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John Hampshire, the former Yorkshire captain and England batsman who went on to become an international umpire, has died at the age of 76

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2017John Hampshire, the former Yorkshire captain and England batsman who went on to become an international umpire, has died at the age of 76 after a long illness.Hampshire, who scored a century on his Test debut, against West Indies at Lord’s in 1969, played eight Tests and three ODIs for England, but will be best remembered as an integral member of the great Yorkshire side that dominated the County Championship in the 1960s.In a 23-year career that included spells with Derbyshire, Tasmania and, briefly, Leicestershire, Hampshire scored a total of 28,059 first-class runs at 34.55, including 43 hundreds – the vast majority of those coming during his 456 appearances for Yorkshire.He debuted for the club as a 20-year-old in 1961 and won the County Championship on five separate occasions, holding his own in a team packed with club legends including Geoff Boycott, Ray Illingworth, Fred Trueman and his first captain, Brian Close. An upright front-foot driver with a strong leg-side game, he was one of the most handsome batsmen of his time.”Initially Yorkshire might have been a difficult dressing room to feel at home in, but Brian Close was a tremendous captain,” Hampshire told ESPNcricinfo in one of his final interviews earlier this year.”He integrated everyone. Most of the guys, they wanted to do well because they wanted the side to do well. And they wanted other players to do well. There were some terrific rows, but they were cricket rows. They weren’t personal vendettas or anything like that. Closey was the ringleader a lot of the time, but as soon as they were finished it was, “Right, come on, we’ll have a drink.”Hampshire, like many in that side, could be an intimidating figure on first meeting, but once respect was won, hidden behind a serious exterior was a warm and self-deprecating humour.Just a year after the end of his playing career in 1984, he became a first-class umpire, and stood for the first time in a Test match at Old Trafford during the 1989 Ashes.Later that year, he and John Holder were invited by Pakistan’s captain, Imran Khan, to stand as neutral umpires during Pakistan’s home series against India, a move that helped pave the way for that to become the standard across all international matches. In total, Hampshire stood in 21 matches up until 2002, and finally retired from the county circuit in 2005.Andy Flower, coach of England Lions, was a prominent figure in the Zimbabwe side that was coached by Hampshire upon their entry to Test cricket in the early 1990s and maintained the friendship from that point.”He was very passionate about Zimbabwe cricket,” Flower told ESPNcricinfo. “He grew to love the country, and its cricket, and he was a very important part of our early years. He gave us a really good grounding in the basics of the game, which served us very well.”I last saw him at Lord’s during the summer. He was there as a guest of the ECB, and we had a couple of great chats during the day. Even though he was unwell, he was always such a strong and generous guy, so he’d still be smiling and giggling at himself.”It was always the right balance with John, between playing hard on the field, and relaxing and chatting off it. When he was coach and I was captain, he would often sit me down with Scotch or a good wine – he fancied himself as a connoisseur – and we’d talk about the game for hours.”In March 2016, Hampshire stepped up to the role of Yorkshire president, an appointment he described as being “the icing on the cake” of his career. To some extent, it was a final show of brotherhood by Yorkshire because his county career at Headingley had ended in disillusionment. In 1978, Hampshire famously was instrumental in a batting go-slow at Northampton in protest at a six-hour century by Geoffrey Boycott. It cost his side a bonus point and Boycott the captaincy. Hampshire replaced him but only for two seasons, before he departed for a simpler life at Derbyshire.”From a very humble beginning, getting trains, trams and buses to Headingley to practice in the winter in hope of getting a game for Yorkshire Seconds, to being president. I think it’s quite an achievement,” he said.”John epitomised everything that’s good about Yorkshire County Cricket Club,” said Steve Denison, Yorkshire’s chairman. “Brave, talented and with a heart of gold, he captained Yorkshire, scored a century at Lord’s on his Test debut and became a highly respected umpire after hanging up his playing whites.”Loved by players and members alike, John capped his wonderful life in Yorkshire cricket as our club president last year. On behalf of everyone involved with and connected to the Club, I would like to extend our most sincere condolences to John’s wife Alison and two sons Ian and Paul. He will be sorely missed by all at Headingley.”

