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Following his team’s innings-and-217-run defeat to Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy final, Tamil Nadu captain Abhinav Mukund said there was no shame in the side’s defeat to Karnataka

Amol Karhadkar in Mumbai 12-Mar-2015Soon after BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur handed over the coveted Ranji Trophy and its replica to Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar, the Tamil Nadu squad, dressed in their practice attire, made a quiet exit to the dressing room.While the Karnataka camp was celebrating their second successive Ranji Trophy title, with the players’ wives and families present, the Tamil Nadu camp was so disappointed they didn’t even pose for a photograph with the rolling runners-up trophy. After the kind of lop-sided contest witnessed in the final, it didn’t come as a surprise that Tamil Nadu preferred to be far from the spotlight but they put up a brave front, with captain Abhinav Mukund saying there was no shame in the loss.Captains, coaches conclave on March 15

The new BCCI regime seems to have taken a step towards getting its act right by reviving the captains and coaches conclave, which last took place in March 2013. Captains and coaches of all the 27 teams competing on the domestic circuit will meet in Delhi on March 15 to review the 2014-15 season.
The meeting will also be attended by Anil Kumble, who heads BCCI’s technical committee, and Daljit Singh, head of BCCI’s pitch and curators’ committee. The nature of pitches all over the country, which have made spinners’ role miniscule, is likely to be a major point of discussion.
The conclave was not held last year after the board was mired in controversies and legal battles following the IPL 2013 corruption scandal.

“I don’t think there is any shame in losing to the side. I think they are a really good side, they played really good cricket over five days, they were consistent,” Abhinav said. “Obviously there are areas that we have to work on but there is a ray of hope that I can see in this Tamil Nadu team. Youngsters are coming through and there are a lot of positives for us. We will take this back with us and probably come back stronger in the next season.”Once Karnataka’s batsmen had weathered the storm by lunch on the second day, the match seemed to be heading towards one outcome. And Karnataka rubbed salt on Tamil Nadu’s wounds by piling on a lead of 628 runs before bowling them out for 411 on the final day. The victory, with a margin of an innings and 217 runs, was set up by the four Karnataka pacers on the first day, who bundled Tamil Nadu out for a meagre 134 in the first two sessions of the match.Vinay admitted that Karnataka went into the game with an additional seamer after considering the fact that Tamil Nadu had played all their home games on turning tracks.”If you talk about the final, we wanted to go with the extra seamer,” Vinay said. “We thought they would definitely struggle against the seamers because they were playing on turners and they won’t play on the kind of wickets where they will get extra bounce or swing.”Vinay was “delighted” to finish as the first Karnataka captain to lift the trophy twice in succession. He also ended the season as the joint highest-wicket taker and added that the match did not pan out as easily as the scorecard suggested.”I won’t say it was easy,” Vinay stated. “In the first innings, we bowled really well that’s the result we have got now. Had they got around 300-350 runs, it would have been difficult. They are a good side. They bowled really well, but we tackled them well as a batting unit.”

The Red Devils have worn some iconic kits over the years but which one is your favourite?

Manchester United have launched their new home kit for the 2022-23 season and it's fair to say it's something a little bit different!

The iconic red shirt has been worn by numerous legendary players over the years, from Eric Cantona to Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham to Wayne Rooney, with the strip having undergone quite a few changes over the last three decades.

GOAL takes a look back through the archives to spotlight all the home shirts the Red Devils have worn since 1992. Check it.

We independently choose all products featured on our site. We may earn a commission when you purchase something through the links provided.

Watch: Iconic Man Utd kits from the last 30 years 🎥AdvertisementManchester United1992-94

Umbro has created some classic kits over the years and this one is no exception. The lace-up V-neck and bold collar are as retro as you can get with a football shirt.

Get the 1992-94 Manchester United home kit from Footy Classics

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Worn by the likes of Eric Cantona and a fresh-faced David Beckham, the black collar and subtle shirt print are the main features of the 1994-96 United home kit.

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Manchester United1996-98

The checkerboard on the sleeves and subtle print on the 1996-98 home shirt is an instant throwback to the classic style of retro football shirts.

Get the 1996-98 Manchester United home shirt from Vintage Football Shirts

Lionel Messi may be joined in Florida by Federico Redondo after all, with Inter Miami reportedly resurrecting a deal for the midfielder.

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Herons in the market for midfield reinforcementsMLS rules appeared to have scuppered moveDiscussions ongoing ahead of 2024 campaignWHAT HAPPENED?

