All posts by h79snht.top

Lahiru Thirimanne dropped, injured Wanindu Hasaranga included as 16th member

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2020

Sri Lanka have left Lahiru Thirimanne out of their Test squad to play England, and Kusal Perera has been included in his place despite a finger injury leaving him doubtful for the first game of the two-match series.Wanindu Hasaranga was named as the 16th member of the squad, but with an addendum that his left hamstring injury would not allow him to take part in the series. A replacement is expected to be picked before the first Test.There are three specialist spinners already in the squad however – with offspinner Dilruwan Perera, left-arm spinner Lasith Embudleniya and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan all in the 15. Dhananjaya de Silva is around to bowl some offspin as well. There are four specialist seam-bowlers: Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha and left-armer Vishwa Fernando.This surfeit of bowlers means there is only room for one spare batsman – Kusal Perera – in addition to the top seven that played Sri Lanka’s most-recent Test in Harare.ALSO READ: Injuries leave Perera, Hasaranga on the sidelinesThirimanne is the only omission from the squad that won 1-0 in Zimbabwe in January. He did not play any part in that series, and last played in the series against New Zealand in August 2019.Perera had been left out for the tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year. That completed a strange year for him in the format, after he had played one of the great Test innings of all time in Durban in February 2019, but totalled just 44 runs in three Tests after that, including bagging a pair in Colombo against New Zealand in August in what was his last Test appearance.He was in the squad for the December Test tour of Pakistan, but didn’t get a game, and chief selector Asantha de Mel confirmed while announcing the squad for Zimbabwe that Perera had been dropped after consultation with coach Mickey Arthur, who felt it was better for the wicketkeeper-batsman to remain in Sri Lanka and train for the white-ball series against West Indies, rather than tour Zimbabwe and not get a game.England play two Tests, the first starting in Galle on March 19. They had won each of the three Tests on their last tour of Sri Lanka, in late 2018.Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal, Wanindu Hasaranga (injured, replacement to be named before first Test)

MatériaMais Notícias

A torcida do Flamengo ficou na bronca após a derrota por 1 a 0 do Rubro-Negro fora de casa contra o Juventude, no início da tarde deste domingo pelo Brasileirão. Mas dessa vez o alvo não foi Rogério Ceni, que foi poupado das críticas. Internautas usaram o Twitter para reclamar da condição do gramado, encharcado.

+ Veja a tabela do Brasileirão atualizada

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Muitos comentários irônicos questionavam o motivo do Flamengo não ‘escalar’ Isaquias Queiroz, medalhista olímpico que representa o clube carioca na canoagem.

– Coloca ele Ceni. Chegou a hora – postou um perfil com um vídeo em que Isaquias agradece a torcida pela recepção dele como atleta do Flamengo.

Rogério Ceni foi outro nome bastante citado, mas, em sua maioria, os torcedores poupavam o comandante pelo resultado, ao contrário do que já aconteceu em outras ocasiões onde ele foi muito pressionado.

-Rogério Ceni não teve culpa no resultado e na atuação de hoje. Matheusinho teve uma falha grotesca por conta da condição do gramado – opinou um torcedor, sobre o lance que originou o gol do Juventude.

Veja alguns dos comentários

COLOCA ELE CENI. CHEGOU A HORA pic.twitter.com/SYP2xzUkfS

— FLA DA NAÇÃO (@FlaDaNacao_) June 27, 2021

Por que o Ceni não coloca o Isaquias?? pic.twitter.com/tLKPJnpZNt

— Marcelo (@marcelo_sucks) June 27, 2021

Pra mim a culpa é do MATHEUZINHO

— Matheus Caiçara (@matheuscrf00_) June 27, 2021

Bom, antes que me esqueça. Rogério Ceni não teve culpa no resultado e na atuação de hoje. Matheusinho teve uma falha grotesca por conta da condição do gramado.

— Camisa 81 (@Camisa81FLA) June 27, 2021

Bom, antes que me esqueça. Rogério Ceni não teve culpa no resultado e na atuação de hoje. Matheusinho teve uma falha grotesca por conta da condição do gramado.

— Camisa 81 (@Camisa81FLA) June 27, 2021

Nottingham Forest face arguably one of their most important games of the season this weekend when they take on Chris Wilder's Sheffield United side at Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon.

