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Fans at Tuesday's Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United honoured Cristiano Ronaldo following the death of the player's newborn son.
Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, announced on social media on Monday that one of their newborn twins had died. Manchester United confirmed that Ronaldo would not travel to face Liverpool on Tuesday evening. A statement read: "Family is more important than everything and Ronaldo is supporting his loved ones at this immensely difficult time."
At the match at Anfield, fans applauded in the seventh minute of the game, coinciding with Ronaldo's No. 7 jersey, with "You'll Never Walk Alone" ringing among the crowd.
Ronaldo had announced last year that the couple was expecting twins. The Portugal star has four older children.
"We are all devastated at this loss," Ronaldo wrote on the social media post, "and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time. Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you."
Liverpool defeated United 4-0.
Imran's exit casts shadow over Ramiz's future as PCB chairman
But with Imran gone, speculation has grown around Ramiz's future; traditionally, any changes of government have led to a change of PCB chairman. And the new premier Shahbaz Sharif, who automatically assumes the position of patron of the PCB, is thought to be weighing up options to replace Ramiz.
Imran was removed from power on April 10, in divisive circumstances, after a vote of no-confidence in parliament that he had initially tried to dismiss. Parliamentarians from his PTI party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf) have since resigned en masse from parliament and party appointments in various state institutions are being gradually removed or replaced.
The new government, a coalition of parties that came together to remove Imran, are jostling over the formulation of a new cabinet and though cricket is not the highest priority, it is thought they will eventually get to changes in the board.
As is often the case, a number of different names as replacements are doing the rounds. Najam Sethi, the former board chairman and a Sharif family ally is among the more prominent ones (though Sethi is thought to be closer to the former PM and elder Sharif brother, Nawaz, rather than Shahbaz).
The change at the top might not be the only one. With Imran's exit, a group led by former board members has begun urging the government to go back to the previous domestic structure in which departmental teams such as SNGPL and PIA were part of the first-class circuit.
Constitutionally, the Prime Minister of the country, as the PCB's Patron-in-chief, nominates two members to the PCB's governing board. The two then come through an election to become chairman, but in practice, this is a mere formality: the PM essentially appoints the chairman.
The position isn't based on any set criteria though the PCB constitution requires the PM to name someone who is at least a graduate and isn't convicted for any offences including fraud or corrupt practices.
No provision in the constitution allows the patron to withdraw the sitting chairman. The only way a chairman can be removed is through a vote of no confidence in the governing board, requiring a 3/4th majority. But generally, if the Patron wants the chairman changed, it is unusual for the incumbent to stay on. When Imran was elected PM in 2018, Sethi himself resigned and allowed Imran to bring in Ehsan Mani.
In the last three terms, every new chairman has amended the constitution after taking power; the present constitution was implemented in 2019 and was the fifth since 1995 and the fourth in the last 15 years.
Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent
Former Bangladesh spinner Mosharraf Hossain dies aged 40
James Anderson, Saqib Mahmood available for Lancashire's next Championship match
The pair bowled at Lancashire training this morning and, as centrally contracted players, were cleared by the ECB to play in the Division One fixture starting at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday.
Broad and Anderson were high-profile omissions from England's ill-fated Test tour of the Caribbean last month, with the visitors losing 1-0 to compound the fallout from their 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia.
England's interim managing director of men's cricket, Andrew Strauss, had said the West Indies trip represented an opportunity for other seamers to take on leadership roles in the absence of the vastly experienced duo, but two of those players - Mark Wood and Chris Woakes - have been sidelined by injury. Wood underwent elbow surgery after breaking down during the first Test and is out of action until at least May, while, according to the Mail, Woakes is expected to return for Warwickshire next month amid a setback after returning from the Caribbean with knee and shoulder complaints.
Anderson said a week ago that he had had no contact with anyone in the England set-up since his omission, other than the physiotherapist, and Broad wrote in his weekend newspaper column that he had given no thought to suggestions he could take over as Test captain "because firstly I am not currently in possession of a shirt within the England Test team and my focus is very much on changing that by taking wickets for Nottinghamshire over the next few weeks".
