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Sunderland's rise from being held by the clutches of League One to now launching an assault towards the Premier League is a remarkable turnaround in such a short space of time.

Aside from being punished 4-0 by North East rivals Middlesbrough last time out, the Black Cats have been firing across all cylinders this term and that is down to their strong spine consisting of goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, centre-back Daniel Ballard, central midfielder Dan Neil, attacking midfielder Jobe Bellingham and winger Jack Clarke.

While that list of impressive young talent have become instrumental to their early promotion bid, other individuals in the squad perhaps haven't eclipsed last season's form and one of those is the talented Patrick Roberts.

How has Patrick Roberts performed this season?

Roberts was a key figure in Sunderland's play-off campaign last term with Tony Mowbray labelling him as a "natural talent" for showcasing his abundance of skill and trickery.

The 26-year-old's five goals and seven assists from the right flank were the most goal contributions he'd managed in a single campaign for an English club, perhaps an inclination that Roberts was threatening to reach the ceiling of his Premier League potential.

Praised by former manager Alex Neil for being a "little magician", the Englishman has failed to back up that claim and sprinkle some more magic this season.

The fleet-footed winger has impressed with his stunning approach play, dazzling defenders with his precise dribbling and quick acceleration, ranking in the top 16% for progressive carries against his positional peers in the Championship this season, top 5% for successful take-ons and top 1% for carries into the final third, as per FBref.

However, when it comes to the bread and butter of any attacking player – producing an end product to match the build-up – Roberts has fallen short, missing three big chances, only creating one, firing just 0.4 shots per game and accumulating zero goal contributions, via Sofascore.

Compare that to Amad Diallo, who was devastating in the final third last season, and the Manchester United youngster is levels ahead.

Fortunately, reports claim that Sunderland could take him back on loan in January and if that is the case, he could replace Roberts in the starting XI and fire them to promotion.

How good was Amad Diallo last season?

Diallo's impact in the Championship was devastating. The 21-year-old unleashed his exceptional attributes with regularity, including his searing pace, press resistance when carrying the ball, fleet-footed dribbling and an end product to match.

Not only did Diallo rank in the top 6% for progressive passes in the second tier last season, top 8% for shot-creating actions, top 12% for successful take-ons and top 15% for progressive carries, but he also showcased maturity with his decision-making in the final third, as per FBref.

Adored by his Sunderland teammates for the impact he made at the Stadium of Light and dubbed by Luke O'Nein as "incredible", the Ivory Coast international produced stellar numbers and performances to demonstrate why Manchester United paid Atalanta a whopping £37m for him in January 2021.

In 39 Championship appearances, the explosive winger served up 14 goals and three assists from wide as defenders quickly found out that he was near impossible to stop when fashioning space to cut in on his left foot.

Although Roberts is undoubtedly talented, if Diallo were to return in January, he would see him push the Englishman out and deliver the devastating performances that were so crucial in Sunderland's charge into the play-offs last term.

And just like that, any optimism slowly building around Arsenal has been dashed within a few days.

Mikel Arteta’s side went into the weekend eight points off of Liverpool atop the Premier League table but with a game in hand.

However, Mikel Merino wasn’t able to repeat his goalscoring heroics, and, thanks to a Jarrod Bowen strike, the Gunners fell to a shock 1-0 defeat to West Ham United, made worse by the Reds picking up all three points away to Manchester Cityjust a day later.

While there were a lot of problems with Arsenal’s performance, their lack of firepower was once again evident, which only further puts a spotlight on the club’s dreadful January transfer window, which interim Sporting Director Jason Ayto could make up for in the summer by bringing in a genuinely game-changing attacker.

Arsenal's appalling January

In early November last year, amid a rocky run of form for the team, it was announced that then-Sporting Director Edu Gaspar had resigned from his position at Arsenal, which, in truth, came as quite a shock to fans and pundits alike.

The former Invincible had been a key player in the club’s recent resurgence and rebuild under Arteta, so there was plenty of uncertainty over what this meant for the project as a whole and, specifically, how this would impact the January transfer window.

