Former South Africa batter Hashim Amla has been appointed batting coach of the Johannesburg-based Lions for the next three years. Amla joins former South Africa coach Russell Domingo at the Wanderers and replaces Michael Smith, who has moved to the Big Bash. Domingo is also new to the role and took over from Wandile Gwavu, who is the South African’s men’s white-ball fielding coach.This is Amla’s first role with a provincial team in South Africa after he had served as batting consultant for MI Cape Town in the SA20 and in the same role for the Cape Town Blitz in the now-defunct Mzansi Super League. His move into full-time coaching comes in the same year that he last played the game; Amla featured in two matches for the World Giants in the Masters Legends League earlier this year, but has retired from all other forms of the game.”I am truly delighted to work with Lions Cricket. They are one of the largest Protea producing teams in the country and to work with their players is an honour,” Amla said in a statement issued by the Lions on Wednesday. “The head coach Russel Domingo and I go back many years: I had him as a coach whilst with the Proteas and his experience as an international coach is something I am eager to team up with and share in.”Amla’s duties begin with immediate effect, with South Africa’s domestic teams in pre-season training though the fixtures for the 2023-24 season are yet to be announced. All eight division one teams are expected to play seven first-class games, compete in the fifty-over one-day cup and to play a T20 competition. The Lions are among South Africa’s more successful franchises and have won five titles in the last four seasons.

Tottenham Hotspur are now racing a number of their Premier League rivals for the signature of an “unbelievable” forward, who is set to command a fee of £54m this summer, according to a report.

Spurs looking to bolster attacking options

The scale of Tottenham’s injury crisis this season has left them a little light on attacking options at times, with Dominic Solanke and Richarlison spending time on the sidelines, and they are now stepping up their pursuit of a new striker.

Spurs are now in active talks over a deal for Lille striker Jonathan David, having been impressed by the Canadian’s performances this season, but there is widespread interest in his signature, with Arsenal and Manchester United also keen.

David is set to be available on a free transfer, but Ange Postecoglou’s side are also prepared to break the bank for an alternative target, with a report revealing they are willing to make a huge offer for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.

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Not only is Postecoglou keen to bring in a new centre-forward, but there could also be additions in wide areas, with the Lilywhites incredibly keen on Feyenoord’s Igor Paixao.

One forward who could tick a lot of boxes is Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, who is able to play both on the wing and at striker, and a report from Caught Offside has revealed Tottenham are now in the race for the forward’s signature.

Spurs are one of a number of Premier League clubs chasing Lookman, with seven English sides battling for the in-demand attacker, including London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.

The 27-year-old is expected to leave Atalanta at the end of the campaign, with the Serie A side setting an asking price of €65m (£54m), amid further interest from Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Juventus.

"Unbelievable" Lookman deserves big move

The Nigerian famously led Atalanta to a Europa League final victory over Bayer Leverkusen last season, scoring a hat-trick to secure a 3-0 victory, and he ranks extremely highly on a number of key attacking metrics over the past year, when compared to other forwards.

Statistic

Average per 90

Non-penalty goals

0.74 (99th percentile)

Assists

0.34 (89th percentile)

Shot-creating actions

5.86 (94th percentile)

Progressive carries

5.58 (93rd percentile)

As a result of the incredible display in the Europa League final, the Atalanta star received high praise from pundit Mina Rzouki, and he has continued to impress this season, picking up 13 goals and five assists in 23 Serie A games.

As such, it is exciting news that Tottenham are in the race for Lookman, but they may need to win the Europa League to stand a chance of winning the race for his signature, given that so many top clubs are keen.

MatériaMais Notícias

O West Ham anunciou, nesta segunda-feira, a contratação do meio-campista Lucas Paquetá, ex-Olympique de Lyon, até junho de 2027, com opção de renovação por mais uma temporada. Com isso, o Flamengo como clube formador do atleta terá direito a receber uma quantia. Saiba os valores na sequência do texto.

RelacionadasFutebol InternacionalWest Ham anuncia a contratação do brasileiro Lucas PaquetáFutebol Internacional29/08/2022FlamengoDavid Luiz treina no Ninho e será relacionado pelo Flamengo para semifinal da LibertadoresFlamengo29/08/2022FlamengoHora de ser titular? Vidal se destaca no Flamengo e coloca ‘pressão’ em Dorival JúniorFlamengo28/08/2022

Como clube formador, o Flamengo terá direito a um percentual do valor da negociação. O Rubro-Negro receberá 4% dos 60 milhões de euros, que correspondem a 2,4 milhões de euros (R$ 12 milhões). O Milan fica com 600 mil euros (R$ 3 milhões).

