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حسم حسام حسن، المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر الأول، موقفه من استدعاء لاعب جديد قبل مواجهة الرأس الأخضر.

وكان حسن، يدرس فكرة ضم لاعب بديل للثنائي محمد عبد المنعم، مدافع فريق نيس، وإمام عاشور، لاعب الأهلي.

طالع..خاص | أول رد من نيس الفرنسي على عدم انضمام محمد عبد المنعم لـ منتخب مصر

وتقدم عبد المنعم باعتذاره للجهاز الفني، على عدم التواجد في المنتخب قبل مواجهتي الرأس الأخضر وبوتسوانا في تصفيات أمم أفريقيا 2025.

ويغيب إمام عاشور، عن المنتخب بعد تعرضه للإصابة في الركبة أمس الأربعاء، قبل انطلاق مران الفراعنة.

وقرر مدرب منتخب مصر، عدم استدعاء أي لاعب جديد بدلًا من إمام عاشور أو محمد عبد المنعم والاكتفاء باللاعبين الموجودين في المعسكر.

ويلتقي المنتخب، بنظيره الرأس الأخضر، في الجولة الأولى من التصفيات قبل مواجهة بوتسوانا الثلاثاء المقبل في الجولة الثانية. قائمة منتخب مصر لمواجهتي الرأس الأخضر وبوتسوانا

حراسة المرمى: محمد الشناوي والمهدي سليمان ومصطفى شوبير وحمزة علاء

الدفاع: أحمد حجازي ورامي ربيعة وأحمد رمضان بيكهام وخالد صبحي ومحمد هاني ومحمد حمدي شرف ومحمد شحاتة

الوسط: أحمد نبيل كوكا ومحمد النني وحمدي فتحي ومروان عطية وناصر ماهر ومحمود حسن تريزيجيه ومحمد صلاح وأحمد سيد زيزو ومصطفى فتحي وإبراهيم عادل

الهجوم: عمر مرموش ومصطفى محمد ومحمد الشامي وأسامة فيصل

Ahead of his second summer transfer window in charge of the club, Ange Postecoglou will look to make his mark once more on Tottenham Hotspur, which could see a midfield reinforcement arrive.

Tottenham transfer news

The Lilywhites have already been linked with a number of players ahead of the summer, with Pedro Neto and Jarrard Branthwaite at the forefront of that. Those in north London will hope to take advantage of Everton's financial situation to win the race for Branthwaite's signature. Daniel Levy has, of course, proven his willingness to back Postecoglou since last summer and could do so again in the coming months.

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Ange Postecoglou’s side must secure victory this afternoon as they chase down top four.

ByAngus Sinclair Mar 2, 2024

As things stand, Spurs are yet to fully cement their place in the Premier League's top four under the former Celtic boss, with surprise package Aston Villa keeping them and others out. If the north London club end the season without Champions League qualification once more, then the pressure will undoubtedly be on Postecoglou to get the summer transfer window right.

That could include matters on the departure front, too, with the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg potentially getting a move away having already been linked with departing in the past. If the midfielder is on his way out, then Spurs will need a replacement – and that's where Morten Hjulmand could come in.

According to Portuguese outlet Record (via Sport Witness), Spurs are building towards a move for Hjulmand after scouting the Sporting CP midfielder in the last few weeks. Club officials were reportedly in attendance for Sporting's last game – a Taca de Portugal semi-final clash against Benfica – as Hjulmand played a part in his side's 2-1 victory to take a first-leg lead.

Sporting will reportedly prove to be tough negotiators, however, given that they're currently not interested in selling the 24-year-old amid the prospect of already losing star striker Viktor Gyokeres this summer.

"Leader" Hjulmand can replace Hojbjerg

As one Dane potentially departs, another could arrive at Spurs this summer as the Lilywhites look to replace Hojbjerg. The former Southampton man was linked with a move away in January before failing to seal a departure. Giving Spurs time to find a replacement, they now look likely to turn to Hjulmand, who has proven this season that he is perfectly capable of stepping into his compatriot's boots.

