In an effort to rekindle US ties, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met Donald Trump. However, he allegedly lacked a significant opportunity to refute Trump’s false “white genocide” claims. The mixed response from Johannesburg is reported by Al Jazeera’s @FahmidaMiller.
Is it time for cricket to alter its formula and allow teams to replace injured players?
When Richard Ngarava, the frontline bowler, was forced to be helped off the field due to a back injury, Zimbabwe were already struggling on day one of the one-off Test against England at Trent Bridge.
The tourists were potentially playing with 10 men because an injured player could be replaced on the field but couldn’t bat or bowl.
Later in the day, Ngarava was able to bowl because of how long he had been away from the field, and he looked unwell before once more making his way to the changing rooms.
The Marylebone Cricket Club’s (MCC) regulations allow the umpires to substitute a player who has “been injured or become ill and that this occurred during the match” or for “any other wholly acceptable reason.”
The Law further states that a substitute may only act as wicketkeeper with the approval of the umpires and not bowl or play as captain.
The only circumstance is a concussion, which occurs.
Since 2019, concussion replacements have been permitted (Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne famously became the first concussion sub in Test cricket when Steve Smith was replaced in the Ashes). They can bat and bowl.
There are numerous instances where games have been impacted by injuries.
After James Anderson suffered a calf injury for four overs before day one, England effectively played the entire first Test of the 2019 Ashes at Edgbaston with ten players.
Australia’s spinner Nathan Lyon suffered a calf injury on day two of the second Test at Lord’s in 2023.
Famous players have been fighting their way through injuries, which has enhanced the spectacle.
In cricket, substitutes are not completely absent.
Supersubs were introduced to one-day internationals in 2005, with England’s Vikram Solanki the first to play for Australia at Headingley, but they were dropped in 2006.
The Indian Premier League’s impact player rule, which allows teams to substitute one of four players, was implemented between 2020 and 2022, while Australia’s Big Bash had a similar X-Factor player rule.
Michael Vaughan, the former England captain,
In the first innings of the match, players should not be able to play in injured-related cricket. An independent physician should be present. You should be able to play a sub if the doctor determines a player is unable to continue playing.
Only the first innings should be used. There might be some skullduggery if you let it continue into the second inning. The game and the entertainment that fans pay to watch are affected if a real injury occurs in the first inning. To make things fair, the first innings are a good cut-off.
Former England bowler Jonathan Agnew, the BBC’s chief cricket commentator, is here.
A team’s failure to deliver results in a number of Tests. How can it be proven? Another instance of potential conflict is here. It is extremely challenging to demonstrate.
Of course, common sense says yes, but you also need a convincing way to demonstrate without a doubt that the player is seriously injured. That would be open to various arguments, in my opinion.
Vic Marks, a former England off-spinner,
It merits consideration. Just to make sure the injury is completely genuine, there would need some administration. You wouldn’t want to see someone who can fake injuries to alter a team’s personality due to poor form or circumstances.
We used to spilt fake blood in rugby, so we want to stay away from that. Although it should be looked into, you need that proviso to ensure that the system isn’t used abusively.
Henry Olonga, a former seamer in Zimbabwe,
I’m open to the idea of substitutes, perhaps with a limited number, but not necessarily like-for-like and limited to injuries. Make the game more similar to other sports with subs allowed if you want to expand it globally.
Think of football tactically: If a game is moving in a certain direction, substitutes can change the direction. Why not switch out a spinner if a fast bowler is only going for a few runs? Although I don’t believe it will be widely held, I’m sticking with it.
Alison Mitchell, a TMS analyst,
Yes, it needs to be looked into, but a system that can’t be used is required. If a player is concussed, like-for-like substitutes can already be used. Therefore, they should be used for other injuries.
Simon Mann, a commentator for TMS,
I’ve long held the view that in a test match, there can’t be a substitute. It’s present in every other sport. Why not cricket, though?
I understand the difficulty of proving an injury, but a halfway house might be the first two days of a test as a replacement.
Stephan Shemilt, the chief cricket correspondent for BBC Sport, is in charge.
Any idea of injury replacements has the potential to be abused, as many have already pointed out. Therefore, I don’t believe there could be a halfway house. If a replacement is permitted, you can also allow them for tactical reasons.
A 12th player can be named before the toss, and that player can be brought in for tactical reasons or injuries. But just one. That would ensnare the plot even more. Which player would you pick? When are they used? You risk later getting hurt if you make a tactical move. Can a team accurately assess the situation to maximize the replacement’s introduction tactically?
