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ATLANTA – Rory McIlroy arrived at East Lake on Thursday to prepare for this week’s Tour Championship, where he will be the defending champion, but his focus was understandably elsewhere.

“I mean, emotionally drained, right,” said McIlroy following the birth of his first child, Poppy Kennedy, on Monday. “We got her home yesterday and trying to get her settled. It's nice in the hospital. You've got so much help and all the nurses are around and they did a phenomenal job. And then you're handed your child and they're like, ‘See you later,’ and they don't come with an instruction manual.”

Rory McIlroy announced that he and wife, Erica, welcomed the couple's first child on Aug. 31.

Last week McIlroy revealed that his wife, Erica, was pregnant and that he would have skipped this week’s season finale to be at home for the birth of the couple’s first child. He also admitted that all of the unknowns of parenthood had made it difficult to focus this season.

“There's a lot of different things and there's a lot of things that sort of run through your head, and the fact that all that went well and everyone is good and recovering at home, I feel more comfortable now that I can come out here and play golf and maybe get my mind off it for four or five hours a day, and that's a nice thing,” he said.

McIlroy will start the week at 3 under and seven strokes off the lead held by Dustin Johnson, but his record at East Lake suggests that’s not an insurmountable advantage. In six starts at the Tour Championship, he has two victories (2016 and ’19) and has finished outside the top 10 just once.

Ronaldo's 100-goal bid in doubt over toe injury

Published in Soccer
Thursday, 03 September 2020 09:16

Cristiano Ronaldo's attempt to score 100 goals for Portugal could be put on hold with a toe infection forcing the Juventus forward to miss training ahead of Saturday's UEFA Nations League clash with Croatia.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star goes into this weekend's fixture in Portugal on 99 goals and aiming to become only the second player in history to break the century barrier on the international stage.

- Stream FC Daily on ESPN+

"Cristiano Ronaldo will be absent from training this morning [Thursday]," the Portuguese Football Federation said in a statement.

"The captain of the national team, who did gym work yesterday, has an infection in his right toe and is undergoing antibiotic treatment. The FPF will daily re-evaluate the player's clinical situation."

Ali Daei, the former Iran striker, holds the world record with 109 goals and Ronaldo has been unable to add to his tally during 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic severely disrupting the international fixture calendar.

European champions Portugal, who won the inaugural Nations League tournament in June 2019, are set to play their first game of the year against 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia at Estadio do Dragao, but Ronaldo's involvement is now in doubt due to his toe injury.

Ronaldo, 35, will be assessed by coach Fernando Santos on Friday and could return to action against Sweden in Stockholm on Tuesday if he fails to prove his fitness in time for the Croatia game.

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks in the European soccer universe, with teams attempting to cram a full offseason's worth of both transfers and transfer rumors into the shortest offseason ever. But as moves have become official, they have created a few particularly interesting position battles among the top teams on the continent. Here are a few of the most interesting, and most important battles on the docket, the outcomes of which could decide title races in Europe's biggest leagues.

(Note: the list below is not intended to be a comprehensive list of contenders, but a focus on teams with new-ish players and particularly interesting decisions to make. So the absence of Liverpool, for instance, isn't a suggestion that Liverpool won't contend in the Premier League this year.)

Jump to: Man City | Man United | Chelsea | Real Madrid | Barcelona | Bayern Munich | Borussia Dortmund | Juventus | Napoli

Premier League

Manchester City centre-backs

We'll start with one of last year's most definitive storylines. Manchester City allowed the most high-quality shots in the Premier League in 2019-20. Opponents averaged 0.144 XG per shot, the highest in the league, and while it's pretty common for a high-possession team to give up good looks because said looks are often coming in rare counter-attacking chances, City was still average at worst in this department when winning the title the year before.

There were a couple of reasons for this. First, the aging Fernandinho moved from defensive midfield to central defense, with new acquisition Rodri taking his place in the DM role. Rodri is brilliant from a pressure standpoint -- his 228 ball recoveries easily led the team -- but he was less effective than Fernandinho in terms of tactical fouls and emergency tackles. That gave opponents a few more fast-break opportunities.

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- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Then, their opponents made the most of those chances by charging in on a disheveled set of defenders. Star CB Aymeric Laporte was hurt for much of the season and never really reached fifth gear, which meant that Fernandinho went from backup to minutes-leader. Voila: quality shots.

With Fernandinho now 35, and with John Stones and Benjamin Mendy struggling to fully retain Pep Guardiola's trust, a remodel has begun. A healthy Laporte could solve one problem, but City have acquired 25-year-old Nathan Ake from relegated AFC Bournemouth and might not be done. How this duo shakes out will determine a massive portion of the Premier League race, perhaps even more than if City were to acquire Lionel Messi up front.