Tackles won

24

13

Interceptions

15

11

Blocks

21

18

Aerial duels won

12

6

What's more, Hjulmand is still just 24 years old and should be on the verge of entering his best years as a midfielder, meaning that there's no better time for Spurs to strike than this summer. It is a rise that Zach Lowy certainly saw coming, having praised the midfielder last year as a fine "leader", posting on X:

That said, as the summer transfer window approaches, Hjulmand will be one to watch with Spurs seemingly building towards their move for the midfielder.

Key is to “make sure we’re understanding the issues and supporting our people”

Daniel Brettig11-Nov-2019Australian cricket’s new overseer of national teams Ben Oliver admits the game still has a lot to learn about dealing with the mental health of its players, coaches and staff in the wake of the withdrawals of Glenn Maxwell and Nic Maddinson from national duty over the past few days.As one part of a two-man high-performance team – the other being former Olympian Drew Ginn – that replaced Pat Howard earlier this year, Oliver’s commission is to work closely with the national men’s and women’s teams and their coaches Justin Langer and Matthew Mott.He quickly surmised that closer and better management of people would be critical to the role, whether those in the national set-up or others working in the state system. To that end, the bravery of Maxwell and Maddinson to pull back from playing the game in order to look after their own wellbeing, rather than suffering in silence as many past generations have done, has been welcomed, but Oliver agreed that in the tension between a highly competitive sport and the wellness of its practitioners, Cricket Australia was trying to develop better understanding.”Each individual person will have a whole range of different circumstances and that presents a challenge but it also means we can’t make a broad-brush statement about this or in fact a broad-brush approach to it,” Oliver told ESPNcricinfo. “Just because people are going through different challenges in their life doesn’t mean they’re also not able to perform at a really high level and so our aspiration is to make sure we’re giving our players and staff the best chance to thrive on and off the field.ALSO READ: ‘We want guys being honest and able to talk’ – Carey“I’m incredibly proud of both Glenn and Nic in feeling as though they could share what they were experiencing and really be open and honest about that. Equally proud in terms of our response to that. The coaching and support staff response and their care and empathy for both Glenn and Nic. And more broadly my view is it’s a really complex issue, something that all of society is grappling with and, as a sport, we’re part of society.”We’re not immune to it, and we’ve got to continue to find ways to understand the issues and we’re doing all we can and applying our support and resources around players and staff on their own health and wellbeing. There’s lots to do, I think there’s lots to understand and we’re really committed to making sure we give our players and staff the best possible support we can.”Australian players currently have the option of reporting mental health problems or spiralling feelings via the wellness apps used to track their physical and mental wellbeing, but are also able to discuss their state of mind with coaches, medical staff and team psychologists.”We’ve got some systems in place where players are tracking their experience,” Oliver said, “but equally, we’ve got a whole range of coaching and support staff who are working with players on a daily basis and get to understand them very well.”I don’t think there is any one effort that is better or worse in terms of understanding where a player is currently at, I think it’s a combination of those aspects that will ultimately allow us to better understand where a player is at and provide support at any given time. We’ve got a couple of ways in which we are trying to understand where a player is at and how to respond.”In his former role with Western Australia, Oliver dealt with numerous instances of players and staff battling mental health and wellbeing issues. Ashton Agar is one WA cricketer who has spoken publicly about learning how to “ride” the peaks and troughs of personal wellness, having taken time out of the game for that reason in the past.”I spent six or seven years in WA and we had a whole range of challenges on and off field for players and staff and that’s a reflection of the world we live in and some of the challenges people are going through,” Oliver said. “And it reinforced to me the great opportunity we have as a sport to really lead the way and show how we can care and support our people. Whether it was with WA or this role or other states and territories from a cricket perspective, we’re all increasingly aware of the challenges people are going through and we’re learning how they go through that.”Certainly not the first time this has come up, I’m sure it won’t be the last, and our obligation is to really make sure we’re understanding the issues and supporting our people. If and when they’re going through different challenges we provide them with the best care and support. I don’t think they’re necessarily mutually exclusive, there’s certainly opportunity for us to continue to perform at a high level on the field and support people off it.”It’s just a case of building really strong relationships with our players in this case around how they’re travelling, what they’re experiencing and making sure we’re supporting them in that, helping them prepare, and ultimately go out and perform.”Oliver has built up plenty of respect over time as a calm and considered presence in cricket administration, having previously held roles with Cricket Victoria, CA and also the ICC prior to moving to WA. In joining CA less than a year after the announcement of damaging findings from the cultural review that followed the Newlands scandal, he is well attuned to the attitude of listening and learning that so many of the governing body’s partners had demanded.”It’s certainly clear to me and important to me coming into this role that Australian cricket is prioritising its people, players and staff,” Oliver said. “So that becomes a really important part of what we stand for as an organisation. That’s been really clear that is a priority, an important part of what the future looks like, and I’ve been really pleased with the endeavour going in to understand how we best do that. Really proud of the players and their willingness to be open and honest about what they’re experiencing.”One of my initial observations coming into the role is the intensity of international cricket and the complexity of the schedule and those things are obviously real challenges for us to find the best possible solutions for. That’s all part of what players, coaches and staff are experiencing and mechanisms for that. Really comfortable that players are feeling confident to be open and honest and really proud of our staff for being able to care and support them when they do present that way.”One set of fresh information about the mental health of Australian cricket is set to land early next year, with the results of a study begun three years ago by the youth mental health consultancy Orygen to be handed to CA in February.

