South Africa’s only men’s home international series this summer, against West Indies, has been reduced from five T20Is to three because of a clash with the T20 World Cup.As reported by ESPNcricinfo last week, the matches, which were originally scheduled between January 27 and February 6, now have to end by January 31 when the T20 World Cup support period begins. As a result, two matches have been culled from the fixtures’ list.The biggest casualties of the change are Newlands in Cape Town and Buffalo Park in East London, who will no longer host matches. The three games will be played at Boland Park in Paarl, SuperSport Park in Centurion and the Wanderers in Johannesburg on January 27, 29 and 31 respectively. With no ODI cricket at home this season, the final T20I will become “Pink Day” – an annual occasion in which the South African men’s team wears pink and raises funds and awareness for breast cancer treatment.”While we are disappointed that Newlands Cricket Ground will no longer host a Proteas versus West Indies fixture as originally planned, we understand the need to accommodate the ICC’s updated tournament calendar and the associated support period for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026,” Western Province said in a statement on Wednesday*.”Newlands has a proud tradition of hosting world-class international cricket, and we remain committed to providing a premier venue experience for players, fans, and stakeholders. WPCA will continue to engage proactively with CSA to ensure future opportunities for international content in Cape Town.”South Africa have also added three Under-19 one-dayers against India, to be played between January 3 and 7 at Willowmoore Park in Benoni as preparation for the Under-19 World Cup. That tournament is being co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia from mid-January, with fixtures yet to be released.The current world Test champions have a curtailed home summer partly because they are playing abroad until December 19. They begin their WTC title defence in Pakistan next month, along with three ODIs and three T20Is. That will be followed by an all-format tour to India, which consists of two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is.The other reason for the lack of home fixtures is that venues around the country are being prepared for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be held between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and drop-in surfaces are being developed around the country.The home season will be headlined by the SA20, which starts on Boxing Day and continues throughout the festive season.

Napoli are reportedly in talks to sign Liverpool winger Federico Chiesa, with discussions said to be "underway" between the Serie A champions and the player's agent. Despite Chiesa's positive start to the season with two goals and three assists, he has yet to start a Premier League game, prompting Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso to reportedly urge the winger to return to his native shores for consistent playing time.

Napoli opens talks for Federico Chiesa

Napoli are actively pursuing a deal to sign Liverpool attacker, with discussions reportedly initiated between the Italian club and the player's agent. The Serie A champions are keen to bolster their offensive unit and have identified Chiesa as a primary target for the upcoming January transfer window.

According to journalist Emanuele Cammaroto, writing for NapoliMagazine, "discussions are underway" regarding Chiesa's situation at Liverpool. The 28-year-old Italian international has seen limited playing time in the Premier League this season, failing to make a single start despite contributing two goals and one assist in eight league appearances, and two goals and three assists in 12 appearances across all competitions.

Napoli's proposed deal involves an initial loan with an option to buy in January, with a potential value of €13 million (£11m/$14m). While Liverpool are not entirely against Chiesa's departure, they are reportedly insisting on an obligation to buy clause in any loan agreement. Napoli's strategy is to first secure an agreement with the player before finalising terms with Liverpool.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportItaly manager Gennaro Gattuso urges Chiesa's Serie A return

A significant factor influencing Chiesa's potential move back to Italy is the direct intervention of Italy national team manager Gennaro Gattuso. It has been reported that Gattuso has "specifically asked Chiesa to return to Italy," indicating a desire for the winger to gain consistent playing time to maintain his sharpness for international duty.

Chiesa has had a complex relationship with the national team recently, having turned down call-ups for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Norway. He has not represented the Azzurri since Euro 2024, where Italy exited in the round of 16. Gattuso confirmed in September that it was a "shared decision" for Chiesa to focus on his club commitments, stating: "He didn’t feel ready to return; he wants to be 100%. We decided it together very calmly."

However, the current sentiment from Gattuso, urging a return to Serie A, suggests that the manager believes a move back to Italy would be beneficial for Chiesa's career at a "crossroads," particularly with the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon. This could play a key role in Chiesa's decision-making process.