+ Confira e simule a tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro

Os valores da transferência do atleta não foram divulgados, porém os Hammers pagaram 60 milhões de euros (R$ 302 milhões) aos Gones. Revelado pelo Rubro-Negro, Lucas Paquetá deixou o clube carioca em 2019 para defender o Milan.

Um ano depois, o brasileiro deu sequência à carreira e acertou com o Lyon, da França. Por lá, tornou-se um dos protagonistas da equipe que hoje tem John Textor, acionista majoritário do Botafogo, como um dos donos.

O jogador tem sido figura cativa nas principais convocações de Tite nos jogos que antecedem a Copa do Mundo. A tendência é que ele esteja entre os escolhidos pelo treinador da Seleção Brasileira e dispute o Mundial na busca pelo Hexa.

+David Luiz treina no Ninho e será relacionado pelo Flamengo para semifinal da Libertadores

– Estou extremamente feliz por estar aqui. Espero que seja o início de uma jornada agradável. Espero que minha passagem por aqui seja um sucesso. Na temporada passada, o West Ham teve uma temporada muito boa e espero que eles continuem desfrutando de mais e mais boas temporadas no meu tempo no clube. Estou animado para vestir a camisa do West Ham e mostrar aos torcedores o que posso fazer, para ajudar meus companheiros de equipe e o clube – disse Paquetá em sua chegada.

Fast bowler named in 15-player squad with England needing 3-0 win to take series

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2023Fast bowler Lauren Filer is in line for her England white-ball debut, in the wake of her fiery performance in the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge last month, after being named in a 15-person squad for the three ODIs against Australia next week.Filer, who touched speeds in excess of 75mph at Trent Bridge to live up to her reputation as the fastest female bowler in the country, comes into the reckoning with England needing a 3-0 clean sweep of the ODI series if they are to reclaim the Ashes for the first time since 2015.With the onus on victory, Filer could conceivably be unleashed alongside her fellow quick, 21-year-old Issy Wong, who was overlooked for the Test and hasn’t featured for England since the T20I leg of their tour of West Indies in December.Also included is the opening batter, Tammy Beaumont, whose England-record 208 underpinned her side’s strong first-innings batting display in the Test match, which Australia eventually won by 89 runs to claim four points towards their Ashes defence.Beaumont underlined her strong white-ball form with a match-winning 83 not out from 62 balls for The Blaze against Northern Diamonds in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last week, and having missed the T20I leg of the Ashes, is set to resume her place at the top of the 50-over batting order.England head into the ODIs with confidence after coming from behind to seal a thrilling 2-1 victory in the T20Is, Australia’s first loss in any series since the corresponding leg of the 2017-18 Ashes.That leg was played out in front of a series of crowds in the region of 20,000 at Edgbaston, The Oval and Lord’s, and Heather Knight’s team are hopeful of similar support at Bristol (July 12), Southampton (July 16) and Taunton (July 18), all of which are sell-outs.Head coach Jon Lewis said: “We were delighted with our T20 series win and look forward to the next stage of the Ashes with everything to play for.”We’re pleased to welcome Tammy (Beaumont) and Lauren (Filer) back into the group. Tammy showed her quality during the Test match with her double-hundred while Lauren offers us real pace in our bowling alongside Issy (Wong).”The support the team have received throughout the series so far has been incredible and it is fitting to finish with this deciding ODI campaign as the first sell-out series in England Women’s history.”We respect Australia and know that this part of the Ashes series will again be a big challenge. However, we take a great deal of confidence and belief from our recent T20 victories and will, as always, be trying to put on a great showing for our fans.”England squad: Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt

تحدث مدرب باريس سان جيرمان، لويس إنريكي، في مؤتمر صحفي، قبل نهائي بطولة كأس العالم للأندية 2025، والمقرر خوضه غدًا الأحد، أمام تشيلسي الإنجليزي.

وتأهل باريس سان جيرمان لنهائي كأس العالم للأندية بفوز مثير أمام ريال مدريد برباعية دون رد، فيما نجح تشيلسي في تخطي فلومينينسي البرازيلي بهدفين دون رد.

