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Exclusive updates about the San Jose Earthquakes' transfer budget plans under owner John Fisher, academy complex proposal and much more…

San Jose Earthquakes owner John Fisher brought scrutiny upon himself with his recent treatment of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics, the other Bay Area sports team he oversees.

called Fisher's announcement last week that he would try to relocate the Athletics to Las Vegas "shameless". used the words “cheap” and “unserious”. said he was a failure merchant reliably wrong on every issue.

Dig into just about any local online fan forum or social media app, and far worse language is being used to express a similar sentiment.

His Earthquakes ownership tenure, though, is less clear-cut.

There were reports in 2021 that the heir to Gap Inc. retail fortune was exploring the sale of a stake in the Earthquakes he bought in 2006, and stories about a possible deal briefly re-emerged last week after the Oakland relocation news. Fisher doesn't usually make public comments about the team, which sometimes makes it difficult to decipher his intentions.

GOAL breaks down what fans need to know about Fisher, and why Earthquakes supporters don't need to feel immediately threatened by the baseball saga up Interstate 880…

Getty ImagesA tenure marred by frustrations

San Jose hosted the first-ever MLS match in 1996 and won league titles in 2001 and 2003 with United States men's national team legend Landon Donovan to the fore.

So, when Fisher joined Lewis Wolff in spearheading a restart of the club in 2006 after its first iteration bolted for Houston, he took hold of an organization with strong, successful soccer roots. High expectations came with that.

The Bay Area has always been well-positioned to be a massive market for the sport, both in terms of population size and diverse demographics, which should have worked in Fisher's favor. The greater metropolitan area is roughly double the size of smash success MLS expansion locations such as Cincinnati and St. Louis.

But even as Fisher got the new soccer-specific stadium he wanted built in San Jose, attendance and on-field results have been mediocre.

A frustrated Wolff (who has since sold his stake in the club) said in 2009: "In Santa Clara County, if you’re not able to tap into that market then there is something wrong with us.”

PayPal Park has one of the smallest capacities for an MLS field at 18,000, and yet it rarely sells out matches. The Earthquakes rank second-to-last in attendance this season at 14,163 fans per game. It hasn't helped that San Jose has not finished a regular season with a points total better than 10th in MLS since 2012.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesRelocation absolutely not on the table

Despite those frustrations, and Fisher's decision to move his baseball team out of the region, the Earthquakes will not leave San Jose. No chance.

MLS values the Bay Area market as a crown jewel, a league executive told GOAL, and believes attendance issues are the product of disappointing on-field results.

"Performance matters with any sport on the planet," they acknowledged. "They've got a good start this year. And hopefully, you know, fans will continue to respond."

The executive pointed to annual matches against the LA Galaxy held in larger-capacity Stanford Stadium that sometimes bring in more than 50,000 people, as well as European club tours that quickly sell out. They said that the market is rich enough for San Jose to one day be able to crack the top 10 in attendance – though the club would need a bigger venue to make that happen, as 10th-place Austin FC currently seat 2,000 more fans per game than PayPal Park's capacity.

GOAL was also told by the league official that they have seen first-hand that Fisher and Co. are active, "very engaged" participants in MLS owners' meetings.

An Earthquakes front-office source, meanwhile, emphasized that relocation is not on the table. While they declined to directly comment on rumors Fisher could sell some or all of his shares of the club, they suggested the 2021 report by of a potential sale of minority stakes remained a fair assessment of the situation.

For now, the focus is on expanding the reach of the fan base under the current set-up.

"We have made a number of important investments on and off the field in the past few years and we will continue to invest in our community to grow the sport and our club," club president Jared Shawlee wrote in a statement to GOAL. "Our goal is to be the epicenter of soccer in Northern California.

Oakland RootsMust hit the SF and Oakland battlegrounds forcefully

The Earthquakes do internally acknowledge they may not have marketed themselves enough to the greater Bay Area, said the team source, previously keeping a hyper-local San Jose focus that may have contributed to a disconnect between the team and important potential fans in San Francisco, Oakland and parts of California further north.

