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A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge’s opening round of games, which included big wins for Knights and Titans, while the Cobras were beaten by Dolphins

Firdose Moonda13-Nov-2017Results summaryKnights opened the Ram Slam T20 Challenge with a straightforward win, chasing 154 against Warriors in Port Elizabeth. Warriors were left to rue their mid-innings collapse in which they lost five wickets for 30 runs between the 5th and 11th over, caused largely by pace off the ball from Shadley van Schalkwyk. Christiaan Jonker’s 61 off 38 balls kept them in the hunt but the quality of international batsmen in the Knights side meant the total, though slightly above par for the venue, was never enough. Theunis de Bruyn’s 78 off 48 balls and David Miller’s 62 off 47 balls took Knights home with two overs to spare.Rain affected double-header Sunday but Dolphins made a strong statement against Cape Cobras, putting on 231 for 2. Sarel Erwee became the first centurion of the competition with 103 off 58 balls while Khaya Zondo contributed 67 off 34 balls. Vernon Philander conceded 49 runs, while Dane Paterson went for 44 runs in their respective four-over quota. In response, Cobras’ superstars could not withstand the pressure. Richard Levi nicked off against Robbie Frylinck, Temba Bavuma scooped a catch to point off Keshav Maharaj and JP Duminy was run-out. Hashim Amla was on 52 not out when lightning stopped the chase after 8.3 overs. Cobras finished on 108 for 3 in 10 overs, 15 short on the DLS method.The lightning eventually turned into a storm and reduced the match between Lions and Titans to 15 overs-a-side. Albie Morkel took 3 for 12 to keep Lions to 127 for 6, with Reeza Hendricks’ 67 off 42 the only score over 20. Then, Morkel scored 41 off 16 balls and shared an 85-run third-wicket partnership with AB de Villiers, who blitzed a 19-ball 50, to give Titans victory with 22 balls left in their innings.International incidentsDe Villiers takes the honours for the most impressive performance by a national player, not least for the back-to-back sixes he hit off Kagiso Rabada to end Titans’ innings. He did not, however, score as many runs as either de Bruyn or Miller. De Bruyn’s contribution may be particularly noteworthy, considering his struggle to find a spot in the Test team. This innings showed he could start making a case for consideration in shorter formats.Among the bowlers, Maharaj, who opened the bowling for Dolphins and took 1 for 23 in three overs, would have caught the national selectors’ eyes. Maharaj started ahead of Imran Tahir, and showed the same control he has become known for in Tests.There will be concern over Duminy’s start as Cobras captain. He bowled three overs and cost his side 40 runs, and was then run-out for 1, at a time when Cobras desperately needed a partnership.Domestic dreamersLook no further than Erwee for a domestic player who has made an impact in the opening week. Erwee, a 28-year-old opening batsmen from Pietermaritzburg, has had a stunning summer so far. He was the leading run-scorer in the Africa T20 Cup for champions Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland.He also scored two hundreds for the Dolphins in the first-class competition, but was forced to miss two of the remaining three matches. Erwee could not play mid-way through the first half because he went to France for the wedding of England’s Jason Roy, a friend from his club cricket days in the UK, and then could not play the final round before the break because he was part of South Africa’s victorious Hong Kong Sixes squad.Beyond the boundaryBoth venues, St George’s Park and SuperSport Park, saw fairly good crowds attend the opening week, with the Port Elizabeth band in full voice and a Sunday afternoon crowd braving the Highveld storms to braai on Centurion’s grass embankments.Three members of the crowd took one-handed catches, in a competition for a share of R2 million (US$139,290) but only two of them are eligible to win. The third is an employee of the Gauteng Cricket Board, one-half of the Lions franchise, and so had to be disqualified.

Manchester United have been handed a boost after learning that Crystal Palace attacking midfielder and target Eberechi Eze has rejected a new contract at Selhurst Park, according to reports.

Is Eberechi Eze leaving Crystal Palace?

The Premier League playmaker first joined Roy Hodgson’s side from QPR back in 2020, where he’s since gone on to make a total of 93 senior appearances to date, but despite still having another two years remaining on his contract, there’s a chance he could be heading for the exit door before the end of the ongoing transfer window.

The England international, who made his professional debut under Gareth Southgate last month, firmly established himself as the Eagles’ top-performing player last season with a WhoScored match rating of 7.02, and this consistent standard of displays has brought him onto the radar of Erik ten Hag.

