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England captain limps off field 10 days before first Test against Sri Lanka

Matt Roller11-Aug-2024Ben Stokes is a major doubt for England’s first Test against Sri Lanka after retiring hurt with a hamstring injury while playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred on Sunday evening. He is set to undergo a scan on Monday which appears likely to rule him out of the three-match Test series.He ended the night on crutches, and was being assessed by medical staff on Sunday evening. “It doesn’t look great, unfortunately,” said Harry Brook, the Superchargers’ captain and Stokes’ England team-mate, after their win against Manchester Originals at Emirates Old Trafford. “I think he’ll be getting a scan tomorrow and we’ll see how he is.”Stokes ran through for a quick single early in the Superchargers’ chase and pulled up injured after completing the run. He was helped off the field by their medical staff and was seen clutching his hamstring on his left leg. He was at the non-striker’s end when Ollie Robinson, his Superchargers team-mate, attempted a scoop which he mistimed into the leg side, and scampered through for a single.He appeared to pull his muscle as he made his ground then collapsed to the ground and threw his gloves off in frustration. Harry Booker (strength and conditioning coach) and James Pipe (physiotherapist) immediately ran on to provide treatment. After Booker and Pipe helped him back to the Superchargers dugout, supporting his weight, Stokes was placed onto a stretcher and wheeled towards an ambulance.Related

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Around an hour later, Stokes was back in the dugout but had to use crutches when shaking hands with the Originals squad after Nicholas Pooran snatched a seven-wicket win with his innings off 66 not out. A Superchargers spokesperson said: “Ben Stokes is having his hamstring assessed. Further updates will be available from tomorrow [Monday].”The injury appears to put Stokes’ chances of playing in the first Test – which starts on August 21 in Manchester – in significant jeopardy. He has managed a chronic left-knee injury throughout the second half of his international career but returned to bowling earlier this year after undergoing surgery over the English winter.Stokes was due to play four group-stage games in the Hundred between England’s series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, with the possibility of staying with the Superchargers if they qualified for the knockout stages. He was dismissed first-ball by Tim Southee in his first appearance, made 2 off four balls in a rain-ruined match in Cardiff on Thursday, and now appears certain to miss their final group fixture against London Spirit on Tuesday.Stokes went down clutching his left hamstringEngland are already missing Zak Crawley for the Sri Lanka series due to a fractured finger. Dan Lawrence is set to open the batting in his absence, with Jordan Cox called into their squad as batting cover last week. Ollie Pope is their vice-captain, and would be the strong favourite to lead England for the first time in international cricket in the event that Stokes is ruled out.The Sri Lanka series is squeezed into a short timeframe, with two three-day gaps between Tests. England are then due to arrive in Pakistan in early October ahead of a three-match series which starts in Multan on October 7.

Fast bowler expected to win debut during five-match ODI series against Australia

Matt Roller17-Sep-2024England will test out their fast-bowling depth when they unleash seven seamers across their ODI series against Australia. A tight schedule of five matches in 11 days – starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday – will demand some degree of rotation, which could aid Hampshire’s John Turner in his long-standing bid to make his international debut.Turner is 23 and only finished an economics and finance degree at Exeter University this summer, but has been on the fringes of England white-ball selection for over a year. He was first named in a squad for last summer’s T20I series against New Zealand, but was ruled out through injury, and was then an unused member of the touring party in the Caribbean in December.After running the drinks during last week’s drawn T20I series, Turner looks set to win first cap at some stage in the Australia ODIs – not least with Jofra Archer’s workload being managed, and three of England’s seven fast-bowling options (Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Olly Stone) flying to Pakistan for October’s Test series days after the final ODI on September 29. Saqib Mahmood’s late addition to the squad on Tuesday further underlined that there will be regular changes through the series.”Just being in the squad is a cool experience for myself,” Turner said. “But you obviously want to and hope to debut at some point, and hopefully that comes at some stage in this series… being in and around the squads and the players, you naturally improve and you naturally learn.Related

