Phil Neville says it is "hypothetical" to discuss the prospect of Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami.
Messi is only under contract with Paris Saint-Germain until the end of the season and the mercurial forward has been strongly linked with a move to Miami.
Barcelona are also said to be keen to bring Messi back to Camp Nou in what would be a sensational return to a club he made a tearful farewell to in August 2021.
Inter head coach Neville, who signed a new contract on Monday, spoke of his admiration for Messi but refused to be drawn on speculation that he could move to Major League Soccer.
Asked about the possibility of signing Messi, the former Manchester United defender said: "I think that's hypothetical really. The best player in the world, I'm looking forward to seeing him play at the World Cup, alongside other great players.
"We actually let him inside our house about five, six weeks ago, when Argentina were here. I watched all the sessions to see those great players on our pitch one and pitch two. It was something really special for the club.
"And I think when you talk about characters, when you talk about humility, when you talk about the right type of people, that Argentinian squad and staff were absolutely incredible. Incredible towards our football club.
"We had a little scrimmage against them, the MLS 2 [MLS Next Pro] side, you obviously saw the pictures of their players signing autographs; signing arms, signing legs, signing shoes. It was just the most incredible week.
"I think we're really lucky here. We've had Barcelona here, we've had Argentina here, we've got the US national women's team here now, some of the players are training out there now. It's brilliant for this football club, and it shows the level of facility that we've got.
"I'm not going to speculate on any kind of transfer activity, but what I would say is that is exactly the type of character that I saw in that week, that those Argentinian players were a credit to their country, and to their profession."
Inter sporting director Chris Henderson also gave little away when quizzed about potentially bringing Messi to Florida.
He said: "I knew Messi would come up. It's great to be connected with amazing players and our club connected with that. I don't want to comment on someone who's not on our roster and speculation and rumours.
"But obviously, one of the greatest players to ever play the game. As far as the roster and what we're looking to improve for going for next year. I think continuing to look for players who are good in possession under pressure in the final third."
Henderson added: "Messi on any team in the world is going to change that team. I don't want to speculate and talk about him on our team, but he changes every league, every team that he plays for."
The Guyana Harpy Eagles got their third win in four games in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup with a 61-run win over the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad & Tobago on Monday.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the Harpy Eagles were restricted to just 190 all out off 43 overs.
Openers Anthony Bramble (60) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (30) put on a partnership of 93 before they were both dismissed in the 18th over. The only other batsmen to reach double figures were Shimron Hetmyer with 37 and Kevin Sinclair with 36 as Justin Greaves took 4-39 from eight overs for the Volcanoes.
Gudakesh Motie and Sherfane Rutherford then combined for six wickets to help restrict the Windwards to 129 all out in 38 overs.
Sunil Ambris (43) and Kavem Hodge (38) did the bulk of the scoring for the Windwards against Motie’s 3-31 off nine overs and Rutherford’s 3-25 off eight overs.
Guyana have now overtaken the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at the top of Group A with 12 points from four games while the Windwards remain third on eight, two points behind T&T.
West Indies Women will welcome England Women to the Caribbean for an eight-match series next month. Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced the match schedule today which consists of a three-match CG United One-Day International (ODI) Series and a five-match T20 International (T20I) Series from Sunday 4 December to Thursday 22 December.
The CG United ODIs will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua on 4, 6 and 9 December. The three ODIs form part of the ICC Women's Championship. The first T20I will also be at SVRS on 11 December. The tour then moves to Barbados for four T20Is at Kensington Oval on 14, 17, 18 and 22 December.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews is eagerly looking forward to the upcoming home series as both teams will look use the series as part of their preparation for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to be played in South Africa early next year.
“We are really looking forward to this series against England. It will be hugely important for us. I’m hoping we can pick up some points in the ICC Women’s Championship as we take on a strong opposition at home. We also have our eyes on the ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa. It is always a big thing playing in a World Cup and this will be my first as captain so I will look to lead from the front. We will go in looking to play really good cricket and give it all we have,” she said.
The eighth edition of the marquee event will begin on 10 February 2023 with hosts South Africa taking on Sri Lanka. Cape Town, Paarl and Gqeberha will host the matches in the tournament with the knockout matches set to be played in Cape Town. The final will be held on 26 February.
The 10 teams will be drawn in two groups as follows, Group 1: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; with Group 2: England, India, West Indies, Pakistan and Ireland.
Sir Vivian Richards has questioned the commitment of the current crop of West Indies players and has expressed his disappointment at the team’s performance and early exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
During a nostalgic evening charged with emotion last Thursday night, a portrait of a young GC Foster, reproduced from an old photograph was unveiled before an audience at the sports college named in his honour in Spanish St Catherine.
Keithi Cunningham considers himself a lucky man after he unexpectedly got to meet Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, arguably the greatest female sprinter in history.
Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls ended the 2022 Fast5 Netball World Series without a win following second day losses to England, New Zealand and Uganda.
Overall, the inexperienced unit could only claim a last place finish after losing all five matches and being the only team at the tournament to fail to register a win.