"In fact, I would argue we are in a fairly unique position as far as selection for the Test team goes right now in that there are only two players whose names you could write in pen on the scorecard," Broad added. "One of them is Joe Root, the other is Ben Stokes - and one of them isn't going to be captain for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand at Lord's on June 2 because he has just given the job away."
"I'm gutted that my time at Surrey has come to an end due to a slight injury but I want to thank the whole Surrey family for the love and care they have shown," Roach said on Twitter.
Faf du Plessis and Josh Hazlewood put Royal Challengers in top two
Royal Challengers Bangalore 181 for 6 (du Plessis 96, Holder 2-25, Chameera 2-31) beat Lucknow Super Giants 163 for 8 (Krunal 42, Hazlewood 4-25, Harshal 2-47) by 18 runs
Though Super Giants challenged through a hard-hitting knock of 42 off 28 balls from Krunal Pandya, they lost wickets at all-too-frequent intervals, and when Marcus Stoinis fell in frustrated circumstances with 34 needed from the final two overs, their challenge fell away, despite two final-over sixes from Jason Holder.
Kohli brings up an unwanted century
Dushmantha Chameera was the first seamer of the evening to discover the joys of a lively surface. By the time the first over of the match was done, Chameera was on a hat-trick thanks to the early scalps of Anuj Rawat and Virat Kohli … whose first-ball duck brought up perhaps the most unwanted century of his career.
Since making 136 against Bangladesh in November 2019, Kohli has now played exactly 100 matches without adding to that tally of hundreds - 17 Tests, 21 ODIs, 25 T20Is and 37 IPL games. This time he arrived at the crease after five legal deliveries, in which Rawat - unusually charged with facing the first ball - had lumped a drive through the line for four before scuffing a fuller-length ball to a diving Rahul at mid-off. One ball later, a stunned silence enveloped the stadium, as Chameera dragged back a hard length, found a hint of away movement, and lured a loose glide to point as Kohli sought to put bat through ball from the outset, but succeeded only in taking his record for this year's tournament to 119 runs at 19.83. With the score at 7 for 2, du Plessis at the other end had yet to face a ball. He'd make amends soon enough.
Du Plessis presses the accelerator
Aside from falling agonisingly short of his century, du Plessis could hardly have crafted a more perfectly paced knock. He stayed composed through the chaos of an otherwise malfunctioning powerplay, and accelerated smoothly into his evening's work, most particularly from the moment he launched an off-colour Ravi Bishnoi for six over long-on to move to the brink of his half-century in the 14th over.
Up until that moment, he had cruised along to 43 from 38 balls, with six cherry-picked boundaries - all but one of them eased through the off-side as he feasted in particular on the over-pitched delivery. Thereafter, du Plessis smashed a further 53 from 26 - five more fours and a thudding drive for six off Krunal Pandya, for an overall strike-rate of exactly 150, as RCB transformed a faltering scoreline of 62 for 4 into a serviceable target of 182.
He was aided in that rebuild by Glenn Maxwell, who counterattacked after the two first-over wickets with 23 off 11, and Shahbaz Ahmed, who made 26 from 22 in a fifth-wicket stand of 70, while Dinesh Karthik lifted his tally for the tournament to 210 runs from 102 balls with 13 not out from 8. But after Stoinis spilled a low chance at backward square to reprieve Karthik off the deserving Jason Holder, he made amends in the same position from the penultimate ball of the innings.
Leaning back into a pull to the long side of the ground, du Plessis couldn't get on top of another rising delivery from Holder, whose 6'8" frame made superb use of a springy pitch all evening long for figures of 2 for 25 in four overs. It meant that du Plessis had equalled his IPL-best of 96, made for Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab in 2019, but was still waiting for that elusive maiden hundred.
Hazlewood hits his lengths
On a Test-match wicket, bring out the Test-match players. With pace and bounce in abundance, this was a surface tailor-made for a bowler of Hazlewood's pedigree. His evening's work began in the third over of the reply, and he struck with his fifth ball, as Quinton de Kock snicked a beautiful length slanted across his left-handed bows, for Maxwell at slip to pouch a sharp chance with the keeper Karthik threatening to dive across him.
