Despite on-the-field success, things are far from rosy at Gloucestershire, where an operating loss of £22,000 has been announced for 2003.The figures were worse than 2002, but there were underlying reasons. The levy received from the ECB was cut by £30,000 midway through the season, and the 2002 figures included a one-off donation of £100,000.”There is not enough money coming into the game in terms of people coming to watch,” Jim Harris, the county’s honorary treasurer, admitted. “It is essential that we provide the type of entertainment that crowds will want to watch and at a time they are able to attend.”Harris said that membership and admission fees would increase "substantially", but he explained that the cost of watching cricket remained cheap when compared with other sports. "I hope that members and spectators will accept that it is essential that we take this action," he added. " Running a first class cricket county in this century is not cheap if we wish to maintain the highest standards."
New Zealand could take part in a tri-series with Pakistan and Australia in Pakistan in August this year.New Zealand are already touring Pakistan for a Test and one-day series tour in April-May but NZC chief executive Martin Snedden has offered New Zealand to Pakistan for a pre-ICC Knockout tournament.Pakistan are considering New Zealand’s offer at the moment.In return, New Zealand’s tour in April-May may be reduced by one Test match with Snedden offering to catch-up the days missed with the one-day series in August-September, or before their scheduled tour of Sri Lanka in 2003.The ICC Knockout has not been confirmed for Sri Lanka yet but it is anticipated the tournament will be played between September 13-30 this year.”We would be going in cold to that tournament and we need some time somewhere in Asia,” Snedden said.The idea of a three-way tournament with Australia was possible because Australia are to tour Pakistan around that time.No formal invitation to a tri-series has been sent to Australia yet and Pakistan Cricket Board officials are understood to be checking weather patterns in the region for August to see where such a tournament could be played.Pakistan are to celebrate their Test cricket Golden Jubilee next summer and the tri-series is seen as a potentially key part of the celebrations.
Having lost just one wicket during the final session of day one of their Pura Cup clash against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval, Western Australia will head into the second day comfortably placed at a score of 4/273.Star batsman Justin Langer said the match, played by two full-strength teams, was a good practice for Australian players gearing up to face an international season agianst the West Indies and Zimbabwe. And, for much of the day, it looked it – with Western Australia being made to work hard for its runs and the visitors finding it difficult to take wickets.After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Warriors scored at a solid rate, but lacked the extra edge to lead them to the three-hundred mark by the end of play. They will be hoping for a big score from Damien Martyn when play resumes tomorrow – the Australian Test hopeful having finished the day on 56.Martyn, who toiled for 186 minutes to post his 50 off 161 balls, struck six boundaries for the day. He will resume tomorrow with Tom Moody by his side, the captain on 47 off 97 deliveries.The pair were joined with the team on 4/190, when Simon Katich fell lbw to Peter McIntyre. Katich, one of Australia’s most exciting young batsmen, played a slow innings today – finishing on 25 from 60 balls, with two fours.Earlier in the day, the crowd of 900 was entertained by a breezy 60 from Langer, but not before he had endured an early scare.After scoring three ducks from three innings so far this season, Langer nearly departed for another today, when a Gillespie yorker went straight through him. “It was an absolute beauty,” he said of the ball that almost sent the speedster on his way to a hat-trick. “Most times when you get out in batting, it’s batsman error, but had I have got cleaned up that first ball, I’d definitely say that I could’ve done too much about it, it was a great ball,” he said.But the 29-year-old was glad the ball didn’t crash into the stumps after missing his edge. “Yeah it was good to get off the mark. You’re always a bit nervous when you come off a couple of ducks, but you know, for me, it was a bad week at the office really. Most people have a week at the officebut mine becomes public that’s all. I wasn’t too worried about it, I know I’ve been batting well. When you play every week of the year, you’ve got to have one bad one in 12 months, so I’d like to just put that behind me and get on and have a good season now.”In the first session of the day, Western Australia had fallen just shy of the one hundred mark, going to lunch at 1/99. The Redbacks then swung the momentum their way, with Jason Gillespie and Paul Wilson picking up the wickets of Langer (60) and Mike Hussey (48).Fittingly, Jason Gillespie, the hardest-working of the Redbacks today, was involved in each of the first three dismissals – snaring Campbell and Langer’s wickets and assisting Wilson with a regulation catch to end Hussey’s marathon innings.Looking sharp and dangerous, he was the pick of the South Australian attack today, finishing with a miserly 52 runs off his 26 overs, including ten maidens. Wilson was the next best, with one wicket, five maidens and 49 runs off his 20 overs. Blewett, with 24 runs from his three overs, and Young,with 62 from 21, were the most expensive. McIntyre also had a disappointing day (his only consolation Katich’s wicket in the last session) and was hit for 70 runs off 23 overs.
