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Victory against Warwickshire not out of question on spinning surface

ECB Reporters Network28-Sep-2024With Lancashire all out for 177 in Worcester, both Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire became safe from relegation just before 5pm on the third day of their Vitality County Championship match at Trent Bridge. But a good batting surface is just beginning to take spin and, if the main issue is resolved, this game could yet see a result should rain stay away on Sunday.Nottinghamshire eventually posted 487 after Kyle Verreynne, their South Africa Test wicketkeeper, sped to a first century in England en route to an unbeaten 148 from just 167 balls. Warwickshire, needing 338 to avoid the follow on, finished 344 behind at 143 for 4. Sam Hain will resume on a determined 59.Only 155 overs remained in the match, and 15 would fall foul of bad light, when the visitors finally gained their chance to enjoy what seeemed a distinctly benevolent pitch. Yet both openers very soon departed and, after a recovery to 105 for 2, Farhan Ahmed, spinning the ball away, removed two left-handers in three balls before the premature close 14 overs later.Will Rhodes, who had passed 1000 runs for the first time in his career, lost off stump for 37 as Ahmed beat the outside edge and Dan Mousley arrived to be LBW for a second-ball duck. In the same over the 16-year old, who now has 21 wickets in six innings since debut, had required lengthy attention after being hit on the left arm by his captain’s full-blooded shy at the non-striker’s stumps.Warwickshire’s start earlier, could hardly have been worse. Rob Yates, working to leg, sent a leading edge to second slip as Brett Hutton began the reply with a wicket maiden and Alex Davies played on to Jacob Duffy for five when trying to remove his bat.Things were calmer by the time the September shadows closed in, with Ed Barnard supporting Hain, both right-handers finding life marginally easier against Ahmed and judiciously employing the sweep.The preliminary to play in the morning was a presentation to Luke Fletcher in acknowledgement of the local favourite’s departure after 17 seasons with Nottinghamshire. The tall, massively built “Bulwell Bomber”, who had turned 36 ten days earlier, would have been glad to escape bowling on this flat pitch.Warwickshire did manage a wicket after 40 minutes following Nottinghamshire’s resumption on 324 for 6 when Rob Lord, whipping across the line, was LBW for 31 as Olly Hannon-Dalby notched his landmark 50th success of the season for a third successive campaign.Runs were already flowing, however, and the 70 that took Notts to 400 and their fourth batting point required only 14 overs. By the time an eighth man fell, just 22 balls remained for the visitors to search, in vain, for a last bowling point.Off-spinner Yates, with his second ball of the day, and eighth of the match, had Hutton smartly stumped for 29 when he advanced, missed and raised his back foot but Ahmed, the teenager at the very other end of the spectrum to Fletcher, joined Verreyyne to deny them.He finally cut Yates to backward point for ten from what became the last ball before lunch, taken at 440 for 9 with Verreyyne on 130, and the innings closed when Duffy charged Mousley, the eighth bowler employed, to be stumped by a mile for 29.

Thousands thronged Mumbai’s Marine Drive, and the Wankhede Stadium was at full capacity on Thursday evening, in anticipation of the Indian team’s open-top bus parade and felicitation for winning the T20 World Cup. The team’s arrival in Mumbai from Delhi was delayed, though, and their bus parade in South Mumbai was further delayed by the massive crowds, which caused logistical challenges. Eventually the parade got underway two hours behind schedule, but neither the chaos of the jam-packed roads nor the rain proved to be deterrents to the fans.”The open-bus parade, which was delayed by two hours, started from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Nariman Point at 7.30pm and went till the Wankhede Stadium,” PTI reported. “The distance is covered usually in five minutes but it took more than an hour as the players savoured the evening.Indian fans congregated at Marine Drive hours ahead of the team’s open-top bus parade•AFP/Getty Images

