تحدث بيب جوارديولا مدرب مانشستر سيتي في مؤتمر صحفي عن مباراة سندرلاند على ملعب الاتحاد غداً في الدوري الانجليزي الممتاز.

وقال جوارديولا في تصريحات نشرتها “سيتي إكسترا” عن فوز فريقه ضد فولهام بخمسة أهداف لأربعة: “لقد نسينا الأمر، تعلمنا درسًا جيدًا ونأمل ذلك لكننا نسيناه”.

وأضاف عن مواجهة سندرلاند: “إنهم يستحقون هذا المركز الذي يحتلونه بعد 14 مباراة في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز ضد هؤلاء الخصوم، أن يكونوا في هذا الوضع، إنهم يستحقون ذلك”.

أقرأ أيضاً.. يايا توريه يفتح النار مجددًا على جوارديولا: ليس رجلاً بل ثعبان!

وواصل: “لا أجد كلمات كافية للتعبير عما عشته في مانشستر سيتي، لحظات جيدة في الغالب ولحظات سيئة أيضاً، والأشخاص الرائعون الذين التقيت بهم هنا، لقد كانت رحلة استثنائية، كانت في قمة الروعة”.

وتابع: “بالطبع لا أحب أن أستقبل ستة أهداف في مباراتين ولكن في نفس الوقت نحن الفريق الذي سجل أكبر عدد من الأهداف وعلينا أن نبني على ذلك”.

وسئل جوارديولا عن قلة فرص المشاركة التي يحصل عليها ريان آيت نوري: “لقد لعب في كأس العالم للأندية وكان رائعاً، لعب المباراة الأولى ضد وولفرهامبتون، والثانية ضد توتنهام وبعدها أصيب، وبعد ذلك جاء نيكو أوريلي، وقدم أداء رائعًا وهذا هو السبب، لا أكثر من ذلك، نحن سعداء جداً بريان آيت نوري، وأعلم أنه سيساعدنا، لقد انضم إلينا منذ فترة طويلة وهو متمرس في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، ويجيد اللعب في مركز الجناح والوسط، ويستطيع اللعب في مراكز مختلفة لكن الآن، نيكو يقدم أداء رائع وهذا هو السبب الوحيد”.

وأكد جوارديولا أن رودري لن يكون متاحاً لمواجهة مانشستر سيتي ضد سندرلاند: “حالته تتحسن، لا أعرف كم من الوقت سيغيب، لكنه في مرحلة تجعله جاهزًا للعب”.

وعاد جوارديولا للحديث عن فوز مانشستر سيتي بخمسة أهداف لأربعة ضد فولهام: “لو كنت جالساً في المنزل أشاهد المباراة لما غيرت المباراة، أنا متأكد من أن القنوات التلفزيونية سعيدة، إذا كانوا يراعونني أنا وماركو سيلفا، فإنه يجب أن يعطوني زجاجة نبيذ، أنا لا أمزح، لا بد أن القنوات التلفزيونية سعيدة”.

وقال بيب عن كثرة ركض لاعبي مانشستر سيتي: “هذا ليس جيداً، عندما تلعب بشكل أفضل، تركض أقل، علينا أن نركض كثيراً لكنهم يتمتعون بروح معنوية عالية وهذه نقطة جيدة لأن ما حدث الموسم الماضي اننا لم نركض، لم يكن المستوى جيدًا طوال الوقت”.

وأشاد بيب بمدرب تشيلسي إنزو ماريسكا: “إنزو ماريسكا أحد أفضل المدربين في العالم، العمل الذي قام به مع تشيلسي لا يحصل على تقديره الكافي، كأس العالم للأندية ودوري المؤتمر والتأهل لدوري أبطال أوروبا، كل ذلك في غاية الصعوبة مع فريق شاب وكيف يقوم بتطوير اللاعبين، انه استثنائي، وذهب إلى إيلاند رود لمواجهة ليدز وانظروا ما حدث، الأمر صعب جداً”.

