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Celtic are considering appointing Nicky Hayen as their next manager and a new update has now emerged regarding their pursuit of the Belgian.

Hayen has been mentioned as one of the leading contenders to replace Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead, with the Northern Irishman departing last week. The 45-year-old has been very open about potentially leaving his role in charge of Brugge, hinting that he would be keen on coming in as the new Celtic boss.

Hayen is far from the only option for Celtic, however, with Martin O’Neill thought to be open to the idea of staying in charge of the Hoops for the remainder of the 2025/26 season, should the club’s owners like that idea.

The likes of Lee Carsley, Kieran McKenna and Damien Duff have all been linked with the job, too, as the Scottish Premiership champions look to nail their appointment and claw back the deficit on Hearts in the title race.

Celtic willing to offer Hayen big wages

According to Voetbal Nieuws [via Sport Witness], Celtic will try to “lure” Hayen away from Brugge with a high salary, and have knocked on his door. The Hoops are trying to use “money, prestige, and the lure of Glasgow” to bring him to Parkhead, with his current club hesitant to allow him to leave without receiving plenty of compensation.

It is easy to see why Hayen is a leading contender to be Celtic’s next manager, with the Belgian averaging 2.03 points per game across 80 matches in charge of Brugge. He also won the league title with them in 2023/24, and the Belgian Cup last season, showing that the Hoops would be bringing in a manager who knows how to win trophies.

Hayen’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation isn’t dissimilar to Rodgers’ 4-3-3 system, meaning Celtic’s players shouldn’t find it too difficult to make the adjustment, and at 45, he is still a young manager who would bring vibrancy to Parkhead.

Postecoglou 2.0: Celtic looking at hiring "box-office" McKenna alternative

With Ange Postecoglou unlikely to return to Celtic, should the Hoops appoint a “box office” title-winning manager instead of Kieran McKenna?

By
Ben Gray

Nov 1, 2025

There may be a temptation to give O’Neill the job until the end of the season, but if Hayen makes himself available very soon, he should be looked at as a great option.

Celtic are looking at hiring "box-office" alternative to Nicky Hayen

India’s captain said she always had belief in her team even when things got tough in the World Cup

Sruthi Ravindranath03-Nov-2025

Harmanpreet Kaur sprints off after taking the final catch of the tournament•ICC/Getty Images

If the semi-final win against Australia was emotional – captain Harmanpreet Kaur was unable to hold back tears in the dugout – the day India finally lifted their first-ever Women’s World Cup was filled with nothing but smiles. A beaming Harmanpreet walked into the press conference room, bringing the trophy along. The emotion this time was of a different kind, like the buzz of a dream realised. And the one word she kept returning to was “self-belief”.One of the first questions, inevitably, was about the feeling of finally touching a trophy that had long eluded India.”I’m just trying to express what I’m feeling. I’m numb, I’m not able to understand,” Harmanpreet said. “So, it’s just that there were ups and downs, but the team had self-belief. I’ve been saying this since day one. We weren’t looking to the left or right. We were only looking at our main end goal.Related

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“We felt we could win from the first ball itself because the way our team was playing in the last three games, a lot of things changed for us, especially our self-belief. We have played good cricket for a long time. We knew what we could do as a team. We knew there would be tough conditions for batting, but credit goes to Smriti [Mandhana] and Shafali [Verma]; they handled the first 10 overs very well.”There was laughter, too. Harmanpreet’s luck with the toss hadn’t improved all tournament – she won one in nine attempts – and she lost it again on the day of the final. “From the first ball itself, I had the belief that it doesn’t matter – because we don’t normally win the toss – we knew we had to bat first,” she said, smiling.There was belief, but there were also nerves. Laura Wolvaardt’s century had kept South Africa in the chase before her dismissal in the 42nd over finally swung momentum India’s way.”Our aim was simple. We knew that if we thought of a big target, we would come under pressure,” Harmanpreet said. “The main thing was to keep batting and keep playing our game. We tried to score 300 runs on the board; we were one run short. But after that, I think we came onto the field as a strong unit. Whenever we needed it, we got a breakthrough. It was a very good match.”It seems easy to say now, but there was a lot of tension in between when they were batting – like Laura, she was not giving a chance. But at the end of the day, I’m feeling great. I don’t know how to express it, but I’m just trying to tell you what I’m feeling.”After the final wicket fell – fittingly, with Harmanpreet taking the catch – India took a victory lap around a roaring DY Patil Stadium. At one point, former India players Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Anjum Chopra joined the team and were handed the trophy. Goswami was in tears as she embraced Harmanpreet and a few other team-mates in the middle.Pratika Rawal gets off her wheelchair to celebrate with her team-mates•ICC/Getty Images

