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Celebrating Arsenal's French players and manager

adidas release limited edition Arsenal collection celebrating the historical link between famous French players and a manager who have written their names in the club's history books. Unveiled as this summer marks 20 years since the start of the famous Invincibles season, when the club went an entire league campaign without a defeat.

adidas

The special collection pays homage to the success that French players and manager Arsene Wenger brought in the late '90s and '00s. The range includes various items, including a hoodie, track bottoms, track top, t-shirt and stadium parka.

adidas

All the items feature a special tricolour, adidas three stripes, and gold branding. The stadium parka will be donned by the team when they travel to league games, including when they walk out against Manchester City tonight in the FA Cup 4th round.

From players like Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord, Gael Clichy, Pasqual Cygan and Jeremy Aliadiere – the French connection to the club has been strong, bringing silverware and success to the club.

Jeremy Aliadiere, who played in the Invincibles season and currently works for Arsenal in an ambassador role, said: "During that period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was great to be part of the team at Arsenal. We had a lot of players from France, or French-speaking countries, and we were made to feel at home straight away by the other members of the squad."

adidas

Aliadiere added, "That togetherness we had back then is something I see in this current team, and so it's great to celebrate the period I played in, at a time when it's a really enjoyable to be a Gooner. I think the range will be loved by supporters across the world, and it's a nice gesture to those particularly in France – many of whom fell in love with the club during that period 20 years or so ago."

adidas x Arsenal French collection price & how to buy

The adidas x Arsenal limited French collection is available to buy now from adidas and the Arsenal club webstore.

Shop: adidas x Arsenal French Pack

Available in XS, S, M, L, XL and 2XL.

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Available from Friday 3 March at 8:30 am (GMT)

Available from Friday 3 March at 8:30 am (GMT)

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Gujarat Lions, coming off three successive defeats, run into Kolkata Knight Riders in a top-of-the-table clash at Eden Gardens on Sunday night

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu07-May-2016Match factsSunday, May 8, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)2:39

Cullinan: Gambhir looks hungry for runs

Big PictureIt’s a top-of-the-table clash at Eden Gardens. Kolkata Knight Riders are at No. 1 with six wins in nine matches. Gujarat Lions have an equal number of wins, but have played an extra game and are smarting from three successive defeats.Lions’ struggles are best exemplified by their last three Powerplay scores – 26 for 3, 35 for 3 and 36 for 2. Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum’s failures have added more pressure on a middle order that has yet to fire. And if they were thinking of slotting Aaron Finch back at the top, there is doubt over his fitness again. Finch struck his fourth fifty in six matches in Hyderabad, but did not take the field for the chase.While Lions have a few key batsmen out of form – Suresh Raina has only one fifty in 10 innings and Dwayne Bravo has barely been striking at a run a ball – Knight Riders’ depth has served them well.Gautam Gambhir, who has opened up his stance, and Robin Uthappa have strung five fifty-plus partnerships this season. When they tripped up, against Royal Challengers Bangalore for example, Andre Russell and Yusuf Pathan bashed 96 off 44 balls to secure an unlikely victory.Russell topped that with a breathtaking spell against Kings XI Punjab and with Morne Morkel’s pace and bounce from the other end, Knight Riders have the Powerplay covered.Piyush Chawla has been tidy in the middle overs, with eight wickets in eight games at 23.75. The only worry for the hosts is Sunil Narine’s form and fitness. So far, Narine has been predictable; the ball isn’t spinning both ways anymore. He’s also nursing a finger injury.Form guideKolkata Knight Riders WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Lions LLLWWIn the spotlightBravo and Chawla are currently tied with 117 IPL wickets. Returning from injury on Friday, Bravo impressed with his slower balls again, but managed only 18 off 20 balls with the bat. Lions will want more from Bravo with the bat.Chawla, meanwhile, has mixed his legbreaks and googlies well, and will relish bowling at Eden Gardens. He has 13 wickets in 11 matches for Knight Riders at this venue.Team newsIf Sunil Narine needs more time to regain fitness, Knight Riders are likely to persist with left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir(capt), 2 Robin Uthappa(wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Brad Hogg/Sunil Narine, 10 Morne Morkel, Umesh YadavLions may consider including James Faulkner if Finch has aggravated a hamstring injury he suffered last month. Left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan, who leaked 28 runs in two overs on Friday, is likely to make way for batsman Ishan Kishan or left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati.Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Suresh Raina(capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik(wk), 5 Aaron Finch/James Faulkner, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Pradeep Sangwan/Ishan Kishan/Shadab Jakati, 9 Praveen Kumar 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Shivil KaushikPitch and conditionsThe Eden Gardens surface has traditionally been slow and favours spin. Sunday is expected to be a warm day, with chances of showers in the afternoon.Stats and trivia Russell has picked up six Man-of-the-Match awards for Knight Riders since IPL 2015. Dhawal Kulkarni has bowled three wicket maidens this season. No other bowler has bowled more than one wicket maiden.