Nuno Espírito Santo's side come into the encounter looking to return to winning ways after falling to a 2-0 defeat against Champions Manchester City last Sunday.

The Reds have failed to win in their last four league outings and are staring the prospect of a return to the Championship in the face.

However, the club have a huge opportunity to pull clear of any looming danger, facing a Blades side who are already confirmed to be playing in England's second tier once again next season.

Forest claimed a 2-1 victory over United earlier this season after Chris Wood was brought on and scored a perfectly placed header to secure the Reds' first victory of the 2023/24 campaign.

If Nuno's side are to claim three vital points from the meeting, he must recall one player to the starting lineup and stick with one after his magnificent display against Pep Guardiola's side.

Why Andrew Omobamidele must start against Sheff Utd

In recent weeks, Nuno has decided to drop defender Andrew Omobamidele from the starting lineup, replacing him with Moussa Niakhate for the games against Everton and Manchester City.

The Irishman has started eight games in the Premier League under Nuno and has often partnered Murillo at the back, offering balance and allowing each other to feature on their natural side of the backline.

However, against Guardiola's side, the Reds boss switched to a back three, which saw Niakhate sit in the centre, with Willy Boly and Murillo featuring on either side of the Senegalese defender.

His side matched City for large spells, but Niakhate, as he did against Everton, struggled to make a real impact on the encounter, failing to win any of the duels that he contested.

Despite limping off, Nuno confirmed that Murillo and Boly should be fit to face the Blades this afternoon, with the former Wolves boss needing to reinstate Omobamidele alongside the duo.

Nuno must stick with one Forest player for Sheff Utd clash

As previously mentioned, Boly was recalled to the side for last weekend's defeat and produced a stellar display at the back, despite not featuring since the 1-1 draw against Luton Town back in March.

The 33-year-old slotted straight back into the team, contesting eight tackles, whilst also making two blocks and two interceptions.

The Ivorian "unit", as dubbed by former teammate Pascal Estrada, also completed 15 defensive actions – the most of any Forest player that day – plus winning ten duels in the narrow 2-0 defeat.

Boly's stats against Manchester City

Statistics

Tally

Minutes played

84

Passes completed

22/27 (88%)

Tackles

8

Blocks

2

Interceptions

2

Defensive actions

15

Duels won

10

Stats via FotMob

Although he's coming towards the back end of his career, the £40k-per-week centre-back has the aerial ability the Reds have been crying out for at the back, with Nuno's side conceding 22 goals from set pieces this season – the most in the Premier League this season.

Boly is an underrated cog in Forest's defensive system, with Nuno needing to start him once again in a back three this weekend at Bramall Lane.

Related Nottingham Forest dud who lost 100% duels was worse than Wood v City

The Reds fell to a second successive Premier League defeat yesterday.

Posts ByEthan Lamb Apr 29, 2024

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O equilíbrio foi visto por Casemiro como crucial para a saga da Seleção Brasileira até a decisão da Copa América. Em entrevista divulgada nesta quinta-feira (8), o camisa 5 canarinho destacou que esta será a arma dos comandados de Tite para levarem a melhor sobre a Argentina na final do sábado (10), às 21h, no Maracanã.

+ Vejas as estatísticas da Copa América

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– Acho que tudo na vida é equilíbrio. Sem dúvida, o Mister (Tite) pede equilíbrio, tanto forte defensivamente e também ofensivamente. O futebol está mostrando que a solidez é importantíssima.O futebol pede isso, o futebol pede solidez defensiva, é importantíssimo. O Brasil vai por si só na qualidade. Com solidez defensiva você está mais perto da vitória – declarou.

O meio-campista ainda falou sobre a responsabilidade de marcar Messi.

-Ele é um jogador excepcional, de muita qualidade, por quem tenho muito respeito pelo que fez e segue fazendo no futebol. Ele vai defender a seleção argentina, eu vou defender a Brasileira, cada um vai tentar fazer o seu melhor.No Real Madrid é um pouco parecido com a Seleção Brasileira, ambas marcam por zona, cada um pega quem estiver na sua zona. A zona em que o Messi joga e eu também, a gente acaba se enfrentando bastante no decorrer do jogo – recordou.

Em seguida, Casemiro alertou que a Seleção Brasileira precisa de empenho de sobra na marcação.