England wrap up day one of their one-test series against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge by winning 498-3 in the first innings thanks to centuries from Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, and Ben Duckett.
MATCH REPORT: Zimbabwe flattens thanks to Pope, Crawley, and Duckett tons.
In response to a question about some US Federal Reserve officials claiming the US economy was in a sweet spot, Dimon said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday.
At the Shanghai-based JPMorgan’s Global China Summit, Dimon made his remarks. His remarks come in light of US government policy changes that have caused retailers to declare that they must raise prices and put businesses in a wait-and-see mode due to the country’s growing geopolitical tensions, rising deficits, and consumer price pressure.
According to Al Jazeera, economists like Stuart Mackintosh, the executive director of the financial think tank Group of Thirty, shared Dimon’s concerns.
“We cannot exclude the possibility of stagnation.” We are currently faced with uncertainty regarding tariffs and many other policies that are putting downward pressure on American growth.
The US economy’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s Ratings last week. In response to the US’s growing national debt, the company reduced its gold-standard Aaa rating to an Aa1 credit rating.
At the company’s Monday investor day, Dimon’s remarks from Thursday served as further evidence.
According to Dimon, “Credit today is a bad risk.”
Dimon also made comments on US President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” which includes significant provisions of the Trump administration’s agenda, such as tax cuts, slashes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), increased funding for immigration enforcement, and new taxes on colleges and universities.
They should do the tax bill, in my opinion. In a record obtained by the Reuters news agency, Dimon stated that while it will stabilise things temporarily, it will likely increase the deficit.
According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the tax bill would increase the nation’s debt by $3.8 trillion.
Dimon continued, “The US Federal Reserve is doing the right thing to wait and see” before making monetary policy decisions, according to Dimon in the Bloomberg interview. At its most recent policy meeting, the central bank chose to hold rates steady, which was in line with economists’ expectations.
Policymakers at the time weighed a stable labor market even as they acknowledged that it might be in the short run.
This is unsustainable, they say. “We could very well be in a much worse economic situation right away,” Mackintosh said.
As the US Department of Labor and the payroll and human resources firm ADP prepare to release their monthly report on the rate of job growth, more details on the state of the US labor market are anticipated in the coming weeks.
Dimon has long warned against rising inflation and stagflation.
He noted that “I believe there is a little more chance of inflation going up and stagflation” than most people would anticipate.
As Manchester United made their most brave appearances on Thursday afternoon at lunchtime in Bilbao, they were leaving Bilbao.
Yes, Ruben Amorim, the club’s head coach, has a strong support there, and he had previously stated after the game that he would leave “the day after,” without talking about compensation.
Yes, the club have a Plan B when it comes to transfers and will be in a position to reshape Amorim’s squad this summer.
And yes, the club still thinks they’ll reach the top of the English market in the near future.
However, there are some fundamental problems that words alone cannot resolve.
After losing 1-0 to Tottenham in Bilbao, knowing there will be no European football of any kind next season and with losses still high despite a second round of redundancies, there are significant questions for United to answer.
At some point between now and the beginning of July, United will announce their third quarter financial results to the New York Stock Exchange.
This will give us an opportunity to address any financial issues that may arise from the Spain-era defeat in the 2025-26 season.
Due to the Champions League being a factor, United will likely see a £10 million reduction in payments from their $900 million, 10-year sponsorship deal with Adidas. As that penalty is spread over the length of the contract, which runs to 2035, the damage on an annual basis is not onerous. Few would, however, be optimistic that United would return to the Champions League in 2026-27 and avoid yet another penalty after looking at this year.
The issue of Premier League prize money extends beyond that. Each place in the table is worth £3m. In their current 16th-place position, United would receive £33 million less than they did for fifth place.
Every home game at Old Trafford is funded by the club, which would have included at least four more in the Champions League league phase.
Add in the generous prize money on offer in Europe’s elite competition, and that is how we have calculated that Wednesday’s defeat by Tottenham has, at a conservative estimate, cost United £100m.
A second round of redundancies is in the works, this time affecting the football department, as has been widely reported. The scouting, medical, and science teams are affected by the reductions.
There has been no word on whether that is likely to be the end of the matter. Nothing is off limits in Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s determination to make United a leaner organization, aside from the axeing of staff trips, free lunches, and other perks.
What does it mean when United says funds will be available?
There are a few factors at play. They owe an additional $ 270 million in transfer fees, of which £156 million is due this summer, as Ratcliffe pointed out in March.