England opener Jason Roy and fast bowler David Willey have been fined for breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct during their team’s 10-run victory against Sri Lanka in Delhi

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2016England opener Jason Roy and fast bowler David Willey have been fined for breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct during their team’s 10-run victory against Sri Lanka in Delhi.Roy, who blasted a 39-ball 42, was found to have been in violation of Article 2.1.5, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”. Roy, after being adjudged lbw in the 13th over, was heard using obscene language, and threw his bat and helmet as he left the field. He was fined 30% of his match fee.Willey’s incident concerned his send-off for Milinda Siriwardana during Sri Lanka’s innings. Willey, who ended with 2 for 26, was seen pointing to the pavilion and using obscene language after dismissing the batsman. He had violated Article 2.1.7, dealing with “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an international match”, and was docked 15% of his match fee.Since both Willey and Roy admitted the offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Jeff Crowe of the Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, there was no need for a formal hearing.

Cricket South Africa has altered the schedule for Sri Lanka’s 2016-17 tour to ensure that their international players will be able to appear in the Ram Slam T20 competition during early December

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2016Cricket South Africa has altered the schedule for Sri Lanka’s 2016-17 tour to ensure that their international players will be able to appear in the Ram Slam T20 competition during early December.The tour will still include three Tests, five ODIs and three T20s, but the most significant change to the itinerary is that the Johannesburg Test will now be held in mid-January rather than mid-December.The Wanderers had originally been due to host the opening Test of the series from December 15-19 but will now stage the third match from January 12-16, meaning the series will begin in Port Elizabeth on Boxing Day before the traditional New Year Test in Cape Town.This season the Ram Slam was held from November 1 to December 12 which coincided with the national side being in India and then the start of England’s visit. It meant that star names such as AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada did not make a single appearance in the tournament.There may still be limited time for players who are part of South Africa’s Test side to appear in the Ram Slam as South Africa tour Australia for a four-Test series during November, but the change in the schedule has now freed up much of December for the T20 competition.CSA said that research had suggested moving the Johannesburg Test would help boost attendances – often a concern for Tests in South Africa – but also pinpointed the Ram Slam as a key reason for the change and said future international itineraries would take the T20 event into consideration.Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, said: “The changes resulted from market research indicating that a Test match would work a lot better in Johannesburg during January plus our desire to keep the first half of December free for the Ram Slam T20 Challenge so that all our Proteas can participate in the tournament. In future years we will design our schedules accordingly.”South Africa face a busy period when they resume international cricket following a gap after the World T20. They begin with a triangular series in West Indies in June, follow that with winter Test matches against New Zealand in August before hosting Australia for a one-day series from the end of September.Then they head to Australia before returning for the rest of the home season against Sri Lanka which is then followed by a tour of New Zealand in February 2017.There will be particular attention on what de Villiers, who is now South Africa’s permanent Test captain, decides to do having cited his workload concerns but also made clear his desire to play in various T20 leagues with the IPL and CPL already in his calendar.

