SA ended a 13-year wait for silverware on Saturday and are also leading the Sheffield Shield

AAP02-Mar-2025South Australia’s triumphant cricketers are setting their sights on an historic double. After soaking up their success in winning the one-day title, Nathan McSweeney’s team now want a long-elusive Sheffield Shield.McSweeney led SA to its first one-day title in 13 years with a comprehensive 64-run defeat of Victoria at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night. The double of a winning a one-day crown and the Shield in the same season has been achieved 11 times – but never by SA.Related

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McSweeney, Scott and Thornton end South Australia's 13-year trophy wait

Western Australia (five times), NSW (four times) and Victoria (twice) have completed the double. But McSweeney knows his adopted state, for so long the proverbial whipping boys of the domestic scene, may never have a better chance than now.”It’s a little bit of a monkey off the back,” McSweeney said after collecting the inaugural Dean Jones Trophy. “We’ll enjoy it but there’s a bigger picture – there’s a Shield final to play. Everyone loves winning. And for us to get a taste of it, hopefully it kick-starts us – I don’t think we’ll get sick of it.”SA haven’t won a Shield since 1995-96 but currently lead the four-day competition and are in prime position to host the final. With two games remaining, offering six points for each win, McSweeney’s team hold an 11-point break from next-best NSW. And McSweeney believes SA’s 50-over success will feed into the four-day format.States to complete domestic double

Western Australia: 5 (1976-77, 1977-78, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24)

New South Wales: 4 (1984-85, 1992-93, 1993-94, 2002-03)

Victoria: 2 (1979-80, 2018-19)

*Domestic one-day tournament started in 1969-70

“It has obviously been a long time between titles,” he said. “The players we’ve got in our stable now have shown over the last couple years that we can do it.”It’s just, unfortunately, we had a bad hour in a Shield game or we had a bad hour in a one-day game and it has taken us out of the competition. We’re getting a little bit more consistent, as seen in the Shield table as well. So hopefully it’s the start of some strong years and it’s not just a one-off.”McSweeney said Ryan Harris, who replaced Jason Gillespie as SA’s head coach for this season, deserved much credit.”Something Ryan Harris has brought in to us is the belief,” he said. “We have defended 160 twice this year in the one-day comp. We got bowled out for 90 in the last Shield game and won. From positions that we shouldn’t be winning, we are. It’s a massive hats off to Ryano and the coaching staff.”

Australia had arrived in Dubai not knowing whether they would be staying in Dubai, or heading to Lahore for the second semi-final

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The important thing is that the golf has been played.Australia had arrived in Dubai not knowing whether they would be staying in Dubai or heading to Lahore for the second semi-final in the Champions Trophy. Players on the Australia team, however, took every chance they could to get a round in.More importantly, the extra time allowed Australia to train in Dubai – even if it is at the nearby ICC Academy, rather than at the main stadium, which essentially has been too busy over the last two days to host a centre-wicket practice session.Related

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“We guessed right in the end,” Australia captain Steven Smith said. South Africa had also arrived in Dubai and had to head back to Lahore. “So yeah, ideal to be here and have a couple of days’ preparation. I think had we stayed and waited for last night’s result, we would have had to have flown here today and play tomorrow.”We wouldn’t get a chance to train on the surface or get used to the conditions that we have at the academy and if we had to go back, we would have just got on the same plane back as New Zealand and had a day there before playing. So this arrangement made sense to us.”Part of the teams’ complaints have been about the security measures they have had to adhere to in Pakistan.”We had a little reset and a chance to have a couple of days here outside of a pretty strict sort of bubble in Pakistan with the security and stuff,” Smith said. “It’s been nice to just have a couple of days to chill here. A couple of guys have played some golf and wandered around and done some stuff like that. So yeah, we’re well prepared for tomorrow now and looking forward to it.”

After announcing the arrival of Nicolo Savona, Nottingham Forest have reportedly turned their attention towards handing Nuno Espirito Santo another one of his demands.

