Ricky Ponting has told his team to maintain its newly-found high standards after Australia’s breakthrough victory ended a five-Test winless streak and squared the Ashes series. The crushing 267-run success gave the hosts some much-needed momentum as the sides heads to Melbourne for a Boxing Day Test that will now be a blockbuster.”We got a nice old hiding in Adelaide last week and so to bounce back as drastically and dramatically as we have done, it says a lot about us and where we’re at,” Ponting said after missing the final morning with a broken little finger. The result caused a dramatic shift as the campaign swung in a similar way to the see-sawing 2009 Ashes in England.”There was a lot of emotion in this win, we hadn’t had much to celebrate up to now,” Ponting said. “We have now set a new set of standards this week, this is the best way for us to play our cricket, and we have to maintain those standards. We have had a better team performance here than we have for a long time and it is important we don’t take this for granted, but make sure this win is significant.”Australia have picked an unchanged 12 for Melbourne and have the option of adding a standby player if Ponting’s injury continues to be a problem. Phillip Hughes and Steven Smith held their spots after unconvincing contributions and Michael Beer retains his place as Australia seek stability.Beer, the left-arm spinner, was released to play for Western Australia in their Sheffield Shield loss to Tasmania and went wicket-less in 11 overs. Australia had huge success with a four-pronged pace attack at the WACA but will need more variety on the drop-in surface in Melbourne, where Beer is in line to debut in front of a crowd that could top 90,000.”He’s grown up in Melbourne his whole life, so he’ll know what the conditions are going to be pretty much down there,” Ponting said of Beer. “Whether he plays or not will depend on what the wicket looks like a couple of days before the game.”After the innings thrashing in Adelaide, Ponting thought “here we go again” when Australia slumped to 5 for 69 on the first day, but they recovered through the batting of Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson. Johnson then surged Australia ahead in England’s first innings before he and Ryan Harris finished off the match.The Australians were the target of fierce criticism after their performances in the first two Ashes Tests and this was the first time they have sung the team song since they beat Pakistan at Lord’s in July. “It has been warranted,” Ponting said of the public and media reaction over the past month. “Yes, it has been pretty harsh, but you expect that when you’re not performing the way people want you to perform. That is the way the team has taken it.”We’ve not been that worried about it, we’ve just tried to be better to give you guys something good to say about us and we’ve done that this week. The feeling around our group has been great and nothing has changed. I’ve just waited for it to click together like it has done this week and that is what makes me so proud of the guys.”The last Ashes series had a handful of key turning points and this campaign has a familiar feel as two solid sides trade blows without any knock-outs. England won the second game at Lord’s after being out-played in the drawn opener, while Australia drew level in the fourth Test before losing the match and the urn at The Oval.Ponting said his side had gained momentum and confidence after failing to grab it in Brisbane and Adelaide. “We’ve got the tide going back in our direction now and, more importantly, we’ve got some of our key players going well,” he said. “Like Mitchell, who is on top of the world and has as much confidence as he’s ever had in his career.”Mike Hussey is in the same boat, as is [Shane Watson], Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus and Brad Haddin, so we’ve got a number of guys playing somewhere near their best and that is why I’m confident in this group. It is amazing what impact confidence and that winning feeling amongst the group can have. It can make the team achieve some special things.”Australia squad Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Steven Smith, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Michael Beer, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWest Indies opener Chris Gayle scored an unbeaten 65 to take his side to a comfortable eight-wicket win against Afghanistan in Colombo. Gayle, who averages 64.30 in all international matches this year, and 70 in the three T20Is, took his time to get going, but accelerated later as West Indies reached the modest target of 123 with more than five overs to spare.Gayle and Dwayne Smith put on 29 runs in the first five overs for the first wicket, before Smith was dismissed. Gayle started to hit a few boundaries, and with Johnson Charles added 59 runs in the next six overs, which diminished Afghanistan’s hopes of an upset. Offspinner Karim Sadiq, who gave away eight runs in his three overs, and seamer Shapoor Zadran were economical, but the West Indies batsmen scored off other bowlers to secure their chase.Unlike West Indies, Afghanistan couldn’t accelerate their scoring when required. Asghar Stanikzai scored his second half-century in two matches, guiding the innings for the most part. But before he could boost Afghanistan’s scoring at the death, he departed in the 18th over to leave them at 100 for six. A couple of sixes towards the end took them to 122, pegging the required run rate at just a little more than six runs per over – that wasn’t enough. West Indies bowled well collectively: none of the bowlers went for more than 6.50 runs per overs, with four of them being among the wickets.Afghanistan face India in their first World Twenty game on September 19 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, and West Indies face Australia at the same venue three days later.

Day 1 of the NHS Charities Together Cup lived up to expectations with some classic FIFA 20 matches between some of the most well down sports stars and celebrities in the country.

In an event designed to help raise millions in aid of the NHS during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the likes of Joleon Lescott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stuart Broard, Ben Stokes, Jamie George and Erin Cuthbert have been going head-to-head in a good ol’ game of FIFA 20, co-presented by Chris Kamara, Ben Shephard and Tom Deacon.

