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Young England off-spinner leads side boasting plenty of international experience

Valkerie Baynes10-Aug-2022Charlie Dean will replace injured England captain Heather Knight as skipper of London Spirit for the Women’s Hundred.Dean, the 21-year-old off-spinner, takes over from the vastly experienced Knight, who missed England’s entire Commonwealth Games campaign – they lost the bronze-medal play-off to New Zealand – with a hip injury that has left her needing to use crutches and is expected to keep her on the sidelines for a period of months.”It’s a great opportunity for me, I’m really looking forward to leading this team,” Dean said. “Obviously, we are gutted that Heather can’t join us this year, but we have an exciting squad filled with experience and young talent and we can’t wait to get started on Friday.”Related

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A relative newcomer to the England set-up, Dean earned her only T20I cap for England during the washed-out second match in that leg of the Ashes series in January. She didn’t take the field as play was abandoned in the fifth over with England 25 without loss. Dean was not part of England’s squad for the Commonwealth Games, which was played as a T20 competition.She has played 16 ODIs, making her debut against New Zealand last September, most recently in the series with South Africa, which she finished as leading wicket-taker.Dean was key to Southern Vipers’ Charlotte Edwards Cup triumph in June, taking two wickets and sharing a match-winning partnership with Ella McCaughan to help defeat Central Sparks by six wickets in the final. She was also the competition’s second-highest wicket-taker.In 2021, she took six wickets for London Spirit, who finished their inaugural campaign in fourth place on the eight-team table, at an average of 28.00 and an economy rate of 7.09. During that time, she impressed Knight and made her international debut a short time later.Dean will lead an impressive international contingent at London Spirit, including two Australian Commonwealth Games gold medallists in Beth Mooney – the Games’ leading run-scorer – and fast bowler Megan Schutt, as well as talented New Zealand allrounder Amelia Kerr.London Spirit open their 2022 season against Southern Brave, last year’s runners up, in Southampton on Friday.

Andrea Pirlo had to block his son's ban account in 2022, as the then teenager amassed gambling debts of €30k in illegal online scheme.

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Ex-Italy international took decisive actionSon forced to learn the hard wayAvoid repetition of the same words & topicsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

The ex-Juventus and AC Milan playmaker was able to shut his son Nicolo's account as his legal guardian. Just 17 at the time, he would be unable to open another account until he turned 18. It is believed the young man had become embroiled in the same illicit gambling schemes as Sandro Tonali. The Newcastle midfielder served a 10-month ban for his indiscretions from October 2023 to August 2024.

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A report by , suggests that Fiorentina midfielder Nicolo Fagioli, who was also banned for his involvement in the scheme, had informed suspected ringleader Pietro Marinoni about the issue between Pirlo and his son. The Serie D referee is accused of organising and recruiting footballers to take part in illegal gambling activities. Marinoni was suspended by Association of Italian Referees, after Milan's public prosecutor opened a case against 12 current and former Serie A players.

WHAT NICOLO FAGIOLI SAID

In a WhatsApp chat dated June 7th, 2022, Fagioli described Pirlo's son as "one of us" to Marinoni, but then also added:

"He went into debit recovery, but his father found out and blocked his bank account until he’s 18. Having a €30,000 debt at 17 is something else."

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Tonali told calciomercato in 2023 about Marinoni's role in recruiting him into the illegal activities. He said: "The person who initiated me to gambling is Pietro Marinoni, who comes from the same city as me and went to school with my sister. He was a referee.

"I was never threatened, but I was offered to pay off the debt in installments. I reached a debt of €500,000 with them. Their objective was to make me continue to gamble, but they never pushed for any payment."

Injuries have forced England and South Africa to tweak their line-ups for Oval Test