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“I definitely would say I’m in a much better place now than I was this time last year, but I’ve still got quite a long way to go: I’m not anywhere near the finished product… The way you approach the game with different ideas for different batsmen and different scenarios, that’s what I end up taking from these types of environments.”Turner has an unmistakable South African accent and only moved to the UK four years ago. But his pace piqued England’s interest during his first T20 campaign for Hampshire last summer and he has taken regular wickets throughout his young professional career, with a bowling average below 20 in all three formats.England are still hoping to identify a middle-overs wicket-taker in the Liam Plunkett mould and Jos Buttler – who will watch this series from the sidelines due to his calf injury – hinted last week that Turner could be used in a similar role. “[It’s about] finding ways to break partnerships and take wickets, which is crucial in those 50-over games,” Buttler said. “Having high pace is certainly a way of doing that.”Turner broke the 90mph/145kph barrier while playing for Trent Rockets this year and describes himself as “naturally competitive”. His Hundred season started in bizarre fashion – he was removed from the attack with figures of 0-0-5-0 against London Spirit after consecutive beamers – but he quickly recovered, taking five wickets in his next two games.He has enjoyed the challenge of playing in the Hundred – “constantly bowling against the best… you’re always under pressure” – and in particular, having his speeds tracked. “Post-game, I’ll probably end up watching every single ball back to see what speed I was at… it’s quite handy to know at times: almost don’t try too hard and it works itself out.”Turner believes that there will be “healthy competition” among England’s fast bowlers in their ODI series. “I’ve never played in the same team as Jof, and I probably won’t be as quick as him. But if I’m bowling with him, if I see his speed on the board, I’ll be like, ‘let me see if I can match him.’ I’m naturally competitive and I’ll naturally want to try and be the quickest.Turner jumps in celebration during the Hundred•PA Images via Getty Images”It’s probably healthy competition if we have that as well… Pace is my point of difference, but around that, I want to have the skillset also to be able to compete. It’s always exciting to have a full stock of fast bowlers: the crowd enjoy watching sixes and boundaries, but I think it’s quite enjoyable watching guys bowling 85-plus and pure speed.”Despite having played only twice in the County Championship this year, Turner’s ambitions extend across formats. He missed the start of the season with a knee injury and has struggled to break into a Hampshire seam attack which boasts both Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott as spearheads.”Just being in and around them has been a good learning area for me: they’ve helped me improve my game immensely,” Turner said. “That’s definitely the way I want my career to pan out. I’d like to be an all-format [player]: Test cricket, white-ball and franchise stuff. I don’t really want to put myself into a single category.”John Turner was speaking at Hampshire’s Utilita Bowl to mark the installation of 1044 solar panels at the venue, as part of an industry-leading partnership with Utilita Energy

Leeds United have only just announced the £12m capture of Sean Longstaff, but another midfield deal looks to be nearing to completion to complement the ex-Newcastle United man’s arrival.

Indeed, it is now being reported that Daniel Farke’s Premier League newcomers will welcome Anton Stach to the building imminently, with the versatile Hoffenheim presence going down as their sixth summer buy for around the £17.4m mark.

Longstaff and Stach might just be the start, however, before another wave of new faces joins very shortly, with attacking signings now looking to be a priority.

Leeds chasing deal for Premier League youngster

Away from Stach offering Leeds more options in midfield alongside the 27-year-old giant, the other signings through the door this summer have mostly been defensive, besides Lukas Nmecha.

Therefore, attack is surely the next part of the pitch due for a makeover, with Rodrigo Muniz reportedly still on the Leeds agenda, on top of new, exciting targets such as Igor Paxiao coming to the surface to gift the Whites more options on the left and right flanks.

Whilst Muniz is a buy that will appeal to Whites supporters everywhere, when assessing his weighty 17 goals in the Premier League, Leeds’ other pursuit of Marc Guiu might well raise some eyebrows.

Football journalist Graeme Bailey claims that Leeds could soon chase a loan deal for the Chelsea youngster to boost their options up top, having looked at him previously.