In the Brazilian’s absence, Ayto, the assistant Sporting Director, stepped into the hot seat, and while there have been reports that the higher-ups at the club have been impressed by him, it would be fair to say the supporters have not.

The simple reason for this disconnect between the board and the fanbase is that, despite the squad’s evident need for attacking reinforcements, which was made all the more acute by the recent injury crisis, nobody was signed in the recent window.

Worse yet, there were undoubtedly deals that could be done, as evidenced by Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa’s significant business and then the fact that it appeared as if Ollie Watkins might’ve been attainable in the closing days.

In all, the abject failure to address the club’s dire needs in the last window has obliterated much of the fans’ goodwill that had been built up in recent seasons, and unless Ayto pulls off a miraculous game-changing signing in the summer, he might never win the fans back onside – fortunately, there is one star who could be just that for him.

The game-changing signing Arsenal could pull off

A number of attacking talents have been consistently linked with Arsenal over the last year, such as Nico Williams, Benjamin Sesko and Dušan Vlahović.

However, while all three of those forwards would undoubtedly improve the Gunners’ squad and even the first-team, it would be hard to honestly describe any of them as genuine game-changers who’d be able to come right into the first team and almost single-handedly fire the North Londoners to Premier League or even European glory.

On the other hand, Alexander Isak certainly could and, therefore, would, without doubt, be a truly game-changing addition to Arteta’s squad.

The Newcastle United striker is one of the most exciting forwards in world football and has been consistently touted for a move to the Emirates for quite some time now.

While signing him would be incredibly challenging, reports from late last year revealed that the Toon might be willing to cash in for a whopping £150m.

Now, that is an extraordinary amount of money, but the Swedish international is an extraordinary player, and from what we have seen of him over the last season and a bit, he is likely worth every penny.

For example, in just 40 appearances last term, totalling 2973 minutes, the Solna-born “nightmare,” as dubbed by Alan Shearer, scored 25 goals and provided two assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.48 games, or every 110.11 minutes.

Somehow, the 25-year-old monster, whom Jamie Carragher labelled “the best striker in the Premier League,” has done even better this season and, in just 30 appearances, totalling 2367 minutes, has scored 21 goals and provided five assists, which comes to an average of a goal involvement every 1.15 games, or every 91.03 minutes.

Ultimately, Arsenal have done incredibly well to get back to the top table of English football in recent years, but their lack of business in January has undoubtedly damaged the trust the fans had in the board.

So if they, and especially Ayto, want to win that back in the summer, they have to go big in the transfer market, and they can’t go much bigger than signing Isak.

Outscoring Saka & Havertz: Arsenal must rue releasing "world-class" star

The incredible striker would be unreal for Arsenal.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Feb 21, 2025

كشف الاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم عن هوية الحكم الذي سيتولى مسؤولية المباراة المرتقبة مساء اليوم الأربعاء، بين منتخبي بلجيكا  وأوكرانيا.

ويلتقي المنتخبان في إطار منافسات الجولة الثالثة من دور مجموعات كأس أمم أوروبا، يورو 2024، في تمام الساعة السابعة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، على ملعب “مرسيدس بنز أرينا”.

ويتواجد المنتخبان في المجموعة الخامسة، والتي تضم كذلك كل من رومانيا وسلوفاكيا، حيث سيلتقيان في نفس موعد لقاء بلجيكا وأوكرانيا اليوم، اليوم. حكم مباراة بلجيكا وأوكرانيا اليوم في يورو 2024

حكم الساحة: الإنجليزي أنتوني تايلور.

حكم مساعد أول: الإنجليزي جاري بيسويك.

حكم مساعد ثانِ: الإنجليزي آدم نون.

حكم رابع: السويدي جلين نيبيرج.

حكم تقنية الفيديو: الإنجليزي ستيوارت أتويل.

Arsenal have seen an abundance of talent grace the pitch of the Emirates over the years, however not all players have impressed to the standard suggested by their price tags.

Not many deals worked out as poorly as the fate of Nicolas Pepe, who was purchased for £72m in 2019 and exited on a free transfer to Trabzonspor this summer, however the Gunners have also found a way to benefit financially from poor performers too.

