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Alisha Lehmann has sent her Swiss and new Aston Villa team-mate, Noelle Maritz, a welcome message following the latter's switch from Arsenal.

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Maritz joins Villa from ArsenalLehmann sends message to Swiss team-mateArsenal expected to sign Emily Fox as replacementWHAT HAPPENED?

Arsenal confirmed that Maritz had left the club to join Aston Villa in a permanent move. The Gunners, with a squad pushing the registration limit, needed to free space in their ranks to make room for the expected arrival of United States defender, Emily Fox. The Gunners' loss has become Villa's gain as the Swiss international joins to try to help propel the side away from the threat of relegation.

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Posting on her Instagram story, Lehmann said: "Welcome my friend!"

Instagram (alishalehmann7)THE BIGGER PICTURE

Maritz's move to Aston Villa is one which suits all parties. The defender had been struggling for minutes in the Women's Super League this season and wanted to secure more game-time. Villa are able to add depth at full-back and Maritz will compete with Sarah Mayling for the starting right-back spot. Meanwhile, Arsenal can free up some much-needed space to complete the signing of Fox – who can hope to offer the Gunners greater defensive solidity in the second half of the season.

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WHAT NEXT FOR LEHMANN AND MARITZ?

Aston Villa return for action after the winter break in the women's FA Cup against Everton on January 13, where Swiss team-mates, Lehmann and Maritz, will hope to play together once again.

Mahela Jayawardene has brushed off criticism from SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala, contending that his ten-day consulting role with England is largely geared toward player development and not toward providing specific tactical information

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Feb-2016Mahela Jayawardene has brushed off criticism from SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala, contending that his ten-day consulting role with England is largely geared toward player development and not toward providing specific tactical information. He has also said Sumathipala’s questioning of his ethics was “laughable”.”My role with England is to help develop their cricketers, and to help with how they should approach different challenges – like playing spin,” Jayawardene said. “The pools hadn’t been decided when I agreed to do it. England didn’t hire me to give information on the Sri Lankan team. They have analysts and coaches to do that. I’m quite disappointed to see those comments from the board, to be fair.”This is in response to Sumathipala himself having expressed “sadness and disappointment” at Jayawardene’s resumption of the England job, in which he could conceivably reveal inside information on the Sri Lanka team. Jayawardene played his last ODI for Sri Lanka in March 2015, and had quit T20Is in April 2014. Sumathipala said a “cooling off period” of at least 24 months was appropriate, before Sri Lanka players joined opposition sides in a coaching or advisory role.Jayawardene didn’t rule out being asked to provide specific information on Sri Lanka’s players and tactics, but said his ability to provide such insights was tempered by his having retired almost a year ago.”By the World T20, I would have been out of the one-day team for 12 months, and out of the T20 team almost two years,” Jayawardene said. “If the tactics of that dressing room haven’t moved on in that time – if they are still playing the same way – then there’s a problem, isn’t it?”There are also a lot of new players in this Sri Lanka team that I haven’t played with. But even for the guys like Angelo Mathews, or Lasith Malinga, or Dinesh Chandimal, isn’t the challenge to keep evolving?”Sumathipala had suggested Jayawardene, as a former Sri Lanka captain, was being unprincipled in his acceptance of the England role. Jayawardene responded by asking whether Sri Lanka’s recent hiring of Graham Ford was similarly unprincipled, according to the board.”Ford has worked at Surrey with Jason Roy – the England opener – for the last three years. I guess that would be unethical as well. In my heart I’ve had Sri Lankan cricket right at the top, but I’m also a professional.”Jayawardene said he had worked almost a year on the domestic cricket revamp that has now been scrapped by the Sumathipala administration. That work was unpaid.”All that 12 months of work was put aside when they took over,” Jayawardene said. “I am not upset, but I’m disappointed. If they don’t recognise my work, then how am I supposed to work in that environment? Was their decision to scrap that made ethically?”That said, they are an elected body, and they are entitled to do what they think is best. There are actually no hard feelings. I wish them all the best, and hope that they can take Sri Lankan cricket further.”

