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The family of Matthew Hobden, the Sussex pace bowler, has said he died while celebrating New Year with friends in Scotland

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2016The family of Matthew Hobden, the Sussex pace bowler, has said he died while celebrating New Year with friends in Scotland.His body was discovered by Police Scotland on Saturday at Dalvey House, a stately home in Forres near Inverness. An investigation into his death is continuing but it is understood that he may have fallen from the roof. The police have said there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.The police will submit a report to the prosecutor fiscal who will decide if an inquiry into the death is required.Hobden, 22, made 18 first-class appearances for Sussex and was due to be part of the Potential England Performance Programme (PEPP) on a trip to South Africa where he would have bowled at the senior England team during their preparation for the ODI series against South Africa.In a statement released through Police Scotland, his family said: “We are deeply saddened by the sudden death of Matthew who had been celebrating the New Year with friends in the Forres area.”We now ask that we are left alone to deal with the tragic circumstances that have unfolded and are allowed to grieve in private at this difficult time.”Kevin Shine, the ECB’s lead fast bowling coach, said he had seen enough of Hobden during his time around the PEPP to say he would be an England bowler of the future.”As a player, I remember the first time I saw him just thinking ‘wow’. He was the strongest, most powerful cricketer I’ve ever seen on that programme – up there with elite athletes from different sports. His potential was huge, he was improving rapidly and I’m certain that he would have played for England.”But for all that, my over-riding memory of Matt will be of his character, he was a wonderful lad. It’s devastating for all who knew him to have lost him so young.”England’s players wore black armbands on the second day of the Newlands Test while in the Big Bash, where Sussex captain Luke Wright is playing for Melbourne Stars, his side and Hobart Hurricanes wore black armbands in Wednesday’s match.

Ricky Ponting hit a masterly 65, his highest score in the Friends Life t20, but it was not enough to prevent Essex from ending Surrey’s run of four successive victories with an eight-wicket triumph

15-Jul-2013
ScorecardGreg Smith was central to Essex’s eight-wicket win•Getty Images

Ricky Ponting hit a masterly 65, his highest score in the Friends Life t20, but it was not enough to prevent Essex from ending Surrey’s run of four successive victories with an eight-wicket triumph in front of a crowd of nearly 15,000 at The Oval.Hamish Rutherford, the New Zealand batsman, gave Essex a flying start in pursuit of a target of 149 with 30 off 17 balls before Greg Smith and Owais Shah shared a second wicket partnership of 98 in 12 overs to enable them to cruise home with seven balls to spare.Their fourth win puts them alongside Hampshire at the top of the South Division although they have an inferior run rate and have played two games more.Ponting, who had scored only 35 runs in his three previous innings in the competition with a highest score of 19, found himself at the crease in the second over after Steve Davies had got a leading edge to his first ball from Graham Napier and ballooned it back to the bowler.Jason Roy had already hit two fours off Shaun Tait in the first over and he struck two more off David Masters in the third but he and Ponting had added only 43 in six overs when Roy was run out for 30 by Ryan ten Doeschate’s throw from midwicket.Ponting and Glenn Maxwell were no quicker in a third wicket stand of 45 in seven overs but the former Australia captain looked positively skittish as he scooped ten Doeschate to fine leg for four and drove Reece Topley over long off to reach his fifty off 40 balls.He had lost Maxwell when he was brilliantly caught one-handed by Tim Phillips on the midwicket boundary off ten Doeschate and it was Phillips who held the catch at long-on to get rid of Ponting off Topley after he had made his 65 off 54 balls with six fours and a six.It had been another brilliant performance by the 38-year-old who last week finished his first-class career with an unbeaten 169.Essex did well to restrict Surrey to 148 for 6 and did even better with the bat, Rutherford setting the pace with two fours and two sixes before he was well caught at deep backward square-leg off Jon Lewis.Then Smith took over, accelerating to 62 off 42 balls with four fours and three sixes, and Shah gave him all the support he needed with 46 off 45 balls, including two fours and a six.

