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Pace dominates our team of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2019Two in-form openers, two steady No. 3s, three allrounders, one keeper-batsman, and four fast bowlers. That sums up the composite XI picked by ESPNcricinfo staff.ESPNcricinfo LtdFinalists England and New Zealand contribute three players each, with two apiece from semi-finalists Australia and India. Shakib Al Hasan was the only unanimous choice among the teams picked by 46 of our staff members (and the only front-line spin-bowling option), while Rohit Sharma, Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson and Jasprit Bumrah featured in over 90% of the teams. While ten spots in the XI were clear cut, the 11th was a close contest: Jimmy Neesham pipped the likes of David Warner, Babar Azam and Jos Buttler.Vote for your XI here.Jason RoyInns 7 Runs 443 Average 63.28 Strike Rate 115.36 100s/50s 1/4
Roy was the aggressor in England’s successful opening pairing. He and Bairstow had the best average and strike rate among opening pairs with at least 200 runs in the tournament – no surprise given they top those stats for any ODI opening pair with over 1000 partnership runs. Roy missed three matches due to injury; England lost two of those. His only single-digit score came in the loss to Pakistan. His 85 in the semi-final hastened Australia’s exit after the bowlers restricted them to 223.Rohit Sharma
Inns 9 Runs 648 Ave 81.00 SR 98.33 100s/50s 5/1
A record five hundreds made Rohit the leading run scorer of the tournament, and such was his form that his captain, Virat Kohli – the only one ahead of him in the ODI batting rankings now – called him the “best one-day player”. With regular opening partner Shikhar Dhawan ruled out, Rohit took on the onus of ensuring the team got off to good starts. Unfortunately for India, his run of three consecutive hundreds ended in the semi-final.Shakib Al HasanMatches 8 Runs 606 Ave 86.57 SR 96.03 Wickets 11 Ave 36.27 ER 5.39
Bangladesh’s management accepted his request to bat at No. 3, and Shakib, currently the world’s best ODI allrounder, repaid the faith with seven 50-plus scores in eight innings. His bowling was steady in a tournament where spinners struggled, but he managed to take a vital five-for against Afghanistan, becoming the first Bangladesh player to take a five-wicket haul at the World Cup, and the second to complete the double of a fifty and a five-for in a World Cup match. No wonder many felt he deserved the Player-of-the-Tournament award.Kane Williamson (capt)Inns 9 Runs 578 Ave 82.57 SR 74.96 100s/50s 2/2
As captain, Williamson would know best whether he should bat at No. 3 or not. He was New Zealand’s rock – with the bat in a fragile batting line-up and in the field in tense situations. He scored in tough conditions, and he all but led his team to the title after three straight defeats to end the league stage. He was voted the Player of the Tournament, and his composure after the cruel loss in the final will be an abiding memory of this World Cup.Ben StokesMatches 11 Runs 465 Ave 66.42 SR 93.18 Wickets 7 Ave 35.14 ER 4.83
The most runs for a batsman at No. 4 or lower in the tournament. Stokes scored five fifties in his ten innings, and remained unbeaten in the final, in which he was the Player of the Match, took a stunning catch against South Africa, and chipped in with the ball all through.Alex Carey (wk)Matches 10 Runs 375 Ave 62.50 SR 104.16 Dismissals 20
Not many would have tipped him to make this XI at the start of the tournament. Carey came up with crucial runs in close wins for Australia; Steve Waugh called him a “hybrid of Michael Hussey and Michael Bevan”. If he remains in the same league as those names, watch out for Australia in 2023.James Neesham
Matches 10 Runs 232 Ave 33.14 SR 78.91 Wickets 15 Ave 19.46 ER 5.35
Neesham was thinking of retirement a couple of years ago. Three allrounders might seem too many, but it’s hard to ignore Neesham’s all-round heroics. Can score runs, can take wickets, can pull off diving catches and have us in splits with his tweets (the last one wasn’t a selection criterion). He nearly took New Zealand over the line in that Super Over.Mitchell StarcInns 10 Wickets 27 Ave 18.59 ER 5.43 4s/5s 2/2
Like in 2015, Starc finished with the most wickets. His 27 broke Glenn McGrath’s record for a single World Cup. One could argue he wasn’t as supremely good as he was in 2015 – when he took 22 wickets at 10.18 apiece – but that would be just nitpicking. Also the only one from our 2015 World Cup XI in the 2019 team.Jofra Archer
Inns 11 Wickets 20 Ave 23.05 ER 4.57 4s/5s 0/0
Would England have been champions had they not drafted Archer into their final squad? Playing only his 14th ODI, he was entrusted with bowling the Super Over in the final, given how he had performed in the death overs. He kept New Zealand to exactly 15 runs – two off the final two balls – to clinch their first World Cup title. His 20 wickets are the best for an England player in a World Cup.Lockie FergusonInns 9 Wickets 21 Ave 19.47 ER 4.88 4s/5s 1/0
New Zealand’s strike bowler brought real pace into the middle overs at this World Cup. Always in the wickets, Ferguson was only behind Starc on the wicket-takers’ list in the tournament.Jasprit BumrahInns 9 Wickets 18 Average 20.61 ER 4.41 4s/5s 1/0
It was business as usual for the top ODI bowler in the world. Bumrah was India’s Mr Reliable, and even when those at the other end got more wickets, it was his control and frugality that stood out.Vote for your XI here.

