The clash between unbeaten India and hosts South Africa lived up to its billing in the first semi-final of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024.
In a thrilling contest that went down to the wire, India secured a hard-fought victory, thanks to outstanding half-centuries from Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas.
Saharan's team will now have the chance to defend their title in the final on Sunday, 11 February.
India now await the winner of the second semi-final match between Australia and Pakistan on Thursday to see who they will face in the title clash.
India beat South Africa by 2 wickets in Benoni
South Africa 244/7 (50) vs India 248/8 (48.5)
After losing four tosses in the first four games, Uday Saharan got it right for the second in a row and chose to field first. This was the first time that India bowled first in the tournament, having batted in each of their five victories so far.
Once again displaying his customary aggression in the tournament, South Africa opener Steve Stolk took charge early on, hitting two fours in the first three overs. He continued his onslaught with a maximum off Raj Limbani in the fifth but it was the Indian pacer who had the last laugh as Stolk's attempted cut resulted in an edge straight into the hands of the wicketkeeper.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius kept the foot on the pedal thereafter, including a six and a four against Naman Tiwari in the 8th over. At the other end though, Limbani was on the money and accounted for the wicket of David Teeger for a duck, rattling the stumps with a peach of an inswinger.
Undeterred by the loss of two wickets, Pretorius continued playing attacking shots, and by the end of the Powerplay, South Africa were going close to a run-a-ball.
Saharan decided to introduce his spinners into play, effectively curbing South Africa's scoring – only five boundaries were scored in the span of overs 11 to 30.
However, the partnership between Pretorius and Richard Seletswane ensured a steady flow of runs, with Pretorius reaching his half-century off 59 balls.
With the run-rate at less than four, the mounting pressure got to Pretorius, who tried to swat Musheer Khan over mid-wicket, but Murugan Abhishek showed brilliant reflexes to hang on to a stunning catch.
The Proteas saw an uptick in boundaries when Seletswane and Oliver Whitehead combined for a 45-run partnership. Just as the partnership started to look dangerous, Musheer struck with the final ball of his spell, dismissing Whitehead.
South Africa’s decision to delay the entry of the dangerous Dewan Marais proved unsuccessful as he holed out to Saumy Pandey inches inside the boundary for just 3.
Between the two wickets, Seletswane brought up a patient half-century but having taken 90 balls to get to the milestone, the youngster fell trying to make up for the scoring rate.
Having hit Limbani for two fours in the 45th over, Seletswane tried to take the attack to Naman Tiwari in the next, but was undone by a good catch by Priyanshu Moliya running in from the deep.
Juan James too departed after a solid 19-ball 24-run cameo, leaving South Africa at 221/7 with two overs to go.
Tristan Luus gave the innings some much-needed impetus in the final two overs, unleashing two sixes and a four to finish with an unbeaten 23 off 12 balls.
As a result, South Africa set India a target of 245. This was the first time a team had got past the 200-run mark against India in the tournament so far.
In the chase, South Africa started brilliantly, courtesy Kwena Maphaka's breakthrough on the first ball of the innings. Adarsh Singh found himself helpless against a sharp bouncer, awkwardly prodding it to the keeper.
The short ball proved to be India's downfall once more as Tristan Luus' accurately-directed bouncer outsmarted the dangerous Musheer Khan, sparking massive celebrations in the South African camp following the dismissal of the leading run-scorer in the tournament.
India had to be patient, waiting until the seventh over for their first boundary, which came in the form of a maximum from Arshin Kulkarni off Maphaka. Unfortunately, that solitary moment of joy for India was short-lived, as their difficulties continued to mount with Arshin falling victim to Luus in the final over of the Powerplay.
India's situation worsened when Moliya, who had managed to strike a boundary off the first ball of Luus' over, departed while attempting a loose drive.