ويلتقي باريس سان جيرمان وتشيلسي غدًا الأحد في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، في نهائي كأس العالم للأندية الذي تستضيفه الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.

وقال إنريكي في تصريحات نشرها موقع باريس سان جيرمان الرسمي، وصحيفة “جارديان” البريطانية: “من المهم أن ندرك صعوبة المباراة، تشيلسي لديه مدرب شاب يُحب الاستحواذ على الكرة، لديه فريق يتمتع بمواهب فردية كبيرة، لكنهم يُجيدون الدفاع مثلنا، كما أنهم أقوياء بدنيًا”.

وأضاف: “لذا ستكون مباراة متقاربة يوم الأحد، ستكون صعبة لأننا متشابهون في معظم جوانب اللعب، نحن مستعدون، وهم مستعدون، لقد فاز كل منا بلقب أوروبي هذا الموسم، لذا ستكون مباراة مثيرة”.

وأردف: “فاز تشيلسي بدوري المؤتمرات، واحتل المركز الرابع، ويتطور أداءه بشكل ملحوظ، هذا ليس فريقًا سهلًا، وليس أمرًا شكليًا أو ما شابه، سنخوض المباراة بتركيز تام لنختتم موسمًا تاريخيًا”.

اقرأ أيضًا | أدار لقاءً لـ الأهلي.. حكم مباراة باريس سان جيرمان وتشيلسي في نهائي كأس العالم للأندية

وواصل: “ندخل المباراة الأخيرة من الموسم بشعور رائع، بعد عام رائع، من المهم أن ننهي هذا الموسم التاريخي بأفضل طريقة ممكنة، إنه مهم لنا، وللنادي بأكمله، لقد كان أداء لاعبيّ رائعًا طوال العام”.

وشدد مدرب باريس سان جيرمان: “كان أداءً مذهلاً، وسيبقى محفورًا في تاريخ باريس سان جيرمان، نريد أن نجعله أعظم بالفوز يوم الأحد، هل كان موسمنا الأفضل؟ ربما، لكن علينا الفوز لنُكمله”.

وأشار: “على أي حال، نصل إلى النهائي، وهناك خاسر، وهناك فائز أيضًا، لكن هذا لا يعني أن الخاسر قد أساء الأداء، سنبذل قصارى جهدنا ونرى أي جائزة سنحصل عليها، ولكن موسمنا كان استثنائيًا”.

وشدد: “كان دوري أبطال أوروبا أول لقب لنا، وكان بالغ الأهمية كان هذا هدفنا الرئيسي، الفوز بهذه البطولة يعني الكثير بلا شك، كان هذا هدفنا الرئيسي عند وصولنا إلى باريس، كان صنع التاريخ هو غايتنا، واليوم نفتح صفحة جديدة، ستكون مباراة الأحد هي المباراة النهائية للفوز بكأس العالم للأندية، نتطلع بشوق لخوض هذه المباراة”.

Turning their attention towards the summer transfer window, Newcastle United have reportedly joined the race to sign a 15-goal striker who’s already had the seal of approval from Alan Shearer.

Newcastle join £63m striker race

For the first time in two transfer windows, the Magpies could be ready to splash the cash this summer. Fresh from their Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool to end 70 years of hurt, the rumours have come thick and fast over just who Eddie Howe could welcome with open arms this summer.

Names such as Senne Lammens and Dean Huijsen have been just two names among those rumours, with the latter particularly attracting attention from across both Europe and the Premier League.

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That attention should come as no surprise too. The Bournemouth defender has enjoyed a fantastic first season in the Premier League and has a release clause worth just £50m waiting to be triggered this summer. Whether Newcastle can jump ahead of the likes of Real Madrid in pursuit of his signature remains to be seen, however.

Meanwhile, Huijsen’s not the only target with a release clause that the Magpies could trigger when the summer arrives. According to TeamTalk, Newcastle have now joined the race to sign Matheus Cunha, who will be allowed to leave Wolverhampton Wanderers for a hefty £63m in the coming months.

The Brazilian has dragged Wolves to safety at times this season and opted to stay put during the January transfer window in an attempt to finish the job. Given that the Midlands club now sit as many as eight points clear of the dropzone, it’s fair to say it is all but job well done for Cunha and his teammates.

Now, the forward’s attention could turn back towards a summer exit, which may yet end with a trip to St James’ Park.