Manchester United are finalising an offer for FC Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, as Erik ten Hag is unhappy with David de Gea, according to reports from Portugal.

Is David De Gea leaving Man United?

There have been recent reports indicating that De Gea could remain at Old Trafford, with talkSPORT reporting the Spaniard is set to snub a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia, even though there are no assurances he will continue as number one.

However, transfer insider Dean Jones believes the 32-year-old could keep his place between the sticks, recently telling GiveMeSport: "The contract is basically drawn up at this point for him, so it’s difficult to see a situation whereby the De Gea doesn’t stay now on a new contract, so it’s really about finding that backup goalkeeper."

Despite a new contract being on the table for the goalkeeper, reports from Portugal outlet Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness) indicate the Red Devils are finalising an offer for Costa, who has a release clause of €75m (£64m) included in his FC Porto contract.

That price tag should not be an issue for United, who are now advancing in their pursuit of the 23-year-old, having scouted him on a number of occasions last season.

Agent Jorge Mendes is currently working on the transfer, as Ten Hag is unhappy with De Gea, and the Porto goalkeeper's arrival has the approval of the board, as well as Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot.

Should Man United replace De Gea?

Although he has been a fantastic servant to Man United, making a total of 545 appearances for the club, the Madrid-born goalkeeper is arguably not the player he once was.

The 45-time Spain international made two errors leading to goal in the top flight – the joint-fourth highest in the division – with mistakes starting to creep into his game more and more.

There is some evidence that Costa could be a top-quality replacement, ranking in the 98th percentile for goals against per 90 over the past year, when compared to goalkeepers playing at a similar level, and in the 95th for his clean sheet percentage (as per FBref).

Hailed as "sensational" by members of the media, the Portugal international has also been praised for his record of saving penalties, which also indicates he could be an upgrade on De Gea, as the Spaniard has a poor record in shootouts.

Pink ball cricket will mark its debut in Sri Lanka when the first unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and West Indies A commences at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday

Sa'adi Thawfeeq03-Oct-2016

Pink-ball cricket will mark its debut in Sri Lanka when the first unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and West Indies A commences at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday.”We have been lagging behind other countries in experimenting with the pink ball, but a start had to be made somewhere,” Sri Lanka Cricket vice-president K Mathivanan said. “With the ICC planning to introduce day-night Test cricket in the near future we should be prepared to face the changes and not lag behind.”Sri Lanka currently use the Australian Kookaburra ball in their domestic tournaments. Mathivanan said the pink ball costed as much as the red ball, priced at LKR 16,000. SLC is also likely to use the pink ball in their forthcoming domestic competition.Sri Lanka A captain Dimuth Karunaratne felt the pink ball doesn’t differ drastically as compared to the red ball. “We have had few practice sessions with the pink ball and found it very much similar to the red ball,” he said. “But with use, pink ball gets a bit strange and the colour fades.”Shamarh Brooks, the West Indies A captain, said the experience of having played with the pink ball should help. “The balls we use in the Caribbean are a bit light in colour, these balls are brighter,” he observed.Pink ball trial aside, the series will also help Sri Lanka’s national selector identify players who can make the Test cut ahead of the tour of Zimbabwe in October-November.Among those fighting for the opening slot are Karunaratne, Roshen Silva and Lahiru Thirimanne. “I think we have a strong team with some drop outs from the national squad. So this is a great chance for all of them to regain their form and perform well for the country,” Karunaratne said, while sidestepping the question about competition for places.Sri Lanka A coach Avishka Gunawardene said the priority was to identify a battery of fast bowlers. “The Zimbabwe and South African tours are coming and we have to find more fast bowlers so we will focus more on the fast bowlers during this series as that is the national side’s need of the hour,” he said. “We have a good balanced side including Under-19 players who performed well at the last Under-19 World Cup.”West Indies will play three four-day matches and three one-dayers during their month-long stay.

