Manchester United can challenge for the league title after recovering from their worst start to a Premier League season and rediscovering the art of winning ugly, according to their captain Wayne Rooney.
Manchester United's winless run continued but they gave under-fire coach Louis van Gaal crumbs of cheer with a committed display in an entertaining 0-0 draw with Chelsea while Arsenal went top of the table on Monday.
Liverpool flop Fabio Borini finally got Sunderland's English Premier League campaign up and running with a derby winner against bitter rivals Newcastle.
With most Manchester United fans praying for much-needed defensive reinforcements, manager Louis van Gaal made a surprise deadline-day swoop for flamboyant Colombian striker Radamel Falcao on Monday.
West Bromwich Albion have ruled out the prospect of Saido Berahino leaving the club during the current transfer window, leading Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino to compare his club's pursuit of the striker to a frustrated love affair.
Despite all the hype, however, the match will do well to live up to some of the Manchester derby tussles down the years. Here are five of the most memorable:
Rampaul, a member of the 2012 World Cup winning squad, played his last T20 match against Sri Lanka in 2015 and returns to bolster a solid looking lineup that will look to deliver an unprecedented third title for a single team.
Manchester United emerged from the transfer window with a rich icing and the brightest of cherries to decorate their cake but the suspicion remains that the team's base may crumble under pressure.
All-rounder Darren Sammy will lead the team, which includes 11 players from the contingent that won the last World Cup in Sri Lanka four years ago
Fast bowler Edwards, 39, has been recalled for potentially his first match for West Indies in more than eight years.
All-rounder Dwayne Bravo wrote his own piece of history, while Praveen Tambe became the first Indian cricketer to play in the Hero Caribbean Premier League as Trinbago Knight Riders posted their fourth straight win, beating St Lucia Zouks by six wickets via D/L method in a rain-truncated match, in Port of Spain on Wednesday.
Defending champions West Indies will be without Kieron Pollard for next month's World Twenty20 in Bangladesh after the big-hitting all-rounder failed to recover from a knee injury.
The win put Guyana Amazon Warriors on joint top with four points from three games.
West Indies will play three-match T20I series before two Tests against New Zealand starting on December 3 in Hamilton. The first T20I will be played in Auckland on November 27.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
West Indies have dropped batsman Lendl Simmons from their Twenty20 World Cup squad owing to a back injury, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Saturday. "The 31-year-old right-handed top-order batsman will remain in Trinidad to continue his rehabilitation," the WICB said. "A replacement player will be named in the coming days," it said in a statement. Simmons, who has played 34 T20Is with a top score of 77, joins all-rounder Kieron Pollard on the sidelines after a knee injury forced him to decline signing a player contract for the tournament in India. Spinner Sunil Narine, who is still working to fix his illegal bowling action, and Darren Bravo, who has opted to focus on the longer formats of cricket, withdrew from the West Indies squad last month.
Brief reports of English Premier League matches on Saturday:
Willian's late strike snatched a 1-0 home win for Chelsea over a stubborn Everton side to maintain lead.
Mohammed Nabi claimed five for 15 as he powered St. Lucia Zouks to a comprehensive six-wicket win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots.
Chris Gayle will return to the top of the batting order as West Indies look to continue their winning run and secure a semifinal berth when they take on South Africa in the ICC World Twenty20 in Nagpur, on Friday.
With the second Test set to start on Wednesday, here is a quick fact check on how both teams stand at the Gabba.
Kieron Pollard was recalled to the West Indies squad announced on Wednesday for next month's triangular One-day series against Australia and South Africa.
A hard-hitting 92 by Marlon Samuels, which included three consecutive sixes in the 42nd over, helped lift West Indies to a four-wicket over Australia in the fifth game of a triangular one-day international (ODI) series in St Kitts on Monday.
Uncapped Evin Lewis has been named to replace the injured Lendl Simmons in the West Indies squad for the World Twenty20 in India. The experienced Simmons was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury. "The 24-year-old left-handed batsman will join the team ahead of the start of the global event," the West Indies Cricket Board said in a statement. Lewis has represented Trinidad & Tobago in the Caribbean T20 and the Champions League and impressed chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd, who led West Indies to two 50-over World Cup triumphs. "Evin Lewis a young and exciting batsman who we believe he will fit into the team set-up very well. He has the ability to perform at this level of the game," Lloyd said. "His selection is in keeping with our policy to give exposure to young, talented players we believe will help to carry West Indies cricket forward," he added. All-rounder Kieron Pollard was ruled out of the World Twenty20 due to a knee injury, spinner Sunil Narine is still working to fix his illegal bowling and all-rounder Darren Bravo has opted to focus on the longer formats of the game.
West Indies have axed two-time World Twenty20 winning captain Darren Sammy and put fellow all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite in charge for two matches against India this month in Florida.
Darren Bravo scored an enterprising century as West Indies rallied from a poor start to reach the final of the triangular one-day international series with a commanding 100-run victory over South Africa in Barbados on Friday.
The threat of West Indies being forced to field a second string side at the World Twenty20 was averted on Sunday when 12 of 13 players in the original squad signed the contracts which had caused a standoff with the board.
A match-winning three-wicket bowling stint by Mitchell Marsh lifted Australia to a convincing victory by 58 runs against West Indies in the final of the triangular One-day international (ODI) series in Barbados on Sunday.
Touched by India's support in the aftermath of Phillip Hughes's death, Cricket Australia Director and former pacer Michael Kasprowicz has praised the visitors for being considerate in accepting the changed series schedule following the tragedy.
Philippe Coutinho inspired Liverpool to a comfortable 3-1 home win over Everton in the 228th Merseyside derby on Saturday to move provisionally up to third in the Premier League.
With Australia taking a 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series against India, the scales are titled highly in favour of the hosts. History also shows that the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been a happy hunting ground for the hosts. With the Boxing Day Test around the corner, here is a quick look at how the teams stand.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Sanchez, 28, is currently in the final year of his contract. He has been linked with a move to Paris St Germain in the current transfer window.
Rodrigues, Kaur, Mandhana and Sharma were also a part of the now-defunct Kia Super League (KSL) in 2019, the ECB's domestic T20 tournament that made way for the Women's Hundred.
- 'We have great players, but great players don't win the World Cup, great teams do' - 'You need to have everybody contributing'
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers for the England team from cricket World Cups.
Following is a factbox on the second World Twenty20 semi-final between West Indies and India to be played at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
High on confidence after their emphatic victory over England, the West Indies will once again look for an explosive knock from Chris Gayle to inch closer to a semi-final berth when they take on defending champions Sri Lanka in a World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 1 match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Former Australia Test batsman Justin Langer ruled himself out of the running for the India and England coaching jobs.
Michael Hussey was approached by former India batsman VVS Laxman for the job of Team India head coach, the ex-Australian cricketer has revealed in his latest book.
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