"Magnificent" Cunha has been more clinical than Isak

Those in Tyneside are, of course, well aware of what a top striker can do to a side after watching on as Alexander Isak steals the headlines week in, week out. In just a few months time, however, they could get double the joy if Cunha arrives to form a deadly partnership with the Swede – potentially taking Howe’s side to a new level.

Cunha has already received the ultimate Newcastle seal of approval too, earning the praise of Alan Shearer who told the Rest Is Football podcast: “He was unbelievable again.

“The goal he scored, the one he bent in the top corner was an unbelievable finish. He was superb, Gary O’Neil had to talk about him again after the game, there’s no doubt he’s getting the best out of him. He’s been one of the players of the season up to now, he’s been magnificent as he was again (vs Fulham).”

What’s more, if there were any concerns that the Wolves man wouldn’t be able to match Isak’s standards then the stats should quickly put those to bed, with 15 goals in all competitions this season.

Overperforming his expected finishing rate in the top flight by over six goals, Cunha has been incredibly clinical and will no doubt find himself at the centre of a transfer saga this summer.

Griffiths battles with 92, including century stand with Scrivens, before Gregory seals victory

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2023

Tazmin Brits’ blistering 66-ball hundred headlined South East Stars’ 19-run win over Sunrisers at Beckenham.The South Africa international hit 10 fours and five sixes on her way to an unbeaten 112 off 72 deliveries as the Stars put up 290 for 9.Sunrisers looked well-positioned to chase down the target after an opening stand worth 143 between Cordelia Griffith and Grace Scrivens was followed by some fine hitting from captain Dane van Niekerk. With 10 overs left, 80 runs were required for victory with nine wickets still in tow.But leg-spinner Danielle Gregory, not introduced into the attack until the 37th over, took four wickets in the space of three overs to turn the tide and end the Stars’ three-match losing streak in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Brits’ blast came after the Stars’ openers had established a fine base, with Alexa Stonehouse and Kira Chathli putting on 111 together.The 19-year-old Stonehouse had some fortune, surviving two dropped chances, but she was the first to fifty, which came off 65 deliveries.A fifty for Chathli arrived in the 23rd over, but Stonehouse departed for 51 from the very next delivery, smacking spinner Jodie Grewcock straight into the safe hands of van Niekerk at mid-off.Chathli impressed with her ball-striking down the ground to spin but saw Bryony Smith dismissed for 2 from the other end; attempting to clip Grewcock through the leg-side, the right-hander lobbed a simple catch to van Niekerk at mid-off.The Grewcock and van Niekerk combination struck again in the 29th over when Chathli also couldn’t beat mid-off, her knock ended on 71.Brits had already entered the fray by this stage and enjoyed some fortune, dropped on 1 by Florence Miller in the deep. She found her flow, though, a pair of boundaries in a Grewcock over followed by a six over long-on off Amu Surenkumar.She was given another reprieve on 44 off the final ball of the 35th over and went on to reach her half-century off 41 balls.The 32-year-old then went on to thump her compatriot van Niekerk for two sixes off consecutive legitimate deliveries, and her century arrived in the 48th over.Wickets tumbled from the other end as the innings came to a close, but Brits reverse-swept the final ball for four to finish with a flourish.Griffith and Scrivens then set about eclipsing the opening partnership that Stonehouse and Chathli had put together. The pair brought up 50 in the 13th over of the innings before two brief interruptions of rain followed, the second one taking two overs off the innings and revising the target to 282.Griffith was the more aggressive of the pair, her half-century taking 64 balls while Scrivens took 87 deliveries to get to her fifty. The latter seemed ready to up her rate, hitting Smith down the ground for four off the first ball of the 32nd over. But an attempted reverse-swat two balls later saw her bowled for 59.Van Niekerk was in next, showing her power down the ground and through cover with four boundaries off one Ryana MacDonald-Gay over.Gregory then arrived to made a crucial breakthrough; Griffith was adjudged lbw on 92 as she missed out on a flick off the pads. The leggie struck again in her next over, with Mady Villiers’ attempted cover drive resulting in a thick edge that lobbed up to Kalea Moore at third man. Grewcock was Gregory’s third, but the most vital delivery was the one to remove van Niekerk, the batter sweeping hard but into the hands of short fine leg for 44.Amara Carr hit a quickfire 29 but Gregory’s intervention was a match-winning one.

Manchester City are now reportedly seriously hopeful about signing a Premier League rival who would instantly replace the departing Kevin De Bruyne when the summer arrives.