There are plans being made to change that: public soccer fields and recreational facilities will be erected in numerous Bay Area cities such as Salinas and Hayward, and summertime youth programming will be expanded with an objective to "double the fan base," according to Shawlee.

Oakland's loss of teams from other sports (the Athletics, Raiders and Warriors) could create room for people in the Bay Area to pick up more of an interest in local professional soccer. The Earthquakes want to capitalize on that.

But Fisher's unpopular role in pushing baseball out of Oakland as the grassroots growth of the USL's Oakland Roots takes off is a potential hinderance, even though the Roots are a division below them.

In fact, the Roots wasted no time in pouncing on what some local fans view as a betrayal on the part of Fisher and the baseball team.

Right after the Athletics announced their relocation plan, the Roots boasted that they submitted an official proposal to the city to enter into a lease at the Malibu Lot adjacent to the baseball team's soon-to-be-vacated stadium. They would be able to double their attendance (a Roots source claimed they wanted a capacity of 10,000) while making use of land that might otherwise be abandoned.

The unsaid message: If Fisher neglects Oakland, we can fill the void.

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Getty ImagesPositive on-field start to 2023

Scrutiny on Fisher's leadership in MLS would probably be more intense if the Earthquakes hadn't started this season well enough to offer hope that the current front-office group knows what it's doing and can maintain a contender in the coming years.

Productive homegrown academy graduates such as Cade Cowell are cause for optimism that a youth system criticized in the past is finally hitting its stride.

"[Our] track record of success reinforces that the club’s investment in Quakes Academy is working, and we’re incredibly proud to see the growth of our players at every level," wrote Shawlee to GOAL.

With 14 points through nine matches, the Earthquakes rank fifth in the Western Conference; they finished dead last in 2022.

But a shock 1-0 defeat to Monterey Bay FC in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night was the worst result of Luchi Gonzalez's promising first season as their head coach, and three of their next four games are against Los Angeles teams, making the coming month crucial in maintaining positive momentum.

Pep Guardiola left his top scorer on the bench as City were held to a goalless draw in Copenhagen in a game dominated by VAR decisions

Manchester City's perfect start to the Champions League was halted with a surprising goalless draw in Copenhagen.

Pep Guardiola's side remain top of Group G, but were made to wait a little bit longer to secure their place in the knockout stages.

Rodri had a stunning goal ruled out for a controversial handball and Riyad Mahrez then missed a penalty after another ruling from VAR.

But City were reduced to 10 men after half an hour when Sergio Gomez was shown a straight red after pulling back winger Hakon Haraldsson as the last man.

Copenhagen were delighted with the point, but it was a frustrating one for City, who opted to leave Erling Haaland on the bench throughout despite not managing to find the net in his absence.

Getty ImagesThe Winners

Erling Haaland:

It's no coincidence that City's first blank of the season came in the first game that their marquee summer signing did not start. After netting 20 goals already, Haaland has looked almost unstoppable, and him being away from the action only underlined his importance. It was, though, a precious 90 minutes rest for the Norwegian after a hectic start to the life at the Etihad Stadium and with a visit to Anfield on the horizon.

Liverpool:

Jurgen Klopp has an injury crisis to deal with ahead of Sunday's game, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Joel Matip the latest to enter the Anfield treatment room. He will, then, have been happy to see City forced to play for over an hour with only 10 men and pushed so hard in a game that was expected to be a stroll ahead of the two teams' meeting on Sunday. Already 14 points off the top of the Premier League and 13 behind reigning champions City, that clash is a must-win if Liverpool are to keep any title hopes that they still have alive. Haaland may have stayed on the bench , but many of Guardiola's other main men were given an unnecessary and draining workout.

Kamil Grabara:

Ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Grabara was Copenhagen's man of the match a week ago at the Etihad Stadium, despite a 5-0 defeat, making 12 saves. And he was the hero again on Tuesday when he guessed right to deny Riyad Mahrez's first-half penalty. City have missed now 24 penalties in all competitions under Guardiola, nine more than any other Premier League side over the same period. But Grabara won't care about City's appalling record, and can look back on his two appearances against the Premier League champions with huge pride.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe Losers

Sergio Gomez:

What should have been a comfortable night for City got considerably harder when Gomez was shown a straight red card following a VAR intervention. The left-back was caught on the wrong side of Copenhagen teenager Hakon Haraldsson and hooked his arm around the forward to stop him breaking through. A clear goalscoring opportunity, it was the right decision to send Gomez off after some poor defending in a game that City expected to control from start to finish. Trying to force his way into becoming a regular for City, this was a major error and is likely to seriously set back his first-team hopes.