While Unai Emery’s time in north London was tarnished by Arsenal’s form that led to his dismissal, the Aston Villa manager struck gold during his time at the club, selling one of his underperformers for a huge profit in 2019.

When did Arsenal sell Alex Iwobi?

During the summer transfer window of Emery’s final year in charge of the Gunners, the Spaniard offloaded academy graduate Alex Iwobi to Everton.

The Nigerian, who had been at Arsenal for 15 years after joining as an eight-year-old, signed for the Toffees on a five-year deal at the age of 23, with the Blues paying £35m for his services.

After four years and 140 appearances for Everton, Iwobi was on the move again, signing for Fulham this summer in a deal worth £22m, reinforcing the success of Emery’s sale as the 27-year-old’s worth has dropped.

How much is Alex Iwobi worth now?

Today, the Hale End graduate has a market value of just €20m (£17m), as per CIES Football Observatory, suggesting that Arsenal offloaded him at the perfect time with his trajectory taking an underwhelming turn.

Emery’s £35m profit on the winger has been one of the best pieces of business that the Gunners have completed with regard to departures, especially when reviewing just how poor the Lagos-born dud was over the years in north London.

Were Arsenal right to sell Alex Iwobi?

Prior to his exit, the versatile midfielder had secured 149 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring on just 15 occasions during that span, with his highest-scoring tally being the six goals he scored in all competitions in the 2018/19 campaign.

It looked as though the winger could be the next big thing at Arsenal, as he scored on his full league debut and in the fixture after, setting the tone for what could’ve been the start of something special at the Emirates.

While at times the winger showed encouraging signs of his quality, his end product and inability to keep possession let him down, with journalist James Benge once dubbing the 27-year-old as “horrendous”.

Alex Iwobi's Premier League scoring record at Arsenal

Appearances

Goals

2018/19

35

3

2017/18

26

3

2016/17

26

3

2015/16

13

2

Figures via Transfermarkt

As for his goal contributions, the highest number of goals that the Nigerian secured in a Premier League season while at Arsenal was three, which he achieved in three consecutive campaigns with no improvement, as highlighted above.

His low-scoring feat continued beyond his time in the capital, as he netted six times in 123 appearances in the league for Everton, reinforcing how poor he can be in the final third despite taking up an advanced role.

By securing £35m for the frustrating £70k-per-week winger, Emery was able to relieve Arsenal of some deadwood, while making a monstrous profit on an academy star that continues to try and grasp form in the Premier League eight years after his debut.

Hong Kong scored their first ever ODI win over a Full Member when they beat Afghanistan by 30 runs on a rainy afternoon at the Bulawayo Athletic Club

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo08-Mar-2018
ScorecardHong Kong scored their first ever ODI win over a Full Member when they beat Afghanistan by 30 runs on a rainy afternoon at the Bulawayo Athletic Club. The victory was built around Anshuman Rath’s half-century and was sealed by an outstanding spell of offspin bowling from Ehsan Khan, backed up by some inspired fielding.As a result, Afghanistan were left needing a miracle to qualify for the 2019 World Cup. They have lost three out of three matches in this tournament so far and will need several things going their way to stay in contention.Afghanistan were trundling along steadily in pursuit of 242 when Ehsan was brought on from the clubhouse end in the 16th over. With loop and flight, he tempted Rahmat Shah into an expansive drive. With dip and turn, he spun the ball sharply in between bat and pad to disturb the stumps. With that, Afghanistan were 56 for 2, and Hong Kong had their opening. Before his first over was up, Ehsan had also dismissed the set Ihsanullah for 20, a gloved sweep landing in the hands of Rath, tumbling to his left at slip.At 57 for 3, with Mohammad Nabi still to bat, Afghanistan might still have considered themselves in a favourable position. But Hong Kong’s bowling attack never let the pressure drop, with Tanwir Azfal’s medium pace particularly effective. Bowling a wicket-to-wicket line with Scott McKechnie up to the stumps, Afzal didn’t give the batsmen much to work with. Having made the first incision with the wicket of Javed Ahmadi for 22, his figures in his first spell were 6-0-15-1.The pressure built up by the bowlers brought desperate strokes against Ehsan at the other end. With the required rate closing in on six an over, Samiullah Shenwari bent low to sweep but missed the ball entirely to be bowled for 9, as Afghanistan slipped to 73 for 4.Hong Kong gather around wicket-taker Ehsan Khan•ICC