“The squad landed in the city a little after 5pm local time. As per the itinerary shared by officials, a two-hour open-bus parade [was scheduled] from 5pm to 7pm. However, it was learnt that the team could only leave New Delhi by 3.42pm.” Delhi to Mumbai is usually a 2-hour, 10-minute flight.The team had arrived in Delhi from Bridgetown, Barbados, at 6am, having flown in on a charter flight. They had had to stay put in the West Indies for longer than expected because of Hurricane Beryl, which had forced airports closed. After arriving in Delhi, the team was transferred to a hotel and later in the morning met India Prime Minister Narendra Modi for breakfast. The evening was reserved to meet and celebrate with fans, but with the thousands packing the route to the stadium, and evening showers in Mumbai adding to the logistical complications, there was a long delay before any celebrations could kick off. Eventually, the gates were closed at the Wankhede, with the stadium at capacity, and intermittent but heavy showers followed.PTI reported: “As the gates closed amid intermittent rain, extreme humidity and chaos of several thousand people arriving in the vicinity, those [who found] places inside Wankhede remained fixed to their seats even if there was scarcity of food and water.”As the fans ran in all directions … in the stands amid a heavy burst of rain, several pairs of footwear got left behind in the rush.”While the wait [went on], rain kept pelting down with breaks but it could not force the fans off their seats in the stadium.”The rain comes down on fans waiting to felicitate the Indian team at the Wankhede•AFP/Getty Images

Eventually the team arrived at the stadium around 9pm, and speeches from captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and coach Rahul Dravid followed. There was also a lap of honour.India had won their first World Cup – ODI or T20 – in 13 years when they snatched a thriller against South Africa by seven runs in Bridgetown on Saturday. Since then, Rohit, Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja have announced they will not play another T20I, while this World Cup was also Dravid’s last assignment with the team.

Dupavillon and Brown strike with ball to inflict rare defeat on midlands neighbours

ECB Reporters Network07-Jun-2024Derbyshire 198 for 6 (Madsen 53, Stone 3-42) beat Nottinghamshire 102 (Dupavillon 3-15, Brown 3-17, Whiteley 3-23) by 96 runsDerbyshire Falcons celebrated a T20 victory over Notts Outlaws for the first time in nine years when they crushed their local rivals by 96 runs in the Vitality Blast North Group match at Derby.Superb batting from Wayne Madsen, who made 53 off 32 balls, and a destructive 46 off only 16 by Ross Whiteley lifted the Falcons from 76 for 4 after 10 overs to 198 for 6.Daryn Dupavillon then blew away the top order as Outlaws slumped to 36 for 4 and they never recovered as Whiteley followed up his batting fireworks by taking 3 for 23.Outlaws crumbled to 102 all out in 16.4 overs and have now lost their first four group games while Falcons recorded a second win.The game had started well for the visitors when Aneurin Donald skied the first ball he faced to deep square but David Llloyd got Falcons up and running by pulling Ollie Stone for six in the third over.New Zealander Cam Fletcher marked his debut with three off-side boundaries in Dillon Pennington’s second over before Lloyd dispatched Ben Lister for his second maximum. But Lloyd miscued a pull at Stone to midwicket and Fletcher edged behind to leave the Falcons on 47 for 3 at the end of the powerplay.That brought in Samit Patel who announced himself against his former club by whipping Lyndon James behind square for six but in the next over he pulled Calvin Harrison to Will Young at deep midwicket.Outlaws should have removed Brooke Guest on 9 in the 13th over but he was badly dropped at cover by Joe Clarke and the rest of the innings belonged to Madsen and Whiteley.Madsen drove Harrison for six and ramped Pennington for four on his way to a 29 ball 50 before he lifted James to long-off.That left the stage to Whiteley who demolished the bowling with a brutal exhibition of muscular strokeplay as 50 runs came off the last three overs. Stone was twice pulled for six and Lister received the same treatment in an over which cost 23 as Falcons took flight.Whiteley was caught at deep cover off the last ball but he had taken the game away from Outlaws who were facing a daunting chase.They needed their big guns to fire but Clarke was caught behind cutting at the first ball from Dupavillon and Alex Hales briefly threatened before becoming Dupavillon’s second victim. After dispatching the South African for two fours he miscued a big pull and was well caught at wide mid-on to put a big dent in Outlaws’ hopes.They were all but extinguished by the end of the powerplay with Young slicing Pat Brown to cover and Jack Haynes bowled making room to drive Dupavillon.Whiteley’s memorable evening continued when he pinned Tom Moores lbw with his first ball and then had Matt Montgomery caught at deep cover in his next over. Stone became Whiteley’s third victim when he drilled him to long-off and Falcons wrapped up a memorable victory with 20 balls to spare.

Going into the final day, it is very much all to play for if you’re an Aston Villa supporter.

