Over recent weeks, the England cricket hierarchy has been at pains to show it has learned lessons from a dismal Ashes in Australia. Chief executive Richard Gould, director Rob Key and captain Ben Stokes have led a charm offensive aimed at showing they really do care about county cricket, that they will not be giving failing England players any more leeway, and that preparing for a Test series might actually be a good thing.
Stokes grabbed more attention this week with another interview on the ECB website, in which he insisted his relationship with head coach Brendon McCullum is not strained by a difference of opinion on England’s approach, and that they are “95 per cent aligned”.
All of which has left former England captain Michael Vaughan perplexed. “I have no idea why that interview was released,” Vaughan says. “I don’t think there’d have been one person waking up that morning thinking, ‘Oh, Ben and Baz have got an issue’. Two hours later, that interview gets released, and it’s clear that they’ve had a bit of a problem in the winter.”
Vaughan was not convinced by Key and Gould’s PowerPoint presentation to the media at Lord’s that attempted to lay out England’s next steps and was dismissed as “management speak” in some quarters. “The corporate messaging was just corporate messaging,” says Vaughan. “Slideshows for slideshows’ sake, just to try and prove that they’re becoming more of an attention-to-detail organisation.
“If they really wanted to put on a front, then Ben Stokes, Rob Key and Baz McCullum should have been presenting those slides in front of the media. I have no idea why Richard Gould was talking about cricket. He’s the CEO. He’s what I call the bean counter of the game, and looks after the finances.”
The question now is whether England will really change. Can the bridge between the County Championship and the England Test team be rebuilt after it was left to decay for four years?
There are certainly places up for grabs when England take on New Zealand at Lord’s in June, in the first of three Tests. Zak Crawley’s position as an opener is in serious doubt. The bowling unit is not set in stone. Vaughan, who is speaking to promote the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, a new national hardball competition for state schools, believes there must be changes at both ends of the line-up if England are to start afresh.
“They need tone-setters with bat and ball, so they need someone who opens the batting with Ben Duckett. You can’t expect to be the No 1 team in the world with someone who averages 31 from 64 games [Crawley]. We need to get away from just selecting players because they play in the vibe this era has created. Your opening batters have got to average over 40.
“And then I’d be looking at someone like Ollie Robinson. With the new ball in Australia, they were poor, and they need someone that’s going to set the tone. England needs to sit with Ollie and if it’s a mental thing, if it’s a fitness thing, if it’s an attitude problem that Ollie Robinson has, England have to iron it out. They’re not a good enough team to just put someone like Ollie Robinson on the scrapheap. You look at his numbers in Test match cricket, they’re up there.”
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There is plenty of time for County Championship players to catch the eye, with four more rounds of games before McCullum and Stokes pick their side. But there is already a familiar name at the top of the run scoring charts: Jamie Smith had an Ashes to forget with the bat and the gloves, but he has made a brilliant start to the season at Surrey, scoring two centuries in two matches batting at three.
The concern with Smith is that his teammate Ben Foakes is Surrey’s preferred wicketkeeper. Smith is likely to retain his place in the England Test team, even after some brainless shots down under, but his glovework needs attention. Vaughan says it is time for him to knuckle down and learn the art of the keeper, even if that means taking matters into his own hands.
“He’s obviously not keeping for Surrey, which is a problem for me. Like Shoaib Bashir, he wasn’t getting in his county team, but he’s [an] England spinner, that can’t be right. But [Smith] should play because he’s too good … His batting’s going to be fine at seven – I’m sure he’ll end up maybe at six in time.
“But I just look at Matthew Prior, when he first started for England as a wicketkeeper-batter, and his keeping was a little bit flawed, and suddenly he went and worked away with [former England wicketkeeper] Bruce French, worked his nuts off every morning and drilled and caught loads of balls and became a brilliant wicketkeeper-batter. I look at Jamie Smith and think, ‘Go on, take a leaf out of Prior’s book’.”
England were criticised for their lack of specialist coaches at the Ashes, with only a temporary bowling coach and no fielding coach on the tour, during which they dropped 18 catches. There was also no keeping coach to work with Smith directly on his struggles behind the stumps.