Manish Pandey followed in his next over, with a weak pull to midwicket, and when Hazlewood returned at the death for the 17th over, a knuckle ball on a wide line did for Ayush Badoni. The final nail in Lucknow's coffin, however, came in a moment of mild controversy, with Hazlewood's fellow Aussie, Marcus Stoinis, in his sights.
Facing up to the first ball of the 19th over, with 34 runs still needed, Stoinis feinted to the off-side, and Hazlewood saw him coming and speared his delivery further out wide. Umpire Chris Gaffaney gave the bowler the benefit of the doubt, to the gritted-teeth frustration of the batter. One ball later, however, Stoinis exploded as the chase went up in smoke. Once again, he moved across to the off side, but over-compensated due to the previous call, and was bowled round his legs to a huge, and pointed, expletive for 24 from 15.
It was, however, a dismissal in keeping with Lucknow's chase, in which a highest partnership of 36 revealed RCB's ability to winkle out key wickets at key moments. Few were more crucial than Harshal Patel's moment of good fortune at the end of a leaky first over.
Moments after a wild bouncer had soared away for five wides, Harshal induced a leg-side strangle to see off the dangerous KL Rahul for 30, via a belated review. Krunal kept the pursuit on track for a while, with a brace of sixes in consecutive overs off spinners Shabhaz and Wanindu Hasaranga, the latter a savage extension of the arms through long-off. But when Maxwell returned for his second over, a hole-out to deep midwicket left his side with too much ground to make up.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
David Lawrence unveiled as first Black president of Gloucestershire
Lawrence, whose five-match England career was cut short by a horrific knee injury in 1992, claimed 625 wickets in 280 matches for Gloucestershire between 1981 and 1997, in which time he formed a feared pace attack alongside Courtney Walsh and Kevin Curran.
He was announced as the club's new president at their AGM on Thursday, and in taking over from the outgoing Roger Gibbons on a two-year term, is the first Black president in Gloucestershire's 152-year history.
"I'm a local boy, born in Gloucester itself and I came to Bristol when I was 16, so to be back as President is a great honour for me," Lawrence said. "It does show you how far we've come as a Club, it shows me where the game is going and needs to go.
"But I'm not here just as a token gesture, and what I mean by that is a lot has happened in cricket over the last six months, and we know we need to do more within the game. I'm happy to be making sure we are going in the right direction.
"It's time for more diversity and I know that I'm going to be the first President of colour at Gloucestershire and that means a lot to me." Syd has also outlined his ambitions to help inspire the next generation, from all backgrounds, to get involved in cricket with Gloucestershire during his time as Club President.
Lawrence intends to play an active role in the African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) Programme, among other community schemes, as well as working as a mentor for the club's next generation of cricketers.
"I think it's important that we get more inner-city kids playing the game, black, white, male and female", he added. "I would love to see a local boy walk out to play for Gloucestershire. That would give me immense pleasure to see that happen and that's what we want; we all want to see more local boys and girls playing for Gloucestershire."
Despite his huge popularity as a player, Lawrence suffered from racist abuse and prejudice during his career, and last year he told the Sky Sports' documentary "You Guys Are History" how a fellow player had left a banana skin outside his hotel room during his first away match with the club in 1981.
The club contacted Lawrence immediately after the documentary had been aired, and issued an unreserved apology soon afterwards.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- New Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo emphatically said "yes" on Tuesday when asked whether Sam Darnold was his starting quarterback and added that the third pick of the 2018 draft was one reason he took this job.
Seconds later, the former New York Giants head coach tempered his yes by adding that coach Matt Rhule has a say over the decision but that "the way it is in the building right now, Sam is our starting quarterback."
Darnold and P.J. Walker are the only quarterbacks under contract for 2022, and the Panthers are vetting quarterbacks as candidates for the No. 6 pick in the draft.