Manchester United goalkeepers

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Does Solskjaer see Van de Beek as a No. 10?

Jan Joost Van Gangelen believes Solskjaer will play Donny van de Beek alongside both Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba.

We don't completely know what United have in store for the remainder of this transfer window, but theoretically they don't have to make any major move. The Red Devils were the Premier League's points leaders after acquiring Bruno Fernandes in late-January, and while both attack and defense have room for upgrades, there were no definitive weaknesses.

Adding 23-year-old midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax gives United an upgrade in creativity in the middle, but as things currently stand, the most interesting position battle might come at the back.

Scouting report: Van de Beek perfect for United

With 23-year-old Dean Henderson returning from loan after two productive years with Sheffield United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now must decide between one of the most proven long-term entities in the league (29-year-old David de Gea) and a battle-tested, but not Europe-tested, Henderson.

Goalkeeper stats are obviously context-dependent, but here are some per-90 averages from all competitions in 2019-20:

- de Gea: 10.5 shots against, 1.02 XG conceded from shots on target, 1.02 goals against, 70.1% save percentage
- Henderson: 11.2 shots against, 1.17 XG conceded from shots on target, 0.94 goals against, 74.5% save percentage

Keeper stats can be unreliable. De Gea was unsustainably brilliant in 2017-18, unsustainably bad in 2018-19 and directly in between last year. Henderson, meanwhile, posted better averages last year in the Premier League than the year before in the Championship. That's not quite how that's supposed to work. Do you rely on last year's small-sample success as a sign of years of brilliance to come and cast de Gea aside? Do you stick with the veteran a bit longer?

The Chelsea attack -- like, all of it

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Nicol: Thiago Silva better than what Chelsea already have

Steve Nicol rates new Chelsea signing Thiago Silva as a good signing for Frank Lampard's side.

As with Manchester City, Chelsea's success could be dependent on a rebuilt defense, but forgive me for getting distracted by bright, shiny objects. Chelsea has also rebuilt its attack ... on top of an already pretty good attack. They added RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner and Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech, and they're almost certainly going to add Bayer Leverkusen attacker Kai Havertz in the coming days. That's in addition to young attackers Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi, as well as the wily veteran Olivier Giroud.

Chelsea will, upon the addition of Havertz, boast seven or eight Premier League-quality attackers for what might amount to either three or four spots in the lineup. How in the hell will this all fit together?

Here's what we broadly know about each player:

- Werner, Abraham and Giroud are all primarily centre forwards. Over the last three years in league play, from the center, Werner has averaged a combined 0.84 XG+XA (expected goals plus expected assists, per Opta), Giroud 0.79 and Abraham 0.70. We'll see how Werner's numbers are impacted by the move to the Premier League.

- Ziyech split time between central midfield and right winger at Ajax; predictably, he was more productive at the latter (1.07 XG+XA, last three years) than the former (0.95), but if clutter becomes an issue, he could move around.

- Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi are primarily wingers. Hudson-Odoi has been used almost completely on the right, while Pulisic has logged lots of minutes on the left and right through the years.

- Havertz could be the wild card, assuming he indeed ends up in the blue shirt. Over the last three years in the Bundesliga, he logged 37% of his minutes from a central attacking midfielder role (0.45 XG+XA), 32% at right winger or right attacking midfield (0.54), 16% in central midfield (0.44) and 8% as a centre forward (0.74). He could be the anchor for lots of different looks.

Lampard has a wealth of options, but we'll see what choices he makes.

La Liga

Real Madrid's midfield

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Marcotti: If Bale really wants to move, he'll take a pay cut

Gab Marcotti says "it's not a good look" for Gareth Bale to be complaining about Real Madrid not letting him go.

You know the coronavirus stoppage has thrown the sports world for a loop when Real Madrid decides it needs to watch its spending for a bit. Los Blancos haven't really brought anyone new into the fold this offseason, and they might not, but they do have one pool to choose from: loanees. But while players like midfielder Alberto Soro (back from Zaragoza), fullbacks Alvaro Odriozola (Bayern Munich) and Sergio Reguilon (Sevilla), winger Hugo Vallejo (Deportivo) and striker Borja Mayoral (Levante) might all eventually figure into manager Zinedine Zidane's plans to some degree, one particular loanee will officially see his time come at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu: midfielder Martin Odegaard.

The 21-year old from Norway made his Real Madrid debut at the age of 16, but made just three appearances before getting sent away to soccer boarding school: the Eredivisie's SC Heerenveen for two years and Vitesse for one, followed by a year of finishing school at Real Sociedad, where he logged 40 appearances in all competitions, with seven goals and 10 assists. He joins an already crowded midfield that includes veterans Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro, plus 22-year-old up-and-comer Federico Valverde. All four of them logged over 1,900 minutes in league play last year.