Facing a daunting situation at 32/4, captain Saharan and Sachin Dhas orchestrated a remarkable rescue mission with an impressive partnership. With runs drying up, the pair mixed caution with aggression to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Particularly targeting the bowling of Riley Norton, Dhas showcased his prowess by striking three boundaries in a single over, reclaiming some control for India. While Saharan held firm at one end, Dhas assumed the role of the aggressor, racing to a half-century off 47 balls to keep the required run rate under 6.
Saharan quickly found his rhythm with a splendid boundary off James, not only marking the 100-run partnership for the fifth wicket but also propelling himself past Musheer Khan to claim the top spot on the tournament run-scoring charts.
The partnership between the two was a masterclass in innings building and chasing, as they milked singles relentlessly while putting the poor deliveries away for boundaries.
The skipper too got in on the act, reaching his fifty off 88 balls with a boundary as India inched closer to victory.
Just as the required run rate got to a run-a-ball, Dhas and Saharan dispatched James for a six and four respectively to calm the nerves in the Indian camp.
But there was another twist as South Africa hit back when Maphaka was reintroduced into the attack. He got the better of Dhas with a well-disguised slower ball, the batter falling agonisingly short of a century on 96.
The wicket brought about a lull in scoring, and the mounting pressure became palpable. Aravelly Avanish displayed nerves of steel by striking a crucial boundary off Norton on the final ball of the 46th over.
Maphaka bowled the 47th over and made a big difference off the last ball of the spell with the wicket of Avanish, with Norton taking a good catch in the deep. Two balls later, the game turned on its head again when Abhishek Murugan fell victim to poor running, being caught short of his crease by a direct hit from Marais.
The two wickets put the pressure back on India but a six from an unlikely source – Raj Limbani – shifted the equation, bringing it down to nine runs required off the last two overs.
Saharan put to rest any hopes of a South African comeback with four off the first ball of the penultimate over. In another twist to the game, Saharan was run out trying to scramble for the winning run.
However, Limbani came in clutch again and struck a four off the final ball of the over to continue their unbeaten run and book their berth in the final.
The Player of the Match, India captain Uday Saharan, shared insights in the post-match presentation after bailing the team out of early trouble.
“I just believed in myself [after coming out to bat]. I knew it was a matter of one partnership and the game would be ours. I just kept telling myself repeatedly that I needed to bat till the end.”
Jordan reached the Asian Cup final for the first time in their history thanks to a richly deserved 2-0 win over South Korea in Qatar.
Second-half strikes from Yazan Al Naimat and Mousa Al-Taamari ended the hopes of Son Heung-min and his team-mates at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday.
Jordan had dominated from the off, with near misses from Hwang In-beom and Lee Jae-sung – and a penalty that was rightly overturned after a VAR check – all that pre-tournament favourites South Korea mustered. Son did not even have a shot.
Al Naimat and Al-Taamari's quality shone through, and Jordan, who were backed by a vociferous support, will now face Iran or the holders and hosts Qatar in Saturday's final.
Andy Murray’s miserable run continued with a first-round loss to Tomas Machac at the Open 13 Provence.
The 36-year-old’s 7-5 6-4 defeat by Czech Machac in Marseille was his sixth in a row dating back to October and means he has won only one of his last 10 matches.
Murray has admitted he is weighing up when to retire, but he railed against a suggestion he could be tarnishing his legacy by playing on, writing on X, formerly Twitter last week: “Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit.”
This was not a bad performance against a player on the rise in 23-year-old Machac, ranked 66, but again there were costly lapses.
Murray recovered from an early break and appeared to have the momentum late in the opening set, only for Machac to break serve at 5-5.
The Czech then moved ahead early in the second set and Murray was unable to recover the deficit.
It was a significantly better day, though, for Heather Watson, who claimed her best victory by ranking since 2017 to upset ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 7-5 at the Abu Dhabi Open.
Watson struggled in 2023, but she played confident, aggressive tennis to defeat 16th-ranked Russian Kudermetova and the win could see her break back into the world’s top 130.
