Category Sports News

A British cricket team that could play at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games is being discussed.

As the sport prepares to make its Olympic debut, negotiations between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland have already begun.

Trudy Lindblade, the head of cricket for Scotland, stated to BBC Radio 4: “We have been in discussions with the ECB and are currently looking to form a Team GB cricket team.”

The British Olympic Association (BOA) mandates that a British team must meet the requirements for Olympic Games participation.

BBC Sport received confirmation from the ECB regarding those discussions.

The International Olympic Committee announced last week that LA 2028 will host six-team T20 competitions for both men and women.

“The six teams for us would have an opportunity through the GB concept,” Lindblade said. “So it’s really interesting.

Up to 15 players can be placed in squads that are participating teams, but the qualification procedure has not yet been confirmed.

There are many things to learn about how qualification happens, not just for those six teams, but how a GB team would be selected, “Lindblade added.

We’re in for exciting times, and we’ll keep in touch with LA 2028 and ICC colleagues. It will be fascinating.

Cricket’s only previous Olympic appearance was in Paris in 1900.

After the Netherlands and Belgium withdrew, Great Britain won the one-off final by 158 runs against France.

The 2028 Games will feature a men’s football team, according to the BOA, which will bring together the England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Football Associations for the first time since London 2012, with a men’s team being formed there since then.

Manchester United produced a stunning late fightback to beat Lyon and reach the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday.

They came back from being 4-2 down and scored twice in the final minute of extra time to achieve an extraordinary 5-4 victory at Old Trafford and 7-6 aggregate win.

It is arguably up there with one of the best fightbacks in European compeition.

Tottenham travelled to Ajax for the second leg of their semi-final trailing 1-0, and things went from bad to worse in Amsterdam when Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech put Ajax 3-0 ahead on aggregate before the break.

Spurs needed to score three times without reply to progress, and were given a glimmer of hope 10 minutes into the second half through Lucas Moura – and it was game on just four minutes later.

Moura pounced on a loose ball in the box after Fernando Llorente’s shot was saved and he curled home to put the hosts on the ropes.

Just 24 hours before Tottenham’s heroics in Amsterdam, Liverpool had become just the third club in the history of the Champions League to overturn a three-goal first-leg deficit.

The Reds’ hopes of forcing their way back into the semi-final after a 3-0 loss to Barcelona at the Nou Camp looked slim, especially with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino unavailable due to injury.

But Divock Origi got the ball rolling on seven minutes, before the tie really turned in the space of 166 seconds after half-time when substitute Georginio Wijnaldum scored twice.

Fulham welcomed Juventus to Craven Cottage having lost the first leg 3-1 and it did not take long for the tie to look out of their grasp.

After just two minutes, David Trezeguet netted an early goal for the Italian side.

However, Bobby Zamora scored seven minutes later and ignited a comeback which proved pivotal in a season where they reached the Europa League final.

Fabio Cannavaro’s sending off for a professional foul on Zoltan Gera helped swing the game in Fulham’s favour before the Hungarian’s neat finish put them ahead.

Trailing 4-2 from the first leg in Italy, Salzburg’s challenge looked to have been ended when Ciro Immobile extended Lazio’s lead in Austria 10 minutes into the second half – his 39th goal of the season.

But Moanes Dabour pulled a goal back a minute later with a deflected strike to stir the home side back to life.

Amadou Haidara’s 72nd-minute stunner from 30 yards sparked an amazing four-minute period, in which Hwang Hee-chan put the Austrian champions ahead on away goals before Stefan Lainer headed an aggregate winner.

Arguably the greatest comeback of all, this one is so iconic that it has its very own title in France and Spain – La Remontada (the comeback).

PSG were clinical at home, winning 4-0, but the Nou Camp sensed something special when Luis Suarez scored after just three minutes in the second leg.

Barcelona were two goals to the good at the break courtesy of a Layvin Kurzawa own goal, but still trailed by two goals on aggregate.

Lionel Messi scored a penalty soon after the restart but Edinson Cavani hit back to silence the home faithful, although it wasn’t the pendulum-swinging moment PSG hoped for.

Barcelona, now trailing 5-3, needed three goals in fewer than 30 minutes to achieve a miracle. Neymar scored a free-kick in the 88th minute to offer further hope, before the Brazilian stroked home a 91st-minute penalty to level the tie at 5-5 on aggregate.

But PSG were still heading through on away goals.

Moving away from two-legged ties, the 2005 Champions League final was an unforgettable night of football.

AC Milan thought they had their hands on the trophy after racing into a 3-0 half-time time, but seven second-half minutes altered the course of history.

Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso scored to level the game for Liverpool and that is how it remained after 120 minutes, with Reds keeper Jerzy Dudek making a stunning double save from Andriy Shevchenko in extra-time.

In a memorable year for English comebacks in the Champions League, it all started with Manchester United seeing off Paris St-Germain in the last 16.

Interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered the first defeat of his tenure in the first leg when a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford halted an 11-game unbeaten run.

None of the previous 107 clubs to lose a Champions League or European Cup first leg by two goals or more at home had managed to advance and few expected United to buck that trend.

But Romelu Lukaku got United off to the perfect start after two minutes only for Juan Bernat to hit back 11 minutes later, restoring PSG’s two-goal aggregate lead.

It was almost scripted that Manchester United would seal the final piece of their historic Treble in ‘Fergie Time’.

With the Premier League and FA Cup already secured, United had the small matter of German giants Bayern Munich standing in their way in the 1999 Champions League final, at the Nou Camp.

With Roy Keane and Paul Scholes both suspended, United’s hopes had already been dealt a blow, and their mission grew even tougher when Mario Basler put Bayern ahead on six minutes.

But ultimately the final proved to be a tale of two substitutes – Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Hearts vs. Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final

Location: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday, April 19th, 12:30 BST

When Hearts striker Elton Kabangu discusses the importance of balance and the 50-50 success rate, it seems as though he is discussing Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen, but he is actually talking about his chances of surviving a lung infection during the Covid period.

Three years ago, the Belgian of Congolese descent had a decent life. At the time, he played for Willem II. Mid-20s, a few goals in the Netherlands’ bank, and a gradual improvement of the reputation. Then, bang.

No longer sense of smell. Then, muscle pains. Then, exhaustion follows. Then, a cough of blood followed. Then, intensive care. Through the window, his mother appears to him, but he doesn’t remember her.

He claims that he spent 16 days comaing. My lungs were infected, so yeah, it took 16 days. I just vividly recall being extremely sick when I first arrived at the hospital. I had to make a fightback after going through the most difficult period of my life.

Kabangu, age 27, has played for the club before joining Hearts on loan after his name was well known in the data of his club partner, Jamestown Analytics. He has since gone on to play for the club, Willem II, Union Saint-Gilloise, Willem II, and now has a character test.

In 14 games, eight goals were scored. He claims there is room for improvement. Two are in opposition to Ross County, Dundee, St. Johnstone, Kilmarnock, and Brechin, respectively. A top-six team is not in any way.

He said, “I’m a striker, and I’ve been important, but I want to be more important.”

Although my current focus has been on fewer goals, I’m still confident. Because I am aware of what I can bring and will try to bring it, I don’t worry about my own self-esteem or my work ethic.

The goal is to change the recent run against Aberdeen at Hampden on Saturday (no goals in three and only one in seven). He claims that the game is meant to save our season.

And for Hearts, this season most definitely needs to be saved. A miserable failure, missing out on the top six.

Kabangu only joined in January, but he has long enough to realize that a club of this size isn’t nearly good enough. He claims that he hardly ever left the house for a day or two after Motherwell’s 0-0 draw that sealed their place in the bottom six.

Because we worked very hard and witnessed everyone being focused, it’s difficult to say what went wrong. Simply put, it hurts. Both the fans and I are furious.

“I can’t stay disappointed because we have to demand more and do more,” he said. When you don’t accomplish those goals, it’s painful, in my opinion, because I believe this team and club have a lot more potential.

Faith has always been a part of who he is, which is why Beni Baningime, another player whose life is influenced by his belief in God, is one of his closest friends. that and their common Congolese heritage.

The spiritual side of his life has expanded since his last few weeks in a coma.

It’s more, I must say, now. You are likely to comprehend a lot of things when you are still in a coma. There is only Jesus Christ, in my opinion, in heaven.

He is my saviour, so I try to spend the majority of my time with him, studying his words, and studying them. It means more to me than it does. It’s a matter of existence.

I pray in the morning. Then, I have my Bible and read when I arrive at the club. I return home after training. I worship after I have my Bible.

I pray in the evening. That’s what I try to accomplish. I meditate and study the Word of God. I met my Congolese brother Beni and my Christian brother when I arrived. Our lives are essentially the same. We make the most of our time with Jesus, and we try to read and worship him as much as we can.

Although he is happy in Edinburgh, he is unsure of his future plans. Hearts would have to buy him out of that year because he still has a year to go at Union. He only considers Aberdeen and this Hampden semi-final in the present and is only thinking about it.