“Jhulan was my biggest support,” Harmanpreet said, when asked what it meant to share that moment with former players. “When I joined the team, she was leading it. She always supported me in my early days when I was very raw and didn’t know much about cricket. Anjum , too. Both of them have been a great support for me. I’m very grateful that I got to share a special moment with them. It was a very emotional moment. I think we all were waiting for this. Finally, we were able to touch this trophy.”The campaign itself had been a deeply emotional one. Harmanpreet revealed how injuries to Yastika Bhatia and Pratika Rawal had left the dressing room in tears.”When she [Pratika] got injured, everybody was crying…yet, everybody was so positive. Everyone was thinking that our end goal was this trophy. We had to keep working hard day and night. And this is the result.”India’s journey through the tournament was far from smooth. Two early wins were followed by three straight losses – to South Africa, Australia and England – before a recovery against New Zealand sealed their semi-final berth. Beating Australia in the semi-final was the breakthrough they needed.”The last month has been very interesting,” Harmanpreet said. “It’s very rare that things don’t go according to your plan, and yet you stay so positive. After that day [the loss against England], a lot changed for us. Every time, we cannot go on repeating the same things. We had to come with a strong mind.”That defeat to England proved transformative. The squad turned inward, working on visualisation and meditation sessions to refocus.”That night changed a lot for us,” she added. “It had an impact on everyone. We were more prepared for the World Cup. We started visualisation and meditation. That showed we were here for something, and this time we had to do it.”There have been parallels drawn between this and India’s men’s World Cup win in 1983. For a side that had reached finals and semi-finals but always fallen just short, Harmanpreet saw this win as the long-awaited shift Indian women’s cricket.DY Patil Stadium was a sea of blue on Sunday•ICC/Getty Images

“We have been talking about this for many years – we’ve been playing good cricket, but we had to win one big tournament. Without that, we couldn’t talk about change…we were waiting badly for this moment, and today we got a chance to live it. I don’t know how to express it, but I’m so happy and so proud of this team.”When the final wicket fell, Harmanpreet sprinted across the field, embracing each of her team-mates in celebration. But the longest hug was reserved for Smriti Mandhana, her partner across 106 ODIs.”I’ve played many World Cups with her [Mandhana]. Every time we lost, we went home heartbroken and stayed quiet for a few days. When we returned, we always said, ‘we have to start again from ball one’. It was heartbreaking because we played so many World Cups – reaching finals, semi-finals, and sometimes not even that far. We were always thinking, when will we break this?”The 39,555-strong Navi Mumbai crowd stayed through a two-hour rain delay, unrelenting in their chants for the home side. The DY Patil Stadium, which had hosted several women’s international and WPL fixtures, and long seen as the home of women’s cricket in India, once again proved a lucky venue. Harmanpreet also shared an anecdote about how the side felt relieved when the venue had changed from Bengaluru to Navi Mumbai in August.”As soon as we got to know that our venue had been changed to DY Patil Stadium, we all got so happy because we’ve always played good cricket there. We said, ‘We’ve come home now, and we’ll start fresh.’ We didn’t want to look back at previous World Cups, we left them there. The new World Cup had just started.”Celebrations stretched late into the night. After the victory lap and presentations, the team stayed on the ground with friends and family before heading to their hotel with a procession.”We’ve been waiting for this moment. The celebration will go on all night. And then let’s see what BCCI is planning for us,” Harmanpreet quipped.