“The coaching has to get better, it’s as simple as that,” adds Vaughan. “Baz McCullum has got to coach the team, and he needs to bring in expertise. And if Jamie Smith is working with Alec Stewart or Bruce French, whoever, Jack Russell, that wicketkeeper coach should be around the England team for the preparation days. And if I was the coach of England, which I’m not, I’d be fine with players bringing in their own coaches to make sure that they’re ready for the Thursday start.
“I’ve never, ever seen a keeper improve by not catching balls. You have to do all the drills. You have to catch loads of balls, and that’s on the Tuesday morning, the Wednesday morning, the Thursday morning, the Friday morning. Every single keeper that I see that gets to the top in their profession are catching balls all the time. I just need to see a bit more of that.”
Over a thousand teams have signed up for the chance to play at Lord’s as stars encourage greater access to cricket in state schools. Find out more here.
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When we arrived at the first tee, we found out we’d be paired with another golfer, something that’s very common at busy public courses.
He turned out to be a recent graduate from Providence College who had played on the golf team, so he was clearly a strong player. He was not only talented but also great to play with. We kept up well, and it was enjoyable getting to know someone new while sharing the round.
While being paired with strangers can feel intimidating at first, it almost always works out well. Plus, it can get you out of your comfort zone and help you become better at playing in front of people you don’t know, which is a great skill to have.
One of the best things about golf is that, regardless of skill level, there are always small wins that make the round feel rewarding.
I played pretty well overall, aside from one hole where I got a bit too aggressive going for a pin. I did birdie the final hole, though, which was a great way to finish.
My friend Nicole recorded her lowest nine-hole score, which was exciting to see. Jessica, who had recently made a significant posture adjustment, also played really well.
All in all, it was a great day on the course, and it never would’ve been possible without access to a great public course.
Mumbai Indians find themselves in ninth place in the 10-team IPL 2026 points table after their latest loss against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Four losses in five matches mean that MI’s concerns are hitting the roof as the contest for the playoffs heats up. On Thursday, MI failed to defend a 196-run target as PBKS raced to victory in just 16.3 overs. MI captain Hardik Pandya was shell-shocked after the result.
“To be very honest, I don’t have much to say right now. I think we really need to go back to the drawing board and see where we are lacking. Is it individuals? Is it as a group? Is it planning? We’ll just figure it out and see what we can do next. I think we need to give credit to them as well,” Pandya said after the match.
“The ball started reversing. In the second innings, the dew came and it got slightly better, but having said that, they just outplayed us. They bowled better, they batted better, and they fielded better – definitely. That speaks to us again. I think we need to see whether we need to make some difficult calls or keep continuing and hope that we turn things around. These are some harsh questions that we eventually need to answer, and ownership has to be taken.”
Talking about the game, Quinton de Kock‘s fine hundred went in vain as Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer blasted blistering fifties to steer Punjab Kings to a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their IPL match on Thursday. Sent in to bat, de Kock blasted a scintillating unbeaten 60-ball 112 to power Mumbai Indians to 195 for six.
De Kock forged a 122-run alliance off 68 balls with Naman Dhir (50) and then added another 41 off 23 balls with skipper Hardik Pandya (14).
Arshdeep Singh (3/22) claimed three wickets, while Shashank Singh (1/19) picked up one.
Chasing the total, Prabhsimran (80 not out off 39 balls) and skipper Iyer (66 off 35 balls) shared a match-winning 139-run stand off 67 balls for the third wicket as Punjab overhauled the target in 16.3 overs.
AM Ghazanfar (2/31) picked up two wickets.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 195 for six in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 112 not out; Arshdeep Singh 3/22).
Punjab Kings 198 for 3 in 16.3 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 80 not out, Shreyas Iyer 66; AM Ghazanfar 2/31).
IPL 2026 News | RCB Outplay CSK For 2nd Win On Trot, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co Suffer 3rd Loss
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Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike will miss the World Cup because of a serious leg injury, France coach Didier Deschamps confirmed Wednesday.
Ekitike sustained a suspected Achilles tendon injury in the 27th minute of Tuesday’s Champions League match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain and was taken off the field on a stretcher.
“The severity of his injury will unfortunately prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and from participating in the World Cup,” Deschamps said.
Serious Achilles injuries can take more than six months to fully recover from.
