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Former county colleagues believe England’s new MD has had the perfect preparation

Cameron Ponsonby27-Apr-2022You’d have to try hard to hear a bad word said about Rob Key in his home county of Kent and his legend around the area exists for good reason. A player for almost 20 years, and captain for almost a decade, he was the focal point of the county and steered the club through difficult times both on the pitch and off.”For however many years it was, he was absolutely the cricket leader at Kent,” Paul Downton, Kent’s director of Cricket, says, “in a time when captains probably had more power than possibly they do now with the amount of support staff you now have.”He would have run Kent in so many ways, so you could say he was managing director of Kent in that sense.”Downton knows better than most what lies in store for Key as he prepares to be unveiled in his new role as England men’s managing director, having held a version of the job himself for a turbulent 14-month period between 2014 and 2015, until his sacking in the wake of that year’s disastrous World Cup.”I loved every moment of being in that role,” Downton adds. “It came to me at a time that was right for me and there were lots of challenges all the time. Obviously it didn’t last as long as I’d have liked it to and there are lots of reasons for that and it’s never that simple.”[Key] will bring his skillset which is, he’s obviously a deep thinker on cricket and been around the game so he’s very up to date. From a commentary point of view you’re in touch with modern players and watching the sport all around the world, and I’m sure his contact book is extremely thick. So he’ll be really well positioned from that point of view.”Geraint Jones, Key’s former Kent and England team-mate, shares the belief that his years in charge at the club will have set him up well for the challenges ahead.”Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Jones says. “We went through a tough financial period and Keysey then took on a role of being the general director who was heavily involved in overseas recruitment, the squad, the strength of that and the direction [of the club].”Daniel Bell-Drummond, Kent’s current vice-captain, played alongside Key for five seasons in his formative years at the club, and recalls how his team-mate “took on about four roles” as the county struggled with its debts.”It was a very tough period and the way he held it together… we didn’t win trophies but the fact that we were able to weather that storm [and that] we were able to get through that was a testament to him.”It is a ringing endorsement of a man who, for most of the nation, is known as the joker from the telly, rather than someone who is able to set a culture and navigate a crisis, abilities that could hardly be more in demand from an England MD than right now.For that reason, their initial element of surprise quickly faded after Key accepted the role, as their memories of his leadership credentials returned to the fore.Rob Key takes a catch during the Edgbaston Test in 2004 as his Kent team-mate Geraint Jones celebrates•Getty Images”I never thought he’d go for this job in a way,” Bell-Drummond explains, “But actually, the more I think about it, and the sort of knowledge he has… he has so much going for him that the country can benefit from.”Key’s biggest strength, Bell-Drummond believes, is his ability to relate to any and all – there wouldn’t have been a single person at Kent, he says, who “didn’t think they had a relationship with him”.”Playing under him at Kent, he was a brilliant leader [and] a very strong leader as well in the sense that the opposition would know that that’s Rob Key’s team,” Bell-Drummond adds. “And he definitely has a side where you can’t overstep the mark.”

“He wanted the player to have ownership and the coach to be there to help. Not for the coach to come in and drastically change the player and make them play the way the coach wanted.”Geraint Jones on Key’s attitude towards coaching

