The PCB is keen to bring Mickey Arthur back as head coach of the Pakistan men’s team, three years after he was refused a contract extension. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that current head coach Saqlain Mushtaq doesn’t want an extension when his contract ends next month, and the PCB also wants to move on from him.The PCB’s new management committee, which took charge last week, has decided to go back to Arthur, with the committee head Najam Sethi confirming that he has been in touch with Arthur. Arthur was Pakistan’s coach between 2016 and 2019; they won the 2017 Champions Trophy and rose to No. 1 in ICC T20I team rankings during his tenure.He was removed following Pakistan’s fifth-place finish at the 2019 ODI World Cup, and Misbah-ul-Haq had been given the dual role of head coach and chief selector.Related

• PCB's talks with Mickey Arthur to coach Pakistan fall through

• 'It has become a joke' – Ramiz Raja on being ousted as PCB boss

• Najam Sethi out to revive domestic cricket in Pakistan

• Sarfaraz savours the high of a thrilling comeback

• Lara, Arthur part of panel to review WI T20 WC performance

Change in the air as PCB goes back to pre-2019 plans
Sethi’s 14-member committee, appointed by current prime minister Shahbaz Sharif, has disbanded all bodies set up after the 2019 rejig to the PCB’s constitution, initiated by then prime minister Imran Khan and implemented by Ehsan Mani. That aside, Ramiz Raja has been removed as the PCB’s chair, and Mohammad Wasim has been replaced as chief selector in an interim capacity by Shahid Afridi.It is learnt that one of the key reasons for the PCB looking at Arthur is his familiarity with Pakistan cricket and many of the current top-level cricketers. And, of course, with Sethi. Arthur was signed-on in 2016 by Sethi during his previous term as the PCB chief. Arthur is currently employed as head coach at Derbyshire in the English county circuit, the contract lasting till the end of the 2025 season.After his stint with Pakistan ended, Arthur was signed by Sri Lanka on a two-year deal, which was not extended. He moved to Derbyshire, where he has worked with Shan Masood, among others, at length.

Barcelona sporting director Deco has admitted the club’s growing reliance on Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, hinting at major summer transfer activity.

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Deco admits Barca is too reliant on Raphinha and YamalSporting director hints at summer reinforcements in attackYamal expected to sign contract extension soonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Deco, Barcelona's sporting director, has claimed the club are overly reliant on wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal in an alarming interview ahead of the summer transfer window. The duo have been key in a a strong season that has included trophies in the form of the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey, while La Liga is also almost in the bag, and Deco suggested Barca may need to looking at signing "similar players", to reduce the workload on the pair.

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Barcelona are finishing a solid season and remain in the driving seat in the Liga title race with 82 points from 35 games so far, sitting seven points ahead of Real Madrid. But the reliance on Raphinha and Yamal has been obvious, with the duo having played 65 games between in the league alone. Indeed, the Brazilian has also featured in all 14 of their Champions League matches, while Yamal has 13 appearances in Europe's premier club competition.

WHAT DECO SAID

In an interview with , Deco expressed confidence in the current squad and the club’s direction ahead of the summer transfer window: “I don’t believe that this team, given its dynamism and joy, will have anyone wanting to leave. We’ve already renewed most of the players, now we need to take care of the ones that are still there."

Speaking about the growing attacking responsibility shouldered by Raphinha and Yamal, Deco admitted: “Suddenly, we feel very dependent on Raphinha and Lamine. Maybe we need similar players, a solution for them. The squad is quite balanced, and we have a lot of good players in the youth team too.”

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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA, RAPHINHA & YAMAL?

Barcelona face Espanyol in the Catalan derby on May 15, with Raphinha and Yamal expected to be the standout players. Once La Liga is done and dusted, they'll be looking to reinforce their squad in an attempt to go one better than the Champions League semi-final they managed in 2024-25 and lift the trophy for the first time since 2015.