“I know she’s such a great player so I knew I had to play really well today,” said Watson, who defeated former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round of qualifying.
“I just focused on what was in my control, my serve and just trying to be as aggressive as I can. I played really well and had a lot of fun out here today.”
Watson joins compatriot Emma Raducanu in the second round and will next face Spaniard Cristina Bucsa.
Harriet Dart, meanwhile, is on the verge of moving back into the top 100 after a 6-4 7-6 (0) victory over Anna Bondar in the opening round of the Transylvania Open in Romania.
John Ryder admitted the “desire is not there” to continue his boxing career after he announced his retirement from the sport aged 35.
Briton Ryder called an end to his career after last month’s ninth round stoppage defeat to Jaime Munguia in Arizona.
It was Ryder’s second successive loss after he fell to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May 2023.
The Gorilla, who finishes his career with 32 wins and seven defeats from 39 fights, feels that his mindset has shifted as he has got older.
https://twitter.com/_John_Ryder_/status/1754897817909252105
“I’m 35 years old now and I’m not getting any younger. I’ve had back-to-back defeats and the desire is clearly not there now,” Ryder told the PA news agency.
“After the Canelo fight I felt win, lose or draw I’ll walk away and be happy and maybe I should have got into the ring again sooner.
“Eight months on against Munguia, I was away in LA for two weeks over Christmas and I was missing my kids and partner like crazy and it was a real tough ask to be away.
“I felt on fight week my priority was to get on that flight back to my family and 25-year-old John would have thought about getting that win.
“So I felt that my mindset changed. The will to win was still there and that was what was getting me off the canvas but at some point there has been a real shift and transition.”
Ryder, who challenged Callum Smith in November 2019 for the WBA super-middleweight title and multi-belt champion Alvarez last year, has a history of fighting quality opposition.
The north London fighter would not be willing to become a stepping stone for upcoming fighters by dropping his standard of opponent.
“Not ultimately,” Ryder said when asked if his decision to retire was a difficult one.
“I think if I went in there and got the win it would have been a tough decision. With the defeat it has been an easier decision to make and an easier decision to stick to.
“I have put so much into this. I only know one way – which is 110 per cent, I’ve been fighting competitively now for 20 years. There are miles on the clock and I feel like it’s time to try something new now.
“I don’t want to be used as a stepping stone for up-and-comers.”
Ryder looked back on his previous fights, highlighting some of his key moments during his 20-year career.
He said: “The Billy Joe Saunders fight, the Rocky Fielding fight, the Jamie Cox fight, my fight against Callum Smith. Win or lose they have been great moments in my career.”
John Ryder has announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 35.
The Londoner (32-7, 18KOs) was stopped by Mexican Jaime Munguia in the ninth round of their super-middleweight fight in Arizona last month, having said in the build-up that defeat would “signal the end” for him.
Ryder, who had been looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez last May, tweeted: “It is with a heavy heart that I have come to the decision to hang up my gloves and retire from professional boxing.
“I’ve been absolutely blessed to have the most amazing career over the past 14 years. Starting in Bethnal Green in 2010 and ending in Phoenix, Arizona.
“I’ve been lucky enough to box everywhere from the 02 Arena, T-Mobile in Vegas, Alexandra Palace, Manchester Arena to Guadalajara in Mexico. For a boy from Islington, it’s been some run.
“Although I didn’t manage to win that world title, I’ve achieved and experienced more than I could ever have imagined when I first put on a pair of boxing gloves and I wouldn’t change that for any belt.
“I’d like to thank the whole team and Matchroom, especially Eddie, Barry and Frank. My trainer and manager Tony and Charlie Sims and my S&C coach Dan Lawrence for their constant support.
“And of course, my loving family, my partner Nancy, kids Heidi and Brody, who have given me the strongest ‘why’ possible over the last decade in this sport. I’m so blessed to have you all in my corner.
