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da prosport bet： Restando pouco mais de uma semana para o fechamento da janela de transferências, o São Paulo avançou durante esta terça-feira (25) nas tratativas com o Ceará para conseguir antecipar a liberação do ponta Erick, jogado cujo contrato com o clube nordestino vai até o final do ano e que já tem um acordo para ser reforço do Tricolor a partir de 2024.

O Lance! apurou que o clube do Morumbi aceita atender algumas das reivindicações do Vozão para liberar a sua principal peça do plantel que luta para conseguir o acesso na Série B. A principal delas é a liberação de algumas peças reveladas em Cotia por empréstimo para reforçar o clube alvinegro.

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da pinnacle： + Renove o seu estoque de camisas do Tricolor com o cupom LANCEFUT 10% OFF

Pelo menos duas ‘crias da base’ devem ser repassadas ao Ceará para que ele aceite abrir mão dos cinco meses restantes do contrato de Erick sem receber dinheiro em volta. Um nome acabou sendo revelado por fontes do clube tricolor à reportagem: Pedrinho Vilhena, meia promovido aos profissionais pelo ex-técnico são-paulino Rogério Ceni no início do ano e que não entrou em campo ainda pelo clube.

O plano do São Paulo não era se desfazer de um de seus talentos mais promissores. Vilhena seguia a rotina de nomes como Beraldo, que foram promovidos de Cotia para a Barra Funda, mas permaneceram apenas treinando por cerca de um ano com os profissionais para se ambientar melhor ao estilo de jogo do time principal e, principalmente, se adequar fisicamente à carga exigida.

Entretanto, há pressão por parte do estafe do jogador para que ele ganhe ritmo de jogo. E no entendimento do atual comandante tricolor, Dorival Júnior, o empréstimo poderia ser benéfico para ajudar em seu desenvolvimento.

Uma lista com nomes de outros jogadores, a maioria ainda não promovida em definitivo para a rotina de trabalhos de Dorival, deverá ser encaminhada ao Ceará para escolha. Segundo o Lance! apurou, evidente que atletas com mais destaque no plantel atual, como Matheus Belém, estão descartados na negociação.

O São Paulo busca antecipar a chegada de Erick desde o início do mês, quando acertou um pré-contrato com o atacante. Depois da fracassada negociação com Marinho, o clube do Morumbi vê no jogador de 24 anos a opção ideal para atender a necessidade de um jogador rápido pelos lados do campo, capaz de romper linhas.

Erick foi uma indicação do próprio Dorival, que trabalhou com ele no Vozão no ano passado. O jogador, que já foi considerado o quarto maior driblador do mundo e estrela deste ano no clube, com 34 jogos, 13 gols e oito assistências, aumentou a idolatria da torcida sendo um dos poucos destaques a seguir no Ceará após o rebaixamento à segunda divisão. Desde o começo do ano e o início do assédio do São Paulo o discurso dele é de querer ficar até o final do ano para ajudar no acesso.

Inicialmente, o Ceará fez jogo duro com a diretoria são-paulina. Pediu o pagamento integral da multa para liberá-lo. Depois o valor chegou a cair para R$ 6 milhões. Diferente de Marinho, quando o clube do Morumbi propagou aos quatro ventos o interesse e a proposta, desta vez adotou o silêncio. E para ajudar os corações cearenses, até emprestou o lateral-direito Orejuela, sem espaço no Tricolor, para ajudar na aproximação. Ao que tudo indica, a tática, agora, deu certo.

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Aston Villa excruciatingly missed out on a Champions League spot on the final day of the Premier League season as a controversial 2-0 away loss at Manchester United went completely against them.

Unai Emery’s men won’t have dwelled on this disappointment for too long, however, with the grandeur of Europe’s elite competition actually congesting their fixture list across a busy 2024/25, leaving them potentially a little empty in energy to push into those top five positions.

It could also be a summer of much change at Villa Park with Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia set to leave the West Midlands giants, alongside a whole host of exciting additions potentially entering the building.

Whenever it comes to new faces joining the Villans’ ranks, the Premier League high-flyers will surely always be on the lookout for their next Jack Grealish, with a reunion deal also not completely off the table.

Grealish's current situation at Manchester City

It’s been bubbling away in the background for some time now, but the former homegrown Villa talent could now finally exit the Citizens this summer, having been left out of Pep Guardiola’s camp for the upcoming Club World Cup.

