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Aston Villa sporting director Monchi has held talks over a move for a £10m+ player this week, according to a new update.

Villa transfer rumours heat up as Emery pushes for Champions League football

Unai Emery and his Villa side still have so much to play for between now and the end of the season as they look to qualify for the Champions League once again.

They put in an incredible second-leg display against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals earlier this month, winning 3-2 at Villa Park, however, they were knocked out 5-4 on aggregate. Villa also have the chance to win silverware in the FA Cup, with a semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley this weekend.

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It promises to be a dramatic end to the campaign, and talking about Villa’s plans to get into Europe once more, Emery spoke after Villa’s Champions League exit.

“It is now most important to get Europe again. The most important competition is the Champions League. The challenge we have for the last six matches is to try and get Europe and the Champions League. The players showed their capacity to compete at this level. Hopefully we can come back quickly to play in the Champions League. This is our objective and to play in the FA Cup as well for a trophy.”

Should Villa qualify for the Champions League, it could help Monchi when it comes to summer signings. One of those heavily linked with a move to Midlands has been Rosenborg star Sverre Nypan. There have been claims that Villa have made an offer to sign Nypan in a deal that could be worth up to £12.5m, with Fabrizio Romano adding that the Villans are looking to win the race for the in-demand teenager.

Now, a new update has emerged on Aston Villa’s pursuit of Nypan.

Monchi holds new Aston Villa talks to sign Nypan

According to reports in Norway, relayed by Sport Witness, Monchi was spotted in Norway watching Nypan in a 2-0 win for Rosenborg over Valerenga.

Monchi and scout Alberto Benito held talks with Nypan’s father before the match to discuss terms of a transfer, however, the Villa chief refused to comment when quizzed by newspaper Nettavisen at the hotel where he was staying.

Further developments are expected in the coming days or weeks when it comes to Villa’s move for Nypan, and by the looks of things, Villa could be getting a future star who is being likened to Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard.

Nypan’s stats for Rosenborg

Games

63

Goals

14

Assists

11

Norwegian football expert Jesper Mathisen said last year: “Sverre Nypan is extremely exciting. I get a bit of the same feeling as when I saw Martin Odegaard break through as a boy.”

India batted for just 52 overs in Kanpur, but just as crucial to their against-the-clock win was the fact that their bowlers picked up 20 wickets in just 121.2 overs

Alagappan Muthu01-Oct-20241:26

Manjrekar: India dished out ‘fair pitches’ and came out on top

There is always noise at a cricket ground. Horns blaring. Drums beating. The occasional flirting. “!” A lot of this is just the fans having fun. Often enough, it has no connection to what’s going on in the middle.And then he gets the ball.All of a sudden there is a hush around Green Park. They wait for him to reach the top of his mark. Tap, tap, tap comes the sound of the bat hitting the ground as Mehidy Hasan Miraz takes strike. Twenty-thousand pairs of eyes turn towards Jasprit Bumrah as he starts his run-up. The silence is about to shatter. And this time it’s not just noise. It’s music.”Whoooooohhhhhhhh” goes the crowd as Bumrah begins to accelerate. “Oooooooohhhhhh” they sigh as Mehidy reacts well and dabs the ball to point. They don’t need distractions to keep themselves occupied now. Gautam Gambhir is right. This guy has become a cultural phenomenon.Related

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India beat the weather and the clock to sweep Bangladesh 2-0

Rohit: 'We were ready to get bowled out for a low score if it meant forcing a result'

