Archive May 1, 2025

When Andrew Flintoff cobbled together a group of underprivileged boys in Preston, he was the young Afghan refugee who arrived in the UK in 2021 on the back of a lorry. He later became the star bowler.

He then described his desire to play cricket professionally in England.

After making his Lancashire Second XI debut this week, that dream came a little closer.

Due to one of his final exams, Adnan, now 18, will miss Thursday’s Second XI game against Yorkshire.

He still managed to impress.

He batted at number 10 and took two wickets with his left-arm pace, which he added to by scoring 25 not out with the bat and taking the win with the bat.

The wickets ?

Matthew Revis and Jonny Tattersall, who led Yorkshire last year, both played for the White Rose first team two weeks ago.

Additionally, the Yorkshire XI included Matt Milnes, Will Luxton, and Jafer Chohan, the leg-spinner called up by England last year.

Flintoff has been monitoring things.

He said on Wednesday on social media that “some journeys are longer and harder”. “I’m so proud of this talented young man,” he said.

Adnan expressed happiness on Instagram, adding, “I can’t tell how happy I am.”

“Thank you very much to everyone who has supported and helped me so far in cricket.”

Three people have assisted Adnan the most: Flintoff, Barry, and his partner Elaine Jefferson.

After leaving Afghanistan and traveling alone across Europe, Adnan first sought asylum in a Preston police station.

Elaine referred to the tatty pair of trainers, a belt, and a pair of jeans as he entered the door.

He sat there for a while before losing all ability to speak English. He feared for his life.

His second bid for asylum in the UK was granted in 2022, according to Field of Dreams’ first season.

It was sent after Flintoff submitted the application to the Home Office.

Adnan joined Lancashire’s Under-18 team at Rossall School, a prestigious boarding school in Lancashire.

He is a cricket fan, but Barry remarked, “He needed something different, and we needed to work hard.”

“That’s what he has done exactly,” he said. He has put in a lot of effort.

Adnan’s next goal is the most challenging: obtaining a professional cricket contract once his exams are finished.

Barry remarked, “I think he is good enough, but I may be biased.”

Ruby Tui, a winger from New Zealand, is not included in the 33-woman Pacific Four Series squad for this month’s match.

Renee Holmes and Chelsea Bremner were also among the three high-profile players who were not included in the squad, scoring five tries for the Black Ferns during their Rugby World Cup triumph in 2022.

Allan Bunting, the trio’s coach, claims that the trio are still central to his thinking as they continue to focus on defending their Women’s World Cup title in England later this year.

We know we’ve had to make tough decisions at this point because it’s a competitive race leading up to our World Cup campaign,” Bunting said.

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who was once the squad’s two-time world player of the year, has since made a full comeback.

The 55, 000 residents of the Norwegian national team’s town could fit inside the Premier League team’s stadium because of the disparity between Bodo/Glimt and Tottenham.

However, the two teams will play side by side on Thursday and attempt to reach the Europa League final.

Bodo/Glimt have swept aside larger teams from Europe to join Spurs, Manchester United, and Athletic Club in the final four because their supporters are known for bringing giant yellow toothbrushes to games.

They have won eight of their last ten two-legged ties, making them the first Norwegian team to reach a men’s semi-final in a European competition.

It is a remarkable accomplishment for a team that was only content to leave the Norwegian second division ten years ago.

Bodo/Glimt are the less well-known and, arguably, the more intriguing of the four remaining teams in the Europa League.

The nearest city is a 10-hour drive away, located in the small fishing village of Bodo, which is located 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. Their remoteness, which is incredibly remote, has arguably contributed to the formation of a community bond between the residents.

The team’s members frequently take their families for walks or dine in nearby restaurants.

Chris Shaul, who has followed the team since moving from England to Bodo around eight years ago, described the team as “like a big family.”

They are close friends, they say. Many of the players have adultered and socialize together here.

A strong relationship between the team and its fans can be very effective on the pitch, as has been the case with underdogs frequently. Bodo/Glimt have done that in recent years.