Unfortunately for Grealish, his time at City has now been reduced to a sorry state of affairs, with the former £100m buy only starting seven top-flight games last season.

It’s a far cry away from the days where Grealish would terrorise many a Premier League defence donning Villa claret and blue – as seen in his 32 goals and 43 assists from 213 Villa contests – with the ultimate confidence boost needed for the 29-year-old to salvage his fading career potentially an emotional return to home soil.

However, Emery and Co. could instead go after this alternative target away from sentimentally snapping up Grealish, with this fresh target displaying shades of Grealish’s game all across his own bumpy career path.

The "special" Aston Villa target who has shades of Grealish

After all, Villa Park will be seen as a worthwhile next destination for this low-on-confidence winger, considering Marcus Rashford managed to collect a promising four goals and six assists this season just gone for Villa on loan, after the start of his messy Manchester United divorce came to the surface.

Jadon Sancho is also deep in his own exit route out of the Red Devils, with a report from TEAMTalk earlier this week speculating that United are desperately trying to offload their expensive flop, which has led to Villa taking an interest in the out-of-sorts attacker as a potential Rashford replacement.

There is some method to Villa’s madness here with Sancho displaying flashes of his “special” quality – as he was lauded by Enzo Maresca during his brief Stamford Bridge stay – at Chelsea, as seen in his promising tally of five goals and ten assists in West London.

With 12 strikes also next to his name during his cursed United stint, it’s not completely ludicrous to suggest that Emery can work his magic on another Red Devils outcast here.

His swagger down the left and ability to twist and turn defenders for fun at his peak, not far off Grealish’s own exuberant game, when confidence is also coursing through his veins.

Indeed, that similarity in possession is seen in the fact that Grealish ranks in the top 1% among his European peers for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref, while Sancho is not too far behind, amid his ranking in the top 13%.

LW

Sancho

61

7

11

RW

Sancho

19

4

0

CF

Sancho

2

1

0

AM

Sancho

1

0

0

LM

Sancho

1

0

0

LW

Grealish

121

24

23

AM

Grealish

26

1

4

LM

Grealish

11

2

2

CM

Grealish

8

0

2

CF

Grealish

3

0

0

RW

Grealish

2

0

0

SS

Grealish

1

0

0

Sourced by Transfermarkt

It’s even clearer from the table above where both Sancho’s and Grealish’s strengths lie, with Emery potentially getting the best out of the ex-Borussia Dortmund man to come by playing him down his preferred left flank, away from shoehorning him in elsewhere. With a transfer value of £31m, according to Football Transfers, a move could be a no-brainer.

Both players find themselves at a crossroads in their careers, with Grealish a certainty to leave the Etihad, alongside Sancho at Old Trafford – the latter could well thank Villa Park down the line for mending his broken career.

He's Grealish 2.0: Aston Villa keen on £55m star who has the "X Factor"

Aston Villa are looking to upgrade their attacking options this summer

ByJoe Nuttall Jun 3, 2025

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl will not have been pleased with the way that his team failed to secure all three points against Falkirk at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

The German tactician revealed after the match that the players who have not done enough on the pitch in recent games will not get as many minutes in the future.

This should ease any concerns from supporters that underperforming players will not be replaced in the starting line-up in the coming matches in the Premiership and the Europa League.

The biggest Rangers underperformers against Falkirk

As you would expect in a 0-0 draw at home to Falkirk, there were several Rangers players who underperformed and should be at risk of being dropped from the starting line-up.

Bojan Miovski, for example, played the full 90 minutes and lost 73% (8/11) of his duels without scoring a goal or even creating a chance for his teammates, per Sofascore, in the number nine position.

Thelo Aasgaard also struggled in the number ten role for the Light Blues, with no shots on target or ‘big chances’ created, before he was subbed off for Danilo with 22 minutes left to play.

1

Bojan Miovski

2

Thelo Aasgaard

3

Oliver Antman

4

Nicolas Raskin

5

James Tavernier

Oliver Antman, similarly to the Norway international, failed to make much of an impact on the right wing, with no shots on target or ‘big chances’ created, per Sofascore, which is why he also features on this list.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.

Unfortunately, Nicolas Raskin also features among the worst performers against Falkirk, less than a month on from pundit Chris Sutton declaring him the team’s “best player”, as he struggled in midfield.

