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Mike Dodds looks very unlikely to be taking over the permanent Sunderland reins come the end of the Championship season now, failing to inject new life into the Black Cats' season ever since Michael Beale's departure at the back end of 2023.

The interim Sunderland boss has won just three of the 13 games he's been in charge of in the league since Beale's dismissal, with the former Rangers manager perhaps harshly kicked out of the job upon reflection.

Still, the Wearside strugglers won't dwell over what went wrong with Dodds in the hot seat for too long with this exciting manager in line to take over next to try and bring back positivity to the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland manager news

The search is well underway for Dodds' successor, with the Black Cats even being linked with an ex-player now who used to line up in the centre-back spots for the Black Cats during their recent Premier League past.

John O'Shea, when speaking to the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast about the managerial vacancy, stated that he would 'love' to become Sunderland's next manager, having amassed 256 appearances for the Wearside outfit during his celebrated playing days.

This potential appointment would represent a huge risk for the underperformers, however, with the Irishman only ever experiencing the managerial game as a coach or assistant manager to date.

Moreover, with the failure of Beale stinging still on top of Dodds' lack of success, Sunderland cannot gamble on O'Shea to come good as their next rash call in the dugout.

Instead, Sunderland should go all out to try and steal this manager from a fellow second-tier side especially if the club in question fall through the Championship trapdoor at the end of the campaign when facing off against the Black Cats.

Sunderland's perfect O'Shea alternative

Sheffield Wednesday will be desperately hoping they can keep Danny Rohl past this gruelling second-tier campaign, with the German boss allowing the Owls to dream about pulling off an incredible relegation escape since coming in when things looked doomed last October.

Previous Wednesday boss Xisco Munoz had failed to win any of his opening ten Championship games as boss before Rohl swooped in to save the day, with the former Watford manager also over overseeing just two draws from those abject league games.

Fast forward to the present, however, Rohl has managed to pick up Wednesday from off the floor when all hope looked lost.

Manager

Games managed

Won

Drawn

Lost

Rohl

36

14

6

16

Munoz

12

1

2

9

Sourced by Transfermarkt

The popular 34-year-old has collected an impressive 13 wins from 33 second tier games, with the 3-1 win away at Blackburn Rovers last match lifting the South Yorkshire side remarkably out of the relegation spots for the time being.

Described as being an "unbelievable" figure on the sidelines by goalscoring hero at the weekend in Josh Windass when speaking to Sky Sports, with the 30-year-old even opening up that Rohl is the "best head coach he's ever worked with", it's not a shock to see that Sunderland reportedly want a slice of the German in the summer.

The Black Cats would hope Rohl could have a similar revitalising presence on proceedings in Wearside as he has at Hillsborough, kickstarting a potential promotion charge after allowing Wednesday to believe they could stave off relegation at the opposite end of the division.

With the popular Owls boss also getting a tune out of the youngsters at his disposal this season, seen in 18-year-old Bailey Cadamarteri bagging five goals, this could be a match made in heaven if Sunderland can pull off a deal.

Chelsea have launched a new black Nike third kit for 2024-25 inspired in its design by the area's links to the British punk rock scene.

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Chelsea kit debuted by women's teamBlack third strip inspired by punk sceneWill be sold without a front sponsorWHAT HAPPENED?Shop Chelsea kits at NikeFind the best deals

Chelsea Women took to the pitch on Sunday night for their pre-season clash with WSL rivals Arsenal wearing a previously unseen black kit. The club then followed that up on Monday morning with the official launch for this season's third strip.

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The anthracite grey and black shirt and shorts are complemented by pink and yellow trim, plus fabric reviving ripped-up, clashing punk patterns. There is also a particular nod to the women's game, with an upturned vertical Nike swoosh intended as a symbol celebrating its acceleration. That is set to be a regular feature across many Nike third kits in 2024-25. The shirt worn by the women against Arsenal featured Infinite Athlete as a sponsor because it is part of deal covering pre-season, but the shirt is being sold without a sponsor on the front as the club does not yet have one in place for the competitive campaign ahead.

WHAT CHELSEA SAID

Claire Cronin, Chelsea Football Club's Chief Marketing Officer said: "We're proud to partner with Nike in spotlighting and driving the continued rise of the Women's game through this year's third kit and it was brilliant to see Sonia [Bompastor]'s team wearing it for the first time in Washington on Sunday. The design really plays into our DNA. Chelsea was at the heart of the iconic British punk scene, with the trailblazing creativity it was known for still a huge part of who we are as a club today."