Five weeks ago, Bumrah was at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai for freshers day and they cooked for him. His reveal on stage was pretty much on par with anything the movies do with mass heroes. He was sat on a throne. It faced the wrong way. The whole place went dark. The number 93 started flashing. The whole place started to shake. The throne spun, in slow motion, and there he was, sat like a king. A sheepish one.It is because of people like Bumrah that India could believe a result was possible in Kanpur. At the start of the fourth day, the first innings was still going on. India had laid out plans to push the game forward but there were no guarantees that it would all work out. Rohit Sharma, at the post-match presentation, said they were prepared to be 200 all out. They weren’t, of course. They scored 285 and declared in 34.4 overs. Then they picked up two second-innings wickets before stumps, to add to the seven from earlier in the day. India played the fourth day full throttle. The fifth – towards the end especially – became about soaking in all that they had managed to do.R Ashwin leaves his post at mid-on to come over and put his arm around Bumrah as he returns to his mark. It looks like a very one-sided exchange. In order to make it end, Bumrah brings both his hands up, palms pressed to each other rather like how people say hello or goodbye. Ashwin doesn’t listen. He continues to hype his bowling partner. From mid-off, Axar Patel chimes in as well. Both of them clap Bumrah on right through the 37th over when it’s becoming very clear that the improbable result India had set their sights on was within reach.”Whoooooohhhhhhhh” goes the crowd as Bumrah begins to accelerate again. Mehidy is unable to deal with this one and ends up caught behind. Bumrah tests the newcomer Taijul Islam with a couple of short ones and sneaks a full one in between, and then collects his cap to walk back to his fielding position. As he looks up, he sees Ashwin slow-clapping him. He offers him a salute in return. This is a special day for India. They are doing special things. The extent to which they had beat the odds makes it all the more fun for them. They seem joyous. Mischievous.Jasprit Bumrah finished Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s resistance•Getty ImagesRishabh Pant spends the final few seconds of the drinks break hanging around by the stumps, fiddling with something. A little red light flashes. He was fiddling with the bails. He had flipped them to see if that might change India’s luck. The first hour of play had only offered one wicket. The next one yields seven. Perhaps it’s the bails that did it. Or perhaps it has something to do with Ravindra Jadeja’s introduction to the attack.He was the last bowler India turned to in every innings of this series. Bangladesh being a left-hander-heavy side might have had something to do with it. Jadeja takes one of them out with his second ball. It breaks a period of play where Bangladesh made 55 runs in 13.4 overs and heralds one where Bangladesh lose seven wickets for 55 runs. India are doing so many amazing things in this game. Scoring at almost 9 runs an over. Taking a first-innings lead in three hours of batting. Breaking the taboo of bowler vs batter match-ups.Ravindra Jadeja picked up three wickets in three overs•AFP/Getty ImagesJadeja goes on to dismiss another left-hander, Shakib Al Hasan out tamely, caught and bowled. But see, that ball, it has all the hallmarks that make it hard to face Jadeja, no matter your orientation. Sure, you’re able to hit with the turn if you’re left-handed, but he complicates that by bowling around the wicket. He creates an angle that is going against you. Also here, he managed to get the ball to dip on Shakib so all of a sudden there’s distance between a bat that is pushing forward to milk a single to long-on and the ball. That’s where all the magic happens. The dip allows for the grip that turns a shot without no risk into one that will now attract ridicule. Shakib is left in utter disbelief at what he has done; or maybe what he has been made to do. The rest of Kanpur erupts. Horns blaring. Drums beating.A Test-match win after only 52 overs of batting and 121.2 overs of bowling. That’s something to savour and savour they do.

Phoenix victories and success of home-grown stars are helping to draw in new fans