Still, though, Afghanistan were not entirely out of the match. Mohammad Nabi shepherded the middle order, helping to keep a fidgety Najibullah Zadran in accumulation mode. They nudged and pushed their way through a 59-run stand.With the required rate climbing and ominous rain clouds closing in from the north, Najibullah eventually decided to have a go at Nadeem Ahmed’s left-arm spin. He couldn’t get anything on his slog sweep, however, with the ball crashing into his pad and the umpire upholding a vociferous lbw shout. Two overs later, Sharafuddin Ashraf missed a huge slog across the line and was bowled for 1; Afghanistan 134 for 6.Hong Kong’s discipline soon brought results, Ehsan Nawaz sprinting around at short third man to cut off a dab, and firing a flat throw to McKechnie to find Nabi short of his ground and run out for 38.Fifteen minutes later, rain, thunder and lightning arrived to force the players from the field. When they returned, Afghanistan’s total was revised to 226, with three overs left to play. Dawlat threw the bat around, but they were never going to get close. For his career best figures of 4 for 33, Ehsan was named Man of the Match.Earlier in the day, Rath provided the bedrock of Hong Kong’s innings, helping them recover from an early wobble which saw them reduced to 43 for 3. He put together stands of 50 with captain Babar Hayat and 67 with McKechnie to keep Hong Kong ticking over, looking particularly effective when playing off the front foot through the covers.Rath, who was Hong Kong’s leading run-scorer during the World Cricket League Championship with 678 runs at 75.33, started in measured fashion against both pace and spin. His innings eventually gained momentum, and he came out on top during a fascinating duel with Afghanistan’s quicks, cutting and pulling both Dawlat and Shapoor Zadran. With Tanwir Afzal smashing 22 from just 9 deliveries towards the end, Hong Kong reached a total that would prove more than enough.