Back in June when writing for GiveMeSport, freelance football writer Steve Bates reported that the Red Devils have had the 23-year-old under review since Christmas and initially earmarked Eze as an alternative to Mason Mount, and even though that move did eventually happen, it hasn’t stopped chiefs from monitoring the talisman in SE25.

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Are Man United signing Eberechi Eze?

According to TEAMtalk, Eze has "turned down the chance" to sign a new contract at Crystal Palace amid interest from Man United.

Selhurst Park chiefs are looking to tie down their prized asset for the foreseeable future, but it's claimed that he has "rejected" the opportunity to put pen to paper on fresh terms, which has sent an "alert" to the M16 side, who are named as a "potential suitor".

Ten Hag's interest is "unlikely" to have passed despite securing Mount's signature, and it would seem that making a swoop now "looks more viable than it otherwise would have been" given the player's desire to possibly start a new adventure elsewhere.

How good is Eberechi Eze?

Eze not wanting to commit his future to Crystal Palace is a huge boost for Ten Hag, who will now be in a better position to make a move for his target, and having been dubbed a “magic” player by former teammate Christian Benteke, the attacking midfielder is a special talent.

The Eagles’ £30k-per-week earner racked up 14 goal contributions (ten goals and four assists) in 38 Premier League matches last season – form which saw him receive four Man of the Match awards from WhoScored, but he also proved to be a threat in the final third aside from his goalscoring contributions.

The Greenwich-born talent ranked in the 99th percentile for successful take-ons and recorded a total of 70 shots over the course of the campaign, which was the highest tally throughout the whole of his squad, via FBref, highlighting that he loves to dribble past his marker and take aim at the opposition goalkeeper.

Furthermore, Eze shares the same agency – CAA Base Ltd – as Raphael Varane, so this existing connection that his representative already has to the club could potentially help United during negotiations, having had previous dealings should they try to wrap up a deal in the weeks ahead.

Cristiano Ronaldo might have been troublesome for some managers, but former Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo is definitely not one of them.

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Pirlo managed Ronaldo from August 2020 to May 2021Won Coppa Italia together at TurinItalian hailed Ronaldo for his dedication and professionalismWHAT HAPPENED?

The 44-year-old manager was in charge of Juventus from August 2020 to May 2021 when he got to work closely with the Portuguese talisman. Ronaldo fired on all cylinders in that campaign, scoring 36 goals in 44 appearances and guiding the Bianconeri to the Coppa Italia title as well.

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Reminiscing on his Juve days as a manager, Pirlo told Radio Serie A what it was like to coachthe all-time great: "Training Ronaldo makes you understand how to become number one in the world. He’s an exemplary professional in every aspect: from how he eats, how he recovers, to how he trains.”

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While Ronaldo was hailed as a hero in Turin, his second coming at Manchester United ended on a bitter note as he had to prematurely terminate his contract with the Red Devils following an explosive interview with Piers Morgan where he took aim at manager Erik ten Hag and also at the club's hierarchy. After the 2022 World Cup he joined Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr and has been in prolific form in front of goal, scoring 24 goals from 26 appearancesthis season.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?

Ronaldo's stint at the Allianz Arena saw him score 101 goals for the Serie A giantsthrough 134 appearances. And apart from the Coppa Italia triumph he also delivered two league titles. Even at 38, he is going strong with Al-Nassr and will be back in action against Al-Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League.

It is becoming increasingly more clear that Southampton's chances of keeping hold of either – let alone both of – Romeo Lavia and James Ward-Prowse this summer are incredibly slim.

How much will Romeo Lavia cost?

Lavia is reportedly a target for both Liverpool and Chelsea, which is helping Southampton when it comes to negotiations over a possible fee.

The Saints are said to value Lavia at £45m, but with Manchester United and Arsenal also potentially interested, they could hold out for closer to £50m.

Ward-Prowse is valued at around the £40m mark, meanwhile, meaning Southampton could have plenty of money to play with when it comes to bringing in replacements.

Finding a successor for Lavia in particular is going to be incredibly difficult, but the south coast club may already have identified the perfect match.

According to the Daily Mail, a move for Leicester City's Hamza Choudhury has previously been discussed, albeit with a move looking unlikely at this stage.

Is Hamza Choudhury a good player?

Choudhury looked like being a huge talent when making his Premier League debut for Leicester shortly after turning 20, but instead, he found himself on loan in the Championship last season with Watford.

While the Hornets had an underwhelming campaign on the whole, Choudhury made his presence felt by leading the way in metrics such as tackles per game (3) and interceptions (2.3), while his 14 yellow cards were the joint-most of any player in the division, level with Reading's Andy Yiadom.

