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Paris Saint-Germain delivered a blistering first-half performance to seize control of their Club World Cup semi-final clash against Real Madrid, racing into a 3-0 lead within the opening 30 minutes at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday evening. Luis Enrique's side came out firing in front of a packed crowd, exposing a disorganised Madrid backline to score three unanswered goals in what was the most chaotic opening half of the Xabi Alonso era.

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Real Madrid defenders make costly mistakesFind themselves trailing 3-0 to PSGLos Blancos struggling to get a foothold in the matchFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

For the opening goal, Fabian Ruiz found himself in the right place at the right time to calmly finish from close range after Raul Ascensio was robbed of possession by an alert Ousmane Dembele inside the box. Just minutes later, PSG doubled their advantage. This time, Antonio Rudiger was sloppy and Dembele pickpocketed him, too. With acres of space ahead of him, the Frenchman sprinted towards goal and with supreme composure, he slotted the ball past Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-0.

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Rudiger and Ascensio's errors were emblematic of Madrid’s defensive instability throughout the first half. The absence of young centre-back Dean Huijsen, suspended after his red card in the quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, was felt keenly as Alonso's men looked disorganised and unsure with the ball at their feet.

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This fixture marked the earliest Madrid have conceded three goals in a match since a 2003 clash against Sevilla, a stat that underlined the extent of the defensive collapse. The usually-composed Courtois found himself picking the ball out of the net for a third time before the half-hour mark after Ruiz scored his second of the afternoon after Achraf Hakimi fed him with a delicious pass.

“It was always going to be a little bit of a distraction last year. I am hoping this year it will be a bit more relaxed”

S Sudarshanan08-Dec-2023When the inaugural WPL auction took place last year, the players were busy with the T20 World Cup in South Africa, with England scheduled to play Ireland the very same day. This time, England will be playing a T20I against India just after the auction on Saturday.England wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones, who is among 165 players on the auction list, said that while it was a challenge last year, this time the players are relaxed and don’t “have the emotions attached to it”.”We had a similar situation at the T20 World Cup, which was completely new for us as a group,” Jones said. “The first auction ever in women’s cricket… I don’t know if it was a challenge last year, but it was something new to consider as a group. This year it will be a lot simpler having done it before. Our attention will be on the game as much as possible.”Big learnings from last year really, that was a completely new experience for everyone. We did sit down as a group and tried to address things and issues that might come out of it. It was always going to be a little bit of a distraction last year. I am hoping this year it will be a bit more relaxed having already been through it.”Related

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A maximum of 30 slots are up for grabs at the auction with nine of them for overseas players. Among 61 overseas players who have registered, 14 are from England, and eight are part of the touring party in India.Last time, Danni Wyatt was one of the big names who failed to get a bid in the auction and was “pretty disappointed”. Citing Wyatt’s example, Jones said that it was important to “look after your friends”.”Danni was very open about really wanting to be a part of it and being sad that she missed out,” Jones said. “As you would, you look after your friends, doesn’t really stray from that. This [time] it’s different. We all will be managing our expectations. It feels really relaxed. [The WPL is a] big cool thing to be a part of but I don’t think we will have the emotions attached to it as such.”A lot depends on expectations on individual basis. A lot of us are pretty relaxed about it – it would be great if it happens, if not we are playing so much cricket these days anyway. That mentality is good.”India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, on the other hand, conceded that they had not spoken about the auction much, with most players already part of the WPL. Only Mannat Kashyap from the T20I squad and Shubha Satheesh from the Test squad are part of the auction.”Our team won’t be thinking about it much [since] 90% have already been picked,” Harmanpreet said. “Two-three players who are here but not part of WPL teams, they could think about it and it’s an opportunity and I am sure teams will pick them. If we want our cricket to move forward, then those playing internationals have to be picked and given opportunities to play so that when you come to the Indian team, you have games under your belt.”If we get time to watch, we will see who gets picked for which team. But otherwise, I don’t think it is important for us.”Lamb ruled out of Test, Bouchier called upMeanwhile, opener Emma Lamb has been withdrawn from England’s Test squad due to a back injury. She will fly home to see a spinal surgeon to determine the next steps.Maia Bouchier has replaced her in the squad with left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon, who played the 2019 Ashes Test, also added. Gordon was part of the England A squad that played three T20s against India A last week.”Really sad for Lamby, we are all feeling for her,” Jones said. “Obviously, [it’s] better she gets home and gets it all right. A great opportunity for Maia and Kirstie. Kirstie has played a Test before. But I know everyone loves the idea of playing Test cricket and wants to play as much as possible. They are both excited with the prospect of that.”