– Sozinho não consigo marcar nenhum jogador, tem de ter a ajuda dos companheiros. Não se marca só um jogador, começa no Neymar, no Richarlison, nos jogadores da frente e termina no goleiro. Uma equipe joga com 11, defende com 11 e ataca com 11 – disse.

A Seleção treina nesta quinta-feira, às 15h30, na Granja Comary.

علق ديوريه سيرجي المدرب العام لفريق استاد أبيدجان الإيفواري، على خسارة فريقه أمام الأهلي خلال مباراة اليوم التي جمعت بينهما ضمن منافسات دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وحقق الأهلي فوزًا كبيرًا على استاد أبيدجان بنتيجة 4-2 بالمواجهة التي أقيمت على استاد القاهرة الدولي، في إطار مواجهات الجولة الأولى من عمر مباريات دور المجموعات من البطولة القارية.

وقال ديوريه سيرجي في تصريحات خلال المؤتمر الصحفي: “المباراة كانت بمستوى عال كما توقعت أمس وصرحت بذلك، وسجلنا هدفين اليوم وهذا دليل على وجود تنافسية خلال اللقاء”.

وتابع: “سنتعلم من مباراة اليوم للاستفادة منها خلال المواجهات المقبلة، تحدثنا مع اللاعبين عقب نهاية اللقاء أن نتيجة 4-2 كبيرة بالفعل وتقول إنهم يستطيعوا عمل نتيجة أفضل على أرضهم خلال المباريات المقبلة”.

واستطرد: “دعنا نقول إن هذه حرب خسرناها لكن الصراع لم ينته، نحن حاولنا أن نُقلل من الأضرار ولكن أعتقد أن الأهم هو أن الفريق الذي كان أكثر فاعلية فاز في المباراة واستغل الفرصة وكان واقعيًا أمام المرمى”.

وزاد: “الأهلي استغل الفرص كما ينبغي وهذا ما كان ينقصنا نحن في هذه المباراة، كانت هناك العديد من الفرص لم نستغلها، لكن سوف ندرس ما حدث في هذه المباراة ونعود بقوة”.

طالع | ترتيب مجموعة الأهلي في دوري أبطال إفريقيا بعد الفوز على استاد أبيدجان

وبسؤاله كيف ترى حظوظ استاد أبيدجان؟، أجاب: “أظن أن هناك حظوظ لنا في تلك المجموعة، لأنه نظرًا لمستوانا أمام الأهلي كما قلنا إنه فريق كبير وكبير جدًا في المستوى الإفريقي هم الأفضل والمسيطرين منذ سنوات”.

وأشار: “ونظرًا لما قدمناه أمام هذا الخصم سوف نتحسن وهذا أعطانا شجاعة كبيرة وتصحيح الأخطاء السابقة حتى لا نغيب عن الدور القادم”.

واختتم: “الأخطاء الدفاعية كلفتنا الكثير بينما خبرات الأهلي صنعت الفارق لكننا لن نغير من أسلوبنا لأن الأخطاء كانت فردية من بعض اللاعبين”.

In second petition in five months, Indian board says cooling-off not needed for elected office-bearers