The two were deadly together with the ball, but never got along. Now, a possible reunion at Multan Sultans has been called off

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2017

Plays of the day from the Asia Cup clash between Pakistan and UAE in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur29-Feb-20161:08

100 T20Is for Pakistan

The turning pointWith Pakistan needing 40 off 26 balls, Usman Mushtaq dropped Shoaib Malik at deep square-leg after the batsman top-edged Mohammad Naveed’s excellent bouncer. Malik was on 41 at the time, and the fumble left Naveed frustrated and captain Amjad Javed angry. In the first two balls of the next over, Malik struck Rohan Mustafa for a four and six over wide mid-on, increasing the cost of that drop.The early switchEight balls into his first spell, Mohammad Amir switched to around the wicket to the right-handed batsman Muhammad Kaleem. The plan was to hit the stumps and after one ball, he went through Kaleem’s defenses. There was no footwork from the batsman, which helped create the gap that Ameer broke through.The pin-ball hitShaiman Anwar had struck a four a six when he suddenly went after Mohammad Nawaz and Shahid Afridi in the 12th and 13th overs. The start of this short hitting spree was a swept six that nearly landed in the second tier of the eastern stands. Someone failed to take the catch in the crowd, as the ball bounced around the stands. Anwar found his groove from that big hit, and added four more boundaries in the next nine balls.The gapIn the 18th over of UAE’s innings, Mohammad Irfan was waiting for a throw from Umar Akmal, who ran in from long-on to field a hit from Muhammad Usman. As the throw came, the ball bounced short of Irfan and had the bowler not jumped, it would have hit him in the crotch. The ball went through to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, who helped himself to a big laugh.The duck brokenAhmed Raza had not conceded a four or a six for three consecutive matches against Oman, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, giving away just 37 runs from his 11 overs. That duck was broken by Shoaib Malik cutting him hard past point for four. Raza did not show any emotion, and soon after, he was hit even for six, also by Malik, over long-on.

Ed Joyce, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson and Kevin O’Brien talk through their World Cup memories and pick out their stars – past and future – of ODI cricket