Arsenal's win over Liverpool on Sunday afternoon has blown open the Premier League title race.

Mikel Arteta's men were spectacular on the night and managed to amass an awe-inspiring expected goals figure of 3.76 – the most the Reds have conceded under Jürgen Klopp.

Yet, there were still a couple of notable misses from the home side, such as the header from Bukayo Saka in the first half and the one from Jakub Kiwior in the second 45 that highlighted the team's need for a clinical number nine.

Former Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema was heavily touted for a move to N5 last month, and while some fans would have been understandably disappointed that he wasn't signed, his absence means there is still a chance for one of Hale End's most impressive graduates to make his way into the team.

The Gunners' interest in Benzema

Historically speaking, the north Londoners have been interested in signing the French number nine for well over a decade at this point, with stories from 2013 touting him for a move to the Emirates when it looked as if it wasn't going to work out for him at the Bernabéu – how different things could have been.

However, in this instance, the links to the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner originated last month when a flood of stories claimed the striker was unhappy in Saudi Arabia and was seeking a move back to Europe.

A number of clubs were linked, including Chelsea, Lyon and Arsenal, but in the end, the Frenchman remained with Al-Ittihad – an outcome his accountant surely celebrated.

While the arrival of a veteran who scored 19 goals in 24 La Liga appearances last season would have undoubtedly improved the Gunners in the short-term, his absence could pay dividends in the long-term.

Arsenal's great hope

Hale End has long produced some brilliant talent for the Arsenal first team – look at Saka and Emile Smith Rowe – and it seems like it has created another star in the making, Ethan Nwaneri.

Now, the first thing to note is that, yes, the 16-year-old is currently considered to be an attacking midfielder and not an out-and-out number nine like Benzema is, but there is no apparent reason as to why he couldn't be given a chance to play there; after all, Harry Kane started out as a deep-lying midfielder as a youth player.

Moreover, the London-born gem is no stranger to the centre-forward role as it's his second most played position with Arsenal's youth sides, and his goal record suggests that he should be playing higher up the pitch to boot.