New Zealand fast bowler Andy McKay, who played one Test, 19 ODIs and two T20Is, has retired from all forms of cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2015Former New Zealand fast bowler Andy McKay has retired from all forms of cricket. McKay played one Test for New Zealand, against India in 2010, as well as two T20Is and 19 ODIs, taking a total of of 30 wickets.McKay, 35, hinted that he had taken the decision to spend more time with his family, and according to , he will be moving on to become the clinical lead manager of a physiotherapy practice in Wellington.”You sort of live in a bubble (during festive seasons) and it feels like you’re in a separate world almost,” McKay said.”You can see all these people are on their Christmas holidays but you’re there at work. You sort of get a taste of what it’s like, but it’s a sort of bubble experience.”Mckay spent the majority of his 57-match first-class career with Wellington, who he joined in 2009. Overall, he picked up 186 wickets from 57 first-class matches at an average of 31.88, and also snared 84 scalps from 52 List-A matches.”Coming to Wellington, and I’ve told the guys that this was the best move I ever made in my career. I was 29 and just a run-of-the-mill first-class cricketer,” he said.Though he was not part of the initial squad for the World Cup in 2011, McKay was called up for the semi-final against Sri Lanka after Kyle Mills got injured. New Zealand eventually succumbed to a five-wicket defeat, but the match nonetheless remains a career highlight for McKay.”It was pretty special to play that game,” he said. “I got there two days before the game and Dan (Vettori) said ‘Andy, just be prepared to play’. I thought I was just going as cover and to have the best seat in the house to watch it.”It was down to me and Woody (Wellington team-mate Luke Woodcock) as to who was going to play. Woody had played the quarter-final and we knew they were either going to pick a seamer or a spinner and we finally found out about an hour before the toss.”

“Matt Fisher: I think he is going to be an unbelievable bowler,” said Tim Bresnan after his introduction to the professional game against Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2015Matthew Fisher has only been playing Championship cricket for a fortnight but in Yorkshire they are more confident than ever that he has the attributes to become an England fast bowler.”Matt Fisher: I think he is going to be an unbelievable bowler,” said Tim Bresnan after his introduction to Championship cricket against Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire, voicing what Yorkshire – and England – have privately been hoping since Fisher first came on the scene.Bresnan, not the sort for overstatement, in fact quite the contrary, told the : “He is 17 years old, and he is swinging it both ways at 85mph and has a sharp bouncer as well. He looks a really good prospect. “Yorkshire have six players in the Caribbean but the confidence that their England production line will continue is evident. Bresnan himself has returned to England’s ODI squad against Ireland in Dublin and Alex Lees is regarded by many as a future England opening batsman.But it is Fisher, already a central part of England’s U19 side, who became Yorkshire’s sixth youngest Championship debutant this season when, at 17 years and 161 days old, he faced Nottinghamshire in a draw at Trent Bridge, who is carrying such expectations at a young age.He is used to that. In June 2013, aged 15 years and 212 days, he became the youngest post-war county cricketer when he played in a 40-over match against Leicestershire. He was still 15 when he was first included in an England Under-19 squad for a triangular series against Bangladesh and Pakistan that summer.His chances of further 1st XI cricket must give way for the moment to more serious matters as he takes his A levels But first of all, the 17-year-old fast bowler must concentrate on another type of examination – his A-Levels at Easingwold School.Bresnan, who at 30 still has miles in the tank, has been an England stalwart until injury disrupted his career and he knows the challenge of meeting expectations at a young age, having made his debut at 16 in a one-day match against Kent.”I think I see a lot of where I was, but Matt’s probably got a yard on where I was at that age,” he said. “He’s probably a lot quicker and probably has a lot more skill than I did. He’s got plenty of enthusiasm. I think he needs to work on his third spell, but he’ll get that with experience as he gets a lot older.”

Rangers have cancelled Celtic's entire away ticket allocation just 24 hours ahead of Sunday's SWPL Old Firm clash at Ibrox.

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Rangers cite 'intelligence' over 'risk' supportersCeltic lament 'hugely disappointing' decisionTop two go head-to-head on SundayWHAT HAPPENED?

The two sides meet on Sunday afternoon with Rangers enjoying a four-point lead over their rivals at the top of the league. But the game will now go ahead without away supporters after Rangers say they received intelligence about a number of tickets being purchased by fans perceived to pose a security risk requiring policing to be sourced at late notice.

AdvertisementGettyTHE EXPLANATION

The Ibrox club explained in a statement that they were not prepared to take the risk of allowing fans they deemed a 'risk' to attend a fixture that was not due to have a police presence. After Celtic's refusal to cancel tickets of people deemed to be a threat, Rangers chose to cancel the entire away allocation.

WHAT RANGERS SAID

Rangers announced via their website: "It is with regret that all tickets purchased by Celtic FC supporters for Sunday’s match at Ibrox have sadly had to be cancelled.