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Having concluded their American tour with the win over Arsenal, Chelsea Women return to action for a final pre-season friendly against Feyenoord back at Kingsmeadow on September 7. For the men, they head to Switzerland in the Conference League for the second leg of their qualification play-off against Servette on Thursday, quickly followed by the summer transfer deadline on Friday and then a Premier League clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Ian Gould has written that Australia’s conduct with the ball was already under the scanner leading into the Newlands Test

Daniel Brettig09-Apr-2020Match officials during the first two Tests of the fateful Australia tour of South Africa in 2018 directed local broadcasters to take a closer look at the tourists’ conduct with the ball after suspecting them of “working a little too aggressively” on it earlier in the series, the recently retired umpire Ian Gould has revealed.Gould was the TV umpire during the Newlands Test and relayed what had been spotted on TV footage, of Cameron Bancroft putting sandpaper down his trousers, to the on-field umpires.Previous accounts of the scandal have largely attributed the broadcasters’ work to direction from commentators such as Fanie de Villiers. However, Gould has written in his new autobiography, , that one of the first things he was told after arriving in South Africa to officiate on the Cape Town and Johannesburg Tests, was that the match officiators already suspected the Australians of sharp practice in the first two matches of the series.Gould, Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth joined the match referee Andy Pycroft to preside over the third and fourth matches of the series, after Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney and S Ravi had umpired in the first two with Jeff Crowe as the match referee.”A few days before I headed to Cape Town, Chris Gaffaney, the very capable New Zealander who was third umpire for the first Test in Durban, and had stood with Kumar Dharmasena in Port Elizabeth in the second match, left a message on my phone, warning me that things were starting to get a little bit out of hand,” Gould wrote.”The umpiring team had their suspicions that Australia were working a little too aggressively on the condition of the ball, and they had an informal word with the host broadcaster SuperSport asking that if their camera crew saw anything that looked unusual they should let the umpires know.”Australia’s players have long denied that anything untoward had taken place before the Newlands Test itself, and Cricket Australia’s subsequent investigation had been strictly limited to events in Cape Town that ultimately saw David Warner, Steven Smith and Bancroft all banned. The current CA chief executive Kevin Roberts has previously stated that anyone with new evidence about the team’s pre-Newlands conduct should come forward. Gould concluded that Darren Lehmann’s replacement as coach by Justin Langer was a strong indication that CA wished to take a fresh tack.”The media’s investigation into what happened at Cape Town was very thorough, but it did surprise me that it took until the eve of the final Test before the coach resigned,” Gould said. “Look, I like Darren. I umpired him many times when he was playing for Yorkshire and admired him as a player, he was one of the best batsmen we had in the county game during the first half of this century. But I firmly believe that the coach sets the tempo for the team and in South Africa in 2018 Darren’s team went way too far.”Justin is what I call a proper bloke. Not only was he a brilliant batsman but, after he took up coaching, he set similarly high standards. I’ve had many a pint with him after play and I liked his way of thinking. When I heard he had become Australia coach I knew they were in good hands and I thought the way he conducted himself during the Ashes series in 2019 was outstanding. He might not come across that way, but Justin is actually quite a humorous fellow. But I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him. He’s very principled. The game needs more people like him in positions of influence.”Gould has also recounted the extent to which the Australian team appeared to have been incensed by Kagiso Rabada’s successful appeal against a ban for making physical contact with their then captain Smith during the second Test in Port Elizabeth. Gould has written that after greeting Warner, the opening batsman had remarked, “Well Gunner, where’s the f***ing line in the sand now?” He is adamant, too, that a more experienced umpiring team should have been in place from the start of the series, given a febrile recent history of matches involving Australia.”In hindsight, ICC’s decision not to bring Illy, Nige and myself in until the third Test was a mistake,” Gould wrote. “Two of the three lads who did the first two Tests were relatively inexperienced. Dharmasena had stood in over 50 Tests but Chris was in only his 19th game and the other umpire, Sundaram Ravi from India, had fewer than 25 Tests under his belt and within a year or so had been kicked off the elite panel because he wasn’t deemed good enough.”Like I said, hindsight is a wonderful thing but I’m absolutely sure the English trio including me would have got on top of things from the off. More things had happened in those first two Tests than you normally have to deal with in a five-match series.”In Johannesburg, Gould described how he inadvertently had the Australian camp thinking they had found evidence of South African tampering by disposing of a lolly wrapper on the field. “At the end of day one I was walking off, put my hand in my pocket and one of the wrappers fell out,” he wrote. “I pushed it down a stump hole with my boot on one of the pitches on the edge of the square and thought nothing more of it.”The following morning the Australian bowlers were doing their warm-ups on the same wicket. You can probably guess what happened next. A few minutes later their bowling coach David Saker knocked on our door and came in. ‘We’ve got ’em!’ he said. By that, we took it to mean that my sweet wrapper he had in his hand was the evidence that the South Africans had been applying saliva from Werther’s Originals to get the ball to swing on what was another flat deck.”I looked at Andy and he looked at me, and both of us tried to keep a straight face. I reached into my pocket and rolled a couple of Werther’s along the table towards Saker. ‘These sweets you mean?’ How Andy stopped himself dissolving into fits of laughter I’ll never know. It was a ridiculous accusation to make on the flimsiest of evidence but that’s how bad things had got between the teams. They were paranoid.” is released through Pitch Publishing this month.