Day 1 saw a number of exciting match-ups and you can watch them below…

While you can catch today’s action live on YouTube by clicking this link – bit.ly/NHSCupYTSnack

Today’s fixtures, which will include Paddy McGuinness, Dillian Whyte, Jos Butler and SV2 among many others, are as follows…

You can donate here: bit.ly/NHSCupDonateSnack

Snack Media is proud to be partners of the NHS Charities Together Cup: a celebrity Esports FIFA tournament aiming to raise money for NHS workers on the frontline. The tournament sees some of sport’s biggest stars playing, including England cricket captain Joe Root, Premier League winner Joleon Lescott and boxer Tony Bellew.

For more information, go to: bit.ly/CelebEsportSnack

The former Kent batsman Tony Pawson, who became the Observer cricket correspondent, has died at the age of 91.Pawson played 69 first-class matches, mostly for Kent and Oxford University, scoring seven hundreds as he made 3807 runs at 37.32. He was Kent’s oldest surviving capped player.As a 15-year-old, in 1937, he scored 237 at Lord’s when playing for a Lord’s XI against a CF Tufnell’s XI and in 1947 he represented MCC against the South Africans playing in a team alongside Denis ComptonCricket was not the only sport where he made his name. He won a blue at Oxford, represented England at football and at the 1948 London Olympics as well as playing two football league matches for Charlton Athletic. In 1982 he was a member of the England fly fishing team that won the World Championship and in 1988 was awarded on OBE for services to angling.Kent’s honorary curator, David Robertson, said: “Tony Pawson enjoyed his cricket, and set out to make sure spectators shared that enjoyment. I have many happy boyhood memories of his batting and fielding at Canterbury. His running between the wickets, especially with Godfrey Evans as his partner, was always an eagerly awaited feature of the game.”Jamie Clifford, the Kent chief executive, added: “The club is saddened to learn news of Tony Pawson’s passing and our thoughts are with his family and friends. Tony made a great contribution to Kent Cricket and many of our members have fond memories of watching him play at the St Lawrence Ground.”During his time as a cricket correspondent he was also chairman of the Cricket Writers’ Club in 1980 and 1981.

Many Wolves fans have been left raging as Tim Spiers posted their squad for their pre-season trip to Marbella in Spain.

While Spiers tweeted some names that supporters will surely get excited about, such as new signing Jose Sa and the return of Raul Jimenez, a lot of the squad is made up of youth players and highlights how thin it is going into the new 2021/22 season.

Of course, players such as Adama Traore and Conor Coady will return to the Midlands a little bit later given their exploits in Euro 2020, but nonetheless it does seem like a squad that is in desperate need of new additions.

With the new Premier League campaign a matter of a few weeks away now, it seems as if several members of the Molineux faithful are growing more impatient with the lack of incomings at this moment in time.

Wolves fans on pre-season squad

These WWFC supporters fumed as the pre-season squad was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was ‘awful’:

“We can fit the whole squad in a tweet, we’re actually in trouble”

Credit: @wwfc_bibb

“Our squad is weak need some new faces to be added big time #wwfc #Wolves”

Credit: @Georgewwfc2

“Nuno left us in a right state”Credit: @Gary_Poynton”What an awful squad of players that is”Credit: @Macca_Clifton”Seeing it laid out on paper makes us look weak man!!”Credit: @goldandblack17″Wow. Concerned by the lack of depth here”Credit: @StefanF30In other news, find out what transfer update has Wanderers fuming here!

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Leeds had 63 per cent of the ball against Norwich but were beaten 3-1, so how can Marcelo Bielsa’s side turn their dominance into goals?

On the chalkboard

Leeds started the season in stunning fashion, but as the injuries mounted up the Whites lost some of the sting in their attack.

The consecutive injuries to Patrick Bamford left the boss with just one senior striker in Kemar Roofe, and while Roofe has had an excellent season, the former Oxford ace was always going to hit a dry spell at some point.

He has scored just once in his last six games, and the lack of squad depth has thus reared its ugly head, as Bielsa’s side have lost some of the fluidity that made their attack so ruthless.

According to Whoscored’s stats, the Whites have scored 14 goals from 143 shots in their last eight games, while opponents in those games have bagged 16 goals from just 78 shots.

Possession-based managers often struggle to break down packed defences when they arrive in England – just ask Maurizio Sarri about his recent trip to Bournemouth – but for Bielsa and Leeds there is an easy fix; add another goalscorer into the mix.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

A new focal point

Aforementioned, the injuries to Bamford have left Bielsa with just one senior striking option for most of the season, but the 25 year-old’s return now offers the boss a huge opportunity to mix things up and surprise his opponents.

The 6 ft 1 in former Middlesbrough man will be desperate to get on the scoresheet when the Whites travel to the Riverside stadium on Saturday, and a strike partnership of Roofe and Bamford offers a wonderful balance.

Both players are natural finishers, and while Roofe will work the channels and run tirelessly to create chances for himself and his teammates, Bamford will serve as a more traditional target man.

The former England Under-21 international showed his aerial prowess with a lovely headed finish against Norwich, although it was little more than a consolation, and his presence could be just what is needed to get Roofe firing again.