Part of that came from Key having a very clear identity on the style of player he liked and the type of cricket he wished to play, which in turn bred a culture of player ownership and prioritisation of talent.”Keysey loves talent,” Jones explains. “And he’ll 100% know what sort of leader he wants. He’ll want a strong leader and I can see why [Ben] Stokes has been the one everyone has said he’ll go to [as England’s Test captain], because Stokesy is Keysey’s sort of player. He’s up for it, he’s in your face, but he’s also incredibly, hugely talented. And that’s the sort of team I can see him wanting to get, is these hugely talented players that can turn matches at the drop of the hat and win Test matches.”It is an assessment that correlates with Key’s steadfast belief in Zak Crawley as a Test cricketer, a player whose ceiling is widely considered to be higher than most of his contemporaries, despite his current struggles to find consistency in the England set-up. In his own playing days too, Key was famously close (too close, in the opinion of England’s then-coach Duncan Fletcher) to both Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison – two of the most talented players of their generation.”Having Stokesy at the top, you know Key was a big mate of Freddie Flintoff who was an inspirational character and he loved Warnie for his skill but also how he approached it,” Jones adds. “So that sort of influence we’ll definitely see for sure.”Downton, meanwhile, is keen to emphasise that Key deserves credit for having the ambition to walk away from the Sky commentary box – a role he had previously described as “the best job going” – and get involved in “something that really can make a difference”.Paul Downton (right) had a shortlived stint as the ECB’s managing director•Getty ImagesBut equally, Key is no stranger to making personal sacrifices in order to take on positions of leadership, having spent his playing career doing just that. In a 2020 interview with The Cricketer, he described his nine years as Kent captain as taking “15 years off my life, 10 runs off my average and 5,000 runs off my total first-class runs. I couldn’t give it away in the end…. I ended up captaining for everyone but myself.”He couldn’t give the Kent captaincy away, and now, in light of reports that there were few applicants for one of the top jobs in cricket, he’s taken on one that it seems no-one else wanted.Such is the state of English cricket that the scope, role and power that Key will have over the game, both internationally and domestically, is really yet to be known.As the ECB have now made clear, his first job will be to appoint two new head coaches. After that he needs to appoint a new Test captain to replace Joe Root, then sort out the ECB’s central contracts, which no longer appear to be fit for purpose, and also manage the budget – all of this while playing a major role in England’s game-wide high-performance review. You could hardly get much more of a blank page than if you opened your laptop and started a new game of Cricket Captain 2022.A boy of one era, but a man of another, much of the intrigue surrounding Key’s appointment lies in the fact that, as a person, he has a rare skill of being able to “tell it like it is” while making people smile in the process rather than wince. He is the people’s cynic.Whether that comes through describing fielding as the closest a human gets to being a dog, bemoaning being shown a picture of a lion from someone’s safari holiday since he could have “googled one myself”, or describing coaches as something “you get to the ground in”, Key has never been short of an opinion or an idea. Only now he has the power to go with it.”That’s a typical Keysey sort of comment,” Jones laughs of Key’s quip about coaches. “That’s a bit of a throwback to the eras that he’s been involved with. You know I can remember first joining Kent and it was still that time when fitness wasn’t hugely important, you know – ‘well why do I need to be fit to hit my cover drive?’ It was that type of tongue-in-cheek comment.”But Keysey’s mindset and what he was big on was player ownership. So you get your game right. You perform your skills to the best you can and that will influence the team. And how do you use the coach for that? Well, you facilitate that: the coach works with you.Related

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“So, trying to read between the lines – and I could be horribly wrong – he wanted the player to have ownership and the coach to be there to help. Not for the coach to come in and drastically change the player and make them play the way the coach wanted.”We went from a period of mass practice to more individual practice and more individual time with coaches, so that shift changed and was something that he recognised and put in place.”And in that role now, he will not be shy of making changes. This summer is set in stone in terms of fixtures, but going forward, however the set-up is shaped, he has a massive part to play.”Talent, player ownership and far more experienced for the role than those of us who have only seen him on TV would have been led to believe, Key’s time at Kent means he could be well prepared for his new role at the ECB.”Of course, the county will take a huge amount of pride in that,” Downton says. “We see Rob quite a bit. He’s obviously been a mentor to Zak Crawley, he lives a few miles from the ground and he drops in from time to time. From the club’s point of view, we’re absolutely delighted.”

Under Keith Fletcher’s canny captaincy, Essex defied their reputation as a small club