Indeed, only Sheffield United's Max Lowe (3.2) registered more tackles per game in the English second tier last season, as per WhoScored, while nobody managed more interceptions than Choudhury.

Southampton could do with a player who is capable of breaking up play and keeping things ticking over in the middle should Lavia depart, and the numbers point towards Choudhury being exactly that player.

The former England U21 international won 1.99 of his tackles per 90 minutes last season, according to FBref, which compares to 1.42 for Lavia in a division higher.

Choudhury also completed 86.2% of his passes, compared to 82.9% for Lavia, while he also offers more of a presence in the air, winning 67.7% of his aerial duels last season to Lavia's 41.2%.

This is not to say Choudhury is a better player than Lavia as such, but the 25-year-old has proven Championship quality and is a player who will no doubt feel he has a point to prove should Leicester again look to offload him.

Just as football reporter Ben Jacobs put it ahead of Choudhury's loan move to Watford last season, the Leicester academy graduate – on wages of £7.5k-per-week – "still has huge potential", which he went some way to showing during his eye-catching spell at Vicarage Road.

At a fraction of the price of the fees they will generate for both Lavia and Ward-Prowse, everything points towards Choudhury being a perfect fit for Southampton in their bid to earn a swift return to the Premier League.

The rift between Joao Felix and Diego Simeone was clear to see on Sunday, after the Barcelona player scored against his parent club, Atletico Madrid.

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• Felix scored winner against Atletico
• Had a falling out with Simeone in 2022
• Simeone refused to acknowledge Felix performances

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Catalan giants defeated the Rojiblancos 1-0 thanks to Felix's goal. The 24-year-old Portuguese was eligible to play against Atletico despite him being on loan from them. Felix did not hold back in his celebration after scoring, leaping onto the advertising board and waving his arms in the Jude Bellingham style. The winger and Atletico defender Jose Gimenez also came dangerously close to getting into a fight. Felix accused the defender of punching him as the two faced up.

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• WHAT SIMEONE SAID

  There was no love lost between the two when Felix was brought off in the 79th minute, as Simeone blanked Felix – and vice versa. But Simeone had little to say about Felix after the match, as he failed to recognise his performance in the post-match interviews: "I don't talk about my rivals, I talk about my team and I keep the good things."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Felix's relationship with Simeone soured as soon as the player lost his spot in the squad, even though Felix and Atletico won La Liga in 2021. He eventually signed a loan deal with Chelsea in January as a result, and when he returned to the Spanish capital in the summer, he made an instantaneous exit. Felix is eager to extend his loan agreement at the Nou Camp. However, given the club's financial difficulties, Barca could find it difficult to afford him.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR FELIX?

  With the Blaugrana, the former Benfica man will look to carry the victory and form into next weekend's major clash against La Liga's surprise team, Girona. Barcelona will take on the side in second place on Sunday, December 10.

Italian football is blessed with an abundance of midfield talent.

Their Euro-winning side saw the likes of Marco Verratti, Jorginho, and Nicolo Barella play starring roles, whilst Sandro Tonali, Manuel Locatelli, and Davide Frattesi are also stupendously rising to international prominence.

Another dazzling prodigy that has emerged from the Azzurri production line is Chelsea’s Cesare Casadei.

Who is Cesare Casadei?

The 2003-born titan joined the Nerazzurri in 2018, where he swiftly moved through the youth ranks, winning a national U17 Championship the following year and being promoted to the U19s, despite being two years younger than the rest of the squad.

During the 2021/22 season, the 6 foot 1 ace made 30 appearances in the Italian Primavera Championship for Inter, the nation’s youth league, and notched 18 goal involvements.

The Blues then agreed to a £12.6m deal for the youngster to come to Stamford Bridge. He has begun his career in West London brightly, with netting five times in 13 outings for Chelsea U21s.

Most recently, in May 2023, the former Inter prodigy was included in his country’s squad that participated in the U20 World Cup. In Argentina, he was simply magnificent, as he scored seven goals, registered an 80% pass accuracy, made nine key passes, nine successful dribbles, and won 50 duels as his side lost in the final to Uruguay.

However, this was still deserved recognition for his string of imperious performances as he received the Golden Ball and Golden Boot, as the most valuable player and the top scorer of the tournament.

Maurizio Viscidi, Italy’s National Youth Team Coordinator, who has witnessed Casadei’s extraordinary growth, said: “He’s a modern midfielder, because out of all the youth team midfielders he’s been the one with the greatest aptitude for attacking runs and goalscoring.