Nottingham Forest plot late signing spree

Amid a heated fallout with owner Evangelos Marinakis and sporting director Edu Gaspar last week, Espirito Santo revealed that he believes Nottingham Forest still need a goalkeeper and reinforcements at fullback. Now, one week on, he looks set to get his demands.

The Tricky Trees have left the Portuguese manager with very little room for complaints after welcoming as many as nine signings this summer and have just announced the arrival of new right-back, Savona.

After meeting his demand, Marinakis and everyone around the City Ground will be desperate for this saga to come to an end. The Greek owner told reporters at the Europa League draw: “Everything is solid. We all want Nottingham to succeed. We are here in the good days but we are even closer in the difficult days, so personally I don’t see a problem.

“We are all together, united, and we’ll make some corrective actions and everything will be smooth and ready to go. We have a solid relationship.

“Of course, sometimes we can be nervous, say one thing, say another, but what counts at the end of the day is the real relationship between me and Nuno, between Nuno and the players and between the players and ourselves.”

Meanwhile, with two days left until the transfer window slams shut, Forest could yet welcome some final additions to truly emphasise their backing for Espirito Santo. The former Tottenham Hotspur boss has just got the full-back that he was looking for and it now looks as though he could see another demand ticked off the list.

Nottingham Forest agree John Victor deal

According to Fabrizio Romano, Nottingham Forest have now reached an agreement to sign John Victor from Botafogo. The Brazilian came incredibly close to joining West Ham United earlier this summer, but now looks set to get his Premier League wish without the London club, courtesy of those at the City Ground.

Whilst Victor is unlikely to take Matz Sels’ starting place, there’s no doubt that he’ll be a solid backup to turn to for Espirito Santo. The 29-year-old played a starring role as Botafogo shocked the world by defeating Paris Saint-Germain at the Club World Cup earlier this summer and could now get the chance to replicate that form in a Forest shirt.

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Praised for a “phenomenal” period of form in Brazil by South American football expert Nathan Joyes, Victor should hand Espirito Santo the goalkeeper that he’s been looking for and, once again, hand him little room for complaints. Whether that will satisfy the Portuguese manager and end his fallout with Marinakis and Edu remains to be seen, however.

خاض فريق نانت، مساء يوم الأحد، مباراته في بطولة الدوري الفرنسي لكرة القدم موسم 2025/26 وذلك ضد نظيره ليل، في إطار لقاءات الجولة الثامنة.

واستضاف نانت نظيره ليل في إطار منافسات الجولة المذكورة من بطولة الدوري الفرنسي، حيث تعرض نانت للهزيمة بهدفين دون رد.

نجح ليل في تسجيل هدف مبكر في شباك نانت، في الدقيقة الثامنة من عمر الشوط الأول من المباراة، عن طريق اللاعب هكون هارالدسون.

وقضى ليل على أي آمال لدى نانت في إمكانية العودة في النتيجة، بعدما سجل اللاعب حمزة إكمان الهدف الثاني لصالح الضيوف، في الدقيقة 89.

وشارك المحترف المصري مصطفى محمد في تلك المباراة كأساسي رفقة كتيبة نانت، وتم استبداله في الدقيقة 63، حيث شارك زميله يوسف العربي.

بتلك النتيجة، تجمد رصيد نانت عند 6 نقاط في المركز الخامس عشر، بينما ارتفع رصيد ليل إلى 14 نقطة في المركز السادس.

As a hectic transfer window came to an end, Birmingham City reportedly explored a late deal to sign an ex-England international in a bargain deal.

The Blues were expected to have a busy summer and that very much proved to be the case. Fresh from League One promotion, they ended the transfer window with as many as 14 fresh faces and will now be hoping to shock the rest of the Championship even further as the campaign continues.

The pick of the bunch was no doubt Kyogo Furuhashi. There’s a strong argument to be made that the former Celtic star has the quality to be playing in the top-half of the Premier League, but it is Championship side Birmingham that swooped in.

Meanwhile, the return of Demarai Gray also stands out as an impressive move. Like Kyogo, the winger is a player full of Premier League quality, but one that chose a return to his boyhood club rather than elsewhere.