"Intelligence received by Rangers and Celtic on Thursday suggested groups of ‘risk’ supporters in a significant number had purchased tickets from the Celtic allocation.

"Rangers called an urgent operational meeting between both clubs and Police Scotland, with Police Scotland indicating they would need to deploy a sizeable resource at short notice as opposed to it initially being a police-free fixture.

"Rangers is committed to ensuring there are away supporters at our matches for both our men’s and women’s teams. However, a unique selling point of the women’s game is the unsegregated, family-friendly atmosphere, with many children attending these matches.

"Taking all of that into account, Rangers’ security team decided it would be unsafe to allow these ‘risk’ supporters into the stadium, and with Celtic unwilling to cancel just their tickets, the decision to cancel all tickets was taken."

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WHAT CELTIC SAID

A Celtic statement read: "It has been confirmed to Celtic Football Club just this morning that all away tickets will be cancelled for tomorrow's women's SWPL match at Ibrox Stadium.

"At a time when so many are working so hard to promote and support the women's game in Scotland, the decision to deny access to so many fans is hugely disappointing, even more so given that there were a number of options available to the home club to allow our fans to safely attend in a stadium of such capacity and given the expected crowd.

"Celtic will liaise with the home club regarding refunds for all tickets and will communicate to our supporters who had purchased tickets as soon as possible.

"We are pleased to inform our supporters that the match will be broadcast at the Sports Bar within Celtic Park tomorrow for any supporters who wish to attend."

The Portuguese is fighting for his future at the moment but not everybody is convinced he should go, with arguments to be considered on both sides

Barely a single word was uttered on Valencia on Monday as Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was instead left to field countless questions about his future and the demeanour of his squad ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with the Spanish outfit at Old Trafford.

Saturday's 3-1 defeat to West Ham increased the pressure on the under-fire Portuguese, with United slipping to 10th place in the Premier League table after a shambolic showing in the capital.

But while some have claimed that Zinedine Zidane has been lined up as a potential replacement, Mourinho remains in the job for now as the Red Devils look to fight their way out of a full-blown crisis.

Is now the right time to pull the trigger, or does Mourinho deserve more time? Goal runs through the reasons why United should sack him and those why he should be saved.

Getty1SAVE HIM: The costly pay-off

Even if a consensus is reached that firing Mourinho is the right thing to do given the context, the Portuguese’s exit is set to cost Manchester United a huge amount of money. With the best part of two years left on his Old Trafford deal and a club option for a further 12 months, the manager stands to gain a further £33 million during his United stay thanks to his £12m agreement.

It is believed that there is a clause in his deal though which would allow the club to pay him a £12m settlement should they decide to sack him before the end of the 2019-20 season, cutting between £9m and £21m off their total expected outlay.

But that would mean the club having to fork out £12m to pay off Mourinho even before considering the cost of taking on a new manager’s salary and signing-on bonuses, which would make it one almighty outlay for the miserly Ed Woodward to countenance.AdvertisementGetty2SAVE HIM: This is hardly a surprise to United

What exactly did United expect they were going to get when they appointed Mourinho in 2016? They sacked Louis van Gaal within 48 hours of winning the FA Cup because they wanted the closest thing they could find to guaranteed success at whatever cost.

They knew what Mourinho had got up to in the past, but they bought into it. They knew he’d demand costly changes to the squad to get them competing, but they bought into it. They knew they risked alienating those fans who want more than anything to see flowing football, but they bought into it.

Changing now would abandon yet another strategy – a third different vision in little over five years – and the need to develop a new one could be further damaging to a club which is desperately looking to pick a direction and stick to it.GETTY3SAVE HIM: Can a successor be expected to make a huge difference?

Which brings us to the replacement. United should only sack Mourinho if they are certain they can bring in an upgrade, and that is not necessarily the case right now. Of course, Zinedine Zidane’s name has been widely linked and Mourinho was even asked on Monday whether the Frenchman had called to say he was not after the United job.

But while Zidane comes with a pedigree having won three straight Champions Leagues, he took the job at Real Madrid with a squad of superstars already waiting for him. At United he would have a promising first XI but not too much else beyond that, leaving him with a far different proposition than the one which saw him achieve unprecedented success at the Santiago Bernabeu.