One of the best players in the world over the last year has certainly been former Leeds United winger Raphinha.
Over the last couple of seasons in a Barcelona shirt, the Brazilian has 69 goals and assists for the La Liga giants, forming a largely unstoppable wing pairing with Lamine Yamal.
That sort of form earned the Blaugrana winger fifth place in the Ballon d’Or rankings, which is arguably lower than he deserved given the sheer weight of goals and assists he registered.
Incredibly, he was not included in Fifa’s The Best team of 2025, despite such a stellar year.
Whilst Raphinha is dominating world football, Leeds fans will no doubt look back fondly on his time at Elland Road.
Raphinha’s best moments for Leeds
It is hard to pinpoint the Brazilian winger’s single best moment during his time in West Yorkshire. Raphinha donned that famous White shirt 67 times over the course of two seasons, bagging 17 goals and assisting a further 12.
It is surely not too far-fetched to say his biggest contribution came in the 2021/22 campaign, in what turned out to be his final game for the club.
In a season where the Whites were threatened with relegation, Raphinha scored his 11th goal of the season, a penalty, to help them beat Brentford and survive in the Premier League.
There were other moments which stood out, too. The former Sporting CP star loved a goal against Everton, bagging three times in four appearances against the Toffees. That included this stellar strike in 2021.
Described as an “absurd” player by former teammate Crysencio Summerville, it was certainly deserved that the Brazilian donned the number ten shirt at Elland Road.
The numbers he put up and the level of performance certainly warranted such recognition.
Raphinha was sensational for Leeds, and they might finally have a player more exciting than him coming through the ranks.
Leeds’ best talent since Raphinha
In the past couple of years, Leeds have had some exciting footballers who have been either bought or produced via the academy.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Raphinha, of course, is one who was brought into the club, but the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Archie Gray are academy graduates.
Well, the academy has yet again produced another exciting talent. Harry Gray, the younger brother of Archie, is a “special” prospect according to football scout Ben Mattinson, and is on the cusp of the first team at his boyhood club.
Gray is a striker by trade and has been on fire this season.
In 13 appearances across all competitions for the Whites’ academy this term, he’s bagged ten goals, showing just how clinical he can be in front of goal.
Gray record per competition 2025/26
Competition
Games
Goals/assists
Premier League 2
6
5G, 1A
EFL Trophy
2
2G, 1A
Premier League Int. Cup U21
2
0
National League Cup
2
3G
FA Youh Cup
1
0
Stats from Transfermarkt
Perhaps the highlight of his season so far was a hat-trick against Scunthorpe United in the National League Cup.
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The 17-year-old showed excellent instinct in the box for his first strike, before bagging twice from outside of the box, including a sensational free-kick, to take home the match ball and secure a 3-1 win for Leeds.
His talent has already been recognised by manager Daniel Farke. The German gave him a debut last season in the Championship, and included him in the matchday squad in the Carabao Cup and once in the Premier League.
There is a case to be made that Gray is the best attacking talent since Raphinha was at Elland Road. He is clearly an excellent player, proven by the fact that he’s already made his first-team bow and is a real goal machine.
Yet, Leeds haven’t had an attacker who has exploded in the Premier League like the Brazilian since he departed. It is a long season and Gray might get the chance to do that this time around, or, failing that, get his chance in 2026/27 if they stay up.
He is certainly a brilliant talent and could be the most exciting attacker since their former number ten left the club.