Bangladesh’s spinners wrested back control from Ireland at stumps on the first day of the Sylhet Test. The visitors lost their way after a strong first session, ending the day on 270 for 8. Mehidy Hasan Miraz took three wickets while Hasan Murad, the debutant left-arm spinner, picked up two wickets.Ireland started losing their way in the middle session as they went from 96 for 1 to 184 for 4. Four more fell in the last session as they ended the first day in a disappointing note. Paul Stirling and debutant Cade Carmichael had given Ireland a bright start with a 96-run second-wicket stand. Stirling, opening for the second time in his career, made 60, with a dominant display through square on the off-side. He struck seven of his nine boundaries through that region.The 22-year-old Carmichael was composed in his first day of Test cricket, batting confidently in his 59. Stirling and Carmichael struck fifties while Curtis Campher and Lorcan Tucker got out in the forties. Towards the end of the day, the 19-year-old debutant Jordan Neill impressed with his drives in his unbeaten 30.Bangladesh had to wait for about half an hour in the last session to get their first breakthrough. But once they had removed Campher, who struck six boundaries including two sixes in his 94-ball 44, Bangladesh made more headways into the Ireland innings.Campher, who was caught at slip, was Murad’s first Test wicket. It was followed by the wicket of Tucker, who was beaten by Murad’s flight and stumped for 41 off 80 balls. Tucker was looking good and hit three fours and two sixes, but he got sucked into an aggressive false shot by Murad. Mehidy got the big wicket of Andy McBrine, also stumped, for five.Ireland however fought back with the eighth wicket stand between Neill and Barry McCarthy, who added 48 runs till the end of the day. Neill made 30 with three fours and a six before falling on the last ball of the day.Bangladesh could have had a much better start to the day, had they held on to three chances in successive overs in the morning. Stirling was dropped twice, at slip and gully, while Taijul Islam spilled Carmichael’s chance at short square-leg. All of this happened betwen overs 4 and 7.Already a wicket down and with Bangladesh creating regular chances, Stirling and Carmichael rode out the difficult period. They found regular boundaries, particularly Stirling cracking numerous hits through backward point. Carmichael was circumspect during the first session, hitting three boundaries.Ireland started losing their way in the middle session. Nahid Rana removed the well-set Stirling in the first over after lunch, getting caught at second slip. Mehidy Hasan Miraz trapped Harry Tector lbw for one in the next over, before Carmichael reached his fifty off 110 balls. Miraz however removed him for 59. Najmul Hossain Shanto then dropped Lorcan Tucker on 11 late in the second session.

For the first five years, Rohit struggled to cement his place in the side. For the next five, he was among the finest batters in the world

Sidharth Monga08-May-20252:16

Kumble: Straight from the heart, that’s Rohit Sharma

The last act of Rohit Sharma the Test batter and captain will remain sitting out of the Sydney Test. The writing had been on the wall from the time he conceded he didn’t consider himself good enough – or in good enough form – to be one of the five best Test batters in the country. It is a move highly uncharacteristic of an elite cricketer. They get there in the first place by living in denial of any limitation. A comeback from there is unheard of. If at all, it had to come through substantial evidence of a return to form in domestic cricket.There were indications that Rohit didn’t see the end coming. In a recent interview with former Australia captain Michael Clarke, he said he looked forward to leading the attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj in England. It is unfortunate that the eventual announcement of retirement was a summary, likely a reaction to the breaking of news that the selectors had officially communicated to the BCCI that they were ready to name a new captain.How you choose to end your career, how you convey to the world that you will no longer wear the cap you worked so hard for and cherished, is a deeply personal thing. Ideally, your hand should never be forced on that. Not in the middle of the IPL when your team is alive in the competition.Related