United were keen on Mauricio Pochettino before selecting Mourinho in 2016 and the Tottenham boss would be a fair target come next summer. But an immediate change in boss could rule out the Argentine, and the chance to make a considered appointment of a man who puts football first might be spurned as a result.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Getty4SAVE HIM: Mourinho is not the start and end of United's problems

While there is a clear issue with Mourinho, it is not United’s only area of concern right now… not by a long chalk. Bringing in a new manager will not do anything to resolve the fact that the Glazers’ takeover continues to cost the club around 80 per cent of its operating profit. It will also not address the fact that there is a serious lack of football-savvy decision-makers knocking around the club and executive vice-chair Ed Woodward gives the impression of a man out of his depth in the transfer arena.

And similarly a change of regime will not automatically fill the gaps in United’s anaemic squad, nor will it bring the bigger names into line without the perfect appointment being made upon Mourinho’s exit. The manager has fought for more care to be placed into the upkeep of the playing staff but the board have not been willing to do that, so why wouldn’t more of the same be in store for the next incumbent without greater support from the boardroom?

Karnataka had Tamil Nadu on the mat on the second day after unbeaten centuries from KL Rahul and Karun Nair took their score to 323 for 5, the lead now 189

The Report by Amol Karhadkar in Mumbai09-Mar-2015
ScorecardKL Rahul batted through pain for 338 minutes during the course of his unbeaten hundred•PTI With less than a month to go for the start of the IPL, technicians were testing spidercam at Wankhede Stadium on the sidelines of the second day’s play. The drone flew high, so did Karnataka’s chances of retaining the Ranji title.Centuries from Karun Nair and a hobbling KL Rahul – they added an unbroken 239-run partnership for the sixth wicket – had Tamil Nadu on the mat. With a lead of 189 runs and three days remaining, Karnataka appear well poised to defend their title.The day started on even terms, with Karnataka resuming on 45 for 4. The balance tilted in favour of Karnataka once Tamil Nadu’s pacers failed to break through nightwatchman Abhimanyu Mithun early. By the time Mithun perished in the 11th over of the day – adjudged lbw to offspinner M Rangarajan by umpire Anil Chaudhary when the ball may have gone over the bails – Tamil Nadu were playing catch up. It was also their only success of the day.Rahul came to the crease – he had retired hurt the previous evening due to hamstring strain – and appeared to have difficulty running between the wickets. He batted through the pain, Karun displayed abundant patience and the pair made a lacklustre bowling attack look worse.

KL Rahul became the seventh Karnataka player to score two centuries in Ranji Trophy finals after Brijesh Patel (3), GR Viswanath, Roger Binny, J Arunkumar, R Vijay Bharadwaj and Rahul Dravid (two each)

KL Rahul and Karun Nair’s 239-run unbroken partnership is a new record for the sixth wicket in Ranji Trophy finals. The duo bettered Ramakant Desai and GS Ramchand’s 203-run association for Mumbai against Rajasthan at Jaipur in 1962-63

Rahul and Nair will now be eyeing to raise the best sixth wicket partnership for Karnataka. The record is held by Manish Pandey and CM Gautam, who added 328 runs against Orissa at Bangalore in 2010-11

Though the pitch offered decent bounce, none of L Balaji, Prasanth Parameswaran and Aswin Crist bent their backs. Instead, they preferred to put the ball on a length and hoped for it to move in the air. Moreover, with Rahul struggling to run, the fielders barely attempted to hurry him by going for the stumps at his end.The first time a Tamil Nadu fielder tried a direct hit was 15 minutes before stumps. By then, Rahul had crossed his second hundred in as many Ranji finals and helped Karun raise his first century of the season and take the game away from Tamil Nadu. The only time Rahul ran three was to help his partner reach three-figures. Karun flicked Parameswaran through midwicket in the seventh over with the second new ball. Karun celebrated the hundred with a hat-trick of boundaries off Crist in the next over, a flick sandwiched between two cracking drives.Surprisingly, Tamil Nadu didn’t take that new ball immediately. Rahul was on 98 at the time, pulled Vijay Shankar for two he needed for his ton and then Tamil Nadu took the new ball. Though the bowling didn’t really challenge him, Rahul deserves praise for not losing concentration. He played though the pain for 338 minutes and took it up a notch by with drives, flicks, pulls and even a reverse sweep off Rangarajan to underline his thirst for runs.But the bowlers could not pose a threat to the well-set pair. Tamil Nadu’s batsmen will have to match Rahul and Karun’s efforts, if they are to avoid an outright loss, let alone coming back into the game.

