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Derbyshire four-down at the close with an uphill battle awaiting them

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay31-Jul-2025Derbyshire 377 (Andersson 105, Chahal 6-118) and 52 for 4 trail Northamptonshire 550 for 9 dec (Broad 171, Keogh 125*) by 121 runsAllrounder Justin Broad hit a brilliant 171, his second score in excess of 150 this month amid a Northamptonshire run-fest against Derbyshire at Wantage Road as the hosts racked up a mammoth 550 for nine declared.Returning from a wrist injury, Broad struck 18 fours and a six, following his maiden first-class ton, 157 not out at Canterbury at the beginning of July. On a day of records, his 171 was the highest score ever made by a number seven from any team against Derbyshire.With Rob Keogh also striking an excellent unbeaten 125, the pair put on 208, the highest seventh-wicket partnership for Northamptonshire against Derbyshire as the visitors’ attack wilted in the afternoon sunshine.Luis Reece was the pick of Derbyshire’s bowlers, finishing with figures of three for 114.Northamptonshire declared 173 ahead and reduced Derbyshire to 52 for four at stumps, Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal picking up two wickets in two balls. It leaves the visitors with a mountain to climb on a pitch offering turn and bounce, still trailing by 121 at the end of day three of this Rothesay County Championship fixture.Earlier, resuming on 265 for five, Broad and George Bartlett extended their sixth-wicket partnership to 127, also the highest for Northamptonshire against Derbyshire. But after posting 66, his highest score this season, Bartlett was trapped lbw by a Ben Aitchison delivery which nipped back and kept low.Broad and Keogh though looked relatively untroubled by a lacklustre Derbyshire bowling display throughout the morning as they focused on building a partnership and taking a first innings lead, picking up a handful of boundaries along the way. Broad, 64 overnight, deployed the pull against Zak Chappell and on drove handsomely, while Keogh swept and reverse swept against Joe Hawkins’ spin.Broad lunched nervously on 99, but despite flashing outside off stump against Martin Andersson after the break, he took a single off Hawkins to celebrate his first century at home.With the scoring rate accelerating, Keogh drove Andersson sweetly through midwicket to reach his second successive half-century off 112 balls and crunched Andersson through extra cover to bring up the 100 partnership and put Northamptonshire ahead. Broad then punched Blair Tickner down the ground for another boundary.Derbyshire plugged away, trying several short-term experiments to try to force a breakthrough. Andersson bowled consistently wide outside off-stump to Broad, while Aitchison reverted to bowling spin. Then for Chappell, three fielders were stationed in the area between mid-on and short midwicket.But Northamptonshire’s batters continued unabated, Keogh cutting Tickner to backward point to bring up the 150-partnership before passing the previous highest seventh-wicket stand (163) by Josh Cobb and David Willey at Derby in 2015.Frequent Northamptonshire milestones continued to keep the public address announcer busy, Keogh turning Andersson away for two to bring up his century, Broad taking a single next ball off Hawkins to reach his 150.In a scrappy passage of play before tea, Derbyshire’s tired fielders shelled three catches, but picked up one vital wicket in between. First, Keogh, on 101, swept Hawkins firmly to short midwicket where Madsen put down a straightforward chance. Then after Broad smashed Reece through extra cover, Caleb Jewell dropped one at backward point off an attempted reverse sweep.Undeterred, Broad and Keogh celebrated their 200 partnership, Broad swinging Reece for six into the sightscreen as Northamptonshire accelerated further. Broad’s 273-ball knock finally ended though when he hit Reece down the ground again but was caught just inside the ropes.George Scrimshaw won an immediate reprieve when Aitchinson failed to hold a one-handed grab at first slip off Reece. But his intentions were evident as he quickly went on the offensive against Hawkins.Tickner struck after tea castling Scrimshaw with a full and straight delivery, but Keogh found good support from Liam Guthrie (22), Northamptonshire declaring when Hawkins had the Australian caught hitting down the ground.Derbyshire’s reply started ominously when Jewell flashed outside off, Ricardo Vasconcelos snatching the ball at first slip.Promoted to opener Zak Chappell made 22 before Chahal’s double strike. First Chappell reverse swept straight to backward point, then Harry Came was lbw playing back to a slider. Finally skipper Wayne Madsen edged Keogh to Broad at first slip to further compound Derbyshire’s woes.

Aaron Boone has responded to the harsh assessments levied on his team by two former New York Yankees veterans.

On Fox's pregame show before Saturday night's Speedway Classic, the panel discussed the Yankees' recent struggles. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were harsh in their assessments of the current roster and its manager. They didn't hold back.