Liverpool overcame injury issues to beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final, with Gary Neville hailing “Klopp’s kids against billion pound bottle jobs!”

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Blues have spent heavily in transfer marketMissed some big chances at WembleyReds have three more trophies to aim atWHAT HAPPENED?

The Reds headed to Wembley without the likes of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nunez and Alisson. Klopp had to name a number of youngsters on the bench, and gave game time to James McConnell, Jayden Danns and Jarell Quansah.

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Eight academy graduates got a medal on the day, with Virgil van Dijk settling the tie late in extra-time as he powered home a dramatic header – having previously seen one effort ruled out due to a controversial offside call from VAR.

WHAT NEVILLE SAID

Chelsea are now in danger of ending the 2023-24 campaign empty-handed, despite spending over £1 billion ($1.3bn) on transfers since the Todd Boehly-led ownership team arrived at Stamford Bridge. Manchester United legend Neville has taken aim at the Blues for buckling under pressure, saying during his punditry on : “It’s Klopp’s kids against the billion pound bottle jobs.”

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Mauricio Pochettino’s side had plenty of chances to pick up another major trophy, but fluffed them all – while seeing a Raheem Sterling effort ruled out for an offside in the build-up – while Liverpool remain in the hunt for Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League glory in what will be Klopp’s final season at the helm.

More than a week has passed since the BCCI discussed convening a special general meeting to replace N Srinivasan on the board’s disciplinary committee, but now it appears as though the meeting may not happen in the near future

Amol Karhadkar28-Apr-2014More than a week has passed since the BCCI discussed convening a special general meeting to replace N Srinivasan on the board’s disciplinary committee, but now it appears as though the meeting may not happen in the near future.An SGM requires a 21-day notice period but as of today no notice had been served by the BCCI secretary to any of the board’s member units. According to BCCI regulations, for an SGM to be convened, the secretary must issue the notice within ten days of “a resolution of the working committee”. However, because there was no resolution passed at the working committee meeting on April 20, neither the secretary Sanjay Patel nor acting president Shivlal Yadav, who has powers to call a meeting in special circumstances, are in a hurry to convene the meeting.Representatives of at least one member from all five zones who attended the working committee meeting confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that despite a vocal suggestion to convene an SGM, no resolution was passed. Patel, who is set to lose his post at the Baroda Cricket Association, didn’t respond to questions, but a BCCI source revealed the SGM may not be convened at all.One of the cases waiting to be heard by the disciplinary committee, which comprises BCCI president Srinivasan and vice-presidents Yadav and Rajeev Shukla, is that of Ajit Chandila, one of three Rajasthan Royals cricketers arrested on corruption charges during the 2013 IPL. He filed a reply to the disciplinary committee in April but the case has not proceeded because the Supreme Court sidelined Srinivasan from the BCCI’s affairs as a fall out of corruption allegations in the IPL.While the ruling faction in the BCCI believes the remaining two members of the disciplinary committee can meet and decide on Chandila, a bereavement in Yadav’s family has resulted in the acting president taking a break from his responsibilities.

Yasir Arafat claimed five wickets against one of his many former clubs as Sussex boosted their hopes of a Royal London One-Day Cup quarter-final place with a seven-wicket win over Somerset

