England blame 'unacceptable' Newlands facilities after claims of Covid-19 protocols breach

Row erupts over tour biosecurity after England players use nets adjoining construction site

Firdose Moonda07-Dec-2020The use of a previously off-limits nets facility at Newlands has emerged as a possible source of the Covid-19 infection within the England camp, as the ECB hit back at claims from officials at Western Province that its players had breached the teams’ biosecure environment for a practice session on the eve of Friday’s scheduled first ODI.In an email sent on Thursday, December 3, and seen by ESPNcricinfo, WP informed CSA, ECB and the Claremont Police, who are in charge of maintaining the teams’ bio-bubble, that they could not be held liable for the safety or health of the England team, who opted to practice in a nets facility adjoining a construction site at the Kelvin Grove End of the ground.”Please be advised that the England cricket team has not adhered to the arrangements as agreed by all in the ESSPC [Event Security and Safety Planning Committee] meetings,” the email read. “The practice nets next to the construction site is not allowed to be used on practice days. Three cages of nets was set up on the square on the field. This serves to inform you that the England Cricket Team has accessed and used the nets today (3 December 2020) at their own risk. WPCA and the ESSPC will not be held liable or responsible for the safety and health of the England Cricket Team.”In response, an ECB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo that the session had arisen due to the “unacceptable” standard of the three practice pitches provided on the square at Newlands, and that CSA had accepted England’s request to put up a security cordon to facilitate the use of the nets as per similar arrangements during the T20I series on November 28.”On arrival at Newlands on 3 December, we advised the venue that the three nets provided on the main pitch were not of a standard for conducive practice, as per the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the respective boards,” an ECB statement said. “Batsmen were unable to face seam bowlers on the nets on the main pitch as the surfaces were rendered and unacceptable.ALSO READ: Explainer – Will the series still go ahead after Covid outbreak?”We requested with CSA that we would like to use the practice nets and that we would create a security cordon to ensure the players and coaches could enter the facility safely, as done previously on 28 November. This was confirmed by England’s Security Team, the Team Operations Manager and the Team Doctor. We were satisfied with this outcome and we were able to practice in the net facility safely.”The team also used the main outfield for fielding drills, a seam bowlers bowl through pitch and a number of nets were used for range-hitting against spin bowlers and coaches throws.”As far as the England touring party are concerned, the safety and health of our players and coaches was not compromised.”The nets at Newlands are currently out of bounds due to the construction of an office block at the Kelvin Grove End of the ground. The building site is attended to by several workers throughout the day. When South African players, including Andile Phehlukwayo and David Miller, who missed the T20 series, and some support staff attempted to have a net after Friday’s postponed first ODI, they were sent back and instructed to return to their hotel rooms.At the time, a third South African player had just tested positive for the coronavirus, causing the first ODI to be pushed back. On Saturday, two members of the Vineyard Hotel staff, who do not work in the same area and have not left the premises since November 16, also tested positive, prompting the entire England touring party to be retested. England returned two “unconfirmed” positive results, but have sought to get the tests analysed by doctors in London. The two England cases meant Sunday’s ODI in Paarl was abandoned.The fate of the rest of the series, which has now been reduced to two ODIs, hinges on the analysis of England’s results. Should positive cases be confirmed, those infected and their close contacts will have to quarantine in South Africa for 10 days before leaving for the UK, which could impact on Big Bash and Christmas plans. If the results of the tests are negative, the series could be completed with back-to-back ODIs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Monchi ready to present formal Aston Villa bid for £25.5m defender

Aston Villa and transfer chief Monchi are ready to formalise a bid for one £25.5 million defender, who has been called the "big star" of his country.

Villa struggle with PSR and may have to sell this summer

At the start of March, Villa announced pre-tax losses of just under £120 million for the 2022/23 season, which have been a cause for concern in the eyes of supporters.