The power struggle in the BCCI has intensified with the committee of administrators (CoA) joining forces with the chief executive officer Rahul Johri and chief financial officer Santosh Rangnekar in challenging the conduct of treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry.In November, Rangnekar told the Supreme Court that Chaudhry had issued veiled threats against him on three separate occasions. Chaudhry responded with shock and surprise at the allegation and promptly denied any wrongdoing. He also submitted an affidavit to that effect, having been being asked by the court to do so, on December 13.The court was scheduled to hear the matter on Monday, but deferred the case to February 23. Meanwhile, the CoA submitted its sixth status report to the court on January 25. Johri had filed an affidavit of his own on the same day and the contents of both these documents could lead to Chaudhry facing some tough questions at the next hearing.In a damning appraisal of his work, the CoA wrote that Chaudhry’s conduct had become “seriously objectionable” and they have “no reason to disbelieve the allegations levelled” against him by Rangnekar. The report further stated that Chaudhry “appears determined to use his position to undermine” the authority and functioning of the CoA, which took charge on January 30 last year. The committee felt they were “constrained” to report on Chaudhry to the court once he began “inundating” Johri and Rangnekar with e-mails intended to put pressure on them.Johri told the court that Chaudhry had accused him of taking “erroneous” decisions during the first three weeks of January last year, the period when he acted as head of the BCCI before the CoA took charge. On January 2, the court had sacked the board president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke and disqualified all existing office bearers pending their approval of the Lodha Committee reforms.Johri cited an example of Chaudhry’s pressure tactics in his affidavit. Last November Chaudhry sent him an e-mail saying he had violated the BCCI’s rules, and his own contract, by trimming the national selection panels (senior and junior) from five to three members. Johri explained that he took the decision based on “directions” from the Lodha Committee but Chaudhry argued that a court order on January 2 and 3 last year had limited the committee’s powers and as such their instructions were not “binding”.Johri insisted he made the call after consulting both the BCCI’s senior management and their lawyer. He further added that the Lodha committee told him that the court impasse should not hinder “cricketing activity”. But Chaudhry would not accept that the CEO had acted in “good faith”.Chaudhry highlighted another “wrongdoing” on the part of both Johri and Rangnekar when they accessed funds from a BCCI bank account at a Union Bank of India in Mumbai in January 2017. But both men argued they were within their right to do so. The court had sacked the board’s office bearers and there was a danger of cricket coming to a standstill if various vendors, suppliers, hotels, and state associations were not paid. Under such an emergency, as per a resolution of the BCCI’s financial committee in 2016, the Union Bank account could be operated by two out of three officials – the CEO (Johri), CFO (Rangnekar) and the board’s manager of game development and administration (Ratnakar Shetty).It was at this juncture the CoA decided to step in. According to Johri, they told Chaudhry that his conduct “is designed to intimidate the professional management of the BCCI and created obstacles in its functioning.” Furthermore, the CoA, in the status report, told the court that Johri had only acted in the “best interests” of the BCCI and should have been “commended rather than vilified”.The BCCI’s three existing office bearers have been asking the court to take another look at the Lodha reforms, one of which pertains to the demarcation of duties between administrators and management. Supported by many of the state associations, the office bearers prefer control of the board stays in own hands.The CoA, though, is clearly against that. In an email to Chaudhry on November 22, they said that “vested interests” within the BCCI were trying to create a “parallel” administration, one that wants to stick with the “flawed” existing constitution while opposing the reform process undertaken by the committee. “It is obvious which administration within the BCCI you form part of and support.”The thrust of your grievances stems from your preference” for the existing BCCI constitution, which was “flawed” and was being replaced by the reforms recommended by the Lodha Committee, approved by the court and being exercised by the professional management under the panel’s supervision.”It is for this reason that you have been inundating the CEO and CFO with long and verbose emails designed to intimidate them rather than pride any constructive suggestions. Some of the issues raised by you do not even pertain to your duties as Treasurer of the BCCI and it appears that you are insistent on involving yourself with mattes that are outside the scope your duties.”

أعلنت رابطة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز عن اختيار جناح الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر سيتي، فيل فودين، كأفضل لاعب في الموسم الحالي 2023/2024.

وقدم فودين موسمًا رائعًا مع مانشستر سيتي وشارك الإنجليزي في الموسم الحالي في 7 بطولات وتواجد في 51 مباراة وسجل 25 هدفًا وصنع 11 أخرى.

وتفوق فودين على منافسيه ضمن المرشحين على الجائزة وهم إيرلينج هالاند، ألكسندر إيزاك، مارتن أوديجارد، كول بالمر، ديكلان رايس، فيرجيل فان دايك وأخيرًا أولي واتكينز.

اقرأ أيضًا | أرتيتا يكشف رد فعله تجاه فرصة سون هيونج أمام مانشستر سيتي ويعترف: نتمنى يوم جيد لـ وست هام

🥁 Give it up for your @EASPORTSFC Player of the Season…

✨ Phil Foden ✨#PLAwards | @ManCity pic.twitter.com/MGwkYu19Or — Premier League (@premierleague) May 18, 2024

وعلق فودين على فوزه بالجائزة، وقال في تصريحات لموقع ناديه الرسمي: “إنجاز كبير، أشعر بالفخر الشديد لتحقيقه مع مانشستر سيتي”.

واستمر: “من المعروف عن الدوري الإنجليزي أنه أعظم بطولة دوري في العالم، من دواعي سروري أن أكون من بين اللاعبين العظماء الذين تحصلوا على تلك الجائزة”.

ويلعب فودين مع الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر سيتي منذ عام 2017 ولعب مع السيتزن 268 مباراة وسجل 85 هدفا وصنع 52 أخرى.

West Ham United have finally made a few much-needed signings in Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse recently, however, manager David Moyes will be keen on adding a few more.