“The reverse is a strength of mine and I practice it a lot on the nets and just work on my wrist speed”

S Sudarshanan02-Jan-20241:17

Litchfield: ‘The reverse is fine, got to work on the conventional sweep’

Phoebe Litchfield can do it all. She takes gravity-defying flying catches as a habit. In fact, India batter Jemimah Rodrigues, her team-mate at Northern Superchargers in the women’s Hundred, joked that she doesn’t want to be Litchfield’s friend anymore after one such blinder resulted in her dismissal. But Litchfield also bats stylishly and plays a mean reverse-sweep. It’s a shot that the bowlers still don’t expect her to play, despite it being one of her strengths. She displayed that stroke multiple times in her maiden women’s Hundred season last year as well as the WBBL in the past few seasons. Those exploits led Gujarat Giants to splurge INR 1 crore (USD 120,000 approx) on her for WPL 2024.Litchfield attempted the reverse sweep against Sneh Rana in the one-off Test in India last month but chopped on. However, that did not deter her as she exhibited the shot multiple times during her chart-topping show in Australia’s clean sweep of the three-match ODI series against India. None of the batters from either side played the reverse sweep in the ODIs as much as Litchfield did. She brought it out on 12 occasions and scored 22; Alyssa Healy attempted the reverse-sweep four times, the next-most.Related

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“I still play it no matter if it spins or not,” Litchfield said of the reverse-sweep after her 119 at the Wankhede Stadium in the third ODI. “It’s more about the area of the ground I can access rather than [thinking] if it’s spinning, and then if it is spinning it’s probably a good option because it’s hard to play with a straight bat.”Litchfield finished the ODIs – her first in India – with 260 runs, scoring two fifties and a hundred. But she also identified a possible area to work on – the conventional sweep. In each of the three games, she fell while attempting a sweep. She missed a slog sweep and was bowled by Rana in the opening game, feathered an edge attempting the shot off Shreyanka Patil in the second, and top-edged a slog sweep towards cover off Patil on Tuesday.”I have got to work on the conventional sweep because it’s got me out every ODI innings hit so far. The reverse is a strength of mine and I practice it a lot on the nets and just work on my wrist speed. I think that’s an important factor of it. And just sort of controlling it. One of them went in the air close to [Pooja] Vastrakar [at backward point] today. It’s just all down to practice.”But there was a phase during her second ODI century where she felt the pressure. Healy and Ellyse Perry had been dismissed in relatively quick succession and Patil was brought on for a two-over spell. With close-in fielders in position, Patil stifled Beth Mooney before dismissing her and Tahlia McGrath off successive deliveries.Litchfield was on 91 off 88 balls when Healy was dismissed and crawled to 98 off 107 before the Patil double-strike. She then played a pristine drive to beat mid-off and got to her century off 109 balls.”I thought I was going to bring it up with Pez [Perry] as a fairy tale,” she said. “But it took me a long time to get to the hundred and it was nerve wracking to say the least. Then with the wickets falling around me it was a bit stressful. But I just stayed really calm. I probably scored each run in singles.”Litchfield is only 20, and is already being spoken about in the same league as former Australia captains Meg Lanning and Belinda Clark – that she termed “huge honor”. If her first year in international cricket is anything to go by, it won’t be outlandish if Phoebe Litchfield is the name that comes to mind when talking about the best batters in the world over the next five years.