Liverpool have held a meeting with the representatives of Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram regarding a potential move to the Premier League, according to reports.

Are Liverpool signing Khephren Thuram?

Thuram has made a total of 138 appearances at the Allianz Riviera since joining from AS Monaco back in 2019, and despite his contract not expiring for another two years, in recent weeks, he’s been highlighted as an ideal target for Jurgen Klopp on Merseyside.

Back in April, The Independent first credited the Reds with an interest in the 22-year-old with the boss thinking that he perfectly fits the profile of central reinforcement that he’s looking for having pulled out of the race to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham.

Writing in his column for CaughtOffside, journalist Jonathan Johnson has since claimed that the France international is still very much being “looked at” by FSG, and if the following update is to be believed, there’s a strong chance that he could be imminently on his way to Anfield.

According to L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), Liverpool have been in talks over a summer deal for Thuram for a “few weeks” to discover what it would take to complete a switch and have made their move “more concretely” than others.

The Reds have even already “held a meeting” with the defensive midfielder’s camp, and it’s stated that the idea of joining is “liked”. Nice “aren’t ready to sell”, and whilst it remains to be seen what his price tag would be, there is expected to be a “lot of competition” for his signature.

Should Liverpool splash the cash on Thuram?

Liverpool are clearly serious about landing Thuram, despite seemingly being close to signing Alexis Mac Allister, having progressed to the stage of negotiations that they have and it’s no surprise that he’s being targeted having been dubbed a “tenacious tackler” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, so should the board be able to successfully secure his services, it could be a shrewd move.

Nice’s 6 foot 4 colossus, who pockets £14.5k-per-week, averaged 1.5 tackles per league game last season hence his nickname, but was also a threat at the opposite end of the pitch having recorded ten goal contributions (eight assists and two goals) across all competitions.

Even if he’s not always on the scoresheet, Thuram is constantly looking to produce moments of quality for himself and his fellow teammates having made 84 shot-creating actions in 2022/23 which was higher than any of his peers, via FBRef, so for someone who possesses the ability to positively impact the game both defensively and offensively, FSG could be making a smart move.

Tottenham Hotspur are targeting Feyenoord's star striker Santiago Gimenez, according to reports.

Who could join Spurs this summer?

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy currently has many plates spinning in north London, not least his desire to secure a permanent replacement for Antonio Conte and new sporting director.

Headway has been made behind-the-scenes, according to reports, with there being suggestions that Slot is firmly in pole position for the Tottenham hot seat.

Spurs have also been tipped with interest in former Spain and Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorim, Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi and Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou (Evening Standard).

However, Slot is believed to be out in front, and his appointment could even happen within the week if all goes to plan, at least according to Football Insider.

Tottenham have even earmarked potential signings for the Slot era, with links surrounding Feyenoord playmaker and Turkey international Orkun Kokcu.

Alongside the 22-year-old, it is now reported that Spurs are targeting Feyenoord's Gimenez as well, with 90min sharing some news.

As per their information, Tottenham have joined the growing list of sides interested in signing the Mexican, with Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Leicester City also in the mix.

Gimenez has apparently caught the eye of Spurs chiefs alongside both Slot and Korkcu as they eye a Feyenoord raid, despite their general manager previously insisting the forward is not for sale.

Who is Santiago Gimenez?

The 22-year-old stands out as one of Feyenoord's key players – contributing with crucial goals on their way to securing this season's Eredivisie title.

Gimenez stands out as their top goalscorer with 15 in the Dutch top flight, registering a further two assists and averaging their joint-highest rate of attempts at goal per 90 alongside Kokcu (WhoScored).