واختتم بيب عن مرشحيه للفوز بكأس العالم: “أتمنى أن تكون إنجلترا هناك، لا أريد أن أتظاهر باللطف لكنني هنا منذ سنوات عديدة وبصفتي جزءا من هذا البلد، أتمنى أن يتخذ توماس توخيل وفريقه الخطوة الأخيرة ويحققون اللقب”.

Bangladesh have added Shamim Hossain to the squad for the third T20I against Ireland, to be played on Tuesday.The move came after captain Litton Das had criticised the selectors for leaving Shamim out of the squad for the series, saying that neither he nor coach Phil Simmons had been informed about it. Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said last Friday that Shamim was being dropped to give Mahidul Islam Ankon a run in the middle order.”I think it would have been better if [Shamim] was in the team. But this is not my call, [it is] totally the selectors’ call,” Litton, known to be a mild-mannered man, had said before the first T20I. “I don’t know why, but the selector dropped Shamim without giving us notice. I have known that a captain would know which player would be in the team, and which player would be out of the team. I don’t see any reason behind Shamim getting dropped. It would have been better if he was in the team.”Ashraf countered Litton later the same day, saying that he didn’t need the captain’s permission to select or not select a player, though there has clearly been a change of heart now.The relationship between the two has reportedly been frosty since Ashraf dropped Litton during the ODI series against Sri Lanka last year.For the record, Shamim had recorded scores of 0, 0, 1 and 1 in his last four T20Is.The T20I series is level at 1-1 going into the decider.

Bangladesh squad for third T20I against Ireland

Litton Das (capt, wk), Saif Hassan (vice-capt), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mahidul Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shamim Hossain

The offspinner will start his season by captaining New South Wales for the first time in what will just be the second occasion he has led in his first-class career

Andrew McGlashan01-Oct-20250:52

What Will Jacks offers the England Ashes squad

Nathan Lyon has endorsed the value of always playing a spinner in Australian conditions amid a growing sense that England may opt to go without a frontline option at stages during the upcoming Ashes.While it falls into the category of unsurprising assessments from Lyon, as he himself remarked, it will nevertheless provide one of the interesting dynamics in the build-up to the first Test next month when England ponder the balance of their side having selected allrounder Will Jacks, who last played Test cricket in 2022, as the back-up to offspinner Shoaib Bashir.”You’re asking the spinner if they want to pick a spinner,” Lyon said with a smile. “For me, yeah, you’re picking a spinner in every side. Variation, it changes the whole tempo of the game. I think spinners can play a very effective role out here if their skill sets suit.”Related

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One of the factors England will be considering is how visiting spinners have so often struggled in Australia: since Lyon’s debut, those from overseas have averaged 62.09 compared to Lyon’s 31.08. However, the last time England were successful down under, in 2010-11, Graeme Swann played a vital role in a four-man attack”I grew up here. I understand and built my craft around playing on wickets that don’t spin,” Lyon said. “So, I’ve had to find a way to firstly survive but also create chances and build pressure along the way, and it’s something that I thoroughly enjoy doing, and I’ll keep doing that.”There is a little twist to Lyon’s current situation, though, in that he was left out of Australia’s most recent Test in Jamaica when they opted for an all-pace attack in the day-night encounter with a pink Dukes ball. They finished the game by skittling West Indies for 27 with Lyon’s replacement, Scott Boland, taking a hat-trick.It is a scenario highly unlikely to play out in Australia, as the selectors have already indicated, and while Lyon acknowledges the end result justified the move, he was adamant he could have played a role.”Disappointed that I wasn’t a part of that, but I understood the reasons behind it and at the end of the day, you look at it now, it’s a pretty good call and brave call,” Lyon said. “But if I’m going to miss a Test for anyone, it’s going to be Scott Boland, that’s for sure. I’m only disappointed because I believe my skill set can play a role in any conditions around the world and I kind of feel like I’ve proven that to be effective.”Nathan Lyon will start his season as New South Wales captain•Getty ImagesLyon, who sits on 562 Test wickets, one short of equaling Glenn McGrath’s haul as the second-most for Australia, will begin his Ashes preparations by captaining New South Wales for the first time against Western Australia in Perth having been named as Jack Edwards’ understudy while the allrounder is with Australia A in India. It is one of three Shield appearances Lyon expects to make before the first Test.It will be just the second first-class match Lyon has ever captained in, having previously done it once in the Sheffield Shield for South Australia in 2012, while he also captained a Prime Minister’s XI against England in 2018.”It’s a massive honour to captain the state that you were born in and obviously dreamt of playing cricket for,” he said. “So to get that call the other day was pretty humbling. I’ve never had any ambitions to captain any teams, especially professional teams. But Greg Mail [NSW chief performance officer] has come up to me and asked me whether I’d do it, and that he wanted me to do it… so it’s a short stint but I’m pretty happy with that.”