Chelsea star Cole Palmer has unfollowed his girlfriend Connie Grace on social media amid rumours of tension in the couple's relationship. Earlier this month, Palmer admitted that he was going through a rough patch 'on and off the pitch', which further fuelled the speculation. He recently starred in the Club World Cup final as the Blues beat Paris Saint-Germain to win the title.

Palmer unfollowed partner Connie GraceChelsea star reportedly broke up with girlfriendAdmitted difficult times 'on and off pitch'Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

According to a report from , the English attacker has potentially ended his three-year-long relationship with Grace after he unfollowed and blocked the Manchester-based manicurist and influencer on social media. It adds that Grace also unfollowed Palmer's sister a few weeks back.

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Grace reportedly travelled to the U.S. to support to watch Palmer in action for Chelsea in the Club World Cup but was hardly seen at the club's matches. Before the final, the 23-year-old attacker had even admitted that he was going through a rough patch 'on and off the pitch'. The England star, however, stole the limelight in the showpiece as his brace and an assist helped the Blues unexpectedly clinch the trophy.

WHAT PALMER SAID

After scoring in the quarter-final against Palmeiras, Palmer ran to Tosin Adarabioyo on the bench to celebrate. He later explained the gesture by telling reporters: "That's my boy. Obviously, I've had a difficult time these past whatever months on and off the pitch, but he's always been there for me and he's helped me a lot. So, yeah, I just thought I'd go over to him."

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Enzo Maresca's side are set to take on Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan in two pre-season friendly matches next month before formally kicking off the 2025-26 campaign on August 17 against Crystal Palace.

Dan Worrall, Jordan Clark, Gus Atkinson take three wickets each on a day dominated by swing and seam

ECB Reporters Network26-Apr-2024Surrey 123 for 5 (Patel 41, Burns 39*) trail Hampshire 151 (Gubbins 45, Clark 3-29, Atkinson 3-40, Worrall 3-44) by 28 runsA dramatic opening day at the Kia Oval, dominated by swing and seam, ended with Ryan Patel and Rory Burns guiding Surrey to 123 for 5 after they had earlier dismissed Hampshire for 151.Patel, coming in to join Burns with Surrey stuttering at 44 for 4, unfurled some regal strokes in his 41 from 94 balls while opener Burns dropped anchor in nuggety fashion against the moving ball to reach an unbeaten 39 in almost three and a half hours’ batting. Together they put on 75 in 25 overs before Patel was bowled by one from Mohammad Abbas that kept wickedly low.Hampshire, who finished third last season, have been one of Surrey’s closest challengers as they have won successive titles in the past two years, but they have still struggled on this ground in recent times. After being put in, Hampshire would no doubt have been thinking of the three heavy defeats they have suffered previously at the Oval in April in 2021, 2022 and 2023.But they fought back strongly with the ball despite their first-innings demise against the Surrey quicks, with Dan Worrall, Jordan Clark and Gus Atkinson finishing with three wickets apiece.Kyle Abbott plucked Dom Sibley’s off stump out of the ground in the second over of Surrey’s reply, the former England Test opener going for 4, and James Fuller then forced Ollie Pope to play on for 13 as he attempted to withdraw his bat from an outswinger.Jamie Smith, keeping wicket in this game with Ben Foakes rested on England management orders, was bowled on the stroke of tea for 13 by another beauty, this time from Brad Wheal, and Abbott returned after the interval to have Dan Lawrence leg-before for 2 with a ball that shaped back into his pads.At the start of the day, Surrey’s first wicket took only eight balls to arrive, Fletcha Middleton edging Worrall to second slip immediately after nicking the bowler’s first delivery of the match through the cordon for four, and for a while Ali Orr took the fight back to the champions with some lovely strokes against the new ball.On 26, however, Orr flicked Clark’s third ball to square leg and soon Hampshire’s innings was in disarray as Worrall dismissed James Vince and Tom Prest with successive balls in the last over of a superb seven-over opening spell of 3 for 21.Vince, undone by a leg-cutter that was pitched just a little bit shorter than the previous two deliveries that he had met with the middle of his bat, edged to second slip on 5 while Prest was caught at third slip as he pushed defensively at a perfect out-swinger.Liam Dawson calmly punched Worrall’s hat-trick ball through mid on for two but on 3 he was beaten by Atkinson’s pace and bounce and edged to first slip.Clark then surprised Ben Brown with some extra bounce, as he continued an eventual eight-over spell from the Pavilion End, and the Hampshire keeper’s attempted pull merely resulted in a spliced easy return catch.Nick Gubbins, who had survived a sharp high catch to first slip off Clark when nine – the flashed edge flying through Sibley’s upstretched fingers and away for four – was then joined either side of lunch by Fuller in a defiant partnership of 61 in 17 overs.On 91 for 6 at the interval, Hampshire were happy to see Gubbins and Fuller steady the ship until the former was bowled for 45 by a fine inswinger from Kemar Roach, operating from around the wicket to the left-hander.Then, eight runs later, Fuller was gone too for a punchy 39 from 55 balls when he uppercut Atkinson to deep cover where Roach ran in ten yards to take an excellent sprawling catch.And, when Wheal edged Atkinson behind on 12 and Abbott mishit Clark to Roach at long on, Hampshire had been bowled out in 44.4 overs.