"They make way too many mistakes," Jeter said. “And you can’t get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams. It just doesn’t happen. They had baserunning mistakes today—you saw [Trent Grisham] getting thrown out at home plate. You can’t continue to do it. You have to clean it up."

Rodriguez similarly said the team makes too many mistakes and there don't seem to be consequences for them.

"If any one of us made a mistake, we would be sitting our butt right on the bench," Rodriguez said. "I see mistake after mistake, and there’s no consequences."

When asked about those comments, Boone accepted the criticism and said it comes with the territory of being the team's manager.

"Look, we’re the Yankees," Boone said. "When we lose games, if it’s in and around a mistake, that criticism is fair game. At the end of the day, we have all the pieces to be a really good team. That’s on me and all of us to get the most out of that."

He did say he disagreed with Rodriguez's characterization of there being no accountability, but that there were no excuses, and results are all that matter.

Perhaps making things worse, Boone and Jeter were teammates on the 2003 Yankees team that lost the World Series to the then-Florida Marlins. After Boone was injured in the offseason, the Yankees traded for Rodriguez to take his third base spot, and Boone was released soon after. So, yeah, there's some history here between the three men.

The Yankees made significant additions to their bullpen at the MLB trade deadline, but if the team continues to make simple mistakes, it won't matter.

Piers Morgan loves to massage Cristiano Ronaldo's ego. The outspoken British journalist is an insatiable status hunter, and reeled in his biggest fish some time ago with endless public declarations of admiration, eventually building a bromance that has earned him exclusive access to a footballing icon. But it is not one built on the foundation of truth.

Sitting across from Morgan, Ronaldo can boast until his heart is content, safe in the knowledge that he won't be challenged. Indeed, in their latest meet-up, promoting both Ronaldo's record-breaking YouTube channel and Talk TV's , there were even times when questions were ditched altogether for cringe-inducing flattery.

"I know about your aftershave, I use it, it’s very successful, I have to say," Morgan gushed. "I use it, people say ‘ooh, you smell like Cristiano’." Fans were promised the "most revealing interview" of Ronaldo's career to date, but instead got 78 minutes of bootlicking, centred mainly around the Al-Nassr superstar's vast fortune and good looks.

When the topic of football came up, they mostly trod over familiar ground. And even now, with the benefit of experience and hindsight at the ripe old age of 40, Ronaldo's answers were juvenile and born out of a lack of self-awareness. He also made a series of claims that either made no sense or were flat-out wrong.

Ronaldo's brilliance at his peak was a joy to behold, and his list of achievements is almost unparalleled. But getting friendly with Morgan has only had a detrimental effect on his legacy. Some three-and-a-half years on from his switch to Saudi Arabia, the veteran striker also seems to be completely out of touch with the modern game.

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  United on a 'good path'

  The last time Morgan interviewed Ronaldo, it led to the end of his second spell at Manchester United. His contract was terminated by mutual consent in November 2022 after Ronaldo accused then-United boss Erik ten Hag of disrespecting him and slammed the mentality of the club's younger players. 

  Ronaldo also appeared to take aim at the Glazer family, saying United had made "zero progress" on or off the pitch under the American owners since his departure for Real Madrid in 2009. Now, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS are overseeing football operations, but Ronaldo doesn't feel anything has changed on their watch.

  “Right now, they don’t have a structure,” said the Portugal international. “I hope that changes in the future, because the potential of the club is amazing, it’s one of the most important clubs of the century. Manchester United is still in my heart. I love that club. But we have to all be honest and look for ourselves and say we are not on a good path. They need to change and it’s not only about the coach and players.”

  While it is true that the Red Devils have fallen to horrifying new depths as a team since Ronaldo's exit, it is ridiculous to suggest that INEOS are not taking the necessary steps to turn things around. The co-owners have targeted Premier League glory by 2028 to mark United's 150th anniversary, overhauling the club's recruitment model as a major first step towards that goal, while plans for a state-of-the-art new stadium billed as the "Wembley of the North" have also been unveiled.

  Ratcliffe has made unpopular decisions, including laying off a large portion of staff and hiking up ticket prices, but United are now a stronger business entity because of them. He's also invested in new players and a manager who fit the long-term vision, and slowly but surely, results and performances are improving. Ronaldo has clearly not been paying close attention because his old club finally on a "good path" again

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  Amorim doesn't need to be a miracle worker

  Ronaldo has also insisted that United cannot win the Premier League title season, with an eight-point gap to leaders Arsenal considered insurmountable, and expressed sympathy towards his compatriot Ruben Amorim, who replaced Ten Hag has head coach in November last year.

  “He’s doing his best,” Ronaldo said. “What are you going to do? Miracles? Miracles are impossible.”