Chiesa's limited Liverpool game time despite positive contributions

Despite his relatively strong start to the season in terms of goal contributions, Federico Chiesa has struggled to earn regular starts under manager Arne Slot at Liverpool. He has only accumulated 344 minutes of game time across 12 appearances, with Arne Slot showing little inclination to start him in the Premier League. This trend is consistent with last season, where Chiesa played only 466 minutes in the Premier League.

Chiesa's limited minutes come despite positive individual performances. He was even named Liverpool's Player of the Month in September, having scored twice and assisted three goals. He acknowledged the high competition at Liverpool, telling Daily Mail Sport: "If I don’t want competition, I go to another team. But I want the competition! I want to play here and think it helps me become a better player."

However, the reports suggest that this desire for competition is being overshadowed by a lack of consistent starting opportunities, which could impact his standing with the national team, especially with Gattuso's clear preference for his return to Italy.

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Napoli's transfer budget and other targets

Napoli's interest in Chiesa aligns with their broader strategy to reinforce the squad, with club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis reportedly ready to allocate a winter transfer budget of around €50 million (£44m/$58m) to back manager Antonio Conte. Conte is keen on adding more firepower to his attacking options, and Chiesa's versatility as a wide attacker who can operate on both wings or as a second striker makes him an attractive proposition for adopting different formations.

The Serie A champions have had Chiesa on their radar for a long time, indicating a sustained interest in the player. While the move would depend on Liverpool's stance, Napoli appear determined to secure his services.

Mumbai Indians upped their six-hitting on the big night, to knock Gujarat Giants out

Namooh Shah13-Mar-20257-0 – Mumbai Indians’ (MI) record against Gujarat Giants, MI are the only team to remain unbeaten against an opponent in the WPL.213 for 4 – MI registered their highest total in the WPL, going past the 207 for 5 they made against the same opponent in 2023. It is also the third-joint highest total across WPLs.5 – Fifty-plus scores by Natalie Sciver-Brunt in this WPL so far, the most by any batter in one season. Three other batters have four fifty-plus scores in one edition of the WIPL.ESPNcricinfo Ltd122 – Total runs scored by MI during the middle overs (7-16) in the Eliminator – the most by any team in a WPL innings, bettering the 121 runs scored by UP Warriorz against RCB last week.133 – Partnership runs between Hayley Matthews and Sciver-Brunt in the Eliminator – the joint-highest stand for MI, equalling their own record against UPW this season in Bengaluru. It was also the third century partnership between the pair, the joint-most by a pair in the WPL alongside Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning for Delhi Capitals.9 – Sixes hit by MI – the most they have hit in a WPL match. The MI batters hit a six every 13.33 balls on Thursday, nearly three times their ratio of 43.28 during the league stage. They were able to hit only 21 sixes in the league matches, the least by any team, and they hit no more than four sixes in any of those eight matches.4 – Number of boundaries Giants conceded through misfields in the Eliminator. In addition, they also put down four catches and missed a run-out chance.22 – Runs Priya Mishra’s drop of Harmanpreet Kaur in the 17th over cost Giants, as per ESPNcricinfo’s Luck Index. Harmanpreet had faced only three balls for two runs at that point, including a run that came from the dropped chance.In the next nine balls, she scored 34 runs with four sixes and two fours. According to the algorithm, the other MI batters would have scored only 13 runs in the nine balls that Harmanpreet faced after the reprieve.Giants dropped Matthews twice – when she was on 5 and 42. Those two catches cost them 9 and 12 runs respectively, as per ESPNcricinfo’s Luck Index.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has done very well to navigate the club’s list of injury problems this campaign, particularly in attack.

Arsenal are currently sweating over the fitness of Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres as they prepare for the North London derby against Tottenham right after the international break.

Arteta, depending on developments, faces another potential selection headache in the final third, but makeshift number nine Mikel Merino has once again done well to fill the void left by Gyokeres since his injury against Burnley.