Last Friday night, the Villans beat Tottenham 2-0 at Villa Park, thanks to second-half goals from Ezri Konsa and then Boubacar Kamara.

This means, having won eight of their last nine Premier League games, Unai Emery’s team sit sixth, outside the coveted Champions League spots by virtue of goal difference.

Nevertheless, they could still gatecrash the top five with victory over Manchester United on Sunday, if just one of Chelsea fail to win at Nottingham Forest, Newcastle fail to beat Everton or Manchester City lose at Fulham comes to pass simultaneously.

Those bedecked in claret and blue heading to Old Trafford on Sunday will need their transistor radios at the ready, but could this turn out to be a final Villa appearance for one of the club’s most beloved figures?

The latest on Emi Martínez's Villa future

According to widespread reports, including from Mick Brown of Football Insider, goalkeeper Emi Martínez is expected to leave Aston Villa this summer.

Speaking on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, Dan Bardell says “it looks like he’s going to go”, which he believes will be a “huge loss”, describing the Argentine World Cup winner as “irreplaceable”, while acknowledging that Villa have to sell a key player before 30 June to comply with Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

Numerous clubs are interested in his services.

Jacob Tanswell and Gregg Evans of the Athletic note Saudi Pro League ‘interest’, reports in Argentina note that Manchester United have ‘made an offer’, while Eduardo Burgos Rodríguez of AS claims that Atlético Madrid have begun ‘informal inquiries’.

Since arriving from Arsenal for £20m in 2020, Martínez has made 211 appearances for the Claret and Blue Army, becoming an undisputed fans’ favourite, also picking up back-to-back Yashin Trophies at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, being named the best goalkeeper in the world.

However, with the 32-year-old seemingly set to depart, could Villa actually recruit an upgrade?

Aston Villa's target to replace Martínez

According to a report by Birmingham Live, Aston Villa are ‘interested’ in signing Espanyol goalkeeper Joan García.

James McNicholas and David Ornstein of The Athletic document that Arsenal are also in the running to sign the 24-year-old Spaniard, who has a €25m (around £21m) release clause.

According to a report in Spain, this will plummet down to just £12.6m, if Blanquiazules are relegated on the final day of the La Liga season come Saturday evening.

How García could actually improve Aston Villa

Given this interest, could García actually be an upgrade on Martínez? Well, let’s assess the numbers to find out.

Appearances

52

37

Minutes

4,590

3,330

Clean sheets

15

7

Goals conceded

61

51

Saves

146

136

Save %

71.6%

75%

Penalty saved %

33.3%

33.3%

Post-shot xG – goals conceded

+4

+7.1

Opposition crosses faced

605

655

% of crosses stopped

11.2%

9.3%

Pass completion %

79.3%

71.5%

Errors leading to an opposition shot

8

4

Average Sofascore Rating

7.25

7.37

As the table outlines, Martínez and García’s statistics are broadly very similar this season, which is certainly impressive from the Spaniard’s point-of-view, considering his team are hovering just above the La Liga relegation zone.

García’s save percentage is impressive, but the statistic that stands out the most is his post-shot xG – goals allowed figure of +7.1, which means he ranks tenth across all of Europe’s top five leagues, or fourth if you remove Ligue 1 from the equation, behind only Nikola Vasilj (St. Pauli), Mile Svilar (Roma) and Finn Dahmen (Augsburg).

For context, Martínez is down in 104th when it comes to the same metric.

Analyst Ben Mattinson labels García “one of the highest potential goalkeepers in the world right now”, elsewhere praising his “cross claiming” and “composure on the ball”, assertions that are supported by the data.

Meantime, Sive Vishwa of Breaking the Lines backs him to become ‘one of the best goalkeepers’ of his generation, while Fintan O’Reilly of Total Football Analysis believes García has been the ‘all-round best performing young goalkeeper’ across Europe this season.

So, as much as Villa supporters adore Martínez, if they’re able to replace him with a highly-rated shot-stopper, who is six years his junior, for a bargain fee, from a business point of view, this does make sense doesn’t it?

Aston Villa in pole position after talks to sign "powerful" 18 y/o sensation

He’s a rising star.

ByTom Cunningham May 22, 2025

The bad news is that Arsenal’s campaign is set to end trophyless for a fifth year running; the good news is that there are only three games left until it’s over.

Mikel Arteta’s side had the chance to make it to only the second Champions League final in the club’s history on Wednesday night, but despite their fast start, they couldn’t get over the line.