“He’s learning the craft, as we’re all learning. Some of us are a lot further on in our journey as professional cricketers, but they’re learning their craft. Not just him, but everyone around Australia. They’ve got to learn their style and be brave enough to back that and have faith in it”Nathan Lyon on Sam Konstas

Alongside Edwards, New South Wales are missing six other potential Shield players between Australia’s T20I side in New Zealand and the A team in India, but the side to face Western Australia will include Sam Konstas as he heads into a vital month in his bid to retain a place in the Test side.Konstas enters the season having scored 188 runs in the two four-day Australia A matches, including a century, but the selectors have long stated that it will be the first three Shield matches that prove key to their decisions.When Lyon was asked what he expected of Konstas over the next few weeks, he said “runs”, but also stressed that he was a player still developing his game.”Obviously he had a pretty successful tour over there [in India], but it’s great to have him back on the Shield side,” Lyon said. “He’s learning the craft, as we’re all learning. Some of us are a lot further on in our journey as professional cricketers, but they’re learning their craft. Not just him, but everyone around Australia. They’ve got to learn their style and be brave enough to back that and have faith in it.”

There was always something a little titillating about Broad’s best spells, a slightly guilty pleasure

Osman Samiuddin01-Aug-2023Most of us thought it would be Jimmy first, right? That made sense. Older, more miles in the legs, more grump in the soul. But the unexpectedness of Stuart Broad’s exit is a neat motif to his entire career in one sense, always not being what you thought he would be, or was becoming. And he may have emerged as teenaged prodigy but who could’ve expected Broad to build the career he has done while playing it entirely alongside the greatest fast bowler England has produced?Only a couple of days ago Ben Stokes went further and called James Anderson the greatest fast bowler to play the game. That’s a big call but when he is your weapon, it’s not a crazy call. At the least, Anderson is in those conversations. Nobody will call Broad the greatest fast bowler, though it is worth noting that in 2016, he – and not Anderson – was the first England Test fast bowler to be ranked No. 1 in the world since Steve Harmison in 2004.Anderson replaced him that year, which seemed not a correction but a bend towards a natural order. Anderson has since been back to that spot several times, most recently earlier this year; Broad has not.Related