Most of the aforementioned stars are racing to be fit for their clash with Tottenham on November 23, with Havertz and Madueke believed to have impressed Arsenal rehab staff in their recoveries from knee problems.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 1-1 Man City

Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal

Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Unfortunately for Jesus, the derby comes too soon for him, despite returning to full training, and he’ll be the last Arsenal star to make his comeback after rupturing his ACL against Man United in January (Simon Collings).

Even without a large number of their attacking contingent, Arsenal have still marked themselves out as the team to beat — thanks largely to their imperious defence and set-piece dominance.

The Gunners have scored eight goals from corners in their opening 11 top flight games this season, the most ever recorded by any team at this stage of a Premier League campaign. Their 36 corner goals since the start of last season tops all of Europe too, with set-piece coach Nicolas Jover largely credited for Arsenal’s superb dead ball threat.

They also recorded eight consecutive clean sheets before the 2-2 draw with Sunderland last weekend, equalling a club record that had stood for 122 years since 1903, and they still boast the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues, having conceded just five in all competitions so far.

While Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have taken a lot of the credit for being two of world football’s best centre-backs right now, you cannot underestimate the impact of Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori in the full-back areas.

Ray Parlour has described them as two of Arsenal’s players of the season so far, with Calafiori’s form even prompting reports that Myles Lewis-Skelly could leave in January due to a lack of game time.

The last thing Arteta needs is an injury concern for the Italian, but according to TUTTOmercatoWEB, that’s exactly what he’s got.

Riccardo Calafiori nursing hip injury as Arsenal learn recovery timeline

According to the Italian news outlet, Calafiori is managing a hip problem on international duty, raising concerns ahead of Tottenham.

The Italian national team are preparing for two critical World Cup 2026 qualifying matches against Moldova and Norway, but the versatile defender’s availability has been called into question.

During Italy’s training session under manager Gennaro Gattuso, Calafiori was spotted completing individual work away from the main group due to discomfort in his hip.

The 22-year-old is being carefully managed by the medical staff as they assess the severity of the issue and determine the best course of action, but there is optimism for Arsenal, as Arteta learns his expected recovery timeline.

Calafiori remains with the Italy squad rather than being sent home, suggesting the injury is not considered serious enough to warrant an immediate return to Arsenal. While the former Bologna star is expected to miss their clash with Moldova, Azzurri officials are targeting a return for Calafiori against Norway instead — allowing him time to recover.

Arsenal will be praying this doesn’t turn out to be more serious and he can in fact feature against Spurs, but all the signs appear good so far.

Arteta will be monitoring the situation closely, hoping Calafiori can avoid aggravating the injury during Italy’s fixtures. With the North London derby looming, Arsenal cannot afford to lose the key defender, particularly given the importance of maintaining their excellent defensive record that has underpinned their phenomenal start to the season.

Visitors ensure third-placed finish, while Kent pick up the wooden spoon

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay27-Sep-2025Derbyshire 698 for 6 dec (Reece 211, Madsen 198, Andersson 85, Donald 55, Dal 52*) beat Kent 271 (Ekansh 71, Dawkins 61, Morley 5-99) and 198 (Compton 65, Evison 53, Reece 5-63) by an innings and 229 runsDerbyshire routed Kent by an innings and 229 runs in their final Rothesay County Championship match of the season at Canterbury.Luis Reece, who scored 211 in Derbyshire’s only innings, took 5 for 63, while Ben Aitchison and Zak Chappell both took two wickets apiece as the visitors sealed third place in Division Two. Ben Compton was Kent’s top scorer with 65 but the home side already knew they would finish bottom, regardless of the outcome.Kent began day four on 135 for 5 in their second innings, 291 behind, and their tissue-paper thin hopes of avoiding defeat faded when they lost Harry Finch in the fourth over of the morning, lbw to Aitchison for 14.Aitchison, whose sister Holly is in the England squad for today’s Rugby World Cup final with Canada, then got the key wicket of Compton, again lbw and although Corey Flintoff hung around for 35 balls, he eventually pulled Chappell straight to Aneurin Donald at square leg and was caught for 11.Grant Stewart gave a sparse crowd some entertainment, hooking Chappell for six, but the bowler than had Matt Parkinson caught by Donald at short leg for a six-ball duck.The visitors concluded a win that had looked inevitable for the best part of three days when Michael Cohen flashed at Reece and was caught by a diving Brooke Guest, also without scoring. The wicket meant Reece became only the 51st person worldwide to score a double-century and take five wickets in a first-class match.