Andrew Miller07-Sep-2022Big PictureThe Hundred is done and dusted… now back to more traditionally minded short-form thrills. England and South Africa have been in hyper-drive during a compelling but erratic Test campaign – a crushing innings victory apiece to date, with neither match surviving beyond the third day. And as we head to the decider at the Kia Oval, all bets are off as to which version of either team will turn up. Not to mention for how long.And yet, arguably, the version of England that so captured the imagination in early summer has not really turned up at all in this series. Ben Stokes’ Baz-Brawlers were battered off the park by South Africa’s shock-and-awe seamers in the Lord’s Test, losing in little more than six sessions after being inserted for the first and only time in six Tests this summer. Then, when Dean Elgar erroneously chose to switch tactics at Old Trafford, it was a noticeably more chilled approach in England’s only innings, as Bens Stokes and Foakes took their time (relatively speaking) to drive home the advantage that their own bowlers had already won for them.Still, as Brendon McCullum and Co. would doubtless argue, their aggression in those early-season wins against New Zealand and India has been misrepresented. What really marks this new-look Test team out from its cagey predecessors is not the speed with which they’ve gone about their work, but the positivity – be that with the bat or in the field, with consistently attacking fields even in moments of adversity, and in attack and defence alike, hence the praise for Zak Crawley’s doughtily compiled 38 from 101 balls last week. It wasn’t an innings that will silence the wider doubts about his place, but as far as the team hierarchy are concerned, the proof is in the result that it helped to set in motion.The challenge to England’s batters is bound to be redoubled this week, however. For there’s surely no way that Elgar will make the same mistake twice, and undermine the potency of his four-pronged seam attack to shoehorn in an extra spinner. Simon Harmer’s off-the-boil display in the second Test was exacerbated by the fact that he did the bulk of his work on day two rather than days four and five, as a springy surface persistently pined for the absent left-armer Marco Jansen, whose cloud-snagging offerings would surely have been the better bet to back up the trio of early wickets from his fellow seamers.It is shaping up, therefore, as another important toss – with rain in the offing and cloud cover likely, both teams may be equally keen to bowl first on Thursday morning. Even allowing for Elgar’s stoic agenda-setting up top, South Africa’s batting is uncomfortably brittle, all the more so now that Rassie van der Dussen has been ruled out with a broken finger. Ryan Rickelton has been confirmed as his replacement, after a season of healthy returns for Northamptonshire, while Khaya Zondo may yet join him in the middle-order, where Aiden Markram has gone 15 innings and counting without so much as a fifty, and where Keegan Petersen, for all his fighting qualities at Old Trafford, is still awaiting his first Test hundred.Related

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Harry Brook prepares to take his chance, as Ollie Pope hopes his Test life begins at 30 caps