ESPN podcast host Herculez Gomez even claimed he could go on to break the record for goals in a single European season from a Mexican player, calling Gimenez the "real deal".

Former Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt has also praised the star attacker for his pace and finishing.

“He’s back here in the middle of the defenders and he’s really fast, said Kuyt (via Get Belgian and Dutch Football News and One Football)"Watching the keeper before he shoots, the rest. In my opinion, he is currently the best striker in the Eredivisie."

High praise from a former Premier League star, it will be interesting to see if Spurs follow up on their interest in the North American.

Imran Tahir, who took a match-winning 7 for 45, said he was able to focus solely on attacking in light of South Africa piling up 343 for 4 against West Indies in St Kitts

Firdose Moonda16-Jun-20162:21

‘Every wicket very special for me’ – Tahir

A side normally known for its seam prowess, South Africa, now have a record-breaking spinner to boast about too. Imran Tahir’s 7 for 45 against West Indies are the best figures by any bowler from his country in ODIs.While picking up that haul, Tahir also became the quickest South African to 100 wickets. The legspinner has played 58 matches, one fewer than Morne Morkel who held the previous record.Tahir was able to do his job without worrying about keeping the runs down thanks to his team-mates putting up 343 for 4 in 50 overs. “I had the freedom to bowl whatever I wanted to because the boys put a decent total on the board, especially on a track like this,” he said. “They put us in a position where the bowlers could do whatever they want to do and try to attack and that’s what we did and things went well for us.”South Africa posted the only score over 300 in the Caribbean tri-series so far to silence criticism about their long tail, but it did not always look like it would be enough.West Indies were racing along at 58 for 0 after six overs when Tahir was introduced. His over, full of sliders and googlies, was the first not to include a boundary and his next one produced a wicket – Andre Fletcher caught at deep midwicket. It underlined Tahir’s ability to be effective even against big-hitting batsmen with the field restrictions in place.”They [West Indies] are attacking players and we know that. When someone attacks you, there is always an opportunity and that’s what I look for,” Tahir said. “The West Indian boys can chase anything. It is a big challenge as a spinner to play modern day cricket, where you have to have five players in the circle. Thanks to technology, you can sit and see the opposition’s mistakes and try to learn from them. It’s very challenging as a spinner but it’s good as well because that makes you perfect.”After his initial breakthrough, Tahir was brought back in the middle overs, a period when he has controlled proceedings for South Africa over the last two years. On Wednesday, he removed Marlon Samuels, West Indies’ match-winner when they chased 266 against Australia, for 24.It is unusual for South Africa to play two specialist spinners but they have done so in every match of this series – and once even fielded three. The combination of Tahir and left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi has helped the balance of their attack and showed that they do posses bowlers who can exploit slower surfaces.”He is a very good talent,” Tahir said of Shamsi. “I’m very happy to see him bowling like that. I’ve been working with him for a long time. He is a brother to me. We played together for a few years in domestic cricket and it’s really nice to see him doing what he is doing.”In a country that has lacked for spin-bowling role-models, Shamsi will have few better teachers than Tahir, who broke the back of West Indies’ chase and then returned to feast on the tail. He got rid of Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite off successive balls and Kieron Pollard later in the same over to take his second career five-for, and then topped up with two more wickets to end with figures better than any South African so far.”I feel really proud. I will take that any day,” Tahir said. “I’m just really pleased. When things like this happen, you feel good about yourself and all the hard work you’ve done in the nets.”

يرى سيف فاروق جعفر لاعب نادي بيراميدز، أن فريقه سيكون مثل مانشستر سيتي الإنجليزي وسيحصد البطولات، مؤكداً أنه في الطريق الصحيح.

وقال سيف جعفر خلال تصريحات في برنامج “الهدف” المذاع على قناة “أون تايم سبورت 2”: “نادي بيراميدز ليس محظوظا أنه لم يفوز بأي بطولة حتى الآن”.