Why Danny Rohl should drop Nicolas Raskin

Rohl should ruthlessly ditch the Belgium international from the starting line-up for the clash with Dundee United on Wednesday night after a couple of underwhelming showings in the middle of the park.

Raskin, who has been valued at up to £20m by the Scottish giants, has not been near his best in the last couple of games against Braga and Falkirk, which should see him dropped for his sloppy play in midfield.

In the game on Sunday, per Sofascore, the former Standard Liege star lost four of his seven physical duels and only created one chance for his teammates in 90 minutes on the pitch, in what was a rather ineffective display.

Minutes

90

90

Key passes

0

1

Possession lost

10x

9x

Ground duels won

4/14

3/7

Aerial duels won

2/3

0/0

Fouls

6

2

Dribbled past

2x

1x

As you can see in the table above, Raskin has lost a whopping 14 of his 21 ground duels in the last two outings, committing eight fouls and being dribbled past three times as part of that.

These statistics show that the central midfielder has been too easy to play against for opposition midfielders, which led journalist Jonny McFarlane to state that “a spell on the sidelines beckons” because he is “much better than he’s showing”.

It is hard to disagree with that assessment when you consider that Raskin won 57% of his ground duels in the Premiership in the 2024/25 campaign, and he has only won 33% of his battles on the deck in the last two matches.

The 24-year-old star, who scored five goals and provided 11 assists in all competitions last term, is better than he is currently showing, which is why a spell on the bench may be beneficial for him to clear his head and recharge to get back to his best.

Therefore, Rohl should drop his “best player” from the starting line-up for the clash with Dundee United on Wednesday to see if it will spark a reaction out of him for the following game against Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Danny Rohl sends 13-word warning to his Rangers players ahead of the transfer window

The manager has has sent a pretty clear message to his players…

ByBen Goodwin Dec 1, 2025

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da bet sport： Além da noite de Libertadores, a torcida do Palmeiras teve mais um motivo para se emocionar no Allianz nesta quarta-feira (30). A partida marca a despedida de Endrick do Brasil, que recebeu uma bela homenagem da torcida com um mosaico. Nas redes, os torcedores do Verdão elogiaram a festa. Confira!

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Newcastle United have Bayer Leverkusen to overcome this week in the Champions League, but there’s a far more tantalising fixture sticking out across the busy December period.

The Premier League’s first Tyne-Wear showdown since 2016 arrives on the calendar next weekend, with Sunderland’s electric start out of the blocks in the top-flight this season no doubt ramping up the nerves on the end of the Magpies.

Eddie Howe will also be fearful of a loss when you consider Newcastle have lost their last four meetings in this tense rivalry, with Leverkusen in midweek the perfect opportunity to collect a confidence-boosting victory, before facing off against Regis Le Bris’ tricky Black Cats.

In particular, Howe will hope he sees a lot more from the likes of Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga at the BayArena, with both high-profile summer recruits failing to settle so far on Tyneside.

The numbers behind Wissa & Elanga at Newcastle

£250m in total was forked out on summer signings at St James’ Park, with £110m of that excessive spending landing both Wissa and Elanga.

There was a method behind Newcastle’s madness here, with the former Brentford man and the Swedish winger amassing a stunning 41 goal contributions between them last season in the Premier League.

Unfortunately for the £55m striker, though, he has only lined up for a paltry 16 minutes in Toon black and white so far, with his first appearance for the club coming last time out against Burnley, 96 days on from him signing on the dotted line.

He is far from a lost cause, however, with a hope he can add to his 45 Premier League goals shortly with sustained time in the first team, as he potentially prepares to start versus Leverkusen. If he doesn’t get up and running soon, with his hefty £140k-per-week salary also added to the equation, he will definitely be dismissed as a rash waste of money.

Elanga doesn’t have a troubling injury record to fall back on when it comes to his critics, with just two assists and no goals next to his name from 22 appearances on Tyneside, making his £55m price tag already feel extremely extortionate.

Still, there will also be a hope in the air that the £100k-per-week forward is simply a work in progress, having previously shone with Nottingham Forest, away from negative labels coming his way that he is a “massive overpay” in the words of Raj Chohan.

Staggeringly, despite £110m being dropped on the underwhelming duo in question, they’re not deemed as big a waste of money as this other high earner, who Howe must now swiftly axe ahead of key games to come in December.

Howe must now drop £120k-per-week Newcastle man

At least with Wissa and Elanga, Howe and Co would have known they were paying a premium price for talents who were consistent top performers in the Premier League.