Perhaps things would have been a little different if Kai Havertz had been fit and leading the line; as for all the criticism he gets, the German remains the club’s top scorer this season, even though he hasn’t played since early February.

However, even though he’s not been too bad when fit this season, he may well find his minutes reduced next year, as, based on reports, the club are looking at a striker who might just be an upgrade.

Arsenal's striker search

With the striker position being such a clear area to address, Arsenal have been linked with a plethora of incredible strikers in recent months, such as Jonathan David and Viktor Gyokeres.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The former has scored 25 goals and provided 12 assists in 47 games this season, and best of all would be available for free, as his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

Gyokeres, on the other hand, could cost a whopping £70m, although as he’s managed to score a staggering 52 goals and provide 12 assists in 49 games for Sporting CP, that may well be a fair price.

However, if Arteta and Co want to spend more money on other positions in the team, they might opt for a cheaper but still effective striker to come in, which would explain the interest in Evann Guessand.

According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are one of several sides interested in signing the French forward.

Alongside the Gunners, the report has revealed that West Ham United, Aston Villa and Newcastle United have sent scouts to watch him in recent games, while other stories have also credited Manchester United with an interest in the 23-year-old.

A potential price is not revealed in the report, but according to other stories from the start of the year, he could be available for around £25m, which would make this potential transfer feel like a no-brainer, especially as he could be an upgrade on Havertz.

How Guessand compares to Havertz

Now, while Guessand is more than capable of playing off the right of a front three, it seems incredibly unlikely that he would ever start there ahead of Saka.

So, were he to join Arsenal in the summer, he’d almost certainly be played down the middle, in turn putting him up against Havertz for game time, but who’s the better player?

Well, when we look at their raw output, it’s incredibly close.

For example, when looking at all competitions, the German has scored 15 goals and provided five assists in 34 games, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.7 games.

This is marginally better than the Nice ace, as his 12 goals and nine assists in 40 appearances come out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.90 games.

However, when we take a look at their league records, their bread and butter, it’s the Frenchman who comes ahead, with 11 goals and eight assists in 31 appearances to the Aachen-born star’s nine goals and three assists in 21 appearances, coming out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.63 and 1.75 league games respectively.

Interesting, and quite crucially, while there isn’t much to separate them regarding their output, things start to look a lot better for the “unpredictable” 23-year-old, as dubbed by The Athletic’s Alex Barker, when we take a look under the hood, at their underlying numbers.

Non-Penalty G+As

0.67

0.59

Progressive Passes

2.85

2.89

Progressive Carries

3.11

1.67

Goals per Shot

0.19

0.17

Goals per Shot on Target

0.44

0.43

Passing Accuracy

74.0%

78.5%

Expected Assists

0.17

0.08

Key Passes

1.11

0.78

Passes into the Final Third

1.70

1.27

Passes into the Penalty Area

0.96

0.39

Crosses into the Penalty Area

0.15

0.05

Shot-Creating Actions

3.19

2.01

Goal-Creating Actions

0.56

0.15

Successful Take-Ons

1.59

0.44

Ball Recoveries

3.52

1.91

In almost every relevant metric, the Ajaccio-born poacher comes out on top, metrics including, but not limited to, non-penalty goals plus assists, expected assists, progressive carries, goals per shot and shot on target, shot and goal-creating actions, successful take-ons, key passes and more, all per 90.

So, while their output is somewhat similar at the moment, the Nice gem has far better underlying numbers, so it wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect his goal and assist tallies to dramatically improve if he was in a better team.

Ultimately, Guessand is already a great forward, and with his age and the price tag, signing him this summer feels like a no-brainer for Arsenal, even if it could be bad news for Havertz’s future game time.

Arsenal line up move for PSG star who'd be a big upgrade on Martinelli

The incredibly entertaining international is just what Arsenal need this summer.

ByJack Salveson Holmes May 8, 2025

Everton are believed to be interested in signing a player who is a “massive favourite” of David Moyes in the summer transfer window, a new update has claimed.

Moyes plans summer signings at Everton

The Blues’ Premier League season is starting to peter out a little in terms of important matches, with survival all but secured for another season. Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal was another good result under Moyes, though, with the Scot continuing to do an excellent job during his second stint at Goodison Park.

