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Press and Journal
a day ago
- Sport
- Press and Journal
Ross County sign versatile ex-Sunderland defender as Steven Ferguson delivers update on Ronan Hale's future
Ross County's summer recruitment continues with the signing of versatile defender Ben Crompton. After leaving Premier League newcomers Sunderland, the 21-year-old has agreed to head to County on a pre-contract agreement, two-year deal. Crompton, who has experience playing right-back and centre back, never made a first-team appearance for the Black Cats but played 25 times for English National League side Tamworth last term. County manager Don Cowie explained why Crompton, who joins the club on July 1, fits the bill. He said: 'We are really happy Ben has chosen to join us. He had a really productive loan spell with Tamworth last season. He offers strong ability on the ball, as well as an imposing physical presence.' Crompton will join fellow defender Declan Gallacher, midfielder Ross Docherty and winger Gary Mackay-Steven as the new arrivals in Dingwall following the club's relegation from the Premiership last month. County, meanwhile, expect striker Ronan Hale to lead the line and fire the club back to the Premiership next season. The 26-year-old joined County on a three-year contract last summer when he moved to the Dingwall club from part-time NIFL Premiership side Cliftonville. Hale, who made his full Northern Ireland debut last week, has been linked to clubs around the country on the back of scoring 18 goals in all competitions in his debut term with the Highlanders. When asked about his club future last week, Hale said: 'I'm not sure at the moment. 'Obviously, we had a disappointing end to the season by being relegated, but it's one we need to look at and see what's best for my career.' County were relegated to the Championship after losing to the Premiership play-off final to Livingston last month. However, there is no question in County chief executive Steven Ferguson's mind that Hale will be checking into the Global Energy Stadium with the rest of his team-mates on Monday. He said: 'We encourage players wanting to improve themselves, but Ronan is under contract, and he will be reporting for pre-season training as part of the group that is going to try and win the Championship. 'The challenge for last season was that we lost Jack Baldwin, Yan Dhanda and Simon Murray and, with 10 games to go we thought we had achieved a good season, despite that. 'We are consistently the youngest team in the Premiership, and a lot of that is down to who we can recruit to the Highlands. 'We identified that, after another discussion between the chairman and I, we needed experienced knowledge alongside these talented youngsters. 'Noah Chilvers is 24 and Ronan Hale is 26, so we are getting guys that we believe are in their prime. 'That was part of the reason we brought these guys in on longer-term contracts, because we have seen them as part of the longer journey. 'That's still there, but there has been another path added which is this one year where we are fully focused on winning the Championship. 'I wouldn't be surprised if there is interest in more of our players, but the way that we do our business is that these players are under contract with us, and we look after our players. 'We'll give these players the opportunity to perform on a Saturday.' Ferguson explained that losing Simon Murray to Dundee last summer led to Hale becoming their number one target. County are going all out to win the Championship within one year and the feeling is it will take plenty of cash for any move to even be entertained, as Hale is too important within the team. He said: 'We invested in Ronan as a replacement for Simon Murray, and this is one of the things I was speaking about before where a lot of good things happened last year. 'Simon left having scored 20 (league) goals, and we got a good return on investment for the gamble we took two years ago. 'To get that was acceptable, and we wished Simon well when he went, but we had to replace him. 'Ronan Hale was earmarked as that person, and if you were to tell me that he would end up with 17 goals in his first season in the Premiership, I would have bitten both of your hands off. 'That was a good piece of business. (Chief scout) Greg Strong was involved in that, the manager was involved, and the chairman and I were both involved, so that was a real plus. 'Getting 17 goals in a team that was struggling to score was huge. He's just had a cap for Northern Ireland, so that raises his profile, but he's on a long-term contract to be a Ross County player.' Ferguson, who along with Stuart Kettlewell took County back to the Premiership in 2018-19 as co-managers, detailed how the squad is in healthy shape after eight players, excluding loanees, had moved on. He added: 'It's not just Ronan Hale who is still in contract – Akil Wright, Noah Chilvers, our two goalkeepers (Ross Laidlaw and Jordan Amissah) are too. 'I think we've got two Premiership goalkeepers, so that position is well and truly nailed down. 'George Harmon has played 100 Premiership games, Connor Randall has played over 250 career league games, we've got Eamonn Brophy coming back, Jordan White, Kieran Phillips who we chased for a long time – all of these guys are still under contract and hungry to play. 'Jay Henderson was nominated for player of the year in the Championship last season. We believed that him going and playing 40 games in the Championship would mean we had a more complete player next year. 'We thought we would be in the Premiership, and we're not, but the way his contract was structured he's still here and he will be with us in the Championship. 'We were after six signings, and we've got three over the line quickly, and we're hoping another three will follow to complement the players we have. 'That's not forgetting Andrew MacLeod and George Robesten, as academy graduates, who made inroads last year and played in Premiership games.'