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Which is just fine. Not all fast bowlers are – or must be – great. It’s enough for them to create a great spell or two which aren’t spells of great bowling so much as total life events, occasions you will remember forever but will never quite be able to make complete sense of (see: childbirth, weddings, funerals and the day Elon Musk took over Twitter); days when the world was a little tipsy and so life moved fast very slowly.A great spell or two, but with Broad we were spoilt. Entire mornings, afternoons and days lost entirely, unexpectedly and indisputably, to Broad, ones that he had conjured from scratch and, lucky us, let us in.There was always something a little titillating about his best spells, a slightly guilty pleasure. You knew you should be sitting stroking your chin at the cant of Anderson’s wrist and his reverse-reverse wobble, but all you wanted to do was to be an absolute lout watching Broad wreck stuff. Anderson satisfied the intellect, an arthouse spectacle scaled up for mass consumption like a Chris Nolan film. Broad, for all his evolution over the years, for all the roles he took on, for all his smarts, remained at heart, an out and out big-action banger, all breath-taking, set-piece stunts stitched together to make the movie.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhich is why, as tempting as it is to treat with due deference the sheer gargantuan nature of the headline numbers of his career – only four bowlers, one fast bowler, with more wickets, only one bowler with more Tests played – Broad’s best self will always live in his brief, sharp jags of anarchy into an otherwise perfectly civil day’s play.Like the two Test hat-tricks, the second of which he didn’t even realise he’d taken and the first of which (against India) came with bonus and massive DRS schadenfreude; his breakthrough at The Oval, four wickets in 21 balls; eight in 9.3 overs at his home ground; six in 7.3 overs in Durham; seven in 11 at Lord’s; the smallness of these numbers, the compression, speaks to the truer magnitude of his work. In them is a distinct mood: Broad, full lengths, nibbling away at an edge, nipping into a pad, smashing stumps, careening away in celebration, total upheaval in his trail.Is it sacrilege to say there was a little bit of Warne in Broad’s theatre around a delivery, enough that watching him was as compelling as the bowling itself, that a spell could be measured and experienced purely through his expressions? The arms flung in the air at repeated play-and-misses, the frowns and eyebrow shrugs and wry smiles, the wide-eyed disbelief and cupped-hand-over-mouth shock and, of course, the teapots. Broad’s last day will always be memorable for clapping Zak Crawley when he spilled a catch off his bowling, a sure sign that this was the end, of Broad, and, perhaps, of times.The most endearing was when, after beating a batter, or even being hit for a boundary, he would stop in his follow-through, fold one arm across the chest and hold his chin with the other, absorbing what had happened professorially. It was an unusual pose for the occupation, though in hindsight it works alongside a visualisation of one of his great early quotes, in a interview from 2010: “Tea just helps me fight”. Tea? For fighting?Which was your favourite Stuart Broad reaction?•ECB via Getty ImagesThere was always some game within the game, especially when there wasn’t, the bail-switching last week an absolute Broad classic. Is it the imagination or did umpires have to be the most switched-on bodies on the field when Broad was on one, turning him down, answering a hundred queries, humouring him, regularly being proved wrong by him, admonishing him. Parents will recognise and sympathise.After all of it, the walk back to the mark, with the intent, form and purpose of a self-important civil servant. Some days his knees pumped more on that walk back than in the run-up.He was not the first celebrappealer but there’s never been a better one and it captured something central in him. The sense of entitlement in dispensing with the need for the umpire’s adjudication that his critics loved to hate, but also the rakish hustle that his fans loved. Some of that manifested itself in a mid-career trait of wasting reviews while batting, prompting an irritated Mike Selvey to coin the L’Oreal referral (because he’s worth it).If there’s an absence of an appreciation so far of the nuts and bolts of his bowling, it is only because, 17 years from his international debut, what is not known about it? Once you have taken as many wickets as he has, it kind of stands as monument to the career by itself. Of course, he’s a giant, because you don’t get that many wickets otherwise.2:10

Broad: I wanted to finish playing at the very top

Some might argue he got that many because he played so many Tests, like it’s some sort of a caveat. Well one, taking 604 wickets is in no way an inevitable consequence of playing 167 Tests. No wicket comes easy in Tests. Two, he played as many as 167 Tests because he was good enough. And three, staying fit enough to play that many is a feat on its own. None of this was inevitable.The other thing is that once we’re slicing up that many wickets and Tests, of course there will be skews, to home conditions, to specific opponents, to bits of stats padding. That is inevitable. It applies to every player with a long career. All of that is what makes a career, it doesn’t take from it.And Broad’s has been as rich as it is long, sustained by a thirst for self-improvement. He was never still, forever learning, adapting, tinkering, experimenting, right up to the start of this, his final series. One of the by-products of that, and what sets him apart from Anderson perhaps, is the suspicion that, had he really wanted, he could still cut it amidst the helter skelter of white-ball cricket.The end came as a career had gone, with proof of his durability. When Alex Carey nicked behind, it was the fourth ball of Broad’s seventh over in that spell. At the end of day five. Of a five-Test series. In which he played every single game. In which he bowled nearly 26 more overs than any other bowler. During which he turned 37.That was overshadowed by the set-piece moment to sign-off, the last two wickets to seal an Ashes win, a wicket off his last ball and hugs with Jimmy at mid-off. It’s a shame there weren’t more wickets left because with two in 13 balls, one dropped catch and numerous plays and misses to balls he was shaping in and swinging away as much as ever, we all had that sense, one last time, that Stuart Broad is about to get on one and we best be there.