"One of the things I've been working on is being better talking to you people [media], so announcing the starting quarterback here I just put my foot in my mouth," said McAdoo, who was fired by the Giants after the 2017 season.
"That wasn't something I should have said."
But McAdoo has liked parts of Darnold's game since the New York Jets drafted him No. 3 out of USC. He told the New York Post in 2018 that Darnold had a "lot of magic in his game," although he wondered aloud whether Darnold ever would be the franchise-saver the Jets needed him to be.
At the time, he couldn't get past the flaws in Darnold's throwing mechanics and ball security.
"I think he's special," McAdoo told the Post. "He's obviously a talented guy, he can make plays with his feet. I'd just have a hard time drafting a guy in the first round where you don't necessarily like the way he throws.
"He can overcome it, guys have, but that's something that's a challenge for me. I'm gonna be looking at that, trying to fix it, because it's a fundamental flaw, and I believe in the fundamentals. The quarterback, his No. 1 job is to pass the football. If I don't like the way he throws the ball, I have a hard time picking him, right?"
But in a sense McAdoo picked Darnold when choosing to come to Carolina after spending last season as a consultant for the Dallas Cowboys.
"Sam does have some magic in his game," McAdoo said in his first interview since being hired on Jan. 24. "He's got some athleticism to him. I'm excited to work with Sam. We've been working the last few days here to get up to speed on offense, and he's shown flashes of being a good player in this league."
That doesn't mean the Panthers are more likely to take a left tackle than a quarterback at No. 6. They've spent the past few months evaluating quarterbacks and used seven of their 30 official visits on the position. The Panthers have had visits with -- Liberty's Malik Willis, Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett, Ole Miss' Matt Corral, Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder, North Carolina's Sam Howell, Western Kentucky's Bailey Zappe and Nevada's Carson Strong.
Willis, Pickett and Corral, according to draft analysts, are the most likely to go in the first round, with Pickett considered best prepared to be a Day 1 starter in the NFL.
McAdoo doesn't put a lot of stock in being game ready.
"I'm a big 'swing for the fences' kind of guy," he said. "So just because you're ready doesn't mean you're going to be the best. But ready does factor in some scenarios. Experience obviously helps. What type of system you played in may help some guys over others.
"But at the end of the day, you have to pick a player that you're going to be happy with at that position, hopefully for the next decade."
McAdoo inherited two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning with the Giants and helped him have two of his better seasons toward the end of his career. He also was fired one week after benching Manning, ending the quarterback's string of 210 consecutive starts.
Now he inherits Darnold, a quarterback the Panthers had so many questions about after he went 4-7 last season that they were willing to offer the Houston Texans three first-round draft picks, players and other draft picks for Deshaun Watson.
Shortly after Watson was traded to the Cleveland Browns, Carolina general manager Scott Fitterer said Darnold was "in the lead" for a job he declared "open" after the season.
McAdoo appears open to Darnold being his starter despite reports the Panthers are interested in trading for Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. League sources told ESPN that the team simply has been doing due diligence on the position and that if such a trade occurred, it would be after the draft.
McAdoo said in the 2018 Post article that Mayfield had an "edge" about him but that he didn't see "a lot of pro-style football in his tape."
McAdoo declined to talk about Mayfield on Tuesday.
"I'd love to comment on your question, but this isn't my first rodeo," McAdoo said. "I'm going to keep the comments to players on our roster right now."
Bucs ignoring Dolphins 'chatter' around Brady
TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said Tuesday that despite reports that quarterback Tom Brady was prepared to be named a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins and possibly play for them before coming out of retirement to rejoin the Bucs, he and the seven-time Super Bowl winner have had no discussions about that, nor have they discussed sealing Brady for the future with a new contract.
"No, we haven't had those discussions," said Licht, who has known Brady since 2002, when Licht was the New England Patriots' assistant director of player personnel. "The only discussions I've had, we've had, with Tom has been, he came back and we're excited about this year and we're excited to get going."