Paul Edwards21-May-2020June 22, 1979

ScorecardJuly 13, 1979
ScorecardRather like the county they represent so proudly, Essex’s cricketers go about their business with little grandeur and no fuss. If they are piqued that their club is regarded as small – and who would not be? – they rarely show it, preferring instead to win matches and see what comes of it. Perhaps only then, someone like Keith Fletcher will say how curious it is that a side of such lowly status has managed to collect seven more Championships in the 40 seasons since their first in 1979.Fletcher, of course, led Essex to their first three titles before handing over to Graham Gooch, who picked up three more. The last two have been won under the leadership of Ryan ten Doeschate, most recently at a damp Taunton last September when Alastair Cook’s clenched fist salute to the away dressing room signalled the job was done. Fletcher, Gooch and Cook all captained England; they played a total of 338 games for their country and scored a total of 60 Test hundreds. But their hearts belonged to Essex, too, and one always felt they returned to the compact ground in New Writtle Street with gratitude and relief.ALSO READ: Match from the Day – Hampshire 1961Every one of those titles was celebrated with boisterous abandon, all the more so, perhaps because there had been plenty of grim years before the pennant could be hoisted atop the Chelmsford pavilion. Admitted to the Championship in 1895, Essex had only twice finished in the top three before August 21, 1979 when the news reached Wantage Road on the dot of six o’clock that Worcestershire had drawn at Derby, thus confirming Fletcher’s team as the champions. Half an hour earlier Brian Hardie’s unbeaten century had taken his side to victory against Northamptonshire. It was their 11th win of the summer and there were to be two more before the season’s end. Essex had first led the table on June 1 and finished the campaign 77 points ahead of Worcestershire.”The basic philosophy of the club has not changed and the committee are determined that it will not do so,” Doug Insole, the chairman, said at the end of that season, in which Essex had also won the Benson and Hedges Cup. “Cricket is for enjoyment and for entertainment. It must be profitable; it must be business-like; but most of all, it must be cricket.”That relatively simple philosophy still holds true in Chelmsford. You would struggle to find any Championship-winning team whose members do not mention team spirit, but the collective ethos seems particular powerful at Essex. It has allowed England players to be developed and then welcomed back; it has allowed high-quality overseas cricketers to be recruited and retained; but each member of those two groups must understand that Essex does not warm to any self-anointed Billy Bigbollocks pulling his imagined rank.The 1979 Essex County Championship squad•Getty ImagesNeither John Lever nor Ken McEwan was guilty of such arrogance in 1979 and both men enjoyed fine seasons. When Derbyshire were overwhelmed by an innings at Chelmsford in late June, McEwan reached his century in 85 minutes and contributed 103 of the 131 runs in his third-wicket partnership with Mike Denness. The South African’s 185 helped Essex post a first-innings lead 177, leaving Lever to add four more wickets to the five he had picked up when Derbyshire had batted on the first day. Such feats were not particularly exceptional for either cricketer that season. Over the previous fortnight Lever had taken 13 wickets in successive games against Leicestershire and Warwickshire. He dismissed 53 batsmen in June and finished the season with 106 first-class wickets, 99 of them in the Championship. It was no wonder that Derek Pringle paid particular tribute to “JK” when he looked back on his time at Essex during the ’80s in his 2018 book :”Players considered to be a ‘captain’s dream’ are mostly mythical beasts existing in the minds of fantasists, yet JK managed to embody it for Essex…Need a wicket, whistle up JK. Need to keep it tight for 40 minutes, bring on JK. Need some yorkers at the death, give the ball to JK. He was a bowling everyman with the endurance to match.”Those early weeks were also memorable for McEwan, who made 787 runs in the first nine Championship matches before losing his form a little later in the season. By then, though, the South African, who had no prospect of playing Test cricket, was well-ensconced at Chelmsford. He would score over 1000 runs in each of his 12 seasons at the club and would contribute to two more Championship wins. Before him there had been Keith Boyce; after McEwan’s return to South Africa there would be Allan Border, Mark Waugh and, eventually, Simon Harmer. All of them bought into the Essex approach but rarely did they earn tributes quite as affectionate as that written by David Lemmon about one of McEwan’s innings in 1983:”Once, while making a century against Kent in Tunbridge Wells, Ken McEwan straight drove, square cut and pulled Derek Underwood to the boundary in the space of one over. Each shot was executed with regal charm, and never a hint of arrogance. He batted, as did the ancients, upright, correct and magisterial. He was incapable of profaning the art of batting, incapable of an ineloquent gesture.”

Fletcher might never have been able to remember anyone’s name, including most in his own team, but he knew how they playedDerek Pringle on Keith Fletcher