“He’s also strong in the air, something that’s unusual among younger players. Given his ability to enter and give a presence in the area he’s the strongest player currently within the Azzurri’s youth sector.”

Due to his reputation as an outstanding free-scoring midfielder, an obvious comparison has been made to club legend Frank Lampard.

The Englishman scored 211 goals from his deep-lying, box-to-box midfield berth, and Casadei’s similar height, physicality, frame, and athleticism means he is more than capable of repeating some comparable feats.

Whilst it would be foolish to suggest that anyone could replicate Lampard’s record-breaking statistics, there is nothing to disprove Casadei’s limitless potential from the middle of the park.

Described as someone with “crazy potential” and a “diamond” by Andrea Zanchetta, Inter’s U18 coach, Casadei is destined for unadulterated greatness and his transfer has been a rare victory for Chelsea’s new ownership.

Andhra staved off a doughty 83 from Snehal Kauthankar to snatch a three-run win against Goa off the last ball in Chennai. Batting at No. 4 in Goa’s chase of 229, Kauthankar’s 98-ball effort hauled Goa from 122 for 6 in the 36th over to 216 in the 49th over, before he was dismissed by medium-pacer Bandaru Ayyappa. Goa needed 12 runs off the last over, bowled by Paidikalva Vijaykumar, and they got eight of those before a run-out off the last ball ended the innings. Kauthankar found support from Saurabh Bandekar, Shadab Jakati (22) and Amulaya Pandrekar, as he rallied the chase. His innings included four fours and two sixes. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt and legspinner Dasari Swaroop Kumar took three wickets each.Earlier, AG Pradeep struck an unbeaten 115 off 111 balls to guide Andhra to 228, although they were limited by a clutch of wickets in the slog overs. Medium-pacer Felix Alemao was the best bowler for Goa with returns of 3 for 42.Sudip Chatterjee’s 85 not out off 100 balls helped Bengal clinch a two-wicket win over Rajasthan in Chennai, with a successful chase of 275. Coming into bat in the 16th over after a 109-run opening partnership between Shreevats Goswami and Abhimanyu Easwaran, Chatterjee shepherded the chase through a period when they lost two wickets in successive overs and through a slump towards the slog overs, when Bengal lost four wickets for 42 runs.Rajasthan were propped up by opener Dishant Yagnik’s second List A century – 100 off 137 balls – and at one stage had looked good to post a total in excess of their eventual 274 for 9. They were 182 for 2 in the 39th over but lost their next five wickets for 41 runs. Tajinder Singh’s 11-ball 37, which included four fours and three sixes, pushed the total past 250.Gujarat eased to a four-wicket win with 41 balls to spare after their bowlers had restricted Madhya Pradesh to 213 for 9 in Chennai. Gujarat’s chase was spearheaded by Priyank Kirit Panchal’s 78-ball 53, complemented by Bhargav Merai’s 45. Both Merai and Panchal fell within a few overs of each other, before Rujul Bhatt and Rohit Dahiya sealed the win with an unbeaten 45-run partnership for the sixth wicket.All five of Gujarat’s bowlers were among wickets as MP struggled to 213 for 9. While most of the batsmen got starts, only Naman Ojha (30) and Shubham Sharma (40) went on to put up scores of more than 30. Knocks from Sohraab Dhaliwal (26), Ankit Sharma (24) and Puneet Datey (29 not out) also helped the side recover from 107 for 5.

Santiago Gimenez has made history by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in an Eredivisie away game at Ajax.

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• Gimenez scored hat-trick
• Feyenoord won 4-0
• Game was rescheduled

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Feyenoord took on Ajax in a rearranged Eredivisie fixture on Wednesday, with the previous fixture being abandoned due to fans throwing fireworks on the pitch, and later storming the Johan Cruyff Arena. Gimenez was superb in the victory, scoring a treble.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Mexico international scored twice before the 20th minute, and added a fourth on the hour mark following a goal from Igor Paixao. Feyenoord's 4-0 win moved them into third in the Eredivisie, while Ajax continue to languish in 14th; they have only won once this season.

  Ajax's troubles have opened the door to Gimenez making history, however, as he has become the first player to score an away hat-trick against the club in the league.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Gimenez has been prolific for Feyenoord since arriving in 2022, scoring 32 goals in 52 games for the club. He has also scored four times in 20 caps for Mexico.

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Feyenoord are next in action this weekend against Go Ahead Eagles.

Chelsea have set their sights on Brentford striker Ivan Toney as a summer transfer target.

What’s the latest on Ivan Toney to Chelsea?