The Herons have lost Facundo Farias to a season-ending injury, putting them back in the market for midfield reinforcements. Another Argentine is said to be in their sights, with Redondo – the son of former Real Madrid and AC Milan star Fernando – registering on their radar.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

An agreement was said to be close, with personal terms being thrashed out with the talented 21-year-old ahead of an $8 million (£6m) transfer being pushed through. Serious doubt was then case over the deal, with MLS regulations regarding payment methods posing a problem.

DID YOU KNOW?

Redondo and Argentinos Juniors were left in the dark at that stage, but claims that the move could be back on. The “obstacles” blocking Inter Miami’s path are said to have been removed, with negotiations “moving forward again”.

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

Inter Miami are reportedly discussing “final details” when it comes to acquiring Redondo – who has also been linked with leading sides in Europe – and it could be that he is drafted in alongside Messi and Co ahead of the 2024 MLS campaign getting underway on February 21.

Joe Root has, as expected, been ruled out of the World T20 due to the broken thumb which forced him to leave the tour of West Indies last week

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2014Joe Root has, as expected, been ruled out of the World T20 due to the broken thumb which forced him to leave the tour of West Indies last week. Ian Bell, who has not played a Twenty20 match since January 2011, has been approved by ICC as his replacement.Root was struck on the thumb on the third ball of his innings during the final ODI in Antigua and despite advice to retire hurt, he continued to score his maiden one-day hundred and help England to a series win. He still managed to open the bowling before leaving the field for treatment, and subsequent x-rays showed the extent of the damage. An ECB spokesman commented that the x-rays revealed that Root’s thumb is “in eight pieces.”He returned to the UK to see a specialist and although he has not been required to have the thumb pinned, the timescale to the World T20 is too narrow for him to make a return. England’s first group match is on March 22 against New Zealand.On Twitter, Root posted: “Bitterly disappointed I’m unable to make the World Cup! Want to wish the boys the best of luck and have every confidence in the whole squad.”Currently there is no precise date for Root’s return to action. Yorkshire’s County Championship season starts on April 13 but that may yet prove too early for him.Bell has played seven T20Is, the last against Australia in Melbourne more than three years ago, and was not part of the initial 30-man squad named for the World T20.England have other, ongoing, injury concerns in the T20 squad with Stuart Broad ruled out of the final two matches against West Indies due to a knee problem and Eoin Morgan, who will deputise as captain, not at full fitness either.

A little over a year ago Moeen Ali feared his chance for an international career was slipping away

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2014A little over a year ago Moeen Ali feared his chance for an international career was slipping away, but now he can look forward to a Test debut at Lord’s next week to add to the ODI and T20 caps he has already earned.Moeen has been included in England’s 12-man squad, one of three uncapped players, for his all-around skills and is likely to be slotted in to bat at No. 6 and be the main spin option in a pace-heavy England side following the retirement of Graeme Swann.He has a doosra among his armoury – developed under the guidance of Saeed Ajmal – but has yet to unveil it at international level. Although his career bowling average is 40.43, over the last two seasons he has taken his wickets at 32.56.His first taste of international cricket came in West Indies during March when he made his ODI and T20 debuts then he was part of the World T20. He will enter the Test arena in good batting form having hit 162 against Surrey in the last round of Championship matches.”I thought the previous winter that the chance might have passed me by to play for England but I put my foot down and really worked hard on my game and to score mountains of runs,” he said. “This winter’s experience has given me the hunger to want to play more international cricket and obviously the next step is Test cricket.”I loved my time for England during the winter and everyone made me feel so welcome and part of the squad and, apart from the last couple of T20s when I didn’t get many runs, overall I was quite pleased.Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, highlighted Moeen’s work ethic as one of his qualities which stood out.”No-one hits more balls in practice than Moeen and he thoroughly deserved his call-up during the winter with Lions and then for the full tours including the World Cup,” he said. “But what a fantastic thing that is for this club, that we’ve now got a player in the England Test squad who loves playing at this club.”

Former Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell has warned that the country could soon be “lost to international cricket” unless drastic action is taken