McEwan’s own feelings towards Essex during those dozen summers were expressed in humbler but no less revealing words: “At pre-season practice we had to put up the nets ourselves and, if somebody was moving some chairs, we had to go and help them. It was a lovely atmosphere. Every day I had a good laugh. I felt very at home.”But both Lever and McEwan knew that Essex’s success never revolved entirely around their performances. That was proved at Southend three weeks after the win against Derbyshire. Nottinghamshire were the visitors and for most of the three days they outplayed their hosts, gaining a 60-run first-innings lead and then dismissing Essex for 229 in their second dig. Lever had been selected in the Test squad and McEwan made only 27 runs in the match; Essex only set their visitors as many as 170 to win because the invaluable Stuart Turner made an unbeaten 68 and put on 42 with for the last wicket with David Acfield.None of which seemed to matter very greatly when Nottinghamshire were 87 for 1 but then the spinners Ray East and Acfield took the last nine wickets for 36 runs on a deteriorating pitch. It was another triumph for Essex and for the tactical ability of a skipper whose ability and services to the game have been insufficiently recognised – except, that is, in Chelmsford.”Fletch was tactically astute,” Gooch said. “He knew the game inside out. And he had an incessant drive to win, which is important in county cricket because you’re on a treadmill. Some county sides were happy for it to rain. But we weren’t. ‘You can’t win points in the dressing room,’ Fletch said. He never let things drift.”Nor were Fletcher’s abilities lost on the young Pringle, who rated his county captain a shrewder skipper than Mike Brearley:”Fletcher might never have been able to remember anyone’s name, including most in his own team. But he knew how they played, especially Essex’s opponents, and set traps accordingly.”Every season Fletcher would look at the fixture list and surmise that Essex would probably need 12 or 13 victories to clinch the County Championship title. He’d then begin to identify, bad weather notwithstanding, where and against whom they might eventuate.Ken McEwan bats during the 1979 B&H Cup final•PA Images Archive/Getty Images”He would also predict, broadly, how we might clinch those matches: ‘JK will win us four with the ball; Goochie four with the bat; the other bowlers and batsmen a couple each,’ he used to say. It was a reductive approach, and ridiculously facile for such a complex game, but it was uncanny how often his gnomic prophecies proved correct.”This determination to play attractive, winning cricket became known as The Essex Way. It brought the county their eight titles and a host of one-day trophies. Yet the Way seems little more than an aim, one that might be shared by most first-class counties. Its achievement was altogether more complex. It was founded, as is the case with any successful sports team, on the ability of the players. Its development, however, was dependent on the willingness of those players to consider their own achievement only in the context of the common pursuit; and equally, it rested on the tactical ability of a captain who was ready to take all manner of risks in pursuit of a possible victory. To lose one or two players, as Essex often did in the era of Gooch, Lever, Pringle and Neil Foster simply made demands on others to mend any breach.”There was no coach, no gym, no indoor nets, no standalone outdoor nets, no psychologists,” Pringle writes, “just a scorer, a physio and a captain who dared his team to win, no matter the circumstance.”To reduce The Essex Way simply to its ultimate goal is to make nearly as daft an error as to think Essex itself is no more than boy racers, cheap entertainment and . As Gillian Darley shows in her book the county is the “most overlooked and undersold.” in England; and when Robert Macfarlane made his superb film “The Wild Places of Essex” he visited not night clubs and nail bars but Tilbury Power Station, where he saw peregrine falcons and Billericay, where there were badgers, bluebells and barn owls. Most evocatively and mysteriously of all, there is the passage in John Le Carré’s novel in which Peter Guillam is driving the former spymaster George Smiley to see an agent who has had to be hidden deep in England. Essex, it seems, is the natural choice.ALSO READ: Essex’s ebullient eighties (2016)”On the signposts were names like Little Horkesley, Wormingford and Bures Green, then the signposts stopped and Guillam had a feeling of being nowhere at all…”As they got out the cold hit them and Guillam smelt a cricket field and woodsmoke and Christmas all at once; he thought he had never been anywhere so quiet or so cold or so remote.”And just as there is far more to Essex than Basildon, so there was far more to The Essex Way than a preparedness to take risks. Fletcher possessed perhaps the most instinctive and acute understanding of what could be achieved in a three-day county match during the modern era; his reward was a trio of titles which his players marked with appropriate revels. And they still enjoy their victories at Chelmsford, as journalists found when they were leaving the ground one evening in June 2017. A couple of hours earlier Harmer’s 14th wicket had sealed victory in the day-night game against Middlesex with eight balls to spare. But the songs of triumph were still ringing out from the home dressing room at near midnight. Just as they were, somewhere in Essex, last September. Match from the Day

Mike Shildt was absolutely furious with umpires and MLB replay officials Monday night.

The San Diego Padres manager ripped a decision from the league's replay hub that overturned a home run by Xander Bogaerts due to fan interference. It was a shocking call that cost the Padres a run in a game they eventually lost 4-3 to the San Francisco Giants.

The incident came in the bottom of the second inning when Bogaerts took a Robbie Ray fastball deep to left center. Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos drifted back to the wall and reached up to catch the ball, but it bounced out of his glove and over the fence. As he had reached up, two fans reached out to catch the ball as well.

Initially ruled a home run, it was overturned after a lengthy review. It was stunning that the league was able to find clear evidence of interference, as it certainly wasn't obvious on replay.

Video is below.

Shildt left the dugout to talk to the umpires after the call was overturned and was immediately ejected as rules prohibit arguing after a replay ruling.

After the game, he was still fuming.

"With the angle of the ball coming, where it went and where it landed, there was not anybody who was impeding with him," Shildt said. "And if it's so clear, how come it takes two minutes and 40 seconds to figure it out, if it's that clear? Why are we sitting there for two minutes and 40 seconds? We have 15 seconds to review a call in the first place. We got two minutes and 40 seconds to sit there.

"What are you looking for? If it's that clear, then overturn it early. If it's not, then it's a home run," he continued. "That's just really disappointing that we go that long and have to come up with a conclusion that's not conclusive to overturn a home run that ends up costing us an opportunity to win a baseball game."

Yeah, I'd say he's still pretty hot. That call is going to sting for a while.

يستمر الإعلام الإنجليزي في تحليل تصريحات محمد صلاح جناح ليفربول، والتي أدلى بها عقب التعادل أمام ليدز يونيتد في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، ومدى تأثير ذلك على مستقبله مع الفريق.