New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee, who failed to make the Test squad for the upcoming Caribbean tour, has said that he has been using the off-season to work on his batting, in a bid to cement his place in the Test side in the future

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2012New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee, who failed to make the Test squad for the upcoming Caribbean tour, has said that he has been using the off-season to work on his batting, in a bid to cement his place in the Test side in the future.Southee, 23, played in South Africa’s last Test series, in March against South Africa, but was dropped after conceding 140 runs for no wicket in the first Test. He said that being dropped from the side was an eye opener. “It’s not a nice feeling being left out. It’s been a kick up the backside for me,” Southee told .He said that he hoped to contribute as an allrounder in future and that he worked with New Zealand batting mentor Bob Carter to improve his batting. “I have to go out and score some runs. It’s something that I’ve wanted to work on and now having a few months off, it would have been a waste not to do some work on it.”For me, if we can get our bowlers scoring runs, then that’s got to be a good thing for New Zealand cricket and I want to be a part of that; to contribute with the bat as well as with the ball and not make so many silly decisions when I bat.”Southee, who has scored 485 runs from 17 Tests at an average of 20.20, said that he hoped New Zealand’s lower order could emulate that of England and score runs regularly. “Hopefully we’re making progress,” he said. “It makes it tough as a bowler, when you know the opposition’s tail isn’t just going to fold.”New Zealand’s seamers will head to Brisbane on Saturday for a stint with head coach John Wright before joining the rest of the side heading to the West Indies via Florida at the end of the month.Southee said that he had worked on his action as well, in the lead up to the limited-overs leg of the Caribbean tour. “I just needed to change a couple of things in my action,” he said. “It wasn’t major, I was just rushing through the crease. I’m more of a rhythm bowler but I was trying to muscle it down, so I was losing the bounce I get and the swing.”New Zealand will play two Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and two Test matches during the five week tour.Edited by Carlyle Laurie

Essex have dropped South Africa fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe from their squad to face Surrey at Whitgift School this week

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2011Essex have dropped South Africa fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe from their squad to face Surrey at Whitgift School this week. Tsotsobe has taken just five wickets at 77.60 runs in three Championship games and Essex, who have one win from their five opening matches, have decided he must pay the price for his poor form.”Quite simply, he’s just not bowling well enough,” said Essex first team coach Paul Grayson. “We haven’t seen enough from him in Championship cricket and the decision comes down purely to form. Whether or not you are an overseas player, it doesn’t really matter. If you are not performing then we have to make some changes.”With Tsotsobe sitting out, Graham Napier is set to play his first senior four-day match since sustaining a back injury in the match against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl last June. Michael Comber has also been named but Ravi Bopara is missing due to his involvement with the England Lions against Sri Lanka.”Maurice Chambers has done pretty well in the second team in the last couple of games and is ready to play and Graham Napier is also back from injury. I thought Chris Wright bowled well last week along with David Masters at Derby, while we also have Michael Comber waiting for his opportunity so we have options.”We are not scared of making decisions. Tsotsobe’s done alright in the one-dayers so far but he’s had three Championship games and has not performed to the standard we require in four-day cricket. He has not been good enough.”Surrey have also had to tweak their squad after Jade Dernbach’s Lions call-up, but will be able to call upon both Kevin Pietersen and Chris Tremlett, while Mark Ramprakash will also return to a strong 12-man squad after missing the weekend’s Clydesdale Bank 40 victory against Scotland.”With Kevin Pietersen being made available by the ECB for this game, once again we have had to shuffle our batting order,” said Surrey Professional Cricket Manager Chris Adams. “This means Jason Roy misses out and Tom Maynard will get the opportunity to open the innings. Whilst it is always preferable to have a settled batting order, in this instance it is a nice problem to have.”