Yorkshire’s captain Andrew Gale has become the first county cricketer to be accused of a racism offence after he was charged on Wednesday by the England & Wales Cricket Board for a disparaging use of the term ‘Kolpak’

David Hopps17-Sep-2014Yorkshire’s captain Andrew Gale has become the first county cricketer to be accused of a racism offence after he was charged on Wednesday by the ECB for a confrontation with Ashwell Prince in the Roses match which included a rejoinder to return to his own country, followed by a disparaging use of the term “Kolpak”.ESPNcricinfo revealed that the Kolpak term was part of the issue under investigation by the ECB hours after Gale was barred from collecting the Championship trophy on Yorkshire’s behalf following their clinching of the title with victory against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.Now the has confirmed that the ECB intends to press ahead with the charge in defiance of Yorkshire’s fury that their captain’s reputation has been tainted.The ECB’s charge will be that Gale used abusive language with racist connotations when the case the governing body laid itself is heard by its own disciplinary committee.The Kolpak insult

Andrew Gale referred to Ashwell Prince disparagingly as a Kolpak – the catch-all term for a player in English domestic cricket who qualifies by virtue of EU free-trade agreements with third-party countries, a qualification that has since been tightened to include goods and services but exclude people.

Gale has been found guilty of a Level 2 offence but a Level 3 offence (at least) will now be lodged. The difference is perceived racism.

Level 2 offence: Using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or of a seriously insulting nature to another player, umpire, referee, team official or spectator.

Level 3 offence: Using language or gesture that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person’s race, religion or belief, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation or background.

Yorkshire are assembling a legal team to contest the charge, which has left relationships between the county and the ECB – historically, often shaky – at their lowest levels for years and soured celebrations of their first Championship title for 13 yearsThe hearing could take place next week with Gale anticipating a Level 3 charge.Gale’s outburst came against Prince, Lancashire’s South African batsman, who qualifies to play domestic cricket by virtue of the Kolpak rule, on the third evening of the Roses match on September 3.Gale had become increasingly incensed at OId Trafford by Prince’s sledging and timewasting as Yorkshire pushed for victory. As tempers flared, Prince told Gale to get back to his fielding position, Gale’s rejoinder to Prince was that he should get back to his own country and included a reference to Prince’s Kolpak status. There was a dose of bad language on both sides.The umpires brought a Level 2 charge and Gale was suspended for two matches but the ECB was not satisfied that the affair had been sternly enough dealt with. The night before Yorkshire won the Championship at Trent Bridge, they were instructed that Gale should have no part in the trophy presentation ceremony as further charges could be laid.Prince’s immediate on-field gesticulations indicated that he viewed the outburst as having racist overtones, and as a Cape Coloured South African immersed in South Africa’s apartheid history, his response was perhaps not altogether surprising. But there are no indications that Prince himself has pressed for the matter to be taken further.Yorkshire will contend that there is no country, nor racial origin for Kolpaks – it is simply a descriptive term for those players from many countries who are able to play in county cricket because of reciprocal EU trade agreements – and it therefore cannot be construed as racist.The ECB itself has lobbied hard against Kolpak registrations, with some success, and some senior officials have not always referred to their presence in county cricket in a decorous manner. They, though, are not on trial.Gale’s rejoinder to Prince that he should “eff off home” will also have lawyers thumbing through the Race Relations Act and the Equality Act to decide whether, in such a context, that constitutes racism or merely the sort of all-too-common abuse, perhaps tinged with xenophobia, that has already been punished by a two-match ban?The ECB, led by the chairman Giles Clarke, is adamant that its task is to uphold behavioural standards in the game. No right-thinking person would question the general view that removing the scourge of racism from cricket is a noble aim.Whether Gale’s outburst can be fairly regarded in that vein will be fought out by the lawyers. But whether this case – unusual to say the least – is an appropriate occasion on which to make a stand on such a sensitive and important issue, an issue where reputations can be damaged for life, is a wider debate altogether.