Citing a league source, The Boston Globe reported that Brady was positioned to join the Dolphins' front office in a capacity similar to Derek Jeter's role with the Miami Marlins. Pro Football Talk reported that the Dolphins were prepared to announce Brady as a minority owner the week before the Super Bowl.
The Globe reported that Brian Flores' lawsuit, alleging racial discrimination by the Dolphins, along with owner Stephen Ross attempting to lose games intentionally and tamper with a "star" quarterback under contract with another team, killed those dreams, according to the source.
But Brady is under contract with the Bucs for one more season, so they would have held onto his rights had he pursued a position with the Dolphins.
Coach Bruce Arians, who stepped down last month to take a post in the Bucs' front office, with defensive coordinator Todd Bowles becoming the new head coach, said at the NFL combine that the Bucs would not accommodate Brady or another team should he choose to leave.
"Nope. Bad business," Arians said, before adding that it would require more than a king's ransom for a team to snatch Brady away. "Five No. 1s. Maybe," Arians said.
Shortly after Arians made those comments, Brady went on a visit to Manchester United, also owned by the Glazer family, who own the Buccaneers. He announced his return, and began actively recruiting players to come to Tampa, including former Patriots teammate Logan Ryan and former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Russell Gage.
Brady has not committed to playing beyond 2022 and would become an unrestricted free agent after this season if he opts to continue playing, meaning he'd be able to sign with any team at that point.
What does Licht make of all the chatter linking Brady to the Dolphins along with reports that Sean Payton was being lured out of retirement to join forces with the 44-year-old quarterback down south?
"I make of it -- chatter, just like you said," Licht said. "We're focused on putting our team together here with the draft, and we're all excited, we're all in lockstep here -- Tom, Todd [Bowles], myself, Byron [Leftwich], the entire coaching staff -- on this season."
Licht struck a similar tone when asked earlier this month about reports that there was a rift between Brady and Arians, although he did not deny that there was friction.
"You can't believe everything you hear and see and read," Licht said. "There's always going to be some friction between people on a staff and players and a coach. It's just normal. And like you said, it can be healthy. We didn't really think much about it."
Bowles denied any knowledge of a rift.
"I see everything around me on the field," Bowles said the day he assumed head-coaching duties. "I know when you guys walk on the field, I know where you sit regularly. I know where you stand. I know where the interviews are gonna go. I kinda know what everyone does on the practice field on both sides of the ball. I've always done that and always known that. I have never, one time, seen a rift or a problem between Bruce and Tom. I'm not a sugarcoating type of guy. I'm not gonna sit here and say things [just] to be quoted in the press -- I have not seen that problem, one iota. I've never seen it."
Arians' new role with the team still has not been carved out, but he has been participating in the team's draft meetings and will be present with Licht and Bowles in the draft war room. Arians plans to remain in Tampa, and his new role will likely be a full-time one this first year.
"Any way that I can, whether it's helping Byron with a game plan or helping Jason with the draft is huge, by doing something in the community with the Bucs -- anything that they need of me, I'm so grateful that I have an opportunity, that I have an office and continue to work at a pace that I like," Arians said.
"I think this year it will probably be full-time, until I figure it all out," Arians said. "I don't know if I'll come the first week of camp. We'll see what my golf game's like. But I plan on being there and being a big part of it, obviously, through OTAs and just watching the team grow."
Licht said the coaching change seamlessly moves Bowles into a larger role, with the team benefiting from a defensive coach's perspective of offensive players.
"The philosophy hasn't changed," Licht said. "It's just been meeting more with Todd more now as the head coach -- more one-on-one and in some group settings too. Bruce has still been involved. He's still been in our meetings. I meet with Bruce periodically, and he's gonna be involved here as we put the final touches on our draft too. Our philosophy hasn't changed. We still want to bring in really good players."
Kyrie handed $50K fine for flipping off Celts fans
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been fined $50,000 by the NBA after he flipped off several Boston Celtics fans on two occasions during Sunday's Game 1.
In a release Tuesday, NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell said Irving was being fined for "making obscene gestures on the playing court and directing profane language toward the spectator stands."
