Chris given Green light to Blast off with Bears
Reds boss refuses to rule out Grealish bid
AUSSIE all-rounder Chris Green hopes to bring out the best in the young stars when he returns to Birmingham Bears as T20 captain next season.
The 26-year-old was approached after impressing as replacement for the injured Ashton Agar in the final six fixtures of the Bears’ 2019 Vitality Blast campaign.
Green, who recently signed a sixyear deal with Sydney Thunder – the longest contract ever offered in Australia’s Big Bash League, will be available for all 14 Bears group games in 2020.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Bears last summer and it’s a huge honour to return as captain in 2020,” he said. “We know there’s tremendous potential in this young
MANCHESTER United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has refused to rule out a potential move for Jack Grealish.
The captain opened the scoring at Old Trafford as Aston Villa battled their way towards a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
And Solskjaer, who has openly admitted he is after a more creative influence in United’s midfield, was asked about the impact of the 24-year-old.
“I can’t talk too much about other teams’ players, if they’re Man United calibre or targets,’’ he said.
“But fantastic goal, I think he hit one of those top corners I hit a couple of times. It was a great finish, but we should defend better, show him down the left.
“But what a goal and he played a good game.”
Solskjaer told Grealish after the game he was the best player on the pitch – of which Villa head coach Dean Smith had no problem.
“I’d say it if I saw opposition player squad and we have every chance of making the knockout stages and pushing for a home Finals Day if we can keep developing in the build-up.
“Having arrived straight from the Global T20 Canada tournament this year, it’s very exciting I can return to Edgbaston in mid-May and support our preparations for the full Vitality Blast campaign.”
After his stint with the Bears, Green helped Guyana Amazon Warriors to the final of the Caribbean Premier League, taking 13 wickets in the campaign.
And the off-spinner is expected to play a starring role for Sydney Thunder, who face Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash opener later this month.
Bears’ sport director Paul Farbrace said: “It’s great we can bring Chris back to Edgbaston.
“He’s a true T20 specialist, who boasts plenty of experience of playing running game!” Smith said “And for 30 minutes he was.”
A number of pundits have made comments about whether Grealish should move away from Villa Park, but Smith is not concerned.
“I’ve seen speculation in the press with pundits linking him with other clubs, what they don’t realise, I’ve worked with this kid for 14 months, he tells the story himself of jumping into a bush in the garden at six years old pretending it was the Holte End,” he said.
“He’s Villa through and through, he’s now performing on the biggest stage he can in the Premier League for Aston Villa. He’s playing well, scoring goals, creating assists and it’s a club he loves.
“He signed a new deal at the start of last season.We’ve got two very wealthy owners who want to build the team around Jack.
“The media can keep linking him, but this is the one club he loves and that’s probably the most important thing. in many of the world’s top short-form tournaments, but he also has the potential to become an established player on the international stage.
“He immediately settled into the squad last summer and the cricket management team recognise his experience and leadership qualities can help us to develop a fresh, attacking and entertaining approach to our T20 cricket.
“It’s unique for a team to have a T20 overseas player available for all group games. Securing Chris gives us consistency in the make-up of our team, which we also see as an important factor in helping us get back into the knockout stages.”
Following on from the 2020 tournament opener with Notts
Outlaws at Trent
“Wolves got promoted last year, I didn’t see [Ruben] Neves getting linked with Manchester United… this isn’t a small club here at Aston Villa.
“As I’ve said, we’ve got two billionaire owners who bought the club for a reason; they wanted this club to get into Premier League.
“We are in the Premier League and now we want to carry it forward. I’m sure they wouldn’t be thinking of one of our top players being linked with other clubs.”
Meanwhile, Smith believes John Terry’s mentality as a “serial winner” with Chelsea is having a galvanising effect on his players.
Terry spent 20 years at Chelsea before joining Villa, initially as a player in 2017 for a season, before
Bridge on May 29, the Bears return to Edgbaston for their first home game versus Durham on Sunday, May 31.
That fixture is one of two Sunday afternoon games in the Bears’ home schedule, which also includes three Friday night fixtures. The keenlyawaited West Midlands derby against Worcestershire Rapids will take place on Friday, July 10.
Green is the second major appointment in the past week after opening batsman Will Rhodes was confirmed as Jeetan Patel’s successor as captain of Warwickshire’s County Championship and Royal London Cup sides.
Meanwhile, England switching to coaching, helping the club return to the Premier League under Smith.
During a glorious Stamford Bridge career, Terry won the Champions
have appointed Patel as spinbowling consultant for the forthcoming tours of South Africa and Sri Lanka. Patel, who was part of England’s successful five-match IT20 series victory over New Zealand last month, has announced his retirement from Cricket Wellington.
The 39-year-old will play his last match for the Firebirds in the Super Smash against Central Stags at the Basin Reserve on December 18.
Patel will join the England party on December 24 in Centurion ahead of the First Test against South Africa, which starts on Boxing Day.
He will also be part of the whiteball leg of the South Africa tour, which includes three ODIs and three IT20s.
England will then head to Sri Lanka in March 2020 for a two-match Test series as part of the ICC World Test Championship.
League, Europa League, five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and the League Cup three times.
For the first time since leaving Chelsea, he returned on the opposing side last night, plotting to help Smith as his assistant head coach.
Smith believes Terry has had a significant impact with Villa during his time at the club.
“He’s very important and I love working with him,” he said. “He’s brought something different to our coaching set-up, with his knowledge, his experiences.
“He’s lifted the Premier League title enough times, as well as the FA Cup and the League Cup. He was a serial winner for Chelsea and that mentality can rub off on people.
“I also feel he’s come into his own with us getting promoted. He’s getting better and better as a coach. I’ve championed him for a long time, saying he will eventually be a top manager. At the moment he’s very keen to keep learning and making a major contribution to Aston Villa.”