There will now be lots of focus on possible new signings for Everton this summer, with contact reportedly made with the representatives of SC Freiburg midfielder Merlin Rohl over a move to Merseyside. The 22-year-old has been affected by injuries in 2024/25, but he is a versatile player who could be a long-term signing.

Feyenoord defender David Hancko has also been mentioned as an option for the Blues once the current season reaches its conclusion, following another impressive campaign for the Eredivisie giants.

Lorenzo Lucca has been linked with a move to Everton as well, with the Udinese striker a towering 6 foot 7 inches tall, which is the same height as Peter Crouch. The Italian has scored 10 goals in 25 starts in Serie A this season, also picking up nine yellow cards, highlighting a tenacious side to his game.

Everton fighting West Ham for "very clever" Sunderland star Neil

According to a fresh report from Football Insider, Everton are in the race to sign Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil at the end of the season.

West Ham are thought to be providing competition for the signature of the Black Cats skipper, but the 23-year-old is a “massive favourite” of Moyes.

Sunderland are “bracing themselves for ample bids” from Premier League clubs, assuming the Championship side fail to earn promotion.

Neil may not be a top-flight player currently, which could naturally put some Everton fans off, but he could be a shrewd addition to Moyes’ squad. At 23, the Englishman has already become one of Sunderland’s most important players, captaining them at a young age, and Black Cats manager Regis Le Bris lauded him back in January.

“I think he did well during the first part of the season, but it wasn’t so obvious for the observers maybe, because he was really important in adjusting all the behaviour of his teammates. He’s very clever, very important to adjust the formation and balance the team.”

This season, Neil has started 39 of Sunderland’s 40 Championship matches, outlining his availability, and his quality and energy in midfield could be a real asset for Everton.

Related Everton struck gold on “constant threat” who’s worth more than Longstaff

Everton made a good investment with the signing

Posts ByJoe Nuttall Apr 7, 2025

He could be seen as a long-term replacement for Idrissa Gueye, who is now 35 years of age and whose contract expires at the end of this season.

Questions will be asked about when SA will take the next step, but for now the answer is: not this time

Firdose Moonda02-Nov-20252:48

Wolvaardt: Reaching three finals shows we’re doing something right

The first time South Africa reached a World Cup final, at the home T20 World Cup in 2023, they were just happy to be there. The second time, a year later, they were spent from playing the game of their lives in the semi-final and beating perennial champions Australia. But the third – this time and also their first in the ODI World Cup – seemed set to be the charm, until South Africa fell short again.It’s worth remembering that’s all it was: they fell short. They neither disgraced themselves, nor choked. They lost a game of cricket against a team who were better, indeed who saw this as their date with destiny and sometimes, in sport, these things happen.Still, in the immediate aftermath, that did not soften the blow. Marizanne Kapp, probably playing in her last ODI World Cup, sat in the dugout, her eyes brimming with tears, and ignored the hand of comfort on her shoulder. Laura Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk sat together, the shock still writ across their faces, even as they feigned a few smiles. Tazmin Brits sat alone, staring at nothing in particular, what-ifs running through her mind.Spare a thought specifically for Wolvaardt, who is now the leading run-scorer in a single edition of any ODI World Cup and the second-highest World Cup run-scorer overall.With centuries in the semi-final and the final, eight catches in the tournament and increasingly more astute captaincy, she may feel she deserved more than a runners up medal, but sport can be cruel and Wolvaardt has been dealt a particularly tough hand.Related