Press Association10-Aug-2014
ScorecardYasir Arafat took 5 for 36 to set up Sussex’s chase•Getty ImagesYasir Arafat claimed five wickets against one of his many former clubs as Sussex boosted their hopes of a Royal London One-Day Cup quarter-final place with a seven-wicket win over Somerset in a match reduced to 33 overs per side at Taunton.Arafat’s 5 for 36 from seven overs kept the hosts to a modest 193 for 8 after losing the toss, Colin Ingram top-scoring with 71, while Nick Compton hit 42 and James Hildreth 42 not out.Sussex were set a revised target of 189 under the Duckworth-Lewis system and eased home with 24 balls to spare thanks to an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 94 between Matt Machan, who made an unbeaten 47, and 46 not out from skipper Ed Joyce.After a delayed 11am start was prevented by further rain, play began at 11.40am with the game initially reduced to 44 overs per side. Somerset quickly plunged into trouble as Marcus Trescothick played on, trying to leave the first ball of the second over, bowled by Arafat. The next delivery saw Peter Trego, who had scored centuries in Somerset’s previous two games, caught behind down the leg side and by the time the rain returned after 5.1 overs the hosts were 10 for 2.The action resumed at 1.45pm and, with the sun breaking through, batting looked a good deal easier. Ingram and Compton exercised caution, the latter enjoying a slice of luck on 28 when playing a ball from Chris Liddle onto his off stump without the bail being removed. Ingram swept a six off Will Beer as the total approached the 100-mark, but one run short Compton was lbw to Liddle falling across his stumps, having looked in little trouble.It was 157 for 4 in the 27th over when Ingram ran himself out, calling for a second run to fine leg and beaten by Liddle’s throw to the wicketkeeper. The South African had faced 74 balls and hit seven fours and a six.Hildreth looked in good touch, but was unable to conjure up sufficient boundaries in his 43-ball knock and Somerset’s hopes of a big finish were dashed when Arafat removed Lewis Gregory for 18, Tim Groenewald and Craig Meschede in the final over.Sussex approached their revised target with gusto, Chris Nash pulling a six off Alfonso Thomas in only the fourth over, which ended with 33 already on the board. Luke Wright brought up the 50 in the sixth over by lifting Groenewald over midwicket for a maximum.The opening stand was worth 86 when Nash was run out for 30 off the final ball of the 10th over, setting off for a single dabbed to short third-man and being beaten by wicketkeeper Alex Barrow’s direct hit when sent back. The next over saw Wright, on 42, drive a return catch to left-arm spinner Leach, having faced 32 balls and hit six fours and a six. And Somerset were back in it when Craig Cachopa was caught by Gregory for 5, having skied Leach to mid-on.Leach’s figures would have been even better had Barrow not missed a simple stumping chance offered by Machan on 19, with the total 129 for 3. It was an error the home side could not afford and was symptomatic of a poor fielding display. Several catches went down as Machan and Joyce saw their side to a comfortable success, both pacing their innings to perfection.Afterwards Arafat, who was twice on a hat-trick, said: “After losing our first two games confidence is growing all the time and we now have a great chance of reaching the quarter-finals.”Somerset’s Leach added: `”No one should read too much into this result. The toss was important and it was always going to be difficult batting first, so we are determined not to let it affect the momentum we were building in the competition.”

Set a daunting 288, Karnataka looked to be crashing towards their first defeat in 23 matches before an 85-run partnership between CM Gautam and Shreyas Gopal steered the team to safety