Following the Nets' 115-114 loss, Irving said he was responding to words he heard from the crowd and that he would have "the same energy" for the fans that they had for him.
"When people start yelling 'p---y' or 'b----' and 'f--- you' and all this stuff, there's only but so much you take as a competitor," Irving said. "We're the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach, f--- that, it's the playoffs. This is what it is."
Game 2 of the series is Wednesday night.
Irving, who played for Boston for two seasons from 2017 to 2019, said Sunday that he has gotten used to getting booed by Celtics fans since leaving the team. Last season, Irving had a water bottle thrown at him by a person in the crowd as he made his way off the floor.
He also said last season that there was "subtle racism" from the TD Garden crowd at times, acknowledging that he heard some racist comments.
Kevin Durant, who has had his own high-profile team changes during his NBA career, shared his perspective Tuesday on how fans react to players they used to root for, saying "It's healthy once everybody understands both sides."
"It's rooted in love," Durant said. "They once loved you. They once cheered for you and bought your merchandise and had life-altering experiences coming to games watching you play. So when that kind of gets ripped from them from just something like a trade or demanding a trade or wanting to lead, they feel like a piece of them is gone too."
Asked if he thought Irving enjoyed playing the villain role, Durant said, "Some days he might be up for it; some days he might not. But he understands what this job entails. We understand what this situation is. So he might not be in the mood for it next game, who knows."
Nets swingman Bruce Brown, who is a Boston native, said he doesn't think Irving is concerned about the reception that is likely awaiting him from Celtics fans in Game 2.
"The Celtics fans are loud," Brown said. "They can be a little much sometimes, but it's Boston. A great fan base. They'll be on him [Wednesday], but he ain't too worried about it."
ESPN's Nick Friedell contributed to this report.
BOSTON -- Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons has been cleared for contact as he continues to make his way back from a back injury that has prevented him from playing since he was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers just before February's trade deadline.
Nets head coach Steve Nash ruled Simmons out of Wednesday's Game 2, but he left the door open for Simmons' return at some point in Brooklyn's first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
"He's making progress," Nash said after Tuesday's practice. "We'll just see how he responds and see if he's able to do more contact [Wednesday]."
Nash said that Simmons' first day of contact was actually during a Monday workout when he was able to play 4-on-4 with some of his teammates.
"So far, so good," Nash said of how Simmons came through the workout. "I think he managed yesterday's activity well."
Simmons spent much of his post-practice time that the media was able to see on Tuesday working with Nets shooting instructor Kyle Korver on his form. When asked specifically if there was a chance Simmons might be able to play in Saturday's Game 3, Nash was noncommittal about the possibility.
"I wouldn't be able to say anything about that because I'm not even sure how he's going to get through these weeks," Nash said. "We have to also consider it's a nine-month absence or whatever it is, so it's not just like he had a six-week absence, so I think this is a pretty unique scenario. It's not as linear as maybe the other kind of in-season injuries."
Simmons has not played since last May after requesting a trade from the Sixers in the offseason, citing mental health concerns. As far as the next possible hurdles to clear, Nash said being able to play in a full 5-on-5 scrimmage probably wasn't going to be possible given how deep the Nets are into the season and the need to give veteran players a break on the days between games.
"He's probably not going to do 5-on-5 because we don't have 10 guys," Nash said. "It will probably be 4-on-4 again -- so it's really trying to put him in an environment where he can start to build up and see if he can take contact, see if he can run the floor, make cuts, rebound, defend, all those things. He's got to have time on the floor to do, to see if he can physically adapt, and that process is only just beginning."
Tuesday's practice served as more of a walk-through, with Nash saying that Simmons went through some 5-0 drills while going through some plays. Nets star Kevin Durant said he "didn't really see him explode or play against anybody" but noted he's "been hearing good reports" about Simmons' progress.
"I didn't hear any setbacks," Durant said. "That's pretty much what I'm looking for [when] somebody on our team goes through anything while they're playing in the stay-ready groups or pre-practice groups if anybody got injured or anything. So I haven't heard ... he's probably progressing pretty well, so we'll see."
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