Mohammad Hafeez has earned a surprise call-up for PSL 2023 at the age of 42. Originally unpicked in the draft, Hafeez has signed with Quetta Gladiators as a replacement for Ahsan Ali, who has been ruled out due to a knee injury.Hafeez played an instrumental role in Lahore Qalandars’ PSL title last year. He hit 69 off 46 balls in the final, then took 2 for 23 in his four overs with the ball as Qalandars beat Multan Sultans at Gaddafi Stadium.He has since played in the Dhaka Premier Division in Bangladesh and in the Kashmir Premier League, but his playing career appeared to be effectively over. He had been exploring off-field options, and had become a prominent cricket analyst on Pakistani television.But Gladiators, who have failed to reach the play-offs in three consecutive seasons after winning the PSL in 2019, have given him an opportunity. They play their opening game of the 2023 tournament on Wednesday night in Multan, against Multan Sultans.Related

• Mumtaz: 'Extremely unfortunate to see Pakistan players miss out on WPL'

• Zaman holds nerve in final over to seal Qalandars win

• PSL: A Pakistan success story and a welcome distraction for its people

• ISLU possess batting firepower; QG well-balanced

• Hafeez retires from international cricket

It’s not clear if Hafeez will merit a place in Gladiators’ playing XI, but they want to ensure they have plenty of options in their squad. They have rebuilt their core this year, with Pakistan’s man of the moment, Iftikhar Ahmed, arriving at the PSL in prime form after an excellent BPL season.Hafeez retired from Test cricket in December 2018, and Pakistan moved on from him in ODIs after the 2019 World Cup. But he enjoyed a remarkable run in T20 cricket after he was recalled to the T20I side in 2020, finishing the year as the leading run-scorer in the format.While he had initially announced that the 2020 T20 World Cup would be his final assignment for Pakistan, the tournament was pushed to 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he did not call time on his international career until January last year.

GOAL looks at the biggest storylines among Americans Abroad, including trophy hopes for multiple U.S. internationals

It's trophy weekend for Americans in Europe. Both Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah fell short midweek with AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final, but six Americans have a chance to seek glory this weekend in England and the Netherlands.

The trio of Malik Tillman, Ricardo Pepi and Sergino Dest, along with Richard Ledezma, can clinch the Eredivisie title in the Netherlands if PSV defeats Sparta Rotterdam in the final day of the regular season. With a one-point lead over second-place Ajax, three points would secure them their second consecutive Eredivisie title.

In England, Chris Richards and Crystal Palace will look to make history in the FA Cup on Saturday against Manchester City. The have never won the coveted English trophy, and both Richards and Matt Turner will hope to be celebrating with the Palace faithful over the weekend.

In Italy, it's make-or-break for Juventus's season. The are in must-win territory if they want to clinch a berth in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League. They cannot afford anything less, and U.S. men's national team regulars Tim Weah and Weston McKennie face a crucial match against Udinese.

GOAL looks at some of the biggest storylines to follow among Americans Abroad this weekend.

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  Crystal Palace seek FA Cup glory

  Richards has had a fantastic season with Crystal Palace, and an FA Cup title would be the ultimate reward. Turner is also on the Palace books as backup goalkeeper, and has only made three appearances all season after joining on loan prior to the start of the 2024-25 season.

  In the run-up to the FA Cup, Richards has appeared in five matches, starting every game while recording one assist. Across the Premier League season, he has made 22 appearances, scoring one goal as well.

  On Saturday, the USMNT's central defender will look to shock the world and lift the FA Cup after taking on Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, which beat Palace last month, 5-2.

  Manchester City enter their third consecutive FA Cup final as the clear favorites and with plenty of incentive. Winning the FA Cup would be the best way to salvage their season – they are currently trophyless and have not ended a season that way since 2016-17, Guardiola's first season in charge.