VAR:

There can be no complaints about VAR getting involved with Gomez’s sending off, but the other interventions do nothing to improve the game. Rodri scored one of the best goals of the group stage, a fierce 25-yard strike that arrowed into the top corner, but you’re unlikely to ever to see it again thanks to VAR. The ball brushed Riyad Mahrez’s fingers in the build-up, and after watching a replay of the incident another 10 times, referee Artur Dias ruled the goal out. There were no complaints from anyone in the stadium – fans or players – just as there weren’t when the ball accidentally struck Nicolai Boilesen's arm for a penalty – but the VAR had his super slo mo and magnifier in overdrive.

Riyad Mahrez:

City's top scorer in last season's Champions League, Mahrez has had a difficult start to this campaign. Guardiola has said that he needs him to get the winger to his best, and two goals in his last two appearances suggested he might be getting there. His involvement in Rodri's disallowed goal was bad luck, but his penalty miss ensured that the match could not settle down in City's favour. He was then the player that was sacrificed in the 33rd minute following Gomez's red card, with Ruben Dias brought on.

Getty ImagesMan City Ratings: Defence

Ederson (6/10):

One rare miscontrol could have been embarrassing had he been closer to his goal, but that shouldn’t take away from his otherwise good distribution.

Joao Cancelo (6/10):

Couldn’t make his usual creative impact as Copenhagen tried to use the extra man to shut down one of City's main threats at source.

Manuel Akanji (7/10):

Started at centre-back but was pushed out to right back when Gomez was sent off and looked unruffled in either position.

Aymeric Laporte (7/10):

More valuable minutes as he continues his recovery from a knee operation in the summer and controlled the backline with comfort.

Sergio Gomez (3/10):

A night to forget for the young left back who paid a heavy price for a moment of slack defending that put his team-mates in trouble.

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Getty ImagesMidfield

Rodri (7/10):

Unfortunate not to score a brilliant opener while defensively he made sure the Danish champions weren’t able to overload on the counter-attack.

Ilkay Gundogan (6/10):

Found it difficult to create too much but helped City maintain their usual control.

Kevin De Bruyne (6/10):

Made good runs from the centre of midfield but couldn’t make his usual impact when he got into dangerous areas.

Goal looks at the kits of the teams participating in Euro 2020 this summer, from Germany's classic, updated strip to Spain's unconventional home kit

Euro 2020  (now taking place in 2021) will feature the top international sides from across Europe and they will all be wearing unique attire at the tournament.

Football kits are generally updated every season and, when it comes to international football, almost inevitably before each major competition.

Goal takes a look at what the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane and more will be wearing at this summer's European Championship.

GettyAustria – Home kit

Puma is the manufacturer of Austria's kit for Euro 2020 and it has received a number of outings already. Red on the torso with white sleeves and a round collar, the jersey is imbued with a classic Alpine design graphic, which is inspired by the Vienna Secession art nouveau style.

AdvertisementAustriaAustria – Away kit

The Austria away kit was unveiled by Puma in November 2019, featuring a sleek black and teal design with a feather pattern. The OFB crest appears on the left side, with the graphic and colours inspired, like the home kit, by Austria's art nouveau style from the 19th and 20th century.

Adidas/Goal compositeBelgium – Home kit

Belgium's home kit, made by Adidas, features a bold brushstroke graphic that forms the letter "B" on the front. The Belgian flag makes up the red, yellow and black colourway, with yellow hints also across the cuffs and collar.

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AdidasBelgium – Away kit

Belgium's away kit is a grey-white number but with red and black embellishments. Adidas' trademark three stripes (in red) adorn the shoulders.