Interviews by George Dobell and Melinda Farrell10-Feb-2015What is your earliest World Cup memory?Ed Joyce: I would probably say it’s Mike Gatting’s reverse sweep against Australia in the final in 1987. That would be my earliest memory.Paul Stirling: It’d probably have to be the 2007 one, where Ireland beat Pakistan in the group stage. I just remember that was the one where I watched every ball that was going and obviously Ireland were in it for the first time that I’d seen, so I was catching up on everything we were doing.Gary Wilson: I think it was England not doing very well in the 1999 World Cup. It was in England. I was a Surrey fan growing up, which is a bit weird, because I ended up playing for them and I remember going around to my mate’s house to watch Thorpe and Stewart etc in that World Cup, and I think they were knocked out pretty early.Kevin O’Brien: Probably would have been 1999, I think, in England. Just watching it on TV. It was the first real World Cup where I sat down and watched most of the games. I was very fortunate to go to one of the games, which was held in Clontarf, West Indies v Bangladesh. That was probably the first time I’d seen professional cricket at its best. I was enthralled by it and I just wanted to get to there myself.Who will be the breakthrough player in this World Cup?Joyce: From our team, Andrew Balbirnie. He’s come in over the last couple of months and taken us by storm, and he wasn’t ever a certainty in our 15 for the World Cup even a couple of months ago, so he’d be my pick from our team. I’ll also go for Haris Sohail from Pakistan. I think he’s done well in the past six months and I think he’ll go well in the World Cup.Stirling: In our side we’ve got Andrew Balbirnie, who’s just come up the ranks and he’s just timed his run perfectly. It’s his first World Cup but he’s probably the batsman in the best nick at the minute so hopefully he gets a chance to show what he’s all about.Wilson: I’d love to see one of our lads. I know Paul Stirling is well keen to have a big World Cup. I wouldn’t necessarily say that people don’t know about him but I think he can really put his name forward in this World Cup.O’Brien: From our team I think it might be Andrew Balbirnie. He’s got a great opportunity to score some vital runs for us in the middle of the order. He’s been in great form over the last three or four months and he’s really excited and looking forward to stamping his authority on the pitch. Further afield, there are a couple of young guys in the English squad who have impressed in the last while. I think James Taylor is in good form as well and Moeen Ali, he’s batting and bowling well.Who is the best death bowler you’ve seen?Joyce: I’m going to go with a couple of my Sussex colleagues – Yasir Arafat, or James Kirtley, who’s played for England.Stirling: We haven’t faced Sri Lanka much but obviously watching Lasith Malinga on TV, he gets his yorkers in really well and his slower ball is very dangerous. We seem to miss out on Sri Lanka a few times so hopefully we’ll get them in the knockout stage after the group stage. It’d be nice to face him.Wilson: Brett Lee would have to be up there with the best, I reckon, just from what he’s done.Who are Ireland going to play in the final?EJ: It’s got to be Australia.PS: Australia or South Africa would be the two strong favourites to get there.GW: It’d be great if get to the final. I fancy New Zealand and Australia to both have big tournaments. Obviously New Zealand are playing really well at the minute, and the Aussies in their own backyard.O’Brien: It would be great if it was either Ireland v England or Ireland v Australia.Who is the most destructive batsman you’ve seen?Joyce: It’d have to be Dave Warner.Stirling: I always liked watching Virender Sehwag I’d say. He hits it really well through the off side and always did really well in the big competitions. It’s nice watching him.Wilson: AB de Villiers would probably be the name at the minute.O’Brien: Probably Chris Gayle. I think with the power he has, he’s twice as powerful as I am, and if he gets going it’s going to be quite scary for bowlers in this tournament. The grounds, especially in New Zealand are probably a little bit smaller than here in Australia, so there could be some big sixes.What’s the best World Cup match you can remember?Joyce: I would say Ireland against Pakistan in 2007. I was playing for a different team at that World Cup, and just watching the guys, there was such passion. The whole crowd seemed to be Irish and it was Ireland’s first big victory at a World Cup.Stirling: I can’t really look past the Ireland v England one in 2011, when we won. It’s certainly been the best one I’ve been involved in. Big Kev’s quickest hundred in World Cup history – I can’t really go past that.Wilson: Ireland beating England in the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore is probably my best memory of a World Cup game and one of the best innings you’ll ever see, from Kev. We were almost down and out and he turned that game around. It was brilliant.O’Brien: Any game I’ve played in. I’d say the best game I’ve seen that I haven’t played in would be either the India v England game in Bangalore, the tied game, or else the Australia v South Africa, the run-out in the semi-final in 1999. That was epic TV.Have you ever had a proper job?Joyce: Nope. Not one. Good question, though!Stirling: No proper job yet and hopefully no proper job for a wee while.Wilson: No, I haven’t. I was at school until I was 18 and then I moved straight into county cricket. Actually it was the MCC Young Cricketers.O’Brien: Yeah, I used to work in a restaurant. I was in the kitchen cleaning the pots and pans when I was 16. I really, really enjoyed it and I suppose that’s where I got my love of cooking from. I like to try to cook and experiment in the kitchen. I watch a lot of television cooking shows like .Who is the best finisher?Joyce: I’ll go for Michael Bevan. He’s my sort of era.Stirling: AB de Villiers. I just think he’s one of the best players in the world at the minute.GW: It’s hard to look past Michael Hussey, for Australia. Certainly in my era he’d be considered the best.O’Brien: Probably MS Dhoni. The cool head that he has and in a run chase, if he’s there at the end, India are winning most games.

