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Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman and third baseman for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, died Monday, per the Cubs. He was 65.

Sandberg was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer in 2024, and though he was briefly cancer-free later that year, the disease came back. He threw out the first pitch before Chicago's home opener as recently as April.

Born in Spokane, Wash., Sandberg was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies and played 13 games with them in 1981. He was traded to the Cubs in Jan. 1982 in a move the Phillies would come to sorely regret.

After two solid seasons as a regular, Sandberg became a superstar in 1984. He slashed .314/.367/.520 with 19 home runs and 84 RBIs, leading the National League in bWAR, runs and triples. With his help, Chicago stopped its infamous postseason drought at 39 years, winning the East Division title.

It was the first of 10 All-Star years with the Cubs, who he also helped make the playoffs in 1989. He led the league in runs on two other occasions, and added a 40-home run season in 1990.

Well-liked throughout the game and long a strident evangelist of baseball's fundamentals, Sandberg managed Philadelphia from 2013 to '15. He went 119-159 in three seasons.

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O Grêmio visita o São Luiz nesta quarta-feira (28), pela Recopa Gaúcha. A bola rola a partir das 19h30 (de Brasília), no Estádio 19 de Outubro, em Ijuí, com transmissão do SporTV e do Premiere.

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✅FICHA TÉCNICA
São Luiz x Grêmio
Final – Recopa Gaúcha

Data e horário: quarta-feira, 28 de fevereiro de 2024, às 19h30 (de Brasília)
Local: Estádio 19 de Outubro, em Ijuí (RS)
Onde assistir: SporTV e Premiere

⚽ PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES

SÃO LUIZ
Raul; João Vitor, Bruno Jesus, Thalheimer e Márcio Duarte; Lucas Hulk, Gabriel Davis, Dal Pian e Borasi; Sodré e Gabriel Pereira. Técnico: Alessandro Telles.

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GRÊMIO
Caíque; Fábio, Bruno Uvini, Gustavo Martins e Wesley; Ronald, Nathan, Galdino (Nathan Fernandes) e Rubens (Cristaldo); Besozzi (Pavon) e André Henrique. Técnico: Renato Portaluppi.

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Futebol NacionalGrêmioOnde assistir

Head coach defends planned break between Brisbane and Adelaide Tests with series on line

Matt Roller07-Dec-2025

Brendon McCullum claimed that his England team were “over-prepared” for the second Ashes Test in Brisbane and defended their planned trip to the resort town of Noosa before travelling to Adelaide.England trained five times – once at Allan Border Field, and four times at the Gabba – before the second Test, opting against pink-ball match practice against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra. They were heavily beaten, losing by eight wickets after four energy-sapping days in the heat, and McCullum suggested that their decision to ramp up their training had backfired.”Leading into this Test match, I actually felt like we over-prepared, to be honest,” McCullum told Australian broadcaster Channel 7. “We had five intense training days. When you’re in the heat of the battle, as we all know, sometimes the most important thing is to feel a little bit fresh and make sure your top two inches [of your head] is completely sound.Related

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McCullum in firing line as England batten down hatches

For England's batters, the heart seems unwilling and the mind unconvinced

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England at breaking point as Ashes dreams dismantled

