent weeks. The movement, started by Pastor Evans Mawarire, encourages Zimbabweans to take ownership of their flag, and by implication their country, through mass action.In a video posted on YouTube, Mawarire instructed supporters to stand at the start of the 36th over on day one – to coincide with the country’s 36th year of independence – and sing the national anthem in the hope of attracting global media attention to the cause.Mawarire’s statement references the protests by Henry Olonga and Andy Flower in 2003 and says it wants to honour them for starting that first protest. It calls on spectators to go to the ground on Saturday with their flags and, at the start of the 36th over, stand up and sing the national anthem. The 36 refers to the years since Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe came to power.Mawarire is currently in South Africa, where he has been since he was released on bail after being arrested for leading last month’s stay-aways. On July 6 and again on July 13 and 14, Zimbabweans did not go to work for peaceful protests. Following that, there have been several clashes between protestors and police as well as further demonstrations, mostly in Harare. Bulawayo, where both Tests against New Zealand are being played, has remained largely unaffected.Should the action go ahead, this will be another instance that cricket would be used to send a political message in Zimbabwe. The black armband protests by Olonga and Flower to mark what they called the death of democracy resulted in both men leaving the country and marked the end of their playing careers.Since then, Zimbabwean cricket itself has been fairly politicised with events such as the white-player walkout and moves to aggressively transform the national team, aligning it closer to the state. However, interest in cricket has waned as poor results and the economic downturn caused self-imposed exile from Test cricket and fewer fixtures than any other ICC Full Member. Still, cricket remains one of Zimbabweans’ few connections to the outside world and is being used for political aims again, even though coverage of the current series is scant.Television apart, the series has not received a high level of coverage within the local newspapers, often finding itself relegated below football, there are no traveling New Zealand writers and only two other journalists from outside Zimbabwe.Attendance could also be an issue. The first match saw a crowd of a few hundred throughout the game, of which a large percentage was school children being bussed in. With school holidays commencing on Friday, that is unlikely to be the case for the second Test. However, crowd numbers are likely to be bolstered by the weekend start and the fact that four of the five match days take place over a long weekend. Monday is Heroes’ Day and Tuesday National Armed Forces Day.A police presence is also expected at the second Test, as was the case in the first, with no indication of whether the numbers will be greater than before.

Liverpool's conclusive home fixture of the 2022/23 season is important for a host of reasons.

Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all departing at the end of their contracts, having all played roles in the club's success under Jurgen Klopp's reign.

The Reds also have a sterling opportunity to make it eight wins on the bounce, and must secure victory against high-flying Aston Villa if their decreasing chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League are to remain alive.

Newcastle United are four points ahead in third, while Manchester United perch a point above the Merseyside outfit having played a game fewer.

Villa, who have been resurgent under Unai Emery's tutelage this season, are vying for a European spot themselves next term and will certainly not roll over at Anfield, having won nine of their past 13 games in the Premier League.

In what may well be a game of fine margins, the Reds' German boss must unleash Diogo Jota, utilising the Portuguese forward's devastating cutting edge.

Why should Liverpool start Diogo Jota vs Aston Villa?

Jota has been a prolific figure on Merseyside since completing a £41m move from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020, having scored 21 goals last term and 13 during his maiden campaign in the north-west.

This year, he has been plagued by varying injuries and has missed 23 matches of competitive action, having reached April without breaking his seasonal duck; a recent purple patch has flicked the switch, and he has now plundered five goals and one assist from his past four starts in the top flight.

Against Villa, who are behind Tottenham Hotspur in a European spot only on goal difference having defeated them last week, Liverpool will certainly need to be robust and harness the newfound intensity that has complemented the upswing in results.

Jota will be imperative in this regard – Mohamed Salah is understandably the prominent name when it comes to goalscoring phenoms in Liverpool, having scored 186 times from 303 matches for his side, also with 30 strikes to his name this term, but placing a further "clinical" gem – as Jota was hailed by journalist Callum Vurley – into the starting fold will certainly not hamper the chances of success.

The £140k-per-week machine also ranks among the top 2% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues for assists and the top 5% for aerials won, as per FBref, even being heralded as a "pressing monster" by Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders for his unrelenting output on the pitch.

Jota will indeed be vital in ensuring his side has an extra dimension in front of goal, channelling both his own striking proficiency and creative flair to ensure Liverpool maintain their pursuit of Champions League football next year.

Newcastle United are among the Premier League clubs to have sent scouts to watch OGC Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo in action, Fabrizio Romano has claimed.

How big a prospect is Todibo?