Jules Kounde has revealed his first impressions of Barcelona loanee Marcus Rashford as the English-speaking defender helps him settle in at the club.

Rashford joins Barcelona on loanKounde helps him settle inGives first impressions of forwardFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Following Rashford's loan move from Manchester United to Barcelona, right-back Kounde has revealed that the 27-year-old is quite "introverted" but is clearly happy to be at the Blaugrana. The France international says he is trying to help the forward settle in at the club by speaking English to him and that his team-mates have also welcomed him "very warmly".

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He told Sport: "He's [Rashford] a bit introverted, but he's really enjoying himself, and feeling more and more comfortable. I think he is happy. He is smiling a lot. He is happy in the field. He reminds me a little of myself. He's a bit introverted, but he's enjoying himself a lot, and I think he's feeling more and more comfortable. Everyone has welcomed him very warmly. He's talking to everyone. I think he's very comfortable. As I speak English, I'm trying to help him as best I can, but I think everyone is doing that."

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Rashford, who had the chance to join Barca in January before the move fell through, is clearly thrilled to be at the Catalan outfit after a difficult period at United. The England international has got his dream move, but there is no guarantee this switch will work out. But for now, this appears to be a great transfer for Rashford and Barcelona.

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Rashford, who has featured a couple of times in Barca's pre-season campaign, could make his La Liga debut away to Mallorca on August 16 as Hansi Flick's team aim to get their title defence off to a promising start.

Courage head coach Sean Nahas has been terminated “effective immediately”

Courage fire Sean Nahas Nahas took over as interim head coach in 2021Courage sit in ninth in the NWSL standingsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED

The North Carolina Courage fired coach Sean Nahas "effective immediately," the team announced both via social media and in a statement on Wednesday. 

The Courage have made it to playoffs three out of four years since Nahas took over as head coach, but never advanced past the first round. Currently, the Courage are below the NWSL playoff line with a 5-4-5  record. 

“In situations like this, there’s always a multitude of factors that are considered," Dr. Ceri Bowley, chief soccer officer and sporting director, said on Thursday. “And a multitude of factors were considered in this situation. The standards of this club are extremely high. It was felt that there were reasons to make a change to uphold the standards we expect of the North Carolina Courage.”

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Nahas was hired in 2021 following the termination of long-time North Carolina head coach Paul Riley. Nahas took over as interim head coach in the fall of 2021 and then became head coach in 2022.

No replacement or interim hire has been announced.