“I think the boys just need a few days off, and probably need to just change up a few of the training methods a little bit. I’m a horse-racing man, and you wouldn’t just keep doing the same thing with your horse, you’d send it around in figure-eights or over the little jumps, just to try and switch it on a bit. We’ll look at some alternative methods over the next few days.”England’s preparation has been heavily criticised throughout this tour, specifically their decisions to play a single warm-up match against the Lions squad at Lilac Hill, a club ground in Perth, and to turn down the opportunity to play the pink-ball PM’s XI fixture between Tests. Stuart Broad described their bowlers as “undercooked”, while Michael Vaughan said on Sunday: “No one can tell me that this England management has given this England team the best chance [to win the series].”The squad and support staff will travel to a coastal resort in Noosa – two hours’ drive up the Queensland coast – on Tuesday for a four-night “mid-series break” which McCullum said would provide them with an opportunity to reflect on the first two Tests: “[It] will be good to spend a bit casually and just let the dust settle on what’s been a pretty intense couple of weeks and start to plot and plan our way back into the series.”England will then train three times – rather than five – in Adelaide before the third Test starts on December 17. Ben Stokes, their captain, also defended the Noosa trip, arguing it would be “very, very important” for his players to stay fresh and insulate themselves from the pressures of the tour after an intense start to the series.”We’ve been here four weeks, and it’s been pretty full-on, on and off the field,” Stokes said. “As physical as this game is, a huge part of it is also the mental side of it. I know that. I’ve experienced that. I know what the game can do to you when things aren’t quite feeling right or going well.”Trust me when I say that it is so, so important that teams… [can] go away as a team and almost put the pressures of this aside for a couple of days, that doesn’t mean that everything just disappears, and we don’t speak about what’s going on. Those conversations are constantly happening.”This is a high-pressure environment. We chose to do this. We’re lucky enough to do this. It comes with the job, but it’s also very, very important that when you do get the opportunity that you are able to go away and refresh your mind because obviously in [Adelaide] we need to be not only physically good, but mentally very good as well.”McCullum and Stokes both highlighted England’s shortcomings with the new ball as a turning point in the game, with McCullum saying they had bowled “terribly” as Australia raced to 130 for 1 in the 21 overs before tea on the second day. “We were trying too hard was my assessment of it,” McCullum said.”We identified that we had a reasonable score with the bat in the first innings, and we knew that there was quite a pivotal moment in the game if we were able to strike. Sometimes, when you do try too hard, you miss your execution, you tighten up, and you’re not able to apply the pressure. We’re honest with ourselves: we bowled terribly in that period, and Australia were able to canter along at a very strong strike rate.”Stokes held himself and Brydon Carse accountable, saying: “It was myself and Brydon who let all that pressure off. We weren’t able to sustain what Jofra [Archer] and Gus [Atkinson] did… Me and Brydon know that we weren’t able to back up that first spell, and we weren’t able to deliver the consistency that Australia delivered this whole Test match.”McCullum also cited England’s fielding as a major issue, after they dropped five catches in the first innings: “It is hard enough taking 10 wickets against a good side like that, let alone needing to take 15. There was areas with the bat where we were deficient, there were areas with the ball where we were deficient, and there were areas in the field where we were deficient.”

The 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) will have its final on a weekday (Thursday, February 5), and not over the weekend, for the first time, and feature two double-headers, both on Saturdays, after kicking off on January 9.The 28-day-long tournament will be played across two venues: Navi Mumbai, where India won the ODI World Cup in early November beating South Africa in the final, and Vadodara. The first 11 matches, including the two double-headers, will be played at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, and the remaining 11 matches, including the eliminator on February 3 and the final will be played at Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium.The dates and venues were confirmed by the WPL’s chairman, Jayesh George, on Thursday, the day of the WPL auction. All games bar the earlier fixture on the double-header days will be evening affairs.The week of the final is a busy one for multi-team competitions, with the men’s Under-19 World Cup finishing the day after the WPL final, on February 6, and the men’s T20 World Cup starting the following day, on February 7.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Apart from having a weekday final, this is the first time the WPL will be played in the January-February window. The first three seasons were played in February-March just before the start of the IPL. This will also be the first time the WPL will not clash with major international fixtures.Mumbai Indians (MI) are the defending champions of the WPL and have won two titles in three editions so far, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) the other past winners. Delhi Capitals (DC) have been runners-up in all three seasons. The other two teams, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz, have never made the title round.Ten days after the WPL ends, India will start an all-format tour of Australia, playing three T20Is, three ODIs and a Test from February 15 to March 9.

WPL 2026 schedule

Jan 9: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 10: UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 10: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 11: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 12: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs UP Warriorz
Jan 13: Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 14: UP Warriorz vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 15: Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriorz
Jan 16: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 17: UP Warriorz vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 17: Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Jan 19: Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 20: Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 22: Gujarat Giants vs UP Warriorz
Jan 24: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 26: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 27: Gujarat Giants vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 29: UP Warriorz vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 30: Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians
Feb 1: Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz
Feb 3: Eliminator
Feb 5: Final

Liverpool are waiting for this nightmare to end, rediscovering the form of last season under Arne Slot’s wing that led to the Premier League title and a summer of sweeping changes.

