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Nottinghamshire batter Matthew Montgomery joins Derbyshire on three-year contract

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2025Gloucestershire’s England Lions fast bowler Ajeet Singh Dale has agreed a move to Lancashire at the end of the season, signing a three-year contract, while fellow seamer Matt Milnes has opted for a return to Kent after three injury-hit seasons with Yorkshire.Singh Dale, 25, is regarded as one of the quickest bowlers on the county circuit and was subject to interest from several counties after entering the final summer of his contract with Gloucestershire, whom he joined from Hampshire in 2022. Across four seasons at Bristol, he took 81 first-class wickets at 38.24, as well as being picked for the Lions in 2024 and 2025.Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, Mark Chilton, described Singh Dale as an “exciting young fast bowler with genuine pace and a real hunger to keep on developing and improving his game” who would help add depth to the attack at Old Trafford.Singh Dale said: “I’m really excited to be joining Lancashire and can’t wait to get started with the club in November. Lancashire has an exceptionally strong squad, which can compete across all formats, and I’m looking forward to pushing myself in a new environment while contributing towards success for this great club.”I have heard great things about the set-up and facilities at Emirates Old Trafford and I’m confident it’s the right place for me to take the next step in my career with the Red Rose.”Matt Milnes claimed his maiden five-wicket haul for Yorkshire this week• Allan McKenzie/SWPIx.com

Milnes, 31, has opted to head back to Kent on a three-year deal in order to be closer to family, having failed to make the expected impact after signing for Yorkshire in 2022. He only managed five County Championship appearances across three seasons, due to a series of back problems, with his best figures coming in their most-recent match – victory over Sussex at Scarborough that lifted hopes of the club avoiding relegation.A member of the Kent team that won the 2021 T20 Blast, Milnes said he was “excited to come back to Kent and join this new project under Adam Hollioake”. In a successful first spell at Canterbury, he claimed 126 first-class wickets at 27.15, as well as 37 in T20.Simon Cook, Kent director of cricket, said: “We’re delighted that Milnesy has chosen to come back to Kent. He was an extremely big part of our bowling attack during our sustained periods of success in his first time here, and he is an extremely talented bowler in both red- and white-ball cricket.”As we plan for the future in our ethos of producing Kent talent, his experience will also be a great boost to us, too.”

Montgomery to join Derbyshire

Matthew Montgomery’s offspin has been successful in T20•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire batter Matthew Montgomery will make the switch to Derbyshire on a three-year contract. He will join the club initially on loan for the Metro Bank One-Day Cup (although will be ineligible to face Notts).Montgomery, who was born in South Africa but has a German passport, made his Notts debut in 2021 and scored the first of his two first-class hundreds the following summer. Although he has only played once in the County Championship this year, he became an integral part of the T20 side, topping the bowling averages with 15 wickets at 18.06.”Matt has chosen to join our project at Derbyshire and we’re delighted to welcome him to the club,” Mickey Arthur, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said. “He’s a batter with real ability in all formats, and he will get the opportunity to show what he can do. His bowling will also be a real asset for us in T20 cricket.”Montgomery said: “I’m excited to work with Mickey and join a group that is moving in the right direction. I look forward to taking this next step in my career and hope I can contribute to Derbyshire’s success across all formats.”

Amid a difficult weekend for the New York Yankees, second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a baserunning mistake Saturday that led to an inning-ending double play on a pop fly in the infield.

Following New York's 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins, Chisholm was asked about the play and whether he saw anything that caused him to inch further off the bag.

"I was just trying to be aggressive already playing with both the middle infielders out there," he said to reporters Saturday via YES Network. "You know, I saw something that I thought they were going to do. He deeked it like he was going to do it and he didn't do it. But still trying to be aggressive because I played here before, I know how the field plays and you know, sometimes you get aggressive and you get caught up. You make an out."

When asked if he'd do anything different next time, Chisholm simply responded "no."

After the play, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was seen having a spirited discussion with first base coach Travis Chapman and also went down the dugout stairs to speak with Chisholm.

Boone mentioned that Chisholm was "trying to make a play" because he thought Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards was going to let the ball drop to try and get him off the base paths.

The Yankees' loss Saturday dropped them to 60-51 on the season and with a win from AL East rival Boston Red Sox Saturday, they fell to third place in the division and a half game behind Boston for the league's top wild-card spot. Chisholm started his career with the Marlins, spending four and a half seasons in Miami before he was dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline last season.