ECB events director confident venues will withstand external factors during West Indies series

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2020Steve Elworthy, the ECB’s director of events, believes that the plans for July’s Test series against West Indies are robust enough to withstand a second wave of Covid-19 outbreaks, following this week’s announcement that the Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford have been chosen to host the three games.Speaking on Sky Sports’ Cricket Show, Elworthy went into greater depth on the rationale behind the selection of the two venues, both of which have on-site hotels – which was the primary reason why grounds such as the Kia Oval, where the first Test of the summer had been due to get underway today, were ruled out in the ECB’s search for “bio-secure” environments.West Indies are due to arrive in England next week, with their initial training block set to take place at Old Trafford before England themselves gather at the Ageas Bowl in the build-up to the first Test on July 8. The two squads will then practice in closer proximity in the days leading up the match, before relocating to Old Trafford for the final two matches of the series, commencing July 16 and July 24 respectively.ALSO READ: Oval ticket-holders show faith in Test cricket after cancellationAnd while there have been concerns in the local media that Manchester, in the north-west of England, is particularly susceptible to a surge in Covid cases, Elworthy is confident that the series will go ahead without a hitch, especially if the ICC agrees to sanction the introduction of like-for-like replacements in the event of infection within the secure environment.”The way we have structured the ‘bubble’ is that it can operate under the most extreme circumstances,” said Elworthy. “All of our planning has been based on the worst-case scenario, from an infection and a rate-spike point of view. So external factors should not affect that because, if you are secure within the venue, and you don’t break the confines of that venue, then your game should be able to go ahead with no problems at all.”The likeliest opportunity for that bubble to break will come when the teams make the 220-mile journey from Southampton to Manchester, but Elworthy justified the need to vary the conditions in which the series is played from the point of view of cricket “integrity”, and also to provide a change of scene for players, support staff and media who might otherwise be confined to one place for up to a month.”If you were to hold your first two Test matches at the same venue, you could end up possibly winning a series in the same conditions in the same venue, back-to-back,” he said. “We felt that, to win a series, you should have to win it in two separate sets of conditions.”We’re trying to reduce the amount of time that stakeholders or groups of people are locked down in [a particular] venue for periods of time,” he added. “We’re trying to cover as many of those bases as possible.”ALSO READ: West Indies confirm 25-man squad for bio-secure England tourThe Ageas Bowl, Elworthy added, had been chosen for the series opener because its out-of-town location includes a full-sized practice pitch, situated right next to the main venue. “We wanted both teams to be able to practice and train and prepare for a Test match, and having two full grounds available to be able to train was key.”The provisions for bio-security, as outlined by the ECB when announcing the match allocation, include controlled access at the perimeter of the venues, as well as on-site medical screening and testing provisions, including designated areas for isolation of anyone presenting symptoms.Steve Elworthy has played a leading role in the ECB’s planning for behind-closed-doors cricket•Getty Images”It’s not only the players we thinking about,” said Elworthy. “With circa 250-odd people within the venue, any one of them could possibly test positive in a period of a five-day Test match.”They would immediately be put into isolation, and our on-site Covid medical practitioner and Public Health England would be informed immediately,” he added. “And that player or person would then be put into isolation for a period of time based on the government guidance and the medical overlay.”Earlier this week, West Indies confirmed their squad for the England tour, and while it will be missing three players who chose not to travel due to fears of infection – Keemo Paul, Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo – Elworthy preferred to focus on the 25 names who had chosen to trust the contingencies that have been put in place.”Everybody was given the right to make their own decision, and that’s not the first time that’s happened across cricket, even with the England team at times,” he said. “But I look at it glass-half-full. It’s incredibly positive that we have a West Indian squad of 25 players who are coming to compete in a Test series against England. I think that’s fantastic for the game.”It’s incredibly challenging putting this all together, but at the same time I think it’s hugely, hugely rewarding for the game. As a cricket family, we’ve got to come together on this to make it work.”