“Finally, although my professional career as a boxer is now over, the sport won’t be able to get rid of me that easily and I look forward to officially starting my new career as a coach working alongside Tony at the Matchroom Gym very shortly.
“There’s no place like home, thanks again, John ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder.”
Ryder’s most notable victory came via split decision against Daniel Jacobs in 2022, which put the Islington fighter in contention for a world title bout.
A trip to the Cheltenham Festival remains under consideration for Golden Ace after she maintained her unbeaten record over hurdles with a facile success at Taunton.
Runner-up to Dysart Enos in the Grade Two mares’ bumper at Aintree last spring, Jeremy Scott’s new stable star made a successful transition to the jumping game at Taunton early in the new year.
Saddled with a mandatory penalty on her return to the Somerset circuit for the Stables Business Park Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, Golden Ace was the 1-2 favourite to follow up under Lorcan Williams and was not hard pressed in the slightest to score by two and a quarter lengths from Linda Moon.
The winner is a 10-1 shot with Paddy Power for the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 14 – and while Scott raised the final of the Herring Queen Mares’ Novices Hurdle Series at Kelso on April 6 as an alternative, she would be a worthy runner at the Festival.
“We were slightly concerned about the ground,” Scott told Racing TV. “It was soft ground last time over two-miles-three and over two miles on lovely, good ground I just wondered whether she’d have the toe for it, but she seemed to have every bit of the toe.
“She got a bit keen part way round, she seems to travel well and her jumping is good, but will need to slicken up if we’re going on to bigger targets.
“We’ve got some fairly lofty ambitions for her and I hope she lives up to them. That (Cheltenham) was certainly the plan if everything went well, having said that the final of this race is a fabulously rich race and you wouldn’t rule that out, actually.”
Warren Greatrex will train Mighty Bandit for the Triumph Hurdle at next month’s Cheltenham Festival after he changed hands for €420,000 at Monday’s high-profile Tattersalls Ireland sale at Fairyhouse.
The four-year-old was one of 29 horses to go through the sales ring as part of a dispersal sale by prominent owners Andy and Gemma Brown following their shock decision to quit the sport late last month.
The top lot was the Grade One-winning Caldwell Potter, who is set to join Paul Nicholls after going under the hammer at €740,000, while the second, third and fourth top lots – Fil Dor (€620,000), Pied Piper (€570,000) and Staffordshire Knot (€510,000) – were all bought to return to Gordon Elliott.
Fifth on the list was Mighty Bandit, with Greatrex delighted to get his hands on him after he was bought by Jim and Claire Bryce, his landlords at the historic Rhonehurst yard in Lambourn.
“Everyone wants to train quality horses and he looks to have a very exciting profile,” he said.
“I’m so grateful to Jim and Claire. It was Jim who was pushing for this and the sale yesterday was unique really – I’ve never seen anything like it.
“Normally dispersal sales take place towards the end of horses’ careers, but the majority if not all of the horses sold yesterday are in their prime.
“It captured everyone’s imagination and we had a list of I think seven horses. We liked Fil Dor, but I think between all of us Mighty Bandit was the one we were very keen on because he’s only a four-year-old and we can make him, as it were, going forwards.”
The son of Order Of St George looked every inch a star juvenile in the making when winning on his hurdling debut for Elliott at Punchestown in November, but subsequently disappointed as a hot favourite for a Grade Two at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival.
However, Greatrex revealed there was a valid reason for that below-par performance and hopes he can show his true colours in the spring.
He added: “He was mightily impressive on his first run, the way he quickened up for a horse that had never run before, it’s very exciting when you see that.
“He scoped dirty after Leopardstown at Christmas and Gordon had told us that he’d also tinkered with his epiglottis, which is something quite common.
“Their thinking was that they were going to aim for the Triumph Hurdle, so as long as everything is good and we’re happy with him that’s where he’ll go.”