De Bruyne announces departure

Bringing an end to what has been an incredible decade at Manchester City, in which he became an undeniable Premier League legend, De Bruyne took to social media to announce that he will be leaving the Etihad this summer. With his contract coming to an end, the Beglian will bow out a free agent and look towards the closing chapter of a sensational career.

Announcing the news, De Bruyne released a statement which read: Seeing this, you probably realise where this is heading. So I’ll get straight to it and let you all know that these will be my final months as a Manchester City player.

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“Nothing about this is easy to write, but as football players, we all know this day eventually comes. That day is here – and you deserve to hear it from me first.

“Football led me to all of you – and to this city. Chasing my dream, not knowing this period would change my life. This City. This club. These people… gave me EVERYTHING. I had no choice but to give EVERYTHING back! And guess what – we won everything.

“Whether we like it or not, it’s time to say goodbye. Suri, Rome, Mason, Michele, and I are beyond grateful for what this place has meant to our family. “Manchester” will forever be on our kids’ passports – and more importantly, in each of our hearts. This will always be our HOME.

“We cannot thank the city, club, staff, teammates, friends, and family enough for this 10-year ride.

“Every story comes to an end, but this has definitely been the best chapter. Let’s enjoy these last moments together! Much love, KDB.”

Whilst De Bruyne’s exit will be an emotional one, Manchester City have seemingly wasted no time before turning their attention towards signing the heir to his Etihad throne.

Man City hopeful about signing Morgan Rogers

According to TEAMtalk, Manchester City are now seriously hopeful about signing Morgan Rogers this summer in what would need to be a mammoth deal for the Aston Villa star. Of course, it wasn’t so long ago that the Sky Blues were swinging open the exit door for the midfielder to join Middlesbrough, only for that decision to become a major regret ever since.

A player that Pep Guardiola reportedly loves, Rogers could instantly replace De Bruyne and earn Manchester City redemption – achieving the dream he had as an academy product all those years ago in the process.

Outperforming De Bruyne when it comes to output – albeit whilst playing far more minutes – Rogers is only just getting started in the Premier League. With his performances this season dubbed “superb” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, it may not be too long before the midfielder finds himself back on his way towards the Etihad.

Tom Bruce, the New Zealand A captain, lauded his team’s “relentless and fearless” style of cricket after they secured a 2-0 win over Australia A in the four-day series.The visitors won the opening match in Brisbane by 225 runs, despite being 79 for 7 and bowled out for 147 on the first day, then claimed the pink-ball encounter in Mackay by 68 runs after Bruce’s unbeaten century at set up the fourth innings in a game where they lost wicketkeeper Mitch Hay to a fractured wrist after the opening day.This success follows the 1-0 win in the corresponding series staged in New Zealand during April, although Bruce believed the Australians dominated in those two matches staged in Lincoln and he said it was a motivation to perform better on this tour.Related

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“I look at the Lincoln series, yes we won 1-0 but I think we were outplayed on seven out of eight days,” Bruce told ESPNcricinfo. “We were able to chase down a big total, so credit for doing that, but we were probably behind the eight-ball throughout.”It was a bit of a motivation for a lot of the guys coming here, we knew it was going to be tough and we thought we hadn’t put our best foot forward in Lincoln. We wanted to turn the tide and give ourselves a chance to win a series.””The most pleasing thing has been the way we’ve gone about our cricket. We’ve been pretty aggressive, pretty fearless, particularly after that day one at Allan Border [Field] where we certainly turned it around and showed a lot of character.”That [first game] could have gone one of two ways; you could fall over and lose that game after the first innings and then the tour might be different, but there was lot of character in the dressing and a lot of belief that we could turn it around. From that perspective it’s more pleasing that we’ve just played an aggressive, relentless style of cricket.”Sean Solia had a fine all-round series•Getty Images