According to Simon Phillips, his “best source” has indicated that the Blues are seriously keen on a move for the 27-year-old and his potential betting ban is the sole reason why they've not pushed harder to secure the deal.

Writing on his Substack, he said: “I’ve been told now by multiple sources, and again this weekend by my best source, that Chelsea really want to sign Toney. The latter source in particular believes that if it wasn’t for his potential betting ban pending, then we would have tried to put a pre-deal in place for the summer already.”

This outlet follows Football London’s report, which claims that the incoming Mauricio Pochettino is keeping a close eye on the forward, as well as his teammate and goalkeeper David Raya, in what would be a sensational double swoop.

Football Insider previously stated that 2021 Championship Play-Off winners would demand a fee of £50m for their star man, but given Chelsea’s inexplicably lavish spending under their new ownership, this is unlikely to be a stumbling block.

Recently, when Bees manager Thomas Frank was asked if he’d swap Toney for Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, he jokingly replied “of course not” with a wry smile.

This would be a tricky deal for the 2021 Champions League winners to navigate given the Englishman's heroic status at his current club and that Chelsea cannot offer European football next season.

Why do Chelsea want Ivan Toney?

Since joining the west Londoners in 2020, the one-cap international has undoubtedly been the club’s most influential, productive, and integral player.

In his debut season for Frank’s side, he notched 31 goals in 45 Championship appearances and netted twice in the play-offs as Brentford secured promotion.

Then, like many regular second-tier scorers, his top-flight credentials were questioned, and he was put in the spotlight on whether he could replicate this unplayable form.

However, the “remarkable” attacker – as per his manager – has recorded 32 goals in 66 Premier League outings and is currently the division’s third-highest scorer this term, whose tally of 20 is only bettered by Harry Kane and the record-breaking Haaland.

Micah Richards has also lavished Toney with praise and is impressed with his extraordinary rise. He said: “One thing I’ve always loved seeing is how a player improves from one season to the next. Ivan Toney’s progress, then, has given me a huge thrill. Twenty League goals for Brentford?

“Wow. I don’t know why but nobody is talking about him as much as they should. Toney was superb at Liverpool, his touch and awareness were outstanding. I’d love to see him in the PFA team of the year.”

For a Chelsea team that lacks any focal point or a consistent goal-scoring threat, the former Peterborough man’s potency would be a dream for Pochettino who will be in desperate need of somehow rescuing the team's attack.

Indeed, the Londoners have only scored a goal a game in the top flight this term, meaning a player of Toney's ilk could well be game-changing.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Gautam Gambhir reached his 61st first-class half-century before rain hit Greater Noida•AFP

A thunderstorm that turned the Greater Noida Sports Complex ground into a swamp washed out close to two sessions of play after Mayank Agarwal and Gautam Gambhir struck half-centuries at the top of the order after Yuvraj Singh’s India Red elected to bowl.Yuvraj, perhaps mindful of his side being bowled out in under two sessions in their Duleep Trophy opener at the same venue last week, was left to wonder what may have been had they converted two opportunities – one each from Gambhir and Agarwal – in the 34.2 overs that were possible. A majority of those were bowled by the pace trio of Nathu Singh, Pradeep Sangwan and Ishwar Pandey in search of seam movement when there was none on a fresh surface that had less grass cover than the one used for the previous game.Gambhir, batting with an open-chested stance, seemingly in a bid to negate the away-going deliveries that have often discomfited him over a period of time, was troubled early on by his Delhi team-mate Sangwan. In the third over of the morning, the left-arm pacer saw an edge fall short of second slip and then had a shout for lbw turned down, but released the pressure in the very next over when he grassed a miscued pull at fine leg off Nathu.Agarwal’s technique outside off stump also came under scrutiny, but unlike Gambhir, he was happy to trust the bounce and hit through the line. After Nathu’s initial burst, he looked increasingly comfortable against the Pandey and the spin of Akshay Wakhare and Kuldeep Yadav.Kuldeep, the left-arm wrist spinner who picked up his maiden five-wicket haul last week, didn’t get the kind of purchase he would have hoped for. He was also guilty of bowling a touch flat and short as Gambhir, who captains him at Kolkata Knight Riders, eased him repeatedly behind square on the off side.Agarwal, who had a lucky reprieve minutes from the tea break when he fended a Nathu bouncer back for a return catch off a no-ball, got to his fifty in the second over after the break when he lofted Kuldeep over the infield. Gambhir then struck Sangwan for successive boundaries to raise his half-century before retiring to the dressing room to see a gentle drizzle turn into a thunderstorm.