His passing stats are more like Casemiro's than anyone's, but with Sociedad he averaged 0.37 XA+XG per 90 minutes, better than anything the Madrid quartet has produced over these last few seasons.

Does Modric give way to the youngster? Does Zidane end up fancying Odegaard more as a winger, as he was used for quite a few of his Eredivisie minutes? His usage could determine whether we have a La Liga race this year, or whether Real runs away with the title.

Barcelona's midfield

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Moreno: Vidal has a point on Barca's playing style falling behind

Ale Moreno says Barcelona need players who bring physicality to the game, similar to how Arturo Vidal played in his prime.

Talking about Barcelona at the moment is the ultimate in known-knowns vs. known-unknowns. The latter -- that whole "Leo Messi very much wants out, but the transfer fee is mammoth, even by European soccer standards" thing -- muddies up the waters for talking about anything else. But here's what we do know: Barca did trade Arthur to Juventus for Miralem Pjanic, brought in winger Francisco Trincao from Braga and brought back attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho from Bayern Munich.

We'll have to wait to figure out Coutinho's and Trincao's roles, because we have to see what happens with Messi first. But let's talk about the Barca midfield.

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Last year it was led by 23-year-old Frenkie de Jong, Arthur (24) and three veterans in Sergio Busquets, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic. Rakitic is gone, Vidal could be soon and, as mentioned, Arthur was replaced by the 30-year-old Pjanic, who was second on Juve in assists last year.

A starting point of de Jong and Pjanic, with Busquets still playing a large role, is pretty good, but I continue to hold out hope that new manager Ronald Koeman will determine that de Jong could play more of an interesting role moving back to centre-back, where he played for Ajax for much of 2017-18. He has still averaged 0.18 assists per 90 from that position -- by comparison, he averaged 0.08 from central midfield for Barca last year -- and playing there allowed some of his nature-made defensive abilities (ball recoveries, aerials, dispossession) to shine.

If Koeman thinks Pjanic and Busquets can hold down the fort in a 4-2-3-1 (or perhaps youngsters like Carles Alena and Riqui Puig can play larger roles), then he has an opportunity to move de Jong and improve his attack while improving his defense. Either way, Koeman has some decisions to make here.

Bundesliga

Bayern Munich's wings

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Did Bayern & Barcelona rumours cost Dest his starting role?

Jan Joost Van Gangelen says Sergino Dest needs to be more consistent to regain his starting role at Ajax.

There could still be a bit of a domino effect of moves regarding the Champions League winners during this transfer window -- if midfielder Thiago ends up leaving for Liverpool, as seems to be his desire, then that might prompt a new acquisition and position battle. But right now, all we know for sure is that Coutinho is heading back to Barcelona and former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane has moved back to Germany.

Sane joins an astounding crew of wingers at the Allianz Arena. Serge Gnabry scored 23 goals in all competitions last year, primarily from the left wing. Kingsley Coman scored eight, including the Champions League clincher. Veteran Ivan Perisic came into his own after Hansi Flick's midseason hire, and the Inter Milan loanee could still end up in Munich this coming year. Thomas Muller can play out wide when he needs to, and Alphonso Davies might have become a world-class winger if he hadn't instead become a world-class fullback last season.

Sane's 2019 injury might have led us to forgetting just how good he is, but during Manchester City's two Premier League title runs in 2017-18 and 2018-19, he posted a combined 20 goals and 25 assists. He's outstanding. If he's in the lineup, some other outstanding winger won't be.

Borussia Dortmund's attacking midfield

Tormeister Erling Haaland will be lining up at the top of whatever formation manager Lucien Favre favors. That much we know. The 20-year-old scored a combined 44 goals for Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund last season and returns for a full season at the Signal Iduna.

The row of attackers behind Haaland, however, has minutes up for grabs. You could say that the youth-friendly BVB have made three primary young-talent acquisitions during this window: they signed 17-year-old Jude Bellingham from Birmingham, they brought Real Madrid's 18-year-old Reinier in via a two-year loan, and they evidently managed to keep the marvelous Jadon Sancho for another season as Manchester United have seemingly elected not to meet the asking price.

Bellingham could play just about anywhere, but might mostly roam the midfield for BVB. Sancho does most of his work from the right wing, Thorgan Hazard dished 13 assists in league play from the left wing, veteran and central attacking midfielder Marco Reus is still good for double-digit goals when healthy, 17-year-old American Giovanni Reyna has potential from all of these positions (and has expressed a preference for that CAM spot), and Reinier posted six goals and two assists in 14 matches for Flamengo last year, also from the CAM position.