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ByAngus Sinclair Jun 7, 2024

NSWE lodged a proposal to the Premier League at a recent summit, suggesting that the losses which clubs can make over a rolling three-year period be increased. The current limit is £105 million in that time frame, and Villa wanted more leeway with a new £135 million cap.

However, this initiative was rejected outright at a vote, with 15 rival clubs going against it. Villa are one of a number of clubs who will have to make at least one sale by 30th June to avoid sanctions, according to Sky Sports, despite Unai Emery sealing Champions League qualification and millions in broadcasting revenue as a result.

"I think it’s a blow," said journalist Dan Bardell to Villa News, after their proposal to increase the loss threshold was snubbed.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery.

"Obviously, the club are trying to push that through and you’d imagine that the difference in the two sums would alleviate Villa’s PSR problems. They’re now potentially going to have to sell someone by 30 June and from what I’m hearing they’re looking to shift someone to comply.

"I don’t think they are alone in that but in a summer where there’s an international tournament, the market is typically slow. It’s a difficult situation for Villa from everything that I’m hearing about it."

Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz continues to attract interest from Arsenal as a potential sale, but Emery will be reluctant to lose such a star player who bagged 10 goals and 10 assists in all competitions last season.

Monchi will also have to work harder to navigate the market in terms of incomings. Cost-effective but quality options are a necessity in this situation, but one astute option could be Inter wing-back Denzel Dumfries.

Aston Villa ready to formalise bid for Dumfries

The Netherlands international, who Rafael van der Vaart called his country's "big star", could leave Inter for just £25.5m this summer, with his contract expiring next year.

Appearances

36

Goals

4

Assists

6

Minutes per goal

492

Minutes played

1,965

That is according to Inter Live, which also claims that Aston Villa are ready to formalise a bid for Dumfries amid the ongoing uncertainty over his future at San Siro. The 28-year-old bagged four goals and four assists in 31 Serie A appearances last season as an attack-minded full-back, and there is little doubting he could do very well in the Premier League.

"He is really our very best player at the moment, he’s involved in everything," said Van der Vaart to Dutch broadcaster NOS.

"He has provided seven assists in the last seven games, but it could have been even more. He is always on the move. A really great player. His touches are also good, which was different in the past. He is the ideal full-back."

Governo de São Paulo confirma retorno das torcidas em estádios paulistas para 1º de novembro

MatériaMais Notícias

Nesta quarta-feira (4), o governo de São Paulo divulgou a data em que será liberada a presença de torcedores nos estádios paulistas: 1º de novembro.

Confira como estão hoje os campeões do futebol na Olimpíada de 2016

O primeiro dia do mês de novembro é quando o governo acredita que 90% dos adultos devem ter sido completamente vacinados. Nesta data, de acordo com o governo de São Paulo, todos os eventos estarão liberados no estado.

– Os eventos passam a ser permitidos em um modelo onde não há restrição de ocupação , mas permanece a restrição de distanciamento. Então, o cálculo de ocupação precisa ser realizado, porque não pode haver aglomeração, e as pessoas precisam estar distanciadas. O uso de máscaras permanece. – disse Patrícia Ellen,secretária de Desenvolvimento Econômico do estado de São Paulo.

VEJA TABELA E SIMULE OS JOGOS DOS PAULISTAS NO BRASILEIRÃO 2021

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O relaxamento nas regras, no entanto, irá começar no dia 17 de agosto, quando eventos sociais, museus e feiras corporativas, com controle de público, estarão liberados no estado, desde que não gerem aglomerações e que sigam os protocolos de saúde e higiene.

A data acima marca o fim das restrições de horário e de público nos eventos flexibilizados em agosto. No entanto, os representantes do governo não especificaram sobre qual tipo de evento social estará liberado.

– O grande salto do dia 17 de agosto é a retirada da restrição de horário, porque isso vai permitir que restaurantes funcionem, que eventos sociais sejam planejados, que as pessoas possam celebrar, que os donos desses tipos de estabelecimentos possam ter planejamento de seus negócios, mas com segurança. – concluiu Patrícia.

