Category Sports News

After proposals to reform the County Championship were turned down, professional cricketers’ association chief executive Daryl Mitchell has not ruled out the possibility of players striking.

Instead of switching to a 12-team top flight with 13 matches per side, counties voted to keep the current two-divisional structure, with each team playing 14 games.

In order to protect player welfare, the PCA had pushed for a 12-game cut, but it was opposed.

Mitchell expressed disappointment and disappointment with the outcome of the vote in a statement to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra on Thursday.

The players will guide us, the former Worcestershire captain added. Last night, there were some high emotions in the WhatsApp group, which was pretty lively.

We are one, not the other. Any union, in my opinion, would not omit the possibility of strike action if its members wanted it. We completely disagree with our members regarding that. If the player representatives and our members decide it is necessary, we will hold those discussions.

“I don’t believe we’d want to travel there.” We’re not trying to do that because it would have a negative impact on the counties and the game.

It hasn’t been extensively discussed, they say. Because there are implications, it’s also very simple to say but much harder to execute. One of the benefits of playing is that players are not paid, and another is that members must be able to cast ballots. I don’t believe it should be something we would encourage at this time.

A lengthy review of the counties’ domestic summer was concluded by the vote on the Championship’s structure.

Consensus on the Championship has been much harder to come by. Before it became clear that a 12-game model, which the PCA favored, would not be supported, there were several ideas on the divisional structure and number of games.

A 12-team top flight, split into two groups of six, was the centerpiece of the 13-game proposal. To give 10 matches, the teams in each group would play each other twice. The top three of each group would compete for the title, and the bottom three would fight to avoid relegation. With two promotion spots up for grabs, the remaining six counties would be in the second tier.

A majority of 12 of the 18 counties had to vote in favor of a new structure in order to pass legislation.

The status quo still exists as a result of the vote, which returned nine votes for change and nine against. Each county will play 14 matches while the top tier of the Championship will continue to have 10 teams. The second tier will have eight teams each.

The majority of our members were undoubtedly seeking change because the county schedule was “not fit for purpose,” Mitchell said.

There are “different viewpoints in every game.” Some counties favored 10 Championship games, while others favored 14 as the minimum requirement.

Five sets of playing staff informed the PCA that they were in favor of a 14-match season, despite Mitchell’s claim that not all of the 18 counties’ playing groups wanted a drop in Championship matches.

Mitchell believes the issue will need to be looked at sooner than the initial goal of the review, which was to agree on a schedule that would remain in place until the 2031 season.

He said, “I don’t think many counties will want to put up with it until 2031.” That had already been returned during the meetings I attended. This will continue to rage, in my opinion.

William Saliba, the defender for Arsenal, has signed a new five-year deal.

The France international has two more years left on his current contract, but he will stay until 2030 according to BBC Sport.

Saliba, 24, left Saint-Etienne for Ligue 1 in July 2019 and spent the rest of the 2018-20 season on loan before taking on loan at Nice and Marseille.

Since making his Arsenal debut in August 2022, he has made 137 appearances and has become a key member of manager Mikel Arteta’s defense.

Saliba’s impressive form had attracted interest from Spanish giant Real Madrid, whose current contract was set to expire in June 2027.

After Saliba’s center-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes and a long-term agreement to the Gunners in June, his commitment to the Gunners will give him a second chance to win the Premier League and Champions League.

If Ospreys vanish, Jac Morgan has informed the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) that he will step down from playing professional domestic rugby there.

Ospreys claim that the Wales, British, and Irish Lions flanker has warned the governing body, which is considering reducing the number of professional teams.

At a meeting this week, Morgan’s supporters were able to discuss the highly contentious proposals, which could see the cut of two of the Ospreys, Scarlets, Dragons, and Cardiff.

Morgan is the highest-profile player to speak out against the threat to his club, being the only Welsh player to play for the Lions against Australia this summer.

However, other funding options are being considered as the governing body’s consultation with players, fans, and stakeholders ends on September.

The Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA) has warned the WRU that its recommendations for the elite game would “drive talent to leave Wales.”

Morgan is currently the most well-known Welsh player, and she is a contender to take over as Wales’ autumn international captain in November.

Snoop Dogg is the American rapper’s choice for the AFL’s (AFL) grand final on Saturday, but the AFL has defended its choice.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground, which can accommodate up to 100 000 spectators, will host Snoop Dogg’s game between Geelong and Brisbane.