Matt Roller16-Aug-2022There is a huge cheer as Moeen Ali walks towards the South Stand at Edgbaston. A sprawling queue has formed at the end of Birmingham Phoenix’s seven-wicket win against Trent Rockets, all desperate for an autograph or a selfie with the captain and talisman. “Super, super Mo, Super Moeen Ali,” has been ringing out around the ground all evening.Half an hour earlier, Moeen’s devastating assault on Lewis Gregory – whose third set of five cost 23 runs – had removed any scoring pressure from Phoenix’s chase as the men closed out their sixth win from six at Edgbaston. The result completed a Phoenix double after Amy Jones – like Moeen, born and raised in the West Midlands – closed out the women’s chase alongside Ellyse Perry.”It’s something that we thrive off and buzz off,” Moeen says, after being pulled away from his fans to speak to the media. “It gives you a lift as a team. When the crowd is chanting your name and you get that support, it is awesome.”The reason we’re playing the Hundred is to attract a new audience and to make it simple for them to understand and enjoy games like this. Our jobs are not just about trying to win games – it’s about trying to inspire the next generation.”The West Midlands is home to a number of the UK’s bellwether political constituencies, where local results over a number of general elections have been mirrored by the outcome at a national level. Nuneaton, 25 miles east of Birmingham, has voted in line with the country as a whole since 1997; Worcester, 40 miles south-west, has done so since 1979.In a similar vein, the West Midlands might be seen as a bellwether for the Hundred. A short-form competition at the height of summer was always going to work in London, where there is always a huge demand for tickets, but Birmingham is a different kettle of fish. Edgbaston has hosted – and sold out – T20 Finals Day every year since 2013 but the Blast’s group stages have proved a harder sell.In 2019, the final pre-Hundred season with full crowds permitted, their average attendance across seven home games was around 9,500. “It’s a very diverse, industrial city,” Stuart Cain, Warwickshire’s chief executive, says. “You have to work hard to get people to spend money. Not because they’re tight, but it’s well-earned money. You have to give them a good day out.”The kids at Edgbaston get into the action during the Men’s Hundred•PA Images via Getty ImagesIn its first season, the Hundred came to life at Edgbaston. Phoenix’s women came from nowhere to qualify for the knockout stages, while the men were unbeaten at home on their way to top spot in the group stages. The second season has started brightly, too: Will Smeed hit the Hundred’s first hundred last week and so far the home teams have won three out of three.Crowds last year were significantly higher than in the Blast, with an average attendance of 15,500, and the Hundred managed to draw significantly more interest from Birmingham’s South Asian communities than the Blast ever had. “The new concept and the freshness has appealed to everyone,” Cain says, “so by default, if 40% of your city is South Asian, you’re going to get more people coming in from those communities.”Whether by chance or design, Phoenix’s squads have featured several British Asian players who have become an integral part of the new teams’ attempts to create an identity: Moeen, Issy Wong and Abtaha Maqsood. “Moeen is a local lad and Issy has come up through the ranks from the age of 10 or 11,” Cain says. “Abtaha was recommended to us and it has been awesome to send out the message that you can be a practising Muslim, wear the hijab, and be a professional cricketer.”Warwickshire have taken significant steps to make Edgbaston a more inclusive ground, particularly in its attempts to crack down on crowd abuse. “I think that’s the best way to give any community faith that it’s OK to come here,” Cain says.The Edgbaston app has been updated to allow quick, anonymous reports if fans experience any issues, while the installation of a high-definition camera facing the Eric Hollies Stand facilitated an arrest after allegations of racist abuse during the England-India Test earlier this summer. A man has since been charged with a racially-aggravated public order offence.The attendances for Monday’s double-header were impressive – 9,859 for the women’s game (on a weekday afternoon) and 15,800 for the men’s – not least given the numbers of events Edgbsaton has hosted this year: a Test, a T20I, seven Blast group games, Finals Day, and the Commonwealth Games. The swathe of bright-orange merchandise in the crowd suggested an affinity with Phoenix, even at an early stage of their existence.Related

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'I just try to smack it at the top' – Hundred centurion Will Smeed

Moeen Ali's game-changing flourish leads Birmingham Phoenix to third win in a row

Crucially, some of the Hundred’s audience appear to have become hooked. Blast crowds this season were “slightly ahead” of 2019 figures despite the tournament being played earlier in the summer, and Edgbaston sold over 1,000 white-ball season tickets, granting access to every Blast and Hundred matchday.”This debate about ‘is the Hundred going to kill the Blast?’ is the wrong one: the genie is out of the bottle,” Cain says. “”I don’t agree that the Blast is for one audience and the Hundred is for a different one. There are people that love cricket and are coming to both, but there are some that love the Blast and will never come to the Hundred, and some that will come to the Hundred and will never come to the Blast.”Any new concept that brings in new crowds, new sponsors, free-to-air broadcast – I can’t see what there is to dislike. If you look at other sports – golf, tennis, hockey – they must be sitting there now in absolute envy about what cricket has done, to find a format that the BBC, Sky, fans and sponsors are all engaged in.”You’ve got to respect members’ opinions. Our job is to make sure we don’t lose the history and tradition of red-ball cricket but, at the same time, try and move the game on in a way that acknowledges the world is changing. We’re not trying to downgrade Championship cricket. We’re trying to find new ways of reaching audiences in a world where time, money and attention spans are tight.”The Hundred and its knock-on effects on the rest of the summer schedule remain hugely divisive, but it is clear that in its bellwether region, it is doing something right. As Cain summarises: “the second the sport stops criticising itself and doing itself down, the better off we’ll be.”

