Adil Rashid agrees new county deal
london: England leg-spinner Adil Rashid has agreed a new one-year contract to play for Yorkshire in all formats of cricket. The 30-year-old was on a limited-overs-only deal with his county for the 2018 season. Rashid's Headingley future had been shrouded in doubt after he was controversially selected in England's Test squad for the recent series against India, despite his self-imposed exile from first-class cricket. Rashid was told by England national selector Ed Smith that he must be available across the board from the start of the 2019 English season to be considered for Test cricket. "I think we've been clear from the outset that we wanted to keep Adil at the club," said Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon. "When it became known he had to have a red-ball contract, we were more than happy to put that in place." Rashid, who has played 15 Tests and 73 one-day internationals, began his career with Yorkshire in 2006 and has taken 500 first-class wickets.
Ballon d'Or for women's & U21 announced
paris: Ballon d'Or organisers France Football have announced the creation of awards for the top female footballer and the best under-21 player in the world. The awards ceremony for the 63rd edition, created and decided by the French football magazine, will be held on December 3 in Paris. While 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain is among the favourites to succeed Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, a short-list of female footballers will be in line for the women's equivalent and the world's best under-21 players will vie for the 'Kopa Trophy'. As with the Ballon d'Or, the women's award will be decided by votes from journalists around the world. The Kopa Trophy, for the best under-21 player will, however, be decided by votes from the 33 previous winners of the Ballon d'Or. The finalists for all three awards will be unveiled on October 8. The Ballon d'Or is considered the oldest and most prestigious football award.
Anand rests as India face El Salvador
batumi: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is expectedly rested for the opening tie as the fifth seed Indian men take on El Salvador in the 43rd Chess Olympiad here on Tuesday. Anand, being one of the most respected player in the competition was called for the ceremonial draw of lots that gave top seeded United States and India white colour on the top board in the first round. Each match will be played over four boards and the team scoring 2.5 points in all will be declared the winner. The points awarded are called Match points which means two points are awarded for every win, one for a drawn 2-2 result and none if a team scores less than two.Like India, defending champions USA also rested top rated Fabiano Caruana in the first round clash against Panama and as if on cue, Russians gave a day off to their biggest star Vladimir Kramnik.
Pogba takes aim at Mourinho's tactics
london: Paul Pogba launched a blistering critique of Manchester United's defensive-minded tactics in Saturday's draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, which is likely to infuriate manager Jose Mourinho. The 25-year-old French World Cup winning midfielder said there were no excuses for not attacking in home games. The draw — played out in front of legendary former manager Alex Ferguson who made his first appearance at a match since undergoing emergency brain surgery in May — left United in seventh, eight points behind leaders Liverpool. "We are at home and we should play much better against Wolves. We are here to attack," Pogba told the media after the match. "When we play like (that) it's easier for us." Asked what is stopping United attacking more, Pogba said: "I can't tell you because I'm a player. It's not me." Pogba's criticism comes shortly after it appeared that he and Mourinho were mending their rift, with the Portuguese manager saying on Friday that success at the World Cup had sparked Pogba into performing well.