The latest players to arrive came on deadline day in the form of Jack Robinson and former Celtic star Patrick Roberts. The latter told the club’s official website after putting pen to paper: “I’m a winner. And this is a place, and a club, that wants to strive to get to the top.

“And off the back of last season, where I did that (winning promotion), I can see there’s potential here to have a good season. It didn’t take much convincing. It’s a big club, and getting back to where Birmingham should be is an aim.”

That said, 14 signings very nearly became 15 late on when the Blues reportedly explored an opportunity to sign a former Premier League star.

Birmingham explored late Dele Alli deal

According to Football Insider, Birmingham explored a late deal to sign Dele Alli after he was released by Como 1907. The former England international has endured a tumultuous spell on and off the pitch in recent years and things didn’t change when he finally made his comeback in Italy, as he was sent off just minutes into his only appearance.

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Once a PFA Young Player of the Year, Alli is now without a club again. At 29 years old, he desperately needs someone to take a chance on his talent and hand him a route back to where he belongs in English football.

After his struggles away from the pitch, Alli’s comeback story is one that English football wants to see, but Birmingham ultimately decided against pursuing a deal.

Described as “excellent” by former Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason in 2021, Alli needs his next move to go right and needs to avoid injuries if he is to get back to the incredible player that he once was.

Yet another striker option has emerged for Newcastle United, with intermediaries now reportedly pushing the Magpies to sign a fresh alternative to Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Howe has say on latest Isak update

Whilst the rest of the Newcastle squad were preparing for battle against Liverpool, Alexander Isak was left to watch on from afar – still on strike and desperate to leave St James’ Park. Whether a home visit from Newcastle directors Jamie Reuben and Jacobo Solis earlier that same day changed anything is unknown at this stage, but there’s no denying that Eddie Howe’s side suffered without the Swede once again.

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Howe reiterated the pride that he has in his side following their last-gasp defeat against Liverpool, which saw them fight back from 2-0 down to level the game with 10 men after Anthony Gordon’s red card. But ultimately, he’ll be just as frustrated as the rest of those at St James’ Park that Newcastle couldn’t turn their dominance into at least a point.

The manager also answered his weekly question on the Isak situation, but admitted that he’s not been party to talks over the forward’s future and is instead focusing on the squad that he has available.

Of course, what Newcastle can attempt to get control of is their own incomings as they look to finally sign a striker. And on that front, another name looks to have emerged as an alternative option to Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Intermediaries pushing Newcastle to sign Dovbyk

As reported by Italian journalist Filippo Biafora, intermediaries are now pushing Newcastle to sign Artem Dovbyk from AS Roma and are attempting to set a deal up between the two clubs. The forward looks likely to leave the Italian club this summer and could provide those in Tyneside with the perfect solution to their problems.

After seeing an opening offer worth £50m rejected for Jorgen Strand Larsen, the Magpies may find themselves back to the drawing board for the umpteenth time this summer if their next offer doesn’t satisfy Wolves’ demands. That’s when Dovbyk could become an ideal option, however.

Minutes

2,418

2,587

Goals

12

14

Assists

2

4

Expected Goals

11.9

10.3

When compared last season, Dovbyk and Strand Larsen could only be separated by four goal involvements in what was an underrated season for the Ukraine international. Like fellow rumoured target Dusan Vlahovic, he stands at 6 foot 3, and his physical style has drawn comparisons to both the Serbia star and fellow Serie A front man Romelu Lukaku.

Praised for his “powerful left foot” by analyst Ben Mattinson, Dovbyk is likely to be far cheaper than Strand Larsen whilst arguably offering the same quality. Unlike in Strand Larsen and Wolves’ case too, it seems as though Roma are keen to sanction a deal for their forward.

Marseille are ready to buy Matt O'Riley on a permanent deal in January after initially signing the attacking midfielder on loan from Brighton for the season. Sporting director Medhi Benatia and his team have been impressed by the Denmark international's performances and are eager to ensure he does not slip out of their grasp.