The signings made this summer were completed after meticulous research, but, nonetheless, the Reds have been dismal this year, lacking identity and inspiration. Even in victory have Liverpool given their opponents plenty of optimism.

It’s worth noting that Liverpool were far better defensively than has so often been the case this term, but this has done little to calm the anxieties of supporters who have been forced to accept a bleak new norm.

Among the bitter pills swallowed has been the form of captain Virgil van Dijk, the centre-back very much at the core of Liverpool’s problems this season and lacking solutions so often provided across his illustrious career at the club.

Virgil van Dijk's drop-off this season

Liverpool’s monster has been made mortal by the tailspin of Slot’s system this season. Ibrahima Konate’s struggles have no doubt been exacerbated by the slow recession of Van Dijk’s indomitability.

He is 34 years old, 35 at the end of the season. It is only natural that the Netherlands skipper should begin to wind down. However, it presents Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes with quite the conundrum as Konate edges toward the expiry of his £70k-per-week contract.

Liverpool signed Giovanni Leoni from Parma for about £27m this summer, but the 18-year-old Italian tore his ACL on his debut against Southampton and is not expected back until the start of next season.

The Italian would have offered a much-needed dimension over the past few months, allowing Slot to enforce more rotation, with Konate having started each of his side’s Premier League fixtures this season despite his rut. Van Dijk is now foundering beside him.

Change is needed, and with the winter transfer window approaching, it’s clear that Liverpool need a centre-back.

Liverpool targeting centre-back this January

As per TEAMtalk, Liverpool are set to table a bid for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi this winter, having reopened direct communications this week with the player’s agents after fumbling a deal to sign him in August.

Guehi is out of contract at Selhurst Park at the end of the season, and while Liverpool had a clean shot at the 25-year-old at the start of the season, notably even agreeing personal terms with the player, rival interest is now sure to be thick, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid considered suitors.

Sources suggest FSG are willing to offer around £25m for Guehi’s signature in January, paying something of a premium for one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League.

What Guehi would bring to Liverpool

Guehi could well be plying his craft for Liverpool right now, but it wasn’t to be as sporting director Richard Hughes gambled and left it late, Palace barring the door at the eleventh hour after failing to find a replacement.

It’s a real shame. Guehi is a seasoned Premier League star who just keeps on evolving. He has been hailed as a “monster in defence” by Palace reporter Bobby Manzi, but he is so much more.

As per data-driven site FBref, Guehi ranks among the top 7% of central defenders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for through balls, the top 6% for assists and shot-creating actions, and the top 15% for tackles won per 90.

If Liverpool succeed in completing a deal for the two-footed centre-half this winter, it could carry the weight of that one-time signing of Van Dijk, who joined from Southampton midway through the 2017/18 season for a £75m fee.

Van Dijk needs no introduction. He is one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history, a titan of the game.

He dovetailed into Jurgen Klopp’s exciting team and reinforced it with steel. He was the mortar which filled in the cracks and created a superteam.

Big boots to fill, but Guehi has been extensively profiled and could emulate the Netherlands man by arriving at the season’s midpoint, providing that dearly desired relief.

After such incredible success in recent years, it is staggering that Liverpool have plummeted so far beneath their expected level. This borders on a crisis, and one signing won’t stop the rot for good, but Guehi has the combative, confident defensive style to help put the Reds back on track, with his quality in the build-up something that Konate simply doesn’t possess.

It’s Van Dijk-esque, and given that Guehi would be arriving in January after previous attempts to sign him, this could have the much-needed echoes of that euphoric deal.

Fewer touches than Alisson & only 2 passes: Liverpool flop must be dropped

Arne Slot has a huge call to make about one player after his showing for Liverpool last night.