وأضاف: “لكن سيحصد بطولة في القريب العاجل وهو يسير في الطريق الصحيح”، واستشهد بـ “مانشستر سيتي” قائلاً “عندما قام الملاك الإماراتيين بشرائه النادي أخذ وقتا حتى حصد بطولة”.

طالع | علاء ميهوب: رمضان صبحي يتمنى العودة للأهلي.. والزمالك الأفضل له

وواصل: “عبد الله السعيد صانع ألعاب بيراميدز (في حته تانية في كرة القدم) ومعه وشيكابالا ومحمد عبد الشافي ثنائي الزمالك، شرف لي أني لعبت مع عبد الله السعيد، شخصية محترفة جدًا وإنسان في غاية الاحترام، قال لي إنني لاعب جيد وسيكون لي دور في الفريق”.

واستطرد: “رمضان صبحي أيضاً لاعب كبير وإضافة لأي نادي متواجد فيه وأحبه جدًا، والله لا أعرف إذا كان يريد العودة للأهلي أم لا، هو ابن النادي الأهلي وشعوري الشخصي أنه في يوم من الأيام سيعود للقلعة الحمراء”.

وأتم: “عاشرت إمام عاشور ثلاثة أو أربعة سنوات في الزمالك لم أتخيل في يوم من الأيام أنه سينضم للأهلي، وأتمنى له التوفيق”.

Aston Villa are planning to move on midfielder Leander Dendoncker this summer, according to Football Insider.

What’s the latest news on Dendoncker’s Villa future?

Unai Emery’s side recorded another Premier League win on Saturday afternoon, defeating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Villa Park. Goals in the second half from Bertrand Traore and Ollie Watkins sealed the three points to take Villa up into sixth place.

It is now an impressive 11 wins from 17 for Emery in the Midlands, and it looks as if the Spaniard is already preparing for his first full season in charge.

Recent reports have claimed that Morgan Sanson will be allowed to leave on a permanent basis in the summer, and it looks as if Dendoncker could be given the same treatment despite signing from Wolves just last year.

Football Insider reporter Wayne Veysey shared a story in the last 48 hours regarding Villa and Dendoncker. He revealed that the club are willing to listen to offers and plan to accept a move away, with Dendoncker not viewed as a key part of Emery’s long-term plans.

Villa have already told Dendoncker that he is free to find a new club after the green light from Emery ahead of the summer window.

Will Villa need to replace Dendoncker?

Dendoncker, hailed as a “top player” last year by former Wolve boss Bruno Lage, has started just three Premier League games for Villa this season, one of which came in Emery’s first game in charge against Manchester United.

However, the 27-year-old has seemingly fallen out of favour in recent months, playing less than 100 minutes of top-flight action since the turn of the year. Dendoncker did feature in yesterday’s win, coming on for Emiliano Buendia in the final 15 minutes.

Should the midfielder move on alongside Sanson as expected, Emery will be left with just one out-and-out defensive midfielder in Boubacar Kamara, as per Transfermarkt, so you’d expect that a replacement would be required to bolster the squad.

Villa also paid around €15m (£13m) for Dendoncker’s services, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of that figure the club can recoup ahead of what looks set to be a busy summer.

Sheffield Wednesday defender Reece James has admitted that he is "keen" to make the permanent move to Hillsborough.

What's the latest on James' future?

The Owls left-back first made the move to South Yorkshire when he put pen to paper on a season-long loan from Blackpool in July 2022 and it's fair to say that he's enjoyed a rapid start to life under Darren Moore, having made 22 appearances in League One.

The Tangerines star's contract at Bloomfield Road isn't set to expire until next summer but Mick McCarthy's side will know that the upcoming transfer window will present them with their final big opportunity to cash in, should they want to sanction his permanent sale and get him off their books for good.

During an interview with YorkshireLive back in December, the 29-year-old hinted that he would be open to playing for the automatic promotion chasers full-time having so far loved his time at the club, and he's now delivered a fresh update on his transfer stance which supporters will be extremely pleased to hear.

