Gossip: Blades in battle to sign striker Geubbels
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The Guardian
38 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Edwards left with food for thought as India edge England in first women's ODI
Fifty-over cricket is Charlotte Edwards's Big Project. The day she was announced as the new England head coach, she declared that the national side had 'underperformed' in the one‑day format of late, and that she was making it her 'first priority' before the World Cup in India in October. All eyes, then, on this three‑match ODI series against India, which began on Wednesday at Southampton with a narrow four-wicket win by the visitors. After England's sloppiness in the T20 series defeat, India returned the favour here, putting down catches off the two players – Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards – who crafted England's recovery from 97 for four to 258 for six. India then did their level best to mess up what should have been a relatively straightforward run chase: the lowlight was a horrendously casual piece of running by Harleen Deol which led to her dismissal purely because she couldn't be bothered to ground her bat. The opener Pratika Rawal struck a neat 36 but was bowled going back to Sophie Ecclestone's arm ball and was visibly frustrated, shoulder-barging Ecclestone on the way off the pitch – evoking a whiff of the tensions which have beset the men's teams of late. A 90-run partnership between Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues initially looked like it would see India home, but Rodrigues ditched the sensible approach with 45 runs still needed, caught behind attempting a ramp to Lauren Filer. Still, Deepti said she felt no nerves in the chase. 'I was confident that if I was there I would finish it,' she said, after an unbeaten 62. She also praised the back-to-back boundaries from Amanjot Kaur which eventually enabled India to win with 10 balls to spare. 'We played as a team,' Deepti said. Earlier, England had wobbled perilously after choosing to bat first: Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones – who shared consecutive double-century partnerships earlier in the summer against West Indies – fell within the opening four overs, and the usually solid Nat Sciver‑Brunt met with relative failure in her first innings back after a groin injury, falling to a sprawling catch by Rodrigues at short midwicket for 41. But England found a measure of salvation in the unlikely shape of Dunkley and Davidson-Richards, who shared a 106-run stand for the fifth wicket across 23 overs. Under Jon Lewis, Dunkley failed to find a settled role in the ODI side (batting anywhere from No 1 to No 5), while Davidson-Richards failed to find any role at all – this being her first ODI since September 2023. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Theirs was a partnership built on the most unglamorous of foundations – 69 of the 106 runs were singles – and both were dropped along the way but, given the track record of England's brittle middle order, it did offer hope that players who do not have the name Heather Knight or Nat Sciver‑Brunt might be capable of digging England out of a hole. 'We're trying to be a little bit smarter with how we go about that middle period,' Dunkley said. 'Potentially in the past we might have gone a bit hard and lost a couple of wickets. We're trying to see the real value of having set batters in at the end, and taking those partnerships as deep as possible.' Acceleration came in the last nine overs: Davidson-Richards dashed down the track and was stumped; then Dunkley proceeded to score 33 more runs off 22 balls, bowled swinging off the final ball of the innings. Edwards watched from the same balcony, at the same ground, from where she commanded Southern Vipers to five domestic titles, assessing whether this is the XI who might win her similar glory on the international stage. On the evidence of this game, the jury is out.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Conor Coady deals Rangers major transfer setback on eve of Champions League squad announcement
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RANGERS boss Russell Martin will have to confirm his squad for the Champions League showdown with Panathinaikos on Thursday night. And it's pretty much a given that Conor Coady will NOT be a name on that list. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 3 Conor Coady is a player who Rangers would like to sign Credit: Getty 3 Coady was briefly spotted boarding Leicester's plane Credit: INSTAGRAM/@LCFC 3 Eagle-eyed fans had previously spotted him in this clip Credit: INSTAGRAM/@LCFC Rangers face the Greek giants in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie at Ibrox on Tuesday. Before that, Gers head coach Martin has until midnight on Thursday to confirm his squad of players for the two-legged tie. He's added seven new faces to the squad this summer, with Djeidi Gassama becoming the latest of those earlier this week. But one player who Martin has NOT been able to land so far is Conor Coady. The former England international is currently with Leicester City and he