Captain suffers another in-match injury as batting collapses in his absence

Firdose Moonda07-Sep-2025Temba Bavuma has suffered a left calf strain in the field in the third ODI against England and will only bat if required. The severity of the injury is yet to be determined but the niggle may cause some alarm bells for South African cricket. There are five weeks until they begin their World Test Championship title defence in Pakistan.This is Bavuma’s second in-match injury this year, after he strained his hamstring early in his innings during the World Test Championship final in June. On that occasion, he continued batting and made 66 in a match-winning 147 run third-wicket partnership with Aiden Markram. However, he missed South Africa’s Tests in ZImbabwe in July as he recovered from the injury.”It is a little bit sore now. I will know properly when I get home,” Bavuma said, when asked about the seriousness of his injury.Bavuma returned to action in the ODI series against Australia last month, where he played two of the three matches as his workload was managed. That was due to continue in this series but Bavuma has started all three matches. He is not part of the T20 squad and will next be in action in the Tests in mid-October.The latest setback will also be a concern for Bavuma as he looks to build towards the 2027 home ODI World Cup, where he hopes to lead South Africa. Bavuma will be 37 at the time of the tournament and, given his history of injury, may not be fit enough to play through the event. Bavuma had a hamstring injury at the 2023 World Cup and again in Tests against India later that year. He also has a long-standing elbow injury and bats with heavy strapping.In his absence, South Africa collapsed to 72 all out and a record 342-run loss in the third ODI, with Wiaan Mulder – Bavuma’s replacement at No.3 – falling for a duck.

MatériaMais Notícias

Carlos Miguel novamente foi o nome do jogo no Corinthians. O goleiro salvou o Timão em diversas ocasiões durante a vitória sobre o Nacional-PAR, pela quarta rodada da fase de grupos da Sul-Americana, e foi exaltado pela Fiel.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansSem brilho, Corinthians vence o Nacional-PAR e ‘respira’ na Sul-AmericanaCorinthians07/05/2024Fora de CampoTorcedores do Corinthians detonam opção de António Oliveira por meia: ‘Medo de jogar’Fora de Campo07/05/2024

➡️A boa do Lance! Betting: vamos dobrar seu primeiro depósito, até R$200! Basta abrir sua conta!

Carlos Miguel completou seu quarto jogo como titular na meta do Corinthians, sua maior sequência desde que chegou ao Corinthians.

➡️ Siga o Lance! Corinthians no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Timão

A tendência é que Carlos Miguel seja mantido como titular no confronto do Corinthians deste sábado (11), contra o Flamengo, pelo Brasileirão.

✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
NACIONAL-PAR 0 X 2 CORINTHIANS
COPA SUL-AMERICANA – FASE DE GRUPOS – QUARTA RODADA

➡️ Veja tabela com datas e horários de todos os jogos da Sul-Americana

🗓️ Data e horário: terça-feira, 7 de maio de 2024, às 19h (de Brasília)
📍 Local: Estádio Defensores del Chaco, em Assunção, no Paraguai
GOLS: Yuri Alberto e Matheuzinho
🟨 Árbitro: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
🚩 Assistentes: Alberto Ponte (VEN) e Freker Colmemares (VEN)
🖥️ VAR: Carlos Orbe (EQU)

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⚽ESCALAÇÕES
NACIONAL-PAR (Técnico: Victor Bernay)
Antony Silva; Juan Luis Alfaro, Brian Blasi, Alexis Cañete, Leonardo Conge; Leandro Meza, Juan Fernando Alfaro, Gustavo Caballero, Benítez; Diego Duarte e Ignacio Bailone

CORINTHIANS (Técnico: António Oliveira)
Carlos Miguel; Fágner, Cacá, Felix Torres e Hugo; Paulinho, Breno Bidon e Rodrigo Garro; Wesley, Gustavo Mosquito e Romero (Yuri Alberto)

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Carlos MiguelCorinthiansSul-Americana

In both of his first two MLB seasons, Paul Skenes has posted a sub-2.00 ERA. This is a feat many pitchers dream of and Skenes has already accomplished this twice.