That's five high-level players -- without even counting Bellingham (who has looked good further up the field) -- for two to three spots on the pitch.

Favre has to figure out a nice way to balance playing time for the club's future stars while giving Bayern another fight, as BVB have done the last two years.

Serie A

Juventus midfielders

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USMNT's McKennie 'fits the bill' for Pirlo's vision at Juventus

Julien Laurens believes Weston McKennie is the ideal player for Andrea Pirlo to bring in for Juve's rebuild.

Back in July, as Juventus were wrapping up their ninth consecutive Serie A title, I wrote about how this was maybe the club's least convincing win in the title streak and how the Bianconeri were a little bit lucky to both win as many close matches as they did and watch all their primary challengers falter at just the right time. I also noted something that club higher-ups most certainly already new: the roster needed a makeover. Juve was getting old and creaky and needed new energy, especially in the midfield.

The makeover has begun. Blaise Matuidi left for Major League Soccer's Inter Miami, and forward Gonzalo Higuain is likely to follow. Miralem Pjanic left for Barcelona, while the younger Arthur was sent back in return. American Weston McKennie was brought in from Schalke, while a host of players returned from loans, including 20-year-old midfielder Dejan Kulusevski (10 goals and eight assists for Parma, albeit more from a winger role).

Their moves might not be over -- we'll see what happens with 33-year-old Sami Khedira and 29-year-old Aaron Ramsey -- but that's already a solid refresh. Arthur is a solid passer and could thrive in a pivot-type role, McKennie is developing a solid pressure-and-physicality presence, and Kulusevski is already a proven creator. Add them to a stable that still includes 23-year-old Rodrigo Bentancur, 25-year-old Adrien Rabiot and potentially Khedira and Ramsey, and you've got a lot of potential combinations for new manager Andrea Pirlo. But it might take him a bit to figure out the best combo of the bunch.

Napoli forwards

While Inter Milan has added wingback Achraf Hakimi, Atalanta has added attacking midfielder Aleksey Miranchuk and both AC Milan and Roma have made some interesting smaller moves (Lazio, not so much), by far the most interesting move among Juve's main challengers came when Napoli added 21-year-old striker Victor Osimhen.

After scoring 20 goals on loan for Belgian side Charleroi in 2018-19, Osimhen landed at Lille and scored 18 for Lille, including two in the Champions League. Napoli were utterly desperate for firepower up front: Gli Azzurri averaged just 0.101 XG per shot in Serie A last year, second-worst in the league and by far the worst among contenders. Even an average performance in this regard could have resulted in five to 15 more goals, far fewer tight losses and a sustained title contention. So they spent a club-record $70 million for Osimhen, who averaged 0.19 XG per shot in Ligue 1 last year.

Only winger Jose Callejon has left the club, though. Centre-forward Arkadiusz Milik scored 11 league goals and averaged a healthy 0.16 XG/shot himself -- really, veteran Dries Mertens was the biggest offender from an inefficient shots standpoint -- and 29-year-old Lorenzo Insigne remains dangerous on the left wing. Hirving Lozano and super-sub Fernando Llorente could remain solid options, too.

Manager Gennaro Gattuso prefers a 4-3-3 structure, which could lead to a couple of players logging lots of minutes outside of their best positions; will the addition of Osimhen provide the balance that last year's attack lacked, or will it just create a logjam?

Yorkshire has promised a full independent inquiry, as well as a wider review into its policies and culture, in the wake of Azeem Rafiq's claims that he had been driven to the "brink of suicide" by institutional racism within the club.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday, Rafiq expanded on similar comments made to Wisden.com and the Cricket Badger podcast, and highlighted how the lack of diversity within the Yorkshire dressing room had made him a target, including from senior players and one captain whom he stated was "openly racist".

In addition, he claimed that the club had treated him coldly in the wake of a family tragedy, releasing him from his contract shortly after his son was still-born, despite having claimed they would look after him "professionally and personally".

Now aged 29, and pursuing a career away from cricket, Rafiq added that he had chosen to speak out to "prevent anyone else feeling the same pain".

"Any allegation of this nature is hugely concerning to everyone from the board to the playing staff here, and we take the reports very seriously," read a statement from Roger Hutton, Yorkshire's chairman, following widespread calls, including from ESPNcricinfo, for a public response to Rafiq's comments.

"On Monday this week the club took the decision to launch a formal investigation into the specific allegations made by Azeem Rafiq, and a wider review of YCCC's policies and culture," Hutton added. "We are in the process of finalising the structure of this investigation and we will be approaching impartial external parties to be part of the review to ensure complete transparency. Further announcements will be made to detail this process in the coming days.