MLB is ushering in a new television era for baseball fans, as the league has reportedly landed new media deals with NBC, Netflix and ESPN, according to .

Here's a quick breakdown of what each deal looks like, as well as what it means for MLB fans.

MLB welcomes back old friend in NBC

Watching baseball on NBC was commonplace in the 1980s and '90s, and the history between league and network dates all the way back to the 1940s. And while NBC was last seen on the nationally-televised baseball stage during the 1999 World Series, the network is officially back into the fold when it comes to broadcasting MLB. According to Marchand, NBC will dole out almost $200 million per season to MLB for the rights to broadcast , as well as the first round of the postseason, which includes four wild-card round series. Much like for NBA fans, watching baseball on a Sunday night on NBC is bound to deliver a nostalgic feel. Given that NBC also broadcasts football and basketball on Sunday nights, any television conflicts with those two sports will result in MLB games shifting over to NBC's streaming service, Peacock. The wild-card round games are reportedly expected to be divvied up between NBC and Peacock.

MLB welcomes new friend in Netflix

Netflix, which has entered the sports streaming world in recent years to mixed results, adds baseball to its catalogue in MLB's new deal. Per Marchand, Netflix will pay MLB roughly $50 million per year to stream the standalone Opening Day prime time game, the Home Run Derby and “Field of Dreams” game. This means MLB fans looking to watch Yankees-Giants in primetime on March 25, as well as the Phillies-Twins in the Field of Dreams game in August of 2026 (previously on Fox), will be tuning into Netflix.

MLB (sort of) reconciles with ESPN

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred had seemingly signaled a break-up with ESPN in the form of a memo, citing the network's “minimal coverage” of baseball. But the two sides are back together, albeit with a different look. While ESPN won't be on the nationally-televised baseball stage anymore in the form of , the wild-card round and the Home Run Derby, the network still ended up finding value in the new deal. According to Marchand, ESPN will still be on the national TV scene in the form of 30 exclusive weeknight games during the season. Additionally, ESPN will effectively pay MLB $1.65 billion over three seasons—the going price it would have paid for —for the MLB.TV package. This means that ESPN will control the rights for all 30 teams‘ out-of-market games, as well as the in-market game rights to six teams: the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and Seattle Mariners. Marchand reports that ESPN has not yet decided how it wil sell MLB.TV, but it is expected to be at the same $150-per-year price tag that consumers had been paying when it was under league control.

Liverpool have been hit by more problems after suffering yet another defeat, going down 4-1 to PSV at Anfield in the Champions League. The loss continues a dreadful run of form for Arne Slot's side and will raise more questions about the Dutchman's position at the club. Slot also lost one of his new signings to injury on another difficult night for the Reds.

Another Liverpool horror show

PSV took home all three points from Anfield to hand Liverpool a ninth defeat from their last 12 matches in all competitions. Their Premier League form has been dreadful but they had been faring better in Europe until Wednesday's loss to the Eredivisie side. Goals from Ivan Perisic, Guus Til and a Couhaib Driouech brace made it another wretched night for the Merseysiders which has dropped the team into 13th place in the Champions League standings. The result also piles more pressure on Slot, with fans now wondering how the manager can turn around his team's dismal form.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportEkitike injury hands Slot yet another problem

Slot also lost summer signing Hugo Ekitike to injury during the match. The France international, who has scored six times for his new club so far this season in all competitions, was forced off just after the hour mark in a worrying development for Slot and was replaced by Alexander Isak, who had started the game on the bench. Slot revealed before kick-off why he'd left Isak out of his XI, telling TNT Sports: "Alex, I think in the last four weeks, he played 30 minutes. Then he played with us for 70 minutes in a game that wasn't so intense, I would say, because we dominated ball possession so much. But I think I could see that it wasn't easy for him to manage himself through those 70 minutes. So then, if you have another number nine also, who is very good, then it makes sense to play the other one, and that's Hugo [Ekitike] tonight."

The Sweden striker has endured a poor start to his career at Anfield following his big-money move from Newcastle United and once again failed to find the back of the net against PSV. Isak has now failed to score in nine Premier League and Champions League outings, with his only goal for the Merseysiders coming against Southampton in the League Cup.

Slot reacts to PSV defeat

Slot spoke to TNT Sports after the match and admits it's a tough result to take. He said: "I want to be positive about the players after we went 1-0 down. We came back into the game and had enough chances to go 2-1 up and at half-time I don't think anyone would have expected us to lose 4-1. After conceding to make it 2-1, we had chances to make it 2-2, and then we conceded another goal. It's hard to take. The only way to go is go through now. We have to face what we're in and fight really hard."