Liverpool did not immediately confirm the news, but coach Arne Slot said Tuesday that the injury looked “really bad.”
Ekitike has been one of Liverpool’s top players this season and was expected to be part of France’s squad for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. He has scored 19 goals for club and country and scored for France in its 2-1 win over Brazil last month.
“Hugo is one of about 10 young players who have made their debuts for the national team in recent months. He had integrated perfectly into the group, both on and off the pitch,” Deschamps said. “This injury is a huge blow for him, obviously, but also for the French national team. His disappointment is immense. Hugo will get back to his best, I’m convinced of it. But I wanted to express my full support for him, as well as that of the entire staff.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Apr 16 2026 | 4:45 PM IST
Lorenzo Musetti is through to the quarter-finals in Barcelona after a 6-3, 6-4 win over Corentin Moutet.
It’s his first time reaching this stage at the tournament since 2023.
Musetti has had a disrupted season so far. He retired at the Australian Open with a leg injury and later withdrew from the Miami Open with an arm issue.
The win over Moutet is his ninth of the year as he continues to work his way back.
Bernardo Silva will leave Manchester City at the end of the season, he and the club confirmed on Thursday.
The midfielder spent nine years at City and had long been expected to move on when his contract expires in the summer.
He released a statement on his social media pages, reading: “When I arrived nine years ago, I was following a dream of a little boy, wanting to succeed in life, wanting to achieve great things. This city and this club gave me much more than that, much more than I ever hoped for.
“What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will forever be cherished in my heart. The Centurions, the domestic quadruple, the Treble, the Four In A Row and much more… It wasn’t that bad,” he wrote, followed by a winking emoji.
“In a few months it’s time to say goodbye to the city where not only we won so much as a football club, but also where I started my marriage and my family. From the bottom of my heart, Ines and Carlota, thank you!”
He went on to thank the club’s fans for their “unconditional support”, “something that I will never forget.”
“My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you guys could feel proud and well represented on the pitch. I hope you felt that every single game. I arrived as a Man City player, I leave as one more of you, a Man City supporter for life. Keep supporting this young team and I’m pretty sure they will bring you a lot of new fantastic memories in the future.
“To the club, Pep, the staff and all my teammates these 9 years, thank you for all the memories and for letting me be a part of this journey for so long. The atmosphere we created every day in the training ground made me feel at home and a part of a big family. Let’s enjoy together these last weeks and fight for what this season still brings us.”
The 31-year-old, who joined from Monaco in 2017, is one of the most decorated players in City’s history, winning one treble and 19 trophies, including the Champions League in 2023 and six Premier Leagues.
Appointed captain for this season, he lifted his first silverware as skipper when they won the Carabao Cup last month.
Silva has made more appearances under Pep Guardiola than anyone else – with his 450th City game coming in the 4-0 win over Liverpool on Saturday – and was named City’s player of the season in 2018-19.
A club statement paid homage to his “glorious” nine-year spell with the club, adding: “The 31-year-old’s contribution to our greatest sustained period of success is incalculable.
“Alongside that phenomenal trophy haul, a tally of 76 goals and 77 assists further illustrate Bernardo’s magnificent all-round contribution to the City cause.
“He recently moved into the top 10 of all-time City appearance holders, overtaking a host of other notable former players, including David Silva, Paul Power and Willie Donachie.
“In short, he will be deservedly remembered both as one of City’s finest and most popular players of all time.”
Assistant manager Pep Lijnders let the news slip earlier this month, saging that “every good story comes to an end” and that the Portugal international is in the final weeks of his time at the Etihad Stadium.
Lijnders said: “Every good story comes to an end, and I hope he enjoys the last months – there are only six weeks – and has a good farewell. He deserves all that attention as well.”
Silva, who has attracted interest from Juventus recently, was a past target for Barcelona and had wanted to move on to a warmer climate than Manchester.
Lijnders admitted City will face a struggle to bring in a similar player, adding: “You never replace a player with the same kind of player because they don’t exist. Bernardo Silva is unique. The way he controls games, the way he moves, the way he receives, the way he leads, the way he sees the solutions. All these things.
“You never search for a replacement of one type of player. You search for what is needed to grow with the team and somebody who can fit in the first 11. And then you hope, with our academy, with the young players we already bought, that they can make that step as well in the midfield positions.