2 ByEthan Lamb Dec 4, 2025

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O Palmeiras estreia no Brasileirão 2024 neste domingo (14), quando encara o Vitória, no Barradão, dando início a caminhada rumo ao tricampeonato nacional.

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Tricampeão paulista após 90 anos, na semana passada, o Verdão busca agora o tricampeonato brasileiro, algo que jamais aconteceu em quase 110 anos de história do clube.

O Verdão só teve duas chances de faturar o Brasileirão por três anos consecutivos em sua história, e foram nas temporadas de 1974 e 1995.

Ao Canal 11 de Portugal, Abel Ferreira falou sobre a estreia no Brasileirão e afirmou ao veículo de seu país que vai fazer de tudo para defender o bicampeonato:

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— Não somos os favoritos. Aqui há seis. Internacional, Flamengo, Botafogo, Palmeiras, Atlético-MG e há sempre um ou outro que aparece, como foi no ano passado com o Red Bull Bragantino, mas vamos defender o que é nosso com unhas e dentes, isso eu posso garantir – disse Abel.

Uncapped Hampshire fast bowler in XI for opening game of series at Headingley

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2025Sonny Baker, the Hampshire fast bowler, will make his international debut in the first match of England’s ODI series with South Africa at Headingley on Tuesday.Baker, 22, has only played 11 List A games but caught the eye during the Hundred, where he took nine wickets in seven appearances for Manchester Originals. Capable of pushing the speed gun up to 90mph/145kph, he impressed with the Lions over the winter and was handed an England development contract earlier this year.He will be joined in England’s pace attack by Jofra Archer, playing his first ODI since the Champions Trophy, and Brydon Carse. Harry Brook captains the XI in his second series since taking charge, while Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett will continue to bed in their opening partnership.Related

Overton's shock decision sounds alarm bells for England schedule

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Sonny Baker awarded England Men's development contract

Sonny Baker wins first England call-up, Jacob Bethell to captain in Ireland

Baker, Tongue and Buttler seal victory for Originals

Brook said that England were “excited to see where he goes” after Baker’s performances in the Hundred, noting in particular his duels with Kane Williamson, David Warner, Steven Smith and Jonny Bairstow while playing for Originals.”He’s been awesome in the Hundred,” Brook said. “We’ve seen him bowl at some of the best batters in the world and he had them on toast, so it’s been really good to see. He bowls at high pace and he can swing it both ways with exceptional death skills as well. To have him in the team and for him to be opening up tomorrow is awesome. I think there’s quite a lot of people excited to see where he goes.”There have been a few moments. The spells he bowled to Williamson and Warner and then Smith and Bairstow, all four are world-class batters in the shorter format and he was all over them. He bowled with high pace and high skill. He was awesome to watch this year and everyone was talking about him.”On the day that Jamie Overton shelved first-class cricket, Brook agreed that Baker could potentially force himself into the equation for the Ashes: “I don’t select the red-ball side, but yeah, he’s obviously done really well this summer and we’ll see how he goes tomorrow. He’s bowling at high pace with a lot of skill, and it looks like he has quite a lot about him as well.”England XI for 1st ODI: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Sonny Baker

ظهر كودي جاكبو، لاعب فريق ليفربول، في مؤتمر صحفي اليوم للحديث عن مباراة آيندهوفن المرتقبة في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، مساء يوم الأربعاء.

ويستضيف ملعب “الأنفيلد” مباراة فريقي ليفربول وآيندهوفن في إطار منافسات الجولة الخامسة من دوري أبطال أوروبا، مرحلة الدوري، موسم 2025/26.

وقال جاكبو في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “ليفربول إيكو” الإنجليزية: “اللعب ضد آيندهوفن؟ حسنًا، من الواضح أنه أمر مميز للغاية، لقد كنت هناك لفترة طويلة، لدي ذكريات كثيرة، إنه لأمر مميز، لقد تعلمت الكثير هنا كلاعب، ونضجت كشخص خارج الملعب أيضًا”.