Mumbai Indians have been quick to snap up players to address weaknesses that have surfaced through the seasons, and their monetary power has helped them do that

Siddhartha Talya25-May-2013Rajasthan Royals have traditionally drawn much sympathy from IPL watchers, and their captain constantly reminded everyone this year of how they are a “moneyball” side, how under-resourced they are in terms of personnel and yet punch above their weight each time. Mumbai Indians are a popular side, too, but for reasons totally different. They are a side filled with big stars, and have a line-up that cannot have too many excuses to stop short of winning the title.The hunger to win remains, not just evident in the team’s improved performance this year that’s taken them to the final for the second time, but also tweaks made to their squad through the seasons, the management compensating for any weaknesses that surface with high-profile purchases, be in the auctions or in between seasons, of players that have caught the eye. And the franchise’s monetary power has played a significant role in ensuring Mumbai have got what they want.Kieron Pollard blasted his way to an IPL contract when he smashed an unbeaten 54 off 18 balls for Trinidad and Tobago against New South Wales in 2009, and Mumbai fought hard in the subsequent auctions to buy him. He fetched the maximum bid of US$750,000 before Mumbai bagged him in the secret tie-break, beating Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore by paying an undisclosed amount. He was one of four players retained by them after the 2010 season, and is now a key part of the middle order.Though he’s not been as effective in the second half of this season with the bat, Dinesh Karthik was an important transfer ahead of last year’s IPL during the transfer window. Ambati Rayudu, who remained in the Mumbai side, had kept wickets before him, but the need for a specialist wicket-keeper batsman prompted the franchise to shell out an undisclosed amount that may well have been among the most paid for a player in the transfer window. He had been bought for US$900,000 by Kings XI Punjab, a team that had a specialist wicketkeeper-batsman as their captain.In the bowling, Mumbai bought Pragyan Ojha during the transfer window to bowl in tandem with Harbhajan Singh, and Ali Murtaza went to Pune Warriors. And in the auction, they bid US$600,000 for RP Singh. RP, until then, had been the leading wicket-taker in the IPL, and Ojha was not far behind him, in fourth place. Three of the leading five bowlers in IPL were with Mumbai at the start of the 2012 season.Last year, Mumbai tried as many as nine opening combinations. One of those openers was Richard Levi, who went unsold in the auctions in February but was snapped by Mumbai, who beat Pune Warriors to sign him, almost immediately after he smashed 13 sixes in a T20 century against New Zealand. Davy Jacobs was another opener, bought by Mumbai after he made 286 runs in six innings in the Champions League the previous year.Dwayne Smith hadn’t played for West Indies in the longer formats for a while when he was signed up by Mumbai last year, but a quickfire half-century against Australia in a T20 international and a successful stint with Khulna Royal Bengals in the Bangladesh Premier League won him a call-up. This, after he went unsold in the auction. And he’s been an important player for them at the top of the order this year.Pollard, Smith, Karthik and, to a lesser extent, Ojha have had a role to play in their team’s march to the final this season, their presence in the team a product of some opportunistic, and occasionally aggressive, buying. An ideal culmination to this process for Mumbai would be a title victory, slightly belated you would think for one of he most powerful franchises in the tournament.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the second day of the second Test between India and West Indies in Kolkata