Jose Mourinho will undoubtedly still have nightmares from the time Bodo/Glimt’s disastrous managerial debut, when his then-Roma side lost 6-1 to Norway in a Europa Conference League game with Bodo/Glimt, with him in the joint-largest defeat of his distinguished managerial career.

In his 1, 008th game as manager of Real Madrid, Mourinho’s side conceded six or more goals in a single game, and it was on par with Barcelona’s 5-0 defeat.

Bodo/Glimt rose to the top of the standings in 1976 despite being denied promotion to Norway’s top division until 1972 due to existing rules.

But their story actually picked up speed when the club was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Bodo/Glimt supporters group’s Thomas Solberg remarked, “Economically, we were a mess for years before this success.”

The club was saved despite the fact that we went bankrupt in 2010. We were a split-second club at the time, but we changed our minds when we hired our current manager in 2017.

Kjetil Knutsen, a coach from Bergen who had previously had mediocre success with smaller clubs in Norway, was the key player in that role.

He was Aasmund Bjorkan’s assistant at the time, but he took over the position the year after. It initially appeared to be a failure, but it turned out not.

Morten Gamst Pedersen, a former Blackburn Rovers midfielder and Norway international, claimed that they were considering sacking Knutsen but they lacked the funds to do so.

Knutsen’s concepts involved developing a purpose-driven, intense possession-based game.

The 56-year-old previously stated that dominating does not just mean scoring but also having possession of the ball and dictating the game’s rules.

We want to have a cohesive team identity that includes fans, staff, players, and fans. To be able to develop this “Bodo model,” we must confront ourselves.

Bodo’s goal was to change the players’ mindsets as well.

They had become used to playing in the top two divisions without much real success. However, the club also hired Bjorn Mannsverk when Knutsen was in place.

He trained as a performance and mentality coach after working as a fighter pilot. Mannsverk had extensive experience developing mental resilience as a leader of the Royal Norwegian Air Force squadrons in deployments to Afghanistan and Libya.

Former Bodo/Glimt player Ulrik Saltnes used to have stomach issues and considered retiring, while vice-captain Patrick Berg was ready to leave a club that his grandfather, father, and two uncles had played for.

Working with Mannsverk helped both transform their mentality.

Without Bjorn and the mental effort we put forth, Saltnes, who previously called their play “kamikaze,” said: “I don’t think it would be possible to play that way.”

Bodo/Glimt transformed into a team thanks to Mannsverk’s work on mentality and Knutsen’s coaching methods.

After avoiding relegation for the first time in 2018, they would eventually win the domestic league title in 2020, and they would do it once more in three of their subsequent four seasons.

They were also given a spot in Europe thanks to those championship victories, where they hoped to compete instead of just be happy.

They faced a Celtic side led by Postecoglou, the current Spurs manager, in the Europa Conference League in 2022.

Bodo/Glimt not only shocked the Scottish giants in their knockout round play-off tie, but also thumped them 5-1 on aggregate, winning the first leg 3-1 and the second 2 2-0, to advance to the last 16.

Pedersen remarked, “Knutsen plays attacking football.” They play similarly to Tottenham and like high press.

Knutsen is a very nice person, but the group is strong.

They have excellent training and are very fit. They are aware of their role, and Tottenham will face a difficult match.

Postecoglou said Spurs will not take them lightly because they have previously been detested by Bodo/Glimt.

The Australian described the Australians as “a good football team.” It’s irrelevant where you come from. I don’t underestimate anyone because I’m from another country where football is the fourth sport.

It makes no difference if you say the club is small or the club is big. They have the right to play in the semi-finals of a European competition between us and two other clubs.

Bodo/Glimt will be hoping Postecoglou’s defeat in Europe will set a new precedent.

They will want to go back to Norway, where they are tied, knowing how to use the conditions there to their advantage.

Due to their northerly location, opposing teams can encounter snow and wind as well as a determined, talented side.