The Frenchman is a bit of a rising star at Nice currently, proving to be one of their most important players and performing consistently well at centre-back. He made 35 appearances in all competitions this season, 34 of which have been starts, and he has averaged 2.3 tackles per game in Ligue 1.

Todibo was once at Barcelona, but struggled to make the grade there, and he has also enjoyed loan spells at the likes of Schalke, Benfica and Nice, prior to joining the latter on a permanent basis in 2021. At 23, he has increasingly matured in recent years and his reputation appears to be growing all the time.

While Newcastle have been superb defensively all season long, only conceding 29 times in 34 Premier League outings, they could still be looking for centre-back reinforcements in the summer transfer window. That's where Todibo comes into play, with the Magpies seemingly eyeing a move for him.

Are Newcastle interested in Todibo?

Taking to Twitter, Romano reported that Newcastle have sent representatives to watch the Nice defender in action, although they aren't alone in showing an interest in him:

"Understand Newcastle, Manchester Utd and Liverpool scouts were in attendance at Nice-Rennes game to monitor Jean Clair Todibo. French centre back could get top club move in the summer — with price tag understood to be around €45m."

Todibo certainly looks like a massive prospect – football talent scout Jacek Kulig has labelled him as the "complete package" and lauded his "superb build-up and defensive attributes" – and he could be a brilliant signing by Newcastle at the end of the season.

Sven Botman is clearly a huge player for the Magpies, but it could be argued that an upgrade on Fabian Schar as the Dutchman's regular centre-back partner could take them to another level. The Swiss is now 31 years of age, and if Eddie Howe's side are reach that next step in 2023/24 and beyond, he possibly needs to become a squad player moving forward.

In Todibo, Newcastle would be getting a top-quality young prospect with a high ceiling, and while he hasn't yet been capped for France, he has every chance of it on his current trajectory, having made one appearance for his country's Under-21 side, and five for the Under-20s.

Tottenham Hotspur appointing Johannes Spors as sporting director as part of a package to bring Julian Nagelsmann in as manager of the club would 'make sense', according to journalist Dean Jones.

What's the latest news involving Johannes Spors and Julian Nagelsmann?

Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has recently given an update on the possibility of Spors joining Tottenham as sporting director, stating: "We‘ve been told that he is one of a number of Sporting Directors Tottenham are looking at. Spors is a Global sporting director for a number of clubs including Hertha BSC, Genoa, Standard Liege & Melbourne Victory. There was contact in the last weeks. But no concrete negotiations yet."

The Daily Mail have also claimed that Spors is a target to fill the vacancy left by Fabio Paratici, revealing that the 40-year-old is a candidate alongside Brentford technical director Lee Dykes.

The report states that Nagelsmann wants a new director in place before choosing whether to take over at the club or not while clarity surrounding the future of Harry Kane is also of paramount importance to the German.

Spors has enjoyed an interesting career, working in a global sporting director role at the likes of Hertha BSC, Melbourne Victory, Standard Liege and Genoa.

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jones has suggested that he wouldn't be surprised if the rumours surrounding both Spors and Nagelsmann being appointed were linked in some way.

Jones told FFC: "I don't know too much about this guy, but on the Nagelsmann end, this could make sense. He wants to know who he's going to be working with, that's part of the holdup in this whole process, maybe the two are linked. Equally, I've seen Spurs change manager enough times in the past to know that a plan that they've got in place can quickly spiral and head in a totally different direction that nobody was expecting, sometimes even them, I think. At the moment, we know Nagelsmann is in talks and is highly thought of, but both sides need to be sure that this is going to suit them and the sporting director role is going to be important as part of that."

What now for Tottenham Hotspur?

Off the field, it looks like Spurs fans are going to need to wait a little longer to find out for definite whether Nagelsmann will take over in north London.

In the meantime, Tottenham still have three Premier League fixtures left to complete before the close of play against Aston Villa, Brentford and Leeds United, which will go a long way to determining the state that their new prospective manager will find them in.

At present, Tottenham sit sixth in the top-flight standings on 57 points, five behind top-four contenders Liverpool and trailing Manchester United by six, having played a game more than the latter.