Ross Taylor has been appointed New Zealand captain for the tri-series in Sri Lanka in August

Cricinfo staff27-Jun-2010Ross Taylor has been appointed New Zealand captain for the tri-series in Sri Lanka in August. The national selectors have rested two key senior players in regular captain Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum for the tournament in Dambulla, which also involves India. Vettori and McCullum have both been granted paternity leave and will also spend their time off reconditioning themselves for the busy season ahead. Fast bowler Kyle Mills will be Taylor’s deputy.The 15-man squad features rookie batsman Kane Williamson, who led New Zealand in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. He was called-up to the Test squad for the home series against Australia earlier this year, but is yet to make his international debut.Mark Greatbatch, the chairman of selectors, said the tour would be an opportunity for Taylor to sharpen his leadership skills in Vettori’s absence. “With Daniel not touring Sri Lanka, it provides an opportunity for Ross to further develop his captaincy skills,” Greatbatch said. “Ross was vice-captain for a portion of last season and did a great job leading the Blackcaps (New Zealand) to victory against Australia in Napier earlier in the year when Daniel was injured.”Vettori will not be going to Sri Lanka as the tour coincides with the birth of his second child and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) supports his wishes to spend time with his family. He will also use this period to continue with his conditioning programme in preparation for the rigorous international schedule ahead.”McCullum had earlier skipped the short tour of USA after the World Twenty20 to rest ahead of future tours. His participation for the tri-series was anyway in doubt, as the birth of his child was expected in the middle of the year, and Greatbatch said the break would also benefit McCullum in the long run.”He (McCullum) has played over 200 consecutive games for New Zealand and, with a significant schedule ahead that culminates with a World Cup early next year, NZC believes it appropriate that McCullum spends the time reconditioning in New Zealand,” Greatbatch said. “He is also expecting the birth of his second child in July.”Returning to the squad after injury lay-offs are allrounder Grant Elliott and batsman Jesse Ryder. “Grant Elliott comes back after a lengthy period out of the game. He was a key member of our ODI team prior to his injury, and it is great to have him back,” Greatbatch said. “Jesse Ryder is also returning to the team having sustained an elbow injury during the World T20 in the West Indies. Kane Williamson gets his first tour with the Blackcaps based on his excellent domestic first-class one-day form.”Taylor has established himself as one of the premier batsmen in the team in all formats and he said his latest elevation was an honour. “It was a pretty special feeling when the selectors approached me,” Taylor said. “While I appreciate it will be a tough tour against quality opposition, it represents a good opportunity for players to experience subcontinent conditions, particularly with the World Cup on the horizon.”The tri-series is scheduled between August 10 and 28. The same teams contested a tri-series in Sri Lanka last year but New Zealand failed to make the final.Squad: Ross Taylor (capt), Kyle Mills (vice-capt), Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins (wk), Nathan McCullum, Andy McKay, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.

Palmeiras will try to take advantage of Kylian Mbappe's move to Real Madrid by extending Endrick's stay at the Brazilian club, GOAL understands.

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• Mbappe to join Real in summer
• Endrick finally set to complete Spain switch
• But Palmeiras looking to delay transfer

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Brazilian sensation is due to link up with the Spanish giants when he turns 18 in the summer, after his €72 million (£62m/$78m) transfer was agreed back in December 2022. Endrick is set to be joined by fellow mercurial forward Mbappe, who put an end to a protracted transfer saga by finally choosing Madrid as his next home. However, with two attacking talents signing at the same time, Palmeiras have seen a window of opportunity.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Despite the agreement with Real stating that Endrick would sign on his birthday, July 18, 2024, GOAL understands that the Brazilian club want to keep him in Sao Paulo until December this year. The teenage forward is considered too much of an important asset to Palmeiras, meaning a few extra months could make all the difference. He scored 14 goals in 53 matches in last season's league title win, and has already hit the ground running with a goal in his first two matches this campaign.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Endrick's form is not just restricted to club level. The 17-year-old racked up an impressive two goals and two assists in seven matches during Brazil U23's pre-Olympic tournament. He was, however, helpless as their defeat to bitter rivals Argentina means they will play no part in the Paris event in the summer.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ENDRICK?

  Palmeiras' desire to keep Endrick an extra few months has already been communicated to Real, GOAL understands, with Los Blancos currently reticent to loan him back. Palmeiras have until April for the Spaniards to respond, after which he will be contracted to sign as a Madrid player on July 18, 2024.

GOAL looks back on a season marred by financial scandals involving Manchester City and Juventus, but illuminated by Napoli's Scudetto success

Well, that's a wrap. Another season has drawn to a close, one which offered no end of controversy and quality, as perhaps best illustrated by Manchester City. Pep Guardiola's terrific team finally conquered Europe to complete a historic treble, but an asterisk must be placed against all of their achievements over the past 15 years, with the Abu Dhabi-backed club having been charged with breaching more than 100 of the Premier League's financial regulations.