Some Australians have criticized the 53-year-old for his involvement because of some of his songs’ previous use of misogynistic and offensive lyrics.

Izak Rankine, an Adelaide player, is the sixth player to have received a suspension for using a homophobic slur in the last two seasons, making it the sixth AFL-listed player.

Andrew Dillon, the head of the AFL, expressed his “really confident” in Snoop Dogg’s inclusion.

He has performed at the [Paris] Olympics, a Super Bowl, and will fit our stage, Dillon said.

“I’ve always been confident that he would put on a show, but I’m even more confident now.”

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, an Australian politician, urged the AFL to “have the guts to dump” Snoop Dogg from its show last month, calling him a “slur merchant” in a statement to parliament.

She questioned the justification for hiring him to play when the AFL is trying to banish discrimination from its sport.

After charging a slurrer against an unnamed Collingwood player during Adelaide’s three-point victory in August, Rankine, 25, was banned.

CEO Dillon stated last month that Snoop Dogg’s performance this weekend would be “family-friendly.”

We can’t vouch for every lyric in every song ever written or performed by any Australian or international artists,” Dillon said.

Snoop Dogg, aka Calvin Broadus, claimed he fell in “love” Australian Rules football.

Snoop Dogg said at a press conference on Thursday that it was clear that it was a way of life as opposed to just a sport.

“I’ve been here for a long time, and I know what this game is and what it means. I just adored the sport. I’ve always watched it, but I never really understood it.

“It made me think of American football, rugby, and a few other things, but now that I know about it, I like it and want to know more about it before the grand finale.”

There is no other Prem Rugby seat that Geoff Parling’s currently occupies at Tigers of Leicester.

The 41-year-old is the ninth head coach to lead England’s most successful club in nine years.

No top-flight side has undergone any leadership changes in that time.

Caretaker Aaron Mauger, Matt O’Connor, Geordan Murphy, Steve Borthwick, Richard Wigglesworth, Dan McKellar, and Michael Cheika have all been seen through the revolving door at Mattioli Woods Welford Road since long-time manager Richard Cockerill left in January 2017. During this time, there have been everything from relegation battles to a record-extending 11th Premiership crown, a title near miss, to.

Former Australia and Argentina boss Cheika, whose only season with the Tigers ended in a Premiership Final defeat, has been replaced by Parling as head coach.

Tigers were eager to avert the fact that Parling, who won two league titles as a player, would be returning to the organization as a “long-term” addition.

Parling, who worked as the Wallabies assistant coach before deciding to leave his position for a first-time boss on the other side of the world, said that the promise of getting time to deliver was key.

He told BBC Radio Leicester, “When I interviewed, I said that I wanted to lay solid foundations for the club and that I wouldn’t move my family to another country.”

He does, however, have a number of similarities to his forerunners.

Under Cockerill, a decorated former Leicester player who held the highest position for nearly eight years, Parling won two Premiership titles while playing for the Tigers for six consecutive years.

Additionally, McKellar, who left his position as an assistant coach with Australia in 2023 to take charge of Leicester, is another. He only spent one season at the company.

It was reported that McKellar had lost the trust of the senior Tigers player following his departure.

Ben Youngs, a five-time champion at Leicester and retired following last year’s final defeat to Bath, revealed he had been speaking with club management about McKellar’s position.

It highlighted the Tigers team’s player force, which is known for passing on legendary players through one-clubs.

Youngs and Dan Cole were both the two most successful men in English rugby history, both as Leicester legends.

With captain Julian Montoya and two-time World Cup winners South Africa fly-half Handre Pollard also leaving, Parling says Tigers’ goals for success in the future must come from the same foundation of commitment.

Parling remarked, “I think there is cohesion.”

At the age of 35, Australian playmaker James O’Connor, who was recalled by the Wallabies in the summer, was one of the seven players who signed after the season was over.

Ollie Chessum, a 25-year-old Tigers academy graduate who has played for England and has traveled to Europe with the British and Irish Lions, is now captain of the Leicester side.

Hanro Liebenberg, who has captained the Tigers on numerous occasions in his six years with the club, is another of the homegrown internationals in Jack van Poortvliet, who was a player who came to the club and county after Ben Youngs.

“I’ve seen enough of this team,” he said. According to Parling, we must demonstrate to everyone what our main goal is.

“I really hope that this season can take it, pick it up, and take it somewhere,” says my job.