Described as "a true goal-scorer" by data analyst Ben Mattinson, in his 42 appearances for Arsenal across the U18, U21 and UEFA Youth League sides, Nwaneri has scored 20 goals and provided nine assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.44 games – a genuinely impressive return for a 16-year-old.

Ethan Nwaneri's Youth Career

Club

Arsenal

Appearances

42

Goals

20

Assists

9

Goal Involvements per Match

0.69

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Arteta clearly sees a bright future ahead for the "sensational" youngster, as dubbed by Mattinson, as he made him the youngest Premier League player of all time when he gave him his debut against Brentford last season at just 15 years and 181 days old.

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ByJack Salveson Holmes Feb 5, 2024

Ultimately, the chance to sign Benzema is gone, and while the club might finally add an experienced number nine to the team in the summer, the emergence of Nwaneri is something that should excite fans, and if he is given a chance to prove his abilities in the first team he could go on to do great things in north London.

With the 36-year-old Benzema would have been an eye-catching short-term fix for the title hopefuls, Nwaneri could represent a sparkling long-term solution for those at N17…

The search for a new bowling spearhead following Lasith Malinga’s retirement, however, could make the team sweat

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo31-Jul-2019In many ways, this was a low-octane bilateral series. It came on the heels of the World Cup. There was no major hype around it beyond Lasith Malinga’s retirement. There was a sense of fatigue around Bangladesh’s performance, and they were missing their best player in any case. But, despite all that, could the 3-0 result be a new dawn for Sri Lanka in ODIs?There is no clear answer to that, because they have had false dawns, of course, and there is increasingly no such thing as linear progression in Sri Lankan cricket. But their new captain, at least, believes the team’s ODI stocks to be in decent health as he contemplates building a team into the next World Cup cycle. The third ODI, in particular, featured encouraging performances from relatively young players who had not featured in Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad. Dimuth Karunaratne thinks this is reason to be hopeful.”The young players grabbed their chances really well – the four players whom we put in the team today put up their hands and did a great job,” he said. Those four were allrounder Dasun Shanaka (30 runs off 14 balls, and 3 for 27), seamer Kasun Rajitha (2 for 17), allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga (12 not out off five balls, and 1 for 16) and Shehan Jayasuriya (13 off seven balls at the death).”If there’s a lot of competition and there’s a strong bench, if a player is injured I can easily bring another player,” Karunaratne said. “I think this is the way we have to build a good line-up. This is the time we have to bring some youngsters for the next couple of years. We’ve had an issue recently where we didn’t have that strong bench. But players are now ready, and they’ll grab the chances that come their way.”Apart from the pool of players that performed well during this whitewash, there are others, who could play an important role in the next World Cup cycle, Karunaratne said. “Beyond this team, there are others around as well, who are unable to break into this side at the moment – players like Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka.”You need a lot of players to build up that competition within a team, so that players are constantly putting pressure on each other to perform. If you have a strong bench, the players who are in the team have to take that responsibility. There are a lot of players trying to get that chance, so there’s pressure on the XI. I have a team I can work with. The youngsters have a great energy about them as well.”Despite his optimism, he did point out an area of particular concern – the bowling. With the retirement of Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka have lost their most penetrative ODI operator, and will now seek a new spearhead. “We need to find bowlers who can get us wickets,” Karunaratne said. “We have to find those players who deliver in tough situations. Today, pretty much everyone had a bowl, and they came up with wickets. That’s what I expect when I make a bowling change – that whoever comes on will build pressure and make those breakthroughs.”