“If you see our young boys in the academy, then they have to make that step and to grow. But the most important is that the seniors who stay for a long time, that they stay, that they stay, that they stay. That they are always there and around that, you can move.
“But it will be hard because, as I said, in the game, when he is not playing, you will see how he is missed, and that’s one game. Imagine a season.”
Lionel Messi is being sued by a Miami-based event promoter who says the soccer icon violated terms of a $7 million contract by missing an exhibition match last year.
Vid Music Group filed the lawsuit for fraud and breach of contract against Messi and the Argentine Football Association in Miami-Dade circuit court last month, according to court records.
Messi and the AFA didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Considered one of the greatest soccer players ever, Messi appears with both his Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and Argentina’s national team, and fans routinely pay much higher prices for the chance to see him play.
According to the lawsuit, Vid signed a deal with the AFA last summer for exclusive rights to organize and promote Argentina’s friendlies last October against Venezuela and Puerto Rico in exchange for ticket, broadcast and sponsorship revenue. Vid claims that Messi was supposed to play for at least 30 minutes in each match, unless he was injured.
The 38-year-old Messi watched Argentina’s 1-0 win against Venezuela on Oct. 10 from a suite at South Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium, according to the lawsuit.
The next day, Messi scored two goals in Inter Miami’s 4-0 MLS win over Atlanta. That match was important to Inter Miami, since it gave them home-field advantage for Round 1 of the playoffs.
Then, on Oct. 14, Messi played in Argentina’s 6-0 win over Puerto Rico. That game was originally supposed to take place in Chicago, but low ticket sales in the city where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were making more than 1,000 arrests led organizers to move the game to Florida. AFA blamed the immigration crackdowns when the smaller venue in Fort Lauderdale didn’t sell out, even after ticket prices were reduced to USD 25 each.
Vid hasn’t specified damages they’re seeking in the lawsuit, but they claim they lost millions between Messi failing to appear in one game and low ticket sales at the other.
Arsenal secured a place in the Champions League semi-finals after a tense goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium, sealing a narrow 1-0 aggregate win on Wednesday night.
Mikel Arteta’s side were far from their best in the second leg of the quarter-final, struggling to impose themselves and lacking sharpness in attack. However, they managed to protect their slender first-leg lead as Sporting failed to capitalize on Arsenal’s inconsistent performance.
Scrappy Arsenal getting desired results
Despite reaching the semi-finals for a second straight year, a first in the club’s history, Arsenal’s form remains patchy, with just one win in their last five matches across competitions.
Arteta had urged his team to play with intensity and fearlessness, but Arsenal started brightly only to fade quickly, allowing Sporting to grow into the game. Defensive lapses and a lack of fluency in attack kept the visitors in contention.
Viktor Gyokeres struggled to make an impact against his former club, while missing key players Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard left Arsenal short of creativity. Sporting also came close through Francisco Trincao and Geny Catamo, but Arsenal held firm amid mounting pressure.
In the second half, Arsenal created chances through Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli, and Noni Madueke, but failed to convert. Late substitutions, including Kai Havertz and Max Dowman, helped steady the side as they survived a nervy finish to progress.
Bernardo Silva has announced he will leave Manchester City this summer, bringing an end to nine years at the club.
The 31-year-old has made over 450 appearances, scored 76 goals and provided 77 assists, playing a key role in one of the most successful periods in the club’s history.
During his time at City, he won 19 major trophies: six Premier League titles, the Champions League, and the Treble in 2023.
In a message shared on social media, Silva reflected on his journey at the club.
“When I arrived 9 years ago, I was following a dream of a little boy, wanting to succeed in life… much more than that, much more than I ever hoped for. What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will forever be cherished in my heart.”
He also thanked manager Pep Guardiola, his teammates, and his family.
“To the fans, your unconditional support throughout the years is something that I will never forget… My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you guys could feel proud and well represented on the pitch.”
Silva urged supporters to continue backing the team as the season closes.
“I arrived a City fan. I leave as one, supporting this amazing team, and I’m pretty sure they will bring you a lot of new fantastic memories in the future.”
Manchester City has confirmed his departure, while tributes have continued to come in from across the football fans.
Barcelona say refereeing “errors” cost them a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League, and have caused “significant sporting and financial harm to the club”.