The Report by Alagappan Muthu in Mysore24-Jan-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Shreyas Gopal battled for more than three hours to steer Karnataka to safety•PTI Ninety-seven for 5, 69 for 5, 83 for 5 and 50 for 6 today. It was almost as if Karnataka wanted to go into every fight with one hand tied behind their back. Their batting coach J Arunkumar said the dressing room was never bogged down by scorelines. The next batsman shrugged, strapped up and slugged hard. More often than not, that man has been CM Gautam or Shreyas Gopal. The same story unfolded in Mysore as another knockout punch was defused.Amid screeches of either batsman’s name, Baroda threatened again when Yusuf Pathan had Gautam stumped with seven overs left in the day. Instantly there were four men around the bat and a tired bowling attack was making its final play. However, it wasn’t enough, as the hosts held on for a draw.Gopal battled the relentless Baroda bowlers, enhanced by variable bounce and chirping close-in fielders. He dismissed the threat of a concentration lapse with each forward defensive push – front leg lunging, back knee kissing the pitch and the bottom hand flying off the handle whenever necessary. Gautam dug in stubbornly as well and a 235-ball, seventh wicket partnership that had begun by blunting Baroda’s momentum, progressed to tire the bowlers and epitomised why Karnataka remain undefeated for 23 matches.A stiff 288 off 65 overs might have been tempting, but KL Rahul was run-out without facing a ball. Robin Uthappa, who had called for that fatal single, drove casually again and was caught behind to complete a pair. R Samarth was bowled by a grubber as Baroda exploited Karnataka’s handicap to perfection.The weapon of choice was Sagar Mangalorkar, a 24-year old right-arm seamer who has modeled his action on James Anderson but idolises Shoaib Akhtar. He certainly is aggressive enough. Playing only his fourth first-class match, he got in Uthappa’s face with double fist pumps and then provided the most arresting image of the day – him doing vigorous push-ups in the middle of the pitch after breaching Samarth’s defence.Baroda have been the better team, and have been rather quiet despite attracting a lot of lip from the locals. It was playful, of course. The Pathan brothers were constantly sought after and Yusuf and Irfan generously obliged, but when the largest crowd of the match raised their voices against the team, Baroda hollered back. Mangalorkar and Irfan Pathan, bowling 23 unchanged overs with only lunch in between, provided justification for that. Not to mention a stunning catch at short cover by Kedar Devdhar to ensure Abrar Kazi’s promotion to No. 5 did not amount to much.Manish Pandey, who had announced himself at this ground in the 2010 final, appeared comfortable. He concentrated on staying low and soldiered steadily on until he committed the mistake he strove quite hard not to. Poking away from his body and falling to a brilliant first spell from Mangalorkar – 12-3-29-4.That Gopal kept that impulse at bay for 196 minutes until the safety of stumps further cements his rise as one of the best young players in the domestic circuit. He averages 89.20 with the bat and 32.27 with the ball this season, and matched his captain block for block by opening up after tea with some crisp drives through the off side.Baroda’s batsmen, though, needed a very differed approach at the start of the day. Swapnil Singh leapt down the track at Abhimanyu Mithun’s first delivery with the second new ball and slammed it into the sightscreen. He manipulated the strike excellently with the tail and eased to his second first-class fifty. The momentum from that seeped into Baroda’s bowling early on and the defending champions were reeling on the ropes. But they wouldn’t fall.

Mystery surrounded the fitness of Boyd Rankin following the first day’s play in Sydney after the fast bowler was twice forced from the pitch on his first day as a Test cricketer

George Dobell at the SCG03-Jan-2014Mystery surrounded the fitness of Boyd Rankin following the first day’s play in Sydney after the fast bowler was twice forced from the pitch on his first day as a Test cricketer.Rankin, who retired from Irish cricket at the end of the 2012 to concentrate on playing Test cricket for England, appeared to have suffered a hamstring strain after bowling the first delivery of his ninth over but, after leaving the field for treatment, was able to resume about 90 minutes later. He then managed just one more delivery before a recurrence of the problem forced him off again in obvious pain and clutching his left hamstring.But after a scan showed no injury, the England camp claimed Rankin had simply been suffering from cramp and should be fit to resume bowling duties in the second innings.Such a scenario would raise questions about Rankin’s physical condition going into the game. While the weather in Sydney was warm – it reached 27 degrees at one stage in the afternoon – it was some way below the extremes experienced in Perth or in Alice Springs.It is possible that nerves could have played a part. The 29-year-old Rankin has endured a long journey to the Test environment and knows, coming into a struggling team at the end of a series, that he may not enjoy many opportunities to prove his worth at this level. A somewhat shy, quietly spoken man from a rural background, it is also possible that tension played a part, or that the pain has some psychosomatic origin. He has been known to experience similar problems with his left foot after suffering from a stress fracture in it several years ago.The schedule may also be relevant. While Rankin has bowled almost every day in the nets, he has not played a match since the end of November, when he delivered 14.5 overs during the game in Alice Springs. It may be that he came into this game simply lacking match fitness.While Rankin was monitored by the England medical team ahead of play after reporting general stiffness, there was no specific concern about his hamstring and he was subsequently cleared to play.Rankin was one of three tall fast bowlers included in the England squad for this series. But despite great expectations when the tour started, none of Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett or Rankin will look back on the trip with much joy. While Tremlett played in Brisbane, Finn has failed to break into the team and Rankin’s debut has so far not gone as he would have envisaged. It would take him two years, from the moment of his last England appearance, to re-qualify for Ireland if he ever chose to do so.Rankin has gained a reputation as one of the most hostile bowlers in county cricket over recent years. While a succession of injury problems have at times delayed his development, he has benefited from greater fitness and strength over recent years and was praised by Marcus Trescothick as being as good a fast bowler as he faced in the 2011 season.