Nahas led the Courage to two NWSL Challenge Cup wins and playoff runs over the past two years.

Getty ImagesWHAT THE COURAGE SAIDIn a statement, the club said, "The North Carolina Courage remain focused on the continued development of the team and maintaining a professional, competitive environment for players, staff, and supporters."ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Nahas has strong ties to the North Carolina area, with his involvement in the Courage academy and his brother taking over as head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

Leg-spinner and colleagues not taking selection for granted amid unprecedented squad depth

Valkerie Baynes09-May-2024With a frustrating bout of concussion behind her, England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn is fighting fit once more and ready to face Pakistan in what shapes as a key series in the build-up to the T20 World Cup.Glenn’s preparations took an inopportune pause after she hit her head on the ground attempting to take a catch during England’s third T20I against New Zealand in Nelson towards the end of March and was subsequently sent home, missing the last two T20Is and three ODIs.She didn’t play another match until exactly a month later, for The Blaze in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, but after a total of three games in the domestic 50-over competition including 2 for 36 from 10 overs in a narrow defeat to Thunder on Monday, she is ready to resume her role as part of England’s frontline spin attack alongside Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean.The trio will have a crucial role as England prepare for the T20 Women’s World Cup in Bangladesh in October by hosting Pakistan in three T20Is, starting at Edgbaston on Saturday, followed by three ODIs before New Zealand arrive for a return series in June and July.Related

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“Obviously whacking my head in the last series wasn’t ideal but I was really happy with how I started the last series, even though it was just the first couple of games, I felt I played my role really well,” Glenn said on Thursday.”With concussion it’s really hard to switch off so I ended up just having some downtime to myself and then when I got home, just having another week or so just trying to switch off as much as I could and then from there, just built it up gradually, started to reintroduce some skills and get the brain working a little bit more.”Then I managed to play a few regional games. That helped me build up, ready for this series, just to get a bit of confidence in the middle. It’s been quite a gradual process as concussion’s quite a frustrating injury, but I’ve been looked after really well and I’m excited to get going with Pakistan.”While Glenn, left-armer Ecclestone and off-spinner Dean are England’s first-choice spinners, they are well aware of those in pursuit. Linsey Smith, another left-armer, returned to England’s ranks for the first time in nearly five years during the tour of New Zealand and has kept her place in the T20 squad to face Pakistan. Smith took 2 for 12 from four overs for an ECB Development XI which defeated Pakistan in a T20 warm-up match on Thursday.Also part of the Development XI were quick Issy Wong, who was omitted from the senior side along with batter Sophia Dunkley. Dunkley has scored 67 and 130 in the RHFT immediately after being challenged by England head coach Jon Lewis to rediscover her best form “away from the bigger limelight” of the Pakistan series. She scored 1 opening for the Development XI alongside Danni Wyatt, who made 57 before joining the senior squad.”Even though those amazing players were left out, they still feel so part of the group and they could come in at any minute and it also feels like anyone could be dropped out at any minute,” Glenn said. “It is a special place to be in terms of how competitive it is and how much that’s growing the game forward and it really makes you work hard on your game.”I definitely feel like we’re quite a strong trio at the moment but… it does feel like you can just make a swap at any point. We’ve seen so many talented spinners in the regional set-up performing consistently so the pressure’s kind of always on to keep our place.”Even though it might appear solid at the time, we know deep down that we’ve just got to keep performing and keep doing our part for the team to retain our spot.”Sarah Glenn prepares to face Pakistan•PA Images via Getty ImagesWhile England inevitably have one eye on the T20 World Cup already, Glenn was careful not to look too far ahead to what the pitches in Bangladesh could offer while playing in very different conditions at home.”It’s a spinner’s dream to play there but, personally for me, I’ve also never been there myself and I’ve got no experience in Bangladesh,” Glenn said. “So I think when I get out there it’s just [about taking] what’s in front of me and trying not get too giddy and expect so much, just keep sticking to what I’m doing. I’m just excited to see how it plays out.”We’ve not played Pakistan for a while so we’re going to come across different batters who play different ways. What would be really crucial for our spinners, but also as a bowling attack, is keeping the communication up in those pressured moments about what’s needed for us right now, because there are going to be those moments where we do feel under the pump and we want to get out the other side of that.”After the series we’ll be reflecting on what worked and what we could take forward going then into the New Zealand series and, I think, as long as we keep doing that, we’ll just keep developing our game ready for the World Cup.”