Speaking to The Star, James has revealed that he would like to sign a permanent deal at Sheffield Wednesday. He said:

“At the moment there haven’t been any conversations for myself with either club really. But obviously I’m really enjoying my football, I’m really enjoying my time at the club – you never know what can happen. I’m keen for something to happen, but we’ll have to see… I’ve really enjoyed my time here, I’ve loved it. And my main focus is to get the job over the line here…

“There’s not really been any contact with Blackpool, they’ve got their focus and I’ve got mine. Theirs is to stay in the Championship and mine is to get into the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday, so that’s what I’m concentrating on.”

Should Sheffield Wednesday buy James?

James has been an excellent addition for Sheffield Wednesday since joining, and having played such a significant role in helping put them right among the promotion contenders, Moore and the rest of the hierarchy have to permanently take him on board in the summer.

The £3.7k-p/w talent is currently averaging 2.1 tackles and two clearances per third-tier game, via WhoScored, showing that he's not afraid to put in a challenge and stop the opposition from going on an attack, but he's also proven to be strong in the offensive aspect of his play.

Prior to the Cheltenham game, James has provided four assists and whipped a total of 32 crosses into the box from bursting down the flank, and offers plenty of versatility having operated higher up in the midfield and even at centre-back this season, so the Owls shouldn't even have to think twice about taking up the chance to buy him should the opportunity arise.

Southampton have been through the trenches over the past year, slipping slowly but surely from their once steady position in the Premier League and not facing a desperate fight to avoid relegation, with the business end of the campaign looking ominous indeed.

Indeed, the outfit languish at the nadir of their current stay in the top-flight, 19th in the division after 25 matches, albeit with two victories from the past three matches.

Current boss Ruben Selles is the third to take to the Southampton dugout this season alone, with Nathan Jones receiving the boot after losing seven of his eight Premier League matches in charge.

That spell, of course, came after long-term and respected boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was dismissed from his duties following a discernible downward trend and boiling temperatures between the Austrian and the owners, Sport Republic – who assumed control one year ago.

With the turbulence that Saints is beset with threatening to spiral the club from their position among the top outfits in the country, a rueful gaze will undoubtedly be cast back to recent misfortunes, with one failed deal on the transfer front exuding a potent sense of pathos.

Did Southampton nearly sign Gakpo?

Cody Gakpo was of interest to Southampton last summer, with The Telegraph reporting that the outfit had two summer bids rejected for the phenom, the second totalling roughly £21.5m.

It’s fair to say Gakpo is having something of a prolific season for club and country.

The 23-year-old has scored four goals from 12 outings for Liverpool, with a remarkable return of 13 strikes and 17 assists for PSV Eindhoven in the first half of the term, preceding his £35m-£45m transfer to Anfield.

He has started to emerge as a fierce offensive force, with Times journalist Hamzah Khalique-Loonat even lauding him as “tall, fleet-footed and dangerous.”

As per FBref, Gakpo ranks among the best 9% of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues for goals and the top 7% for assists per 90, illustrating a sharpness to his cutting edge that has been unforeseen in Southampton for some time, and it could have even saved Hasenhuttl’s job.

With St. Mary’s Stadium falling quickly into the lower third of the Premier League, Hasenhuttl’s reign seemed to be drawing to an inevitable close, especially given the relationship between the manager and owners was wearing thin after a short time together.

Given the dynamic capabilities of Gakpo, and the impact he could have made on the collective efforts of the team’s attack, it is a miserable thought for Southampton fans when mulling over what could have been.

Considering Gakpo’s performances in the Netherlands and his emphatic introduction to the global stage with his country at the World Cup, the powers that be at Saints must be veritably kicking themselves for blundering so badly.

And with the machine now starting to churn at Liverpool, the south coast is offered a poignant reminder of what could have been.