Tottenham Hotspur kept their slender hopes of returning to Europe's elite next season alive after fighting to overcome a spirited Burnley side and secure three points in the Premier League.

The Clarets entered the contest imperilled and knew that anything less than extending Spurs' losing run to five matches would send them spiralling back to the Championship, and while they took the lead in the opening half through Jacob Bruun Larsen's strike, the hosts rallied through Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven to restore that winning feeling.

For Tottenham, victory has lifted Ange Postecoglou's side to 63 points in the English top flight with just two matches left to play, while a route into the Champions League could crystallise if Liverpool defeat fourth-placed Aston Villa on Monday.

But that will create a schism within the Spurs support, with the midweek clash against Manchester City possibly sending Arsenal into the title-winning ascendancy if Tottenham were to secure a sixth successive home league victory over Pep Guardiola's side.

Van de Ven stole the headlines after cherry-topping a noteworthy performance with a later match-winning goal but Porro was also fantastic for his team. He's been somewhat out of sorts recently but reminded north London of his quality on a pivotal occasion.

Pedro Porro's performance vs Burnley

Tottenham might have one eye on the Champions League but the likes of Newcastle United and Chelsea are snapping at Postecoglou's heels for the Premier League's fifth spot.

It's been a season of ups and downs but it's important to remember that Postecoglou has inherited an outfit that, last season, was in disrepair and had fallen by the wayside, finishing eighth in the division and missing out on Europe as a result.

There have been many different facets that have contributed toward the resurgence but the rise of Porro – who joined from Sporting Lisbon for £39m last summer after spending the latter half of last term on loan – has been key.

He's not been playing his finest football in recent weeks but the Spaniard relished the chance of playing the role of protagonist and restoring parity just after half an hour, hammering home.

Sure, Porro could have done more to stop Vitinho's early chance and he failed to close Sander Berge down in the build-up to Burnley's opener but his first-class ability is patent and he influenced the play significantly in attacking phases.

As per Sofascore, the right-back completed the full 90 against the Clarets, taking 93 touches, completing 81% of his passes, unleashing four shots on goal and supplying one key pass. Moreover, he might have lost the ball 21 times but this is a testament to Porro's constant creative threat.

He is in with a really good shout to earning Tottenham's Player of the Season award after so many influential and all-encompassing performances. Porro is one of the finest in the business.

Manchester City have been known to be lurking for Porro's signature but whatever happens this summer, Daniel Levy must ensure his dynamic wide defender remains at the heart of the project.

Not the only recently struggling Lilywhite to enjoy an excellent performance on a balmy Saturday afternoon, Porro was joined by James Maddison in returning to form.

The England star has flattered to deceive in recent weeks but has been largely exemplary since joining from Leicester City for £40m last summer and has reminded north London of his spark and playmaking prowess.

James Maddison proved his worth once again

Writing in his post-match player ratings after handing Maddison an 8/10 match rating, football.london's Alasdair Gold said of Maddison's performance: 'Back in the team and sent an early deflected effort over the bar. Dipped a bit in the rest of the first half but was excellent for much of the second period.'

Minutes played

88'

Assists

1

Touches

88

Accurate passes

55/62 (89%)

Shots taken

3

Key passes

3

Dribble attempts

2/2 (100%)

Duels won

5/8

Tackles

1

Interceptions

1

Maddison has failed to replicate his early-campaign heights recently but his maiden year in London has been marred by an ankle injury that kept him out through the winter months and has left him struggling to recover his fluency and fizz since.

But his creative brilliance shone through against Burnley and Postecoglou will be delighted that his prized midfielder has lifted himself back to the position of power that he holds within the squad.

Maddison, chiefly, is a creator, but he is also a robust and tenacious player, evidenced through his five duels won and his tackle and interception – also showcasing his dynamism by winning both of his attempted dribbles and creating three key passes for his teammates.

As per FBref, the £170k-per-week ace ranks among the top 17% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 3% for shot-creating actions, the top 5% for passes attempted and the top 1% for progressive passes per 90.

His ability to change games with playmaking piece of brilliance has gifted Tottenham something that has lingered out of reach since the halcyon days of Christian Eriksen.