The end of the transfer window is just two weeks away and if Moyes aims to repeat the European heroics of last season, he simply can't rest on his laurels and must continue to invest the £105m secured from the Declan Rice sale.

With two midfielders already arriving this summer, thoughts now turn to bolstering his defence and a young talent is currently being eyed…

Who will West Ham United sign next?

According to Football Scotland, Glasgow Rangers are keen on luring Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards, but they are not alone.

Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…

West Ham have also shown interest in the youngster and Moyes could offer both Europa League group-stage football and a chance for the defender to test himself in the Premier League.

The 20-year-old gem has two years left on his current deal, however, due to their failure to reach the Championship following a playoff defeat to Sheffield Wednesday last season, Peterborough may have to cash in on him this summer.

How good is Ronnie Edwards?

Just a couple of weeks ago, it appeared as though the Hammers were close to securing a deal for Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire.

A fee of around £30m was agreed with United and Moyes looked set to discuss personal terms with the Englishman, yet the move has fallen through.

Maguire leaving the Old Trafford side this late in the window meant they would struggle to find an adequate replacement, and it’s back to the drawing board for the Scot.

Edwards, however, could be an ideal alternative to the former Leicester City defender, especially with the fact he is ten years younger and has yet to reach his peak years.

The Posh centre-back played over double the amount of league matches than Maguire last term (40 to 16) and he also registered more tackles (two to 0.5), interceptions (1.4 to 0.8) and clearances (3.3 to 2.6) per game.

The youngster also showed how impressive he was physically by winning four duels per game compared to just the 2.4 that Maguire won while Edwards also averaged more touches (68.7 to 42.4) and completed more accurate passes (49.1 to 30.6) per game than his much more esteemed compatriot throughout the whole of last season.

Of course, one was playing in the third tier and the other at the highest level, yet it’s evident that Edwards could come at a significantly cheaper cost than the United titan, whilst having the capacity to develop further.

The 5 foot 10 starlet was even hailed as a “Rolls-Royce” by Barry Fry in 2021 when the player was just 18 years of age, and his future certainly belongs at a much higher level than the one he is currently playing at.

Perhaps the move for Maguire falling through is a blessing in disguise for Moyes as he can make a more concrete approach to Peterborough for their prized asset, and it would be a very shrewd investment indeed.