• Setback in O'Riley's acquisition

  O'Riley is currently plying his trade on loan at Marseille. The midfielder enjoyed a decent season at Brighton last term, where he featured in 25 games. He had a successful stint at Celtic between 2022 and 2024 as well. Earlier this season, he was loaned out by the Premier League side to Marseille and, according to , his initial performances have garnered the attention of the decision-makers at the French club. Marseille did not include an option to buy him in the deal with Brighton, so Benatia is eager to enter negotiations over a transfer fee with the Seagulls in January.

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• AFP
  

  How is O'Riley performing under De Zerbi?

  Since joining Marseille in early September, the 24-year-old has played three times in the domestic league and impressed heavily in the Champions League against Ajax and Real Madrid. De Zerbi is using him primarily as a central midfielder; however, against Los Blancos, he was deployed as an attacking midfielder in a 66-minute appearance. 

• Marseille to complete the deal before World Cup?

  O'Riley is a favourite to feature in the 2026 World Cup should Denmark qualify for the quadrennial event. Featuring in the mega event might boost his market value, but Marseille will hope to have him under a long-term contract by then.

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  When is O'Riley playing next?

  Sitting third on the Ligue 1 table with 12 points, Marseille will take on Metz in their seventh game tomorrow, and the London-born Denmark international is expected to feature in this clash.

Leeds United’s squad of 2019/20 will go down in history, with the Whites sealing a return to the Premier League after a 16-year absence under Marcelo Bielsa in what was the club’s 100th anniversary.

Patrick Bamford played a key role in that side, but after seven years at Elland Road, has now left the club. The striker was not in Daniel Farke’s Premier League plans after Bamford became a two-time Championship winner with Leeds and mutually had his contract terminated.

Back in 2020, Bielsa had 18 players in his Leeds squad who made 10 or more Championship appearances as the Whites eventually won the league by 10 points ahead of West Brom.

Leeds’ 2019/20 Championship stats

Wins

28

Draws

9

Losses

9

Points

93

Goal difference

+42

Biggest win

Leeds 5-0 Stoke City

Now, following Bamford’s Leeds exit, we’ve had a look at where the rest of the 2019/20 squad are in 2025.

18 Kiko Casilla 36 appearances

Goalkeeper Kiko Casilla officially left Leeds in 2022, having his contract terminated a year early.

The Spaniard made 36 Championship appearances in 2019/20, and after leaving the Whites, signed for Getafe before retiring in 2023.

17 Luke Ayling 37 appearances

A regular at right-back and the scorer of that wonderful volley against Huddersfield Town, Luke Ayling is currently at Championship side Middlesbrough.

He initially moved to the Riverside on loan in 2024 before making a move permanent and is under contract until 2026.

16 Ben White 46 appearances

Starting every Championship game that season, Ben White would seal a big-money move to Arsenal in 2021, where he has gone on to be a regular.

Costing around £50m, White has featured as a centre-back or right-back and is under contract at the Emirates until 2028.

15 Liam Cooper 38 appearances

Captain of the side, Liam Cooper, left Leeds in 2024 after making 284 appearances for the Whites.

He swapped Yorkshire for Bulgaria and CSKA Sofia, but after just over 12 months, became a free agent in 2025.

14 Ezgjan Alioski 39 appearances

Initially a left-winger, Ezgjan Alioski turned into an attacking full-back under Bielsa and scored five Championship goals in 2019/20.

He featured regularly in the Premier League in 2020/21 but left that summer for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli. Alioski also played for Fenerbahce before returning to Swiss side FC Lugano, where he is under contract until 2027.

13 Kalvin Phillips 37 appearances

A vital member at the base of Bielsa’s midfield was Kalvin Phillips, who sealed a £50m move from Leeds to Manchester City in 2022 after starring under the Argentine.

Things didn’t go to plan for the holding midfielder at the Etihad, though, with Phillips having loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich Town. In the summer of 2025, he was looking for another new club but is still under contract with City.

12 Stuart Dallas 45 appearances

A versatile star under Bielsa, Stuart Dallas transformed into a Leeds legend but suffered a serious injury against Manchester City at Elland Road in 2022.