وعن السبب وراء اختفاء المرونة في ليفربول مؤخرًا، قال: “لا أعرف أين ذهبت، لكن علينا أن نحاول استعادة ذلك، نعلم أننا في وضع صعب، علينا أن نتكاتف، وهذا ما نحاول فعله داخل الملعب وخارجه، ذهنيًا وأدائيًا”.

وأضاف: “لم تكن هذه أفضل فتراتنا وعلينا أن نكافح من أجل تجاوز ذلك، نعلم أننا قادرون على ذلك، فقد قدمنا ​​أداءً جيدًا مثل ذلك الذي قدمناه ضد ريال مدريد، لكن علينا مواصلة القتال، الأهم هو أن نبقى متحدين مهما حدث”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. سلوت: لم أتوقع التواجد بهذا الموقف.. نتائج ليفربول لا تليق به وتلقيت صفقة قوية

وواصل: “نطالب بعضنا البعض بالمزيد، إذ يجب أن نؤدي بشكل أفضل وهذا ما يستحقه النادي والجماهير، نحن صادقون مع بعضنا البعض، ونقول إن بعض الأمور يجب أن تتحسن للعودة إلى ذلك المستوى”.

واسترسل: “تجاهل الضجيج من الخارج؟ قد يكون الأمر صعبًا، إذا كنت لا ترغب في قراءة أي شيء أو استيعاب أي شيء، فمن شبه المستحيل القيام بذلك في الوقت الحاضر مع وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي والإنترنت، ولكن إذا كنا معًا في غرفة الملابس، يمكننا اكتساب الثقة من بعضنا البعض، يمكننا أن نتحسن إذا فعلنا ذلك”.

وأفاد: “في آيندهوفن واجهنا الكثير من المشاكل (عندما كان لاعبًا هناك) وواجهنا صعوبات، فهم من أكبر الأندية في هولندا، لذلك كان الأمر صعبًا، الأمر لا يختلف هنا، لكن على مستوى مختلف، وهذا يجلب معه الكثير من المزايا”.

وفيما يخص الثقة، قال: “إذا فزت بالعديد من المباريات وسارت الأمور كما تريد، ستشعر دائمًا بتحسن أكبر من خسارتك، نحن نعلم مدى جودتنا وقد أظهرنا ذلك أحيانًا هذا الموسم، وبالتأكيد الموسم الماضي، علينا فقط أن نتحسن”.

وأكد: “يتحمل المدرب مسؤولية ذلك، لكن اللاعبين يتحملون مسؤولية كبيرة تجاه أنفسهم وتجاه المدرب والجماهير، نحن نعرف ما يمكننا فعله، أنا أتحمل المسؤولية بالتأكيد”.

واستأنف: “ليس الأمر جيدًا، كانت هناك مباريات تعادلنا فيها، ثم خسرنا في الدقائق الأخيرة، كريستال بالاس وتشيلسي ومانشستر يونايتد، أظهرنا قدرتنا على العودة، لكننا لم نحافظ على ذلك، علينا ألا نتأخر ثم نسجل المزيد من الأهداف، لا أريد حقًا أن أقول إن هذا يؤثر فيك، ولكن عندما يحدث ذلك مرتين، فنعم، لهذا السبب نتدرب لتغيير ذلك”.

وعن اللاعبين الجدد، قال: “في كل مرة ينضم لاعب جديد، يتطلب الأمر بعض التأقلم مع المحيطين به، إنها عملية مستمرة وتسير على ما يرام، لكن عدم فوزنا بالمباريات لا يساعد، نحن نتحسن، لكن عدم فوزنا قد يصبح موضوعًا للنقاش.

وعما يدور في غرفة الملابس، قال: “شعرنا ببعض الإحراج بعد مباراة السبت، فقد خسرنا 3-0 على أرضنا أمام جماهيرنا، نعلم أنهم هنا لمساعدتنا في كل موقف صعب، ولكن علينا أن نرد لهم الجميل أيضًا، في الأيام التي تلت ذلك، لا أريد أن أقول إننا كنا غاضبين لكننا حاولنا التحدث معًا وأن نكون صادقين مع بعضنا حول ما يجب علينا فعله لتحسين أدائنا على أرض الملعب”.