Flamengo e Lyon não chegam a acordo, e Thiago Mendes seguirá na França

MatériaMais Notícias

A negociação entre Flamengo e Lyon envolvendo Thiago Mendes chegou ao fim. A direção da Gávea não chegou aos termos desejados pelos franceses. Assim, volante não reforçará o Rubro-Negro na temporada. Não houve um acordo entre as partes em relação à opção de compra após o período de empréstimo, e Thiago Mendes está à disposição do técnico Peter Bosz para a estreia do Lyon no Campeonato Francês, no próximo sábado, contra o Stade.

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+ Confira a classificação e os próximos jogos do Flamengo no Brasileirão!

A informação foi inicialmente publicada pelo “O Dia” e confirmada pelo LANCE!. O Lyon – que comprou Thiago Mendes do Lille em 2019, por cerca de R$ 100 milhões -exigiu a cláusula de obrigação de compra após o empréstimo para negociá-lo. Apesar da presença de Marcos Braz e Bruno Spindel na França e das negociações diretas com o diretor Juninho Pernambucano, não houve acerto.

O desejo do atleta em defender o Flamengo foi levado em consideração pelo Lyon, mas agora Thiago Mendes – que tem contrato até 2023 – segue no clube. Em suas temporadas no Lyon, o volante fez 37 e 35 partidas, respectivamente.

O Flamengo, por sua vez, segue atrás de reforços, mas vem encontrando dificuldades no mercado. Atualmente, o técnico Renato Gaúcho tem três volantes no elenco profissional: Willian Arão, Thiago Maia e João Gomes.

Atlanta United part ways with VP Carlos Bocanegra after nine years at the helm

The MLS club have parted ways with their long term VP & technical director as they make a playoff push

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  • Bocanegra oversaw roster construction from 2017
  • Directed team that won MLS Cup in 2018
  • Garth Lagerwey will assume role until end of season
  • Getty

    WHAT HAPPENED?

    Atlanta have made a significant front office change with just two months remaining in the MLS regular season. Bocanegra, who was intrumental in the expansion franchise's early success, has been removed from his position with immediate effect, the club announced on Wednesday.

    The move comes just weeks after a busy summer window in which Atlanta spent heavily on former Atalanta attacking midfielder Aleksei Miranchuk. Bocanegra also directed a number of high profile departures, generating big fees for Caleb Wiley and Thiago Almada.

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  • THE BIGGER PICTURE

    The move comes at an interesting time for the MLS side. Atlanta is currently clinging on to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and face a tricky slate to round off the season as they hope to secure a playoff spot.

    It has been a turbulent year for the team, which has won the 2018 MLS Cup and the 2019 U.S. Open Cup. They parted ways with head coach Gonzalo Pineda in early June, and appointed Assistant Coach Rob Valentino as interim boss for the remainder of the season. The club promised in June that a search for a new permanent head coach would begin immediately, but there have been no further updates since that announcement.

  • WHAT GARTH LAGERWEY SAID

    In an official statement, Club CEO Garth Lagerwey spoke on the decision to part ways with Bocanegra: "We are deeply appreciative of Carlos’s dedication and success over the last nine years with Atlanta United. However, I believe it’s time for our club to move in a new direction. While we will continue to fight for a playoff spot down the final stretch of the season, this gives us a clean slate and a runway to properly assess all vacancies in our sporting operation ahead of what will be an extremely important offseason for our club."

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  • DID YOU KNOW?

    Bocanegra's first iteration of Atlanta United was one of the most successful expansion franchises in MLS history. In 2017, they became the first ever expansion side to qualify for the playoffs, and 12 months later lifted MLS Cup on the back of an immensely talented squad, highlighted by MVP winner Josef Martinez.

    Bocanegra also is one of the most successful and capped U.S. men's national team players, having made 110 caps and winning two Gold Cups.