Whilst Guiu does come highly rated from Stamford Bridge, his lack of Premier League experience would worry those at Elland Road as they jump back up to the gruelling division.

Yet, the Spaniard might well go to be an even bigger talent than Mateo Joseph if he does move to West Yorkshire, which would unfortunately push his fellow compatriot down the Whites pecking order even more.

How Guiu could be a bigger talent than Joseph

Joseph must already know deep down that his Premier League minutes next season are going to be somewhat sparse, considering only 11 league starts were handed to him last season on the way to Farke and Co. sealing the title.

A promising three goals and three assists would come his way, but the 21-year-old hasn’t quite shown enough in these bursts of quality from the bench to suggest he should be pushing for more consistent first-team minutes. Whereas, Guiu at Chelsea might well fancy his chances at being a second-in-command to Joel Piroe, and even more, based on his blistering cameos in West London last campaign.

Games played

16

73

Goals scored

6

6

Assists

0

4

PL appearances

3

3

Amazingly, despite appearing 57 times less for Enzo Maresca’s outfit overall when weighed up next to the 21-year-old’s haul at Elland Road, Guiu finds himself on the exact same goal tally Joseph has next to his name at Leeds, with all six of those efforts also staggeringly coming about last season as Chelsea ran out convincing champions of the UEFA Conference League.

Of course, the quality of the opposition can be questioned here, but Guiu does look ready for more senior chances, with those six goals coming about from just four starts, meaning he’s a far more lethal and composed finisher from limited chances than his Whites counterpart.

With two goals under his belt in the senior ranks at Barcelona, too, the 19-year-old would surely go on to enhance and elevate his game surrounded by the likes of Piroe as a hungry asset wanting to learn more, as opposed to Joseph, who has made his intentions clear on his desire to move on from West Yorkshire.

Once labelled as a “nightmare for centre-backs” to contain by football talent scout Jacek Kulig off the back of his high-energy game, Guiu might well be the perfect impact bench option for Farke to call upon next season, away from landing a more seasoned head such as Muniz.

With all these thrilling new buys in the offing, there might not be a place for Joseph at Leeds very soon, as fresh blood is potentially preferred over the reserve striker.

Even better than Paixao: Leeds hopeful of sealing signing of £50m striker

Leeds United are hopeful of signing a star who is even better than Igor Paixao.

1 ByDan Emery Jul 18, 2025

West Ham United have made an approach to sign a “commanding” international for Graham Potter, and the Irons have already received a reply.

West Ham make Callum Wilson fifth summer signing

The Hammers have recently secured their fifth addition of the summer, with experienced striker Callum Wilson moving to the London Stadium after leaving Premier League rivals Newcastle United.

Jean-Clair Todibo

Nice

£36m

El Hadji Malick Diouf

Slavia Prague

£19m

Daniel Cummings

Celtic

£250,000

Kyle Walker-Peters

Southampton

Free

Callum Wilson

Newcastle

Free

Wilson, an England international who has 111 goal involvements in 239 Premier League appearances, has signed a 12-month deal with West Ham and said after arriving:

The Irons aren’t stopping after Wilson, though, with a new goalkeeper of interest to rival Alphonse Areola, who currently has Wes Foderingham and Krisztian Hegyi behind him.

Leicester City’s Mads Hermansen has been heavily linked with a move from the King Power to the capital, whereas before, Zion Suzuki of Parma was of interest.

West Ham submit "formal bid" to sign "phenomenal" Brazilian wanted by Everton

The Hammers are working on another reinforcement.

ByTom Cunningham Aug 2, 2025

Now, a new update has emerged regarding Suzuki heading to England.

West Ham approach rejected for £26m Zion Suzuki

According to reports from Italy, relayed by Sport Witness, West Ham have made an approach to Parma over a move for Suzuki.

That contact from the Hammers has been swiftly rejected by the Serie A side, who view Suzuki as a key player and is under contract until 2029.

The 22-year-old is valued at €30m (£26m), so West Ham will need to reach that figure if they are to have any chance of signing the shot-stopper.