وتواجد محمد صلاح على مقاعد بدلاء ليفربول للمباراة الثالثة على التوالي في الدوري الإنجليزي، ليدلي المصري بتصريحات عقب اللقاء يؤكد خلالها عدم رضاه عن وضعه، ويسلط الضوء على توتر علاقته بالمدرب آرني سلوت.

ورصدت شبكة “سكاي سبورتس” تقريرًا عن محمد صلاح وموقفه، وافتتح بالحديث عن أن اللاعب وضع إدارة ليفربول أمام قرار مصيري بعد تصريحه بأنه لم يعد يملك أي علاقة بمدربه آرني سلوت، وهو ما يجعل استمرار الطرفين معًا شبه مستحيل، وأي قرار قادم سيكون زلزالًا داخل النادي.

وأفادت أن محمد صلاح اختار التوقيت بعناية للإدلاء بتصريحاته، بعدما جلس على دكة البدلاء للمباراة الثالثة على التوالي، معتبرًا ما يحدث له قلة احترام، وجاءت تصريحاته في وقت يعاني فيه سلوت من ضغوط كبيرة بسبب تراجع نتائج ليفربول.

التقرير يرى أن تصريحات صلاح لم تكن عاطفية فقط، بل محسوبة ومقصودة، خاصة أنها جاءت في لحظة ضعف للمدرب سلوت، والذي فشل في حصد النقاط التي كان يحتاجها للحفاظ على منصبه، كما صرح جيمي كاراجر.

اقرأ أيضًا | جارديان: محمد صلاح “الأناني” يخون زملاءه ويُسرّع نهاية حقبته مع ليفربول

والأهم أن صلاح ذكر سلوت فقط بالاسم من بين الجميع، ما جعل المواجهة تبدو وكأنها صراع مباشر بين الطرفين، والرسالة الأساسية من كلام صلاح أنه يريد اللعب فقط، لكن هل يمكن أن يحدث ذلك في ليفربول؟ هذا بات محل شك كبير.

مباراة ليفربول وبرايتون القادمة قبل سفر محمد صلاح إلى كأس أمم إفريقيا مع منتخب مصر، قد تكون الأخيرة له في آنفيلد، وهو ما ألمح إليه اللاعب، وقد كان دقيقًا في كلماته، ولم يُصرّح برغبته في الرحيل، لكنه أفاد: “سأكون في آنفيلد (لحضور مباراة برايتون) لأودع الجماهير وأذهب إلى كأس إفريقيا، لا أعرف ما سيحدث عندما أكون هناك”.

وعن أسباب توتر العلاقة بين اللاعب ومدربه، يوضح التقرير أن القشة التي قسمت ظهر البعير تكمن في المباراة أمام آيندهوفن بدوري أبطال أوروبا، وتحديدًا هدف آيندهوفن الثاني، والذي ظهر فيه تقاعس صلاح دفاعيًا، وهو ما أدى لاستبعاده لاحقًا وتواجده بديلاً.

صلاح يرى نفسه لاعبًا على مستوى خاص ولا يجب أن ينافس على مكانه مثل البقية، وصرّح: “لستُ مُضطرًا للقتال كل يوم من أجل مركزي لأنني استحقيته، لستُ أكبر من أي شخص، لكنني استحقيت مركزي”. 

التقرير شبّه موقف صلاح بما فعله كريستيانو رونالدو مع مانشستر يونايتد، في فترته الثانية بأولد ترافورد، حين هاجم المدرب إريك تين هاج علنًا، قبل كأس العالم قطر 2022، وانتهى به الأمر في الدوري السعودي.

صلاح سبق وبادر بنفس التصرف مع المدرب السابق يورجن كلوب حين أجلسه بديلاً في المباراة أمام وست هام، وظهر وهو يتجادل معه على خط التماس، وعقب المباراة صرّح: “إذا تحدثت اليوم، فستشتعل النيران”.

لكن صلاح غير مستعد للاعتزال الكروي المبكر بالسعودية، ولا يزال يرى نفسه بوضوح يلعب في أعلى المستويات، رغم أن الدوري السعودي هو الوجهة الوحيدة القادرة على دفع راتبه الضخم الحالي (400 ألف جنيه إسترليني أسبوعيًا).

يشير التقرير إلى أن السيناريو الأقرب لحل الأزمة سيكون في انتقالات يناير، فليفربول لديه الوقت لإيجاد حل، وصلاح يعلم ذلك، إذا وصلت مصر إلى نهائي كأس الأمم الأفريقية، فلن يعود إلى آنفيلد حتى أواخر يناير، ويُفتح سوق الانتقالات في بداية ذلك الشهر، ويبدو أنه الحل الأرجح للمشكلة، ويوجد احتمال ضعيف لكنه قائم أن ينتظر صلاح لمعرفة مصير سلوت قبل اتخاذ قراره النهائي.