The second and final day of the event began with a 27-32 loss to England, where the team started well but could not maintain its consistency and eventually paid for several costly turnovers. Things were far less competitive against New Zealand who used the powerplay well to rack up 40 points in an 18-goal win over the Caribbean team.
The loss sent the Jamaicans to the 5th and 6th place play-offs against African team Uganda who they had already suffered a loss to on the previous day. Things did not go better the second time around as the Jamaicans were once again unable to make any inroads against their lesser ranked opponents. The surprise package of the tournament went to register an impressive 32-10 victory over the struggling Jamaicans and with it the 5th place spot. After dominating for most of the tournament Australia ended the event as champions, earning a first world title.
LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo hailed Gareth Bale for his last-gasp equaliser and substitute goalkeeper John McCarthy for his shoot-out heroics amid the chaos of Saturday's MLS Cup triumph.
Cherundolo's side clinched the MLS Cup with a 3-0 penalty shoot-out win over Philadelphia Union after the game had ended 3-3 following regulation and added time in a incredibly dramatic final at Banc of California Stadium.
LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau was sent off in the 116th minute and left with a suspected broken leg for a last-man foul after a nightmare back-pass from Jesus Murillo.
After a lengthy delay for treatment for Crepeau, Union took the lead in the 124th minute from Jack Elliott's close-range finish, but substitute Bale sent it to penalties with a 128th-minute headed equaliser.
Bale, who has only made two starts in 13 appearances for LAFC since his move from Real Madrid in June, had been brought on in the 97th minute before his crucial intervention.
"He's a guy with big qualities and a guy who makes big plays," Cherundolo told reporters about 33-year-old Wales international Bale.
"Let's hope he doesn't in the first game of the World Cup for all the Americans in the room [Wales play USA]. But it's Gareth being Gareth. He does it in training. He's done it this season.
"When he's feeling well and healthy, he makes a difference in games. That's why we bring him in in those moments. I wish he was 24."
Bale, who scored twice in Madrid's 3-1 triumph over Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, was delighted to make his contribution with LAFC down to 10 men.
"It's always nice to score in finals, and I seem to have a knack for doing that," he said. "It's big, it's important for the club, it's important for the fans. Like I said, we were down to 10 men, I guess not really looking like we were going to get anything out of the game.
"Credit to everybody to keep pushing and keep fighting. It was nice to get the goal and to help the team. And where it ranks, I'm not too sure but it's a great feeling."
Cherundolo added that he was not sure of the extent of Canada international Crepeau's leg injury, but was full of praise for substitute McCarthy who saved two spot-kicks to decide the shoot-out and earn the MVP award.
"Couldn't happen to a better guy," the LAFC boss said. "John is one of the heartbeats of this team emotionally.
"We know what he can do in penalties. We've seen it. We've trained for these moments, and John came up big. Like I said, couldn't happen to a better guy, and extremely happy for him and everybody at LAFC."
A fantastic season for Jamaica Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake ended in disappointment following a penalty shootout loss to Los Angeles FC, in a thrilling final highlighted by a stoppage time header from former Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale.
In the wild ride of an MLS Cup final substitute goalkeeper John McCarthy emerged as the ultimate hero, saving two penalties in the shoot-out after an astonishing 3-3 draw.
In front of their own fans on Saturday, LAFC took the lead through Kellyn Acosta's deflected free-kick but were pegged back just before the hour when Daniel Gazdag scored his 24th goal of the season.
Jesus David Murillo headed LAFC back into the lead in the 83rd minute, but Jack Elliott stung the hosts with another leveller two minutes later.
English centre-back Elliott looked to have won it when he put Philadelphia back in front deep into extra time, after LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau was sent off, but substitute Gareth Bale headed the hosts level in the eighth minute of stoppage time, with a powerful header that Blake had no chance of getting to.
Then the drama really went up a notch, with McCarthy, a Philadelphia-born former Union goalkeeper, pulling off saves from Jose Martinez and Kai Wagner, after Gazdag also haplessly missed from the spot.
Ilie Sanchez tucked away the clinching penalty in a 3-0 shoot-out triumph, sparking wild celebrations of the team's first MLS Cup triumph, with McCarthy named MVP.
The opening goal in the 28th minute owed plenty to fortune, with Acosta's 22-yard strike flicking off the head of 19-year-old Union midfielder Jack McGlynn and finding the bottom-left corner.
This was the first time since 2003 an MLS Cup has featured the teams that came top in the West and the East. They each finished the regular season with 67 points, but LAFC took the Supporters' Shield due to having more wins than Philadelphia, and that earned them home advantage.
The game's first equaliser arrived in the 59th minute when what looked like a wildly ambitious 30-yard shot from Jose Martinez inadvertently turned into a throughball for Gazdag, who controlled the fizzing low ball well before firing past Crepeau.
Murillo looked to have headed a winner for Los Angeles with seven minutes remaining as he powered home Carlos Vela's inswinging corner from the right. However, a terrific equaliser from Elliott, a fierce header after a free-kick from Kai Wagner on the left, brought Philadelphia level in the 85th minute.
Bale entered the fray in the seventh minute of extra time, replacing Vela.