England, meanwhile, wouldn’t like their own preference for batting second to be framed as a defensive measure, but their surety of purpose when reacting to a score already on the board is palpable. And they may be all the more minded to look before they leap, given that they too will be shorn of a key presence due to injury – Jonny Bairstow’s bizarre golfing mishap has robbed the Test team of their most vibrant player of the summer, and caused the black sheep Alex Hales to be herded back to the T20 flock too.Into the mix, therefore, comes the debutant Harry Brook – the coming man, by all accounts, a player whose early-season form for Yorkshire earned him a call-up for McCullum’s very first Test squad back in May. He’s played just two first-class games since then, but he also featured in South Africa’s warm-up match down in Canterbury last month, where his pitch-perfect 140 from 170 balls propelled England Lions to a crushing innings win (they have been quite the feature of this tour). At the age of 23, he could hardly be more ready for his chance, but with the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje lined up to greet him, he could hardly have asked for a more potent welcoming committee either.Form guideEngland WLWWW (most recent first)
South Africa LWWWWIn the spotlightFittingly it was Ollie Robinson who applied the coup de grace in the second Test, bowling Lungi Ngidi for his third wicket in the space of 13 new-ball deliveries, as England rushed to victory on the third afternoon. His second-innings figures of 4 for 43 were the best by any bowler in the match, and vindication for the decision to push him up past Stuart Broad to take over as Anderson’s new-ball partner. After an extraordinarily torrid six months, in which back spasms, indigestion, toothache and Covid had all conspired to keep him out of the Test set-up, the early evidence is that Robinson has returned leaner and meaner than ever before, with his pace consistently pushing past a sharp 85mph, and his fabled accuracy undiminished. This week is a big chance to back up that encouraging new beginning.Ryan Rickelton has a highest score of 42 in two previous Tests against Bangladesh, but he comes into the series decider as well prepared as he could hope to be, after a successful early season with Northamptonshire – a team he secured by chance when his old schoolfriend Ricardo Vasconcelos tapped him up for a short-term gig. He repaid the faith with two hundreds and four fifties in eight first-class innings, and now hopes that the conditions at The Oval prove as amenable as those at Wantage Road and Cheltenham.Team newsIn his now-familiar fashion, Stokes announced England’s team 24 hours out from the start of the match, and confirmed Brooks’ debut in place of the injured Bairstow. That is the only change to the XI that won so handsomely at Old Trafford, meaning that Matthew Potts misses out for the second match in a row, now that Robinson has reaffirmed his frontline credentials. Asked if he had been tempted to mix things up further, Stokes was emphatic in his response. “No. The way in which we’ve operated this summer has been with three seamers, me as a fourth and a spinner. The performance we put in last week, it would be pretty hard to change the team from there.”England: 1 Alex Lees, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Ollie Robinson, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Jack Leach, 11 James AndersonRickelton steps in for his third Test cap as South Africa cover off the loss of the injured van der Dussen. Speaking ahead of the game, Elgar hinted at further tinkerings but wouldn’t be drawn on exactly what. He did, however, reference the likelihood of damp conditions, which rather implies a return for Jansen. Zondo is waiting in the wings if Markram’s struggles prove to be terminal.South Africa (possible): 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Sarel Erwee, 3 Keegan Petersen, 4 Aiden Markram / Khaya Zondo, 5 Ryan Rickelton, 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi NgidiPitch and conditionsAfter the hottest summer in UK history, autumn is upon us with a vengeance this week. Damp conditions are forecast throughout the Test, with an inevitability of delays, not least on Thursday when London is set for a series of showers. Paradoxically, this may only help to speed up the game as a whole, given the potency of both seam attacks in such conditions.Stats and trivia South Africa have lost four of their five Tests at The Oval since readmission, including their first post-apartheid visit in 1994 when Devon Malcolm famously took 9 for 57. However, their one victory at the venue was scarcely less memorable – an innings-and-12-run trouncing in 2012, when Hashim Amla made 311 not out. A South Africa victory would secure their third series win out of their last four tours of England, following 2008 (2-1) and 2012 (2-0). England won 3-1 on the team’s last visit in 2017. Dean Elgar needs 66 runs to reach the 5,000 milestone in Tests.Quotes”The whole summer has just been great. We’ve changed the way in which England Test cricket in particular has been viewed, and one thing I’m very proud of is the way we’ve captured the imagination. It would be nice to finish the summer off and win the series as well.”
“There’s definitely going to be a winner. The styles of cricket we’ve been playing, there is definitely going to be a result. I am pretty confident there’s going to be a victor. Going into this Test one-all, it’s pretty much like a World Cup final for us.”

There have been some enormous January transfer window signings throughout history, but which ones have been among the most expensive?

The summer window is generally seen as teams’ main opportunity to bring in new faces, allowing for stability before a new season gets underway.

January also affords them an opportunity to bolster their squad midway through the campaign, splashing the cash in the process.

Solanke, Man Utd duo, Kvaratskhelia: The 14 biggest signings of 2024/25

There have been some eye-watering sums of money spent on players this season, but who has been the most expensive addition?

ByHenry Jackson Jan 22, 2025

Here are the 12 most expensive January window signings in history, including some big-money Premier League additions.

Rank

Player

Signed for

Year

Fee

Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona

2018

Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea

2023

Mykhailo Mudryk

Chelsea

2023

Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool

2018

Bruno Fernandes

Man Utd

2020

Dusan Vlahovic

Juventus

2022

Omar Marmoush

Man City

2025

Oscar

Shanghai SIPG

2017

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

PSG

2025

Christian Pulisic

Chelsea

2019

Aymeric Laporte

Man City

2018

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Arsenal

2018

12 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal (£56m)

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was one of Europe’s hottest strikers when Arsenal snapped him up on deadline day in January 2018, and he didn’t disappoint at the Emirates following a record-breaking £56m move in what was Arsene Wenger’s final Gunners recruit.

The former Borussia Dortmund man found the net 92 times in 163 appearances, which is a stunning return, and Mikel Arteta must wish that he had such a potent attacking player in his squad right now.

Arsenal's most expensive signings of all time

The Gunners have spent generously in recent years.

ByCharlie Smith Sep 5, 2025 11 Aymeric Laporte Athletic Club to Man City (£57m)

Manchester City boosted their defence in Pep Guardiola’s second season in charge as they romped to Premier League title glory in 2018. Arriving just months after the likes of Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Ederson, Aymeric Laporte’s arrival for a club-record fee was a true statement of intent.