Boston Red Sox star third baseman Alex Bregman left the first game of Friday's day-night doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles with quad tightness.

Boston manager Alex Cora ruled Bregman out for Friday night's game against the Orioles and wouldn't rule out an injured list stint.

"Just tight," Cora said of the injury to Bregman after Boston's 19-5 win on Friday afternoon. "We'll see how he comes in tomorrow. So he won't play the second one [on Friday night]. He'll get treatment. We'll know more tomorrow."

When asked about an injured list stint for Bregman, Cora reiterated, "We'll see tomorrow."

What the Red Sox do next will be fascinating should Bregman miss time. Given the drama surrounding former third baseman Rafael Devers and his move to designated hitter, it's safe to assume he's not a candidate. A much-anticipated promotion of Marcelo Mayer from Triple A doesn't seem to be in the cards yet either.

"Ceddanne [Rafaela] can play third. [Nick Sogard] can play third. [Abraham] Toro can play third. We know Connor [Wong] can do it. In case of an emergency, we can move [Kristian Campbell] to the outfield and Ceddanne to the infield and go from there," Cora added.

For what it's worth, the Red Sox will have Sogard at third and Toro at first in Friday night's nightcap against Baltimore. Whether that remains the alignment moving forward in the absence of Bregman remains to be seen.

The numbers looked pretty good for Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday, his third start since returning from both knee and foot surgeries. Over five innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers' game against the Cleveland Guardians, Kershaw allowed six hits, one earned run and two walks while striking out three.

But while the outing looked good on paper, it was certainly far from perfect. After the game, Kershaw acknowledged that he got help to get out of a rough first inning. He also indicated it would have been better if he had lasted more innings—the Guardians completed a comeback in the eighth inning to secure a 7-4 win over the Dodgers.

"I'm fighting some stuff mechanically and different things," Kershaw said, via SportsNet LA. "I was able to make a few pitches here and there to get through five, but obviously wasn't pitching good enough to be able to stay in the game which makes the bullpen have to throw more innings. … Frustrating for sure, but I think at the same at the time there's some progress still, more reps. Overall, to only give up 1-run and pitch that bad is a good thing."

Kershaw acknowledged that he created some "bad habits" last year, when he returned from shoulder surgery in the middle of the season. Kershaw came back to start seven games in 2024, but suffered a season-ending injury not long after his return.

"There's just some stuff I need to hammer down," Kershaw said. "I think I've created some bad habits with not feeling my best, I created some bad habits last year. I haven't pitched in a while, I haven't pitched in a long time. There's just some growing pains with the first few. Physically, I feel great, just got to keep throwing and figure it out."

A proud part of Arsenal’s DNA has long been their development and promotion of young academy talents.

This has been especially true over the last few years, with the emergence of players like Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and, of course, Bukayo Saka.

The latest player who seems ready to make the leap from the youth sides to regular senior football is Max Dowman.

However, the talented 15-year-old certainly won’t be the last, and there is already one youngster making waves in the academy who could soon find himself in the first team.

Dowman's rapid rise to stardom at Arsenal

Even before this season, Arsenal fans have been at least somewhat aware of Dowman.

After all, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig boldly proclaimed him as the “most exciting prospect” he had seen “since Lamine Yamal.”

That might sound absurd, but over the course of last season, the youngster ended up scoring 19 times and providing five assists in just 23 appearances, totalling 1945 minutes, for the youth sides.

Dowman in 24/25

Appearances

23

Minutes

1945′

Goals

19

Assists

5

Goal Involvements per Match

1.04

Minutes per Goal Involvement

81.04′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

That comes out to a sensational average of 1.04 goal involvements per match, or one every 81.04 minutes, made all the more astonishing by the fact he was playing for the u18s and even the u21s.

With performances like that in age groups well above his own, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the Chelmsford-born dynamo included in the first team’s pre-season tour.

The 15-year-old made his debut against Newcastle United, and in the words of analyst Ben Mattinson, spent his short cameo “humiliating Premier League players.”

His competitive debut came at home to Leeds United in the Premier League, and then he became the youngest player to ever start a game for the club against Brighton & Hove Albion in the League Cup.

The superstar in the making then broke another record in the Champions League a week later, and was described as “a miracle player” by Slavia Prague defender David Zima.

In all, it certainly seems like Dowman is destined to reach the top of the game with Arsenal, although he might be joined by another academy gem this season.

Hale End's next superstar

It’s been a good season for Hale End this year, as on top of Dowman, Andre Harriman-Annous has also been given his full competitive debut by Mikel Arteta.

It could get even better, though, as there is another youngster in the system, who, like the record-breaker, could find himself becoming more involved with the senior side as the campaign goes on: Ife Ibrahim.