With the Festival only five weeks ago, Greatrex admits he is not going to have time to give Mighty Bandit another run before Cheltenham, meaning his preparation will have to take place in Lambourn.
“You would obviously like to see him on the track first, but if Gordon was aiming him for the Triumph he obviously rated him highly and I’m not going to change anything,” he said.
“I think it would be more beneficial to give him time to settle in and go there – and if Cheltenham does come a bit soon, then we’ve got Aintree to roll on to after if we want to.
“He’s only a four-year-old and he’s going to have a very bright future, hopefully, so I will try to do him justice.”
Mighty Bandit was not the only horse from the dispersal who will make the switch from Elliott to Greatrex, with Tactical Affair snapped up for a slightly less eyewatering sum of €62,000.
The five-year-old has won once and placed twice from five starts so far and he too could have Cheltenham on his radar as Greatrex, who trained Stayers’ Hurdle hero Cole Harden and two other Grade One winners in One Track Mind and La Bague Au Roi, looks to get himself back into the big time.
Greatrex added: “All being well, we’ll aim Tactical Affair at the Martin Pipe (Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle).
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but I think at €62,000 he was probably very well bought as he’s only a five-year-old and hasn’t had many runs and has a good pedigree.
“It’s very exciting. Everyone knows that I’ve had a few quiet years, but they’ve been going well this year and last year and we want to be back at the top table. Hopefully these with one or two others might get us back there.
“It is tough and we’ve seen in the last couple of years that Ireland are dominating. That’s fair enough and it goes in swings and roundabouts, I think.
“I’ve been there and proved that I can do it in England and in Ireland – I think I’m still the only Grade One-winning British trainer at the Dublin Racing Festival.
“We’ve proved if we get the ammunition we can do it and once you’ve tasted it you want to get back there, so we’ll do what we can to do just that.”
Alex King believes Wales need to have a “no fear” approach when they face England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Wales last toppled their fierce rivals in a Six Nations game on English soil 12 years ago.
And they have lost on seven successive occasions at English rugby headquarters since beating England there during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, although five of those losses were by only six points or less.
Wales will head to south west London after coming unstuck in a Cardiff classic against Scotland, although 26 unanswered points from being 27-0 adrift meant they almost completed the biggest comeback the Six Nations has seen.
England, meanwhile, were pushed hard by Italy in Rome before recording a 27-24 verdict after trailing at half-time and being outscored on tries.
“They (England) have got a decent team – finishing third at the World Cup is testament to that,” Wales assistant coach and former Wasps fly-half King said.
“I think we need to show a no-fear game going down there, and put the pressure back on them.
“We’ve just got to take the game to England. We can’t wait for them to see what they do, especially with 70,000 people shouting for them.
“We have got to present ourselves as we want to play, and not wait to see what England can do before we start responding.
“It is important to show the lads that England are a good team, but they are not unbeatable. That is the reality.
“They have obviously got good players and they are well-coached, but Twickenham is just another stadium. I am looking forward to going back there. I’ve got my Welsh hat firmly on there.
“They won some important games at the World Cup, and they pushed South Africa close. They won some close games at the World Cup – they were able to get over the finish line in certain games.
“Like every team, they have got their weaknesses. It is up to us to exploit them on Saturday.”
Wales boss Warren Gatland, meanwhile, will have to make at least one change from the Scotland match as flanker James Botham has been released from the squad due to a knee injury.
Botham, who is the grandson of England cricket great Sir Ian Botham and scored Wales’ opening try against Scotland, will rehabilitate at his club Cardiff.
Botham’s Cardiff colleague Seb Davies has been added to the squad, while experienced Harlequins prop Dillon Lewis also gains a call-up.
Elsewhere, fly-half Sam Costelow went off before half-time in the Scotland encounter, and King added: “He is being assessed for a neuro issue with his neck.