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2014Former Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell has warned that the country could soon be “lost to international cricket” unless drastic action is taken. He said that the lack of former international cricketers in the current Zimbabwe set-up is hurting the team’s progress.”Without any attention being paid, we can become like Kenya and cricket will be dead in Zimbabwe,” he told the Dhaka-based daily . “I am fearful that in the next two years if there is no intervention, very quickly they will be lost to international cricket. No one wants to see that.”Grant Flower and Heath Streak’s move to Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively meant that Zimbabwe needed batting and bowling coaches but Campbell said although the current coaches have the requisite qualifications, their lack of wider exposure means that the players don’t get expert advice on a regular basis.”Douglas Hondo is the only player to play Test cricket in the whole setup,” Campbell said. “Among the selectors too, no one has played Test match cricket. I worry that there is not enough expertise in the game. The business of cricket requires cricketers to be involved, but that’s not happening in Zimbabwe.”When a batsman here is struggling against spin there’s nobody there who can talk from personal experience. Say someone like Grant Flower, he would have said guys this is how you play left-arm spin. ‘If we play like this we will get knocked over, if we play like that we have half a chance’.”I don’t think our youngsters here are getting the requisite expertise required. As a player I would listen to someone who has been there, done that. I just hope a lot of the ex-players can be re-engaged by Zimbabwe Cricket. I tried to do that when I was in the cricket committee,” he said.With Flower as batting coach, Pakistan’s batsmen have amassed 13 hundreds in their previous three Tests. “He [Grant Flower] is their [Pakistan’s] gain, and our [Zimbabwe’s] loss. Unfortunately, you don’t know what you lost till it is gone. I think that’s what Zimbabwe will wake up to in the coming months. In a nation like ours which is always struggling to compete and remain relevant, you have to tap into every single resource.”And one of those, Sean Williams, was not considered for selection for the Bangladesh tour after interruptions in his involvement in a training camp and an aborted disciplinary hearing. The , a Harare-based daily, reported that Williams asked for family-responsibility leave during the Zimbabwean squads training camp in Harare and arrived three days before the players were due to leave for Masvingo for their practice game.The coach Stephen Mangongo wanted Williams to travel for that match, subject to a hearing to look into the reason for his absence for the bulk of the training. Williams was unhappy that an official process was put in place and threatened to quit the squad but later spoke to Mangongo and apologised but it came too late.Campbell said that a path should have been found to resolve the matter and bring Williams to Bangladesh, especially given the dearth of cricketing resources in Zimbabwe.”Sean Williams obviously needs to sort out things with the coach. In a country with meagre resources, you need everyone to get along. Banning him from playing on such a crucial tour with the whole world watching, you have to make sure you have the best side. I just think you need all your best available players.”I think Sean [Williams] plays well against spin and bowls good left-arm spin. Part of your job as a coach is man-management. [Mario] Balotelli can play football because he doesn’t get banned and they try and work with him. I don’t know what Sean [Williams] has done. I have to get to the bottom of it. But he didn’t commit murder, but he has breached team protocol. We haven’t got an abundance of players to throw guys by the wayside. Sean [Williams] is arguably our second best batsman and not having him here is crazy.”Williams has scored two centuries in two matches since the domestic season began last week.

Jamie Overton, the Somerset fast bowler who has rapidly attracted England’s attention will miss the Lions tour of Sri Lanka in the New Year because of a knee injury. Mark Wood, of Durham, replaces him

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2013Jamie Overton, the Somerset fast bowler who has rapidly attracted England’s attention will miss the Lions tour of Sri Lanka in the New Year because of a knee injury. The ECB has announced that he will be replaced by Mark Wood, of Durham.Overton and his fellow pace bowler, Wood remained at the National Performance Centre in Loughborough this winter to work on strength and conditioning while other members of the England Performance Programme shadowed the senior side in Australia.The Lions will play five matches in Sri Lanka in February and March, including three four-day matches against Sri Lanka A.Overton, still 19, was called up to England one-day squad against both Ireland and Australia last summer, but failed to make a debut, so denying him the opportunity to become the youngest cricketer to play for England since Brian Close in the 1940s. Not since the late Ben Hollioake made a dramtic impact into the England side in 1997 has a teenager made the full side.He suffered from tendonitis in his knee on several occasions last season.

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West Ham fans have taken to Twitter after The Guardian revealed that the Hammers are willing to pay £43.5m to meet the release clause of Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez, who looks set to replace Marko Arnautovic at the club.

The Hammers tied Arnautovic down to a new contract on Saturday night following their embarrassing 4-2 loss to AFC Wimbledon, which was met with raised eyebrows given the Austrian’s prior desire to leave the London Stadium this month (as per the BBC).

Interestingly, the 29-year-old’s new deal will come with performance related bonuses, which appears to be a method of incentivising the forward to play to his maximum before getting his wish of a move away in the summer.

Who should replace Marko Arnautovic if he leaves West Ham? FFC’s James Jones has the answer! Check out the video below to find out…

Uruguayan international Gomez, who is seven years younger than Arnautovic, would sign for West Ham in a club-record deal before being loaned back to the Spanish side as they look to avoid relegation from La Liga – it is this factor that looks to have rounded off the negotiations successfully.

Arnautovic will leave in the summer if the Hammers receive a £45m bid, which would then pave the way for Gomez to come in and replace him while the Irons make a tiny profit – seems like a good deal for everyone.