  Amorim's job was certainly not an easy one, given the mess of a squad he inherited from Ten Hag, but United didn't need a miracle worker, they just needed a coach who would use the near-limitless resources at their disposal more thoughtfully and stamp a proper identity.

  Amorim is doing exactly that. In his first 12 months at the helm, the former Sporting CP boss has transformed United into a far more aggressive, direct outfit, prioritising discipline off the ball and speed on it. It has been a frustrating process that has included more setbacks than Amorim would ever have imagined, and a long summer of casting out the deadwood, but the proper patterns of play are clear for all to see now, and for perhaps the first time in the entire post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, everyone is pulling in the same direction.

  It probably won't translate to Premier League success come May, and 2028 might even be too soon, but United are making progress, as underlined by their current five-match unbeaten run. If Ronaldo really cared about the club, he wouldn't be trying to dampen the renewed sense of optimism, as Amorim himself seemed to suggest when responding to his comments before a thrilling 2-2 draw against Tottenham on Saturday.

  "He knows he has a huge impact in everything he says," the United coach told reporters. "What we need to do is focus on the future. We know that we, as a club, made a lot of mistakes in the past, but we are trying to change that. We are changing a lot in the structure, the way we do things, that we want the players to behave. We are improving. Let's continue and forget a little bit [about] the past."

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  Kidding himself

  Ronaldo is obviously trying to cling to relevancy. There would be no need to keep word-vomiting negativity about United if he felt secure. But despite his best efforts, only the real die-hard CR7 supporters are following his exploits in the Saudi Pro League with any genuine interest.

  The five-time Ballon d'Or winner scored his 953rd career goal at the weekend, from the penalty spot, as Al-Nassr beat Neom 3-1 to stay three points clear at the top of the table. It was his ninth league goal of the 2025-26 campaign from just eight appearances as he chases down a third successive Golden Boot, and his 103rd overall since joining the club on a free transfer.

  Those are impressive numbers at any level, but, as ever, Ronaldo wants more credit: "I've played everywhere. Everywhere. For me, it's more easy to score in Spain, than to score in Saudi. If I played the Premier League, now in a top team, I will score the same! If I had a good team, at 40 years old, I will score the same.

  "They say things about the Saudi league, but they have never been here, they never play here. They don't know what [it is like] to run in 40 degrees [celsius]. They don't know. And I still continue and I repeat the Saudi League, it's much, much better than Portuguese League, of course. French league is only PSG. Premier League is good, of course, is the number one."

  It has to be mentioned that the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League winners, Al-Hilal, knocked Manchester City out of the Club World Cup at the last-16 stage over the summer, and household names like Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, N'Golo Kante and Ivan Toney have all joined Ronaldo in the Middle East. But from top to bottom, the competition does not hold a candle to any of Europe's top five leagues, or the Liga Portugal.

  Although Saudi Arabia is growing as a footballing force, it is still seen primarily as a place for ageing stars to prolong their careers while earning a King's Ransom. And while Ronaldo has been prolific, a quick look at his Al-Nassr highlight reel shows he has benefited hugely from disorganised defences and terrible goalkeeping standards. 

  He would certainly not get anywhere near the same amount of time and space he does now in La Liga or Ligue 1, and is kidding himself if he genuinely believes he'd still score 20-plus in the Premier League. Let's not forget that Ronaldo only found the net once in his final 10 league outings for United, ultimately losing his place in the starting XI.

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  World Cup U-turn

  Ronaldo has repeatedly called himself the GOAT down the years, but many have disputed that claim because of his failure to win the World Cup. Portugal's latest disappointment at Qatar 2022 seemed to hit him hardest, as they were ousted in the quarter-finals by surprise package Morocco.

  In an emotional post on Instagram, he admitted that the 1-0 defeat marked the "end" of his "biggest and most ambitious dream", which was taken as a retirement hint at the time. But with the 2026 World Cup now only eight months away, Ronaldo is still turning out for Portugal and is expected to lead his country as captain once again in North America.

  However, when Morgan quizzed him on the importance of the competition, the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker performed an unexpected U-turn. "If you ask me, Cristiano, is it a dream to win the World Cup? No, it's not a dream," he replied. "Define what? To define if I'm one of the best in history, to win one competition, [of] six games, seven games. You think it's fair?"

  Ronaldo also highlighted the fact that he's already won three trophies with Portugal, including the 2016 European Championship, and said he'd retire happy if he doesn't add the most elusive piece of silverware to his collection. But could it be that, deep down, he simply doesn't believe the "biggest dream" is achievable anymore, and is covering himself for when Portugal inevitably fall short again? Or is he once again trying to diminish the accomplishments of his eternal nemesis, one Lionel Messi…

Manchester United are now about to sign a South American wonderkid, according to reports, who is “on his way” to seal his move.