“The positive thing is it wasn’t a concussion. He is up for selection, but it is a question of whether he gets through his medical protocols.”
Ex-Bristol back Ioan Lloyd, who replaced Costelow with impressive effect against Scotland, would be favourite to wear the number 10 shirt if a change is made.
“Twickenham this weekend is a place where we need to start well. We have been very honest in our review, and are moving forward,” King said.
“The pleasing thing is we came out and responded (against Scotland) and were magnificent. It’s a shame we couldn’t nail the victory with the momentum of the last 10 minutes.
“The attitude of the boys was spot-on. Now we have to use that to go to Twickenham.
“The boys showed huge character, and it was frustrating not to win in the end. But if we are honest, we can’t have a half like that at Twickenham.”
All eyes will be on Reach For The Moon, who is jointly-owned by the Queen, when he makes his hurdling debut at Sedgefield on Wednesday.
A Group Three winner and runner-up in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot as a juvenile on the Flat for John and Thady Gosden when owned by Queen Elizabeth II, he was also second in the Hampton Court Stakes at the Royal meeting as a three-year-old, having had to miss the Classics following a setback.
He lost his way somewhat in three runs after that and was sent to Jamie Snowden for a jumping career following his unplaced effort in the Royal Hunt Cup. After taking his time with his new recruit, Snowden feels now is the time to test the water, before a potential Cheltenham Festival outing.
The King and Queen clearly enjoyed their runners last year, winning at Royal Ascot for the first time with Desert Hero and travelling to Doncaster to see the same horse finish third in the St Leger, although Reach For The Moon now runs for the Queen in her colours and is jointly-owned by former Arsenal chairman, Sir Chips Keswick.
“He’s taken well to jumping. He came to us last summer and we did a fair bit with him and then he went back to Sandringham for a holiday. He came back to us November-time and he’s done very well,” said Snowden.
“He enjoys his jumping, he jumps very neatly and accurately and his work has obviously been very good, as you would expect from a talented Flat horse, and we thought it was time to start and tip away gently.
“I don’t see why he wouldn’t stay the trip, there’s stamina in his pedigree, obviously the ground will be a little bit softer than he has been used to in the past and he’s got to get used to jumping eight flights of hurdles. But if he can translate what he has done at home to the track then hopefully he should go well.
“As far as the horse is concerned we’ve got to start somewhere and see where he takes us.”
Ollie Lawrence could reinforce England’s Guinness Six Nations in time for their round-three clash with Scotland as he steps up his recovery from a hip problem.
Lawrence sustained the injury while on European duty for Bath against Toulouse a fortnight before the Championship began and it was initially feared he might miss the entire tournament.
But the powerful centre could return to England’s Surrey base as early as this week, boosting Steve Borthwick’s options in the number 12 jersey he would have worn against Italy last Saturday.
“Ollie is potentially coming in at the end of this week, maybe next week. He’s not available against Wales this weekend,” attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.
England are optimistic that Ellis Genge will overcome his foot damage in time for the visit of Warren Gatland’s men to Twickenham on Saturday.
Genge withdrew from the bench on the morning of the 27-24 win in Rome with Beno Obano taking his place among the replacements.
“Ellis took some part in training today (Tuesday) and we are hopeful that he is available for the weekend, but we’ve obviously got to get through the rest of the week,” Wigglesworth said.
Second-row George Martin is receiving treatment for his knee injury and could also be back for the trip to Murrayfield, but there is still no date set for Marcus Smith’s return from a calf problem.
Smith sustained the damage during training at England’s camp in Girona and could miss the whole Six Nations.
“It looks like it will be further back in the tournament – if we get him back. It won’t be in the next couple of weeks,” Wigglesworth said.
“Marcus has an incredible attitude. He was gutted but we were gutted as well. We know he’s an international quality player.