Leeds star is fast becoming their best bargain since Pablo Hernandez
Leeds have now stumbled across their best bargain since Pablo Hernandez in this exceptional performer at Elland Road.
Two months ago, one of India’s selectors, looking ahead to the Australia tour, said: “Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel would be a great combination, especially in Perth.” None landed up at the WACA and a second-string attack was left to shoulder the burden on a day when the skin threatened to peel off. They didn’t just stand up, they soared.A year back you wouldn’t have thought RP Singh would get a Test. Ditto Irfan Pathan, who seemed to have lost his way after a fine arrival. At the same time Ishant Sharma was taking his first steps in domestic cricket. Here they were, like rookies in a bullring, against the most formidable batting line-up. Australia’s batsmen probably thought they were facing India’s ODI attack – their innings lasted exactly 50 overs.They bowled as a team. Pathan swung the new ball as superbly as RP Singh swung the old. Ishant didn’t just hit the deck, he also straightened the ball off the narrow. Importantly, they held their nerve during a mid-afternoon lashing. They made the batsmen play more often than their Australian counterparts and did better in partnerships. It was the most heartening pace-bowling effort since Nottingham last year, the last time they won a Test overseas. It was Australia’s shortest innings since Nottingham two years earlier, the last time they lost a Test.The game turned on several pivots but it was the half hour either side of lunch that cracked the contest open. India had lost four quick wickets and Australia went back into the dressing room with a spring in their stride. A new opening combination walked in with an air of expectation. Running in from the Marsh-Lillee end, Pathan didn’t just swing the ball to get rid of Chris Rogers and Phil Jaques, he changed the momentum.Nobody should be surprised with India’s young bowlers accepting responsibility readily. Look through the last five years and you have tyro after tyro taking the leap. The problem hasn’t been so much about bowlers being intimidated early as about keeping them injury-free. Pathan and L Balaji burst on to the scene sensationally, Sreesanth surprised with seam movement and Munaf with pace. Faisalabad may top a vote among bowlers as the venue to skip but not only did RP Singh debut there, he picked up a Man-of-the-Match award.Ishant, thrown into the cauldron in Sydney, ended the first day as their most impressive bowler. He ended wicketless but bowled with pace and heart. He showed gumption with the bat, scoring more runs in an innings than he had in his first-class career, and didn’t flag through the game. He didn’t try anything fancy here, and even showed he possessed the lethal ball that left the right-hander.Ponting might have received better deliveries in his career but rarely would have been so outfoxed by a 19-year-old. Harbhajan Singh wasn’t around but Ishant made sure he did some sort of impersonation of the celebration: running ecstatically towards the dressing-room. “He’s learnt which areas one needs to bowl in,” Kumble said about Ishant defying expectations. “Look at the way he’s bowled in the last two Tests. He’s ready to bend his back and looks like he belongs to this arena.”From a purely bowling point of view, this series is pretty neck and neck. Australia have had the more accomplished attack but India’s young men have not been cowed down. At the most bowler-friendly surface of the series, they’ve won the first innings. “They utilised the breeze well,” he said, “and bowled with a lot of control. It was commendable to see the way they controlled the swing.” RP Singh was asked if he was tempted to pitch the ball short and use the bounce at the WACA to scare the batsmen. His reply came with a smile: “Not really.”
Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson have been ruled out of the Twenty20 International against England tonight at the SCG due to illness and injury. Lee is suffering from a chest infection while Johnson, who partnered Andrew Symonds in hitting balls from a driving range in a public relations exercise on Monday, has a stomach strain.Shane Harwood, the Victoria bowler, and James Hopes, the allrounder who has played nine ODIs and two Twenty20 games, have been called into the squad. Alex Kountouris, the team physiotherapist, said Lee’s illness had developed over the past 24 hours.”He will be assessed by a doctor later today,” Kountouris said. “Mitchell has a minor abdominal strain which occurred late yesterday and as a precautionary measure we have decided it best for him not to play.” Both players will be monitored over the next couple of days in the lead-up to the first game of the tri-series against England at the MCG on Friday.Australia (from) Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White, Brad Hogg, James Hopes, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Bracken, Shane Harwood.England (from) Michael Vaughan (capt), Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Ed Joyce, Jamie Dalrymple, Paul Nixon, Chris Read, Liam Plunkett, Sajid Mahmood, Jon Lewis, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.