The IPL offers a chance for established players to reinvent themselves and fit into new roles

Dustin Silgardo31-Oct-2020The IPL offers a platform for unknown players to establish themselves, but it also allows established players to reinvent themselves and fit into new roles. Here are five names who have done exactly that this season.Suryakumar Yadav
Yadav has been a key player for the Mumbai Indians since 2018, but while he passed the 400-run mark in both 2018 and 2019, he struck at just over 130 in those years, giving him the reputation of an anchor. Yadav’s role was to build the innings steadily and ideally get dismissed before the death overs, allowing Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya to up the scoring rate. This season, Yadav has not just averaged 40.22, he has scored at 155.36. He has counterattacked in the powerplay and also shown an ability to accelerate in the death overs. He has struck at 235 between overs 17 and 20 this season, faster than Pandya and just a shade off Pollard, who has struck at 241.09 at the death. Yadav has all the textbook shots and scores a lot of runs with drives through the off side, but he has also used the lap and ramp shots effectively, scoring nearly half his runs behind the wicket this season. The change in gears is significant for Yadav’s India hopes, as the national side has a stacked top order but needs middle-order batsmen who can score quickly in the middle and death overs.Shikhar Dhawan

With KL Rahul’s stellar form in T20s and upcoming talents such as Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Sanju Samson impressing every IPL season, Dhawan might have been worried that he would lose his place in India’s T20I squad. While he has been consistent in the IPL, scoring 350-plus runs every season since 2016, his season strike rates have at best been in the mid-130s. This season was a similar story six games in – his strike rate was 122.22. Then he switched gears, scoring two fifties and two centuries in his next four games, all rapidly, to leave him with a strike rate of 147.64 for the season, his best in IPL history. What has been most impressive is that Dhawan has not adopted the approach he and most other openers usually do, which is to begin cautiously and then accelerate. He has instead attacked in the powerplay, scoring at 154.92 in the first six overs since the Delhi Capitals’ seventh game. Remarkably, he has managed all this without significantly increasing his six count, instead using timing and placement to strike fours.Fading force? Chris Gayle begs to differ•BCCIMohammed Shami
During his time at the Delhi Daredevils, Shami struggled to become a regular member of the playing XI due to a combination of injuries and being seen as a Test and ODI specialist. Since joining the Kings XI Punjab last season, he has changed that perception. Shami finished with 19 wickets last season and already has 20 this season after 13 games. Where he has improved further this season is in his death bowling. He was expensive at the death in 2019 and continued to be so in the early part of this season. However, he turned things around in one Super Over, against the Mumbai Indians. Whereas earlier Shami had relied on short-of-length deliveries and changes of pace at the death, here he bowled six straight yorkers to defend just five runs and force a second Super Over. Since then, he has become more confident in bowling his yorker at the death and has developed into a threat both early and late in the innings.Chris Gayle
This season Gayle has put paid to two caricatures: that he is a fading force and that he cannot succeed anywhere but in the opening position. Once regarded as the world’s best T20 batsman, in recent years an ageing Gayle has shown signs of slowing down. He has not been able to score quickly with the consistency he once did, and his poor fielding and running between the wickets have made sides doubt whether he merits a place in their XIs. In the 2018 auction Gayle received just one bid – and that was after his name came up the third time. While he did average 40-plus for the Kings XI in 2018 and 2019, between the last IPL and this one he had averaged 24.40 in 20 T20s and struck at 137.46. With KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal getting runs at the top this season, it looked unlikely Gayle would get many games. However, in dire need of points, the Kings XI took a gamble on him at No. 3, though Gayle had only played six innings there in his 405-match T20 career. In six innings so far, Gayle has hit three fifties and played a key role in his team’s comeback from the brink of elimination.Ben Stokes
The most expensive player in the 2018 auction, Stokes underwhelmed with the bat that year and in 2019, averaging less than 20, with no fifties. This season, the Royals sprang a surprise by casting Stokes in the role of opener – where he had batted just five times in his 113-match T20 career. Stokes is seen as a finisher in white-ball cricket, but batting in the middle order, he often struggled to get going early against spin. Opening has allowed him to start against pace, and the results have been two match-winning knocks: 107 not out off 60 balls against the Mumbai Indians and 50 off 26 against the Kings XI. Those two innings have kept Rajasthan in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Shortly after Shohei Ohtani crushed his 28th home run of the season on Thursday, MLB announced that the Los Angeles Dodgers star will be the starting designated hitter at next month's All-Star Game. Not surprisingly, Ohtani earned an automatic bid for receiving the most votes in the National League.