The Spain international fully justified the £57m paid to Athletic Club for his services, winning five Premier League titles during a trophy-laden period before leaving at the start of the 2023/24 campaign.

10 Christian Pulisic Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea (£58m)

Christian Pulisic arrived at Chelsea as one of the most exciting young players in Europe, with an enormous amount expected of the American following his £58m switch from Borussia Dortmund. However, it’s fair to say that he never hit the heights many expected.

He is now plying his trade at Milan, where the USA international is enjoying one of his best seasons, as he leads the Rossoneri’s league goals and assists charts at the time of writing, with WhoScored ranking him as their second-best player in Serie A behind Rafael Leao.

9 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Napoli to PSG (£59m)

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia completed a reported £59m move from Napoli to PSG in January 2025, where he will no doubt hope to be their most exciting attacking player since Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were all at the club.

The Georgian departed despite Antonio Conte’s side being in another title race in Serie A, opting instead to write his own legacy in Paris. His big-money deal is likely worth more than the reported £59m all told, as add-ons were not disclosed at the time of his transfer.

8 Oscar Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG (£60m)

Oscar left Chelsea to join Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG midway through the 2016/17 season, meaning he missed out on enjoying the Blues’ march to Premier League glory a year after surrendering their crown to Leicester City.

Of course, there may have been more than footballing reasons behind the Brazilian’s decision to up sticks and leave for China, but he did at least bring his former club a cool £60m windfall.

Chelsea's most expensive sales of all time

A look at the record departures from Stamford Bridge.

ByCharlie Smith Oct 8, 2025 7 Omar Marmoush Frankfurt to Man City (£63m)

With Manchester City toiling in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, Pep Guardiola opened his chequebook to sign three big-money players – the most significant of whom being former Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush.

The Egyptian arrived at the Etihad Stadium as a player in red-hot form, with only Harry Kane scoring more goals than him in the German Bundesliga upon his departure.

City’s deal for the forward was for an initial £59m, but this could rise to £63m when factoring in add-ons.

6 Dusan Vlahovic Fiorentina to Juventus (£66m)

Dusan Vlahovic’s big-money move from Fiorentina to Juventus for an initial £58m – rising to £66m – was seen as a significant piece of business when it went through in January 2022, with plenty of teams interested in his signature.

Unfortunately, he has arguably yet to repay Juve fully, with his most recent goal returns for La Viola prior to his switch remaining the most impressive.

Vlahovic netted 20 in 24 in the 2021/22 campaign before the Turin giants got their man; his highest tally for his current club is 18 in 38 appearances last term.

5 Bruno Fernandes Sporting CP to Man Utd (£67.7m)

Manchester United have had an up-and-down time since Bruno Fernandes’ arrival in 2020, but the Portuguese playmaker has consistently stood out as their most reliable attacking player.

The Red Devils captain has registered over 150 goals and assists combined for the Premier League giants, showing what a constant source of end product he has been.

His deal signed in 2020 was for an initial £47m, but add-ons were set to take it to £67.7m.

The 17 players with the most assists in 2024

Who has been the best creative maestro this year?

ByHenry Jackson Jan 2, 2025 4 Virgil van Dijk Southampton to Liverpool (£75m)

Has there ever been a more influential January signing than Virgil van Dijk? When the Dutchman joined Liverpool from Southampton for a whopping £75m in January 2018, some raised their eyebrows, but he has become one of the greatest centre-backs in history.

Van Dijk has won the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool, as well as other trophies, and he still feels like his side’s most important player in their title charge this season.

3 Mykhailo Mudryk Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea (£89m)

With all due respect to Mykhailo Mudryk, there arguably hasn’t been a worse value-for-money incoming winter signing in Premier League history. His deal was meant to be worth up to an eye-watering £89m, though it is highly doubtful that £27m of add-ons will come into effect.

The winger has been a huge flop for Chelsea, barring smatterings of quality, and has scored only 10 goals in 73 matches for the Blues, also chipping in with a paltry nine assists.

His career in west London took an even worse turn in December 2024 when he tested positive for a banned substance, suspending him from football altogether.

Todd Boehly's worst transfers at Chelsea… so far

There are plenty to choose from, but who has been Boehly’s biggest mistake at Stamford Bridge?

2 ByStephan Georgiou Aug 23, 2024

Manchester United legend David Beckham has landed his first TV chat show, with a host of A-listers lined up to feature.