Prospect of 3-0 keeps South Africa-Australia fires burning

South Africa have called up uncapped right-arm quick Daryn Dupavillon as a result of Hendricks’ illness and the resting of Ngidi for the third and final ODI

The Preview by Alan Gardner06-Mar-2020

Lungi Ngidi celebrates with teammates after dismissing Steve Smith•AFP via Getty Images

Big pictureSouth Africa ended their year-long wait for a series win thanks to the efforts of Janneman Malan and co in Bloemfontein, removing some of the stress from the final fixture of the home summer. Quinton de Kock has overseen some fitful performances in the white-ball formats, but the continuation of South Africa’s dominant recent ODI record against Australia has provided a rallying point after the tumult of 2019-20.With Malan and Heinrich Klaasen both scoring maiden hundreds, backed up by the promise of Kyle Verreynne and signs that Lungi Ngidi is rediscovering top form, South Africa can glimpse the outlines of a new-look one-day side ahead of next week’s trip to India that will round off their season. It may be that 50-over cricket is something of a development format right now, with greater emphasis on the back-to-back T20 World Cups in 2020 and 2021 – but then South Africa could do with developing their player pool after a slew of retirements over the last year or two.Australia’s ODI plans may also be in need of some tinkering, with the Bloem result now making it four defeats in a row, and with largely a full-strength squad to pick from (barring the absence of Glenn Maxwell). D’Arcy Short made a career-best batting at No. 5 – for the first time in an Australia shirt – in the second match, but there is a sense of ponderousness around their middle order. For all the talk about how to pronounce Marnus Labuschagne’s surname, it may have gone unnoticed that Australia have lost on all four occasions in which he has spent time in the middle.Priorities, as we’ve mentioned, lie elsewhere – as evidenced by the (completely understandable) decision to let Mitchell Starc leave the tour early in order to go and watch Alyssa Healy play in the T20 World Cup final. The absence of one final duel between de Kock and Starc – who had pegged back the South Africa captain’s middle stump three times in five innings – deprives the series finale of another edge. It has been a low-key tour, perhaps inevitably after the controversy of 2017-18, but the possibility of a 3-0 scoreline should be enough to keep both sides motivated to the end.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)South Africa WWLWW
Australia LLLLW
In the spotlightOne day you’re cock of the walk, next you’re a feather duster – or the opposite, if you’re Janneman Malan, who has been in record-breaking form since his debut in Paarl, where he fell to the first ball of the match. He limped out of that game after hurting his leg in the field, but was fit and firing when it came to the second ODI, when his unbeaten hundred got South Africa over the line. He has since been announced as Leicestershire’s overseas signing for the English summer and – who knows? – there could still be greater accolades to come.Mitchell Marsh came to South Africa having not played a limited-overs international since 2018, but won his chance after a strong Big Bash ahead of the likes of Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handcomb and Ashton Turner. However, innings of 19, 6, 19, 16 and 36 in five T20I and ODI outings, to go with a combined 1 for 89 with the ball, suggest he is nowhere near resolving his enigma status with Australia. Potchefstroom could therefore represent a final opportunity to maintain his spot in the XI ahead of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting next week.Team newsSouth Africa have called up uncapped right-arm quick Daryn Dupavillon and, with Beuran Hendricks unwell and Lungi Ngidi rested, he is in line to make his debut. Temba Bavuma has been given further time to recover from his hamstring injury, with Rassie van der Dussen joining the squad as cover. Tabraiz Shamsi is also absent, after the birth of his first child.South Africa: (possible) 1 Janneman Malan, 2 Quinton de Kock, 3 Jon-Jon Smuts, 4 Kyle Verreyne, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lutho Sipamla, 11 Daryn DupavillonWith Starc heading home, Australia will have to bring in either Josh Hazlewood or Kane Richardson – possibly both, at the expense of Ashton Agar, given Short provides another option in the spin department.Australia: (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Steve Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 D’Arcy Short, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Alex Carey, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Josh HazlewoodPitch and conditionsSenwes Park has not hosted an ODI since 2015, and the pitch has a reputation for being batting friendly – although that was not on show during the U19 World Cup final last month, when Bangladesh scrapped to a dramatic win over India after being set a target of 178. This late in the season, the surface is unlikely to get much quicker. It’s set to be a hot day in Potchefstroom, a student town, which could lead to a lively atmosphere in the stands.Stats and trivia Malan became the first man to follow a duck on ODI debut with a hundred in his second match. Australia have played three times at Senwes Park, winning twice during the 2003 World Cup and tying with South Africa in 2002. South Africa have only once before whitewashed Australia in a series of three ODIs or more – in 2016-17 when they won 5-0 at home.Quotes”From the last game, we were pretty good at everything. Maybe one or two small things, maybe in the field, we can be a little bit better at that. We’ve played pretty well these last two games. It’s a matter of maintaining the standards we’ve set.”
“I batted down the order for Western Australia when I started playing one-day cricket, so I’ve done it a little bit and enjoyed it. Looking forward to the opportunity to doing it for Australia and hopefully do it well.”
D’Arcy Short is happy with his new brief in the ODI side