He would officially retire from football two years later after failing to recover, ending in 267 Leeds appearances in all competitions. Dallas now works as a pundit for Sky Sports’ EFL coverage.

11 Helder Costa 43 appearances

A loanee for the 2019/20 season, Helder Costa’s Leeds move became permanent in 2020, however, he had spells with Valencia and Al-Ittihad before being released at Elland Road in 2023.

The winger then played in Portugal with Estoril and China with YN Yukun, but as of the summer of 2025 and at the age of 31, Costa was without a club.

10 Mateusz Klich 44 appearances

Box-to-box midfielder Mateusz Klich became a cult hero at Elland Road and, after starring for Leeds, was allowed to join DC United in 2023.

The Poland international joined Atlanta at the end of 2024, and then in August 2025, returned to his native country with Cracovia, where he is under contract until 2027.

9 Jack Harrison 46 appearances

Still at Leeds is winger Jack Harrison, who had two loan spells with Everton following Leeds’ Premier League relegation back in 2023.

Having work to do to get the Leeds fans back on side, Harrison is still under contract at Elland Road until 2028 and appears to be in Farke’s plans.

Even as Victoria’s hopes of making the final faded away, opener Campbell Kellaway batted through day three and struck a defiant century. His marathon innings ensures Western Australia face the daunting prospect of a big run chase at the WACA to keep alive their dreams of a fourth straight Sheffield Shield title.Kellaway finished unbeaten on 151 off 310 balls as Victoria reached stumps at 335 for 8 in their second innings with a lead of 346 runs.A thrilling final day could be in the works with WA needing victory to leapfrog second-placed Queensland, who are almost certain to draw their clash with South Australia. New South Wales’ chances of playing South Australia in the final on March 26 appear forlorn as they face a near impossible run chase on the last day against Tasmania.Related

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“We’ve got nothing to lose tomorrow, that’s the attitude that we’ll take,” WA coach Adam Voges said.Victoria’s chances of progressing to the final are all but over. However, they will be aiming to end WA’s bid to become the first state to win four titles in a row since the six-team competition started in 1977-78.Kellaway, 22, continued his strong late season form on the back of making 79 and 77 last week on a tricky surface against South Australia. He became the first visiting batter to score a century at the WACA this Shield season. The surface, however, has flattened out considerably after the bowlers dominated on the opening two days.”We’re definitely looking to come away with a win. I definitely think there is enough in this wicket [to get ten wickets],” Kellaway said after his second first-class century.Kellaway batted through the entire day’s play after Victoria resumed with a lead of 43 runs and ten wickets in hand. WA hoped to regroup having been left flustered with several tight decisions not going their way, including a big lbw appeal from left-arm quick Joel Paris on Kellaway on the first ball of the innings.The surface had started to become easier to bat late on day two and flattened even more under the sun. Victoria had little trouble until Marcus Harris edged quick Brody Couch to second slip where Cameron Bancroft took a superb one-handed catch to his left low to the ground.Bancroft, one of the country’s best fielders, was ecstatic and his brilliant catch energised WA as Couch started to threaten with sharp back of a length bowling.He was rewarded with an outside edge from Blake Macdonald on four only for Hilton Cartwright to drop a sitter at third slip after moving in front of Bancroft.Couch was left further frustrated when a confident appeal for lbw on Kellaway was turned down in a tight call with height perhaps the only issue. After those fireworks, the batters took control in a rarity amid a particularly bowler-friendly period at the WACA in recent matches.Macdonald pounced on unusually ragged bowling from offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli, who was up against a surface giving him very little compared to when he took five wickets on the opening day.Macdonald reached his half-century off 67 balls, including ten boundaries, with his driving down the ground a feature. But nerves crept in just before lunch and he almost holed out to Cartwright’s handy seamers before falling down the legside on the last ball of the session.All eyes on resumption were on debutant Oliver Peake after his impressive 52 was the top score in Victoria’s first innings. Having had limited scoring opportunities on day one, the 18-year-old was faced with easier conditions although his first boundary was in streaky fashion through the slips.Peake could not find fluency and on 21 was well caught in the gully by Cameron Gannon after flashing at Paris. Having been a development tourist with Australia’s Test squad in Sri Lanka last month, Peake confirmed his status as a long-term Test prospect after facing 222 balls across the match.His wicket sparked a collapse out of nowhere with Rocchiccioli, who has a knack of making things happen, claiming the wickets of Peter Handscomb and Harry Dixon in the same over.However, Kellaway proved a thorn and he reached his century with a boundary through the off-side, but he celebrated modestly knowing there was still plenty of work to do.