For the American League, New York Yankees' Aaron Judge earned the most votes in MLB and also received an automatic bid to start at outfield.

Last week, the league announced which players had received the most votes per position in each league, and Judge had the most votes overall and the most in the AL, while Ohtani had the most votes in the NL and the second-most votes overall.

This is Ohtani's fifth consecutive All-Star bid. This is Judge's seventh overall All-Star bid, and he's started in six of those appearances.

Phase 1 of All-Star voting ended on Thursday as the finalists for each position will be named that night. From there, the top two vote-getters in each position, as well as the top six outfielders, will move on for Phase 2 voting, which closes Wednesday, July 2. The winners of each position will be named that night. More explanation on All-Star voting can be read here.

The 2025 All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 15 at Truist Park in Atlanta.

The New York Mets played the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. The NL East rivalry doesn't have as much juice this season as it has in years past; the Mets are rolling with one of the best records in baseball but the Braves have scuffled all year. Entering Tuesday night's affair there was a 13-game difference between New York and Atlanta in the divisional standings.

Even with that, though, the game did not unfold without some measure of drama.

The score was tied at 4-4 entering the ninth inning at Truist Park. Soto kicked off the top of the ninth with a single to get a man on base for Pete Alonso, batting cleanup. The Mets slugger mashed one deep into right field, but Ronald Acuña Jr. made a great play at the wall and caught the fly ball for the first out of the inning.

But Soto, for some reason, was caught between first and second for a few moments after Acuña made the grab. He seemed confused as to whether Acuña actually caught the ball or if it hit the wall first. His hesitation proved fatal as the Braves star gunned the ball back into the infield to force Soto out at first before he made it back to the bag. What could have been a rally for the Mets suddenly ended up with two outs and nobody on base; they'd go on to lose in extra innings, 5-4.

Afterwards Soto laid the blame right at the feet of the umpire for the crucial blunder, explaining he was waiting for the call to be made and felt the ump took "way too long" to do so.

"I mean, we rely on the umpires," Soto said. "We wait for them to make the call. We had something like that earlier this year too. The goal is look for the umpire and make sure he makes the right call. But I felt like he just took way too long to make the decision and it just put me in a tough spot."

Soto's frustration is clear. Obviously if he assumed the catch was made and booked it back to first base he would have been safe this time. But if he assumed wrong he would have put his team in a bad spot. Similarly if Soto presumed the catch was not made and started sprinting he would have looked foolish if the catch was, in fact, made. It's part of every baseball player's process on the basepaths to look to the umpire or their coaches to determine what happened.

Unfortunately for the Mets Soto couldn't puzzle it out on time Tuesday. He believes the ump needs to be better next time from these quotes.