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Ask her and she’ll probably say she’d trade in all those accolades for the trophy but she took defeat on the chin. “We were outplayed tonight,” Wolvaardt said at the post-match presentation before telling the press conference that she could already see the silver lining. “We’ll still look back at this tournament as having a lot of positives.”We’ve played some really good cricket throughout this tournament. At one stage we won five games in a row, which is pretty big for our group. We’re just searching for that consistency, which is something that we don’t necessarily have in bilaterals. So, I’m really proud that we’re able to perform in big tournaments.”South Africa came into this World Cup having won six out of 13 ODIs in the year preceding the tournament, which included a series loss to England and failing to make the final of a triangular series which included India and Sri Lanka.That they beat both India and Sri Lanka in the group stage and rallied from 69 all out against England before the knockouts to beat them by 125 runs in the semi-final speaks both to how bilateral form can rarely be a gauge for major tournament success and that South Africa can pick themselves up quickly when things go wrong.Those are both signs of a maturing team but still, just 12 years since professionalisation, they remain a work in progress.”We’re learning on the job and we showed that we were able to grow and actually get to the final like we did now,” Mandla Mashimbyi, South Africa’s coach, who has only been in charge for 10 months said. “To see how the team has progressed from the time that I took over, is a humbling experience for me. But at the same time, I’m excited because when nobody gave us a chance, we gave ourselves a chance.”Laura Wolvaardt kept the chase alive with a stunning century•ICC/Getty ImagesWolvaardt pointed to “different people” who “put up their hands at different stages” including how South Africa played against spin (the England and Australia blow outs which included an Alana King seven-for excluded) and how their spinners bowled.”That’s always been a big talking point with our group, is how we play spin so to make it to the final of the World Cup in subcontinent conditions (was rewarding),” she said. “Our seamers bowled pretty well in subcontinent conditions as well. They often bowled better than our spinners did, economy-wise. Kappie was great for us. And Nadine was excellent. It was really nice to see.”De Klerk’s finishing with the bat against India and Bangladesh and Kapp’s five-for in the semi-final will be talked about for years to come, but so will Nonkululekho Mlaba’s 13 wickets, which puts her as the joint fifth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament.For all the celebration of individual contributions, there also needs to be an acknowledgement of which players did not perform, coupled with the empathy that comes with such an assessment.Everyone goes into a tournament wanting to give their absolute best but for some, that just doesn’t happen. Anneke Bosch scored just 35 runs in six innings at the tournament, including three ducks, and dropped Shafali Verma on 56 in the final, a chance that cost South Africa 31 runs. There were arguments to be made for leaving her out of the final XI in place of an extra seamer like Masabata Klaas but South Africa always felt they needed a batting cushion for a big chase.That may also be because they stuck rigidly to the pre-tournament plan of using Sinalo Jafta at No.6 and though she looks better than she has than at any other stage of her career, she still uses up too many dot balls. Jafta twice made her career-best at this World Cup, but her tournament strike rate was under 70 and at this level, South Africa needed more.Naturally, South Africa will wonder about the plans they didn’t make and chances they didn’t take but some perspective will remind them that they still defied expectations getting to the final. They also continued a line of excellence that stretches back to 2023 when this same team broke new ground by becoming the first senior side to reach a World Cup final. But they can’t ride on that forever even though they are doing what they can to see the bigger picture.”Cricket in South Africa is thriving. Sometimes things have to go wrong to go right and I think that was the case,” Mashimbyi, who worked extensively in men’s domestic cricket before moving to the women’s team, said. “In terms of the talent that’s coming through in South African cricket in both men and women, it’s actually quite scary. The future of South African cricket looks bright.”But now that they can reach finals (six across all formats, genders and age-groups since that T20 final in 2023) questions will be asked about when South Africa will take the next step and win trophies. For now, the answer is: not this time.

The Asia Cup final featured a display of high-intensity, wicket-seeking new-ball bowling from India, with spot-on execution to boot

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Sep-20232:02

‘An embarrassment’ – Maharoof’s assessment of Sri Lanka’s batting

Fifth ball of his second over, Mohammed Siraj is flying down the field. He is racing from the pitch, in white hot pursuit of one of the handful of shots a Sri Lanka batter middled. Dhananjaya de Silva has only check-driven a fullish ball on the stumps, without much of a backlift, so there’s limited power in the shot. In normal circumstances, this would be stopped by the fielder at mid-on, and this would have yielded one run at most.These are not normal circumstances. There is no mid-on.Instead there are four slips, one leg gully, just the single fielder on the legside, and an India pace duo who look as if they are loading up and sending down 50,000 volts with every ball.It took Jasprit Bumrah just three wickedly moving deliveries to get rid of Kusal Perera•Associated PressThey have already short-circuited Sri Lanka’s top order. Second ball of the match, Jasprit Bumrah had a fullish ball outside off nip away from Kusal Perera, then follows it up with another ball that jags away, only fuller, so this time Perera edges to the wicketkeeper. It’s classic, wicket-seeking new-ball bowling, but the execution is perfect.It keeps being perfect. In the first three overs Bumrah appears the greater threat, that whippy action, and his fullish length, wild in the channel outside off. But it’s Siraj’s next over that defines the match – maybe the tournament. He bowls spectacular late outswingers, and with a subtle change in seam position, sends the occasional delivery on with the arm towards the stumps. He is relentless with his line, length, and intensity.The four-wicket over features: A batter pushing at a full ball, but not accounting for the swing, sending the ball in the air to point (Pathum Nissanka). A batter being nailed in front of middle stump two balls later, as he looks for outswing but gets the straighter one (Sadeera Samarawickrama). Another batter pushing at a full ball and sending the ball aerially to point (Charith Asalanka). A batter nicking an outswinger in the channel after following it with his hands (Dhananjaya de Silva). Related