"We fully acknowledge that just as in many walks of life, sport, including cricket and Yorkshire as a club, must do better to fully promote a culture of zero tolerance to racism or any form of prejudice."

Rafiq's comments are especially damaging to Yorkshire given the club's recent efforts to reach out to its local Asian communities - not least in Bradford, where the historic Park Avenue ground was recently restored in a multi-million pound initiative to serve as an outground for county fixtures, and a hub for the local parks cricket scene.

ALSO READ: Azeem Rafiq was 'on brink of suicide' after experiencing racism at Yorkshire

However, Rafiq, who grew up in Barnsley and in 2012 led Yorkshire in a T20 against Durham to become the youngest captain in the club's history, claimed that his story - which has been used as a symbol of the club's desire to embrace the ethnic diversity in the county's urban areas - did not reflect the realities within the dressing room.

"Look at the facts and figures," he said. "Look at a squad photograph. Look at the coaches. How many non-white faces do you see? Despite the ethnic diversity of the cities in Yorkshire, despite the love for the game from Asian communities, how many people from those backgrounds are making it into the first team?

"It's obvious to anyone who cares that there's a problem. Do I think there is institutional racism? It's at its peak in my opinion. It's worse than it's ever been."

In the club's defence, Hutton added: "We accepted a long time ago that change was needed at Headingley to improve diversity, especially in terms of racial inclusivity. Since 2014 we've prioritised community engagement with numerous groups right across the county, and across many cultures and ethnicities. While as an organisation we've made real efforts to that end, we are not perfect and it's a work in progress.

"As a player and former captain, Azeem was extremely highly respected and well regarded by the club and its supporters alike. Azeem was a gifted bowler and a respected leader of our team, and that was why he became the first British South Asian captain of the Yorkshire T20 side, and the youngest ever captain of the team.

"We have tried to make contact with Azeem this week to discuss his experiences, and will make further contact in the weeks ahead as it's important that we hear his grievances in as much detail as possible.

"The future direction of our organisation's culture will be best-shaped with the understanding and the input of players, staff and supporters from all minorities and genders, and we will continue this process with the formal investigation that will start in a matter of days and be conducted thoroughly, impartially, and with urgency."

Eoin Morgan has backed the ECB's efforts to foster a more inclusive culture in English cricket, but admits that stories such as Azeem Rafiq's claims of institutional racism at Yorkshire demonstrate how much further the sport has to go to truly embrace equal opportunities.

Speaking on the eve of the first T20I against Australia, Morgan - who was born in Dublin and played for Ireland for three years before qualifying for England in 2009 - said that the diversity of England's World Cup-winning squad had not only showed the value of embracing different cultures but, in his opinion, it offered a fairer reflection of the current status of English cricket.

"When I hear these stories I'm surprised to start with," Morgan said. "But also, in light of these stories coming out, the ECB have been active in trying to rectify and become more diverse and create equal opportunity for everybody.

"I think given the squad of players we have and the guys of different cultures, backgrounds, different races, I think the diverse nature of it really does epitomise where English cricket is at."

In addition to Morgan, England's current squad includes three players of Pakistani origin in Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and the stand-by Saqib Mahmood; two who were born in Barbados in Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan, and three of southern African background in Dawid Malan and the Curran brothers.

And speaking immediately after the World Cup victory last July, Morgan had responded to an enquiry about the "luck of the Irish" in the closing stages of that remarkable contest by saying, semi-seriously, that Rashid had told him that "Allah is with us".

"It actually epitomises our team," Morgan said at the time. "With quite diverse cultures and backgrounds, and guys growing up in different countries. To find humour in the situation that we were in at the time was pretty cool."

That diversity, he added, had been reflected in the ethnic mix of the fans that England encountered on their World Cup travels, as they played their fixtures in each of the tournament's major venues and found support from a range of different backgrounds.

"I think travelling around during last year's World Cup and going to 10 different grounds up and down the country and watching the supporters flood in of all different races, all following England was great," he said.

"It made us all feel extremely proud. One of the noted things we talked about when we watched back the World Cup final and the camera pans to the crowd - people in England shirts are not all white. They are of different races and for us, as a team, I think that's quite a thing we can be proud of."

Nevertheless, Rafiq's comments - which drew a promise of an official inquiry from Yorkshire - include claims that senior players, including one of his club captains, had been "openly racist". They follow a similarly explosive testimony from Michael Carberry, the former England opener, whose claims that "black people are not important to the ECB" forced the board to embrace some "uncomfortable truths", according to the chief executive, Tom Harrison.