New South Wales allrounder Jack Edwards has been called into his first international squad after being added to Australia’s ODI side for the final match in Sydney while Glenn Maxwell and Ben Dwarshuis are fit to return for the latter stages of the upcoming T20I series against India, with young WA quick Mahli Beardman also called up for the T20Is.Cricket Australia confirmed a host of changes to the two white-ball squads on Friday with Marnus Labuschagne released from the ODI squad ahead of the final game in Sydney on Saturday to prepare for Queensland’s Sheffield Shield clash with NSW that starts on Tuesday at the Gabba.Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott will both miss the back-end of the T20I series against India in order play the round four Shield match for NSW against Victoria which starts at the SCG on November 10. Hazlewood will only play the first two T20Is while Abbott, who is recovering from split webbing in his hand, will leave Australia’s squad after the third T20I in Hobart.Related

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Matthew Kuhnemann, who played in the first ODI against India in Perth but then missed the second in Adelaide when Adam Zampa returned, was recalled to the squad for the third game in Sydney alongside Edwards. Josh Philippe, who also played the opening ODI and then was left out of the second when Alex Carey returned, was added to the T20I squad as the spare wicketkeeper with doubt remaining over Josh Inglis’ fitness as he is yet to return from a calf strain.Maxwell will return for the last three matches of the T20I series having been ruled out of the first two after fracturing his wrist while bowling in the nets in New Zealand late last month. Dwarshuis was ruled out of the ODI series and the first three T20Is with a calf injury but has been named to return for the fourth and fifth matches in Queensland.Mahli Beardman has been called up to Australia’s T20I squad•CA/Getty Images

Beardman, 20, is a surprise call-up for the last three T20Is. The former Australia Under-19 quick was a shock inclusion as an injury replacement on Australia’s 2024 white-ball tour of England having played only one List A game for Western Australia. He is also coming off stress fractures over the winter but he has made an impressive start to his T20 and List A career for Perth Scorchers and WA. He took 3 for 17 in his second BBL game, his last T20 appearance in January, and has 12 wickets at 17.75 with an economy rate of 5.75 from his first four List A games for WA, including 3 for 48 and 2 for 55 in his only two games so far this season coming back from injury.Edwards’ call-up to the ODI squad has come on the back of some excellent performances for Australia A on the recent tour of India. He made 88 in the second four-day game in Lucknow and then took 4 for 56 and 89 off 75 in the second and third 50-over matches in Kanpur respectively while captaining Australia A.His addition to the squad does provide Australia the opportunity to extend their batting and trial an allrounder heavy line-up in the dead rubber in Sydney. Such an XI would present the selectors with the chance to rest either one or both of Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc given there is just one day of rest between the second and third ODI.

Australia ODI squad for the third ODI vs India

Mitchell Marsh (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe (wk), Matt Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Australia T20I squad vs India

Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott (first three matches only), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman (last three matches only), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (last two matches only), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (first two matches only), Glenn Maxwell (last three matches only), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe (wk), Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

His 7 for 69 from 24.3 overs follows Kasey Aldridge’s 180 and allows Somerset to enforce follow on