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Liverpool legend blasts defence

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has shared his thoughts on the team's current struggles and feel the backline is a problem. He said on TNT Sports: "They’re conceding too many goals, they’re wide open in transition, look very vulnerable and unstable as soon as the ball turns over. Anfield tells the story, the seats were empty with 10 minutes to go, as soon as the third went in the game was over. PSV were excellent, by the way, and totally deserved the victory. Liverpool’s problems become deeper, the pressure intensifies even more and there needs to be a lot of soul searching tonight, for sure. They need to stop the bleeding, they’re conceding too many chances They look wide open.

"The personnel’s not right in the back four. It’s going to be like deja vu for Arne Slot tonight because he’s going to watch it back and go: 'Yeah we had periods of control, we looked okay at times'. But individual mistakes again, wide open on transition, wide open for counter-attacks and conceding too many goals."

Liverpool's nightmare defence of their Premier League title took a turn for the worse on Saturday as Nottingham Forest ripped the Reds apart at Anfield. In a game that saw more than one moment of VAR controversy, Forest struck three times, courtesy of efforts from Murillo, Nicolo Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White, to leave a shellshocked Arne Slot potentially fearing for his job.

After Alexis Mac Allister and Milos Kerkez probably both should've scored, disaster struck for the hosts as Murillo slotted home following Liverpool's failure to clear from a corner. It was a controversial moment in a first-half that was full of them, with VAR ruling that Dan Ndoye wasn't interfering with Alisson depsite being very close to the Brazilian goalkeeper's eyeline. Moments later it could've easily been two – Igor Jesus somewhat harshly being adjudged to have handled the ball after controlling Ibrahima Konate's hopeless attempt to clear, with referee Andy Madley blowing to penalise the Forest forward and chalk off his goal.

If Slot had given his side a rollicking at the half-time break it didn't seem to have an impact as Forest came racing out of the blocks and found a second – Savona getting on the scoresheet this time after some suspect defending allowed Neco Williams to escape in the box and find the Italian completely free to be able to pick his spot. It would get worse before the end, too, with Gibbs-White making it 3-0 after 78 minutes to stun Anfield into silence and leave Slot wondering what on earth he needs do to get the Reds back on track.

GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Anfield…

Getty Images SportGoalkeeper & Defence

Alisson Becker (5/10):

His first outing since September and could do nothing to stop any of the goals.

Dominik Szoboszlai (3/10):

Stationed at right-back but drifted inside and further forward to create the extra man. Should've got a lot tighter to Murillo for the first Forest goal.

Ibrahima Konate (3/10):

VAR saved him after he was caught out by Igor Jesus for the controversial handball incident. Sacrificed soon after half-time when Liverpool fell two behind.

Virgil van Dijk (3/10):

On his heels as the ball flew past him from Anderson's corner, leading to Murillo's opening goal. A visiting side shouldn't be scoring three at Anfield on his watch.

Milos Kerkez (3/10):

Should've done far better with a huge first-half chance perfectly set-up for him by Salah. Was a bit hit-and-hope with his crossing as Liverpool looked for a way back and was eventually hooked.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMidfield

Ryan Gravenberch (3/10):

Heart-in-mouth moment when the studs in his right boot somewhat inadvertently made contact with Ibrahim Sangare's calf but VAR chose not to get involved. Nowhere near as dominant and majestic in midfield as he usually is.

Alexis Mac Allister (3/10):

Thought he'd scored in the first half only for Elliot Anderson's head to deny him a certain goal. Was weak in the challenge as Williams somehow escaped him to create Forest's second.

Curtis Jones (3/10):

Didn't contribute nearly enough. Caught in possession and at one point in the first half was turned all ends up by Anderson, an emblematic moment showing where both are in the England World Cup squad stakes.

Getty Images SportAttack

Mohamed Salah (5/10):

Flashes of brilliance at times, including the mazy run that set-up the Kerkez chance but had very few opportunities to cut in and shoot on that lethal left foot as Forest defenders gobbled him up.

Alexander Isak (2/10): 

Hardly had a kick. Still without a Premier League goal for Liverpool and he wasn't even close to breaking his duck here, with Slot deciding enough was enough after 68 minutes.

Cody Gakpo (5/10):

Looked a constant threat in the first-half with his driving runs but faded in the second. Fell asleep as Savona ran off him to score the visitors' second.

