County Championship, day three - Somerset chasing 265 to win, radio & text
Use the audio icons in the 'watch & listen' tab for live BBC Radio commentaries
All games begin at 11:00 BST unless stated
Somerset chasing target of 265 against Durham
Glamorgan enforce follow-on against Middlesex
Kent's Ben Compton resumes on 105 not out v Derbyshire
Get Involved: #bbccricket
County Championship, day three - Somerset chasing 265 to win, radio & text
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Essex T20 form 'not good enough'
Essex need to start putting some pride into their T20 Blast performances, says captain Simon Harmer. Sunday's six-wicket hammering by Middlesex was their fourth successive loss at the start of the campaign and leaves them bottom of the South Group. Advertisement "We need to find ways to win games of cricket and if we're brutally honest we haven't been good enough," said Harmer after the defeat at Chelmsford. "Coming off the back of the four-day stuff into the T20s we were probably a bit rusty in the first couple of games but for the last two there are no excuses." Essex opened their campaign with a 106-run loss to Hampshire before eight-wicket and six-wicket defeats by Somerset and Glamorgan respectively. "We need to be better in all departments - as a team and an individual you need to find ways to change the momentum and you do that by winning games of cricket, by scoring a hundred, taking wickets," said Harmer. Advertisement "I truly believe we're a lot better than what we're displaying - we could have been smarter how we went about our business (against Middlesex) and we need to start putting up our hands and putting some pride into our performances and into the badge." Essex are next in action at home to Glamorgan on Thursday before a trip to Sussex 24 hours later.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Tottenham contact Brentford over Thomas Frank, hoping for agreement in next 48 hours
Tottenham Hotspur have made contact with Brentford as they seek to appoint Thomas Frank as head coach — and the north London side hope to reach an agreement in the next 48 hours. Frank, 51, quickly emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Ange Postecoglou following his exit on Friday and terms with the Dane are in place. Advertisement There is a healthy relationship between the clubs and negotiations will centre on the cost of releasing Frank, plus the backroom staff who will join him, which is expected to be in the region of £10million ($13.5m, €11.8m). Tottenham announced that Postecoglou had been sacked despite the 59-year-old winning the Europa League title and ending the club's 17-year wait for a major trophy. Postecoglou's future had been in doubt for months, following a Premier League season in which Spurs lost 22 of their 38 games and finished 17th, their worst league finish since 1976-77. 'When I reflect on my time as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, my overriding emotion is one of pride,' Postecoglou said in a statement published by his representatives following Friday's news of his departure. 'The opportunity to lead one of England's historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime. Sharing that experience with all those who truly love this club and seeing the impact it had on them is something I will never forget.' Frank took over with Brentford in the Championship in 2018 and got them promoted to the Premier League in 2021. Since then, Brentford have become an established top-flight side, finishing 13th, ninth, 16th and now 10th this season. Postecoglou was warmly received by the Spurs fans at their Europa League trophy parade and during their final Premier League game, the 4-1 home defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion. He admitted after the game that he was still in the dark about his long-term future, despite the historic triumph in Bilbao. The Australian was appointed as Tottenham head coach in June 2023, signing a three-year deal with a fourth as an option. In his first season, Spurs finished fifth in the league, but this season they were disrupted by a severe injury crisis during which they lost almost the entire first team. Postecoglou then prioritised the Europa League as Spurs' only way to win a trophy, eliminating AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt in the knock-out rounds before beating Manchester United 1-0 in the final. Analysis by Jay Harris Frank joined Brentford as an assistant coach in December 2016 and the long-term plan was for him to replace Dean Smith, which happened two years later when the latter moved to Aston Villa. Frank lost eight of his first 10 games in charge but managed to stabilise the side and they finished 11th in the Championship in 2018-19. Advertisement Brentford reached the Championship play-off final in Frank's first full season but they lost 2-1 to Fulham after extra time. They returned to Wembley the following year and beat Swansea City 2-0 to earn promotion to the Premier League. Many observers expected Brentford to get relegated but they memorably beat Arsenal on the opening day of the 2021-22 season and finished 13th. Frank's coaching helped his young squad, including Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and David Raya, to excel at a higher level while he convinced Christian Eriksen to join them on a short-term contract. Brentford's second season in the top-flight under Frank was phenomenal. They thrashed Manchester United 4-0 at home and were the only side to beat then champions Manchester City twice. Toney scored 20 goals in 33 appearances and became Brentford's first England international since Les Smith in 1939. Brentford's third