Nagraj Gollapudi25-May-2020

The BCCI has filed a second petition in the Supreme Court of India, following the one in December last year, seeking approval for several radical amendments recommended at its annual general meeting last year. Among them is a proposal to allow president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah to continue in their posts until 2025, effectively bypassing the mandated cooling-off period.The petition was filed on April 21* after the original petition was not given a hearing; the court is yet take up the matter. The amendments, if accepted, stand to wipe out the major reforms the court itself had mandated in August 2018 as part of the board’s new constitution drafted on the back of the recommendations made by the RM Lodha Committee.In its April petition, the BCCI has told the court that the three-year cooling-off period for an office-bearer following a six-year tenure is an eligibility criteria necessary only to contest the elections. Once elected, the BCCI said, the office-bearer could continue to stay in the position for six years at one place – board or state association – before serving the cooling-off period.The other amendments that were passed by the BCCI general body unanimously on December 1 last year included modifying the disqualification criteria, giving unprecedented powers to the BCCI secretary, and stopping the court from having any say if the board wants to alter the constitution.The BCCI is anxious because, if the court doesn’t see the issue the same way, Ganguly and Shah must enter their cooling-off periods soon. The two of them earned the senior-most posts in the board as part of the new administration on October 23 last year. But they had just about ten months in the roles because, as per the BCCI’s constitution, an office-bearer could only serve two consecutive terms (six years) separately at the state association or the board or a combination of both.Ganguly’s term ends this July, as he started as secretary at the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2014, following which he became the association’s president after the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya in 2015, and was re-elected in September 2019 before moving to the BCCI.As for Shah, he was elected as the joint secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) in 2014. The internal records of the GCA suggest that Shah’s tenure started on September 8, 2013. There is no clarity over Shah’s tenure at BCCI, though.Last week, after a report in suggested that Shah had approached the court seeking an extension as BCCI secretary after finishing six years as an officer-bearer earlier this month, ESPNcricinfo contacted him over email – on May 19 – to confirm the details. Shah has not acknowledged it yet.Meanwhile, Shah has been part of key BCCI meetings and was also part of the last week’s call with Cricket South Africa, which gave a cautious nod to supporting Ganguly if he were to contest for the ICC chairman’s position, which will be vacated by Shashank Manohar at the ICC’s annual conference, scheduled for July.Incidentally, Shah did not sign the BCCI’s last media release [the board’s response to the Indian government allowing stadia to open for training without crowds], issued on May 17. The media release was authorised by Arun Dhumal, the board’s treasurer. And it was Dhumal again who signed the BCCI’s April petition to the court.”It is submitted that the provision contained in Rule 6.4 (cooling-off period) applies to the eligibility to contest the election and not continuance of an elected person who is already elected before the commencement of disqualification, the general body has, in its wisdom, thought it necessary to amend the said provision so as to ensure that in the fresh elections after 3 years, the BCCI is not deprived of the experience gained by the individuals in the State Association,” the BCCI said in the petition, accessed by ESPNcricinfo.To support its case, the BCCI also attached the minutes of the AGM where the amendments were adopted. On the cooling-off period, the BCCI said all the members [state associations] felt the three-year break was “creating an obstruction in selection of talented and experienced hands, but also affects the continuity of the individual’s ability to serve in administration unnecessarily”. All members, the board said, agreed that both the president and the secretary should serve for six years at one place before starting the cooling-off period.”It is respectfully submitted that this amendment is made preserving the spirit of the directions issued by this Hon’ble Court in as much as it is ensured that if any office bearer of the BCCI completes 6 years as an office bearer of the BCCI, he stands disqualified,” the BCCI said.BCCI points fingers at Committee of Administrators again
The Committee of Administrators (CoA), appointed in 2017 to supervise the functioning of the BCCI, had failed to understand how the board functions, the BCCI argued.The BCCI told the court that cricket in India was regulated through a “three-tier” pyramidal structure: office bearers starting at district level, moving to the state association, before progressing to the board itself. “By the very nature of this three-tier structure, a person necessarily passes through many terms in other two tiers before he is experienced to be able to effectively contribute in BCCI in the larger national interest.”The CoA had prepared the draft constitution in 2018, and had tweaked the board’s original constitution by including the Lodha recommendations, which the court had approved first in 2016 before certain reforms were revised.”The draft (constitution) was prepared by the persons who did not have the advantage and benefit of the ground level experience of functioning of this three tier structure in which the transition of cricket administrators is stage wise which is in the larger interest of the game of cricket,” the BCCI said in its latest petition. “Any provision which has a direct or an indirect effect of restricting persons with rich and varied experience whereby they have acquired and strengthened the organising capacity, finance generating capacity and administrative skills will be to the detriment of the game of cricket and would, therefore, necessarily be against public interest and national interest as our teams play against teams of all cricket playing countries.”Altering the constitution: Not “practical” to approach court every time
Another key amendment being sought by the BCCI is to make itself the binding authority if the board’s constitution needs tweaks. In December, the general body approved the amendment that proposed the BCCI constitution can be “repealed, added to, amended or altered” by the three-fourth majority of elected and eligible representatives, with the court having no role in the process.In the AGM, the BCCI stated that the general body felt the members’ “autonomy and right to seek legitimate changes” was being “restricted” and an approval from the court every time was “not practical”. But the BCCI said in the April petition that it would await the final order of the court before making the said amendment formal.

Rangers fans and media members have wasted no time in laying into one of their stars after their chance of winning the Scottish Premiership title took perhaps its final blow on Saturday afternoon.