In reality, securing one of the coveted Champions League slots looks to be unlikely at this point; nevertheless, managing to achieve continental qualification in the form of the Europa League or Europa Conference League is well within their reach.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPakistan celebrate the key wicket of Jonny Bairstow•Getty Images

Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the series after beating England by 75 runs at Lord’s. That is the simple version but there were multitudes contained within as Misbah-ul-Haq’s irrepressible side took the ten wickets they required for victory on the fourth day, four of them going to the talismanic Yasir Shah on the way to match figures of 10 for 141 in his first Test match outside of Asia.Set 283 to win – a target only one side had previously achieved on the ground – after dismissing Pakistan inside the first ten minutes of the morning session, England’s batsmen struggled to build partnerships. Only when Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes were putting together a stand of 56 over 31.4 gruelling overs did Misbah have to seriously ponder where a wicket was coming from.The breakthrough came from Yasir, although there was little sleight of hand about a long hop that Bairstow simply missed attempting to swat through the leg side. His distraught reaction, head bowed over his bat as the Pakistan players celebrated around him, provided an illustration of England’s disappointment at losing a match in which they were always slightly behind but refused to abandon as beyond their powers of recovery.Yasir’s tenth wicket practically sparked a playground bundle as Woakes was taken at slip trying to hit out with the No. 10, Steven Finn, for company and 79 still required. Mohammad Amir rattled Jake Ball’s stumps an over later to put the final seal on an emotional comeback six years after his previous Test appearance.This was a gripping encounter, fought in excellent spirit and holding the attention of a packed crowd throughout. A sizeable contingent of Pakistan supporters cheered every wicket as their side pushed for a first Test triumph at Lord’s since Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed’s exploits in 1996. When the Pakistan team lined up afterwards to do a series of celebratory push-ups in front of the pavilion – a salute to the military fitness camp undergone by the players before the tour – the whole ground was in raptures.England may have been primed to the threat posed by Yasir and Amir but it was Rahat Ali who gave Pakistan the early advantage. England lost their top three in little more than an hour of batting and although the rejigged middle order that had been considered a weakness resisted admirably there was too much left for them to do against a constantly probing attack.Yet while Bairstow remained in the company of Woakes – a man with nine first-class centuries, not to mention 11 wickets in the match – England could imagine that the improbable was still possible. With the bowling tight and scoring opportunities scarce, the seventh-wicket pair resolved to soak up the pressure and fight for every inch.Nothing seemed to be happening in the middle, yet at the same time, everything was happening. Wahab Riaz threw himself into a five-over spell after tea that yielded 0 for 8 but saw the ball repeatedly swerve late past the outside edge. Both batsmen edged short of catchers in the cordon – Woakes a matter of millimetres in front of Asad Shafiq at third slip – and Wahab ended up lying in the dust as he strained for a breakthrough. He was also warned twice by the umpires for running on the pitch.At the other end, rewards were not as readily forthcoming for Yasir as had been expected after his first-innings six-for. There was turn – as Gary Ballance discovered when a delivery beat his front pad and attempted flick to end his dogged 43 – but the pitch was placid enough for Woakes and Bairstow to survive as long as they eschewed risk. When Yasir won an lbw decision from Joel Wilson against Woakes, the batsman confidently reviewed in the knowledge that his bat had intervened first.England had initially recovered through a 49-run partnership between Ballance and James Vince, who made his best Test score before being dismissed by Wahab, flinging his hands at a drive shortly after lunch. Wahab had begun to make the ball reverse away down the slope and a thick edge flew to Younis Khan at second slip, who this time held on to the catch at the second attempt, having unsuccessfully juggled a much tougher chance with Vince on 9.Ballance, in the second innings of his comeback Test, seemed to grow in confidence, totting up runs with nudges and nurdles. He was vulnerable to Wahab’s probing outside off stump but generally played the ball softly and late, other than when slashing a four over the slips. He and Bairstow added another 39 runs in 13 overs of careful batting when Yasir, having changed to bowling from the Nursery End, struck for the first time.The man identified as Pakistan’s likeliest match-winner had to wait until his 13th over but, for aficionados of legspin, it was undoubtedly worth it. Ballance had just pulled a sharply turning delivery through square leg for his sixth boundary; the next ball was a little fuller, spun a little harder down the slope and darted like a swallow past Ballance’s attempted flick to hit leg stump. If the shot was questionable, the overall effect was reminiscent Shane Warne’s dismissal of Andrew Strauss at Edgbaston in 2005.Moeen Ali did not last long, waltzing out of his ground and aiming a heave across the line at Yasir, only for the ball to spin between bat and pad to hit the top of middle. At 139 for 6, England were still less than halfway to their target; Pakistan were more than halfway to theirs.After the third day’s play, Pakistan’s coach Mickey Arthur was hoping his side could “sneak another 19-20” more runs. They managed just a single from Amir as England took the last two wickets in 13 balls, though that was enough to push the requirement up above the 282 achieved by Michael Vaughan’s side against New Zealand in 2004. Stuart Broad picked up both, Yasir and Amir caught behind, to become the third England bowler to pass 350 Test wickets.Adrenaline coursed through initial stages of England’s assault. Cook chopped the opening delivery for four through point as England raced to 19 for 0 from three overs before hitting their first speed bump: Rahat found his line and the tiniest contact with Cook’s outside edge, a kiss goodbye for the England captain who turned away ruefully as Kumar Dharmasena’s finger went up.Rahat bagged and tagged the next two as well. Alex Hales attempted to force a cut, a thick top edge flying quickly to be well held by Mohammad Hafeez at first slip; then a misbegotten pull from Joe Root sent a top edge out to the grateful Yasir, jogging to his right to take the catch some 20 yards in from the boundary at deep square leg. It was just one of a multitude of joyous individual and collective moments for Pakistan on a ground where they experienced such pain when the spot-fixing scandal erupted six years ago. They have fresh memories now.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane is one of the Manchester United's 'preferred targets' heading into the forthcoming transfer window. However, Spurs will fight to keep him in north London, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