year in the Premier League was disrupted by injuries but they bounced back stronger this season. They finished 10th had three players reach double figures for goals (Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade). Frank's impact at Brentford has been huge and he will probably have a statue outside their stadium in the future. He has a fantastic connection with the fanbase, the players love him and he has a great relationship with the owner Matthew Benham, director of football Phil Giles and technical director Lee Dykes. Replacing Frank will be a difficult challenge for Brentford. Tottenham's transfer policy has changed since Johan Lange became their sporting director in November 2023 and now they mainly focus on signing players under the age of 23, including Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert. Frank has an excellent track record of developing talent, including Ollie Watkins, Toney and Mbeumo, which can be traced back to his time in charge of Denmark's youth sides, so he could be a great fit for this young Spurs squad. Advertisement Lange and Frank have previously worked together at Danish side Lygnby which would help. When Lange was Aston Villa's sporting director, he considered hiring Frank to replace Steven Gerrard before Unai Emery was appointed. Frank prefers to use a 4-3-3 formation but is more flexible than Postecoglou. During Brentford's first two seasons in the Premier League, he regularly used a 3-5-2 formation against better-quality opposition and used long balls and set-pieces to good effect. Brentford have evolved and now mainly play out from the back and press opponents high up the pitch. A switch to a 4-2-3-1 system in 2024-25 to extract the best out of attacking midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard highlights how he is more than willing to make subtle tweaks to his principles for the benefit of the team. One of the biggest challenges for Frank would be adjusting to European competition. He reached the preliminary rounds of the Europa League with Brondby but not the main stage of the competition, so it would be a steep learning curve jumping straight into the Champions League.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
England fail to fire against Andorra as Thomas Tuchel's experiment falters
Mixed emotions: Harry Kane scored his 450th career goal against Andorra, but England very much flattered to deceive (The FA via Getty Images) There are just 369 days until next year's World Cup, but England's performance against Andorra was not one to inspire you with confidence. Victory always felt inevitable, even when the game was goalless at half-time, however England were lacklustre on their way to a 1-0 win. Advertisement A long season, which isn't over for those heading to the Club World Cup next week, is surely partly to blame. As was the fact that Andorra did a decent enough job of sitting deep and frustrating England. Ranked 173rd in the world, and with bookmakers putting their chances of victory at 175/1, Andorra were happy to not have the ball. Indeed, in the opening 15 minutes, England had 90 per cent possession. That was the pattern of the whole game and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford could have got out a deckchair to enjoy the Spanish sun. Andorra, for the second game running, did not muster a single shot on target. England's own chances, in fairness, were hardly abundant. Noni Madueke drew a good save early on with a shot from outside the box. Harry Kane turned an effort wide from a Curtis Jones cut-back, while a mazy run from Morgan Rogers deserved more than being a highlight reel on social media. Advertisement When the goal came, five minutes after half-time, it was Kane that broke the deadlock. It was the 450th of his career and he won't have scored many easier. Madueke pounced after Kane's initial effort was saved and the Chelsea winger's cross left the England captain with the goal gaping from just a few yards out. It was a deserved assist for Madueke, who was a bright spark in an otherwise drab affair. It is difficult for anyone to state their case against a side of Andorra's calibre, but Madueke certainly did his best to leave an impression on Thomas Tuchel. This was the first time the 23-year-old has been involved under Tuchel, after missing the games in March through injury, and it surely won't be his last appearance. Advertisement Madueke was involved in many of England's best attacking moments and his only misstep was failing to score a golden chance late on. Tuchel took this World Cup qualifier as an opportunity to experiment because, if you cannot experiment against Andorra, then when can you? Not many of them, however, worked. Jones started at right-back, although he essentially played as a No10 when England had the ball. At times, he was even further forward than Cole Palmer or Jude Bellingham. Reece James, on the other flank, tucked in to form a back three and he did, at least, cause a few problems with his passing from deep. Advertisement Jordan Henderson played ahead of the defence, making his first England start since November 2023. Screening the back three was hardly an arduous task for the 34-year-old, who was the oldest male player to start a game for England since Frank Lampard in 2014. The win for England means they are still top of the of their World Cup qualifying group and it also secured a slice of history for Tuchel. He is the only England manager to win all of his first three competitive games without conceding. Those victories have come against Albania, Latvia and Andorra - and the far, far tougher tests are to come. On the evidence of this win, England have plenty to work on.