Bielsa clearly loves to pack his side with gifted midfielders who can move the ball around, but after several ineffectual displays, the side-to-side passing must stop, and an extra goalscorer is an absolute necessity for the trip to Middlesbrough, who have conceded just 22 goals in 29 league games this season.

فاز أستون فيلا مساء اليوم الاثنين على نظيره شيفيلد يونايتد بهدف دون رد في في الجولة الثانية من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وسيطر التعادل السلبي بين الفريقين على الشوط الأول، حيث لم ينجح أي من الخصمين في تسجيل أهداف رغم احتسب ركلة جزاء لصالح شيفيلد يونايتد.

وسدد جون لوندسترام ركلة الجزاء، ولكن إيميليانو مارتينيز حارس أستون فيلا الجديد تصدى لها بنجاح في الدقيقة 33. تصدي إيميليانو مارتينيز لضربة جزاء شيفيلد

وشهد ذلك الشوط طرد لاعب شيفيلد يونايتد جون إيجان، في الدقيقة 12. طرد جون إيجان أمام أستون فيلا

وتمكن أستون فيلا من تسجيل هدف الفوز في الدقيقة 63، من خلال إزري كونسا. هدف فوز أستون فيلا أمام شيفيلد

وشارك المصري محمود حسن تريزيجيه كأساسي في المباراة مع أستون فيلا ولعب اللقاء بأكمله، بينما لم يشارك مواطنه أحمد المحمدي، حيث ظل على دكة البدلاء. تريزيجيه يهدر فرصة هدف أمام شيفيلد

بتلك النتيجة، أصبح رصيد أستون فيلا 3 نقاط في المركز التاسع، حيث لم يخض مباراته في الجولة الأولى أمام مانشستر سيتي، بينما ظل رصيد شيفيلد يونايتد خاليًا من النقاط. 

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Celtic fans are in a panic over the fitness of Filip Benkovic.

When Brendan Rodgers mentioned a knock at Tuesday’s media conference it didn’t seem too concerning, with Jozo Simunovic and Kris Ajer linking up for the double header versus St Johnstone. A double header against Valencia next month is an entirely different prospect.

The loss of Dedryck Boyata and Benkovic has been a summer time bomb that Celtic fans have dreaded. But if it becomes reality now, there could be pressure on what remains of the transfer window to bring in a ready-to-play replacement.

The story of a season ending injury was first reported by The Scottish Sun and needless to say, it has created quite the reaction amongst Celtic supporters.

Rightly so – the 21-year-old has been in excellent form during his season-long loan from Leicester City, making 26 appearances for the Scottish champions in all competitions.

Here’s a quick look at how Hoops fans reacted to the news on Twitter…

West Ham will surely move to sign a quality striker when the transfer window reopens in the summer.

The Hammers were handed a significant boost during in January when Marko Arnautovic committed his future to the club amid interest from Chinese clubs. Despite the Austrian staying at the club, Manuel Pellegrini was surely desperate to add to his forward line.

Pellegrini must be keen to return to the transfer market for a new forward in the summer. Andy Carroll’s contract is set to expire in the summer with Lucas Perez also failing to convince since his move to the London Stadium. Javier Hernandez may also choose to depart after being linked away over the course of the January window, leaving the Hammers short of quality options at the top of the field.

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One man Pellegrini could turn to is CSKA Moscow wonderkid – Fedor Chalov. Valued at £9m by Transfermarkt, the 20-year-old has made his breakthrough into the Moscow first-team and has firmly established himself as a crucial player. Chalov has made 24 appearances in all competitions this season and has been tipped to move to a big club in Europe in the near future.

The Russia U21 international has been in excellent form, netting 11 goals so far. Chalov possesses blistering pace which makes him a nightmare for defenders to deal with. An intelligent forward, the Russian loves to linger on the last defender and break at speed. His lethal finishing ability will give Pellegrini the quality option he has been crying out for.

Still improving and developing – Chalov could prove to be a mainstay at the London Stadium for years to come.

West Ham fans, thoughts?

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Loads of Everton fans have been running the rule over their FA Cup exit at the hands of Millwall, and plenty are beginning to turn on Marco Silva.

With a European place in the Premier League slipping further and further out of the Toffees’ grasp, a cup run was absolutely necessary to get the fans and players back on the manager’s side.

The gaffer will be having nightmares about Saturday’s performance for quite some time though, as the Toffees were dumped out of the FA Cup in the fourth round courtesy of some truly shambolic defending.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

Richarlison put Silva’s side in front at the Den towards the end of a scrappy first half, but the hosts equalised almost immediately as Lee Gregory finished with aplomb after Jake Cooper looped a header into the box.

Cenk Tosun then came off the bench to put the Blues back in front, but once again they were pegged back instantly, as Cooper turned scorer this time, finishing controversially with his upper arm from close range.

The hosts then took full advantage of Everton’s uneasiness at the back, grabbing the winner in stoppage time through Murray Wallace.

All three of Millwall’s goals came from the second ball on a set piece, and Silva’s zonal marking system must now come under very serious scrutiny.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans are lashing out at the boss…