Emma Hayes' USWNT reclaim top spot in FIFA world rankings after winning Olympic gold

After an undefeated Olympic run, the U.S. moved back to the top of the global rankings

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USWNT back on top in FIFA rankingsComes after Olympic GoldExperienced lowest ranking ever in JuneWHAT HAPPENED?

Winning Gold in Paris at the 2024 Olympic Games is now paying dividends in other ways for Emma Hayes' squad. FIFA announced Friday that the U.S. women's national team are now back at the top of its world rankings.

After dropping from third to fifth in June's edition of rankings – the lowest the U.S. have ever been since FIFA's introduction of the system – the USWNT are back at No. 1 for the first time in 12 months.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Under the guidance of Hayes, who has only been in charge of the program since late May, the U.S. reclaimed the top spot in world rankings after a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the gold medal match in Paris.

With that came the team's fifth gold and seventh overall medal of the Olympic Games. The U.S. have not been ranked No. 1 by FIFA since June, 2023.

England's Lionesses have also moved to the No. 2 spot in the rankings, while FIFA World Cup-holders Spain dropped two spots into third.

DID YOU KNOW?

Host nation France dropped eight spots in the rankings, from second to 10th, the largest movement between any side in the rankings.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR THE USWNT?

The USWNT return to action this October, when they take on Iceland and Argentina in a pair of international friendlies.

Rohit Sharma's century trumps Steven Smith's as India take series

Without their allrounder going into the series, losing their in-form opening batsman to injury during the series decider, India found a way to win the three-match ODI series against Australia despite losing all three tosses. Australia’s decision to bat first left Virat Kohli smiling ear to ear, his bowlers only widened that smile by keeping Australia down to 286 despite a Steven Smith century, but the chase was not your regular stroll that the scoreline suggested. On a testing, slow pitch, Rohit Sharma scored a special century to negate the challenge.In the final equation, on a pitch that spinners from both sides were a threat, the two main quicks from either side proved to be the difference. Jasprit Bumrah was stellar in conceding just 38 in his 10 overs, and Mohammed Shami took wickets with the new ball and old. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, though, were a big letdown for Australia, conceding 130 runs in 16 wicktless overs between them, which meant when the spinners and Josh Hazlewood bowled well, Sharma and Kohli were not under any asking-rate pressure.Australia’s team management had stayed at the ground till late on match eve to know dew wouldn’t play a big role. Combined with a dry pitch, and their own suspect middle order, they wanted runs on board. Shami dealt those hopes a big blow in the first exchanges despite a wayward – eight wides in first three overs – by both of India’s opening bowlers.In the fourth over, Shami got the ball to shape up to swing back into David Warner, but leave him upon pitching, taking the edge. This was a dismissal from an opening hour of a Test match. Bumrah’s edge over Aaron Finch was apparent again with two runs off 13 legal deliveries. Even when India removed Bumrah after just three overs, the edginess remained, especially with Navdeep Saini bowling the eighth over for just two runs.In the ninth over, Finch went for perhaps a highly risky single to Jadeja at point, but Smith was the bigger culprit in not trusting the call from the non-striker. The run-out left Finch furious, and Smith with a big task of shepherding the suspect middle order. Except that he was met in the middle by his clone Marnus Labuschagne, who has quickly shown he doesn’t need much shepherding. Yet, had Kuldeep Yadav collected a slowish throw cleanly he might have run Labuschagne out to make it 57 for 3.4:10