The 17-year-old has been with the club since May 2016, and while he started out as a striker, he has since moved back down the pitch, into defensive midfield.

However, he’s not limited to just one position, as the highly rated youngster has also played at right-back, in central midfield, and even as a centre-back.

It’s no surprise that he has been used in the defence before, as even though he’s still so young, the versatile prospect is huge and towers above some of the first team in pictures taken of the time he trained with them. It is no wonder that analyst Harvey Diamonds said that he has a “languid frame like [Patrick] Vieira and [Abou] Diaby.”

Don’t let his size and physicality fool you, though; the Hale Ender is no slouch on the ball.

In fact, academy expert Will Balsam described him as someone who makes everything look so “effortless.” Moreover, this and his height mean “he eats up space, recovers the ball, and glides past players with ease.”

He has also made an impression on U23 scout Antonio Mango, who has described him as “composed, technically talented in possession and calculated out of possession.”

Overall, while he plays in a totally different position to Dowman, Ibrahim sounds like the sort of Hale End product who could come in and have a serious impact on the first team soon enough.

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Third-wicket stand of 141 with Haseeb Hameed overhauls Glamorgan with ease

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay17-Aug-2025Nottinghamshire 282 for 3 (Haynes 124, Hameed 58*) beat Glamorgan 278 for 9 (Byrom 62, Root 56) by seven wicketsJack Haynes starred with a century as Notts Outlaws kept their qualification chances at arm’s length with a comfortable run chase against winless defending champions Glamorgan.The 24-year-old Haynes struck a well-timed 124 with some late acceleration to chase the sub-par 278 for 9 set by the hosts.Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed played supporting roles in the seven-wicket win, the latter combining with Haynes for a 141-run third-wicket stand.Eddie Byrom notched up back-to-back half-centuries with 62 while Billy Root also passed 50 to hold together the Glamorgan innings. One positive for the winless side was 18-year-old Romano Franco picking up a first professional wicket at the third time of asking.After being inserted, Glamorgan got off to a racing start, as has tended to be their way in this competition. Byrom and Asa Tribe’s 71-run opening stand left Notts’ bowling attack – hit by the absence of players in the Hundred – with cause for concern before Tribe’s fun was ended by 18-year-old debutant Byron Hatton-Lowe.Byrom, the steadier of the two openers in terms of strike rate, continued calmly as he watched on for Henry Hurle, playing a first Glamorgan game of 2025, to be dismissed.Kiran Carlson was unable to kick on, as was Will Smale who suffered a ball-watching run out to leave the hosts with just five wickets in hand with more than 20 overs to bat, a theme too common in their campaign.Root held the fort in a knock of few boundaries for 56 before Dan Douthwaite’s blistering cameo added some impetus, the hosts still left short.Zain Ul Hassan was able to contain in a seven-over new-ball spell while Ned Leonard leaked at the other end, Slater enjoying a rather comfortable start.After Ben Martindale was dismissed, a period of experience was due with Slater and Haynes adding 75 before Hameed struck an unbeaten 58 to ice the run chase.Franco impressed in his 10 overs but poor fielding, including a drop by Andy Gorvin with Haynes on 68 proved costly.Tribe followed as the third player in the game to take a first wicket for his club, after Hatton-Lowe and Franco, although the damage was done.

كشفت مصادر خاصة سبب عدم استدعاء ناصر ماهر، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، إلى قائمة منتخب مصر الثاني.

وأعلن حلمي طولان، المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر الثاني المشارك في كأس العرب، قائمة اللاعبين المستدعين لمعسكر شهر نوفمبر الجاري.

طالع.. “بعد غضبه بسبب منتخب مصر”.. شوبير يوجه رسالة خاصة لـ ناصر ماهر

ويبدأ المعسكر المغلق غدًا الإثنين، استعدادًا لمواجهتي الجزائر الوديتين، ضمن المرحلة الأخيرة من خطة إعداد منتخب مصر الثاني قبل انطلاق البطولة مطلع الشهر المقبل.

ومن المقرر أن تُقام المباراتان في القاهرة على استاد السلام يومي الجمعة 14 والاثنين 17 نوفمبر، وذلك ضمن معسكر منتخب مصر المشارك في كأس العرب خلال فترة التوقف الدولي المقبلة.

وعلم بطولات من مصادر خاصة أن عدم انضمام ناصر ماهر لقائمة منتخب مصر الثاني المشارك في كأس العرب ليس لأسباب فنية.

وأضاف المصدر أن المنتخب أراد استدعاء اللاعب، لكنه فضّل عدم التواجد في الوقت الحالي لأسباب شخصية.

Newcastle United have stepped away from the action zone as the October international break takes the stage. But Newcastle are anything but idle, having appointed a new technical director in Ross Wilson from Nottingham Forest.