What's the latest transfer news involving Harry Kane?

Last month, Sky Sports reported that Kane will need to 'drive' any potential exit from Tottenham Hotspur this summer in light of interest from Manchester United.

The 29-year-old is approaching the final year of his deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and there is said to be 'growing concern' at Spurs that he has not put pen to paper to extend his £200k-a-week contract.

Pundit Stuart Pearce has urged Kane to leave his boyhood club in an appearance on talkSPORT following Tottenham's 3-1 defeat against Brentford last weekend in the Premier League, stating: “If I was advising Harry Kane, I’d tell him to go and have another challenge somewhere else. Should this be his final home appearance here for Spurs? I think so.”

The Evening Standard report that Kane is set to sit down with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to thrash out his future at the club amid uncertainty over his future.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, transfer guru Romano has indicated that Kane is one of Manchester United's priority targets this summer, though thinks Tottenham will prove to be stubborn in negotiations.

Romano said: "For sure, he's one of the preferred targets, but the problem is with Tottenham. Tottenham will fight to keep the player.

"Daniel Levy, personally, wants to fight to keep Harry Kane, to extend the contract of Harry Kane, to change the position and also change the mood around the player."

What are Harry Kane's stats like this season?

Kane is an elite striker and would give Manchester United another dimension in attack if he was to sign on the dotted line at Old Trafford in the summer. Nevertheless, Spurs chiefs will be keen to do everything that they can to make sure that doesn't happen and that he can continue his legacy in N17.

In 2022/23, the England international has been in lethal form for a struggling Tottenham side, registering 30 goals and laying on five assists in 48 appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

WhoScored also notes that Kane has maintained an average match rating of 7.45/10 for his exploits on the pitch this term, making him Spurs' second-most consistent performer behind Son Hueng-Min.

FBRef show that Kane has been a force of productivity in attack for Tottenham, successfully carrying out 156 shot-creating actions this campaign.

Looking ahead, Tottenham need to act fast to avoid losing their star man; however, at least it looks as if they are prepared to fight tooth and nail to keep him.

قرر الجهاز الفني لفريق الزمالك بقيادة البرتغالي جوزيه جوميز، خوض التدريب غدًا الأحد على فترتين.

ومن المقرر أن يخوض الفريق مرانه الأول في الثانية عشرة ظهر الغد على ملعب النادي، على أن يخوض الفترة الثانية في السادسة مساءً.

وكان ثنائي الزمالك أحمد سيد زيزو وسيف الجزيري تحصلا على راحة إضافية في مران اليوم السبت؛ بعد مشاركتهما مع منتخبي مصر وتونس في بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. طبيب الزمالك يُعلن تطورات إصابة محمود الونش

وكان معتمد جمال، المدير الفني السابق للفريق حرص على حضور جزء من مران السبت لتوجيه الشكر للاعبين والجهاز المعاون.

وودع معتمد جمال اللاعبين خلال الجلسة التي حضرها رفقة الجهاز الجديد، ومن جانبه وجه جوزيه جوميز المدير الفني الحالي الشكر للمدرب السابق على الفترة التي قضاها، مؤكدًا على تقديره لكافة المجهودات التي قام بها.