S Aga15-Nov-2011The product placement
With a small traffic jam for the No. 6 spot in the Test line-up, Yuvraj Singh knows that time isn’t on his side. Having failed to make a dent on the scoreboard in Delhi, he arrived at the crease here knowing that a platform was already in place for a huge total. En route to 25, he miscued a pull and got hit. It was the slowest of the West Indies pace trio that dismissed him though, with Darren Sammy getting one through his defences to win a close leg-before shout. Yuvraj’s slow walk back included plenty of glances at the giant screen. But instead of a replay, it just kept showing an advertisement.The delayed redemption
MS Dhoni was on 13 when he threw the kitchen plumbing at a Kemar Roach delivery. Carlton Baugh caught the edge, but the celebrations were cut short by a no-ball call. Dhoni had added just three more to his total when the routine repeated itself, only this time Roach’s foot was even further in front of the line. By the time he finally got his man, Dhoni had pummelled the small matter of 144 runs.The swat
Soon after the two no-ball reprieves, Fidel Edwards decided to test Dhoni with a short ball. The response was smashed straight past him with the velocity of a Roger Federer forehand. It set the tone for a buccaneering innings.The trademark wristwork
Years from now, when we think of VVS Laxman, we’ll think of those clips through midwicket, often picking up the ball from well outside off stump. One such stroke, essayed with typically wondrous timing got him to his fifth century at Eden Gardens.The payback
It was like watching a replay of countless dismissals from the 1980s and 90s. Only, this time, it was a West Indian at the receiving end. Short of a length at lively pace from Umesh Yadav, a bit of extra bounce and a tentative fend from the batsman that flew off the edge to the slip cordon. Times have changed.The where is DRS moment
With 432 needed just to stave off the follow-on, what West Indies didn’t need was to lose a second wicket before the gloom descended. But R Ashwin was getting appreciable bounce, and most of the close-in fielders went up in appeal as the ball looped up to short leg off Kraigg Brathwaite’s forward prod. The umpire’s decision didn’t take much time, but replays appeared to suggest only pad and no bat. With no Decision Review System in place for this series, Brathwaite could only grimace and walk off.

Under Daren Ganga’s enlightened leadership, the team is all that counts – and the trophies are a testament to that ethos