Form is temporary, class is permanent. It's a bit of a hackneyed footballing phrase but one that rings true for Maddison's situation, with his skill set simply integral to Tottenham's fluency.

Next season, Postecoglou will seek improvements, growth, and Maddison is sure to be the fulcrum of the efforts.

Ange must drop Kulusevski and unleash Spurs' "relentless" sensation

The disruptive ace could be the one to help end the Lilywhite losing streak.

ByJack Salveson Holmes May 11, 2024

Tottenham have much to improve upon next season but for all the flaws of this still-building side, there are clear signs of future success and an effective transfer strategy this summer could see the requisite improvements made to start to narrow the gap on those at the forefront of the Premier League.

Fresh faces may arrive but the likes of Maddison and Porro have quality unparalleled by the lion's share of Premier League positional rivals and they must star as centrepieces of what could be a prosperous era.

Alisha Lehmann’s first Serie A goal for Juventus saw her pounce on a defensive mistake, before displaying a calm head and delivering a dinked finish.

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Swiss star bid farewell to WSLEmbracing new challenge in ItalyHas already been among the goalsWHAT HAPPENED?

The Switzerland international is taking on a new challenge for 2024-25. After six years in England with West Ham, Everton and Aston Villa, the 25-year-old forward has spread her wings and bid farewell to the WSL – with the decision taken to head for Turin.

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She has been joined in Italy by Brazilian boyfriend Douglas Luiz, who has made his own move from Villa to Juve, and the pair have settled quickly in new surroundings. Lehmann is a bubbly character that has little problem making friends and putting smiles on faces.

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The Swiss has been doing that on and off the field at Juventus, with early goals helping to endear her to team-mates and supporters. Her first effort in the Italian top-flight was registered in a 6-3 win over Sassuolo, with Lehmann anticipating a poor back-pass and going on to lift the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper.

Harry Kane has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo's achievement of scoring his 901st goal has "inspired" him to keep playing for England.

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Ronaldo sets remarkable recordHas 901 goals for club and countryKane preparing for 100th capWHAT HAPPENED?

Ronaldo scored the 901st goal of his career as Portugal beat Scotland on Sunday. Now, Kane is preparing to win his 100th cap for England against Finland and says he has no plans to stop racking up appearances, having turned 31 in July.

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Kane has yet to win any silverware in his career, but has twice come within a whisker for England; he has been a runner-up in two European Championship finals, losing in both 2021 and 2024 to Italy and Spain. Ronaldo managed to win Euro 2016 with Portugal, and Kane will hope to eventually hoist a trophy aloft with the three lions on his chest.

WHAT KANE SAID

Speaking in a press conference, Kane said: "I feel in really good shape, both physically and mentally, at a peak in my career. Watching other players, Ronaldo scoring his 901st goal, seeing him compete at 39 years old inspires me to play for as long as possible

"I love this game, I love representing England – more than anything and I don’t want it to end any time soon For me, personally, now it’s about continuing to improve and being consistent both in an England shirt and at club level. I’m hungry for more. I’m determined to keep pushing the boundaries."

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England play Finland in their second Nations League game at Wembley on Tuesday. They beat the Republic of Ireland in Lee Carsley's first game as interim manager.

Following the conclusion to the Premier League campaign, West Ham United have instantly turned their attention towards landing their first signing of the summer.

West Ham transfer news

It's set to be a busy few weeks at the London Stadium, as West Ham look to complete any final details to appoint Julen Lopetegui to replace David Moyes, whilst also looking to strengthen his new side. The headlines have already started on that front too, with the likes of young Barcelona forward Vitor Roque and Brentford star Ivan Toney.

Toney would be a particularly impressive arrival, given how in-demand he's been over the last couple of years. Signing a player of his calibre would represent a significant step from where the Hammers once found themselves compared to now as a side consistently competing in European football. And that upgrade in stature has even seemingly helped them prize a future star away from London rivals Arsenal.

West Ham could land £34m Antonio heir who's outscored Bowen in 23/24

The Hammers must clinch this “magnificent’ new striker to kickstart a new era.

ByAngus Sinclair May 18, 2024

According to Jeorge Bird, West Ham are on the verge of signing Luis Brown, who has already bid farewell to Arsenal in a social media post ahead of leaving as a free agent this summer.

The 18 year-old central defender is set to join up with the Hammers in hope of setting course for the first-team minutes that he lacked at The Emirates. With a new manager to impress at the London Stadium, Brown could take his biggest step yet in senior football.