The latest report has certainly got West Ham fans talking on Twitter…

Michael Klinger smashed a brilliant 61-ball century to lead Gloucestershire to a 48-run Friends Life t20 victory over Worcestershire at Bristol

30-Jun-2013
ScorecardMichael Klinger hit his first T20 hundred to set up a comfortable win for Gloucestershire•Getty ImagesMichael Klinger smashed a brilliant 61-ball century to lead Gloucestershire to a 48-run Friends Life t20 victory over Worcestershire at Bristol.The skipper cracked five sixes and nine fours in contributing 108 to the home side’s total of 184 for 5 after winning the toss, with the next highest score Alex Gidman’s 18. In reply Worcestershire could muster only 136 all out, Alexei Kervezee making 39 and Ben Cox 37 going in at No. 8. James Fuller, David Payne and Benny Howell all bowled tightly for Gloucestershire.Both teams went into the game on the back of defeats in their opening match but after a steady start opener Klinger paced his innings perfectly, accelerating to move from a half-century to his first Twenty20 ton in just 27 deliveries. His five sixes included three in the 17th over, sent down by Daryl Mitchell, which cost the Worcestershire captain 25 runs. The first was over extra cover and the next two straight into the flats being constructed at the Ashley Down Road End.Gidman provided the best support in a fifth-wicket stand of 65 from five overs but was felled by a beamer from Chris Russell, which hit him in the chest, in the 19th over and did not field later in the game. It was Russell’s second such delivery in the over so he was ordered out of the attack and it was completed by Gareth Andrew, who bowled Gidman with the first ball after the batsman received treatment.Worcestershire’s reply got off to a bad start when Moeen Ali drove a catch to cover off Fuller’s fourth ball of the innings and it was 4 for 2 when Thilan Samaraweera skied to slip off Dan Christian. At the end of the six overs of the Powerplay the visitors were becalmed on 35 for 2. The next over saw Mitchell caught at short fine-leg off Payne to make it 39 for three.Andre Russell launched left-arm spinner Tom Smith for two big sixes but perished leg before in the same over and at the halfway stage Worcestershire were 60 for 4, needing a further 125 off 10 overs. They never looked remotely capable of that and wickets continued to fall around Kervezee as Gloucestershire outplayed their opponents in all departments. Cox at least hit a couple of sixes in a defiant and impressive 24-ball effort.

It sums up the situation West Indies find themselves in that their main hope of squaring the series against New Zealand appears to rest with a bowler who averages nearly 50 in Test cricket

Andrew McGlashan in Hamilton18-Dec-2013It sums up the situation West Indies find themselves in that their main hope of squaring the series against New Zealand appears to rest with a bowler who averages nearly 50 in Test cricket and hasn’t played a first-class match since March.Sunil Narine, the West Indies offspinner, has been on the verge of playing throughout this series, but the green pitches have halted West Indies’ desire to pick two spinners. Now, though, Shane Shillingford’s suspension has cleared his path, although it is asking an awful lot for him to turn their fortunes around.Much has been made of his 12 wickets in two Tests against New Zealand last year in the Caribbean, but they came on very different surfaces and against a batting line-up not buoyed by the recent home success Brendon McCullum’s players have enjoyed.However, Darren Sammy believes Narine can still be a trump card for West Indies. “It plays on the mind of the batsman knowing that he’s got so many different variations and balls in his armoury, so that in itself is a little bit of mystery,” Sammy said.”Obviously Test cricket has not been his best format but he’s still young in international cricket and he poses a threat on any type of wicket he plays on.”New Zealand are certainly wary of Narine and have been studying extra footage during this series in case he made the starting XI. Added help could also come courtesy of some insider knowledge from McCullum which he built up at the IPL while playing alongside Narine for Kolkata Knight Riders.”I’ve had the luxury of playing a lot of cricket with him at IPL and spending a bit of time in the nets as well,” McCullum said. “He’s a far better bowler now than what he was when he first came into international cricket. I think he’s managed to develop his game nicely, and while he’s had some struggles so far with the red ball, he did bowl well against us in the Caribbean”Some of the stuff that we talk about is that some of the guys will watch the ball from the hand and try to read the variations, and other guys try and pick up length. It’ll be interesting to see over the next five days how it transpires.”There is a strong chance West Indies would have played Narine and Shillingford in tandem regardless of the pitch for this final Test after the poor displays from their fast bowlers, and Sammy wore a resigned expression when reflecting on the past week.”We can use Shillingford’s suspension as a force. Since that second Test nothing seems to be going in our favour. It just keeps piling on. The players have to play and try to give an extra 20% – be hungry, be selfish, whatever it takes. That’s the only way we can beat New Zealand in these conditions. It will take a big effort from us, but it’s not something that’s impossible.”