Jostein Gundersen, a defender for Bodo/Glimt, told BBC World Service, “I don’t think we are the most sexy team to face.”

The artificial grass and cold, windy weather make up the artificial grass, which we don’t have the biggest stadium.

The Scotsman’s hopes of a fifth world title for a year were completely halted by John Higgins’ Crucible exit in the quarter-finals, which also put an end to his country’s representation there.

Higgins, who will turn 50 in a few weeks, will continue to compete at the highest level in his remarkable life.

However, this year’s World Championship featured only Scotland’s “The Wizard of Wishaw.”

For those who enjoy snooker, it is a potentially worrying statistic for a country that has won 12 world titles in the last 35 years.

Jim Donnelly became the first Scot to compete in the World Championship at a location that is now ingrained in the sport more than 40 years ago.

He described the absence of his fellow citizens in the years prior as “players in Scotland were making century breaks, but didn’t believe in themselves.”

“Scottish players immediately assumed that I had already defeated him, and that if he can go professional, I can do it.”

Even though Donnelly lost to eventual champion Ray Reardon in the opening round of the 1982 tournament, it was just the beginning.

He placed 29th in the world’s rankings, but a young player from Edinburgh, who had won the title in 1987, lost it.

With the first of seven victories, Hendry earned the nickname “King of the Crucible,” that young star became the youngest ever world champion at the age of 21 – a title he still holds.

Higgins followed suit, winning four world titles, and he is still leading the field today.

The 2006 title went to Graeme Dott. Additionally, Anthony McGill, Stephen Maguire, and Alan McManus have all advanced to the semi-finals.

When Donnelly coached him in Wishaw at the age of nine or ten, he immediately realized he was “something special” and was able to identify him with Donnelly.

He believes it will be challenging to find someone to take on the role of Scotland’s leading player, despite his optimism.

According to Donnelly, who also coached McManus and McGill, “the problem with snooker in Scotland is that it’s dying.” We lack the resources to accomplish what the rest of us did.

They put the effort in, are good players, and enjoy snooker. However, they don’t leave without getting the best of their lives. They try to stop it by being a little bit more attacking by refusing to play some shots.

“Many people are unaware of the significance of what is happening. How much time and pressure are required to sit down alone at a table.

Without a doubt, snooker as a whole faces challenges differently than it did in the 1980s and 1990s, when it was at its height in the UK.

There are fewer snooker halls in the country, and there are more leisure opportunities for young people to play video games.

These are issues that professionals in the sport are aware of, even if they are not fatalistic about.

It’s definitely not a dying sport, insists Anne Totten of Scottish Snooker, “It’s just different.”

Totten, whose son Chris suffered a defeat in this year’s World Championship qualifiers, volunteers with the organization to advance the sport.

She attributes the change in how things have changed as a result of the Covid pandemic and the loss of cigarette sponsors.

Cost increases and a lack of core funding are also putting a strain on the budget.

She said, “Our academies were doing really well a few years ago,” Our numbers were tremendously up, and it was on the rise before being hit by Covid.

It was actually 18 months lost and where young people found other things because it was one of the worst-hit sports because of licensing and government reopening times following lockdown.

Totten insists that snooker is still popular and more inclusive than ever in Scotland.

There is a new tour for players from “very diverse backgrounds,” including those over 55s, another for women, and others.

Between 10 and 20 young players play on tours from under 14 to under 21 and some compete across all age groups, with 40 or 50 of the children currently attending junior academies in Scotland.

However, Snooker is gaining popularity internationally and China, with its 1.4 billion population, is at the forefront, with six players making it to the last 16 of Sheffield’s World Championship this year.

Totten says there is talent in Scotland, but the competition makes it harder to do so internationally.

With the likes of Dean Young, Liam Graham, Ross Muir, and Scott Donaldson, Totten said, “I think sometimes it’s overlooked that there is a number of young people coming through in what is really, really fierce competition.”

“The conditions for young people are incredibly challenging.” Even though there are opportunities, there are also opportunities available everywhere, and everyone is competing for a small number of spaces.