In the case of Jacob Ramsey, though, £43m was forked out on a star who had a rollercoaster stay at Aston Villa, having only collected a mediocre eight goal contributions across his final two top-flight seasons in the West Midlands, leading to him falling out of Unai Emery’s first team plans.

Ramsey’s flashes of brilliance at his hometown club did see journalist Charles Watts once herald him as a “special” talent for the future, but eyebrows would have been rightly raised when the £43m move was finalised, with his £120k-per-week wage also making him an immediate higher earner than St James Park stalwarts such as Dan Burn, who pockets £70k-per-week, on the contrary.

In the here and now, too, it feels like an awfully long time ago since the 24-year-old was generating lots of hype at Villa Park, with a rare first-team start against Burnley last time out seeing Ramsey look rather timid.

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

73

Shots

1

Accurate passes

56/60 (93%)

Accurate crosses

0/1

Key passes

1

Successful dribbles

1/2

Penalties given away

1

Indeed, it doesn’t make for pretty reading on Ramsey’s end, with the 24-year-old’s general game going down as largely uneventful, until he gave away an unnecessary penalty via a handball, with only one shot, one key pass, and one accurate dribble registered.

With no goals or assists next to his name from 11 clashes, it isn’t the wildest shout to suggest he’s a bigger waste of money than both Wissa and Elanga, with Wissa needing more time to acclimatise, while Elanga at least has two assists to cling onto and showed what a dangerous talent he can be last season..

Moreover, with both Joe Willock and Lewis Miley also at Howe’s disposal in midfield in the reserve ranks, there doesn’t seem to be a long-standing space for the ex-Villa man in his starting XI, as the forgettable number 41 likely just turns into an expensive background figure that can’t be redeemed.

The new Anderson: Newcastle could see £13m bid accepted to sign "special" star

Newcastle United could win themselves a cut-price Elliot Anderson alternative with this £13m star.

ByKelan Sarson 4 days ago

“You know a bowler of his calibre, to be able to play consistently for the long term, that’s where I’m trying to put in all my efforts and energy,” says LSG mentor

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2025

Mayank Yadav hasn’t had a good time in 2024 with injuries•BCCI

Will tearaway Mayank Yadav be fit for IPL 2025? Lucknow Super Giants have been working with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru over his “roadmap to fitness” and coach Justin Langer and mentor Zaheer Khan remain very hopeful, but they are also clear that they will not rush him back.”We’ve had some interesting conversations around his roadmap to recovery and fitness with NCA, so we’re working with them,” Zaheer told reporters in Lucknow on Tuesday. “We hope for their support as well, them buying into the philosophy of really looking after a youngster, because he’s not only important for LSG, he’s important for Indian cricket as well.”Mayank had an injury-ridden 2024, interspersed by fiery showings for LSG and India. He won Player of the Match in two of his first three games at IPL 2024, for searing spells of 150kph-plus pace, but then in his fourth game he walked off with an abdominal issue that ruled him out of the tournament. He began rehab at the NCA and recovered from that injury, but then he picked up a separate injury while bowling at the NCA.In October he got his first India call-up, for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh. On debut in that series, he consistently hit 145kph-plus (12 balls of his spell were recorded as such). He finished the series with four wickets and with excitement mounting in Indian cricketing circles, only to pick up an injury once again. He has not played a competitive match since then, but he was retained by LSG ahead of IPL 2025 for INR 11 crore (USD 1.31 million approx.)Zaheer said conditioning him physically to stand up to the workload of bowling at such speeds, without repeatedly breaking down, was his main priority. “You know a bowler of his calibre, to be able to play consistently for the long term, that’s where I’m trying to put in all my efforts and energy, in terms of giving him the best environment which will really help him play longer without really taking these breaks. I think that’s really important and that’s the outlook which we have.”So as much as we are keen on having him [play IPL 2025], we want him 150% fit not just 100% fit so we’ll do everything possible to get him there.”Related