Andrew Miller in Antigua28-Oct-2008
Trinidad continued its tryst with the Stanford crowns and it’s no surprise they are the powerhouse of West Indies cricket © AFP
Daren Ganga is becoming cosily familiar with Sir Allen Stanford’s largesse. In 2006, he was the recipient of the runners-up cheque when Guyana pipped Trinidad to the final of the inaugural Stanford 20/20. Earlier this year, he and his team-mates made handsome amends for that setback by winning the follow-up event and the million-dollar cheque that came with it. Now, by seeing off Middlesex in the most compelling match yet witnessed in the Stanford Super Series, he’s claimed a further substantial slice of Texan pie to see him through the economic downturn.It was Stanford himself who handed over the spoils, and he could scarcely have been more satisfied at the outcome. Though the match once again lacked the pyrotechnics usually associated with Twenty20 cricket, the end result was a vindication of the quality that Stanford would have the world believe he is fostering through his involvement with Caribbean cricket. Middlesex arrived in Antigua with pedigree and were the favourites for this contest in many people’s estimation, but on the night they were outwitted – brought low in a tactical battle that arguably had more in common with Test cricket than the biff-bang-wallop format that most people had turned up expecting to see.It certainly wasn’t the manner in which a West Indian side might be expected to make off with the loot, but under Ganga’s guidance, Trinidad have become a cerebral bunch of cricketers. They paced their chase to perfection, keeping themselves in touch with wickets in hand before locating a vein of aggression at precisely the right moment. The match was sealed with a six, a towering clunk over long-on from Darren Bravo, but it had been in the bag for several overs beforehand, during Bravo and Denesh Ramdin’s momentum-shifting stand of 67 in eight overs.”We came here switched on, and we totally deserved our victory,” Ganga said, whose stature as a leader continues to mushroom. Eighteen months ago, he was leading West Indies on a tour of England, and though that appointment unravelled through a debilitating loss of form, the reasoning behind it remains sound to this day. Not so long ago, Trinidad cricket was synonymous with Brian Lara, a consummate genius but a selfish and divisive character. These days, under Ganga’s enlightened leadership, the team is all that counts – and the trophies are a testament to that ethos.In the space of four years, Trinidad has become the powerhouse of West Indian regional cricket. In that time it has won two 50-overs titles, the four-day regional championship, consecutive Carib Beer Challenge Finals, and now two of Stanford’s crowns. “Trinidad & Tobago cricket has a bunch of young players eager to make their mark, who want to enhance their reputation, and our reputation as a team,” Ganga said. “We had everything to play for, and have relished the opportunity to compete against teams outside our region. Our planning has been spot on and it all came to fruition.”Not so long ago, Trinidad cricket was synonymous with Brian Lara, a consummate genius but a selfish and divisive character. These days, under Ganga’s enlightened leadership, the team is all that counts – and the trophies are a testament to that ethosGanga added that people might have questioned the thinking behind the team selection for this series, but sure enough there was no quibbling with the end product. Rather than fret about the vagaries of the wicket or the balance of the side, Trinidad concentrated on the dressing-room first and foremost. Three debutants were blooded in the Superstars match on Saturday evening – Justin Guillen, Kevon Cooper and Rishi Bachan – and all three acquitted themselves well in trying circumstances.For the money match, however, Trinidad delved deeper into their squad and introduced the greater experience of Amit Jaggernauth and Richard Kelly, not to mention the teenage fearlessness of Bravo Jr, whose love of the big occasion could prove every bit the equal of his brother, Dwayne.It all left Middlesex feeling rather bewildered. “When it came to the big occasion, we just weren’t quite up for it,” said their captain, Shaun Udal. “We didn’t bring our A game to the party, which I was confident about us doing. For some reason we were slow out of the blocks with the bat, had a dodgy spell and if it wasn’t for Neil Dexter at the end, we would have been lucky to get 100.”Ultimately the match was won and lost in six balls of bedlam at the end of the 16th over of Trinidad’s chase, which was arguably the first sighting of Twenty20 cricket as the world knows and loves it. With the hapless Neil Carter in the thick of the action, two sixes and two dropped catches marked a momentum shift which stayed till the end.”All the teams have struggled to hit boundaries,” said Middlesex’s opener, Andrew Strauss. “But the way Trinidad did it today was to stay in the game, keep wickets in hand, and then [attack] in the last five overs. This was an important game for us, we were representing our country as Twenty20 champions and it hurts we weren’t good enough. But these are very different wickets to England and we haven’t adjusted quickly enough.”In truth, Middlesex were not allowed to be good enough. The speedy legspin of Samuel Badree, who shared the new ball with the Man of the Match, Ravi Rampaul, left them groping for a response right from the start. Later, when it seemed they might start to reclaim the ascendancy with the ball, they were thwarted first by Ganga – whose unflustered style of accumulation has rarely been so suited to 20-over cricket – then by Bravo and Denesh Ramdin, whose spunky innings of 41 from 28 balls was the real difference between the sides.He was not able to make it to the finish, but as he trooped off the pitch with a satisfied waft of the bat after carrying his team to within two runs of victory, Ramdin offered another insight into why this match had been Trinidad’s to lose, rather than Middlesex’s to win. Three Trinidadians were named in the Superstars squad – Keiron Pollard, Dave Mohammad and Rayad Emrit. Ramdin, the incumbent West Indies wicketkeeper, was not among their number, and there’s no doubt it rankled. “Us players left out of the Superstars (squad) wanted to prove a point,” said Ganga. They’ve done just that, and in some style.

Real Madrid icon Gareth Bale has sent a special “legend” message to retiring former team-mate Wayne Hennessey.

• Veteran goalkeeper hanging up his gloves
• Graced European Championship & World Cup
• Shares many happy memories with Bale

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  At the age of 38, and having spent three years filling back-up duties at Nottingham Forest, Hennessey has announced that he will be hanging up his gloves. The veteran goalkeeper is bringing a 19-year career to a close.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  He started out at Wolves, taking in 166 appearances for them, before picking up more Premier League experience across eight seasons at Crystal Palace. A short stint at Burnley was followed by a move to the City Ground.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Hennessey is also a centurion at international level, with 109 senior caps earned for Wales on the back of making his debut in 2007. His career at that level included European Championship and World Cup outings.