Suzuki has caught the eye in recent years and, at one point, ranked in the 100th percentile for shot-stopping, aerials contested and exits from goal line, alongside placing in the 99th percentile for passes.

The Japan international has also been called a “commanding” goalkeeper in the media, so if West Ham were able to bring him to the London Stadium, it could prove to be a really shrewd piece of business.

Liam Delap will not need to undergo surgery on his hamstring injury, which clears the Chelsea striker to return to action in November. The English forward limped off in the first half of the Blues' 2-0 win over Fulham on August 30. He will miss the start of Chelsea's Champions League campaign but is expected back sooner than originally expected.

Delap's return date revealedWon't require surgery after hamstring injuryWill resume training in NovemberFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

According to , Delap's injury lay-off is estimated to be around 10 weeks, which means the forward can resume training by November and potentially make his competitive return before Chelsea open their busy festive schedule. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Following Delap's injury, Chelsea had initially planned to cancel Nicolas Jackson's loan move to Bayern Munich. However, they eventually agreed to sanction Jackson's move, and brought back Marc Guiu from his loan spell at Sunderland instead. 

DID YOU KNOW?

While Delap continues his recovery, the Blues have some difficult matches ahead over the next two months. Enzo Maresca's side open their Champions League campaign away to Bayern Munich on September 17 and face a trip to Manchester United in the Premier League three days later, before hosting Liverpool on October 4.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

In Delap's absence, Joao Pedro will continue to step up and take responsibility for the team's primary goalscorer. The Brazilian forward has scored two league goals in three appearances since his summer move from Brighton. Maresca's side next face Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday. 

West Indies succumb to brutal batting from Salt and Bethell as 183-run target is hunted down