The dispute between South Africa and Australia surrounding Shane Warne’s vociferous appealing promises to continue, with Andre Nel suggesting the South Africans are to match their opponents with their own enthusiastic questioning of the umpires.”If they can get away with it, why can’t we try and get away with it too,” Nel told reporters at Sydney airport. “Maybe we can try and put pressure on umpires, inexperienced umpires, which they do very, very well. Maybe we can learn from them to do that better.”Despite the South African’s protestations about Warne’s aggressive appealing in this week’s second Test at Melbourne, he wasn’t reported by the umpires. Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, said Warne was a master at pressuring the umpires but Chris Broad, the match referee, rejected suggestions that he should face disciplinary action for his robust appealing, particularly to rookie Test umpire Asad Rauf of Pakistan.”I think they are very, very clever about the way they do things with umpires,” Nel added. “They put a lot of pressure on the umpires and sometimes it counts in their favour. Maybe we can learn something from them in a certain way by doing this. But sometimes they go a bit overboard and it gets a bit annoying, but that’s the way they do it and it’s working for them.”Meanwhile, newly-arrived Johan Botha was shielded from the media at the airport. Off-spinner Botha, 23, who has yet to play a Test, joined the team last Thursday and could partner established spinner Nicky Boje in the third Test on the spin-friendly Sydney pitch. Nel described Botha as ‘a surprise package,’ but South African officials didn’t want to subject Botha to undue media pressure.Nel added that he was looking forward to opening the fast bowling attack alongside Pollock.”It’s always nice to get the chance with the new ball and to bowl with Polly,” he said. “If I can fill the boots Makhaya has filled the last few years, I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The fast bowler Charl Langeveldt will miss the next three one-dayers between South Africa and England owing to a fractured left hand. Langeveldt, 30, injured his non-bowling hand during the third Test at Cape Town.”Langeveldt has left the squad and gone home,” Gerald de Kock, South Africa’s media manager, told Reuters. “He will undergo a scan, and the hope is that he will be able to play in the last three games.”The next match is at Bloemfontein on Wednesday, but Langeveldt will not return until at least the fifth match, at East London on February 9.
ScorecardAfter they were put in, Easterns soon crumbled to 68 for 5 before Pierre de Bruyn (18) and Godfrey Toyana (40) restored some hope and helped them to 197 for eight after 45 overs. In a tight bowling display from all the Boland bowlers, Wallace Albertyn stood out and was the main wicket taker with 3 for 24.Boland were well on the way to a victory, but some slow batting from Albertyn, and the big wicket of Con de Lange (57 off 69 balls) falling with 13 runs required off the last 12 balls, cost them dearly as they went down by four runs.Earlier in the innings, Chad Baxter had set Boland for what looked like a win with 51 off 67 balls, while Andrew Hall took the Easterns bowling honours with 3 for 31.
Despite a defiant knock of 120 by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, Lahore Whites were unable to prevent Peshawar scoring a five-wicket victory in the Quaid Trophy Grade-I match at LCCA Ground Wednesday.Set to score 97 in 15 mandatory overs, Peshawar reached their target with one over to spare and thereby gained maximum 12 points in a match that only started on day two after the furore over the pitch.Earlier, Lahore Whites resumed their second innings at 44 for one and were bowled out for 265 in 75.5 overs. The overnight pair of Kamran Akmal and Adnan Usman extended their second wicket stand to 87. After Adnan’s departure Rao Usman (54) joined hands with Kamran in a third wicket partnership that produced 106 runs in 119 minutes. But with the departure of Rao Usman, the middle-order caved in without a fight as the last five wickets fell for the addition of 39 runs.However, Kamran played outstandingly to slam 22 fours during his 137-ball innings in 220 minutes.For Peshawar, Test discards Fazle Akbar and Arshad Khan claimed three wickets each for 74 and 70 runs, respectively.