Pakistan’s pace bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi shared six wickets between them while Dhananjaya de Silva posted his 10th hundred before Sri Lanka was bowled out for 312 by lunch on Day 2 of the first cricket test

Juanma Lillo will introduce himself to the Premier League at large on Sunday as he takes charge of champions Manchester City in Pep Guardiola’s absence. Guardiola’s little-known number two will call the shots from the dugout as the treble winners travel to Sheffield United without their influential manager. Guardiola is recuperating in Spain after undergoing back surgery earlier this week and so Lillo, who only rejoined the club this summer after a year away, finds himself in the spotlight. The experienced 57-year-old has had a varied and interesting coaching career, working in countries including Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Japan and China as well as his native Spain. He first joined Guardiola’s backroom staff after the departure of Mikel Arteta in 2020 and spent two years at the Etihad Stadium before leaving to take up a post in Qatar. City swept to Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup glory without him but Guardiola sought to bring him back after the exits of Enzo Maresca and Rodolfo Borrell at the end of the campaign. The pair have been friends since Guardiola played under Lillo at Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa and were keen to work together again. “When I left was more of a ‘see you later’,” said Lillo at a press conference. “He’s someone very special to me, not only in footballing terms. “I am here to be with someone who’s been very important in my life.” Lillo recognises he has returned to a very strong set-up and is determined to do his best to ensure it remains that way. He said: “A good team without good players is impossible, but at the moment we have good players and a really good coach. It’s very well managed. “The way we train has a lot to do towards the way we play. That’s how we do it. “Things might not always go our way, but I can assure you that we’re going to continue doing things the right way.” Bernardo Silva, who signed a new contract at City this week, is available again for the trip to Bramall Lane after illness. New signing Jeremy Doku could come into the reckoning but John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne are sidelined. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Eddie Howe admits last season’s battles with Liverpool remain vivid memories On this day in 2014: Man Utd break British record to sign Angel Di Maria Daniel Dubois aiming to ‘bully and shake up’ Oleksandr Usyk in title showdown

Perhaps it was the most successful unsuccessful season ever. Kalvin Phillips has ended his first year at Manchester City with a historic haul of medals. Yet his three trophies outnumbered his two league starts. In all competitions, he only began four games, City lost two of them and the first of those defeats – to Nathan Jones’ Southampton – ended up costing them the quadruple. A year like no other at least ended on a personal high, Phillips scoring his first England goal in the 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia. Then he reflected: “I came to Manchester City to win trophies and we won the trophies but I didn’t play as much as I wanted to do.” If the last part is an understatement, it has only stiffened his resolve. Phillips is adamant he does not want to quit City. To walk away now, he believes, would be to admit defeat. He could attract interest – maybe from Newcastle or West Ham – but he hopes to sit out the summer transfer market. “My intention is to stay there,” he said. “We have just won the treble, so there is no reason for me to leave other than if I am not playing. I will obviously have to think about it. I cannot give it 12 months and say, ‘I am not playing so I am going to leave’. As you have seen with many players at City, it can take quite a while to cement yourself into the team.” The decision is not just his. Pep Guardiola made it public that Phillips came back from the World Cup overweight. While the former Leeds man was understudying one of the world’s best defensive midfielders, in Rodri, it was damning that Guardiola also preferred Ilkay Gundogan in the holding role. Some of Phillips’ cameos were so brief – his last four substitute appearances in the Premier League lasted a grand total of 17 minutes – to suggest he was not trusted. City’s £42 million outlay to Leeds bought them an expensive fringe player. “I will definitely speak to Pep,” Phillips said. “I don’t know whether it will be in the summer because everyone enjoys their downtime and everyone wants their space away from football so I’ll probably leave it until I go back for pre-season.” Guardiola can exile some players but persevere with others. City have their own version of second-season syndrome, where players improve after a year to get used to his methods and tactics. Rodri is a case in point; so are Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish. Nathan Ake’s breakthrough year was his third. Phillips has been consulting some of those who did not enjoy an immediate impact. “I just know how difficult it is to understand the way Pep wants to play and how quickly you need to adapt to play in his system,” he said. “I spoke to quite a few of the players about it. Nathan Ake being one, Jack [another]. They all said the same, they all said the first 12 months were the hardest of their City careers but after that it… it doesn’t become easy, but easier.” A fundamental difference is that, without necessarily flourishing, Phillips’ predecessors featured far more in their debut campaigns than he has; each commanded more of their manager’s faith. Guardiola’s history as a holding midfielder adds intrigue: there are some he feels are naturals for his demands – like Sergio Busquets and Philipp Lahm – and others, such as Rodri, who are grooved into the role. Phillips’ time under Marcelo Bielsa, one of Guardiola’s managerial heroes, was expected to stand him in good stead. Instead, he has required another vast learning curve. “I am on the brink of almost getting it,” he said. “Obviously there is a little bit of work in pre-season and hopefully [I will] be alright.” His has been an ill-fated first year in one respect – sidelined at the end of his Leeds career with a hamstring problem, then requiring shoulder surgery when he went to City – and a fortunate one in another, with three medals from minimal contributions. If staying at City comes with some risks, particularly to his place in Gareth Southgate’s plans, leaving may seem like giving up. A player who worked his way up from being a Championship midfielder to one bought by Pep Guardiola has made his decision. “I’m just going to go away for the off-season and enjoy myself with my family and girlfriend and friends,” he said. “And then come back fighting.” Read More The no-impact substitute: Kalvin Phillips’ ongoing humiliation gives Man City a problem Pep Guardiola: It’s up to Kalvin Phillips to show he deserves a Man City future Man City’s Premier League coronation shows how far their rivals have fallen