Valkerie Baynes09-Nov-2024A superb unbeaten century by Phil Salt led England to a convincing eight-wicket victory over West Indies for a 1-0 lead in their five-match T20I series in Barbados.Saqib Mahmood took career-best figures of 4 for 34, including three wickets in the powerplay and a tight over at the death, but in the meantime West Indies blitzed their way through three key partnerships to set England a lofty target, despite having lurched to 117 for 8.Nicholas Pooran, who top-scored for the hosts, and captain Rovman Powell put on 41 runs together from just 17 balls but it was Pooran and Andre Russell who defied a steady flow of wickets to add 39 from 26 and then tailenders Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd with 49 off 26 who pumped up the hosts.Their efforts were ultimately futile, however, in the face of Salt’s remarkable 103 not out off just 54 balls in which he attacked from the outset, helping himself to 22 runs off one Shamar Joseph over and never looked back.It was a case of two second-home lads doing good as Salt, who spent six of his pre-teen and teenage years living in Barbados, shared an unbroken 107-run stand with Jacob Bethell, the latter raising his maiden T20I fifty to enthusiastic support from the crowd, having been born and raised in Barbados up to the age of 13.All-out (as)SaltWhen Salt struck five consecutive boundaries off Joseph to take his side past the 50-mark in the fourth over of the run-chase, England looked all business. He brought up his own half-century off 25 balls with the second of three sixes to come off Motie’s first over, crunched over deep midwicket before Will Jacks launched the third over long-on. Jacks fell on the next ball, bowled middle stump attempting to sweep, but by that time England had closed out the powerplay at 73 for 1, compared to West Indies’ 58 for 3. Motie couldn’t stay away from the action, his brilliant one-handed take at third removing Jos Buttler, batting at No. 3 on his return to action after a five-month injury lay-off, for a first-ball duck.For all his big hitting, Salt’s deft punch for four just behind backward point off Joseph in the ninth over was prettier than any of his four sixes up to that moment and highlighted the range of shots which comprised his innings. Bethell mimicked the shot, slightly finer off Shepherd, as he settled into just his third innings in T20Is, playing the perfect supporting role to Salt, his unbeaten 58 coming off 36 balls and including an elegant six over cover off the penultimate ball.He followed that immediately with the winning runs, pulling Shepherd for two to seal victory with 3.1 overs to spare. Salt had moved into the nineties swinging Shepherd to square leg, where the ball shot through the fingertips of Sherfane Rutherford as he tumbled over the boundary for six more before he brought up his ton in what turned out to be the last over of the game with four down the ground. It was Salt’s third century in T20Is, all of them coming in the Caribbean against West Indies.Saqib Mahmood celebrates dismissing Brandon King•Getty ImagesIn the MahmoodMahmood struck early when Brandon King, a centurion as West Indies won the third and final ODI for a 2-1 series win, slammed his fifth ball – the 11th of the match – straight to short cover. In his next over, Mahmood had two wickets in as many balls as Bethell took an excellent low catch running in from the rope at deep backward square to remove Evin Lewis and then luring Shimron Hetmyer with a superb length ball that moved away ever so slightly as it took an edge through to Salt. It was quite the comeback from Mahmood, playing just his third T20I since January 2022 after suffering two stress fractures in his back. His two other matches in the format since had yielded 2 for 21 and no wicket for 37 against Australia in September, but now he had 3 for 12 from two overs.Meanwhile fellow seamer Reece Topley conceded 20 runs from 15 balls, including Powell’s nurdled four through deep third then six over square leg immediately before Topley slipped in his follow-through clutching his right knee. Topley was visibly limping as a brief rain shower arrived, sending the players from the field for just over half an hour. Topley returned after the stoppage, only to be greeted by a lofted drive for six by Powell and that was enough to send the bowler from the field for the rest of the innings with what was later confirmed as a jarred knee as Jamie Overton finished his third over. Mahmood returned to have his figures blighted by conceding 18 runs off his third over, Pooran heaving over the fence at wide long-on, threading four through deep backward point and swinging over deep midwicket for another six.No fearAdil Rashid entered the attack in the seventh over and struck with his second ball, Powell going big again but unable to clear a leaping Overton just inside the boundary at long-on. Although he had handed the wicketkeeping gloves to Salt, returning captain Buttler sprung with the reflexes of a cat to snare a brilliant one-handed catch at slip in Rashid’s next over to remove Rutherford. Pooran and Russell forged a defiant partnership, Russell slamming back-to-back sixes off Rashid and moving to a 16-ball 30. But Liam Livingstone managed to end their union when he responded to seeing his third ball deposited back over his head for six by having Russell caught at deep cover by Dan Mousley. Pooran followed for 38, falling to another spectacular catch by Buttler, launching himself high and twisting in the air in the covers off Overton.West Indies looked determined to go down blazing. Rashid claimed his third when he pinned Akeal Hosein at the second attempt with an excellent leg-break. But just as it looked like the hosts’ fightback might fizzle, Motie strode to the crease at No. 10 and struck 16 runs off the first three balls he faced, including back-to-back sixes off Rashid. He had raced to 33 off just 14 balls by the time Mahmood had him caught on the deep midwicket boundary to claim his fourth wicket of the match. It ended Motie’s ninth-wicket stand with Shepherd, who ended with an unbeaten 35 off 22, their union helping West Indies to a total which had seemed so unlikely earlier.

Thomas Frank is set to be without star playmaker James Maddison for the foreseeable future, with Tottenham confirming on Thursday morning that the Englishman is set to undergo surgery on a ruptured ACL.

It was solely meant to be a night of farewell glory for club legend Son Heung-min last Sunday, but Tottenham’s fireworks fizzled into despair when Maddison collapsed in agony just minutes after stepping onto the pitch in Seoul.

Son Heung-min

7.00

James Maddison

6.98

Pedro Porro

6.95

Dominic Solanke

6.84

Dejan Kulusevski

6.83

via WhoScored

Maddison’s right knee – the same one that kept him out of the Europa League final – let him down once again. One moment he was chasing the ball, the next he was on the ground, clutching his face in disbelief. A stretcher carried him off as crutches awaited outside – with Frank describing the injury as a “bad” one.

The worst was yet to come, though, as Spurs have now announced that Maddison is set for surgery on an ACL problem which could force him to miss the vast majority of the season.