emerged as a target for the Gers earlier this summer. The ex-Wolves captain, 32, IS a player Martin would like to have at Ibrox. But on the eve of the Champions League squad confirmation, there's been a development in Coady's situation. Reports had suggested that the defender was hoping to be excluded from the travelling Leicester squad flying out for a pre-season camp in Austria. But eagle-eyed punters spotted that Coady was indeed ON the flight to Vienna when Leicester posted clips of the players boarding the plane. In what was already a race against time to get Coady - or anyone else for that matter - registered by Thursday night, it now seems an impossibility barring a frantic day of activity. Rangers boss Russell Martin opens up on transfer plans as he delivers updates on Dessers and Igamane All is not lost, however. Rangers will be able to register two more players AFTER the squad deadline has passed. Uefa rules state that two late additions can be added up to 24 hours before kick-off, meaning they have until Monday night to get Coady or anyone else included. Rangers have added two central defenders this summer with Manny Fernandez and Nasser Djiga signing-up. But in a major injury blow, the Light Blues could be WITHOUT another key summer acquisition against Panathinaikos. SunSport exclusively revealed that Thelo Aasgaard is a major doubt for the big game. The £3.5million signing will undergo scans after being hurt in the behind closed doors win over Dunfermline. The 23-year old, signed from Luton, would've been a certain starter in the seismic clash. He started in a strong Gers XI against the Pars in a 4-1 win for Russell Martin's men. Aasgaard now faces a big race against time to be ready for action. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
England women will not start winning unless they score much quicker than this
India (262/6) beat England (258/6) by four wickets England Women's shortcomings at the top of the order ultimately proved too costly as they slipped to a narrow four-wicket defeat in their opening ODI against India. The batting was always going to be under the spotlight, with Nat Sciver-Brunt missing most of the preceding T20 series through injury and Heather Knight ruled out for the summer. It was also an ideal chance for some of those on the fringes to step up and cement their place with a 50-over World Cup on the horizon in the subcontinent this autumn. But even as India dropped five catches in the field, they were able to secure their second-best ever chase in women's ODIs, bringing England's unbeaten home run (stretching back to 2023) to an end. In the last few years, in the absence of Knight and Sciver-Brunt, England have struggled to dominate with bat in hand, and the contest in Southampton started off in exactly the same fashion. Amy Jones had been successful at the top of the order against West Indies with back-to-back centuries, and in domestic cricket this year, but made just one run off seven deliveries. Tammy Beaumont made five, while Emma Lamb took the time to get herself in and set a platform with 39 from 50, but was unable to push on – something that is almost inexcusable with a strike rate of just 78. Alice Davidson-Richards and Sophia Dunkley put on 106 runs for the fifth wicket, but they did so slowly, taking more than 20 overs to do so – and crucially neither were able to push on and inflict a match-winning score on India. Dunkley brought up her half-century from 68 balls, with Davidson-Richards a touch slower, bringing up her milestone from 70 deliveries. England's acceleration did come, but it was only in the final few overs of the innings, and their first innings total of 258 looked under-par on a good batting surface with a quick outfield. Dunkley even admitted that despite her own 83, England were '20 runs short' on the day. It was not a game for the ages, but instead a slightly low-scoring and at times scrappy affair in Southampton. With India 214 for four, and needing another 44 runs, Lauren Filer made the crucial breakthrough to stem India's momentum, with the ball just scratching Jemimah Rodrigues' glove on the way through to Jones. Richa Ghosh had looked settled, but fell for just 10 leaving India 229 for six as England started to gain the upper hand. India may look at their shot choices and question whether a ramp and a charge down the track were necessary given the circumstances, but it was because of the pressure England – and Filer – had built up so successfully. However even in the second innings there were questions raised and issues that England will have to address. When India needed 50 from the final 60 deliveries, Deepti Sharma was struck on the pad by Lauren Bell, who did appeal but not with great conviction. Ball tracking later showed the delivery would have crashed into leg stump, and the ball also went away for four leg-byes. Should England have made the decision to review, it could have changed the course of the final run chase. But India won with 10 balls to spare when Beaumont dived over the ball and let it go for four. Charlotte Edwards insisted when she took over that what mattered was winning matches. Yet again her side fell short.