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Getty Images SportSubs & Manager

Hugo Ekitike (5/10):

Brought on for Konate but had little impact.

Federico Chiesa (5/10):

Replaced Isak but couldn't turn the tide, smashing one presentable chance over the bar.

Andy Robertson (4/10):

On for Kerkez with a little over 20 minutes left and couldn't get anywhere near Omari Hutchinson as he cut inside and shot to force the third goal.

Rio Ngumoha (N/A):

On late on and it was game over by that point.

Arne Slot (3/10):

An absolute shocker of a result. He would've expected to beat Forest at home to try to get things moving back in the right direction but this was truly the stuff of nightmares. The heat's now really on and things will need to change, and quickly. Dropping Isak wouldn't be the worst place to start…

It is hard not to feel a little bit sorry for Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl after he watched his team ship three goals for the second time in four matches, albeit after extra time.

The Ibrox giants were beaten 3-1 at Hampden Park by their Glasgow rivals in the semi-finals of the League Cup on Sunday, but it was fairly impressive that they even took the game to extra time after going 1-0 down and down to ten men.

Rohl, who arrived to replace Russell Martin in the dugout, will have learned a lot about his group of players after his first four games in charge, with two wins and two defeats.

The former Sheffield Wednesday boss should be pleased with the fight this team showed on Sunday, although his side seemed to lose their legs in extra time, as shown by how slow the defenders were to react to Callum Osmand’s goal in the clip below.

Celtic’s young striker scored his first goal for the club in his second senior appearance, both of which have come under interim manager Martin O’Neill.

That shows that a fresh pair of eyes in the dugout can unearth a talent that was overlooked by the previous management team, which should be a lesson to Rohl, with the players in the Rangers youth ranks.

The academy problem Rangers have at Ibrox

The Light Blues have a problem with their academy at Ibrox because there has not been enough of a reward for the work being done with their youth teams.

As you can see in the table above, the five most valuable former Rangers academy players all play for other clubs, and none of them made more than 55 appearances for the first-team before they left.

Only two of them, Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour, being worth more than £5m suggests that the club are not doing enough to bring in or develop high-value players in their academy.

On top of potentially not bringing the right players through their academy system, an issue could also be the lack of a pathway to first-team football at Ibrox.

Osmand for Celtic is the perfect example. He did not play a single minute under Brendan Rodgers for the Hoops, after signing in the summer window, and he made an instant impact in a huge match when brought in by O’Neill.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

If Rodgers had stayed in post and continued to ignore the striker, Osmand’s development may have stalled, and he could have gone on to leave Glasgow and thrive or fail elsewhere.

Instead, O’Neill provided him with a chance to shine and, after his goal against Rangers, he may kick on to become a star for the Hoops in the coming months because of the opportunity that he has been given.

Now, on the other side of Glasgow, Rohl could unearth his own version of Osmand by finally unleashing Findlay Curtis as a starter for the Ibrox giants.

Why Danny Rohl should unleash Findlay Curtis for Rangers

The Gers academy graduate was given a chance by Martin at the start of this season, with starts against Panathinaikos, and he showed real promise, with an excellent first goal for the club.

It was a terrific run and finish from the “Boy Wonder”, as shown in the clip above, but he has not started a game in any competition since those two games against the Greek side.

Curtis added to his goal tally for the club with goals against both St Mirren and Alloa Athletic, in the Scottish Premiership and the League Cup. Both of those strikes, though, came as a substitute.

As you can see in the table above, the 19-year-old attacker has only made ten appearances in all competitions this season, starting two games, and has scored three goals in that time.

Per Sofascore, Curtis has been an unused substitute in seven of his last eight appearances in the matchday squad, with his only outing in that time coming off the bench against Dundee United in Stevie Smith’s game as interim head coach.

Despite his frustrating lack of game time on the pitch, only Djeidi Gassama (five) and James Tavernier (six) have scored more goals for Rangers in all competitions this season, per Transfermarkt, than the teenage winger.

Curtis has scored one goal in 49 minutes of action in the Premiership, across four appearances as a substitute, so far this season, per Sofascore, which shows that he has been effective with the minutes that he has had.

The Scottish forward, who produced four goals and three assists in eight matches for the B team, has delivered quality in the Premiership, in Europe, and in a domestic cup. He has shown that he can make an impact with the first-team.

Yet, as has seemingly been the case for academy players for far too long at Ibrox, Curtis has not been rewarded with regular game time to develop and improve in the senior team.