ويواصل فريق الزمالك تدريباته استعدادًا لمواجهة الإسماعيلي المقرر لها يوم 19 فبراير الجاري ضمن منافسات الجولة الثالثة عشر لمسابقة الدوري الممتاز.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan hopes that Bangladesh’s security situation will improve and that England’s tour will go ahead as scheduled

Mohammad Isam03-Jul-2016

BCB president Nazmul Hassan hopes that Bangladesh’s security situation will improve and that England’s tour will go ahead as scheduled. Following Friday night’s terrorist attack in Dhaka, the ECB had said it will follow the UK government’s security advice regarding the tour, which is set to start on September 30.Hassan said he expected the ECB to remain cautious, but cited the example of the Euro 2016 football tournament being held in France seven months after the Paris attacks.”It is a very unfortunate incident for Bangladesh,” Hassan said. “We never imagined such a thing could happen in this country. I don’t know how to describe my feelings in words. I have seen England’s reaction, which is quite normal. We would have done the same thing if we were in their position.”[But] you would have noticed that after the Paris attacks, the game didn’t stop. Sport will go at its pace. England are coming after three months, by which time the situation in Bangladesh will get better. It is hard to say which place is safe now. Safety can be an issue in England after three months. We will strengthen our security. If we can ensure that, cricket should not be a problem.”Last year, Australia had postponed their tour of Bangladesh based on their government’s security advice. Earlier this year, Australia had pulled out of the Under-19 World Cup that was hosted by Bangladesh as well, for the same reasons.

Chelsea are still planning on selling goalkeeper Edouard Mendy at the end of the season, according to a key update from transfer expert Dean Jones.

Is Mendy out of favour at Chelsea?

The Senegalese enjoyed an impressive spell between the sticks upon first arriving at Stamford Bridge, arguably looking like one of the best 'keepers in the world in the process. Going into this season, he felt like the Blues' undisputed first-choice starter in his position, but the 2022/23 campaign hasn't panned out the way he would have hoped.

Mendy's poor form has eventually seen him ousted by Kepa Arrizabalaga, with only nine starts coming his way in the Premier League, and only one appearance in the competition since the turn of the year – against Nottingham Forest earlier this month.

It means that the £55,000-a-week 'keeper's Chelsea future is in serious doubt, and with his current deal expiring in 2025, they may feel that now is a good time to receive a healthy sum of money for his services.

Could Mendy leave Blues this summer?

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones admitted that Mendy wants to get a good gauge of his current situation, with Chelsea continuing to look at possible clubs for him to join:

"I think it's good that Mendy has got an outing, but the fact is that Mendy is seeking resolution over his future in the summer. As part of that, they are starting to sound out other clubs to see who might be interested."

Interestingly, this comes after Boehly's decision to try and manouevre a move for Andre Onana as a replacement for Mendy.

Moving Mendy on in the summer transfer window makes complete sense, unless of course Mauricio Pochettino suddenly decides that he wants him to replace Kepa moving forward, and rates him more as a player. As things stand, that appears to be unlikely, however, so Chelsea should cash in and sell the 29-cap Senegal international, also bringing in an upgrade on both him and Kepa at the same time.

The Blues need to bring in an elite stopper who can help take them up a level and marshal the defence, with a world-class player in that area of the pitch so vital, as the likes of Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois have shown down the years.

Mendy is a good goalkeeper on his day – Chris Sutton once lauded him as "incredible" – but he hasn't kicked on at Stamford Bridge and it would now be a big surprise if he was still plying his trade in west London next season.

ECB Reporters Network25-Aug-2016
ScorecardDaryl Mitchell brought up his hundred on a rain-wrecked day•Getty ImagesWorcestershire captain Daryl Mitchell scored his first Specsavers County Championship hundred for 13 months on a drastically curtailed third day against Northamptonshire at New Road.The 32-year-old, who is in his benefit year with the County, went to his century off 164 balls with 16 boundaries to end a lean run of form. He now needs only another 28 runs to complete 10,000 runs in his career in first-class cricket.However, only 17.2 overs were possible in the day as Worcestershire added 42 runs for the loss of two wickets in reaching 195 for 3 – still 356 in arrears.With leaders Essex winning against Leicestershire at Grace Road, Worcestershire have to win to retain their slim hopes of promotion although it remains to be seen whether the two sides will collude tomorrow to try and force a positive result.Worcestershire resumed on 153 for 1 from 40 overs but added only seven more runs before Ben Sanderson accounted for Tom Fell (66) who was caught behind. His stand with Mitchell had been worth 152 in 42 overs.Mitchell, who had been on 86 overnight, reached three figures with an edge for four through the slips off Sanderson. It was his first three-figure score since a double hundred against Hampshire at New Road in July 2015.Play was halted after 12.3 overs and there was then a four-hour delay before the players returned for two brief interludes.In the first of those Joe Clarke (6) played a loose shot at yesterday’s debutant century-maker Chad Barrett and was caught by Ben Duckett at first slip.When umpires Steve Gale and Graham Lloyd called off play for the day at 5.35pm, Mitchell was unbeaten on 102.