Concerns over the slow recovery of Lasith Malinga’s knee injury have grown stronger ahead of the World T20 – the paceman now in doubt for Sri Lanka’s first match on March 17

Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Mar-20161:11

Fernando: Malinga’s full availability not guaranteed

Lasith Malinga has offered to step down as Sri Lanka’s T20 captain, after concerns over the slow recovery of a knee injury have grown. The board is yet to make a final call on whether a change of leadership is needed, but Malinga has handed the board a letter voicing reservations about keeping the job when he cannot guarantee his availability for Sri Lanka’s full campaign.An MRI scan on Monday confirmed substantial damage to Malinga’s knee, but also suggested that he could manage the injury with painkillers over the next few weeks. The team is scheduled to leave for India on Tuesday, but Malinga is considering staying in Sri Lanka to receive further treatment. He may not depart to India until the days before Sri Lanka’s first match, on March 17.This overuse injury to the left knee – on which he lands during the delivery stride – has troubled him since West Indies’ series in Sri Lanka in November last year. He missed Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand in December and January, and was later ruled out of the T20s in India, in February. Then, Malinga played only one match of four during the Asia Cup, taking four wickets in Sri Lanka’s solitary victory against UAE, before sitting out games against Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It is understood he has not bowled in the nets since the UAE game, though, he is not a player who generally requires extensive net bowling before matches.The recovery date for this injury has always been vague, but has been much slower than initially expected, prompting particular worry. It was hoped Malinga could be fit for the T20s in New Zealand, and he was picked for the Asia Cup on the understanding he could play a substantial role in that tournament.This is also the third serious injury to hit Malinga’s career. He had previously been plagued by a similar overuse injury in his right knee, which he said forced him to retire from Tests in 2010. Then in 2014, a long-term ankle injury was operated on in the months leading up to last year’s World Cup. It now appears possible that this current injury could end his international career. In the approach to the Asia Cup, Malinga had hinted the World T20 might be his final foray for Sri Lanka.Angelo Mathews appears the likeliest captaincy candidate if Malinga does step down, though Dinesh Chandimal is also an option. Malinga’s potential absence as a bowler is perhaps the bigger blow to Sri Lanka’s campaign. He has been instrumental to Sri Lanka’s march to three World T20 finals over the last four tournaments, and is also the World T20’s most successful bowler. He has been a diminished threat since his ankle surgery in 2014, but remains – at least in spirit – Sri Lanka’s limited-overs spearhead.

JJ Warr, the former Middlesex and England seamer who later became a cricket writer and then president of the MCC, has died at the age of 88

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2016JJ Warr, the former Middlesex and England seamer who later became a cricket writer and then president of the MCC, has died at the age of 88.Warr England’s career was limited to two Tests in which he managed just a single wicket against Australia on the 1950-51 Ashes tour.His Test career was recalled late last year when his debut figures of 0 for 142 in Sydney were overtaken as the worst by an England player in their first Test by Adil Rashid’s 0 for 163 in his first innings against Pakistan in Abu DhabiAfter his brief England career, Warr remained prolific in county cricket, taking 116 wickets in the 1956 season, and finished with 956 first-class wickets at 22.79. He also captained Middlesex in the last three seasons of his career.He became a writer for the , an after dinner speaker and was MCC president in 1987-88 before being made an honorary life vice-president.

Alex Gidman, the former Gloucestershire captain who moved to Worcestershire in 2015, has been forced to retire at the age of 34 due to a finger injury he suffered in the latter stages of his first season at New Road