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• WHAT BALE SAID

  Bale made many appearances for Wales alongside Hennessey, with the former Tottenham and Real Madrid superstar posting on social media after seeing a familiar face join him in retirement: “A Welsh football legend, some of the best times of my career were alongside you. Happy retirement.”

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Sunderland are set to secure the signing of Lutsharel Geertruida in a shocking transfer victory snatching the Dutch international from Marseille.

• Sunderland have reportedly signed Geertruida
• Player also completed medical with Sunderland
• Geertruida to join on initial loan deal

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Marseille were under the impression they had sealed the signing of a reinforcement in Dutch defender Geertruida. The French club, in desperate need of a new defender, had reportedly reached an agreement on personal terms with the player, making a transfer seem all but done. However, in a shocking last-minute turn, full-back and centre-back Geertruida is heading to newly-promoted Premier League side Sunderland, according to Fabrizio Romano. The deal is a loan deal for €2.5 million with a purchase option set at €23m (£20m/$27m).

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Marseille's ongoing struggle to strengthen their squad continues. The club's pursuit of Geertruida came after their move for Ecuadorian defender Joel Ordonez failed due to financially demanding negotiations with Club Brugge. The defensive shortcomings for Roberto De Zerbi's side have been obvious and is further underscored by their recent 1-0 loss to Lyon. For Sunderland, this move is a major coup that signals their ambition and financial power after a promising start to the Premier League season.

• TELL ME MORE

  The 25-year-old has established himself as a key player for both RB Leipzig and Netherlands, with 17 caps to his name. The player was an integral part of Leipzig's squad playing 39 games for the club in which he scored a goal while providing an assist. The ex-Feyenoord defender was also targeted by AC Milan and Nottingham Forest. 

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MARSEILLE?

  The frustration of missing out on Geertruida for Marseille is immense, and they must now scramble to find a replacement before the transfer window closes. The club are expected to turn their attention to other targets, with West Ham United's Nayef Aguerd, who is close to joining the French club, and Inter's Benjamin Pavard being mentioned as potential alternatives.

نجح نادي برشلونة في تسجيل أحد لاعبيه قبل ساعات من خوض مباراته في بطولة الدوري الإسباني لكرة القدم، ضد خصمه رايو فاليكانو، مساء يوم الأحد.

ويلتقي برشلونة مع رايو فاليكانو، في الجولة الثالثة من الدوري الإسباني موسم 2025/26، ضد رايو فاليكانو.

ويمتلك برشلونة 6 نقاط، بعدما حقق فوزًا في الجولتين الأولى والثانية ضد كل من مايوركا وليفانتي، بنتيجة 3/0 و3/2، على الترتيب.

من جهة أخرى، ذكرت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية أنه قد تم تسجيل حارس مرمى فريق برشلونة، فويتشيك تشيزني، لدى الدوري الإسباني، وسيكون متاحًا للمشاركة ضد فاليكانو غدًا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. موعد مباراة برشلونة وباريس سان جيرمان في دوري أبطال أوروبا 2025/26

ولم يكن تشيزني جزءًا من قائمة برشلونة في الجولتين الماضيتين، حيث لم يتمكن النادي من تسجيله، قبل أن يرحل إيناكي بينيا إلى إلتشي، حيث أتاح ذلك مساحة كافية للبولندي لإتمام تلك الخطوة بنجاح.

وأفادت أنه يتبقى الآن أن يحل برشلونة مسألة تسجيل روني باردجي، حيث ينتظر إنهاء عقد أوريول روميرو، قبل عام من نهاية صفقته، ورحيل هيكتور فورت الذي يقترب من مايوركا على سبيل الإعارة.

وكان برشلونة يستطيع تسجيل باردجي في صفوف فريق الرديف، ولكنه فضّل الانتظار من أجل تسجيله مع الفريق الأول، لتجنب أي مشاكل محتملة مع رابطة الدوري الإسباني.

الجدير بالذكر أن برشلونة نجح في تسجيل جيرارد مارتن، أمس الجمعة، مع العلم إنه سجل ماركوس راشفورد وخوان جارسيا قبل ساعات من خوض مباراته الأولى في موسم الليجا.