“We are blessed in that position because we’ve got George Ford and Fin Smith, but that doesn’t distract from what a top player he is and the impact he potentially would have had.
“His attitude was ‘I’ll just come back better’. I’ve no doubt that if we see him later in the tournament or if it’s after that then he’ll come back in and put his hand up like he did.”
Mauricio Pochettino has rejected suggestions he said Chelsea’s players are not good enough, claiming his words following Sunday’s defeat by Wolves were taken out of context.
Immediately after the 4-2 loss at Stamford Bridge that left his team in the bottom half of the Premier League table, the Argentinian appeared to say he did not have the squad to significantly remedy the club’s plight.
Chelsea were booed off at half-time and again at the final whistle, with audible anger directed against both the players and Pochettino personally, while the name of former owner Roman Abramovich could also be heard being sung.
A visibly emotional Pochettino said at the time he understood supporters’ fury in the aftermath of a 10th league defeat in the 23 games of his tenure, and intimated neither he nor the team have been good enough this season.
He has now, before Wednesday’s FA Cup replay at Aston Villa, moved to clarify his position, criticising reports which he felt deliberately took his words not in the spirit in which they were meant.
“Now (when) I’m watching TV and media, some guys take advantage of some situations to take my words out of context,” he said. “That question came from my post-match press conference – are the players good enough to be in the top four or top six? I said, ‘today, we were not good enough, and me the first’.
“Then they said, ‘Pochettino said the players aren’t good enough’. What? It’s taking it out of context, my words. In that game, we were not good enough. I don’t want to hide the reality.
“Be careful. Some people take advantage, when we lose a game, to say things that never appeared in my mouth. That upset me a little bit.
“The most difficult thing is to explain to my wife. ‘Why did you say the players are not good enough?’ I never said that. You know what I had to do last time? To show her the press conference. That is not a joke. It is the reality we live in.”
Pochettino also defended Ben Chilwell, who captained the side in Sunday’s defeat, after he appeared to suggest in a post-match interview that Wolves had shown more desire for the victory than Chelsea.
The defender told Sky Sports: “I think they probably showed that they wanted it more than us.”
However, Pochettino contested that Chilwell intended to question his team-mates’ will to win.
“He said, ‘we didn’t win the 50-50 duels’. That was my interpretation. The result we suffered against Wolves, we are Chelsea and everything is bigger than normal. I was talking with him and it was never his intention to say we didn’t show desire.”
Pochettino added that Thiago Silva had met with him privately to discuss a post sent by the defender’s wife on social media on Sunday that appeared to call for the manager to be sacked.
“He came today to talk with me. I’m not going to talk about (what we said). He came and wanted to talk with me.
“That was private. That’s it.”
Harry Cobden paid an emotional tribute to his late colleague Keagan Kirkby after steering Fire Flyer to a second victory in the space of a week at Taunton on Tuesday.
Kirkby, 25, a point-to-point rider and highly-valued member of the Paul Nicholls team at Ditcheat, died following a fall at Charing point-to-point in Kent on Sunday.
Title-chasing Cobden rode a four-timer for Nicholls at Musselburgh on the same afternoon and was back in action for the first time since aboard Fire Flyer in division two of the Racing TV Club Day Novices’ Hurdle, with jockeys at the Somerset track observing a minute’s silence and sporting black armbands.
Having finished second to Brechin Castle in a Listed bumper at Cheltenham before chasing home the exciting Gidleigh Park on his hurdling debut at Newbury, the six-year-old landed cramped odds of 2-13 when going one better at Wincanton last week and was sent back into action just five days later.
It was not entirely plain sailing for the 5-6 favourite, whom Cobden said Kirkby rode in his work at home, with Secret Squirrel giving him a real run for his money, but Fire Flyer got on top late on to score by a neck.
“Paul had his mind made up that he wanted to get him out quickly because he wanted to give him the four weeks to the EBF Final from today,” Cobden told Racing TV.