Luke Bryan, devoted father to five, plans to prioritize family as he announces dropping out of 'American Idol' to spend more time with them

Police believe Tara Groves overdosed and died during the early morning hours of June 3 at John Byron Wilson's house shortly after arriving

Asian shares are mostly higher after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a final agreement on a deal to raise the U.S. national debt ceiling

The Minnesota Twins are now one game away from elimination after a loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday. These players can keep the ALDS alive in Game 4 though.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 9, 2023--

Siemens Energy reported a 4.59-billion-euro ($5-billion) annual loss Wednesday, dragged down by a crisis in its wind power unit, a day after a government-backed rescue package was...

There is little suspense over the results of Russian local elections ending Sunday, with no real opposition and ballots in occupied regions denounced as "fake"...

YourRage's unexpected decision to identify xQc as his primary rival in the 'Just Chatting' category for the Streamy Awards has left the Internet baffled

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board has defended the newspaper’s decision to publish a defensive column from US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who dismissed allegations of wrongdoing detailed in an investigative news outlet before it had even published its story. The conservative justice – who authored the court’s landmark opinion overturning Roe v Wade one year ago – failed to disclose private jet travel and a luxury fishing trip with a hedge fund billionaire who would later repeatedly ask the nation’s highest court to intervene on his behalf, according to ProPublica’s findings published on 21 June. ProPublica, which has published several investigative pieces outlining alleged ethical lapses among members of the court, had yet to publish its report before The Wall Street Journal ran his column with the blunt and accusatory headline “ProPublica Misleads Its Readers”. Later that day, the editorial board defended its decision to run his defensive piece. “The political assault on the Supreme Court continues, and the latest Justice in the grinder is Samuel Alito,” the board wrote. “As usual, this is a non-scandal built on partisan spin intended to harm the Justice and the current Court majority.” The Wall Street Journal did not return The Independent’s request for comment or explain how it commissioned Mr Alito’s column and how the newspaper made a decision to publish a response to ProPublica before anyone read its reporting. “Justice Alito clearly wanted his defense to receive public disclosure in full, not edited piecemeal. We saw ProPublica’s list of 18 questions and had a good idea of where the reporters were going. The story proved us right,” the editorial board wrote. “It is also hilarious to be denounced for betraying the media brotherhood for the offense of scooping the competition,” the board added, appearing to dismiss criticism that the newspaper provided a venue for a powerful figure before allegations against him were publicised at length as merely a resentful media story. “This is the same crowd that would prefer if we didn’t exist,” the board added. “Their pearl-clutching reveals the degree of media conformity when it comes to approved progressive political targets like Justice Alito.” The board stated that it is defending the Supreme Court “because someone has to,” alleging that the investigations are not about sincere ethics questions but are instead about “the left’s fury at having lost control of the Court” and instead to “destroy” it. ProPublica’s founding editor-in-chief Paul E Steiger served as the managing editor of the Wall Street Journal from 1991 to 2007. Stephen Engelberg, ProPublica’s current editor-in-chief, told The New York Times that Mr Alito’s column “declared without anyone having read the article and without asking for our comment.” “We’re curious to know whether The Journal fact-checked the essay before publication,” he added. Read More Justice Alito tries to get ahead of damning report about billionaire gifts with defensive Wall Street Journal op-ed Wall Street Journal under fire for Justice Alito op-ed: ‘This has simply broken my brain’ Deb Haaland and Tribal leaders welcome Supreme Court decision upholding Indian Child Welfare Act Supreme Court rules Alabama discriminated against Black voters in major victory for voting rights