As a result, the Spanish giants have made a second complaint to Uefa about officiating across both legs of the tie.
Barca had a player sent off in each leg of their 3-2 aggregate defeat by Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid, with their 2-1 win on Tuesday not enough to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first game.
In both cases, a yellow card was upgraded to a red after the referee was instructed to review at a pitchside monitor the possible denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
Pau Cubarsi was dismissed by Istvan Kovacs in the first leg, and fellow Barca defender Eric Garcia was sent off by Clement Turpin in the second.
Kovacs was also criticised by Barca after he and video assistant referee (VAR) Christian Dingert allowed play to continue when Atletico defender Marc Pubill handled the ball in his own penalty area.
Barca had already protested a “grave lack of VAR intervention” following the first leg, with Uefa deeming the club’s complaint “inadmissable”.
After filing a second complaint to Uefa, the club released a statement claiming that “several refereeing decisions were made that did not comply with the laws of the game”.
Barca accused officials of “incorrect application of the regulations” and criticised the lack of VAR intervention “in incidents of clear significance”.
The statement added that “the accumulation of these errors had a direct impact on the course of the matches and on the final outcome of the tie, causing significant sporting and financial harm to the club”.
Barcelona forward Raphinha, who missed each game through injury, told reporters after the second leg: “For me, this match was a robbery. Not just this match but the other one as well.”
A Barcelona statement added: “Through this complaint, the club reiterates the requests previously made to Uefa and, at the same time, offers to collaborate with the organisation with the aim of improving the refereeing system to ensure a more rigorous, fair and transparent application of the laws of the game.”
Anfield Watch can exclusively reveal Liverpool are lining up a move for a new right-back ahead of the summer window.
As this season has unfolded, the void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold at Anfield has grown more apparent.
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There are very few players in world football who can match his quality, especially in terms of distribution and creativity from deep and especially from right-back. His ability to dictate play and break down defences is unrivalled – there is no one like him.
Although Conor Bradley has often been seen as the natural heir, ongoing injury issues have raised concerns about his reliability as a long-term first-choice option.
There’s no doubt he still has a role to play within the squad, but Liverpool need more certainty in such a vital position.
Meanwhile, Jeremie Frimpong has yet to prove himself as a dependable defensive presence, with his strengths clearly better suited to more advanced, attacking roles.
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That lack of confidence in Frimpong and the doubts over Bradley’s fitness has forced Liverpool into action and they will be tempting to reinforce the right-back position this summer in order to replace Alexander-Arnold ‘properly’ once and for all.
So, who could Liverpool be targeting?
Anfield Watch can exclusively reveal that one of the club’s top targets for the position is Daniel Banjaqui and Liverpool are exploring a potential move for the 18-year-old right-back, who is seen as an ideal profile for the football the Reds want to play.
Banjaqui has only made two senior appearances for Benfica’s first-team under Jose Mourinho, but he has caught the eye in those games.
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In his first ever start, he won the most tackles (4) and the most duels (12) in the game, but perhaps the most important aspect of his performance was his assist, a clever cross finding Anisio Cabral to help Benfica to a 4-0 victory.
Banjaqui also caught the eye at the U17 World Cup, where he played a key role in Portugal triumphing in the tournament, playing all of his country’s eight matches en-route to lifting the trophy and becoming a world champion.
Liverpool had a lot of scouts present at that tournament in Qatar, and the Reds have already signed two players from the tournament in Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye.
In terms of his playing style, Banjaqui is quick, and he loves to bomb forward but he’s also a very good defender. In many ways, you can draw similarities with his style of play to that of his compatriot Nuno Mendes who came through the ranks at Sporting CP and plays for Paris Saint Germain.
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Mendes was a player Liverpool really liked at Sporting but never ended-up signing because at the time they had Andy Robertson.
The reason why Liverpool are ready to move for Banjaqui now, who recently penned a new deal with Benfica until 2031, is because securing him this summer will ensure that he could become a homegrown player by the time he turns 21-years-old as per current Premier League squad registration rules.
The same will apply to Giovanni Leoni, and the aforementioned Ndukwe and Ndiaye.
It would be a genius move from Liverpool, who believe Banjaqui would be ready to play a role in the first-team immediately.
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