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Some might say this imperfect end is in nice symmetry with an imperfect career. A career whose start was stalled for three years because minutes before the toss in what was supposed to be his debut Test, he stepped on a team-mate’s foot when going for a rocketball and injured himself.Rohit might have found it tough to get in, but once he was in, selectors and team managements moved heaven and earth to accommodate him. It was no favour to him, of course. They saw a high ceiling in him, which, if realised, would help India win more games. Higher than Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, one of whom would be left out for him.Outside the two centuries in his debut series against West Indies, Rohit wasn’t really able to vindicate the decision-makers for five years. In the 27 Tests that he played in this period, he averaged 39.62 when the average top-six batter in matches that he played went at 38.02. A team playing just five specialist batters wanted someone more than just average. That Rohit was strictly average confounded everyone, fans and outside observers included.Rohit Sharma’s last act as Test captain was dropping himself•Getty ImagesWhen thrown another – final, most likely – lifeline, something clicked for Rohit. Opening the innings brought out the best in him. For the next five years and a bit, Rohit was India’s best Test batter, and among the finest in the world. Only three batters in the world scored more hundreds than him in this period; none of them opened the innings.In this period, Rohit averaged 50.03 when the average top-six batter in Tests that he played went at 41.97. These were the returns everybody hoped for when making way for him. The 2021 tour of England was his absolute peak. He played 866 balls, and left alone 182 of them. He didn’t score off 680 balls, about as many balls as he had ever faced in a series previously.England 2021 was a perfect mix of skill, endurance and discipline in consistently challenging conditions. While he could never repeat this kind of feat of endurance, Rohit dominated bowlers in this period, even on treacherous turners in India. When he scored runs, he did so quickly, giving the bowlers time to win matches. All his 12 Test hundreds resulted in a win. No one has scored these many hundreds all in a win. Nearly 70% of his Test runs came in wins.When the other batters of his age group started to dip, when the spinners started to get on, Rohit the batter played a big role in sustaining India’s unbeaten series streak at home. In this dominant period, Rohit averaged 54.43 at home when the average top-six batter managed only 34.47 in these Tests. At home he was like Virender Sehwag – incidentally the only Indian to have hit more Test sixes than Rohit’s 88 – but in 2021 he also showed the promise of being able to bat like Rahul Dravid when away.Rohit Sharma hit 88 sixes in Test cricket. Only Virender Sehwag hit more for India•BCCIAlas, it was too good to last. His body didn’t cooperate. He was able to play just 32 of the 47 Tests India played during his best years. The itch was there now that he had tasted success. He made what seemed like an improbable return to fitness and spent a week locked up in a flat just to be able to play two Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy of 2020-21.As a leader, Rohit put a tense dressing room at ease. As a captain on the field, he didn’t fiddle with the winning formula he inherited. If anything, he tried to attack even more, but as his own game fell off a cliff, so did India’s fortunes. In his last eight Tests, Rohit averaged a little under 11. When he missed one Test and his replacement opener did well, he didn’t do what he would have done what elite players do: take back that spot. First signs perhaps that he knew his game was not elite anymore.Many coaches and captains tell their players that when all is said and done, people don’t instinctively remember your stats or trophies, but how you made them feel. It might be a little truer in Rohit’s case than in some others. For the first five years of his Test career, Rohit divided opinion: his backers felt he didn’t get enough consecutive chances, others saw injustice for Pujara and Rahane.What made us forget that was the next five years and a bit. During that period, Rohit made us feel batting was easier than it actually was, in arguably the toughest era for batting. Even when he was actually grinding out ugly runs in England. It felt like it was late morning on a late February Sunday when he batted. That everything was pleasant. That there was time at hand. Just like that late February idyll, there could have been more of it.

