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NDTV
4 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
England Team Director Makes Huge Statement On Crucial No. 3 Spot For 1st Test: "It Is A..."
England's team's managing director Rob Key said that the battle for number three spot in the playing XI for first India Test between Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell would not define either player's career and it is a "good position to be in". England will have a huge selection call to take as either Pope or Bethell will bat at the coveted number three spot, and the other one could miss out on being a part of the playing XI completely. Key has framed the call as a decision as to "which really good player" they should pick and said, "It is a good position to be in." During the one-off Test against Zimbabwe earlier in late-May, Pope scored 171 to continue his string of strong showings at number three, scoring 2,024 runs in 28 Tests and 48 innings at an average of 43.06, with seven centuries and fifties each. On the other hand, Bethell slammed three brilliant fifties at the same position against New Zealand last December, a series which saw Pope keeping wickets and shifting down the order to accommodate a player who is being hyped as the team's next superstar. Speaking to the Telegraph's cricket podcast, Key said that it is a win-win situation either way. "You have got two brilliant players who can do that role. Ollie Pope's been fantastic in that tough spot; he played brilliantly in New Zealand... alright, he was in a different role, but we have got two brilliant options in those spots," he said. "A tough decision is when you have got no options, and you have got to just try and find something from nowhere. That is when I am sort of scratching my head. This one is: 'Which really good player are we going to pick?' It is a good position to be in," he added. Bethell missed the Test match against Zimbabwe as he was busy with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). While ex-English batter Michael Atherton criticised Bethell for preferring franchise over Test cricket, Key said he had no regrets. "I do not think that the careers of Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell are defined by what happens this week, or whether he came back to play the Zimbabwe Test. He may not have played that Test match," Key said. "Watching his development has been extraordinary, and his going out there and playing in the IPL, I think, was brilliant for him. We will get the return on that in the future," he added. Key also suggested the express pacer Mark Wood, currently out due to knee injury, has an outside chance of being picked during the back-end of the series. "He potentially could be ready for the back end," he said. "You may see him by the end of the series, but certainly then when you fast-forward to the Ashes, he should be fine for that," he concluded. The first Test of the five-match series, kickstarting both teams' ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle, will start from June 20 onwards. The English squad: Ben Stokes (Durham) - Captain, Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Cook (Essex), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).
India Gazette
4 days ago
- Sport
- India Gazette
"Don't think careers are defined by...": Rob Key on number three spot battle between Pope, Bethell
Leeds [UK], June 18 (ANI): England's team's managing director Rob Key said that the battle for number three spot in the playing XI for first India Test between Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell would not define either player's career and it is a 'good position to be in'. England will have a huge selection call to take as either Pope or Bethell will bat at the coveted number three spot, and the other one could miss out on being a part of the playing XI completely. Key has framed the call as a decision as to 'which really good player' they should pick and said, 'It is a good position to be in.' During the one-off Test against Zimbabwe earlier in late-May, Pope scored 171 to continue his string of strong showings at number three, scoring 2,024 runs in 28 Tests and 48 innings at an average of 43.06, with seven centuries and fifties each. On the other hand, Bethell slammed three brilliant fifties at the same position against New Zealand last December, a series which saw Pope keeping wickets and shifting down the order to accommodate a player who is being hyped as the team's next superstar. Speaking to the Telegraph's cricket podcast as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Key said that it is a win-win situation either way. 'You have got two brilliant players who can do that role. Ollie Pope's been fantastic in that tough spot; he played brilliantly in New Zealand... alright, he was in a different role, but we have got two brilliant options in those spots,' he said. 'A tough decision is when you have got no options, and you have got to just try and find something from nowhere. That is when I am sort of scratching my head. This one is: 'Which really good player are we going to pick?' It is a good position to be in,' he added. Bethell missed the Test match against Zimbabwe as he was busy with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). While ex-English batter Michael Atherton criticised Bethell for preferring franchise over Test cricket, Key said he had no regrets. 'I do not think that the careers of Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell are defined by what happens this week, or whether he came back to play the Zimbabwe Test. He may not have played that Test match,' Key said. 'Watching his development has been extraordinary, and his going out there and playing in the IPL, I think, was brilliant for him. We will get the return on that in the future,' he added. Key also suggested the express pacer Mark Wood, currently out due to knee injury, has an outside chance of being picked during the back-end of the series. 'He potentially could be ready for the back end,' he said. 'You may see him by the end of the series, but certainly then when you fast-forward to the Ashes, he should be fine for that,' he concluded. The first Test of the five-match series, kickstarting both teams' ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle, will start from June 20 onwards. The English squad: Ben Stokes (Durham) - Captain, Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Cook (Essex), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire). (ANI)
France 24
01-06-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Pyramids survive tense finish to be crowned African champions
Competing in the premier African club competition for only the second time, Pyramids triumphed 3-2 on aggregate after the first leg was drawn 1-1 in Pretoria last weekend. Fiston Mayele scored after 23 minutes and Ahmed Samy on 56 minutes for the Egyptian outfit before Iqraam Rayners reduced the arrears in the 75th minute. Listless for much of the match, Sundowns pressed in the closing stages, but the second goal that would have given them overall victory on away goals proved elusive. Pleas by Pyramids, who normally attract crowds of just a few thousand, for support led to their 30,000-seat stadium being about half full for the second leg. Both clubs made one change to the first-leg starting line-ups last weekend in Pretoria, where Walid el Karti headed an added-time equaliser after Lucas Ribeiro gave Sundowns an early second half lead. Pyramids coach Krunoslav Jurcic, a former Croatia midfielder, dropped forward Ibrahim Adel, scorer of six goals en route to the final, and promoted ex-English Premier League forward Ramadan Sobhi. Sundowns' Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso left out Brazilian forward Arthur Sales and gave a starting place to midfielder Jayden Adams. Cardoso is only the second coach after Argentine Oscar Fullone to reach consecutive Champions League finals with different clubs. Fullone, who died in 2017 aged 78, guided ASEC Mimosas of the Ivory Coast in 1998 and Raja Casablanca of Morocco the following year to victory in finals of the premier African club competition. Mayele scores Cardoso took Esperance of Tunisia to the 2024 final, which they lost to Al Ahly of Egypt with an own goal separating the sides. A new Champions League trophy, unveiled before the first leg, was brought to the touchline at the 30 June Stadium by 48-year-old Nigerian legend and former Inter Milan and Arsenal star Nwankwo Kanu. On a warm, windy first day, both teams constantly surrendered possession cheaply before Pyramids took the lead when Mayele scored his ninth goal of the African campaign. A cross by Ahmed Atef was partially cleared by Grant Kekana and Mayele pounced to slam a snap low shot across goalkeeper Ronwen Williams into the far corner of the net. Tensions rose and the Somali referee yellow-carded Atef and Aubrey Modiba after the duo had an angry clash, leading with their heads. Sundowns squandered a great chance in first half added time when Tashreeq Matthews broke through only to see his shot parried by the left leg of goalkeeper Ahmed el Shenawy. It was the only time the Pretoria outfit threatened in the opening half despite having much more possession. Pyramids struck again when Mohamed Chibi placed a free kick into the goalmouth and central defender Samy headed powerfully into the net. It was the first goal for Samy in the 16-match Champions League campaign and he became the 19th Pyramids player to score in the competition this season. Sundowns replied when a weak headed clearance offered Rayners a chance and he fired past El Shenawy from close range.
