McCaughan hits first T20 Blast ton as Hawks beat Essex
Essex won the toss and elected to bowl first but McCaughan was soon put down on four behind the stumps by Lauren Winfield-Hill after a top-edge, but the breakthrough arrived early as Maia Bouchier got a leading edge to Essex skipper Grace Scrivens in the second over, chipping a catch to Maddie Penna to depart for four from five deliveries.Knott joined McCaughan and also received another life on nine, with Winfield-Hill missing a stumping, and the Australian made the hosts pay, bringing up her half-century from 39 balls with her seventh four, off Sophia Smale, though she might have been caught just inside the deep square rope by Cordelia Griffiths.Having raced to her fourth half-century in five innings from just 34 balls, McCaughan kept the pedal down and picked up a single to move to 90 off Esmae MacGregor to retain strike for the penultimate over.A reverse sweep for four off Smale took McCaughan past Bouchier's 92 in the 25-run win against Essex at Southampton on 30 May - the previous highest score in this season's competition.She brought up three figures with a single from the 57th delivery she had faced but holed-out to Smale at long-on off Scrivens in the final over to end the 173-run stand with Knott.Freya Kemp hit one of her two balls to the rope to end unbeaten on five while Knott finished 72 not out from 55 deliveries with seven fours, having previously scored just 37 combined across her first three T20 appearances for the Hawks.The hosts were 46-0 at the end of the six-over powerplay in reply, with Scrivens finding the boundary four times and Winfield-Hill doing so twice, but Winfield-Hill drove straight to Knott at cover to depart for 18 in the seventh over off Daisy Gibb, bringing Lissy Macleod to the middle.Macleod began positively but with the hosts falling behind the required rate, Scrivens miscued Mary Taylor to opposite number Adams at extra cover to depart for 29 from 28 balls to leave the hosts 66-2 at the end of the ninth over.Knott took a fine catch inside the rope at long-on to see the end of Griffith and leave Essex 82-3 midway through the 12th over.Taylor was fortunate to pin Australian Penna in front for one in the next over to pick up her second scalp before Macleod was run out by a direct hit from Freya Davies to leave her side 90-5, ending a bright knock of 30 from 18 balls, with six fours.The hosts reached three figures in the 14th over and Jo Gardner and Smale set about hauling their side to the 156-run mark to deny the visitors a bonus-point win in a tight fight for the top three spots in the table.They added 42 in 25 balls before Smale was lbw for 24 from 16 deliveries trying to sweep Adams at the start of the 18th over and Gardner fell to a diving catch at long-off from Kemp for 18 to give Adams a second wicket in the over.The skipper had 11 runs to play with in the final over in order to secure the bonus point, and tempted Eva Gray (6) into skying to extra cover as she finished with figures of 4-26 and restricted the hosts to 153-8 to leapfrog them into fourth in the table, three points behind the Bears, having played a game fewer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
4 minutes ago
- Metro
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard warned he could be replaced by £68m target
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has been warned he could be replaced by Mikel Arteta's £68m transfer target Eberechi Eze. The Gunners are interested in signing England international Eze from Crystal Palace before the summer transfer window closes. Eze has been one of the most exciting players in the Premier League in recent years and helped Palace win the FA Cup last season. The 27-year-old has earned 11 caps for England since making his international debut in 2023 and featured for the Three Lions at last summer's Euros. While Arsenal want to sign Eze, who has a £68m release clause which expires on Friday, they face competition from north London rivals Tottenham, who have also expressed interest in a deal. In The Mixer: Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every week – sign up, it's an open goal. Speaking after Crystal Palace won the Community Shield on Sunday, Steve Parish gave interested parties hope of signing Eze and Marc Guehi, who is closing in on a move to Liverpool. Ex-England striker and Arsenal fan Darren Bent hopes the Gunners secure a deal and says Eze should favour a move to the red half of north London. 'I'm shocked he's still at Crystal Palace if I'm honest,' Bent said on talkSPORT. 'He is such a talented footballer and he's great to watch. 'You would think there would be more clubs interested in him given his release clause. I'm hoping this gives Arsenal the kick they need to go and get him. 'If you're looking at Arsenal and Tottenham, yes Spurs won a trophy last season and are in the Champions League, but they finished fourth from bottom last year. 'In my opinion Arsenal are in a better place to move forward.' Eze would likely replace Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on Arsenal's left wing but Bent says he could also play as a ten ahead of Odegaard. Not so long ago Odegaard was Arsenal's most important player but he endured a poor 2024-25 campaign, with Bent insisting his form was 'not good enough'. 