  If Richards, Turner and Palace do lift the FA Cup, the two Americans will be in illustrious company. The only other American to win that trophy is Tim Howard, who started in the 2004 FA Cup finale as Manchester United took down Millwall.

  Other Americans have reached the finale. John Harkes and Sheffield Wednesday fell to Arsenal in 1993. Christian Pulisic's Chelsea fell in the finale in three consecutive years – although the Blues' Champions League triumph in 2021 will ease the pain of that a bit. Brad Guzan watched on from the bench in 2015 as Aston Villa were thumped 4-0 by Arsenal.

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  PSV's USMNT trio on the verge of silverware

  In a remarkable turn of events, PSV are now in pole-position to win the Eredivisie title. All they need is three points against Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday. and they'll claim their second consecutive regular season title. The astonishing part, of course, is how Ajax have allowed this to happen.

  Ajax needed just six points from their final five games to clinch a 37th Dutch title. On April 20, Ajax went into their game at FC Utrecht with a nine-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie, and they had the chance to extend the lead to 12. They lost 4-0 and are 0-2-1 since. They now trail PSV by one point heading into the final day of the regular season.

  U.S. internationals Malik Tillman, Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi, as well as American Richard Ledezma, could become Dutch champions on Sunday if they can come away with a win on the road in Rotterdam.

  Pepi is currently sidelined with an injury, but Tillman is coming off of a midweek brace in a win over Heracles in which both Dest and Ledezma played.

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  Juventus fighting for UCL lives

  With just two Matchday's left in the campaign, Juventus are in must-win territory if they want to clinch a berth in the UEFA Champions League next season. The clash with Udinese on Sunday, and both McKennie and Weah will look to play a major role.

  Sitting in fourth place in the final UCL spot heading into the weekend, Juventus are level on points with fifth place Lazio at 64 – and have just a one-point lead over sixth place Roma. They can't afford to drop points, as a draw won't suffice.

  McKennie has become a regular in the squad and has been a reliable player all season long. Weah, meanwhile, has logged consecutive starts in a wingback role for the seemingly gaining the trust of manager Igor Tudor in recent weeks after coming off the bench in three-straight games prior.

  The two sides last clashed in November, with Juventus winning 2-0.

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  Around the continent

  + Christian Pulisic and AC Milan face a must-win game as the take on with Roma in a meeting of the sixth and eighth place teams in Serie A. If Milan win, they'll draw level with Roma on points heading into the final Matchday.
  + After a big win over Fiorentina on Monday, Gianluca Busio's Venezia have climbed out of the relegation zone in Serie A. They visit Cagliari on Sunday in a match in which they need to secure a result.
  + Gio Reyna and Borussia Dortmund end their season against Holstein Kiel this weekend, trailing fourth place Freiburg by one point in the table. If they gain three three points at home against already relegated Kiel, and Freiburg lose or draw, the will clinch a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season.

Allrounder refutes franchise’s claim that she was unable to obtain a medical clearance in time before the WPL

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2023Deandra Dottin is “deeply disappointed” by the “bewildering reasoning” given by Gujarat Giants to explain her omission from the squad for the inaugural WPL.Giants had stated prior to the season that Dottin was “recovering from a medical situation”, and subsequently announced Kim Garth as her replacement. At the time, Dottin has tweeted that she was “recovering from nothing.” At a media interaction after Dottin’s response, Giants issued a clarification that they had to seek a replacement because they were unable to obtain a medical clearance in time for Dottin.On Sunday, Dottin put out a detailed statement on Twitter, saying, “I remain deeply disappointed by what can only, plausibly, be described as bewildering reasoning for my omission from the tournament.

In light of ongoing speculation surrounding my exclusion from this year's Women's Premier League (WPL), please find attached, a brief statement from me that addresses and clarifies the events that led to my omission from the inaugural WPL tournament earlier this month. pic.twitter.com/SmiSnkMlrZ

— Deandra Dottin (@Dottin_5) March 19, 2023