Australia were made to work harder than appeared likely in securing an innings-and-five-run victory on the fourth day at the Gabba as Babar Azam scored a magnificently classy second Test hundred and Mohammad Rizwan fell five runs short of his first before the tail went down swinging.When Pakistan were reduced to 5 for 94 in the morning session – the same position they found themselves in the first innings – the prospect of Australia needing the second new ball or coming close to batting again seemed far-fetched. However, Azam and Rizwan added 132 for the sixth wicket then Rizwan was joined by Yasir Shah to put on 79 for the seventh.The loss of Rizwan for 95, moments before the second new ball was taken, ended the resistance and the Pakistan fast bowlers were in for a good time, not a long time. Josh Hazlewood finished with 4 for 63 in what was Australia’s 13th straight victory at home against Pakistan.Azam played an outstanding knock, a fine response to the poor stroke in the first innings which left Pakistan in trouble. He barely put a foot wrong this time, scoring freely around the wicket, with the driving standing out as so often in a typical Azam innings. There were no nervous nineties for him as he pulled Pat Cummins through midwicket before driving wide of mid-off to bring up his first overseas hundred off 160 balls.Nathan Lyon brought his innings to a halt when a quicker delivery found the edge and Tim Paine took a sharp catch, but that was not a prelude to a swift conclusion as Rizwan matched Azam stroke for stroke only to upper cut Hazlewood to third man moments before the second new ball.Significant damage had been done to Pakistan’s top order on the third evening and they resumed on 3 for 64. There were promising signs in the first hour as Azam and Shan Masood repelled the Australia quicks, although Masood was challenged by considerable seam movement Cummins extracted from the fourth-day wicket.It was Cummins who struck first when Masood got a thin top edge on a hook and in the next over Hazlewood produced a peach to take a nick from Iftikhar Ahmed. Pakistan have had no contribution from two of their top six in this match – Ahmed and Haris Sohail – and it will give them plenty to ponder ahead of the Adelaide Test on Friday.Babar Azam celebrates his century•AFP

Australia sensed an early wrap-up but then hit the roadblock. A sweetly-timed drive off Mitchell Starc took Azam to his half-century; his judgement of length against pace and spin was a standout feature of the innings. There was moment of mild concern on 75 when Australia reviewed an lbw shout from Hazlewood which was umpire’s call on trimming the bails.Azam’s Test career has been on an upward curve over the last 12 months and he tuned up stylishly with a hundred against Australia A, but this could yet be a crucial moment in the career of a batsman who is earmarked as one who can join the elite.Rizwan, in his second Test, had shown his feisty qualities in the first innings before edging a Cummins delivery which was a borderline no-ball that many felt should have been called. He played second fiddle to Azam for the first part of his innings but became more aggressive during the afternoon and evening session. His duel with Lyon – whom he slog-swept to bring up his maiden Test fifty from 86 balls – was especially absorbing. The offspinner targeted the footmarks created by Starc and Rizwan was keen to use his feet, highlighted by a wonderful drive through the covers that almost brought applause from the bowler himself.On 92 it appeared he may have fallen to one of the great short leg catches when Marnus Labuschagne moved with a paddle sweep, the ball lobbing behind square with Labuschagne flinging himself full length to get the ball in his fingertips but the third umpire ruled it had been grounded. Subsequent replays suggested it hadn’t hit the bat in any event.Perhaps keen to reach three figures before the new ball, Rizwan’s eyes lit up when Hazlewood’s first ball back was short outside off and he sent it straight to Lyon at third man. The only question then was whether the final three wickets would make Australia’s openers pad up. Yasir – whose batting was encouraging for Pakistan in both innings – missed a maiden Test fifty when he got a leading edge to mid-off and three overs later Matthew Wade’s catch at long-on was the final act in another comprehensive Gabba victory for Australia.

Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough admits his team were blown out of the water by League One rivals Wrexham for defender in transfer market.

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• Mansfield boss discusses Wrexham's power
• Lewis Brunt chose Red Dragons over Stags
• Other League One clubs lack same resources

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Nigel Clough has spoken openly about Mansfield missing out on the signing of Lewis Brunt to Wrexham, who are already showing clear ambition to make their presence felt in the third tier following promotion, after being outbid at the last minute.