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Manchester United have confirmed that Marouane Fellaini has left the club to join Shandong Luneng Taishan FC, via a statement posted on their official website.

The Belgium international joined the club in 2013 under David Moyes, with United paying £27.5million to Everton to secure his signature, per BBC.

Per Transfermarkt, Fellaini made 177 appearances for the Red Devils, winning the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, the Community Shield and the Europa League.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

He fell out of favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, after the Norwegian replaced former boss Jose Mourinho.

Fellaini’s last United appearance came in December as he played three minutes in the 5-1 thumping of Cardiff City.

He was subsequently on the bench for wins over Huddersfield Town and Bournemouth but was left out of the squad for games against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley – missing the latter three due to a calf strain.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Mahela Jayawardene is set to join the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Aug-2013Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka batsman, is set to join the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League. He tweeted on Thursday morning that he had received a call-up from the franchise. The Sri Lanka batsman will replace South Africa’s Davy Jacobs, who was ruled out following an injury.Jayawardene is expected to fly out to the Caribbean on Thursday afternoon, ahead of T&T’s game against the St Lucia Zouks in Kingston on Saturday. “It’s going to be a long trip to get over there, but I am looking forward to meeting up with the guys as soon as possible and hopefully helping us secure a berth in the CPL semi-finals this coming weekend,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve always loved playing cricket in the Caribbean, so I am really looking forward to a short stint with T&T Red Steel.”He will be the second Sri Lanka player to feature in the CPL, with Muttiah Muralitharan turning out for the Jamaica Tallawahs. Jawayardene joins Ross Taylor and Kevin O’Brien as one of the franchise’s overseas players. Australian batsman Aaron Finch had earlier withdrawn from the squad to lead Australia A on their tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.T&T, usually the powerhouse of regional T20 cricket in the Caribbean, suffered a poor start to the franchise-based CPL, losing three consecutive games before producing two wins. With two games to go in the league phase of the tournament, they sit fifth out of six teams on the points table. Their remaining matches are this weekend, against St Lucia – the only team below them on the points table – on Saturday and the Jamaica Tallawahs on Sunday.

Gary Giles, a former first-class cricketer from New Zealand, died in Hamilton on February 5, aged 74

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2014Former first-class cricketer, Gary Giles, died in Hamilton on February 5, aged 74.Giles was a prolific run scorer for Waikato and debuted for Northern Districts in the 1960-61 season. His best season was 1965-66, which included his career best 81 against Wellington. He earned a call-up to the New Zealand squad following that season and was the 12th man for a Test against England. His final appearance, aged 35, came in the 1975-76 season.He played 25 games for Northern Districts, scoring 907 runs at an average of 19.72. He also took 13 catches. He was sometimes used as a medium-pacer and had four wickets to his credit.