Morgan recognised that more needed to be done to ensure that such situations get dealt with more proactively when they first arise, but reflected on the England team's response to the Black Lives Matter movement as proof that they were making a effort to keep the issue visible. Players on both sides during the Tests against West Indies and the ODIs against Ireland took a knee in support of the movement, although this was not done during the Pakistan series and will not be repeated against Australia.

ALSO READ: Yorkshire promise independent review into Azeem Rafiq allegations

"I think our display throughout the Ireland series [showed] our ambition to try and create more sustainable awareness around our fight against racism and the creation of equal opportunities and equality in sport," Morgan said. "It's important to drive that forward because it shouldn't exist in society. When people talk about it they should feel comfortable coming out to talk about it - we want everybody to know that.

"An area where we can get better is telling people our story more, getting comfortable talking about growing up in a different country or growing up in a different environment within this country, and our journey to where we are today," he added.

"There's not one player that's had an easy ride throughout this. It's very difficult to get into an England cricket changing-room or an England cricket shirt. But even more so by coming from a diverse background, it creates different challenges."

West Indies will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Women's T20 World Cup campaign when they take on England in five T20Is later this month.

England prevented West Indies from reaching the knockout stages of the tournament in Australia earlier this year when they won their group clash by 46 runs to progress to the semi-finals.

Then-coach Gus Logie described West Indies' performance throughout the global showcase, won by the hosts in convincing fashion in the final against India, as "timid" and possessing a "fear factor".

That match, on March 1, was Deandra Dottin's third international - fourth counting the World Cup warm-up match against India - after an absence of more than a year with a shoulder injury that required surgery and a lengthy rehab period.

Vice-captain to Stafanie Taylor for the tour of England, Dottin didn't echo Logie's assessment of the team's mindset during the World Cup, but acknowledged that there were improvements to be made, which they intended on showing in the forthcoming series.

"To me the girls were pretty good, but I will say that that time wasn't our time," Dottin said. "I just think that there are areas that we need to work on and it just so happened that the areas we needed to click didn't.

"We just needed to go back to the drawing board and watch over footage, or where we went wrong, and just go from there. It's okay to accept failure but it is how you bounce back."

ALSO READ: Beaumont 'so grateful' to West Indies as women's summer prepares for delayed start

Dottin, one of the most explosive hitters in the women's game and an accomplished fast bowler, scored just 12 runs in three T20 World Cup innings, so it could be argued that she is still looking to bounce back herself after such a long injury layoff not to mention, like everyone else in the series, nearly six months of no cricket due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dottin didn't bowl at all during the T20 World Cup, although she said her shoulder had recovered enough for her to do so while in England.

"I'm feeling pretty good at this moment," Dottin said. "It's been a long time I've been out. I've been working on specific stuff, as in strengthening my injury, getting back out there. My form is there but there's still more areas that I can improve on. But all in all I'm actually feeling pretty good, and glad to be here in England to play this series."

Dottin also hoped the series, starting on September 21 with all matches to be played behind closed doors at Derby's Incora County Ground, would encourage other teams to begin competing again too. The third match on September 26 will be televised live on free-to-air TV - a first for women's international cricket since 1993 - on the BBC.

"It's very good getting some cricket with what's going on with Covid-19 and stuff," she said. "It's a chance for both teams... it'll be worldwide stuff, and more exposure.

"But I think is a good step to actually encourage other teams or show them that we definitely have safety and they are well taking care of us in this Covid time, so you can actually not panic and just make a move."

West Indies arrived in Derby on Monday for the hastily arranged series, which will ensure internatational women's cricket is played in England this summer, following the collapse of planned tours by India and South Africa.

And while she stopped short of following West Indies men's captain Jason Holder in calling on England to return the favour by travelling to the Caribbean next year, Dottin said she would "like that to happen" if possible.

"It's been an honour and a privilege," she said of West Indies Women touring England. "We definitely take the invitation from England because we were actually so excited.

"Yeah, it is a last-minute thing that has been put in place, but we actually made it, and were open to travel. It's very important. the games are televised so it will get people's attention on the game and how women's cricket is actually played."

The ICC has been sent a complaint over alleged government interference in South African cricket, after Cricket South Africa confirmed it will adopt an affirmative-action policy in appointing consultants. The grievance was sent by the South African Institute for Race Relations (IRR), a 91-year old research and policy organisation, and includes six proposals for cricket in the country, among them removing racial quotas from the national team and CSA management entirely.

The ICC has not yet received the letter from the IRR.