The prospect of suffering up to five years of financial losses forced Cricket South Africa to postpone the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League, which will now only kick off in November 2018. Four days after offering an assurance that the tournament will go ahead as planned, CSA’s acting CEO Thabang Moroe on Tuesday revealed the financial model was not sustainable and CSA needed more time to create a profitable event.”What has changed is numbers. We looked at our model and we are still very confident with it. But for the model to work, it needs to have money supporting it. That money cannot be money coming from CSA alone,” Moroe said.”If you have a model that says, I need x-amount of money coming from broadcasters, x-amount coming from sponsorship, then if any of it changes, automatically it forces you to go back and have a look at your model. You can’t keep reworking your model to accommodate for where CSA is hurting. It becomes reckless trading as far as the board is concerned. The model itself is fine. But it needs to be supported by money coming in from outside CSA.”If you look at the numbers that have been put in front of us in terms of broadcast and sponsorship deals, we were going to make losses of between US $6-8 million every year for the next five years. It’s a no-brainer (to postpone) if you look at numbers.”How did CSA get this so wrong?It seems to come down to gross miscalculation of the worth of the product the board was proposing.CSA had initially hoped to strike a broadcast deal of around US$20 million but had no takers. It was negotiating with SuperSport, who already hold the rights to cricket played in South Africa, as well as companies in India and the UAE. Since the tournament was slated to take place at a time when other international teams will be in action and did not have big Indian, Australian and English names, a foreign broadcaster was a tough ask. Meanwhile, SuperSport originally believed they would have the rights even if a new tournament began and are understood to have played hardball. Some reports quoted figures of barely $6 million being offered.On Friday, when Moroe addressed the media, he said CSA will look at a combined broadcast and sponsorship deal of $17-18 million, which is a little more than half of what they had first hoped for: a deal of $32 million. Moroe anticipated a loss of $25 million in the first year, which amounts to half of CSA’s cash reserves.Who was responsible for this? Pointing fingers will result in entering dodgy legal ground but on the face of it, everyone involved deserves some of the blame. The CSA will need to look into matters of the league as well as its own systems, and present the facts and a way forward.The tournament was the brainchild of former CEO Haroon Lorgat, whose departure from CSA two weeks ago was partly because the board was unhappy with his actions in putting together the GLT20. Moroe said the board “does not believe it was fully appraised” of Lorgat’s activities, and there is a possibility of further investigation.”The board takes full responsibility in terms of everything that’s happened,” Moroe said. “The board took its trust and placed it in the hands of a few individuals and obviously not all the information that the board needed to have in order for the board to be comfortable enough to continue with this league, that information wasn’t forthcoming and some of it is still not forthcoming.”At the same time, CSA’s board waited for three-four months before acting on suspicions that information was being withheld from them. Moroe admitted to a failure of the board’s checks and balances and said it was working to gather all the information needed to understand the inner working of its own tournament.The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) has called for CSA to conduct an independent review into what transpired.How does CSA hope to fix things in a year?It’s unlikely that the league will differ significantly from its current look and feel so all CSA can hope for is to nurture relationships with broadcasters and potential sponsors. Moroe hopes to “rebuild credibility” so that he can go back to companies and ask for money. He has also promised a transparent process which will reveal key numbers, such as how much the franchise’s licensing fees were sold for and whether due process was followed in awarding the licences. He also believes if CSA can clean house, they can also clean up their image.What will happen to the player contracts and coaching deals that have been signed?While Moroe said “no contract with a player, coach or supplier” has been cancelled, this is not simply a case of putting deals on hold for a year. SACA will seek compensation for the players who were contracted to the league. They expect the bill to be significant.”A year is a long time in cricket and anything can happen in terms of player availability or circumstances,” Tony Irish, SACA CEO said. SACA was also not consulted about the postponement of the league and hopes to engage with CSA in more detail in future.A newly formed coaches’ association will act on behalf of the coaches.T20 Global League

Will there be any cricket in South Africa in November and December? CSA currently has no domestic or international matches scheduled from the end of Bangladesh’s tour on October 29 until at least Boxing Day when Zimbabwe are due to play a four-day, pink-ball game, which could get Test status subject to ICC approval. The board has tasked Corrie van Zyl, the general manager of cricket, with coming up with a contingency plan.One option is to move up the franchise T20 competition; the tournament is unsponsored at present and was due to be played between March 14 and April 15 next year. Another is to play the franchise one-day cup, scheduled for December 20 to January 31 in this time.If CSA seeks an international opponent, there are slim pickings. The only teams who are available are Pakistan, West Indies, who finish a two-Test tour of Zimbabwe in early November, or Zimbabwe themselves. Moroe confirmed that CSA do not want to “put content in and waste money” and, because all three teams cost more than they make for the board, it may not be viable to invite any of them.Is South Africa at risk of losing players? Perhaps. One of the key aims of this GLT20 was to provide a lucrative option for local players and dissuade them from seeking county cricket or other T20 tournaments to make more money.With the tournament now a non-starter, CSA is powerless to keep players in the country. Already, there is talk that franchises in the Bangladesh Premier League are after some of the biggest names in South African cricket, such as AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy. Meanwhile, Morne Morkel and Heino Kuhn have been linked with Kolpak moves. Moroe said CSA will have to have discussions around player retention. “We have to treat all players equally so this matter is not just about AB or Faf or the so-called big players. We have to treat all players equally and doing so means sitting down with SACA,” he said.What about the stadium upgrades? </bCSA committed Rand 350 million over three years to do work in all the stadiums around the country. This included new lights in Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein and refurbishments to changerooms and media centres, and the upgrade will continue."That doesn't stop. Our stadia need to be upgraded. The league was a catalyst in terms of fast-tracking it because we needed it all to happen this year. But it was already in the pipeline," Moroe said.Will the GLT20 ever happen? Yes, according to CSA. “The league is still coming, it’s not cancelled,” Moroe said.