At 23 years old, Skenes is the youngest MLB pitcher since 1985, when 20-year-old Dwight Gooden posted a 1.53 ERA, to come in below 2.00. Skenes's achievement is something that shouldn't go unnoticed.

However, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year was critical of his ERA when speaking after Wednesday night's game. They do say you are your own biggest critic.

"I'm actually worse than I was last year," Skenes said, via ESPN. "It was 1.96 last year. I'm 1.97 this year. Just got to be better. No, it's cool. I don't come into the year with any numerical goals."

Skenes is the top contender for winning the NL Cy Young Award this season, and with the stats he put up this season, it's completely understandable why. Across 187.2 innings pitched in his sophomore season, Skenes threw 216 strikeouts (tied for third-most in the league) and notched a 0.95 WHIP. His ERA and WHIP from this season are numbers the Pirates haven't seen in over 100 years—his ERA is the second-best behind Wilbur Cooper's 1.87 in 1916 and his WHIP is the second-lowest in franchise history behind Babe Adams's 0.90 in 1919.

Being a home plate umpire at the major league level isn't the easiest job in the world and mistakes are often made thanks partly to pitchers throwing really nasty stuff these days and, well, the element of human error.

The latter of that was on display during Wednesday's Diamondacks-Rangers game in Arlington when Derek Thomas messed up something that should be easy for home plate umpires to keep track of—the count.

Arizona's Adrian Del Castillo was up in the fifth inning with two runners on. Thomas then rang him up on a called strike, only to quickly realize that was just the second strike of Del Castillo's at-bat. Thomas quickly corrected himself and let everyone know that it wasn't a strikeout.

The announcers had a good laugh over this:

Del Castillo lined the next pitch to right field for a hit and then Thomas redeemed himself by making an easy call at home plate as Ketel Martel was thrown out trying to score.

Still, you have to think Thomas might hear a thing or two from his umpiring buddies over that glaring mistake on what was strike two.

تحدث محمود عبد الرازق شيكابالا، لاعب منتخب مصر ونادي الزمالك السابق، عن تعادل المنتخب أمام الكويت في مباراة الجولة الأولى التي أقيمت بينهما اليوم الثلاثاء، في كأس العرب 2025.

والتقى منتخبا مصر والكويت، في المباراة الأولى من افتتاح مشوارهما بدور المجموعات من بطولة كأس العرب المقامة في قطر.

وانتهى اللقاء بالتعادل الإيجابي بين المنتخبين، بهدف لمثله، حيث تقدم منتخب الكويت عن طريق فهد الهاجري وتعادل لـ مصر محمد مجدي أفشة.

طالع | ترتيب مجموعة مصر في كأس العرب 2025 بعد التعادل مع الكويت

وقال شيكابالا خلال تصريحات عبر قناة “إم بي سي مصر 2”: “أهدرنا فوزًا سهلًا، محمد شريف لديه مشكلة في إنهاء الهجمات”.

وأضاف: “أنا لا أحب أن لاعب يمسك الكرة لكي يسدد ضربة الجزاء ولاعب آخر يأخذها منه، محمد النني كان سيسدد الكرة ولكن عمرو السولية أخذها منه ولا أحب ذلك، قلت أفشة سيسجل الكرة في وسط المرمى، صعبنا المباراة على أنفسنا جدًا”.

وأتم: “نحمد الله فرصة الكويت التي تصدى لها محمد بسام ولولا تعامله معها بشكل جيد المباراة كانت ستخرج بشكل غير جيد بالنسبة لنا”.