Fast-bowler injuries threaten Pant-powered LSG's season

LSG fast bowler Mayank Yadav set to miss first half of IPL 2025 with back injury

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Coach Langer spoke on the same lines, pointing out that it often takes a young fast bowler – Mayank is 22 – time for their developing body to settle and shrug off injuries. “We know how exciting he is, we watched that last year… Some of that pace last year was extreme pace, so we’re very hopeful but he’s a young fast bowler, and it doesn’t matter what country you’re from, it’s a hard business being able to bowl that pace, and with a young body, it’s going to take some time to develop. So we’re hopeful and positive, but we’ll wait and see how things progress over the next little piece.”LSG will have a new captain at IPL 2025, with Rishabh Pant taking the reins after becoming the most-expensive player ever at an IPL auction (INR 27 crore/USD 3.21 million approx.). Both Zaheer and Langer expressed excitement at having a batter of his talents in the set-up.”I have no doubt the kind of player he is, I hope he stays as expressive when he captains,” Zaheer said. “We want to imbibe those values within the team as well. When we were looking at him as captain, we were looking at a kind of flavour LSG should play. We hope LSG approach their cricket the same way Rishabh plays his cricket.””I believe in T20 cricket, most important person in the team is the captain. If I’m selecting a team, the No. 1 person is captain so we’re thrilled to have Rishabh, with his style of play,” Langer said. “We’re going to be on the edge of our seat. It’s going to be exciting to watch, he’s got something different not many have. He has this freedom, talent, and a way about him where he’s going have a real impact as captain and player.”

رفع البرتغالي جواو فيليكس، لاعب فريق النصر، رصيد أهدافه في مسابقة الدوري السعودي “روشن” للموسم الحالي، إلى 11 هدفًا، مواصلًا تصدره لـ ترتيب هدافي الدوري السعودي.

وسجل جواو فيليكس، هدفًا في فوز فريقه النصر على الخليج بأربعة أهداف مقابل هدف، حيث أحرز الهدف الأول في المباراة.

كما أحرز مواطنه البرتغالي، كريستيانو رونالدو، هدف فريق النصر الرابع، ليواصل ملاحقته فيليكس في صدارة ترتيب الهدافين، حيث وصل إلى الهدف رقم 10 في الموسم الحالي.

وبفوز النصر اليوم على الخليج، يتصدر فريق العالمي ترتيب الدوري السعودي للموسم الحالي برصيد 27 نقطة (العلامة الكاملة) إذ انتصر في الـ 9 مباريات التي خاضهم بالكامل.

طالع | ترتيب الدوري السعودي بعد الجولة التاسعة.. النصر يواصل الصدارة ترتيب هدافي الدوري السعودي

جواو فيليكس – النصر – 11 هدفًا

كريستيانو رونالدو – النصر – 10 أهداف

جوشوا كينج – الخليج – 9 أهداف

روجر مارتينيز – التعاون – 6 أهداف

خوليان كينونيس – القادسية – 6 أهداف

ماركوس ليوناردو – الهلال – 6 أهداف

راميرو إنريكي – الخلود – 5 أهداف

ماتيو ريتيجي – القادسية – 5 أهداف

مامادو سيلا – الرياض – 5 أهداف

إيفان توني – الأهلي – 5 أهداف

خالد الغنام – الاتفاق – 4 أهداف

كريم بنزيما – الاتحاد – 4 أهداف

يانيك كاراسكو – الشباب – 4 أهداف

روبين نيفيز – الهلال – 4 أهداف

كونستانتينوس فورتونيس – الخليج – 4 أهداف

ألكسندر لاكازيت – نيوم – 4 أهداف

داروين نونيز – الهلال – 4 أهداف

Barcelona and Spain have been warned over the handling of Lamine Yamal following the forward’s return from a groin injury. The 18-year-old came off the bench to help Hansi Flick's side defeat Real Sociedad 2-1 in La Liga on Sunday evening, having missed their previous four games with a groin problem which was aggravated while on international duty.

• Yamal's excessive workload laid bare in new study from FIFPRO

  Footballers’ union FIFPRO published a new study on Monday which has laid bare the staggering amount of football played by Yamal following his breakthrough as a 15-year-old in Barcelona’s La Liga clash with Real Betis in 2023. According to FIFPRO’s report, Yamal has made 130 appearances by the age of 18, with Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta – a man who eventually made 674 appearances for the club – having only made 40 by that age.

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• Concerns have now been raised about Yamal's welfare

  And concerns have now been raised about the welfare of Yamal by Darren Burgess, chair of FIFPRO's high-performance advisory network, who believes the Spain international’s excessive workload could have severe ramifications for his long-term health.