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Siraj: 'Plan was to keep it simple, and I kept getting wickets'

Four in six, ball by ball – Siraj scythes through Sri Lanka

It is in the middle of this opposition-shattering sequence that Siraj runs around in his follow through, like a V8 drifting around a corner, and tears after de Silva’s checked-drive. Ishan Kishan, who had just taken a catch at point previous ball, is running after it too. But Siraj does not ease off even slightly. He races it all the way to the boundary.This was the 11th ball Siraj had bowled. He’d taken three wickets already and the rest had been dots. The score at 8 for 4, the damage to Sri Lanka’s innings was already probably irreparable. But Siraj sped after this one loose ball like he resented their even getting to double figures.In the slips, Virat Kohli is cackling, partly in derision, partly because of the absurdity of what is, and has been, happening. The India quicks are currently not laughing. They are too consumed by their intensity.Many overs later, with Siraj into his sixth straight over, Kusal Mendis aims a booming drive at yet another big outswinger, and clean misses. Siraj gets close to Mendis, and shoots him a glare. Next ball, he gets a similar ball to hold its line. This thwacks Mendis’ middle stump out of place.Kusal Mendis became Mohammed Siraj’s sixth victim, the second to be bowled•Associated PressSiraj has six wickets for seven runs now. Sri Lanka are 33 for 7, any hopes of some sort of resurgence dead. “I was destined to get this today,” Siraj said after they had decked the opposition for 50. “I didn’t get much swing in the earlier matches, but today I did. I wanted to make the batters play.”That Sri Lanka played at too many balls, were hesitant with their footwork, failed to bat with sufficient patience against bowling of this quality – all this is true. In general, they played like a side whose batteries had been drained from the effort of qualifying.India, who had had to play on four of the seven previous evenings, even winning against two separate oppositions across three nights, on wildly different surfaces, were the opposite. Siraj and Bumrah came supercharged.

Jason Holder was a part of most good things for West Indies after being drafted into the main squad

Shashank Kishore29-Oct-20212:36

Ganga: Chase and Holder’s inclusion in West Indies’ XI should have happened before

Big Jase wears his heart on his sleeve. He speaks his mind. He comes pounding in with the ball. He stands in the slips if the ball is swinging. He patrols the boundary, leaps high to pull off stunners, and makes them look easy. He gives his team a pep talk in the huddle in the absence of Kieron Pollard. And with the bat, he comes in and flexes those big shoulders and strong forearms, and whacks big runs. With Jason Holder, what’s not to like?In an ideal world, Holder should probably not have just been hanging around as a reserve in the UAE after being left out of West Indies’ original T20 World Cup squad. Of late, though, coming in late but being the big show at the party has become a recurring theme with Holder, in a way.In 2020, at a reserve price of INR 75 lakh (approx. US$100,000), he found no takers at the IPL auction. Come November, Sunrisers Hyderabad dialled in Holder as bowling insurance. He quit his family holiday midway and headed over, and ended up leading the pace attack in Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s absence, while also giving them batting muscle lower down, and taking them into the playoffs.

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And this year, Holder left Sunrisers wondering why they hadn’t included him straightaway at the start of IPL 2021.It’s almost as if Holder has been programmed thus – summoned suddenly, and expected to perform right from the get-go. Like on Friday, when he came in with West Indies’ World Cup campaign on the line. A loss and the dream of a third title would have come crashing down. They are still in it, thanks in no small part to Holder.