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay17-Sep-2025Hampshire 172 (Leach 7-69) and 35 for 1 (Middleton 8*, Vaughan 1-18) f/o trail Somerset 454 for 8 dec. (Aldridge 180, Abell 118, Overton 50*) by 247 runs A spin bowling masterclass from Somerset’s Jack Leach plunged relegation-threatened Hampshire into deeper trouble on the third day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.After the hosts had increased their first innings total from an overnight 381 for 7 to 454 for 8 declared, the left-arm spinner, overlooked in recent times by England, claimed 7 for 69 from 24.3 overs to help bowl out Hampshire for 172 and make them follow on.Kasey Aldridge was last man out in the Somerset innings for 180, having begun the day on 149, while Craig Overton finished unbeaten on 50.Hampshire made a better fist of things in their second innings, reaching 35 for 1 before rain and bad light ended play 15.1 overs early, but still face a backs-to-the-wall fight tomorrow to avoid what might prove a hugely damaging defeat.The first ball of the day, bowled by Keith Barker, saw Aldridge nudge the single needed to take him to a maiden 150, having faced 207 balls and hit 16 fours and five sixes. He and Overton were positive from the outset.Aldridge cut a boundary off James Fuller to take Somerset’s score past 400 and followed up with an upper cut six off the same bowler. Overton cleared the ropes off Abbott and Washington Sundar as the pair took their entertaining partnership to the century mark from 90 deliveries.The next target was to take the score to 450, which they achieved in the 103rd over to secure maximum batting points. Overton went to fifty off 42 balls and the only remaining question was the timing of the declaration.It came when Aldridge was run out by Nick Gubbins’ direct hit at the bowler’s end attempting a quick single to mid-off. The tall all-rounder, bound for Durham next season, had batted for more than four and a half hours, facing 233 balls and extending his boundary count to 20 fours and six sixes.Hampshire’s reply had reached 13 after five overs when Leach was introduced from the River End. His first over saw Ali Orr bowled between bat and pad by a delivery that turned considerably from outside the left-hander’s off stump.Soon it was 27 for 2 as Gubbins reverse swept Leach straight into the hands of Archie Vaughan at short third and three runs later Fletcha Middleton had his off stump clipped by Leach from a delivery that pitched on middle.Toby Albert launched two defiant sixes off Vaughan in moving to 29 before driving at a wide ball from the off-spinner and offering a straightforward return catch. Lunch was taken with Hampshire 61 for 4.Vaughan struck again after he and Leach had swapped ends in the afternoon session, bowling Ben Brown, on 21, as he attempted to cut.The accurate Leach was bowling some rippers and one accounted for Sundar. Having battled his way to 23, the India Test player pushed forward defensively to a ball that spun back through the gate and bowled him to make the score 102 for 6.Fuller tried to counter-attack and had made 24 off 17 balls when becoming Leach’s fifth victim, lbw sweeping. Barker was bowled for 19 attempting to reverse sweep Leach and Felix Organ top-edged a pull off a Vaughan long-hop to be caught at midwicket before Abbott lofted a catch to wide long-on to end the innings and give Leach season’s best figures.Tea was taken before Somerset enforced the follow-on. The tireless Leach, who played the last of his 39 Tests for England almost a year ago, took the new ball in tandem with Vaughan, while Tom Abell was off the field having suffered a jolting blow on the helmet when fielding at short-leg.Orr and Middleton took the score to 35 in the 22nd over when Orr fell for 27, struck on the back pad by a ball from Vaughan. Before the game could restart, the rain which had been forecast for much of the day finally arrived, much to Hampshire’s relief.

The Maharaja T20 has been moved to Mysuru, after the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) failed to obtain clearance from the Bengaluru police to stage their franchise-based T20 competition at the M Chinnaswamy stadium from August 11 to 27.All the franchise owners were notified of the change earlier this week, leaving them with just a few days to finalise logistics. Most teams, barring Mysuru Warriors, have been training at different venues across Bengaluru over the past week.The failure to obtain permission to host games at the Chinnaswamy could potentially be a big blow to the KSCA, given the stadium is slated to host five matches of the Women’s World Cup – including the tournament opener and one semi-final – starting September 30. However, ESPNcricinfo understands the ICC isn’t overly worried just yet about the possibility of moving the games out of Bengaluru.The KSCA has been in the eye of a storm ever since 11 people died and over 50 others were injured around the premises of the Chinnaswamy stadium, during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations on June 4. The stampede also forced two KSCA office bearers to resign, citing moral responsibility.A stampede ensued at Chinnaswamy stadium during RCB’s victory celebrations•AFP/Getty Images