Man Utd have "no excuses", says Amorim

After a frustrating defeat against Everton at Old Trafford on Monday, the last thing that Man United need is a trip to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Those are the cards they’ve been dealt, however, and Ruben Amorim’s side now have the task of getting back to winning ways at one of the toughest grounds in the Premier League.

Man Utd in contact and lead race to sign attacking talent likened to Neymar

The Red Devils have a keen eye for talent overseas and could be about to rock the South American market in their latest pursuit.

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Nov 29, 2025

The Man United boss has no time for excuses this season, though – telling reporters in the build-up: “In our club it’s the same thing because last year we had to win every game all the time and we took a lot of things, a lot of criticism because we were not winning.

“So, in our club, there is no excuses. About Europe, I already talked about Europe, and I said the same thing last year when we were in Europe and I say the same thing this year, the advantage and the disadvantage of not being in Europe. So, there is no excuses. Last year or this year, we have always to win games.”

Victory could take the Red Devils to as high as fourth if other results go their way in what would be a major boost after 13 games. Defeat, meanwhile, could see them drop down to as low as 14th in familiar territory to last season.

INEOS and Amorim will know just how important Champions League qualification is on and off the pitch. Away from the action, it would allow them to attract the likes of Elliot Anderson, who now also has the interest of Manchester City.

It would also make them an attractive option for more young players, having already agreed a deal to sign South American youngster Cristian Orozco.

Cristian Orozco now "on his way" to sign for Man Utd

According to Fabrizio Romano, Orozco is now “on his way” to sign for Man United and travelling with lead scout Giuseppe Antonaccio after INEOS completed a deal worth $1m (£750,000) with Fortaleza.

Those at Old Trafford have signed the 17-year-old in the hope that he follows the same path that others have done so many times before in South America.

The Premier League is littered with several stars who launched careers in South America before reaching stardom in English football. Usually, it’s been the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion taking full advantage, but Chelsea and now Man United are beginning to take full advantage.

The Blues now have one of the best teenagers in the world in Estevao Willian and if Orozco is anywhere near as talented as the winger then United have hit the jackpot.

Man Utd eye move for £80m star who Man City would "love" to buy in January

England allrounder continues remarkable personal match with Derbyshire on ropes

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay24-Jul-2025Derbyshire 189 and 98 for 4 need another 347 runs to beat Leicestershire 398 and 236 for 9 (Holland 90, Reece 5-64, Thomson 4-81)Leicestershire closed in on another victory with England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed again playing a starring role on day three of the Rothesay County Championship match against Derbyshire at Derby.Ahmed claimed 4 for 41 and 10 wickets in the Division Two match at the Central Co-op County Ground to leave the hosts on 98 for 4 at the close, still 347 runs away from a notional target of 446.Luis Reece celebrated career-best match figures of 11 for 120, taking 5 for 64, before Leicestershire declared on 236 for 9 with Ian Holland scoring 90 from 98 balls and Ben Green 45.Derbyshire chances were always slim at best on a used pitch and despite 41 from opener Caleb Jewell, they were sliding towards defeat when bad light halted play with seven overs still to bowl.Once Leicestershire decided not to enforce the follow-on, it was a question of how quickly they could get to the sort of lead that would put the game beyond Derbyshire.Reece had run through them on the second morning and he threatened to do the same again, removing both openers in his first three overs.Rishi Patel prodded a simple chance to short cover which gave Wayne Madsen his 100th first-class catch at Derby.Madsen held another one to remove Sol Budinger and after some typically flamboyant strokes, Ahmed pulled Reece to deep mid on.When Reece trapped Peter Handscomb lbw, there was still a chance Derbyshire could restrict Leicestershire to a target they had a realistic chance of chasing down but Holland dashed those slim hopes.Although Alex Thomson removed Lewis Hill, Liam Trevaskis and Louis Kimber before lunch, Holland was four short of 50 at the interval with the lead a daunting 345.Holland and Green took that past 400, adding 89 from 85 balls before Green was bowled by Reece who had now taken five wickets in both innings of a match for the first time.The declaration came when Holland drove a return catch to Thomson which left Derbyshire a highly improbable target on a challenging pitch.They made a decent start until Ahmed made his latest mark on the match, taking three wickets either side of tea.David Lloyd pulled a short ball to mid on and Harry Came edged a cut into the gloves of Handscomb in the last over of the afternoon.When Madsen went cheaply for the second time in the match, seeing a defensive shot spin back onto the stumps, his side was in trouble on 52 for 3.Jewell resisted for 110 balls before he was lbw playing back to Ahmed and Leicestershire will be confident of completing a sixth victory on the final day to take another step closer to promotion.