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• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Mansfield had Brunt on loan from Leicester last season, with the versatile defender helping them earn automatic promotion to League One just behind Wrexham and Stockport County. But rather than being able to sign him permanently, there was a bigger offer from SToK Cae Ras and he went there instead. The Red Dragons have otherwise brought in goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and midfielder George Dobson on free transfers from Arsenal and Charlton respectively.

• WHAT NIGEL CLOUGH SAID

  Clough told Mansfield's club media: "It was us and Peterborough, I think, neck and neck for [Brunt's] signature. I think we put an offer in slightly more than Peterborough's. As is the way, Wrexham come in and blow us both out of the water, and pay quite a bit more than the two of us had bid. Personal terms as well, the likes of us and Peterborough can't compete with that.

  "There's nothing you can do about it. If you lose players for £50 ($64) or something like that…but when somebody blows you out of the water financially, there's absolutely nothing you can do."

• Getty/GOAL
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney ultimately want to be in the Premier League, with executive director Humphrey Ker stating in May the ambition for thay is "as quickly as possible". That means they hope their stay in League One will be brief, with eyes on the Championship in 2025-26. The new season will open with the visit of Wycombe Wanderers to north Wales on August 10. Before the, pre-season will take the squad on tour to the United States and Canada.

Lille star Nabil Bentaleb may have to retire from professional football following his cardiac arrest earlier this month.

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• Bentaleb suffers cardiac arrest
• Underwent successful surgery
• Could retire from professional football

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was taken to hospital on June 18, and subsequently, Lille announced that the 29-year-old had to undergo surgery after suffering a cardiac arrest during a five-a-side match. He was treated with a cardiac defibrillator along with a “cardiac massage” at the incident spot before being transported to the hospital.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  According to RMC Sport, it now seems unlikely that the Algerian will be able to continue his footballing career due to the surgical intervention that was required. Nonetheless, they report that his medical reports will be passed on to the France Football Federation (FFF) for their investigation into the safety of the player in case of a continuance in the sport.

• Getty
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Bentaleb joined Lille in the summer of 2023 and has a valid contract with the Ligue 1 side until the summer of 2026. If the Algerian ultimately decides not to continue his career, his running contract can be dissolved with the help of the club's insurance agencies, who protect both the club and the player in such cases.

• WHAT NEXT FOR BENTALEB?

  For the time being, Bentaleb will focus on making a healthy recovery before he decides what he wants to do with his career at the relatively young age of 29. The FFF's medical team will make suggestions to the Algerian based on their investigation, however, the final decision will remain with Bentaleb himself.

Lionesses star Alex Greenwood has put pen to paper on a new contract at Manchester City. The 32-year-old has signed an extension that will keep her at the club until 2027 and says she has "unfinished business" with the Cityzens. Greenwood was into the final year of her existing deal but has now committed her future to the club after a strong start to the new WSL campaign.

Man City handed Greenwood boost

Greenwood's new contract is a big boost to Manchester City as she is a key player for club and country. The City captain has played 152 games for the club since joining from Lyon in 2020, winning the Women's FA Cup and the League Cup in that time. Greenwood was also part of the Lionesses' Euro 2025-winning squad, starting all of England's six matches in the tournament in Switzerland, and picking up her second European Championship title.

AdvertisementGreenwood thrilled with new contract

She told the club's media: "I’m really happy to stay here, it’s the club I love and the club I want to be successful at and I’m really happy to be here for another two more [years]. Personally, I have so much unfinished business to be done, and I love this football club. It feels like home to me now and I feel this is where I belong and am meant to be.

"I’m really excited for what’s to come.  I’m excited by the players, the new manager. And the start has been really positive, but I know there’s still so much more to come from this team. I would love nothing more than to lift more silverware at this football club."

Therese Sjogran, Manchester City’s Director of Football, said: "We’re absolutely delighted that Alex has signed a new deal with the club. It’s difficult to put into words how important she is on and off the pitch, and I know my respect and admiration for her as a player and person is shared by everyone at City. We’re excited by the direction this team is going in this season and beyond, and Alex is central to those ambition."