Bowlers set up series-clinching win for India

That error survived, Smith and Labuschagne pulled Australia out of that crisis, taking them into the last 20 overs with eight wickets in hand. This time Labuschagne reached his maiden half-century too. However, just like the last match, Ravindra Jadeja had begun to frustrate the batsmen with tight overs. In partnership with Yadav and Shami, he strung together 45 deliveries without a boundary. Then he had Kohli helping him in the 32nd over.At a close extra cover, Kohli made an excellent diving save to his left to deny Labuschagne a boundary first ball. To the third ball, he dived to his right to dismiss Labuschagne after a maiden fifty. An experiment to pinch-hit with Mitchell Starc lasted three balls with a slog sweep ending up with deep midwicket. Before this double-wicket maiden, at 173 for 2 in 31 overs, Australia were looking good for a score in the vicinity of 320 despite that recent slowdown.If Starc’s dismissal was a sign the pitch was not the usual flat Bangalore surface, Smith’s failure to place the ball in the coming overs only reinforced it. A mix of orthodox and reverse sweeps from Alex Carey gave Australia some momentum in a run-a-ball 58-run partnership, but the moment Carey tried to hit a six even he ended up miscuing Yadav to deep cover. Add to it the reverse swing India extracted, and Smith had to recalculate and target only the very last overs.Smith threatened a final kick with 25 off eight deliveries, but Shami not only had him caught at deep midwicket, he also ensured there was no annoying cameo from the tail.It was obvious fairly early this was not going to be an easy chase. Not often in ODI cricket do you see two fairly close lbw appeals, three plays and misses and one edge falling short against Sharma in the first 10 overs. Also just as rare is Sharma taking extra risks and scoring 41 runs in those 10 overs.Mohammed Shami celebrates the wicket of David Warner•Associated Press

This was a delicate situation. Shikhar Dhawan had injured himself while fielding. KL Rahul was opening with him after having kept for 50 overs. The ball was doing a bit off the seam. India’s batting more or less went till No. 6 Jadeja. Rohit, though, backed himself and knew he couldn’t let India fall behind the game by the time spin came on.So when Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa and Hazlewood put the squeeze on, taking Rahul’s wicket and conceding 35 in the next 10 overs, India could sit back and absorb that pressure. And when pressure was built, Finch didn’t go to his main bowlers to go find the breakthrough. He gambled. First with Labuschagne, then with himself. Twenty runs in two overs. Pressure off. And when Finch finally brought his main bowlers, they released the pressure further. Before Rajkot, Starc had taken a wicket at least in his previous matches; now he had two wicketless outings.Not that Sharma really needed freebies. He knew Kohli was going to set up to play till the end. He kept taking calculating risks, hitting six sixes in his innings, reaching his hundred with India’s score only 154. When he did perish, he did so trying to put the chase beyond doubt, looking to hit his seventh six. It left India 81 to get in 80 balls, and if there were any nerves with a shortened batting line-up, the king of chases was there to soothe them.In Kohli’s company, Shreyas Iyer too made a mini comeback from a mini slump. Kohli missed out on a century, but by the time he fell for 89 India needed just 13 from 25.

'Friends already!' – Lionesses star Lauren Hemp explains what Vivianne Miedema will bring to Manchester City following acrimonious Arsenal exit

Lionesses star Lauren Hemp is relishing playing alongside Vivianne Miedema at Manchester City following her departure from Arsenal.