  In quotes carried by the , Burgess said of FIFPRO’s study: “It's certainly alarming. To expose them [players up to the age of 24 and 25] to excessive load at that time is almost certainly to expose them to greater injury risk.”

  And via FIFPRO’s published report, Burgess added: "Growth plates, tendons, and ligaments remain vulnerable during these years, and excessive high-speed running or short recovery windows can lead to long-term structural damage. The psychological toll should also not be underestimated.”

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Barcelona boss Flick revealed Yamal took painkillers to play for Spain

  FIFPRO’s report follows on from Barcelona manager Flick revealing that Yamal took painkillers in order to play in Spain’s World Cup-qualifying double header against Bulgaria and Turkey earlier this month. The German was left seething after confirming the teenage sensation was subsequently unavailable for his side’s league clash against Valencia on September 14.

  Confirming Yamal’s absence from the game, Flick was heavily critical of Spain, saying: "Lamine Yamal will not be available. He went with the national team in pain and did not train. They gave him painkillers to play. They had at least a three-goal lead in every match, and he played 73 minutes and 79, and between matches he couldn't train. That is not taking care of the player. I am very sad about this."

• Yamal made long-awaited return against Sociedad on Sunday

  Yamal made his long-awaited return from injury as a second-half substitute in Barcelona’s victory over Sociedad at the weekend. Having missed the Blaugrana’s league games against Valencia, Getafe and Real Oviedo – as well as their Champions League opener against Newcastle – he emerged from the bench to set up Robert Lewandowski for what proved to be the decisive winner.

Allrounders Marizanne Kapp and Annerie Dercksen were at the fore as South Africa kickstarted the women’s ODI series against England with a six-wicket win in Kimberley. The duo shared six wickets between them as England were bowled out for 186. South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt then anchored the chase with an unbeaten 59, again aided by valuable cameos from Kapp, Dercksen and Nadine de Klerk as South Africa went 1-0 up with 70 balls to spare in the three-match series.Refreshed after being rested from the preceding T20I series, Kapp picked up three wickets inside her first four overs reducing England to 29 for 3. That soon became 77 for 5 and eventually 106 for 7 in the 26th over. But a counterattacking eighth-wicket partnership of 67 off 64 between Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone helped England to a respectable total.It seemed as if South Africa would make easy work of the chase when Tazmin Brits hit three fours in a Lauren Filer over. But she was given out lbw when a length ball from Lauren Bell hit her on the thigh pad after her missed attempt at a sweep-pull. She wanted to review the call but Hawk-Eye was down and she couldn’t use the DRS. However, South Africa found the going easier against Bell and Filer, especially when they pitched the ball on the fuller lengths. They had raced to 38 for 1 after six overs when spin was brought on.Dean applied the brakes on scoring and trapped Sune Luus lbw, who was also unable to review the decision with DRS down, and walked back visibly upset. At that stage, with the up-and-down bounce exaggerated by the use of the heavy roller, the target felt distant.But Dercksen eased the nerves by hitting three fours in her first eight balls. She helped South Africa take back the control England exerted through Dean and Nat Sciver-Brunt and allowed Wolvaardt to play the waiting game. Dercksen and Wolvaardt added 54 for the third wicket before the former fell pulling a short ball from Filer straight to deep square leg, where Tammy Beaumont took a well-judged catch.That is when Kapp stamped her mark with the bat, scoring a run-a-ball 22 with three fours and a six. She first sliced Ecclestone past backward point before hitting Filer for a four and six to help South Africa march towards the target. At the other end, Wolvaardt completed her half-century off 92 balls. Kapp fell with South Africa 51 away but Wolvaardt and de Klerk [48 not out off 28 balls] completed the formality with the latter hitting 11 fours, the most by any batter in the contest. On the way, South Africa managed to keep Ecclestone wicketless for a ten-over spell in an ODI for the first time since March 2022Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone added 67 for the eighth wicket•Gallo Images/Getty Images