There was similar drama in Italy, with Juventus having points being taken away from them, given back, and then taken away again on a seemingly weekly basis, making a farce of the Serie A standings. In an era of football now in very real danger of being completely corrupted by finances, the table, it seems, actually does lie sometimes.

It wasn't all doom and gloom, though. There were some inspirational success stories. For example, unlike City's treble, Napoli's Serie A title triumph was a legitimate fairy tale and sparked one of the biggest street parties the world has ever seen!

So, without a further ado, let's get stuck into the biggest winners and losers of the 2022-23 European season…

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  LOSER: Lionel Messi

  In the grand scheme of things, what happened this season on either side of the World Cup is irrelevant as far as Lionel Messi is concerned. He'd long since proved himself the GOAT – but his heroics in Qatar effectively ended the debate. He's now completed both international and club football.

  However, there's no denying that the second half of the 2022-23 campaign didn't pan out as Messi planned. He looked utterly lost as PSG suffered a humiliating last-16 exit in the Champions League and very few fans were sad to see him leave. Indeed, Messi, rather incredibly, left with boos, whistles and jeers ringing in his ears.

  To make matters worse, hopes of a romantic return to Barcelona were dashed by the grim reality of the very same financial problems that forced him out of Camp Nou two years ago.

  Inter Miami is obviously a shrewd move for Messi, certainly from a financial and familial perspective, but there's no doubt that he would have preferred to end up back at Barca, aiming for the fifth Champions League title he'd long targeted.

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  WINNER: Xavi

  The writing was on the wall for Xavi after Barcelona's humiliating group-stage elimination from the Champions League. And he knew it. "With the effort made by the club [during the summer transfer market] the squad we have, we have to compete for trophies," he admitted to reporters. "And if we don't, as the president [Joan Laporta] said, there will be consequences, starting with me. But I am going to give everything so that this works." And it did.

  Barcelona's football certainly wasn't pretty – it was more reminiscent of the Louis van Gaal era at Camp Nou than Pep Guardiola's – but it delivered a first Liga title in four years that definitely saved Xavi from the sack. Of course, it's imperative that Barca challenge for the Champions League next season – not least for the club's coffers – but, for now, the coach can be proud of a job well done.

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  LOSER: Chelsea

  The Chelsea board issued a statement after the conclusion of the worst Premier League campaign in the club's history, acknowledging that "there is a lot" that they can do better. In truth, though, they need to do absolutely everything better next season, because the past year has been an absolute farce.

  One could argue that Todd Boehly and his equally clueless colleagues only got one thing right: cancelling the annual end of season awards ceremony because they realised it would not have gone over well with the club's already furious fans.

  The arrival of Mauricio Pochettino will hopefully restore a semblance of order at Stamford Bridge, but on the evidence of what we've seen so far – the shameful sacking of Thomas Tuchel, the embarrassing abandonment of the Graham Potter project, the ludicrous appointment of Frank Lampard on an interim basis and the arrival of one overpriced player after another – it would be naive to expect an end to the chaos anytime soon.

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  LOSER: Football's fight against racism

  Racism is a societal problem. We all get that. But football's handling of the problem is, at best, embarrassingly haphazard, and, at worst, downright offensive. Seriously, what was more shocking: the racist abuse that Vinicius Junior has been repeatedly subjected to in Spain this season – or Javier Tebas' reaction to it? The head of La Liga was, incredibly, more interested in lashing out at the victim than doing anything about the culprits.

  Tebas subsequently apologised for his shameful reaction, but it was indicative of a wider problem. When players of colour all across the world like Romelu Lukaku are still being booked for silent protests, one begins to understand the scale of the ignorance at the heart of football's supposed fight against racism. How can the game's authorities even begin trying to solve a problem that they clearly still don't understand?

The Manchester United man inspired his side to a third consecutive victory, while the Liverpool forward was the star in a big win over Arsenal

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  Neil Etheridge | Cardiff City

  The 28-year-old made his third penalty save of the season as Cardiff beat Leicester 1-0 – more than any other goalkeeper in the competition so far.