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2016Alex Gidman, the former Gloucestershire captain who moved to Worcestershire in 2015, has been forced to retire at the age of 34 due to a finger injury he suffered in the latter stages of his first season at New Road.After picking up the injury in the penultimate week of the season, ahead of a match against Durham at Chester-le-Street, he underwent joint-replacement surgery when he became unable to flex the joint.At the time a recovery period of 12 weeks was expected and Gidman was confident of being fit for the 2016 season, but after consultation with specialist Mike Hayton it has been decided he will not be able to reach the fitness levels to play professionally.”It is with great sadness that I have no choice but to retire from the sport that has given me so much,” he said. “I have been really lucky to have played for so long and I have so many great memories.”Obviously my many years at Gloucestershire included the majority of my success but I have really enjoyed the last 18 months meeting some fantastic people at Worcestershire. I can’t thank the many coaches, team-mates and of course supporters enough. I’m excited about the future, but will miss the game. I wish all the players I have played with the best of luck for the 2016 season and beyond.”Gidman had a disappointing first season at Worcestershire – scoring 397 runs in 12 Championship matches and made one appearance in both the T20 Blast and Royal London Cup – although missed a month of first-team cricket in July after suffering concussion when he was struck by a bouncer against Nottinghamshire.Overall he finishes with 11,622 first-class runs, 4473 in one-day cricket and 1448 in T20 alongside 103 first-class wickets and 71 in List A. His most prolific first-class season came in 2014 – his last with Gloucestershire – where he scored 1278 runs at 45.64 including his career-best 264, which came the day before he confirmed his move to Worcestershire.He reached as far as England A (and Lions) level with tours to the UAE and Sri Lanka in 2004-05 then Bangladesh in 2006-07 – on the back of a domestic season where he scored more than 1200 first-class runs – and played a match against West Indies in 2007 when the Lions opening attack was James Anderson and Stuart Broad. He was also appointed captain of England A for the tour of India in 2003-04, but was forced to withdraw before the tour with a hand injury.

England’s style of play compared to the World Cup could not be more of a contrast but Steven Finn insisted the aggressive mindset so effective in this series was the plan for World Cup too

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2015Steven Finn suffered more than any England bowler at the World Cup but he, like the team, has shown a remarkable turn of form in the ODI series against New Zealand, which heads to the final match on Saturday level at 2-2. England’s style of play compared to the World Cup could not be more of a contrast but Finn insisted the aggressive mindset so effective in this series was the plan for that tournament too.The removal of Peter Moores as coach has been highlighted as the primary cause of England’s change of attitude but Finn insisted Moores was also trying to instill the type of cricket they have produced in this series.”We talked about what we wanted to do in the World Cup,” Finn said. “We sat in front of the media and said we wanted to play with freedom and smiles on our faces. We didn’t do it. I’ve been involved in both series and I can’t put my finger on why but it seems there has been a huge change in attitude here.”There’s been some personnel changes and those guys have come in and done really well. Everyone is playing with a smile on their face. Even when we walked off the field after going for 350, we felt as though we were in the game. When you are 100 for 0 off 11 overs, everyone is sitting there in the dressing room and there’s a real camaraderie with the guys that I’ve rarely experienced in a dressing room before. It is really exciting.”All the credit for England’s turnaround has gone to their batsmen but Finn has played a crucial, and largely unheralded, role in the series, staging his own comeback having been their most expensive bowler at the World Cup, and then left out of the tour to West Indies. Finn is the joint-top wicket-taker in the series and is the most economical of those to have played in three or more matches, conceding 5.67-an-over, which before this series would have been considered expensive. Finn recognised how much the game has changed.”It is about accepting that the game has changed. [Brendon] McCullum hit me over wide long-off for six and I thought, ‘that was probably hitting the top of off stump’. So you have to walk back and think, ‘fair play, that was a good shot’. It’s that sort of attitude that bowlers are having to take into games.”It’s like playing a long Twenty20. You almost have to accept that you’re going to be hit for boundaries, you have to accept that people will play good shots. It’s just trying to make sure they are playing good shots to get their boundaries and they are not hitting bad balls. It has changed big time since the World Cup. To come into this series and for there to be scores regularly of around 350, as a bowler you have to change your mindset and go about things slightly differently.”It’s been tricky so far but it’s been really exciting. We have a good, young, very talented group of players at the moment. We’ve talked a lot about playing with a carefree attitude and playing with freedom – we talked a lot about it in the winter but never did it – so it’s great that four games in a row now, win or lose, we’ve played with that attitude. It has stood us in good stead so far.”Finn might have feared his England career was over when left out of the West Indies tour but he has staged a second return to international cricket, following his initial resurgence having been dubbed “unselectable” during the Ashes tour of 2013-14.”When I came back from that Australia tour, we stripped everything back and went right back to basics,” Finn said. “It’s been a case of grooving that over the last 18 months. To be now feeling in control of what I’m doing when I’m at the end of my mark is a nice feeling and something I want to keep doing. I learned a lot about my bowling and my action in that time and I feel as though I have a really good understanding of it now. I don’t feel as though I’ve ever bowled this consistent in terms of where I’m bowling it. I’d love to get that high-end pace back 100 per cent all the time that I had when I was taking wickets a lot a few years ago. That’s something I’m working towards but I’m happy where I am at the moment.”My mantra is very much to keep it as simple as I can. When I’ve done alright in T20s and one-dayers, it is about keeping it as simple as you can. If you’re clouded at the end of your mark or clouded when you’re running up, that generally leads to you bowling a poor ball. So it is about having a clear plan and saying, ‘if you hit me while I’m bowling to this plan, then you’ve got the better of me and are too good for me today’. It’s about finding plans for each batsman and you try not to bowl to their strengths.”Finn was named in the 14-man training squad that will travel to Spain ahead of the Ashes and now has his sights set on a return to the Test arena.”Well my last Test match was in the last Ashes over here nearly two years ago. I’d love to be involved. I’m going to have to keep bowling well and taking wickets for Middlesex. I dream and hope and wish I can play in this Ashes series but I can’t change what I’m doing in order to do that. I can just keep plugging away, keep trying to get better, keep feeling that rhythm, keep feeling as if I’m getting better. If that gets me in the Ashes squad, then great.”

Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi acknowledged that his side were unable to sustain their level of skill and composure during the warm-up game against India, which they lost by 153 runs

Daniel Brettig at the Adelaide Oval10-Feb-20151:37

Happy to bat out 50 overs – Nabi

For the first eight overs of India’s innings, and the first 20 of Afghanistan’s, the Associate nation lost little at all by comparison to the World Cup holders. Trouble arose further along the line, as Afghanistan were unable to sustain their level of skill and composure for deep enough into either innings.Their captain Mohammad Nabi was frank in acknowledging this after India’s 153-run victory, and pointed to the establishment of a more long-lasting standard in future matches as the key to their chances of making an impact in the World Cup. In Hamid Hassan, Usman Ghani and Nawroz Mangal, Afghanistan showed the talent to succeed in this tournament, provided adequate reinforcements can back up their early forays.”It was quite a good start for the first eight overs, Hamid and Dawlat are both attacking bowlers,” Nabi said. “After that the pitch became more of a batting track and also our bowlers couldn’t bowl in the right places as well, and that is why they scored 364.”We started well in the batting for the first 20 overs as well, and after that R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowled well, brilliant line and length and the ball came onto the bat skiddy as well. That’s why we struggled later, but the plus is that we played 50 overs and it is good preparation for the World Cup.”We started well in both bowling and batting. We need consistent performances like that for 50 overs. Hopefully we improve for the next game and we learn from that, how to improve in the batting, and hopefully we perform better in the first match in the Cup.”Such consistency is, of course, the difference between most Full Members and their Associate counterparts. The occasions when the smaller nations have managed to overpower their better-known counterparts have invariably come when the gap has been closed.”It’s quite different playing against Associate Members and Full Members,” Nabi said. “The Associates have weaknesses, the Full Members not the same weaknesses. They are full of strong bowling attacks, spinners and batsmen, and their fielding as well. Associate teams have problems with not having the same good bowling or spinners, and just one or two quality batsmen. That’s the difference.”Afghanistan now go on to their final warm-up match against the UAE in Melbourne, and from there they face Bangladesh in their opener. Nabi was asked what he expected from India’s first match, against Pakistan in Adelaide on Sunday, and tried not to lean one way or the other.”I can’t say anything because both teams are good. And hopefully they just play very well, both teams’ supporters will pack the ground, and hopefully the supporters will enjoy that game,” he said. “From the last series in Australia, India did not perform that well, but you see today’s match they were back into form. Hopefully they perform well against Pakistan.”