Brown can earn West Ham chance

When young players are given a chance at West Ham, they have the opportunity to achieve great things and all Brown needs to do to realise that is look at his Arsenal teammate Declan Rice. Now, the centre-back has the chance to follow in Rice's footsteps to quickly become a bargain deal for the Hammers this summer.

Still just 18 years old, Brown's ability to also play as a left-back will also ease West Ham's Aaron Cresswell blow, with the defender set to depart as a free agent this summer. The 34-year-old has been an excellent servant for the club, but as he departs, a younger option will emerge in the form of Brown.

The hope will be that the teenager impresses enough in pre-season to earn a surprise place in Lopetegui's squad at the beginning of the campaign. It would be quite the leap from Arsenal's youth sides, but it's a chance that Brown will be seeking through making such a move this summer. West Ham, meanwhile, at the start of a new era, look set to deal a London rival a frustrating blow in the process.

The tournament was scheduled for February 2021 but has been pushed to the same window in 2022

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Aug-2020The disparity in the level of preparedness of the teams is understood to be the key reason behind the ICC postponing the women’s ODI World Cup from 2021 to 2022, with an eye on maintaining the “integrity of the tournament”.The ICC has retained the February-March window for the tournament to be played in New Zealand, as well as the format which will feature the eight teams and 31 matches. It is understood the qualifiers would be played in July 2021 in Sri Lanka with ten contestants.Being one of the first countries to declare itself free of the Covid-19 pandemic, New Zealand was also the first to allow spectators at sporting venues. As of August 7, New Zealand has had a total of 1569 cases since the pandemic took force, with fewer than ten new cases reported since the start of the month. With that in mind the ICC would have been optimistic of hosting the event as per original schedule between February 6 and March 7, 2021.Biosecurity protocols had already been drawn up by the World Cup’s organising committee, in consultation with the ICC, New Zealand Cricket, and the New Zealand government. Spectators have been present at rugby games in the country, without limitation, since mid-June and there are few restrictions once visitors have completed their two-week quarantine. The teams for the World Cup were originally expected to arrive in New Zealand towards the end of January, but an earlier arrival had been planned, which would have impacted the cost considerations of the tournament.The ICC had even scheduled the qualifiers in the UAE in November, which would determine the remaining three vacant slots to join the five countries (Australia, England, South Africa, India, and hosts New Zealand) that had already qualified.However, ESPNcricinfo understands, several member countries, who attended the ICC Business Corporation meeting on Friday, raised concerns about the readiness of most of the eight participants. It is understood that representatives of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Bangladesh Cricket Board were concerned their teams would be under-cooked for the qualifiers, having played no cricket for several months.For other teams, too, the T20 World Cup was the last time they featured in any cricket. Also with not much women’s international cricket scheduled globally due to the pandemic, it would diminish the product and the competition.With the UAE being selective about allowing visitors from various countries, the ICC, it is understood, was also concerned about getting permission for countries playing in the qualifiers there.”We have taken the decision to move the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup to give players from every competing nation, the best opportunity to be ready for the world’s biggest stage and there is still a global qualifier to complete to decide the final three teams,” Manu Sawhney, the ICC chief executive said in a media release on Friday. “Moving the event by 12 months gives all competing teams the chance to play a sufficient level of cricket ahead of both the qualification event and leading into a Cricket World Cup so the integrity of the tournament is maintained.”

Lionel Messi bagged a brace on his return to MLS action after a two-month injury lay-off, with Inter Miami seeing off the Philadelphia Union.

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Miami win 3-1 over Union on Messi's returnMessi scores twice and provides assist for SuarezMissed close to two months of action due to injuryWHAT HAPPENED?

Messi suffered a terrible ankle injury during Argentina's Copa America final win over Colombia in July. Since then, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has missed a further eight games, but showed his class on his return to MLS action with Inter Miami. The Herons went a goal down after Union's Mikael Uhre scored early on, however, a five-minute brace from Messi and a late Luis Suarez goal, assisted by the Argentine, gave Tata Martino's men their 19th MLS win of the regular season.

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Speaking after the match, Messi said: "The truth is that I'm a little tired. The heat and humidity in Miami don't help much either, but I really wanted to come back, I had been off of the field for a long time.

"Little by little I was training with the group, feeling good and that's why we decided that I would start, and I'm very happy – very happy."

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IMAGOWHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?

Martino kept Messi on the field for the entirety of the match, hinting at a return to full fitness. As such, it is likely that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner will be a starter again for Inter Miami when they take on Atalanta United on Wednesday, September 18.