“I’d just like to say a special word for Keagan Kirkby because he rode that horse every day, so that was for him. He deserved that.”
The British Horseracing Authority and Point-to-Point Authority have pledged to carry out a full review into the tragic death of Kirkby to gauge whether any lessons can be learned.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes Daizen Maeda has come back from the Asian Cup in better shape than he left.
The forward has declared himself ready to start in Wednesday’s cinch Premiership contest against Hibernian at Easter Road.
Maeda made two substitute appearances for Japan before starting in Saturday’s quarter-final defeat by Iran, playing the first 67 minutes.
The 26-year-old had played the last five games before the Premiership winter break after recovering from a knee injury, and Rodgers feels the attacker is up to speed after his international duties.
“Daizen Maeda is back, which is great news, and fit and healthy,” Rodgers said.
“He is actually in a better place now than he was when he left because he was still trying to get up to speed.
“He has gone away, trained, played some games. I spoke to him when he did come back and he feels ready to start if we need him.”
Celtic will otherwise have an unchanged squad for the trip to Edinburgh following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Aberdeen, with Greg Taylor still working his way back from a calf problem.
However, the left-back might return against St Mirren in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup on Sunday.
“We will see how he is for the weekend but he is out on the pitch,” Rodgers said.
“He is moving really well, it will just be getting the sign-off from the medical team. If it’s not the weekend, he will be ready for the next game.”
Irish trainers are responsible for a record 61 entries of the total 94 received for this year’s Randox Grand National – with the Aintree spectacular also having a new start time of 4pm this year.
The race has been brought forward by 75 minutes, having previously got under orders at 5.15pm, while a reduced field of 34 will also be introduced as officials continue to look at making the race as safe as possible.
Last year’s hero Corach Rambler heads the ante-post betting for Scottish trainer Lucinda Russell, with another previous winner, the Emmet Mullins-trained Noble Yeats, likely to be popular, too.
Those with previous good form over the fences booked in for a return to Merseyside include the likes of Vanillier, who was second last year, and Becher Chase runner-up Coko Beach.
He is one of a 26-strong entry for Gordon Elliott that also includes Conflated and Samcro, while Willie Mullins is responsible for 13, with Cotswold Chase winner Capodanno and Irish National hero I Am Maximus part of his team, although Gaillard Du Mesnil is not.
Others prominent in the ante-post lists include John McConnell’s Mahler Mission, the Martin Brassil-trained Panda Boy and King George winner Hewick, from the yard of Shark Hanlon.
Monbeg Genius, Nassalam, Kitty’s Light and Galia Des Liteaux are among the leading prospects entered from English-based yards. The weights will be revealed in a fortnight’s time in Liverpool.
Last year’s race was delayed due to Grand National protesters making their way onto the track, with the contest eventually going off nearly 15 minutes later than scheduled.
Following the annual review of the race, a number of changes were announced last October, including a reduction in field size, the introduction of a standing start and moving the first fence closer to the race.
It had been agreed an earlier start could help to ensure the safest ground conditions, but subsequent discussions were required before a new time was agreed.
Sulekha Varma, the Jockey Club’s north west head of racing and clerk of the course at Aintree, said: “We leave no stone unturned in providing world-class standards of welfare for our participants and undertake a review after every Grand National.
“These reviews look at a wide range of factors and the learnings from the process drives a number of changes, large and small, annually. In October we announced that one of the changes being made from 2024 would involve bringing forward the start time of the race, which has been 5.15pm since 2016.
“This was a decision we took after a number of participants and other racing stakeholders raised concerns about the long build-up to the race throughout the day and heightened tension as a result. These were not issues which had been identified as a problem when the race was previously staged at 3.45pm and 4.15pm.
“Bringing forward the start time of the Grand National by 75 minutes to 4pm will also help us to maintain optimal jumping ground, as warm or breezy conditions can dry out the racing surface.”
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