The 28-year-old is staring down the barrel of a six-to-nine-month recovery period, as is usually the case with ACL ruptures.

It’s heartbreak, pure and simple. Tottenham, already shaken by Son’s exit, now face a long season without the talent, vision and creativity of their star number 10. If they needed a new attacking midfielder before, they certainly need one now.

Chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange have undoubtedly shot the signing of a playmaker to the very top of their transfer priority list, coming after they missed out on a deal for Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White earlier this summer.

Spurs booked a medical for Gibbs-White this time last month ahead of a proposed £60 million move before Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, unceremoniously stopped the transfer, threatened Frank’s side with legal action and persuaded the 25-year-old to pen a new deal.

A swoop for Gibbs-White is completely off the table, but Tottenham’s need for another creative presence is more vital than ever before.

Dejan Kulusevski is also still sidelined with a knee injury, and having also lost Son, Spurs must get to work on Maddison’s replacement with just weeks to go before the transfer deadline.

Tottenham offered AC Milan forward Rafael Leao after James Maddison injury

According to TBR Football and journalist Graeme Bailey, intermediaries recently floated AC Milan forward Rafael Leao in their direction, which happened in the aftermath of Son’s exit and Maddison’s injury blow.

However, while Tottenham have been offered Leao by these representatives, it is believed a move for the Portugal international, who’s been called “unstoppable” by Tammy Abraham, and valued at around £74 million by the Rossoneri, is unlikely as things stand.

“My understanding is that intermediaries on the back of Son’s transfer and Maddison’s injury have put Leao to Spurs, in theory,” said Bailey.

“Opportunistic, yes, but that is how some of the biggest deals in the world have come about.

“I am told that [Massimilano] Allegri has informed Milan’s hierarchy that he can turn Leao into one of the very best forwards in the world. They are not planning on losing him, and I don’t believe Leao has the wish to leave at this point; he is excited by Allegri.”

The opportunity to play Premier League football is always a temptation, but given Leao’s current stance, Allegri’s unwillingness to part company and the 26-year-old’s asking price, Levy will likely need to look elsewhere.

Tottenham have made recent contact over Jack Grealish, but face competition from Everton (Fabrizio Romano), while Harvey Elliott has also been named as a potential Spurs target amid discussions over a move to RB Leipzig (Florian Plettenberg).

Their options are growing thin, but Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze could be available for the taking as Arsenal continue to stall a potential deal.

Off spinner says England’s Urdu-speaking spinners were fooled into bringing the field up during his 48 not out

Danyal Rasool25-Oct-2024Pakistan offspinner Sajid Khan has found a number of ways of getting under England’s skin, from the moustache twirling to the thigh thumping that accompany borderline invasion of personal space. Much of it has involved bamboozling them with the angle of his spin or the flight of his deliveries, but on Friday, he found another avenue for English befuddlement: their spin bowlers’ bilingualism.After the fourth ball of the 86th over, once Saud Shakeel had flicked Shoaib Bashir away to turn the strike over to Sajid, the pair met to discuss how to manage the strike, and didn’t appear to bother if the stump mic picked them up. Sajid, presumably, was to see off the final two balls, but he danced down the wicket and launched Bashir over midwicket into the Javed Miandad stand.It could hardly have been the plan, but according to Sajid, the intended audience for the conversation wasn’t each other but Pakistani-origin spinners Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir.”We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers. Rehan and Shoaib understand Urdu, so to fool them, we wanted them to hear we were only looking for the single. When we did that, they brought the field up and the bowlers flighted it. Saud told me once they do, no half measures: just go for the big shot as hard as you can.”And Sajid did. The next over Bashir bowled, Sajid plundered two sixes and a boundary in much the same way, swinging towards the midwicket boundary, finding the middle of the bat with regularity. 19 came off that over, and though Rehan kept him quieter, he was stung once when he spread the field out. Sajid took the men at long-off and long-on, comfortably clearing the rope. The wheels, by now, had begun to come off England’s bowling effort, and Pakistan’s lead had ballooned.Rehan acknowledged the quality of the innings, but was having none of Sajid’s claims. “He didn’t fool me at all, he just said it for the media,” he laughed “I didn’t even hear him. He said something like he’s going to run down this ball and I knew he was going to try and scoop me, and it didn’t really work. I think he batted well, and he hit some big blows, but he didn’t really fool me or Bash.”