From 25 for 3, James Rew and Tom Abell set a new Somerset record for the fourth wicket

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay29-Jul-2025Somerset 338 for 4 (Rew 162*, Abell 156, Abbas 3-49) vs Nottinghamshire Centuries from James Rew and Tom Abell in a county record partnership enabled Somerset to take an opening-day advantage over Nottinghamshire in the clash between second and third in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship, closing on 338 for four.Rew (162 not out) and Abell, who fell for a career-best 156 moments before the close, added 313 in 81 overs, overtaking the 310 shared by Peter Denning and Ian Botham against Gloucestershire at Taunton in 1980 as Somerset’s biggest fourth-wicket stand.It was all the more impressive for Somerset having been two wickets down in three overs without a run on the board when Rew walked to the crease, and 25 for 3 when he was joined by Abell.Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas – who reached the milestone of 800 first-class victims – took all three wickets in a difficult first hour for the visitors after losing the toss but they were the only successes for the Nottinghamshire attack until the final minutes of the day.Rew earned a call-up to the England squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May after two centuries in the first month of the season. The 21-year-old did not make the cut on that occasion but senior international recognition must surely come in time.Nottinghamshire began this round of matches – the 11th of 14 – a point behind leaders and defending champions Surrey, with Somerset third after their victory over Durham last week.Somerset’s painful beginning to the day saw Abbas remove Lewis Gregory and Tom Lammonby in his first and second overs, the captain leg before offering no shot to a delivery he clearly judged would slide harmlessly past his off stump before Lammonby, with only defensive intent, nicked to second slip.Under heavy cloud cover after a damp early morning, conditions looked ideal for the veteran Abbas. Haseeb Hameed, the Nottinghamshire captain, duly gave him an extended spell while the Kookaburra ball retained its hardness.He was rewarded again, finding the outside edge of Josh Davey’s straight bat. With this dismissal, Abbas totalled 800 first-class wickets, 284 of them in the English county game.Somerset were in some trouble, but Rew had already shown a glimpse of his class when he drove Abbas to the cover boundary and pulled him for four in the same over with two high-quality strokes. More would follow.As batting became easier, Abell began to look as assured as his partner, the two adding 65 in what remained of the opening session, which proved to be a platform from which they dominated the afternoon.Rew, who reached 51 from 75 balls with his first scoring shot of the afternoon, lofting left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White clear of the straight boundary in front of the currently shrouded pavilion, went to a century – his third of the season – from 138, adding two more sixes to the shorter side of the playing area off Calvin Harrison, the leg spinner. Other than an edge off Patterson-White on 92, the ball looping out of even the tall Harrison’s reach at slip, he had looked in complete control.By tea, Abell having completed his first hundred of the year, Somerset had added 137 for no loss to be 227 for 3 and Nottinghamshire, though there had been signs of turn, needed some inspiration.Thereafter, Rew’s touch seemed a little less sure, both batters comparatively quiet as the Nottinghamshire spinners gained some control.They attacked the second new ball with some success, although Rew, cutting vigorously, survived a half-chance to second slip off Brett Hutton on 148 before going to 150 from 239 balls.Abell in turn reached 151 from 245 balls, setting the partnership record with two into the offside off Dillon Pennington, before falling to a top-edged pull off the same bowler, after which only two more deliveries were possible before failing light forced the players off 15 balls before the scheduled close.

The board are confident in a bumper profit next year on the back of an Ashes summer but the game faces significant challenges

Alex Malcolm30-Oct-2025Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has warned of the “peril” of failing to pay Australia’s top men’s players adequately in the coming years to ward off franchise suitors amid a raft of “uncomfortable” financial cuts in a year CA announced a AUD$11.3 million deficit.CA held their annual general meeting at their Melbourne headquarters on Thursday to discuss the 2024-25 financial year results with stakeholders from around the country.Greenberg and CA chair Mike Baird stressed the loss was long forecast, despite last season’s Border-Gavaskar series, and will be made up for in 2025-26 with India’s men’s white-ball tour of Australia and the home Ashes set to make it one of the most profitable years in CA’s history.Related