While the IRR recognises that "that the legacy of apartheid casts a long shadow" over sport in South Africa, it has accused CSA of "years of mismanagement and political and governmental interference," which it claims has caused South Africa to stray from the values of the ICC. The IRR's letter lists those values as fairness and integrity, excellence, accountability, teamwork, respect for diversity and commitment to the global game and its great spirit.

"Fairness has given way to ideological agendas, integrity to political opportunism and manipulation," the letter reads. "Excellence has been compromised by placing sporting achievement second to political decision-making. A lack of accountability has meant allegations of malfeasance have remained unaddressed, while allowing these problems to escalate to a point where blatant racism is now CSA policy, putting paid to any ambition to respect diversity. Cumulatively, these failures have diminished the spirit of the game of cricket and tarnished the image of the sport."

The letter further asserts that CSA has transgressed against the ICC's Anti-Discrimination Policy for International Cricket, and made reference to the ban slapped on South Africa during the Apartheid era for its racially discriminatory selection criteria. Under white minority rule, which ended in 1994, South Africa's national teams only included white-classified players and only played against other white players. The most high-profile example of this was prime minister John Vorster's opposition to Basil d'Oliveria (a coloured South African player who qualified for England) traveling to play in South Africa. The incident played a major part in South Africa's isolation from international sport, which ran from 1970 to 1991. The IRR warned that a similar fate could meet South Africa now. "The increasingly worrying actions of CSA once again risk turning South Africa into a racial pariah," the letter said.

While the ICC's constitution forbids government interference, how the interference is interpreted and members are sanctioned is not so straightforward. Zimbabwe were suspended most recently for government interference, for instance. But the presence of the head of state as the board patron has never been a problem in Pakistan, where currently Imran Khan, the former captain and now Prime Minister, has effectively had the domestic cricket structure overhauled. The BCCI, meanwhile, has admitted India will only play Pakistan if the Indian government grants them permission.

In South Africa's case, the racial composition of teams has always been dictated to, in part, by government policy. In the Apartheid era, the national team was all-white and William Milton, who was South Africa's second Test captain and head of the prime minister's office, blocked Krom Hendricks from playing. Post-readmission, a quota system was introduced in 1999, which required the national team to field four players of colour in an XI. Over the years, that system has been modified and now domestic teams must include a minimum of six players of colour including three black Africans every time they take the field while the national teams must field six players of colour with a minimum of two black African players on average over the course of a season.

Despite CSA meeting those targets, it has come under fire in recent months from the sports minister Nathi Mthethwa who was unhappy with the number of white men in positions of power. In December, CSA suspended former CEO Thabang Moreo, who is black African, and appointed Jacques Faul, who is white, in acting capacity (Faul has since resigned and has been replaced by Kugandrie Govender, a woman of Indian heritage) and hired Graeme Smith as director of cricket. Smith appointed Mark Boucher as head coach of the men's national team and Enoch Nkwe, a black African who had been the interim team director, as Boucher's assistant. He also roped in Jacques Kallis and Paul Harris (both white) as temporary consultants for the season, while giving Charl Langeveldt and Justin Ontong (both coloured) permanent positions as bowling and fielding coach respectively.

The presence of Boucher and Kallis was perceived as the reunification of the clique that the former opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs once said ran the national team and has prompted widespread criticism from former players of colour in light of the Black Lives Movement that has swept through South African cricket. Earlier this week, CSA resolved to apply a policy of preferring candidates of colour for consulting roles and while Govender said the new approach is not set in stone, the IRR has labelled CSA's actions as "damaging to the core pursuit of the ICC."

The IRR has called for an end to racial quotas and called on the government to fund and secure sporting infrastructure in public schools, on the private sector and communities to assist in grassroots development, and asked that "the powers of politicians and government officials at national and provincial levels to interfere at sport at all levels must be drastically reduced, and have government focus on providing funding on bases of merit and sporting achievement."

CSA will continue to consult with the sports ministry as it seeks to reschedule its AGM, which was postponed from this Saturday.

No Result St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 46 for 0 (Lynn 23*, Lewis 21*) v Jamaica Tallawahs

The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots made a healthy start, but after 5.4 overs, the rain came down over Tarouba to stop their innings, and their CPL campaign, in its tracks. With only three points - including one from the washed-out game today - from nine matches, the Patriots have no hope of making the semi-finals. The Jamaica Tallawahs, meanwhile, remain in the fourth place on the table, with seven points from their eight matches.

Before the rain, Evin Lewis had struck two boundaries in the first over - bowled by Fidel Edwards - to get the Patriots on their way. It was opening partner Chris Lynn, however, who had the bigger impact on the powerplay. He pulled Mujeeb Ur Rehman for four, then launched him for two successive leg-side sixes to finish the fifth over, before Lewis blasted Veerasammy Permaul down the ground for six in the following over.