City leading the way in 2025-26

Manchester City have enjoyed a strong start to the new Women's Super League season and currently sit in top spot after eight games played, one point clear of defending champions Chelsea. Greenwood is yet to win the WSL in her career but admits she's gunning for the title this year.

She told the club's media: "As much as I’ve played for lots of years and I’ve experienced so much in my career, I’m still learning too as a captain and as a player. I’m someone who will always look at myself first before I give advice to anyone else. I think the group is exciting and that’s another reason why I’m so happy to stay here. We’ve got so much potential and the young players coming through are so exciting and they keep you on your toes to say the least.

"I really don’t believe we can’t not do it and that’s why I want to be here. I want to do it because I think the club deserves it.The team deserves it, but there’s one thing deserving it and another doing it and I do genuinely believe we can do that.  I’m so positive about this team. We have short-term and long-term goals as a team, I do individually. For me personally, I’ll be lying if I didn’t say I really want to win the league with this club."

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Getty Images SportGreenwood sidelined through injury

Greenwood is currently sidelined through injury after picking up a problem during City's win over West Ham. Manager Andrée Jeglertz has said the Lionesses star will miss "a number of weeks" in what is a blow to the WSL leaders.

Manchester City are due to play neighbours Manchester United next in the WSL and then face a trip to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup. The Cityzens then see out 2025 with league matches against Leicester and Aston Villa.

The England batsman found career-best form during the home season, but for a variety of reasons has not played much since

Alex Malcolm29-Dec-2020

Sam Billings showed career-best form for England during their home season•Getty Images

You’re not going to lose it in three weeks. That is the attitude Sam Billings is carrying into his first BBL match for the Sydney Thunder after 14 days quarantine in an Australian hotel room.Billings could be forgiven for showing some frustration at the Covid cricket world where isolation and bio-secure bubbles are the new norm.He is in the best form of his career having established himself in England’s ODI team thanks to a superb home series against Australia. But an embarrassment of riches in the England T20I team and a Covid outbreak in South Africa meant he did not play a single game on England’s tour before heading straight to Australia where he spent two weeks, including Christmas, stuck in a hotel room as part of the Australian government’s strict border requirements on international travellers entering the country.Rather than wallow in what might have been, Billings is going with the flow.”You’re not going to have everything aligned perfectly at times,” Billings told ESPNcricinfo. “But you have a really good idea of what you need going into a game to be mentally ready.”It’s like riding a bike. You’re not going to lose it in three weeks. It’s just about getting your mind right. Two really good training sessions and I feel in a really good place.”Quarantine hubs have made life difficult for international cricketers. Billings’ England team-mates Tom Banton and Tom Curran both withdrew from the BBL citing bubble fatigue.Related

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Sam Billings: 'This is one of the hardest sports teams to get into in the world at the moment'