Wilson, 41, leaves the City Ground having overseen a rise from relegation candidates in the Premier League to European contenders, having finished seventh last year after heavy spending.

In the dugout, Eddie Howe is a meticulous man. He knows every nook and every cranny of his opponents’ half, having profiled each player and grasped their strengths and their weaknesses. Wilson has a personality apt to connect with the tactician’s own bearing.

Newcastle have earned their flowers for their fast rise in the years since PIF completed their club takeover, qualifying for the Champions League in two of the last three seasons and winning the Carabao Cup last year.

But Paul Mitchell left his post less than one year after Dan Ashworth departed, and there’s no denying the Magpies recruitment drive has been knocked somewhat out of kilter. That is now anticipated to change.

Ross Wilson's recruitment record

Before Nottingham Forest, it was Rangers. While in Scotland, it was Wilson who sat behind the desk when Steven Gerrard led the club to the Premiership title, still the Gers’ sole title success since 2011.

And after moving to the Premier League, his reputation has only grown, with Wilson considered a real coup for the Tynesiders and further evidence of the fall from stability at Forest.

According to the i Paper, it is understood that Newcastle will seek to reward Sandro Tonali, Sven Botman and Tino Livramento with new deals once the transfer specialist is instated.

One of Wilson’s biggest strengths is his ability to identify and sign first-team candidates who both align with the manager’s tactical vision and the club’s wider culture.

Though this summer was one of much upheaval at Newcastle, there’s no denying Howe has eased the loss of Alexander Isak to Liverpool with a range of impactful additions, Nick Woltemade and Malick Thiaw in particular shining across the early months of the season.

Still, the direction has been at times uncertain, business taking an almost fragmented quality. Wilson, in tandem with Howe, could change that, with some exciting potential options already being discussed.

Who Ross Wilson could sign at Newcastle

Wilson signed his fair share of first-team players at Nottingham Forest, having joined from Rangers in 2023. At the time, the Midlands side were embroiled in a relegation battle in the Premier League and had not yet parted with Steve Cooper and brought in Nuno Espirito Santo.

Forest now have their own issues, with Edu and Nuno’s conflict leading to a divorce which has left the club’s meteoric rise in tatters. Wilson played his part, though, and may now fancy a step-up to St. James’ Park.

Newcastle, for sure, have work to do if they wish to settle permanently alongside the Premier League elite. With Wilson and Howe working together, this could bear dividends, especially when considering Howe’s recent comments regarding Elliot Anderson, who was sold to the City Ground for about £35m in 2024 as the Toon scrambled to ease their PSR suffering.

Last week, the manager called Anderson, 22, a “precious” talent who he would “love” to welcome back to his boyhood club, and now Newcastle have landed Wilson, that potential lane of communication has very much stretched open.

It would be a costly one to engineer, to be sure, but now, it certainly seems a whole lot more likely.

And there’s more. Nick Pope is still performing at 33 years old, but he’s out of contract at the end of the season and a replacement might be required, even with Aaron Ramsdale having joined on loan in August.

James Trafford came within a whisker of signing for the Magpies this summer, and now that he’s on the fringes at Manchester City, he might recieve a call from Wilson down the line.

That should just about do it. Howe leads a complete and robust Newcastle side, but even though £55m was forked out for Forest’s Anthony Elanga this summer, there might be a desire to add another winger to the ranks.

And who better than Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, who was very much on the club’s radar this summer? The Cherries fought off interest from many of the Premier League’s biggest hitters, with the Ghanaian forward signing a new contract at the club.

The vultures still circle, though, and Newcastle are among that kettle of suitors looking to strike a deal, having prepared a bid in the final weeks of the window. Liverpool are also keen, showing interest as recently as this week, and they have been met with demands of a £75m payment from the south coast club.

Semenyo would cost a pretty penny, alright, but there’s little question that he’d be a fantastic addition, having scored six goals and supplied three more across seven top-flight appearances this season.

We know already that Howe wanted to bring the prolific forward to the club, and now Wilson will help promote Howe’s vision.

GK

James Trafford

RB

Tino Livramento

CB

Malick Thiaw

CB

Sven Botman

LB

Lewis Hall

DM

Sandro Tonali

CM

Bruno Guimaraes

CM

Elliot Anderson

RW

Antoine Semenyo

LW

Anthony Gordon

ST

Nick Woltemade

It’s exciting to note that even with Isak having been sold this summer, Newcastle have a dynamic crop of players capable of hitting even loftier heights than were struck last season. But with the likes of Trafford and Anderson and Semenyo added to the fold, Newcastle would go from strength to strength.

One Premier League analyst has even claimed Semenyo is “one of the best players in the world”. These are the heights Newcastle must be striving for, and Wilson can make it happen.

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