John Bracewell, Ireland’s new coach, “does not envy” Peter Moores’ task in trying to rebuild the England side and one of his first tasks will be trying to persuade Boyd Rankin to abandon his England ambitions

ESPNcricinfo staff07-May-2015One of John Bracewell’s first tasks as Ireland coach will be trying to persuade Boyd Rankin to abandon his England ambitions and resume his international career at home.Bracewell will not officially be in charge of Ireland in Malahide on Friday, as he awaits his work permit, but is already considering how to strengthen the team as they look to build on another impressive World Cup display. There is also the motivation of earning a potential Test at Lord’s in 2019 through the ICC Test Challenge, the culmination of the Intercontinental Cup which is about to start. The return of Rankin would be a major fillip for Ireland whose pace bowling is their weakest suit.There was a suggestion that Rankin was set to be included in England’s squad for this match before suffering a back injury playing for Warwickshire. Under current regulations, which were amended last year, a player can return to their Associate country after a two-year gap since playing for a Full Member. Rankin’s last England was an ODI against Australia on January 17, 2014.”I will be going to meet him and Dougie Brown. In the very near future, I will go and visit him face to face,” Bracewell said. “I am going to sit down with every Irish player currently in the English game, and with their coaches, and work out what is in the interest of both parties.”Whether Rankin would have any long-term part in England’s future remains a moot point, and neither is it certain that Peter Moores will be the man in charge of the team beyond this ODI in Ireland with the ECB’s new director cricket, favoured to be Andrew Strauss, due to be confirmed shortly and the potential for more fallout after the drawn series in West Indies.After this ODI, England are then faced with the challenge of a confident New Zealand side before the Ashes later in the summer. Bracewell sees more tough times ahead.”The New Zealand side are one of the better nations in the world in all forms of the game, and they will give England a tough road,” he said. “They are going to be under the pump right from ball one this summer – and I don’t envy his task at all.”They had a period of strength and domination for quite some time. He’s got to work out whether those players need to be moved on because they’ve become complacent, or they’ve lost their fight or their ambition – or they’re starting to try to protect their own personal statistics.”They’ve got some tough decisions to make over the next few months, because this is the start of what is a very, very tough summer for them.”England’s white-ball cricket remains in a more parlous state than the red-ball version despite the defeat in Barbados and Bracewell picked out a reasonably obvious reason for their inability to match most other nations in the ODI game.”They pick their side to par scores, and par score means the bowlers have to win more than 50% of the games – that’s too much to ask of them under the playing conditions that currently exist,” he said. “You have to have a batting line-up that’s actually going to get you above par. It’s as simple as that. They’ve failed to do that – and they can’t hide from that, because the statistics say that.”

India’s team director Ravi Shastri believes “the scoreline does not matter” so long as the team continue to show their attacking intent and push their opponents

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2014Despite India losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following the draw against Australia at the MCG, team director Ravi Shastri is not too concerned. India made a fighting attempt at chasing 364 in Adelaide, but fell short by 48 runs. Then they lost the Brisbane Test following a second-innings collapse, before holding on for a draw in Melbourne where Australia were on top for several periods of play.Shastri said he does not care “if the scoreline reads 3-0 or 4-0″, as long as India continue showing their attacking intent and push their opponents.”What I am more focused on is the mindset to go out and perform. The scoreline does not matter,” Shastri told after the third Test, with particular praise saved for Ajinkya Rahane and India’s Test captain-in-waiting Virat Kohli, who produced a 262-run partnership on the third day.”Two young turks took the attack to the opposition and Australia took notice. I am happy with the mindset. The batting that I saw on day three was something I have not seen in a long time. The whole of Australia stood up. India have not come out to compete, they are here to win. Mark my words, give this team 12 months and they will be back in the top two.When asked about the areas in which India could do with immediate improvement, Shastri conceded that the absence of a fifth bowler was hurting the team. “What we miss overseas is a batsman who can bowl a bit. When Sourav Ganguly was there, he could bowl 10-15 overs. Combinations have to be tried out that can fit the billing.”If you have three fast bowlers, the workload is hard. One needs a fifth bowler. The way India bowled on the fifth morning, they have the confidence to keep Australia quiet. We will go to Sydney without a care in the world.”