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But there were tensions voiced at the AGM, significantly from Cricket Victoria chair Ross Hepburn, with CA having made several financial cuts this year including a round of internal redundancies. CA also announced it would no longer fund Indoor Cricket national teams and domestic championships. Other parts of the business, including high performance pathways, have been subject to cost saving discussions at a recent meeting in Brisbane.The possible introduction of private investment into the BBL also looms large. Greenberg added that the risk of losing Australia’s best male players to franchise cricket full-time was a situation they were very aware of amid their financial plans.”It’s a big part of our decisions,” Greenberg told reporters on Thursday. “There’s no secret that every sports league in the world has one significant thing in common, they have the best players playing in those leagues. And so the moment we take for granted that our Australian players will play in our leagues or play for their teams is at our peril.”We can’t stand still. We’ve got to keep an eye on what’s happening. Of course, we want to protect everything that’s sacrosanct about what’s been great about Australian cricket over generations, but we’ve got to have an eye to the future.”And we’re not talking about in six months or 12 months. We’re talking about long-term generational change, and it’s incumbent on us as leaders of the sport to make sure we explore all of those things, and that will get uncomfortable for people, and it will challenge people.”Paving the way to pay Australia’s top male players more money whilst removing funding from some areas, including the highly popular and globally successful Indoor Cricket community, has certainly raised eyebrows among the states. But Greenberg said there wasn’t a bottomless pit of money.”Of course, we would love to fund everyone and everything, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure we put our money in the right places at the right times,” Greenberg said. “We’ll always be looking to help community groups or indoor cricket and whatever other types of formats we can but at the end of the day, we can’t give out what we don’t have.”Greenberg is in a unique position given he was the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association prior to taking the CEO role at CA and was a key architect in the 2023 pay deal between CA and the players that is set to run until 2028.However, many involved in the deal and within the high performance arm of Australian cricket believe that MOU is already redundant given how quickly the franchise landscape has moved in recent years. The Australia men’s set-up has already been managing the schedules of key players for several years to allow them to play in the IPL and some other leagues while missing bilateral series for Australia.Unlike other Test playing nations they have yet to lose a player to franchise cricket full-time but Greenberg is aware of the threat.”It’s the challenge that sits right in front of us,” Greenberg said. “We’ve got to continue to make opportunities for them to be inside the Australian team environment…and I can tell you that they all want to be there. They all want to win competitions. They all want to compete for the Ashes. They want to win a World Cup.”But we can’t take that for granted. We can’t sit there and expect that the next generation will do exactly the same thing. It’s on us to work really hard to make those environments and to pay them appropriately, to make sure that those things thrive in the future, and us sitting around just hoping that will happen will fail spectacularly, which is why the work that we’re doing now and the conversations we’re having are important long term.”Baird also underscored that CA is expecting a large profit next year based off sell-out crowds and significant broadcast revenues from the ongoing India white-ball tour and the Ashes, which should alleviate concerns about the finances of the game in the short-term.”Next year we are going to have a record year in cricket,” Baird said. “You’re going to see the most attendance, the most viewership, the most sponsorship. It is undoubtedly going to be the biggest year that cricket has ever seen.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Cruzeiro já começou a se planejar para a sequência da temporada. Após sondar Kaio Jorge e Matheus Henrique, a bola da vez na Toca da Raposa é o zagueiro Yerry Mina, que jogou a última temporada pelo Cagliari.

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Na Itália, ajudou o time se salvar do rebaixamento. Até o fim de semana, o clube terá uma reunião com o atleta. Aos 29 anos, Mina ainda tem mercado na Europa e tem desejo de permanecer no Velho Continente.

➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

Boa relação com Mattos pode ser diferencial para o Cruzeiro

Com a concorrência do futebol europeu e de mais de cinco clubes brasileiros, o Cruzeiro tem em Alexandre Mattos um trunfo. Atual CEO do clube, o dirigente foi o responsável pela contratação de Mina para o Palmeiras, em 2016.