Ahead of Thursday’s game against SRH, KKR’s mentor has reminded his batters that “cricketing shots are allowed in T20s as well”

Sreshth Shah02-Apr-2025Six 200-plus totals were made in the first five matches of IPL 2025. Four of them exceeded 230, with a highest of 286. But scoring rates have come down since, with no 200-plus scores in the next eight matches. Dwayne Bravo, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor and the IPL’s highest wicket-taker among seamers, said this was a result of batters putting less value on their wickets and bowlers getting smarter.”The batsmen are not having that value on the wicket anymore,” Bravo said on the eve of KKR’s home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). “They’re a bit reckless because they play on those flat pitches. Teams are batting longer with the Impact Player, so the value for batsmanship is no longer there. The Impact Player is there, a lot of teams have batted longer, so the value for batsmanship is no longer there.Related

KKR coach bats for home teams getting favourable conditions

“So that’s why you see the scores are now starting to drop a bit. Bowlers are getting smarter and they’re trying to use their strengths more.”Bravo’s side KKR, the defending champions, are among the teams who promised to raise run rates this season, but they’ve only made totals of 174 and 116 on the two occasions when they’ve batted first, with their middle order not yet finding form. Their opponents SRH have also promised breakneck run-rates but have lost steam since posting 286, one run short of their own IPL record total, on the first weekend of the season. Bravo said batting was about more than just hitting.”Yes, we are an aggressive batting line-up but that’s not cricket,” he said. “My message to the batsmen especially is that the basics of the game are still required. The smarts of the game are still required. These guys just need to apply themselves a bit more and I think they’re getting to understand that.”The games we lose, we have those learnings, so that when we speak cricket, they get to understand that the evidence is there on why we are failing as a batting group. As coaches, it is about telling them that cricketing shots are allowed in T20s as well.”[L to R] Chandrakant Pandit, Venkatesh Iyer, Dwayne Bravo and Ajinkya Rahane have a chat•NurPhoto via Getty ImagesKKR’s upper and lower middle order (Nos. 4 to 8) has averaged 17.22 so far this season while at 113.63, with Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh failing to reproduce their performances from the last few seasons. But Bravo maintained that the tournament was still in its early days.”Batting is not our main concern,” Bravo said. “We are not the only team after three matches in this position. But we are working on being smarter. Once we get that right, we’ll be fine. We bat fairly deep and it’s an area we are letting ourselves down [in], but these guys are all quality players.”In a tournament where there are 14 games, you don’t judge a player who has had success over the years after just two games. You’re judging them based on two games, because one game none of them batted.”In the IPL you don’t expect any player to be consistent with 14 games. It’s important to keep encouraging them, remind them of how great they are. They already have success in IPL with KKR.”And Rinku will win two games by himself, Russell will win two by himself. Ramandeep will contribute, Venky will come into his own, and will also win two games by himself. There are so many match-winners there.”While KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit has called for teams to be allowed a greater say in the preparation of pitches on their home grounds, Bravo didn’t comment on the surfaces at Eden Gardens. Instead, he felt home advantage also came from players feeding off the energy of the crowds.”For me, you turn up, you play,” he said. “The team that plays the best will win – whether it’s slow, it’s turning, or not turning. For me, my language to the players will always be to make the necessary adjustments for the conditions.”And what helps us with home advantage is the fans. I think that is more important than how the pitch plays. I will not really comment much about pitches. Once the fans are there into the game and cheering us on, that makes a difference.”