West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo has been dealt another injury blow ahead of their crunch clash with newly-promoted Leeds United on Friday, and one which will force the tactician to play around with his starting eleven yet again.

Nuno slammed after controversial West Ham line-up against Brentford

Nuno faced the wrath of critics after he named what was a bizarre starting eleven to play Brentford on Monday.

The Hammers, who fell to their fourth home league defeat of the season — an all-time club record at this stage of the campaign — deployed Olly Scarles and Kyle Walker-Peters on their opposite sides, with Tomas Soucek and Andy Irving chosen in midfield ahead of the more dynamic Soungoutou Magassa and Freddie Potts.

After Niclas Fullkrug’s thigh injury was confirmed by Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann, plenty of debate surrounded who would play the striker role against Brentford.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Despite an expectation that Nuno could hand Callum Marshall his first ever Premier League start against Brentford, or play Jarrod Bowen in that role as the England international has done before, West Ham’s boss instead opted for Lucas Paqueta as a makeshift number nine.

The Brazil international was sloppy in possession and often left isolated, with the experiment ultimately failing to pay off.

West Ham legend Tony Cottee was among the critics to blast Nuno’s “awful” team selection after their uninspired 2-0 defeat, but the former Nottingham Forest boss moved to defend his choices.

Now, as per Nuno himself, he’ll have to tinker with the team once more, with defender Konstantinos Mavropanos now joining Fullkrug and George Earthy on the treatment table.

West Ham dealt Mavropanos injury blow with Igor Julio in line for recall

Speaking to reporters before West Ham’s trip to Leeds, Nuno confirmed that Mavropanos will miss their imminent clash.

The Greek international was forced off against Brentford and unable to finish the 90 after coming on as a substitute, and Mavropanos will be absent from West Ham’s matchday squad for the trip to Elland Road as a result.

The 27-year-old’s unavailability means that summer signing Igor Julio, who was left out of the squad entirely to play Brentford, is surely in line for a recall.

According to reports, Julio has been impressing in West Ham training as he fights for a place in Nuno’s starting eleven, and the Hammers hardly have anything to lose by giving him a shot.

Both Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo really struggled to contain Brentford on a night to forget for the pair, with West Ham also conceding more league goals than any other side in the top flight so far.

Described as a strong one-v-one defender with “excellent” technique by members of the press, the Brazilian has also been called an “animal” by former Seagulls coach Inigo Calderón.

Julio hasn’t been given a chance to stake his claim in the squad this term, playing just one league minute so far, but the time could be now as Nuno looks for inspiration from somewhere.

Chelsea are now frontrunners in the race for an “incredible” new defender, with a January move on the cards, should they be willing to shell out at least €30m (£26m).

Blues looking to strengthen defence amid Richards criticism

The Blues rose to fifth in the Premier League table courtesy of a 3-0 victory against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, but Micah Richards wasn’t overly impressed with the overall performance.

During the second half, the pundit told BBC Sport: “Chelsea have been terrible at the back, they haven’t had a clean sheet in the Premier League since August. You can tell something isn’t right there, they’ve been making too many mistakes.

“Forest look better than they have been and they’ve had the clearest chances. But I worry for them that missing those chances could come back to bite them as Chelsea take the lead.”

Ultimately, the three points are the most important thing, but Enzo Maresca may be slightly concerned about his side allowing Forest to create so many opportunities, with the hosts squandering four big chances and hitting the woodwork.