Philadelphia then looked to have been dealt an outrageous injustice when Cory Burke raced through on goal and was scythed down by Crepeau, who was initially only yellow-carded for a clear professional foul, but it was soon upgraded to red. Crepeau looked to be seriously injured and had to be carried off, and on came McCarthy, the unlikeliest of heroes.
The West Indies Academy pulled off a stunning 12-run win over the Jamaica Scorpions in their CG Insurance Super50 encounter at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua on Saturday.
The Scorpions restricted the Academy to 182 all out after winning the toss and deciding to bowl first.
Kevin Wickham (46), Kevlon Anderson (33) and Leonardo Julien (32) were the main scorers for the Academy as left-arm wrist spinner Dennis Bulli led the way for Jamaica with 4-32 from 8.5 overs. Jeavor Royal and Jamie Merchant both bowled full 10 over spells and provided good support with 3-39 and 2-33, respectively.
The Academy then pulled off an amazing comeback to successfully defend what seemed like a losing total, with the Scorpions cruising at one stage at 124-4 at the halfway stage.
Jamaica then, inexplicably, lost their last six wickets for just 44 runs to finish 170 all out after just 39.5 overs.
Captain Rovman Powell top-scored for the Scorpions with 42 while Brandon King and Andre McCarthy both made 28 against match-winning efforts from Joshua James (3-19 off seven overs) and Ashmead Nedd (3-33 from seven overs).
The Trinidad & Tobago Red Force rebounded from a loss against the Guyana Harpy Eagles with a seven-wicket win over the Windward Islands Volcanoes in their CG Insurance Super50 Cup fixture at the Queens Park Oval on Saturday.
The Volcanoes were restricted to 189 all out in 47 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.
Kavem Hodge followed up his hundred against the CCC with a top-score of 39 while Tevyn Walcott made 36 against Yannic Cariah’s 3-34 from 10 overs. Shannon Gabriel and Terrance Hinds took two wickets each in support.
The Red Force chase was a simple one thanks to an excellent 88-ball 66 from Joshua Da Silva including six fours and one six. Opener Kjorn Ottley continued his good form this season with 36 while captain Nicholas Pooran and Darren Bravo finished not out on 36 and 27, respectively as the Red Force ended 195-3 off 43 overs.
Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls ended Friday’s day one of the Fast5 Netball Series at the Christchurch Arena in New Zealand winless after losses to Australia, Uganda and South Africa in their three games.
The first match saw them suffer a 24-goal loss to the mighty Australians, losing the quarters 14-5, 7-4, 9-3 and 9-3 for a total score of 39-15. Romelda Aiken-George scored four goals from six attempts and Gezelle Allison had the same number of goals in four more attempts.
They were then upset 33-22 by Uganda in their second outing.
The Ugandans got out to an early 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and stretched it to 17-7 at halftime. The second half was a lot closer as there was just one goal between the two teams with Uganda winning quarter three 9-8 and the fourth ending 7-7. Amanda Pinkney and Aiken-George combined for nine goals including two three pointers.
The third game was the closest as Jamaica suffered a one-point loss to South Africa after having a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
The first quarter saw only five points in total being scored as Jamaica prevailed 3-2 while the second quarter was tied 8-8 meaning the Sunshine Girls led 11-10 at the half.
Jamaica’s lead was then stretched to six after a 12-7 third quarter made it 23-17 before a spirited fourth quarter comeback by the South Africans gave them a 28-27 win. Amanda Pinkney scored eight goals from 13 attempts while Mischa Creary was perfect from her six attempts.
Jamaica will play England and New Zealand on day two at 12:00pm and 3:45pm local time (6:00pm and 9:45pm on Saturday in Jamaica) in their final two round robin games.
Young Windies fast bowler Jayden Seales is expected to join English cricket club Sussex for the start of the 2023 season.
The 21-year-old, who last played for the West Indies in July is expected to represent the English club for the first three months of the 2023 season, which is scheduled to get underway in April.
During the period the player will have the opportunity to take part in both the team’s Championship and T20 games. The young bowler, who became the youngest player to take five wickets for the West Indies in Tests, last year against Pakistan, was understandably excited for the opportunity.
“As a young fast bowler, I like to find myself facing as many different situations and challenges as possible,” Seales said.
“I can’t wait to test myself in England and hopefully contribute to a winning start for Sussex in both Championship and T20 cricket.”
West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards has been named as brand ambassador for the upcoming Lankan Premier League (LPL).
The tournament, which will take place from December 6-23 will be its third edition, having bowled off in 2020. As such it remains one of the newest and smaller leagues in world cricket and hopes the high profile of the former swashbuckling West Indies, one of the most respected in the sport, will help elevate its profile.
“We are pleased to announce one of the finest batters of all time, Vivian Richards as Brand Ambassadors for the 2022 LPL. Having someone like Sir Vivian Richards will boost the league and attract more followers from the whole world, and help in our quest to make this tournament a global cricketing attraction. I am really excited to see great Sri Lankan talents on display in the league,” Anil Mohan, Chairman of IPG Group and founder of LPL.
The LPL will also have West Indies presence on the pitch with big-hitter Evin Lewis and Carlos Brathwaite expected to feature.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