Wayne Rooney has explained how son Kai faced added "pressure" in Manchester United's academy when playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.

Teenage hopefuls following in famous footstepsAttract more attention than others of the same ageDifficult for them to escape the added attentionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo made a stunning return to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021. His eldest son has followed the Portuguese GOAT around the world, spending time in youth systems at Real Madrid, Juventus, United and Al-Nassr.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Ronaldo Jr got the chance to work with other famous offspring when linking up with the Red Devils. Kai Rooney formed part of the same age group, as did Michael Carrick’s son Jacey. They brought more eyes to games that would usually have sailed under the radar.

DID YOU KNOW?

Manchester United’s all-time leading goalscorer admits as much, with Wayne seeing his first born have to cope with even more attention as attendance numbers for games featuring a collection of teenage hopefuls surged.

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Getty/InstagramWHAT ROONEY SAID

Speaking on podcast, the Red Devils icon said of the challenge facing those that come from a professional football family: "There's a bit more pressure on them as well.

"Kai and [when Cristiano] Ronaldo came back, Ronaldo's lads and Michael Carrick's lad were all on the same team.

"You go and watch and then all of a sudden there's like 10 times the amount of people that's normally there, all around the pitch watching, so there's a lot more pressure because they're coming to watch the three kids to see how they play and stuff. They've got to be ready."

Matt Short is in the Victoria squad and Spencer Johnson included for South Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2024Adam Zampa could play his first red-ball cricket since the 2022-23 season after being named in New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield squad to face Tasmania while Australia white-ball quick Xavier Bartlett is set for a first-class return after injury.Zampa last played a first-class match in February 2023 but has a window in his schedule before the BBL to make a rare Sheffield Shield outing. He has previously spoken of still having ambitions to play Test cricket with an eye on the tour of Sri Lanka early next year. Zampa takes the place of young legspinner Tanveer Sangha for the game at the SCG.Related

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“Adam is a very experienced cricketer who is a great addition to our group,” Greg Mail, the Cricket NSW chief of cricket performance, said. “To have Zampa, Sean Abbott and Josh Philippe come back into the side after a fantastic win over South Australia in the last round is a bonus.”Zampa’s last Shield game was also against Tasmania at the SCG in where he claimed 3 for 41. Overall in first-class cricket he averages 46.98 but has only played six games since 2017.Bartlett, meanwhile, returned to action in the recent T20I series against Pakistan, where he took five wickets in three matches, after picking up a side strain on the UK tour in September. Queensland’s game against Victoria will be a day-night contest, alongside the South Australia-Western Australia fixture in the same round which begins on Saturday.Victoria have been able to include Matthew Short for his first Shield game of the season after he completed his white-ball duties for Australia.Spencer Johnson is in South Australia squad following his impressive performances against Pakistan.Western Australia named their squad on Thursday, which includes both Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson.New South Wales squadSean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards (capt), Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Sam Konstas, Nic Maddinson, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Adam ZampaQueensland squadMitchell Swepson (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Jack Clayton, Liam Guthrie, Lachlan Hearne, Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Bryce Street, Tom Whitney, Jack WildermuthVictoria squadPeter Handscomb (capt), Ash Chandrasinghe, Xavier Crone, Sam Elliott, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Campbell Kellaway, Cam McClure, Jon Merlo, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Tom Rogers, Matt Short, Peter SiddleSouth Australia squadBen Manenti (capt), Harry Conway, Brendan Doggett, Daniel Drew, Henry Hunt, Spencer Johnson, Thomas Kelly, Jake Lehmann, Conor McInerney, Henry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Liam Scott