How England came to dominate the Big Bash League's overseas pool

Billings was well aware of what he signed up for. He was full of praise to Cricket Australia for setting the travelling England players up with two-bedroom apartments, a treadmill, and an exercise bike, to keep the legs ticking over while cooped inside.Billings believes the key to not letting the walls close on him was his attitude, however, he was also extremely sympathetic to those who had opted out.”The most important thing was getting into a really good routine,” he said. “Kind of having a purpose for each day and the first hour of the day was all about setting it up in terms of what I wanted to get out of it and having some organisation to it.”I think that’s the real key. Not just letting the days drift and feel as if you’re not getting too much out of it. I was very lucky with the support I had around me and had a kind of plan to embrace it and look at it from a positive point of view as opposed to a negative mindset.”I think as well as a player, we’re going to have to used to these kinds of things, and constantly learn and evolve on the back of them. At times it’s hugely challenging for some individuals, and it’s so individual. If guys are really struggling, it’s absolutely no judgement.”Billings, 29, credits the toughest year of his career for his discernible shift in mindset. A freak shoulder dislocation cost him a chance to be part of England’s magical 2019 World Cup. Rather than regressing, it has propelled him to greater heights in terms of his preparation and his mental strength. The results were obvious for all to see when he made his maiden international century against Australia at Old Trafford in September.”I think the whole process is natural,” Billings said. “As you get older and more experienced it’s something that develops. Missing the World Cup through injury the year before, it was a pretty steep learning curve in terms of what I needed to get done.”I had to reflect on things I needed to get done and things I needed to improve. For a really bad experience which I wouldn’t wish on anyone, actually what came out of it was a really positive summer. Probably my best summer in an England shirt. It was only through the back of the changes I made through being injured, that I developed. I saw it as, obviously a negative experience, but a huge positive that really helped me develop as a bloke but also as a cricketer as well.”Some continuity in selection has also helped. England’s limited-overs teams have been among the most difficult to break into in recent times and an extended run certainly added his progress.”For me, it’s all about, and it’s so cliché, focusing on the process as opposed to trying so hard to perform well,” Billings said. “Certainly at times for England I would play one game and do well and be out of the side because it’s such a hard side to get into. But this summer was so nice to play a consistent run of games. Not worrying about not playing the next game has just allowed me to play and play my own way.’If you hit a boundary an over and then you’re running people ragged out to the sweepers, that’s when you put people under pressure at relatively low risk’•Getty Images

“I know that when I’m on, when I’m playing well, when I’m comfortable in the environment, I know that I add value to any side that I play in. Hopefully, I just continue to do everything I can to give myself the best chance and that’s all I can do really. Hopefully, I can add some value to the Thunder.”This will be Billings’ third stint in the BBL after playing 11 games over two seasons, from 2016 to 2018, for cross-town rivals the Sydney Sixers. But Billings was keen to join the Thunder due to a connection with Sydney’s western suburbs. He experienced a life-changing summer at Penrith Cricket Club in 2013-14 playing Sydney grade cricket alongside Pat Cummins. Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, and Joe Root have also represented the Thunder in recent times but Billings’ friendship with Shane Watson, through their experiences at Chennai Super Kings was the clincher.”I’m pretty close to Shane Watson through my time at Chennai, I spent a lot of time with him,” Billings said. “I’m very thankful for all the help he’s given me. He had nothing but positive things to say about the Thunder. It was a pretty easy decision.”The biggest thing for me was that I was their guy that they wanted from day one and that goes a long way for any player. Straight away it was that loyalty both ways. I really enjoyed that. I’m really fired up to do well and give back to these guys.”He joins a Thunder team in red-hot form. He will slot in nicely into the middle order and is looking forward to a rare opportunity to keep wicket.”It will be great to get the gloves back on, hopefully, there are not too many cobwebs,” he said. “And obviously in the middle order, that’s something that I really want to make my own if I’m honest. In terms of internationally but also around the world as well. Not many players want to bat in the middle order. Obviously, it’s a pretty challenging position against spin with the field out.”He explained it can also be a different challenge in Australia compared to other parts of the world. Australia have struggled to produce world-class middle order T20 players with the style of play required on the bigger grounds with the field spread asking for slightly different skills.”I think with these big grounds it’s obviously about being positive, backing your options,” Billings said. “You can kind of run people ragged with these big pockets. I like my running between the wickets so I think that’s a huge part of it.”That’s kind of how you can go at low risk 10-an-over against spin. If you hit a boundary an over and then you’re running people ragged out to the sweepers, that’s when you put people under pressure at relatively low risk. There will be different challenges. Obviously, a lot of pace bowlers go into the pitch [with shorter lengths] because of big square boundaries.”It’s coming up with different game plans and hitting gaps. It’s not necessarily all about hitting sixes. You hit the ball hard along the ground over here. The outfields are generally so quick that you get value. It’s just playing smart cricket on these big grounds.”