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Mesmo se não for Mina, a Raposa irá contratar mais um zagueiro, com condições de ser titular da equipe, que tem Zé Ivaldo e João Marcelo como titulares. No futebol europeu, o zagueiro ainda atuou por Barcelona, Fiorentina, Everton e, agora, no Cagliari.

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Alexandre MattosCruzeiroFutebol NacionalMina

He was rewarded for being aggressive yet conventional in a match-turning spell against SRH

Matt Roller17-Apr-20251:02

How Jacks’ part-time offspin found success

The old art of orthodox right-arm offspin is on its deathbed in the IPL. R Ashwin, once its standard-bearer, was dropped by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) this week after spending six games predominantly bowling carrom balls, and Washington Sundar can hardly get a game for Gujarat Titans (GT). Sunil Narine and Maheesh Theekshana? They are better categorised as mystery spinners. Glenn Maxwell is still going, but tends to spear in darts rather than looking to turn the ball.But on Thursday night at the Wankhede, an improbable saviour emerged. Will Jacks’ spell of 2 for 14 from three overs ensured that Mumbai Indians (MI) hardly missed the legspin of Karn Sharma when he went off injured, and put the brakes on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) just as they looked to accelerate. Perhaps there is a pulse after all: reports of offspin’s demise in the T20 format were an exaggeration.Harbhajan Singh is one of the all-time great offspinners, and a four-time IPL champion. On the eve of this season, he bemoaned what he perceives to be the defensive approach of the modern offspinner: “They are scared of getting hit for sixes… [They] are more interested in conceding less runs than taking wickets. The reason for specialist offspinners disappearing is this mindset.”Related

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Yet Jacks is unlike most occasional spinners in that he actively looks to turn the ball: he has a classical action, tries to get flight and dip, and at 6ft 2in, his height unlocks extra bounce. He only bowls an average of one over per match in T20s, but Surrey have used him as a frontline spinner in the County Championship and he even has a Test-match six-for to his name.Jacks came into this game sweating on his place, after a quiet start to the season with his new franchise. But he was told at training on Wednesday that he should expect to bowl early on against SRH’s left-handed top three: he came on for the seventh over, with Abhishek Sharma – whom he had dropped first ball at slip – and Travis Head riding their luck early on.At last year’s T20 World Cup, England threw Jacks the ball for the second over against Australia in Barbados, and he disappeared for 22 runs as Head ruthlessly targeted a short square boundary, helped by a stiff crosswind. His third ball, tossed up and crunched back down the ground, must have brought back bad memories: “We’ve had a few good battles,” Jacks said after Thursday’s match, grimacing.But it proved to be the only boundary that he conceded, and his second over featured the ball of the night: a slow, flighted offbreak which had Ishan Kishan charging down the pitch and spun sharply – 5.4 degrees – to beat his outside edge. By the time that Ryan Rickelton had whipped the bails off, Jacks was halfway towards Hardik Pandya at mid-off in celebration.0:55

Bangar: Hardik was spot-on with his captaincy

Hardik’s decision to bring Jacks back ahead of his frontline overseas spinner, Mitchell Santner, was immediately vindicated at the start of his third over: Head charged down and picked out long-off, bringing an uncharacteristically sluggish innings to a tame end. Jacks then proved that he can bowl to right-hand batters too, with five precious dots (and a wide) to Heinrich Klaasen.”If you bowl tentatively to people like that, it’s only going to end one way,” Jacks said. “Originally, I thought I was going to bowl in the powerplay; I didn’t, so I had a bit more protection. I knew I could bowl with confidence and use my skills: I’m a tall bowler, I get good turn and bounce, so that’s what I was trying to do.”Jacks is an unlikely candidate to keep the right-arm offspinner relevant, but his words must be heartening for Harbhajan to hear. “Sometimes, I feel like I can be too defensive instead of using what I’m good at,” he said. “It’s very easy to focus on the batters, but you’ve got to remember that you have your skill as well – and you’re there to get them out.”I knew there was going to be a bit of spin assistance, so as long as I wasn’t floating the ball up there and bowling aggressively… That’s what I was trying to do, looking to get them out. As an offspinner to two left-handers, I’m always looking to take wickets and be aggressive: I know they’re always going to come after me as well, being the sixth bowler.”Jacks is a quick offspinner, and bowled between 90.7-100.9kph throughout his spell. But his combination of bounce, drop and turn was match-turning. “He came up against our three left-handers,” Daniel Vettori, the SRH head coach, said. “All those batsmen said it was hard to get down [the pitch] to him, and when he did drop short, it sat in the wicket and was difficult to hit.”His runs with the bat – 36 off 26 from No. 3, after an early reprieve from Head at cover – ensured that he will have plenty more opportunities to bowl his offbreaks this season. In doing so, he has the chance to prove that there is still a role for his secondary skill in this league – and this format.