Rohl must change that by providing the 19-year-old attacker, who can play on the left or the right flank, with more chances to show what he can do on the pitch as a starter for the Light Blues.

Rangers saw firsthand what can happen when a young player is finally given a chance when Osmand found the back of the net against them, and they should learn from that lesson by finally unleashing Curtis.

Martin claimed Rangers star was a "huge asset", now he looks "rotten"

This Rangers signing was heavily praised by Russell Martin, now it looks like he needs to be sold.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 3, 2025

انتقدت قناة ريال مدريد، حكم مباراة الفريق أمام سيلتا فيجو، بعد الهزيمة مساء الأحد ببطولة الدوري الإسباني، على ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو”.

وتعرض ريال مدريد للهزيمة بهدفين دون رد أمام سيلتا فيجو، وتلقى فريق تشابي ألونسو، ثلاث بطاقات حمراء، اثنتان خلال اللقاء لفران جونزاليس وألفارو كاريراس، وأخرى لإندريك على مقاعد البدلاء.

وعاد تلفزيون ريال مدريد ليوجه سهامه مجددًا إلى الأداء التحكيمي، وقال: “رغم أن قرارات كوينتيرو جونزاليس لم تكن مؤثرة بشكل مباشر في نتيجة اللقاء، فإن ما قدمه كان مخيبًا ومؤسفًا، لقد ترشّح، كما كان يحدث في عهد نيجريرا، لنيل الجوائز التي يستحقها، سواء بأن يصبح حكمًا دوليًا أو بإدارة أهم المباريات على المستوى الوطني”.

وأضاف: “حتى هو نفسه لا يعرف ماذا يحتسب، إنه من الحكام الجدد، لكنه… سيئ، ولنقل ذلك مؤقتًا فقط، ما يقدمه الحكم أمرًا فادحًا، وفوضويًا للغاية، هو جديد، لكن يبدو أنه تلقى التعليمات جيدًا”.

وخلال بث المباراة انتقدوا قرارات التحكيم فيما يتعلق بإضاعة الوقت، قائلين: “لم يطبّق المعيار نفسه على الطرفين، وكان متساهلًا جدًا مع تضييع الوقت من جانب سيلتا فيجو، قاعدة الثماني ثوانٍ أصبحت مهزلة، إنها صفعة على وجه المشجعين واللاعبين والجميع”.

اقرأ أيضًا | ماركا تكشف كواليس الفوضى أمام سيلتا فيجو.. فينيسيوس يتنبأ بقرار الحكم وطرد ثالث في ريال مدريد

وتواصلت التعليقات طوال المباراة: “سيلتا يجيد إضاعة الوقت، لكن حكم دوري نيجريرا، وهو سيء للغاية، يجب أن يمنع ذلك، نتوقع أي شيء من دوري نيجريرا، وتفاصيل نيجريرا”.

وتتابعت التعليقات: “هذا ليس يومًا نتحدث فيه عن ركلات الجزاء أو التسلل، لقد كان يومًا مليئًا بالبطاقات الصفراء وإضاعة الوقت؛ كل ذلك يُرهقك، ليس هذا سبب الهزيمة، لكن التحكيم لم يُفاجئنا، لأنه كان أداءً مؤسفًا آخر في مباراة سيئة للفريق”.

كانت هناك أيضًا شكوى بشأن طرد فران حارسيا لتراكم البطاقات الصفراء: “لم يُظهر البث المباشر تدخل فران حارسيا بالتفصيل من أفضل زاوية، لذلك لم نتمكن من تحديد ما إذا كانتا مخالفتين”.

وفيما يتعلق بالبطاقة الحمراء الثانية، التي شُهرت لـ كاريراس، قالوا: “شيء مذهل مدى سرعة مهاجمته لكاريراس عندما وُجه إليه اللوم، من السهل جدًا مهاجمة لاعب واحد وغض الطرف عن الآخرين، كانت هناك احتجاجات طوال المباراة، احتج سيلتا، واحتج جيرالديز؛ اللقطات موجودة، حتى لو لم تُعرض”.

وفي الختام، جاء ذكر فران سوتو، الرئيس الحالي للجنة الحكام: “هذا ليس تحكيمًا يليق بدوري يدّعي أنه من بين الأفضل في العالم، أريد أن أرى ماذا سيقول فران سوتو، وماذا سيُقال في برنامج (زمن المراجعة)، إن كانوا سيعرضون اللقطات أصلًا”.