'With Odegaard, he's got to look himself in the mirror,' Bent added. 'I'm a big fan of his and I've sat on this show before and argued the case that he's as good as Bruno Fernandes. 'Last season there was no argument, Bruno was head and shoulders above him. I don't know what's happened since the ankle injury but he just hasn't looked the same. Asked directly about Eze in a news conference before Wednesday's Uefa Super Cup against Paris St-Germain, Frank said: 'I think there are a lot of good players out there. 'There are also a few from the PSG team but I don't think we can buy them right now. 'In general, players in or players out, I always speaking about something that is done or not done. In general, I will speak about my own players.' 'Even in pre-season he hasn't looked anywhere near the Odegaard we saw a couple of years ago. Six goals in all comps last season and 11 assists, it wasn't good enough for him, not good enough at all. 'Ethan Nwaneri could be the natural successor. Otherwise you're scratching around and wondering who could play in that position. 'I think if Arsenal were to go and sign Eze from Crystal Palace, then you've got an option there because he can play No. 10 or he can play off the left. 'That will put Odegaard under more pressure because at the minute he's the captain but he's not really being challenged or pushed, he's almost coasting through games at the minute. More Trending 'He has to start the season well. Something's happened with him, I don't know if it's still the injury or something else, but he's got to get back to the Odegaard we know.' Arsenal, who face Manchester United on Sunday in their Premier League opener, could look to offload Trossard, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira before going for Eze. With Eze contracted to Crystal Palace until the summer of 2027, the Eagles will demand around £68m to sell even after his buy-out clause expires. Signing Eze would take Arsenal's summer spending beyond £250m, with the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke joining Arteta's squad. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Man Utd player rejects transfer approach and told he will 'never play for a big club again' MORE: Christopher Nkunku approves transfer to new club as Chelsea make two demands MORE: Jamie Carragher reveals Arsenal's biggest 'problem' and his 'worry' for Liverpool
The Guardian
5 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Premier League 2025-26 preview No 15: Newcastle United
Guardian writers' predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor's prediction but the average of our writers' tips) Last season's position: 5th A Champions League campaign beckons and there is the Carabao Cup to defend but the removal of Alexander Isak's image from the windows of Newcastle's club store at St James' Park is emblematic of a troubled Tyneside summer. As if the Sweden striker's decision to skip the club's tour of Singapore and South Korea while trying to force a move to Liverpool was not bad enough, a succession of transfer targets have turned Newcastle down. Hugo Ekitiké, Bryan Mbeumo, João Pedro, James Trafford and Benjamin Sesko opted to move to Liverpool, London or Manchester as the majority Saudi Arabian-owned club operated without a sporting director and chief executive. The good news is that Eddie Howe is an excellent coach and possesses plenty of high-calibre players, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimarães, Anthony Elanga, Joelinton and Anthony Gordon foremost among them. Throw in the arrivals of Anthony Elanga, Aaron Ramsdale and, almost certainly, Malick Thiaw and last season's starting XI has been fortified in goal, central defence and on the right wing. The need for a couple of strikers and, above all, a resolution to Isak's flirtation with Liverpool remains pressing. Howe's admission that he 'wants players that really want to play for this football club' suggests the manager has had enough of Isak but much depends on the expected impending financial haggling between Newcastle's owners and the Anfield board. Meanwhile Newcastle have failed to win a pre-season fixture. 'It's been a challenging summer,' Howe reflected. 'But any season can go one of two ways. Things are never as good or as bad as you think. At the moment I'm very neutral. I believe that from tough moments you can build something even more special than you had before.' Any concerns that Howe could flounder away from his south-coast comfort zone have been well and truly banished during the near four years the former Bournemouth manager has spent on Tyneside. The workaholic 47-year-old is an outstanding coach who, in the course of leading Newcastle into the Champions League for the second time in three seasons and choreographing the Carabao Cup triumph, has improved a series of players beyond measure. Joelinton's startling metamorphosis from struggling centre-forward to gamechanging midfielder is testament to Howe's talents. Although an excellent, highly