Former Spain manager Javier Clemente has sent a warning to Lamine Yamal, after the recent controversy surrounding the wonderkid's withdrawal from La Roja's squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Clemente added to the furore by questioning the player's personal life, saying he "won't last long" in the game if he "does not behave correctly".

Clemente questions Yamal's personal life

Yamal's runaway success in his career thus far has hit a few roadblocks for the first time over the past few months. In the summer, unsavoury reports about the winger's 18th birthday party generated a slew of headlines. Over the past few weeks, he has been at the centre of an ongoing dispute between Barcelona and the RFEF over his availability for the national side in light of a persistent groin injury. That issue came to a head on Monday, when the Spanish federation announced Yamal had undergone an "invasive procedure" to remedy the issue without any prior warning from La Blaugrana. 

Clemente, who managed La Roja between 1992 and 1998 leading the side to three major international tournaments, focussed on Yamal's personal life when speaking to Spanish radio show 'Què T'hi Jugues'. The veteran coach suggested that if the 18-year-old does not focus on his football, he will start to see declining returns on the field. 

AdvertisementAFPYamal told to behave correctly

Clemente said: "As a player he is very good, but his problem is that if in his personal life he does not behave correctly as an athlete, he will not last long. That is clear. They are not going to allow it.

"The opponents already know how they play, they know how to see him and they know that he is one of the players who should not be allowed to play because he has such quality that he can do many things. He will have very special markings and surveillance."

While the former Betis and Atletico Madrid boss said Yamal is capable of "brilliant things", he suggested that the added scrutiny of the opposition means "he is not going to be as attractive as what we have seen so far." 

Clemente refuses to add to Barcelona and RFEF feud

While he had stern words for Yamal, Clemente refused to add additional fuel to the fire surrounding the dispute between the player's club and the national team. He instead suggested that the public dispute should instead be dealt with in private. 

When asked for his opinion on the spat he said it was "cockfighting", before adding: "I have not lived it and I will not live it because I have another concept of how to do things. What is true is that it has to be handled in a different way. Neither Barça has to face the Federation, nor the Federation Barça. Nor the coach. You have to carry that inside."

He went to say that "Barcelona is a very important club for the national team". Luis de la Fuente's squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Turkiye features four other players from La Blaugrana: Pau Cubarsi, Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez. 

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AFPYamal under increasing scrutiny

Clemente's comments, while not directly pertaining to the ongoing injury saga, are further evidence that Yamal is entering a different part of his career. Having now played 143 senior games for both club and country, he is being viewed through the lens of a seasoned professional, despite still being a teenager. 

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has said that the youngster has improved his discipline in light of his injury woes. Whether those comments were made to take heat off his player or they were a genuine assessment remains to be seen. 

No timeline has been given for Yamal's return following his operation, however, if he is quickly brought back into the Barcelona side there will be renewed questions over his commitment to the national side. Given the ferocity with which the Spanish media can go after players, the next few months will be a strong test of the player's mentality. 

De La Fuente has called up Ray Vallecano forward Jorge de Frutos in the 18-year-old's absence. La Roja are currently in Georgia ahead of their tie on November 15. They will then return to Seville to face Turkiye on November 18. 

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