According to a report from Caught Offside, Chelsea have now joined the race for a new defender, with it being revealed they are frontrunners to sign Strasbourg’s Guela Doue, who could be in line to join as soon as the January transfer window.

The French side are planning to cash-in for a fee north of €30m (£26m), given his importance to the side, which would be affordable for the Blues, and the fact both clubs are under BlueCo ownership could feasibly make everything easier to orchestrate.

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Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford are also keen on Doue, who is currently contracted until 2029, but the west Londoners are now in the strongest position to get a deal done.

"Incredible" Doue would be versatile option for Maresca

The 23-year-old, who is the brother of Paris Saint-Germain star Desire Doue, is capable of playing at both right-back and centre-back, meaning he would be a versatile option for Maresca, and the defender has displayed his ability to contribute on the front foot this season.

Indeed, the Angers-born ace has one goal and two assists to his name in four Ligue 1 outings, while also showcasing his passing ability and defensive talent on a regular basis over the course of the past year, placing in a high percentile on several metrics, compared to other full-backs.

Statistic

Average per 90

Clearances

4.95 (99th percentile)

Aerials won

1.97 (97th percentile)

Passes attempted

66.67 (90th percentile)

Progressive passes

6.32 (93rd percentile)

Having been lauded for his “incredible character” by Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, Doue could be a solid addition for Chelsea, who definitely need to improve their defensive depth, having been left light on options following injuries to Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile.

Aston Villa's Europa League clash with Young Boys was disrupted by ugly scenes on Thursday night at Villa Park. Donyell Malen was hit on the head by an object thrown from the crowd after scoring his side's opening goal of the match, while the game had to be halted for several minutes just before half-time after violence broke out in the stands among the away supporters.

Getty Images SportUgly scenes at Villa Park

Malen headed Aston Villa into the lead on 27 minutes but was pelted with missiles from the crowd as he celebrated his goal. One of objects hit Malen on the head and appeared to have caused a cut. The Dutch star bagged another goal just before half-time which brought more ugly scenes and caused the game to be stopped for several minutes as trouble broke out in the away end. Television footage showed seats being ripped up and fans clashing with police. Young Boys captain Loris Benito was seen running over to the stands to plead with fans to behave, with the game eventually restarting after a five-minute delay.

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Malen in great form for Villa

Malen's goals continue his fine form for Aston Villa. He now has six goals so far this season for Unai Emery's side, three of those have come in the Europa League and the other three in the Premier League. Emery had hailed Malen before the game, telling reporters: "Everything he's achieving now you can see it before in the training session. He is helping the team in the structure we have, tactically to do our tasks. He is very important for us."

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Getty Images SportAston Villa enjoying Europa League life

Aston Villa have certainly been enjoying life in the Europa League this season. Emery's side came into Thursday's game having won three of their four matches in the tournament so far. After taking on Young Boys, Villa wrap up their group phase with fixtures against Basel, Fenerbahce and RB Salzburg.

The San Francisco Giants pulled off the biggest trade of the season so far by acquiring slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday evening, trading away pitchers Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, Jose Bello and outfielder James Tibbs III. San Francisco will take on the remaining roughly $250 million of Dever's $313.5 million deal with Boston.

Following the trade, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey broke down how the blockbuster move came into place. Per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Posey shared that he first reached out to Red Sox executive Craig Breslow a few weeks ago to talk about Devers.

Posey shared Monday on KNBR that he initially thought it was a low possibility the trade would come into place, but after he reached out, Giants general manager Zak Minasian remained in touch with the Red Sox about the trade. Posey and Breslow hammered out the final details, and as the trade approached, ownership got involved, with the Giants' owners agreeing to take on the remainder of Devers's massive deal to bring him to the Bay Area.

The trade notably took place in June, adding to the surprise of the move, but Posey said to KNBR that when he and Breslow became aligned on a deal, they didn't feel the need to wait around until closer to the trade deadline.

"We didn't need to wait around," Posey said. "Craig and I talked a lot about trying to make a good baseball deal. At that point there was no need to wait for another six weeks."