Bruce topped the New Zealand A scoring with 221 runs in the two matches, while other standout contributions came from Scott Kuggeleijn, who struck an 85-ball hundred in Brisbane and claimed 13 wickets overall, along with Sean Solia who made 198 runs opening the batting and claimed nine wickets at 12.55.”[Sean] plays a really tough role and does it for his Auckland side as well,” Bruce said. “He was better than a fourth seamer here…there have been times [for Auckland] when he’s opened the batting and bowling in four-day cricket. He’s cool, calm and collected. Nothing really fazes him. I know he would have loved to have ticked off a hundred in that first game, but his performances can’t be underestimated and he’s only getting better.”Another player to catch the eye was tall 22-year-old pace bowler William O’Rourke who had featured once in Lincoln earlier in the year and came into the side for the day-night match in Mackay. It was just his 13th first-class outing, but he troubled the Australia A batters with his bounce, twice getting captain Nathan McSweeney caught in the slips.”He’s still young, only been around a couple of years, and there’s so much growth,” Bruce said. “Thought he was outstanding. He put in a few spells that were pretty menacing and looked very uncomfortable to bat against. Looking at it from the slip cordon, you knew how good it was. He’s certainly a kid with a bright future so long as he stays fit. He’s a big, tall lad, extracts a lot of bounce and has this uncanny ability to swing the ball away but also nip it back in.”Bruce himself is one of the players who has had a taste of international cricket, playing the most recent of his 17 T20Is in early 2020. His century in Mackay was the ninth of his first-class career and took him over 5000 runs at an average nudging 50, but he remains realistic about his chances of returning to the top level.”The ambition is always there,” he said. “As batters you a constantly learning and growing. I probably was thrust in when I was quite young and didn’t know my game as well, and it was T20, completely different to what I’m performing well at now which is red-ball cricket.”We are in a pretty good era of Blackcaps as well, there’s a lot of depth, probably as good as ever, certainly since I’ve been playing. Even though I’m scoring runs there’s probably guys ahead of me in the pecking order. There’s always hope but it’s not at the forefront of my mind when you know there are a load of other players stacked around you and at a similar age.”The tour of Australia concludes with three one-day matches, the first in Mackay on Sunday followed by two in Brisbane.

She has been appointed for just under two months for now, for the series against Pakistan and New Zealand

Firdose Moonda24-Aug-2023

Opening batter Laura Wolvaardt has been named interim captain of the South Africa women’s team for their next two assignments. Wolvaardt will take charge of the team for three T20Is and as many ODIs in Pakistan, and three ODIs and five T20Is against New Zealand at home before her position is reviewed. The series against New Zealand ends on October 15.The ODIs all form part of the ICC Women’s Championship, which is the qualification pathway to the 2025 World Cup.Wolvaardt’s appointment comes barely a week after Sune Luus stepped down from the post, after leading South Africa to their first senior World Cup final at the T20 tournament in February. A CSA spokesperson said Luus made the decision to “focus on her cricket”, but ESPNcricinfo understands she is among a group of players who are unhappy with Hilton Moreeng continuing as national coach after more than a decade in charge. The players sent a letter to the board outlining their grievances and desire for a change in ideas but Moreeng will remain in the role till the end of 2023.Vice-captain Chloe Tryon was not available to take over from Luus, as she requested a leave of absence for the Pakistan series, leaving CSA to choose between Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp and Nadine de Klerk as an interim captain. Neither Kapp nor de Klerk have led before. Wolvaardt, who has done the job twice in ODIs against India in 2021, was selected. Although she previously told the media that captaincy was not an immediate goal, she has embraced the opportunity.”It’s a massive honour to be offered this position as captain for the next two tours,” Wolvaardt said in a CSA statement. “It’s something that I have always aspired to do, having played in this team for a couple of years. Having more of a leadership role is something I’ve wanted to take on. It will help me as a cricketer, and learning to think as a captain on the field will hopefully help my batting as well. It is very new to me but I am keen to learn and do everything that I can to do well in the position. I am lucky that I have a couple of senior players within the squad around me as well, who would be able to help me and guide me if I do need help along the way.”Wolvaardt will meet up with the South African squad in Pakistan, having just finished her stint with Manchester Originals in Women’s Hundred. She was their leading run-scorer with 147 runs in six matches. She has also gained experience at the FairBreak Invitational Tournament and WPL, and is one of only two South Africans to have played exhibition T20 matches in Pakistan earlier this year. Luus was the other player involved in those games in Pakistan; she replaced Wolvaardt when the latter was selected for the WPL as Beth Mooney’s injury replacement.The appointment of an interim captain comes at a time of significant change for women’s cricket in South Africa. Earlier this week, CSA announced equal match fees for men’s and women’s internationals and professionalised the top tier of the women’s domestic competition. A head of women’s cricket is expected to be appointed later in the year and a new coach early next year, which will coincide with the confirmation of a permanent captain. South Africa visit Australia for an all-format tour including a Test match in early 2024.