Just as it had begun raining boundaries, however, the clouds unleashed, and no further play was possible. So steady was the rain, that the groundstaff were unable to remove the covers at any stage to attempt a resumption.

Bell: No issues with Gase over injury, otherwise

Published in Breaking News
Thursday, 03 September 2020 12:09

One week after an apparent dispute over an injury, New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell took issue with the perception that he and coach Adam Gase have a strained relationship.

"I don't understand why everybody is trying to put me and Gase against each other," Bell said Thursday on a Zoom call. "We're not against each other. I don't understand why it's so hard to believe, but we actually like each other."

This was Bell's first comment since questioning Gase eight days ago after an instrasquad scrimmage in which he was removed due to hamstring "tightness," as Gase told reporters at the time. Bell responded on Twitter, saying he had no hamstring issues and suggesting he didn't want to come out.

It resulted in a long sitdown between Bell and Gase, who admitted to reporters he was "caught off guard" by Bell's Twitter rant.

A week later, Bell acknowledged his hamstring was "a little tight," but he indicated he felt well enough to continue. He now realizes the trainers were trying to protect him.

"It was no big deal," Bell said. "It was just a miscommunication between me, the trainers and Coach Gase. But I just want to really clear it up for everybody, fantasy owners and everybody: My hamstring is fine."

To avoid another misunderstanding, Bell said he would like to speak directly to Gase instead of using "two, three, four middle men." That's not always possible, though, on a chaotic sideline during the game.

The Bell-Gase relationship has been under the spotlight since last year, when it was reported that Gase was opposed to signing a running back to a massive free-agent contract -- four years, $52.5 million. Gase also was criticized for under-utilizing Bell, who suffered the worst statistical season of his career.

"Ever since I got here and he got here, there's kind of been this little thing of me and him butting heads all the time, which I don't know where it comes from," Bell said. "We had a long conversation (last week) because basically people (blew) it out of proportion because I did make the tweet." Gase said he has no problems with Bell. And vice versa.

But Bell refused to admit it was a mistake to air his feelings on Twitter before speaking with his coach.

"Everybody tried to make it seem like it was trying to go against what Gase said," he said. "I'm just trying to clarify: My hamstrings are fine. I wasn't worried about my practice reps or what people tried to make it seem like. I'm just telling you, my hamstring is fine."

Bell, 28, who reported to camp at 210 pounds (12 below his listed 2019 weight), reiterated he feels like he's in the best shape of his career.

The Jets are talking about expanding his role as receiver, with Gase saying: "I feel like we can find better ways to get him the ball to help him create more explosive plays. We can get him in space better than we did last year."

Bell caught 66 passes last season, but only 11 came when he was lined up outside the backfield, according to NFL NextGen Stats. He said he'd welcome a more versatile role in the offense, but he said that was secondary to winning.

"This is the best I've felt since I've been in the league," Bell said. "We're going to see. We play Buffalo in a (10) days. I think it'll be my first opportunity to show how different a player I am. It's going to be fun."

Sources: Fins fielding trade inquiries on Rosen

Published in Breaking News
Thursday, 03 September 2020 12:09

The Miami Dolphins have fielded trade inquiries in recent days about former first-round pick Josh Rosen, league sources tell ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Rosen could be on the move for the second time in his young NFL career, as rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has proved healthy so far in training camp.

Rosen has been part of a three-man quarterback competition in training camp, with Ryan Fitzpatrick as the front-runner to start in Week 1.

Coach Brian Flores hasn't announced an official decision on the starting and backup quarterbacks, but the Dolphins have seen enough so far in camp to make Fitzpatrick and Tagovailoa their two active quarterbacks on game day.

So in an upcoming weekend of transactions, Rosen could be on the move again. It would be his second trade in the past 17 months

Fitzpatrick, Tagovailoa and Rosen were all participating in the Dolphins' practice Thursday.

Rosen, a top-10 pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, was traded to Miami during draft weekend in April 2019 for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick.

That move hasn't worked out so far for Miami, and there isn't a clear path for Rosen to become a starter again with the Dolphins. He started three games last season before being benched for Fitzpatrick for the rest of the year.

Rosen has spent the past year focused on improving and learning from Fitzpatrick rather than winning the starting job.

"I was drafted in the first round, and I think people around the league still think I can play to a certain extent. Whenever that opportunity comes, wherever it comes, I just want to be prepared for it," Rosen said. "Because they're few and far between. I didn't do great with the two I already had. Not many people get third chances. I'm definitely going to seize the opportunity when it comes."

The question over the weekend is what value can the Dolphins salvage in a trade for Rosen.

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