Posey also touched on the decision to acquire Devers, noting that it was tough to give up several talented pitchers and take on as large of a contract as Devers's.

"I believe the foundation to success is pitching and defense," Posey told KNBR. "We had to give up a promising young starter in Kyle Harrison, which is not an easy thing to do. Another big arm in Jordan Hicks and our first-round pick last year and another intriguing arm in Bello."

Ultimately though, the Giants didn't want to pass up the opportunity to acquire a batter like Devers, especially when it's been tough for them to sign great hitters in free agency.

"The bat is so special," Posey said Sunday of Devers, via Pavlovic. "It's just really hard to acquire this type of talent at this point of his career. We're obviously taking on a lot of money. We're giving up some pitching, we're giving up our first-round pick last year, so it didn't come without a cost. It felt like this was a chance to take a shot."

The Giants are thrilled about the addition of Devers, who will make his debut for San Francisco this week.

Mike Shildt was absolutely furious with umpires and MLB replay officials Monday night.

The San Diego Padres manager ripped a decision from the league's replay hub that overturned a home run by Xander Bogaerts due to fan interference. It was a shocking call that cost the Padres a run in a game they eventually lost 4-3 to the San Francisco Giants.

The incident came in the bottom of the second inning when Bogaerts took a Robbie Ray fastball deep to left center. Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos drifted back to the wall and reached up to catch the ball, but it bounced out of his glove and over the fence. As he had reached up, two fans reached out to catch the ball as well.

Initially ruled a home run, it was overturned after a lengthy review. It was stunning that the league was able to find clear evidence of interference, as it certainly wasn't obvious on replay.

Video is below.

Shildt left the dugout to talk to the umpires after the call was overturned and was immediately ejected as rules prohibit arguing after a replay ruling.

After the game, he was still fuming.

"With the angle of the ball coming, where it went and where it landed, there was not anybody who was impeding with him," Shildt said. "And if it's so clear, how come it takes two minutes and 40 seconds to figure it out, if it's that clear? Why are we sitting there for two minutes and 40 seconds? We have 15 seconds to review a call in the first place. We got two minutes and 40 seconds to sit there.

"What are you looking for? If it's that clear, then overturn it early. If it's not, then it's a home run," he continued. "That's just really disappointing that we go that long and have to come up with a conclusion that's not conclusive to overturn a home run that ends up costing us an opportunity to win a baseball game."

Yeah, I'd say he's still pretty hot. That call is going to sting for a while.

The next two weeks could define the Sri Lanka captain’s growth trajectory in a role he has no option but to grow into

Shashank Kishore25-Oct-20232:42

Maharoof: ‘Hope Mendis the captain remains the same batter’

The earliest memory Kusal Mendis has of watching cricket is the 2003 men’s World Cup. As an eight-year-old, he had heard tales of the magic Aravinda de Silva weaved with the bat. Aravinda was well past his prime by then, but he had done enough to fuel Kusal’s burning desire to emulate him.A few months short of his 18th birthday, Kusal won the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award. The recognition that came along with it helped him meet his boyhood hero, who is believed to have told him he should aspire to be the captain one day.When Kusal burst onto the scene at the Under-19 World Cup in 2014, he was earmarked for big things including captaincy. It has taken nearly a decade for Kusal to get that job, but it has come under circumstances he wouldn’t have envisaged.Related