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Man Utd legend gets his own TV showBeckham & Friends Live to air on Paramount+A-Listers set to appear on his showFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The former England captain will host Beckham & Friends Live on Paramount+ and hopes to feature guests such as chef Gordon Ramsay and actors Tom Cruise and Ryan Reynolds, among others.

AdvertisementGetty Images EntertainmentWHAT BECKHAM SAID

He told America’s CBS Golazo sports network: “I’m really looking forward to turning up with a few mates, a few glasses of wine, watching the game and great conversation.”

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This comes off the back of his hugely successful Netflix documentary series, 'Beckham', which offered unprecedented access into the former Real Madrid star's life. claims this could pave the way for the 49-year-old getting into hosting football shows and being the heir apparent to Gary Lineker.

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The first two episodes of the Inter Miami co-owner's show will be live from London and will cover the Champions League semi-final second legs between Inter Milan and Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal on May 6 and 7, respectively.

Arsenal making a deadline day offer for one “underrated” centre-forward is apparently one to watch, following a rumoured setback in their pursuit of versatile Bayern Munich starlet Mathys Tel.

Arsenal identify Mathys Tel as top target for deadline day

The Frenchman has been a hot topic over this last fortnight, with a plethora of Premier League clubs having shown serious interest in obtaining his services before 11pm tonight.

£80k-per-week striker "top" target for Arsenal with club "happy" to offload

Mikel Arteta said anything can happen today.

ByEmilio Galantini Feb 3, 2025

Tel publicly rejected a move to Tottenham, which will surely put him in good stead with the Arsenal faithful already, and Man United aren’t having much luck in persuading the 19-year-old either – with a move to both of those sides apparently off the table.

Arsenal have contacted Bayern over a deal for Tel in recent days, and they’ve also held talks with the player’s camp, as reiterated by Fabrizio Romano. There remains a concrete chance he could leave the Allianz Arena in the final hours, so this appears to be one of the more high-profile stories to watch.

Sky Sports reporter Gary Cotterill, speaking earlier this morning, also says that Tel is a top deadline day target for Arsenal – along with a certain Ollie Watkins.

“We know that those looking at the market are looking short-term, medium-term, long-term for anyone that can improve the squad,” said Cotterill via Sky’s live blog.

“There have been all kinds of strikers linked this January. Top of the list as we go into Deadline Day are Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins and Mathys Tel.

“The difficulty with Watkins is Villa don’t want him to go, even though the player might be keen. With Tel, it’s different. The player himself doesn’t seem keen to leave Bayern Munich on a permanent deal or on a loan with an obligation, even though the club seem happy for him to leave.”

Arsenal could make deadline day bid for Ollie Watkins after Mathys Tel blow

However, according to Football Transfers, a move for Tel is certain to breakdown due to Bayern’s financial demands – with Vincent Kompany’s side clear they want either a permanent sale or a loan with the obligation to buy.

As a result, Arsenal could make a deadline day bid for Watkins instead, despite having a £60 million offer rejected earlier in the window.

Given Unai Emery has already lost Jhon Duran in a mega-money move to Al-Nassr, it is arguably very unlikely that Villa will sanction a sale at this stage, even if their deals for Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio seriously strengthen their forward options.

The £130,000-per-week Watkins, called an “underrated” striker by Leon Osman, boasts 11 goals and nine assists from 33 appearances in all competitions already. An attacker of his calibre won’t be easy to replace, so it could take an absolutely mammoth offer from Arsenal to even get Villa thinking.

On the player’s side, he probably won’t need too much thinking, as the 29-year-old is known to be a boyhood Arsenal supporter.

He takes over from James Foster who had been in charge of the side during PSL 2022

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2022Daren Sammy has been reappointed Peshawar Zalmi’s head coach, taking over from James Foster who was in charge of the side during PSL 2022.Sammy has been a mainstay for the franchise since PSL’s inception in 2016, and has been one of the more recognisable overseas faces for the league. He started as vice-captain and took over the leadership following Shahid Afridi’s resignation in 2017.He was an integral part of the team as a player until 2020 when the franchise made a mid-season shuffle by replacing him with Wahab Riaz as full-time captain. Sammy then had a two-year stint as head coach of the team in 2020 and 2021.

I’m back… #zalmifamily #tactician #headcoach #psl pic.twitter.com/TD2VVYFtQy

— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) October 18, 2022