articulate communicator, Newcastle's piano-playing manager does not dispense trust easily and, publicly at least, is a master of circumspection. Despite the gargantuan wealth of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Newcastle's relatively skinny commercial revenue streams dictate their spending is restricted by Premier League profitability and sustainability rules. Fans, and some players, are frustrated by the Saudis' failure to deliver a new training ground, and a decision as to whether to revamp St James' Park or build a new stadium keeps being postponed. It does not help that the club have spent the past 11 months seeking a new chief executive after the outgoing Darren Eales's blood cancer diagnosis and have been without a sporting director this summer in the wake of Paul Mitchell's abrupt exit in June, after less than a year in the job. Since the ousting of the former minority owner Amanda Staveley and her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, last summer the lack of an Arabist and/or an executive conversant with Saudi business culture in Newcastle's UK hierarchy has created an apparent disconnect. The £55m signing of Elanga from Nottingham Forest ends Howe's long-running quest for a new right winger. 'I want to showcase my talent,' says the rapid-dribbling 23-year-old Sweden international. 'I'm pacey and direct. I can play on either side, I can play as a striker. I can use both feet. I've got lots of weapons. I know the gaffer and staff here can take my game to another level. What we want to achieve, how we want to play, it's perfect. What we're building here is unique and special. As soon as I knew about Newcastle's interest it was a no brainer.' Howe has long been impressed by a player whose solitary work on his left foot during lockdown has left Elanga two-footed. 'I've got a saying where I'm precise, not rushed,' says the former Manchester United winger. 'It's a French saying, precis pas précipité, something I go by a lot. In my life, I've never rushed anything.' Lewis Miley is 19 but looks very much the complete midfielder and holds two England Under-21 caps. After breaking into Newcastle's first team during the 2023-24 campaign, a 6ft 2in player with an eye for goal, equally at home in a defensive or attacking midfield role, was restricted to 14 appearances last season. If a back injury was partly responsible, the best youngster to emerge from Newcastle's academy for a very long time faced stiff completion from Tonali, Guimarães and Joelinton for a starting spot in Howe's midfield trinity. The demands of a Champions League campaign should create more opportunities this term when Miley can show he is capable of providing real competition for Guimarães and co. At 27 Aaron Ramsdale has suffered three relegations from the Premier League (with Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Southampton), been bought by Arsenal for £30m and won five England caps. He joins on loan from Southampton and will compete with Nick Pope for a starting place. Howe, Ramsdale's old Bournemouth manager, admires his footwork and regards his former protege as the sort of goalkeeper needed to advance Newcastle's stylistic evolution. But is Ramsdale really a better all-round keeper than Pope? Can he recapture the form that once made him Arsenal's first choice? And can he assuage Newcastle's disappointment at seeing Manchester City hijack their move for Trafford, the gifted former Burnley goalkeeper?
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Mikel Arteta lands surprise new role alongside Arsenal position
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has vowed to help 'disrupt the game at the top level' after landing a surprise new role with a sportswear company. Arteta has been appointed global ambassador and direct of performance at Under Armour, with the Spaniard to work in the position alongside his role at the Gunners. The company said Arteta, 43, would provide guidance on product development, talent identification and leadership. He will also 'bring elite leadership, tactical insight and a relentless drive for performance to the brand's global vision', they said. 'The collaboration with Under Armour is the perfect opportunity for me to work with a partner committed to making young athletes better,' Arteta said. 'I'm passionate about providing a platform for the next generation of players coming through in football and the top level of talent already signed with the brand show that they are too. 'We share the same mentality in always striving for more by finding new ways to innovate and disrupt the game at the top level. Our values in pursuing greatness are closely aligned and together, I'm confident we're going to achieve great things in football.' The announcement comes just days ahead of the new Premier League season. Arteta's side will aim to go one better than their second place in the previous three campaigns. They begin the 2025-26 season with a visit to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United on Sunday. Arsenal have splurged £208million on revamping Arteta's squad, including the £64m signing of highly-rated striker Viktor Gyokeres.