Phil Foden said Manchester City needed fresh blood to ensure they made up for last season's disappointing Premier League campaign.

Foden determined to make amends for last campaignBelieves new players will bring more competitionAlso delighted with return of RodriFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The midfielder had the worst season of his career just 12 months after being named the PFA Player of the Year, struggling off the pitch as well as on it. City, meanwhile, failed to win a major trophy for the first time since 2017 and also had their worst league finish in nine seasons. But he believes his side can make amends with a strong showing in the coming season, especially after the club signed Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and James Trafford.

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Pep Guardiola has said he prefers to have a smaller squad so players feel involved and stay motivated and even recently remarked that his current squad is too big. But Foden believes the team were crying out for fresh faces to shake things up and bring more competition for places.

"It always gets to a time when any club needs to add new players and freshen things up and we have done that in this transfer window," he said. "And that can only be good for us as the players we have brought in are very high level and fit right into the team and give us something we need a little bit more so we are here to help and we have got a very good squad now."

WHAT FODEN SAID

"I think everyone wants to make up for last season, we all want to come to our best and winning titles," Foden told reporters at City's open training session on Tuesday. "We have got a lot of experience in the dressing room, with Bernardo being captain and hopefully he can push the lads on, we have got all the experience and we have done it before. That’s a positive when you have done it before, you know how to do it and what it takes so hopefully we can get back there."

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DID YOU KNOW?

City missed Ballon d'Or winner Rodri for the majority of last season after he tore his knee ligaments in September and Foden believes City will get a huge lift from his return to action. "That’s the main thing," he said. "Obviously it is going to take him a bit of a while to get back to his full fitness and sharpness because it is such a long injury but we all know what Rodri can do. He’s unstoppable. Playing alongside him is unbelievable. He just makes you feel secure. He doesn’t lose the ball and he does everything."

The PCB initially put out a statement confirming a Test series, before later saying no such agreement had been reached

Danyal Rasool13-May-2024Cricket Ireland has officially confirmed a first men’s tour of Pakistan in August and September next year. The series, which will see Ireland and Pakistan play three T20Is and three ODIs, was a part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP), scheduled for September 2025.The release makes no detailed mention of dates and venues, or any other specifics concerning the schedule of the tour. It follows in the wake of Ireland Women touring Pakistan, who also played three ODIs and three T20Is, in November 2022.The decision was finalised after PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met Cricket Ireland chair Brain MacNeice. The PCB initially put out a statement appearing to confirm Ireland would also play a Test series in Pakistan, one that was not part of the FTP.”Chairman Cricket Ireland said that the Irish team would visit Pakistan next year in August-September for a Test series and would also review the possibility of a women’s team tour to Pakistan soon,” the PCB statement said.When ESPNcricinfo contacted the PCB for further details, the PCB denied that any such Test series had officially been in agreement, despite the board’s own statement ostensibly confirming it. A Cricket Ireland spokesperson said that details of the tour’s fixture list would be discussed by the two boards in future.Hours after the PCB release, Cricket Ireland put out an official statement on their own website relating to Naqvi’s meeting with MacNeice. In “wide ranging discussions”, it merely confirmed that the two boards “were able to agree a men’s tour next year – this will be yet another historic first, coming after the tour to Pakistan by our senior women in 2022.”The Pakistan men’s side is currently in Ireland taking part in a three-match T20I series. The sides split the first two games 1-1, with the series decider on Tuesday.