وأصر: “نعلم أيضًا أنه يجب علينا التكاتف لتقديم أداء جيد وتحقيق الانتصارات، الجميع يدرك أهمية تحمل المسؤولية داخل الملعب وخارجه، كان هذا مجرد حديث مع زميل في الفريقولم يكن اجتماعًا فعليًا، لكننا ندرك أهمية تحمل المسؤولية، هذا ما تحدثنا عنه، نحن صادقون، وإلا فلا جدوى من الحديث”.

وما إذا كان يتحدث مع لاعبي آيندهوفن حتى الآن، قال: “أتحدث مع شخص ما من وقت لآخر، جميع اللاعبين الذين كانوا حاضرين معي، لا أتحدث عن المباراة، لا أتحدث عن هذا، بل أتحدث عن سير الأمور وحالهم”.

The Sun Group’s first payments for the Northern Superchargers franchise will be made on Thursday after which Yorkshire will clear their debts

Matt Roller31-Jul-2025Yorkshire will start to clear debts of £25 million on Thursday when the first payments from the sale of Northern Superchargers are made by the Sun Group. Yorkshire were the only host county to sell the whole of their 51% interest in their Hundred team onto external investors due to the club’s perilous financial position, and the deal is one of six that has now been completed.The Sun Group, an Indian media conglomerate who also own Sunrisers Hyderabad (IPL) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SA20), bid just over £100 million to buy the Superchargers earlier this year. Their first payments, worth around £50m, will be made on Thursday, with the remainder due later this year once they have assumed operational control of the franchise.Yorkshire’s accounts state that the club received loans worth a combined £5.8m from “a group of committed individuals” – including chairman Colin Graves – in the last financial year, while loans worth a combined £14.9m from the Graves Trusts are due to be repaid by October. Sanjay Patel, the club chief executive, said that clearing those debts is Yorkshire’s “first priority”.Related

• The Hundred to introduce player auction for 2026 season

• Hundred squads face 2026 'reset' in bid for competitive balance

• Hundred's 'transition' year is relying on Test star Steven Smith as headline act

• Richard Gould: Hundred equity sale can future-proof county cricket for '20-25 years'

• Sun Group secures 100% stake in Northern Superchargers

“The deal puts the club in a strong financial position, which has been far from the case for many years here, and we can start looking towards a very bright future,” Patel said on Wednesday. “The first priority is clearing our debts. We will then be looking at how we can invest the surplus funds to not only safeguard the future, but enable us to flourish.”Yorkshire last month incorporated a new subsidiary called Headingley Investment Limited, which is intended to generate profits that will then be reinvested. Patel added: “Yorkshire Cricket now has an opportunity to thrive, from the recreational game all the way through to our professional teams, and we will be focused on planning the next chapter in the club’s long history over the coming months.”The Sun Group have already told the ECB that they intend to change the name of the franchise next year and ESPNcricinfo has learned that ‘Sunrisers Leeds’ and ‘Northern Super Sunrisers’ are being considered. Two other teams are also likely to be renamed, with Manchester Originals becoming ‘Manchester Super Giants’ and Oval Invincibles becoming either ‘MI Oval’ or ‘MI London’.Yorkshire will receive 80% of the money raised from their decision to sell their 51% stake in the franchise, with the rest shared between the other first-class counties (10%) and the recreational game (10%). They will also receive their share of the funds raised from the sale of the ECB’s minority stakes in the other seven franchises.Lancashire (21%) and Glamorgan (1%) also opted to sell part of their shares in their franchises – Manchester Originals and Welsh Fire respectively – and each county will receive around £400,000 on Thursday of “unfettered” funds linked to those sales. The ECB will control the way in which funds from the sale of their stakes are spent with “guardrails” designed to ensure “sustainability”.The ECB held a board meeting on Wednesday to clear the first payments to counties, and chief executive Richard Gould said that Yorkshire would receive a “very significant” sum this week. “Often when something is sold, the money gets taken and it’s put into a yacht that’s parked off the Bahamas,” Gould said. “Here, all of this – every single penny – is going back into the game.”Gould also attempted to dissuade non-host counties from expanding their stadiums specifically in the hope of hosting a franchise if the Hundred expands, saying that minimum capacity requirements would be around 7-8,000. “We’re not looking to see investment going into creating white elephants,” he said. “What we don’t want is a load of empty plastic seats.”Vikram Banerjee, the Hundred’s managing director, also revealed that there are still minor details to resolve in Surrey’s deal with Reliance Industries Limited for Oval Invincibles, though all parties are confident that it will be signed by early October. Nottinghamshire’s deal with Cain International and Ares Management is the other that is yet to be completed, but Banerjee said the deal is “fully there”.”We offered all the investors the opportunity to sign and close immediately, whenever the legals were all done… or close formally at the end of the season,” Banerjee said. “Those two chose that months ago.”Trent Rockets, they’re all there bar the singing (sic). The documents are all signed and all the rest of it is fully there. With the Oval Invincibles, there are, I think, three things left on their venue-hire stuff that they’re working through. They’re small things. It’ll be a matter of weeks, and that’ll get signed out.”Banerjee will lead a meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss the Hundred’s regulations around player recruitment for 2026, with some teams pushing for a shift to an auction rather than the existing draft. Rashid Khan and Steven Smith have already signed for teams where they have affiliations with incoming investors for the 2025 season, which starts on August 5.