Late last month, a committee tasked by the state government to investigate the stampede deemed the Chinnaswamy “unsafe” for large-scale events. The commission “strongly recommended” that large-scale events be relocated to venues that are “better suited” to handle significant crowds.Initially, the Maharaja T20s were supposed to be held behind closed doors in Bengaluru. But once the committee’s ruling came in, getting permission to play at the Chinnaswamy – with or without a crowd – became untenable. The KSCA’s focus now is on making sure things go smoothly in in Mysuru. They have been putting up makeshift stands, preparing pitches, squares, as well as temporary broadcast facilities at the Wadeyar Stadium.The Maharaja T20 is set to feature a number of high-profile Karnataka stars, including Karun Nair and Prasidh Krishna, who will feature for Mysuru Warriors following their return from India’s Test series in England.Nair is understood to have injured his finger while batting in the second innings of the fifth Test which ended three days ago, and could sit out the first few matches. Prasidh, who picked up eight wickets in India’s series-levelling win at The Oval, has been prescribed rest. The pacer is expected to join the squad mid-tournament.Some of the other big players in the mix include Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, and Devdutt Padikkal, as well as the younger crop, led by R Smaran, Vijaykumar Vyshak, KV Aneesh and Nikin Jose.Elsewhere, the Maharani T20, KSCA’s women’s competition which began on August 4, will continue to be played in Alur, on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Thomas Frank issued a concerning injury update on Mohammed Kudus ahead of their Manchester United clash this weekend. The Ghanaian playmaker, who joined Spurs from West Ham United in a £55 million ($72.5m) summer move, has become one of the club’s most consistent performers this season. He has scored once and set up five goals across 15 appearances. But just as he seemed to gain momentum, disaster struck again.

Spurs sweating on Kudus fitness

Kudus picked up a knock during training last week, ruling him out of Tuesday’s emphatic 4-0 Champions League win over FC Copenhagen. Now, his participation against United is also uncertain. 

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Frank cut a cautious figure and said: "Kudus is touch and go for tomorrow, we’ll see."

In Kudus' absence, Brennan Johnson, who started on the right flank in midweek, is expected to retain his spot. The Welshman impressed with his intensity against Copenhagen and should be a handful for United defenders. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTottenham's injury list grows longer

The north London side’s growing injury list continues to stretch the squad thin. Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, and James Maddison all remain long-term absentees, while Yves Bissouma and summer recruit Kota Takai are still awaiting their first minutes of the season. To make matters worse, promising youngster Lucas Bergvall will sit out the United game after suffering a concussion during last weekend’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. 

Frank also offered an update on Dominic Solanke’s slow recovery. The striker has been limited to a total of 59 minutes this season. Solanke’s ankle problems have kept him sidelined since pre-season, and he even underwent a minor surgery on October 1. And while his rehabilitation is progressing, Frank insists the club won’t rush his return.

"I think the international break will be the big decider, because we have two weeks there, to push with the next steps," said Frank.

"It was clear that he was not ready before the international break, it’s more that we look after the international break, that’s what we’re aiming for. I think you always want to get it right, I think it’s important to get it right so he’s out there, can help the team, and we need him back." 

However, he did offer some positive updates as well. 

"The ones that have been out for a small spell, Cuti (Cristian Romero) and Destiny (Udogie), responded well, so fit and available," he said. 

Amicable resolution with Van de Ven and Spence

Frank has also had to manage an internal situation involving defenders Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence. In the aftermath of the disappointing defeat to Chelsea, the Spurs head coach encouraged his players to perform a lap of appreciation for the fans. However, television cameras caught Van de Ven and Spence walking away, apparently ignoring the manager’s request. At the time, Frank refused to publicly criticise the pair, choosing instead to defuse the incident.

"All the players are, of course, frustrated," he had said after the match. "They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform. I understand that. I think it’s difficult to be consistent in good times and bad times, that’s why I went around to the fans as I did, it’s more fun when we win, I can tell you that."

He added, "I understand why you ask the question. But I think that’s one of, how you can say, small issues. We have Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence doing everything they can. They’ve performed very well so far this season. Everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way, I don’t think it’s a big problem."

However, the two players have apologised to the manager to reach an amicable solution.

"Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday and just said they wanted to say sorry for the situation," he informed. "They didn't want it to look bad or any misconception that you can get in this beautiful media world. So there was no disrespect meant at all towards me or the team. They were just frustrated with the performance from us and the booing during the game."

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Getty Images/GOALA pivotal match for Spurs

Tottenham’s 1-0 loss to Chelsea was another frustrating afternoon for the fans, who voiced their displeasure at full-time. Saturday’s showdown against United now carries enormous weight for both sides. A win could reignite Tottenham’s momentum and strengthen their Champions League ambitions. They remain sixth in the Premier League table with 17 points from 10 games and are level with Manchester United but eight behind leaders Arsenal.