Celtic on the verge of the title

Heading into their clash with Rangers on Saturday, Celtic knew that should they avoid defeat they would have one hand on the Scottish Premiership.

Related Rangers chiefs now believe £25k-a-week star will be at Ibrox next season

Huge news for the Gers.

Posts ByTom Cunningham May 10, 2024

Their 2-1 victory in the latest Old Firm derby has left them on the verge of success though. While not yet mathematically confirmed as Champions, they lead Rangers by six points with two games left to go, while they also boost a seven superior goal difference than their title rivals, meaning that they would need to lose both of their final games and see Rangers win heavily to stand a chance of reversing the top two in the division.

The Scottish Premiership as it stands

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal Difference

Points

Celtic

36

27

6

3

59

87

Rangers

36

26

3

7

52

81

It will see Brendan Rodgers complete a title win that at times this season has looked unlikely, but a poor spell of form from Rangers has effectively handed the trophy on a plate to their rivals, and this game continued on that theme.

A fiesty encounter, the game turned on one moment, and Rangers fans and pundits wasted no time making sure they made their feelings known.

Lundstram branded a "disgrace" vs Celtic

Rangers podcasters and media members have taken to Twitter/X in their droves to aim their ire at midfielder John Lundstram, who endured a torrid afternoon at Celtic Park. The ex-Sheffield United midfielder put the ball into his own net seven minutes before half-time to see his side fall 2-0 down to their Glasgow rivals, though an effort from Cyriel Dessers pulled them back into proceedings.

But that chance disappeared on the stroke of half time courtesy of Lundstram, who was given his marching orders in first-half stoppage time for a poor challenge on Celtic's Alistair Johnston, which VAR correctly deemed a red card challenge.

It capped an awful game for Lundstram, who managed just 16 passes in midfield, lost possession seven times and won just three of his 10 duels. Rangers podcast Heart and Hand labelled him an "absolute disgrace", while he was branded "absolutely woeful" by 4 Lads Had a Dream

The midfielder is out of contract this summer, and Philippe Clement admitted last week that the chances of him penning a new deal are increasingly slim.

“There is nothing official around that. I am not naïve, the longer that things last the more possibility that other people step in. But for the moment apparently the water is too deep between the two sides," he explained.

Having picked up a straight red card, he will now be suspended for the remainder of Rangers' games this campaign, which means he could well have played his last game for the Ibrox outfit. Based on the reaction to his performance today, there will be few Rangers fans complaining.

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Com a meta de sair da zona de rebaixamento da Série B, a Ponte Preta trabalha firme sob o comando de Gilson Kleina para encarar o CRB, em jogo que será realizado no fim de semana.

+ Veja no aplicativo do LANCE! o resultado dos jogos da rodada

Consciente que o adversário terá uma semana mais agitada, já que tem a Copa do Brasil no calendário, a expectativa é que a Macaca possa se aproveitar do desgaste e possa engatar a segunda vitória consecutiva no torneio.

Nos últimos treinos, Kleina tem mexido na formação titular e Richard e Camilo voltaram a equipe principal. A tendência é que o time entre em campo com a formação 4-3-3.

Veja a provável escalação da Ponte Preta: Ivan, Felipe Albuquerque, Fábio Sanches, Cleylton e Rafael Santos; André Luiz, Locatelli e Camilo; Richard, Moisés e Rodrigão.

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Leeds United might have been fearing a nervy night at Elland Road against Norwich City was in store, but the reality ended up being very different as the Whites turned on the style.

Daniel Farke's men tore Norwich to shreds from minute one in West Yorkshire, the Canaries taken aback by the ferocity of Leeds' attacking game and they just couldn't cope with the punches the hosts constantly landed on them.

4-0 would end up being the final scoreline in the favour of the home side, as Leeds' stadium turned into even more of a cauldron of noise at full-time with scarfs held aloft as their heroes on the pitch took in rapturous applause.

In such an electric team performance, individuals still managed to stand out for the now play-off finalists with Crysencio Summerville delivering yet again on the big stage for his slick side.

Crysencio Summerville's performance in numbers

The sensational Dutchman took his goalscoring account for the season to 21 wtih the final strike in the rout for Leeds, calmly stroking the ball home for 4-0 to really rub salt into Norwich's gaping wound.

The 22-year-old winger could have had more than just one goal next to his name in the demolition job, firing four shots at a shaky Angus Gunn in the contest but also showing his creative side with six key passes accumulated.