Vidarbha allrounder Harsh Dubey chipped in with 84 in a game where Rishabh Pant took body blows

Shashank Kishore08-Nov-2025Dhruv Jurel struck his fifth first-class century and second in the match, to strengthen his case for a middle-order spot in next week’s first South Africa Test in Kolkata.Jurel struck an unbeaten 127, rescuing a floundering India A innings for the second time in the match, as they declared on 382 for 7, setting South Africa A 417 to win in a little over three sessions. The visitors were 25 for 0 at stumps, with openers Lesego Senokwane and Jordan Hermann surviving 11 testing overs from Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna.Siraj was particularly menacing, testing the inside and outside edge of Senokwane in his last two overs, where there were as many as three appeals for caught behind that were turned down – all superb decisions by umpire Akshay Totare – before he shouldered arms and survived a close leave to one that just missed the off stump. Siraj’s spell read 6-2-10-0.Related

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Jurel came in to bat with India A reeling at 108 for 4 when Rishabh Pant, the captain, retired hurt on 17 after copping multiple blows on the body and helmet by fast bowler Tshepo Moreki. Prior to this, India had lost KL Rahul after he managed to add just one to his overnight 26 when he was bowled off a nip-backer from Okuhle Cele.Jurel found an ally in allrounder Harsh Dubey, who took on the role of the aggressor early on in their partnership. Having had very little bowling to do in the first innings, Dubey proved his batting chops in making 84 as he put on 184 for the sixth wicket with Jurel. Dropped at slip off the very first delivery, Dubey used his feet well to loft spinners Prenelan Subrayen and Kyle Simmonds down the ground. He was also excellent while sweeping.At the other end, Jurel blunted a fired-up Moreki by defending with a straight bat and playing as close as he could to the body. Against spin, there were no half measures: he was either fully forward while driving, or assured while rocking back to cut. For much of his innings, Jurel hardly played across the line.On 49, Jurel had a massive slice of luck when he lunged forward to defend a sharp turner from Subrayen as the ball bounced back onto the stumps in a manner reminiscent of Siraj’s dismissal at Lord’s off Shoaib Bashir to signal England’s victory earlier this year, except this time the bails remained intact. To his credit, Jurel cashed in on that luck, getting past a half-century – it took him 83 deliveries to get there – and then shifting gears to cruise past three-figures.South Africa A took the second new ball immediately upon being available and struck off the second delivery when Dubey was out driving to the slips. That is when Pant returned to bat and quickly pounced on anything loose to charge towards a half-century. Pant got hit for a fourth time with a short ball, from Tiaan van Vuuren, the left-arm seamer, as he tried to pull. On 65, he attempted a slog that he top-edged to the wicketkeeper to drag the innings to a close.