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Miedema made shock Arsenal exit this summerMoved on a free transfer to Manchester CityHemp talks up new team-mateWHAT HAPPENED?

Miedema left Arsenal after seven years in the summer and moved on a free transfer to Manchester City. The Dutch star has since revealed she opted to move on as she no longer felt the right fit for the Gunners. Arsenal have been criticised for allowing Miedema to leave. WSL legend Ellen White branded her exit a "shocking decision" by the club, while fans have also vented their fury and called for the club to offer a new contract.

AdvertisementManchester CityTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Miedema has now signed for Manchester City and will hope to fire the team to glory after they finished as runners-up behind Chelsea in the Women's Super League last season. The Dutch star will link up with players including Khadija Shaw, Jill Roord and Leila Ouahabi as well as Lionesses Alex Greenwood, Khiara Keating, and Chloe Kelly. Hemp is also a new team-mate and thinks City have made an excellent signing.

WassermanWHAT HEMP SAID

Hemp said: "I've met a her lot and come up against her on the pitch a lot of times. We've actually exchanged shirts as well, after I've played against Holland, so I see us as friends already! But hopefully that relationship will get even stronger going into the season. I think she'll be a great addition to the team. She’s a player who can do it all and who I’ve looked up to for a long time.  Obviously, we've got a fellow Dutchie in [Manchester City midfielder] Jill Roord, who unfortunately tore her ACL, but she's been a very pivotal player in our squad, so hopefully Viv will be able to do the same."

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY

Miedema is set for a swift return to Arsenal as Manchester City will take on the Gunners in their opening fixture of the new WSL season.

'I feel guilty' – Mohammad Naveed accepts he failed to report corrupt approach

Reports say the UAE fast bowler met with a “fixer” claiming to a be a T10 franchise representative

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2019

‘My focus is only on cricket, not on being a bad boy.’ – Mohammad Naveed•Getty Images

Mohammad Naveed, the UAE fast bowler and captain facing ICC corruption charges, says he made a “mistake” in not reporting an approach made to him. There were three players caught in this investigation but Qadeer Ahmed has already made it clear that he wants to push for an appeal.According to a report in the , Naveed was approached by a person claiming to be a representative from a T10 franchise but once the 32-year old realised the person he was meeting was a “fixer” he ended the conversation.Naveed, however, faces more than just a failure to report charge. On Wednesday, the ICC charged him and senior batsman Shaiman Anwar with “contriving, or being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of matches in the upcoming ICC World T20 Qualifiers 2019.” ESPNcricinfo understands that both players, allegedly, stood to gain up to US$272,000 (approx.) if they were successful in their attempts.”I am very sincere about my game, I am very sincere about my career,” Naveed told the . “I have been successful for the UAE around the world, in leagues, for franchises. That is because I am very sincere about my game.”Now this has happened, I feel guilty. Why did I not talk to the board, why did I not talk to the ICC? It is my mistake, and I feel guilty.””My family is let down, my friends are let down. Everybody is let down. This was my mistake.Naveed defended himself by pointing to his record for the UAE. “I’m only scared of my God, not anybody else,” he said. “I speak very truly. My passion is cricket, I love cricket, my life is cricket.”I am a successful cricketer – not only in Associate cricket, but in all the world. Look at my ranking, look at my economy rate. My focus is only on cricket, not on being a bad boy.”Qadeer is in trouble for failing to disclose details of an approach and also giving out inside information while knowing it might be used for betting. The 33-year old who has played only 11 ODIs and ten T20Is for UAE agreed that he made a mistake in not reporting the approach but denied all other wrongdoing.”Regarding code breaches, I admit I failed to report a wrong approach to the ICC. I should have taken that seriously, and reported it to the [Emirates Cricket Board],” he told the . “In terms of the other breaches, for inside information and non-cooperation on things, I want to deny that. I will appeal to the ICC regarding the other breaches.”Naveed and his team-mates have 14 days from October 16, 2019 to respond to the ICC’s charges.

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