To date, losses totaling £113. 2 million as of June 2024. Since then, United spent £14.5m sacking former manager Erik ten Hag and his staff.
Despite this, no one at United disputes the widespread belief that Wolves forward Matheus Cunha will join the club in the summer.
The Brazilian has a £62,5 million release clause. Quite how much of that has to be paid immediately is not known. However, it’s difficult to see how it can’t, at least in part, be funded by player sales.
The unquantifiable part is now. The better – and faster – United can sell, the more flexibility they will have to buy. The harder it becomes to negotiate deals for the right price, and the more mistakes are made.
When Ten Hag demanded that United bring in Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, it is argued that United are still paying a lot for the summer of 2022.
United officials quickly concluded it was an impossible deal to complete. Ten Hag made a different argument.
There is a realistic and idealized view of this.
In the past, United have ringfenced players who they regarded as off-limits to other clubs. Even though the club did say they weren’t interested in selling the 30-year-old Portugal playmaker when recent interest from the Saudi Pro League popped up, I doubt there is anyone in that category right now. That includes captain Bruno Fernandes.
The easy part is first. The contracts of Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen run out in the summer. They won’t be renewed.
It becomes more difficult after that.
Marcus Rashford accepts he will not play for United again while Amorim remains in charge. He is not interested in taking a pay cut, and he is not in a rush to decide his future. Barcelona have expressed interest, but they are not particularly cash-strapped. Rashford might be keen on a move to the Nou Camp but it is difficult to imagine a deal could be concluded swiftly.
What would happen if Chelsea signed Jadon Sancho back to Old Trafford and added the £5 million clause to their deal with United?
Alejandro Garnacho and his family appear to have thrown themselves into Amorim after the final’s contentious social media posts. Chelsea were keen on the Argentina forward in January. If they return, United will undoubtedly pay attention.
Andre Onana from the Saudi Pro League has been the subject of rumors, but nothing concrete has come of it. Onana’s deputy Altay Bayindir knows he will remain as second choice and is likely to move on.
What about well-known, well-known stars like Casemiro, Harry Maguire, and Luke Shaw, though? Or Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte, both recent graduates? Or players who have been forgotten about, such as Tyrell Malacia or Antony, who has enjoyed a successful loan at Real Betis? Without mentioning the underperforming, expensive striking duo Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, They were advised to make their own recommendations for Italy. But both are earning more than they did when they were at Atalanta and Bologna respectively.
The speed with which United issued support for Amorim in the wake of his post-match declaration was telling but the former Sporting coach knows the spotlight on him is fierce now.
There are clearly signs of a structure and tactical patterns that he did not notice during his first few weeks at the club, according to him, and he has stated that he feels his players are getting used to what he wants from them.
On Wednesday, United manipulated a situation to allow Casemiro to deliver a 60-yard crossfield pass from right to Patrick Dorgu, who was passing through the touchline in space. Nothing came of the attack but it was an example of what Amorim is looking for.
He and everyone else are aware, however, that clubs of this size cannot consistently lose without consequence. Six league victories in 26 games is simply not enough.
There is no league with the strength in depth of the Premier League, underlined by what has happened to United this season.
However, it is pretty certain that if the man who started the season was fired along with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, or any other major Italian clubs had a comparable campaign.
Amorim appears to be free of that fate. But unsubstantiated rumours hang around of players not being happy with his methods. A couple of thoughtful former United players who won the trophy question how effective it can be having a coaching staff who is, in some cases, both younger and less experienced than the players they are trying to work with.
United travel to Asia for a two-game tour once Sunday’s game against Aston Villa is over.
No one among the club’s well-known first-team players seems to enjoy the prospect, in my opinion.
But Amorim has said, and others acknowledge, that the first team can have no argument over United taking unpopular decisions to generate more income – up to £10m in this instance – to make up for this season’s shortfall.
Italian giants AC Milan are the only “Super League” club that has failed to earn European qualification for the following season. If there is a convenient date on the calendar when at least one friendly is scheduled in a neutral nation, don’t be alarmed.
The positive spin of no Europe means more chance to work on the training ground.
The negative aspect of the season’s absence of regular midweek games and press conferences could lead to more of what is happening in the background being reported to the media.
After Day One of England’s Test Match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, former England captain Michael Vaughan urges “two leagues” to provide a more compelling “narrative.”
MATCH REPORT: Zimbabwe flattens thanks to Pope, Crawley, and Duckett tons.