Summerville's numbers vs Norwich

Minutes played

90

Touches

53

Key passes

6

Shots on goal

4

Big chances created

2

Successful dribbles

2/3

Stats by Sofascore

At his best venturing forward with blistering pace and trickery against the hapless Canaries, as can be seen glancing at the table above, Farke will pray Summerville is similarly on his A-Game for the final to come at Wembley to seal an immediate passage back to the Premier League.

There was an unlikelier play-off hero away from the Dutchman, however, on the night in the form of Ilia Gruev who bagged his first-ever Whites goal in spectacular fashion to kickstart a fantastic win.

Ilia Gruev's performance in numbers

A steady presence in the Leeds first-team all season, without ever really looking dangerous going forward, Gruev decided his moment to shine in the spotlight as a goalscorer would come in this crunch second leg.

Catching Gunn out with a smartly taken free-kick within the opening ten minutes, which wrong-footed the Scotsman in the Norwich net, the ex-Werder Bremen man's sweet strike would set the tone for a game that was played on cruise control from then on in by the deadly hosts.

Only misplacing two of his 51 passes in the comprehensive drubbing also, the Bulgarian midfielder was very worthy of his 9/10 rating from Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross after the game who showered the Whites number 44 with wild praise by stating he was at his "destructive" and "protective" best in the one-sided affair.

Norwich's central midfielders struggled battling against Gruev in the middle of the park consequently, mainly Marcelino Nunez who stood out for the Norfolk-based side in the first leg funnily enough with 10 duels won, as David Wagner's men completely folded on the big occasion.

Gruev vs Nunez – head-to-head stats

Stat

Gruev

Nunez

Touches

62

59

Accurate passes

49/51 (96%)

44/48 (92%)

Key passes

1

0

Accurate long balls

4/4

1/4

Duels won

3/7

4/13

Possession lost

3x

7x

Stats by Sofascore

Farke and Co will be thankful that they took a punt on Gruev this summer from the Bundesliga now, with the 23-year-old worth every penny of his £5m fee after that standout showing.

The classy operator will want to be key again at Wembley, with the Leeds camp now aware that they need to win just one more pressurised contest to return back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

Norwich, however, showed what happens when nerves get the better of you in a huge match by dreadfully collapsing with Leeds sticking the dagger in mercilessly.

Challenged to retain their fitness during lockdown, they resolved to give themselves a target and a motive

George Dobell02-Jul-2020

England’s first-class umpires have set themselves the target of walking to Lahore and back – virtually, at least – before the county season begins.Challenged to retain their fitness during lockdown by Chris Kelly, the umpires’ manager at the ECB, they resolved to give themselves both a target and a motive. They eventually decided, therefore, to walk between them the equivalent distance from the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester and back. That is 9,436 miles.They also hope that effort will inspire people to make charitable contributions. The three charities benefiting from their efforts are the British Asian Trust, Prostate Cancer UK and the Professional Cricketers’ Trust.There are 33 umpires involved – that includes those on the ICC’s elite and international panels, as well as those on fulltime ECB contracts and the reserve list – with Hassan Adnan, who is currently averaging around 90 miles a week and is approaching 350 miles in total, leading the way at present. David Milnes, on 226 miles, is in second place. In the 28 days since the exercise started, they have walked 4,537 miles. For more details, please visit The First-Class Walk’s Facebook page”GPS data and heartrate monitors from the 2015 season suggested we walked about 10,000 miles between us in a season,” one of the umpires, Paul Baldwin, told ESPNcricinfo. “We were challenged to ensure we were ready for the season and this came about.”We’re on course to complete our target on July 27 – a few days before the season begins – but we’ve now decided to carry on throughout August and see how far we can go.”The first on-field data was added last week when Michael Gough and Alex Wharf, the umpires for the West Indies’ warm-up game in Manchester, contributed 31.89 miles in three days.”Meanwhile, the former Surrey keeper, James Knott, is embarking on a challenge of his own to raise funds for charity. Knott, who is now head of cricket at Stowe School and whose father Alan is generally regarded as one of the best keepers in the history of the game, is aiming to walk every minute of play during the first Test of the England v West Indies series in the hope of raising funds for the PCA Trust and the NHS Covid-19 appeal. Details can be found here.