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As such, international cricket can be a hard place to learn on the fly and Kusal perhaps had valid reasons for not wanting the job in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup. Far from a sustainer of good form, he had only slowly been emerging from that frustrating ‘one step forward, two steps back’ pattern that has been a constant in his seven-year international career.But amid an ordinary start to a campaign many were cautiously optimistic about, largely because of the conditions, Kusal has been thrust into the role. Dasun Shanaka, an admirable leader who had backers for his style of rallying a team in doldrums together, had been ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a quadriceps injury.As such, Shanaka’s batting had tailed off so alarmingly that even a late surge against South Africa in chase of 429 merely seemed to limit damage than offer hope of him returning to his ferocious ball-striking ways. That he was a reluctant bowler didn’t help.Kusal Mendis has the captaincy added to his batting and wicketkeeping duties•ICC via Getty ImagesSo, two losses in – the one against Pakistan deflating them, one where they failed to defend 345 – there were rumblings of a potential change. As it turned out, Shanaka’s injury may have saved the selectors from a tough call. It’s under this backdrop that Kusal led Sri Lanka for the first time last week, against Australia in Lucknow.It is an understatement to say he has had to hit the ground running. It is not quite a dreamy scenario. These are difficult circumstances that will need Kusal to not just manage his own form and expectations around his batting, but also figure out plans and work around all the other external challenges that come with the captaincy.His spontaneous response at his first press conference after captaincy on what he expects from the team was a giveaway of how quickly things have unfurled. “I hope the bowlers know their roles,” Kusal had said when asked about formulating specific plans. He wasn’t feigning ignorance. He had barely had a few days to settle into the job, forget about easing into a role or building a team with the players he’d seen or backed.It has been a week since that game. Sri Lanka have since gone on to scrap a win against Netherlands and find themselves in a logjam for points in the middle. On Thursday, they play England, who are equally desperate for two points. It is only bound to get tougher and Kusal knows there’s only so much wriggle room. If he wants, Kusal has plenty of sounding boards in the dressing room, like Dimuth Karunaratne or Angelo Mathews. But in the heat of the battle, he will have to be his own man.On Tuesday during Sri Lanka’s first training session in Bengaluru under lights, Kusal was largely by himself, focused on his own idiosyncrasies – like his shadow swing, playing an imaginative forward defence, ducking and weaving bouncers, playing a straight drive. In his own little bubble, or the ‘zone’ as they say, until he was tapped by the team manager.Then he walked across to observe proceedings from a little close, joining head coach Chris Silverwood to watch Mathews go through the motions. Mathews, of course, was Sri Lanka’s captain when Kusal debuted as a precociously talented batter in 2015. How the wheels had turned now. Here he was assessing Mathews from the eyes of a leader, not the boy-wonder who could barely mumble a few words to him.

“We all get into that cycle and then we come in, we go out and then the next generation comes in. So, playing under Kusal, where he started when I was the captain, it gives me pleasure because he’s come a long way and I’ve seen him grow as a person and also as a batsman over the years.”Angelo Mathews on playing under Kusal Mendis’ captaincy

That small moment encapsulated Kusal’s challenges. Of someone keen to work on himself in bringing out his best to now having to look beyond just his own goals for the team’s sake. There are five league games left, and each one a must-win for Sri Lanka. There are bowlers to manage, plans to formulate with coaches, senior players to hand-hold, handling media and the scrutiny that comes with the job.It helps that there’s warmth and mutual admiration among the leaders within the group. For someone as senior as Mathews to swallow his ego, and be part of the group as traveling reserve tells you of his keenness to contribute. For him to sit with Kusal and ease him into a role he is still getting used to – he’s captained at the Lanka Premier League, but not at any other level of senior cricket prior to this – must help.”He has evolved so much over the last five-six years,” Mathews said when asked about his assessment of Sri Lanka’s current captain. “And now he’s showing his maturity playing fearless cricket and leading from the front. And yes, I mean, playing under him, I’ve played under so many different captains and they’ve also played under me, so, it’s a cycle.”We all get into that cycle and then we come in, we go out and then the next generation comes in. So, playing under Kusal, where he started when I was the captain, it gives me pleasure because he’s come a long way and I’ve seen him grow as a person and also as a batsman over the years which is very fantastic to see.”There is striking simplicity to Kusal’s see-ball-hit-ball approach as a batter. Captaincy may not be so simple. But the key for Kusal will be in how he manages to channel his batting without allowing the rigours of the job to affect him. It’s easier to do so perhaps in a bilateral series. But with the stakes high, the next two weeks could define his growth trajectory in a role he has no option but to grow into on the toughest stage.