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
James Anderson to captain Lancashire in Marcus Harris' absence
English seamer James Anderson will step in as skipper for Lancashire in the next two rounds of the County Championship after regular captain Marcus Harris returned to Australia for the birth of his child. This will be Anderson's first game as a captain in any form of professional cricket. 'Jimmy will lead the side and it is exciting for him and us. He has obviously got a lot to offer on and off the field. It will be a proud moment for him. It is not obviously all on Jimmy but it helps and his presence, particularly as captain, is a massive boost for the rest of the lads,' Steven Croft, Lancashire's interim head coach, told the BBC. This will be Anderson's second County game of the season, with the first coming in May. The veteran pacer, though, represented Lancashire in four Vitality Blast matches recently, tallying an impressive 10 wickets. Anderson has the most Test wickets for a pacer, with 704 scalps from 188 games, at an average of 26.45. He retired from international cricket in July 2024. The 42-year-old's first assignment as captain will be a home game against Kent, which will be followed trip to at Chesterfield, where Lancashire will face Derbyshire. Related Topics James Anderson
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Kyle Verreynne on hitting South Africa's winning runs in WTC Final: ‘Had told David I hope we don't end up batting tomorrow!'
There are all those LinkedIn motivational rip-offs taken from sport. And all those definitions of being 'clutch'. And then there are Kyle Verreynne and David Bedingham, who actually put the finishing touches on that victory for South Africa against Australia in the WTC final. At dinner on the eve of what turned out to be the final and 4th day of the final, the duo had sat for dinner and spoken about how they wanted to enjoy the Proteas win from the Lord's balcony. Their mindset that night – hope we don't have to bat. Come Day 4, and Aiden Markram almost had South Africa home, but fell with 6 runs to go. Out jaunted the merry-pippeny Kyle Verreynne, a prodigious talent, but with adventure coursing in his veins – reflected in the worried faces of Temba 'Lord's' Bavuma, Shukri Conrad, JP Duminy and Ashwell Prince, as well as Smith & AB on assorted spots at Lord's. Then Verreynne went for a scoop, saved by Australia running out of their reviews. Too many times in too many matches, has South Africa batting contrived to lose. Talking to Verreynne explained, 'Honestly, I have no answer, I don't know what happened. We needed one run with five wickets in hand so I kind of knew the job was done. There was a rush of emotions, they got the better of me, but thankfully we got it done in the end.' At the other end was a considerably calmer David Bedingham, top scorer from first innings, and someone Verreynne called as his 'best mate in cricket.' Before Markram, Bavuma and Stubbs had departed and Cummins' men are not known to throw in the towel. Verreynne told that he and Bedingham had planned to watch their side's victory from the iconic home team's balcony at Lord's pavilion. Having to get the win themselves- no matter. 'We were sitting at dinner last night with a couple of beers and both David and I looked across the table and said, 'I hope we don't end up batting tomorrow!' he was quoted as saying by 'When we were out there hitting the winning runs, that was quite a cool moment and made it really special,' he added. South Africa have one of the strongest schools cricket system and the two have known each other for long. 'David and I have had a long journey, slightly different paths, but we have gone through our professional career together and batted at school together. To be on this stage and get the job done with my best friend in cricket is really, really special,' he added. Though Australia were the overwhelming favourites, what was missed by many tuning in, was how their batsmen had tuned up for the final by playing County cricket. Verreynne turned out for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship, while Bedingham was camped at Durham. Verreynne told that the team was mighty chilled about getting to the target. 'I was very nervous, but not from the point of view of getting the job done,' Verreynne explained. 'Coming here this morning, everyone had that nervousness that comes with excitement. We all knew we were probably going to get the job done, especially the way we've been playing over the last couple of years,' he added. The world doubted them through the 2023-2025 cycle, but the Proteas themselves didn't bother with worries. 'How we are as a group, there were no doubt we were going to get across the line. We had that nervous energy and now we can celebrate. There was a lot of nerves, but they were good nerves,' he said. 'I don't think anyone would have expected, two years ago when the cycle started, for us to be in this position. But for us as a team, it's really incredible. Then you think about what it means to people in our country, for them, it's really special too,' he told