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  Cesar Azpilicueta | Chelsea

  The Spaniard made 65 passes, three clearances and four interceptions, helping Chelsea keep a clean sheet in their 1-0 win against Crystal Palace.

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  Willy Boly | Wolves

  The defender scored the important equaliser in his side's 3-1 win over Tottenham, also winning 77.8% of his duels; more than any team-mate.

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  James Tomkins | Crystal Palace

  The centre-back made six clearances, a block and 38 passes as Crystal Palace went down 1-0 to Chelsea.

MatériaMais Notícias

A vitória do São Paulo por 2 a 1 sobre a Ferroviária na última quarta-feira não significou apenas mais três pontos no Paulistão, mas também uma sequência inédita para Fernando Diniz, que atingiu cinco jogos de invencibilidade no comando do time. Desde a sua chegada, foi a maior série de partidas sem derrota do treinador, que completou quatro meses de casa.

TABELA
> Veja classificação e simulador do Paulistão clicando aqui

Nessa conta entram apenas os jogos oficiais, ou seja, estão excluídos os jogos-treino durante a pré-temporada. Dessa forma, a primeira partida da sequência foi o triunfo sobre o Internacional, pela 37ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro de 2019, no Morumbi, quando o placar ficou em 2 a 1, garantindo uma vaga direta na fase de grupos da Copa Libertadores deste ano.

A vitória em seguida foi na última rodada do Brasileirão, contra o CSA, também por 2 a 1, quando, fora de casa, o treinador levou basicamente jogadores da base do clube, pois a grande maioria do elenco profissional já havia entrado de férias. A temporada, que não foi fácil, foi fechada com boas impressões.

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Logo na primeira partida oficial de 2020, nova vitória, dessa vez pela rodada de estreia do Paulistão, diante do Água Santa, por 2 a 0, no Morumbi. Já na segunda rodada, empate com o Palmeiras, em 0 a 0, em Araraquara, mantendo a invencibilidade após clássico contra um rival que tem sido carrasco nos últimos anos. Com esse resultado, Diniz já havia igualado sua melhor série.

SEQUÊNCIA INVICTA

4/12/2019 – São Paulo 2 x 1 Internacional – Brasileirão-2019
8/12/2019 – CSA 1 x 2 São Paulo – Brasileirão-2019
22/1/2020 – São Paulo 2 x 0 Água Santa – Paulistão-2020
26/1/2020 – Palmeiras 0 x 0 São Paulo – Paulistão-2020
29/1/2020 – Ferroviária 1 x 2 São Paulo – Paulistão-2020

Antes de o recorde ser quebrado na última quarta-feira, a maior sequência invicta do comandante tricolor havia sido registrada logo em sua chegada, no fim de setembro, quando enfrentou o Flamengo (empate em 0 a 0), o Fortaleza (vitória por 2 a 1), o Bahia (empate em 0 a 0) e o Corinthians (vitória por 1 a 0).

SEQUÊNCIA ANTERIOR

28/9/2019 – Flamengo 0 x 0 São Paulo – Brasileirão-2019
5/10/2019 – São Paulo 2 x 1 Fortaleza – Brasileirão-2019
9/10/2019 – Bahia 0 x 0 Flamengo – Brasileirão-2019
13/10/2019 – São Paulo 1 x 0 Corinthians – Brasileirão-2019

Foi durante essa pré-temporada que Diniz teve seu maior período consecutivo de treinos desde que chegou ao clube, que por sua vez manteve praticamente todo o elenco de um ano para o outro, fortalecendo a continuidade do grupo e do trabalho, o que, a princípio, parece estar dando resultado neste início de ano, com invencibilidade e bom começo de campanha no Paulistão.

Para aumentar essa sequência sem derrotas, o São Paulo recebe o Novorizontino, na próxima segunda-feira, às 20h, no Morumbi, pela quarta rodada da fase de grupos do estadual. Com sete pontos em quatro jogos, o Tricolor lidera o Grupo C, à frente de Inter de Limeira, Mirassol e Ituano.

Retrospecto de Fernando Diniz no São Paulo:
​20 jogos
​10 vitórias
​5 empates
5 derrotas
58,33% de aproveitamento