England were dealt an early blow with Maia Bouchier being ruled out after spraining her neck while batting in the nets. As a result, Sophia Dunkley partnered with Beaumont at the top after they opted to bat. Beaumont edged Kapp first ball she faced but wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta couldn’t hang on. Kapp, and Jafta, did not have to wait long for success though as Dunkley tickled one to Jafta on the final ball of the first over.Kapp continued to probe with the new ball and, along with Ayabonga Khaka, managed to string together a row of 11 dots before Beaumont decided to change gears. She charged Khaka to flick her over midwicket and went past Claire Taylor to become England’s second-highest run-scorer in women’s ODIs, and enter the list of top ten run-getters in the format. But her joy was short-lived, when, in the following over, she charged down to Kapp but was beaten on the inside to be bowled. Danni Wyatt-Hodge continued from where she left off in the T20Is and smacked a couple of balls before she was trapped in front by de Klerk.Amy Jones then helped England recover briefly as spin came into play. But Dercksen, in just her second ODI preferred here ahead of the more experienced Anneke Bosch, struck soon enough, getting Jones to miscue a pull towards deep backward square leg where Chloe Tryon pulled off a stunning diving catch. Nonkululeko Mlaba, who had an injury scare after twisting her ankle early in the match, then trapped Alice Capsey lbw.Heather Knight took her time and looked to get the measure of the surface. She hit five fours in her innings, often using her feet even against the seamers. But her attempted paddle against Mlaba proved to be her downfall.At that stage, England looked to be folding cheaply, but Dean and Ecclestone combined for England’s third-best partnership for the eighth wicket in ODIs. It was only when de Klerk pulled off a fine leaping catch at backward point after Ecclestone mistimed a cut off a slow short ball from Dercksen that the partnership ended.That effort was not enough to prevent a first loss on the tour for England, who were playing an international game for the first time at the Kimberley Oval.

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Root jokes England’s ‘wheels would’ve come off’ if he was captain

Joe Root has defended England’s preparations ahead of the second Test after the tourists missed five chances on day two at the Gabba, four of which came in a final session under lights that allowed Australia to establish a crucial 44-run lead with four first-innings wickets remaining.Root’s first century on an Ashes tour had given England a workable total of 334. But they were unable to make it count through wayward bowling and an array of spurned chances. All but one came after sunset, when the pink ball becomes harder to see under the floodlights, allowing the hosts to close on 378 for 6.Travis Head, shifted up to open the batting, was missed badly by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith on 3, and went on to make 33. During the final session, Ben Duckett missed a pop-up at gully that would have removed Alex Carey for a golden duck, and could only palm Josh Inglis away at third slip on 19 – although Ben Stokes bowled Inglis three deliveries later for 21.Related

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Michael Neser was given a life on 6 after slapping Jofra Archer straight to Brydon Carse, who put down a simple effort at cover that split the webbing on his right thumb. Finally, Carey, on 25, slashed between Root (first slip) and Smith, who should have got to it. Carey and Neser eventually walked off together at the close, their unbeaten stand – 49 from 55 deliveries – putting Australia ahead in the match.England chose not to send any of their starters to Canberra for a two-day game against a Prime Minister’s XI that would have given them exposure to day-night conditions. Instead, they underwent a five-day training programme going into the Test, which included two sessions (Monday and Wednesday) under lights, both in the nets and on the outfield of the Gabba to practice fielding in the various scenarios they would come across in this match. Root believes this, unequivocally, was the right thing to do.”We worked as hard as we could in the lead up to this,” Root said. “We had five days of prep and we did a huge amount of catching and making sure we utilised those two sessions under lights well.”You could look at it like that [England could have played in Canberra] but you can’t replicate that surface [at the Gabba], the bounce, the way the nicks come. It’s never going to be exactly the same, it’s never going to be perfect. All you can do is give yourself the best possible chance and I think we’ve done that.”In the lead up to this game we’ve got used to conditions, we’ve got used to the heat, we got used to the surfaces. The nets were at 3mm [grass length], the same as the wicket. We faced our own bowlers, we’ve caught under lights, we’ve caught in daylight and tried to catch in twilight as well. Sometimes they don’t stick and you’re always looking for answers.”Sometimes they just don’t stick and you’ve got to keep applying yourself and wanting the ball so you’re ready when that next opportunity comes.”England did at least have sympathy from across the divide. Jake Weatherald, who struck 72 for a maiden half-century in his second Test, admitted to his own struggles in the field on the evening of day one.”It was definitely difficult,” he said. “We were probably lucky we didn’t get as many catches square of the wicket as them. It is really difficult.”It has been a hard thing to do and it was hard last week for me with the red ball, obviously against the crowds. This week has been another level hard, especially square of the wicket.”I feel for them, I understand how hard it is out there, especially when the ball is being hit hard and there is a bit of dew on the wicket as well. It comes flying at you and it’s not great visuals. It’s a different challenge.”