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Newport County signing Matt Smith hungry for more Wales caps
The Exiles have pulled off a coup by landing the 25-year-old, who made 25 appearances for Scottish Premiership St Johnstone last season. He has signed a two-year contract and is a key arrival in a department that struggled in 2024/25 after the loss of Aaron Wildig to injury and sale of Bryn Morris. If Smith, who is from the West Midlands but qualifies for Wales through a grandfather from Blackwood, is the heartbeat of the County side then he should catch the eye of Craig Bellamy. That would give the 19-times capped midfielder a shot of being the first Exiles player to win a Welsh cap since Josh Sheehan in 2021. TUSSLE: Republic of Ireland's Jayson Molumby (left) and Wales' Matthew Smith battle for possession in 2020 (Image: Brian Lawless) 'It's always been a massive honour to represent Wales,' said Smith, who was a member of the squads at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup. "Every time I put on the shirt was a really proud moment and something I look back on with fond memories. "I'd love to get back to that level again. I spent a number of years involved in the set-up and it's something I truly cherish 'Being around players of that calibre, you see the standards every day in training and around the camp. I've learnt a lot from those players, and I hope to take those experiences forward here.' Smith adds experience to the current crop of midfielders who learned plenty when getting a first proper taste of the EFL. Cameron Antwi, Kai Whitmore, Keenan Patten are all on the books, with new boss David Hughes sure to look for more options in the coming weeks. Smith came through Manchester City's academy and had loan spells with FC Twente in the Netherlands, QPR, Doncaster, Charlton and Hull before a permanent move to Milton Keynes Dons. MOVE: Matt Smith has joined County from St Johnstone, who he played for against Rangers at Ibrox (Image: Andrew Milligan) 'I've been fortunate to experience different cultures, different teams, and different systems, which have definitely helped shape me as a player,' said Smith. 'I've learnt from both the positive and challenging moments and used them to grow stronger.' The arrival of Smith sets the tone for what County hope will be a strong summer recruitment drive as they bid to improve on a campaign that saw them slip to 22nd in League Two, even if they always had a comfortable lead over the relegation zone. 'I want to be a big part of this team and help Newport push up the league and finish as strongly as possible,' said Smith. "It's got a fantastic fanbase. I've always admired the club from afar, especially with the Welsh connection, and I've seen the passion the fans bring. 'I'm hungry to be a Newport County player and I'm really excited about what's ahead. I know the fans will get behind me and the team, and I can't wait to get going.'
The Hill
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Public sector union head steps down from DNC
Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, stepped down from his post at the Democratic National Committee on Sunday, becoming the second union leader to resign from the committee. In a letter obtained by The Hill, Saunders informed DNC Chair Ken Martin that he would decline his reappointment as an at-large member of the committee. 'This moment demands unwavering focus, discipline, and clarity,' Saunders wrote. 'It demands that we devote every ounce of our energy to defending our members, protecting our collective bargaining rights and making sure that all workers know we are in their corner and we are fighting.' The union led by Saunders represents over 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees. Saunders' letter comes after the American Federation of Teachers Union President Randi Weingarten informed DNC Chair Ken Martin of her decision to step down from her post in a letter dated June 5. Saunders and Weingarten both endorsed former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler in his race against Martin for DNC Chair. The exits come as Martin has had to grapple with internal divisions at the DNC being laid bare in recent weeks. Former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg has been vocally critical of the party's leadership, writing in a post on X last week that the party's leaders have been 'asleep at the wheel.' Hogg faced backlash from many Democrats including within the DNC for launching an organization that would primary incumbent House Democrats in an effort to bring about generational change within the party. Hogg said he would not be vying for his spot as vice chair in the DNC after an overwhelming majority of DNC committee members voted to redo the vice chair elections of Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who was elected again to the post on Saturday.