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He walked in to bat after the big boys had struggled, and the scoreboard was reading 119 for 6.Those who have spent a lot of their adult lives searching for cricket balls Chris Gayle has deposited in Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park would have been aghast at seeing him try and dink the ball for tight singles in the powerplay, making mad dashes to complete runs he wouldn’t have bothered with in his heyday. The dots piled up, as did the pressure, and he was bowled swinging wildly at a straight ball.Evin Lewis, looking to live up to that tag of being the next Gayle, was early into a pull that he top-edged behind. His glare at the surface in disbelief showed that he wasn’t sure if it was the wrong shot, or the two-paced nature of the pitch, that had got him.Jason Holder’s runs in the last over played a part in West Indies’ narrow win•Getty ImagesThen there was Kieron Pollard, for whom a 60-metre straight hit with a walking stick is child’s play. Here, he was unable to force the pace, cramping up badly and frustrated to the extent that he retired for a bit.Even before anyone was able to process what had happened, Andre Russell was run-out. Without facing a ball, at the non-striker’s end. The time taken to bash out the description of his dismissal on ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary was longer than what he spent in the middle.All along, Roston Chase was trying to come to grips with the situation, the conditions, and his role.Related

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It needed some unbelievable batting from Nicholas Pooran, the only batter in the match to have taken the pitch completely out of the equation, to get them dreaming of 125. And then Holder came in at No. 8, riding high on luck after being dropped second ball, to try and make something of the last five balls. No time for sighters against the canny Mustafizur Rahman. Holder is used to doing the dirty work, and he had to do it again. Four big deliveries. No choice.

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Five balls to go. It’s 123 for 7. How much then – 130, or 135? Can’t be more than that.Holder takes a fresh leg-stump guard. He positions himself with a high back lift. Mustafizur lopes in. Surely a cutter? No. It’s a low full-toss. Strong wrists, whip. Six!Next ball. Full, on the stumps. Holder clears his front leg and sends it over deep square-leg.Pollard chips in with a last-ball six, and West Indies get to 142. Holder’s five-ball 15 is worth 23.72 Smart Runs.Jason Holder sets off for a celebratory run after getting rid of Mohammad Naim•Getty ImagesThe total is more than West Indies might have expected, and it gives them momentum. But Holder knows the job is just half-done. He has four potentially tournament-changing overs coming up.He delivers three of those with precision inside the powerplay. A hobbling Shakib Al Hasan is kept honest, and a charging Mohammad Naim is denied a free swing of the arms. His height allows Holder to generate extra bounce even off slower deliveries, and premeditation doesn’t work. The pressure is on Naim after Shakib’s dismissal. He looks to pull but can only chop on. It’s a big strike. Holder’s first spell reads 3-0-11-1.Later, there’s the fourth over, with Bangladesh needing 44 off 30. The over goes for 11, as Mahmudullah and Liton Das get going, and Holder might have wondered if the game had slipped away.But then, with seven balls left and 13 to get, he redeems himself. By calmly leaping high, using every inch of his tall frame to try and prevent the ball from going over long-on for six. He latches on. Almost with ease.Holder can do no wrong.But he does, misfielding off the penultimate ball of the chase, and giving Bangladesh just one whack for four for victory. On another night, Holder may have had to walk off wondering if it was the turning point. In Sharjah, on a fine Friday evening, by making a game out of nothing, luck was on his side as Russell closed out the game with a superb yorker.Holder finished with a match impact of 72.37 on ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, a metric that adds context to every performance. It was quite the show.

Crystal Palace have now expressed an interest in signing an “extraordinary” forward, who has made a fantastic start to the 2025-26 campaign.

Palace looking to sign another top-level forward after Pino

It was always going to be a tall order to replace Eberechi Eze, after losing the attacking midfielder to Arsenal in the summer transfer window, but the statement signing of Yeremy Pino from Villarreal went some way to allaying Palace fans’ fears about losing the talisman.

Pino led the Eagles to victory in their opening Europa Conference League match, chipping in with two assists in the 2-0 victory, and the Spaniard is not the only forward off to an impressive start, with Ismaila Sarr already on three Premier League goals.

Despite Oliver Glasner already being blessed with a number of top-quality attacking options, however, it has now been revealed the Eagles have expressed an interest in another forward, with Steve Parish proving he means business.

According to a report from Spain, Crystal Palace are now keen on signing AS Monaco star Ansu Fati, following his impressive start to the season, but there could be competition for the 22-year-old’s signature, with Everton and Newcastle United also keen.

It is unclear what sort of fee Monaco would be looking to receive for Fati, but FC Barcelona have a buy-back clause of around €28m (£24m), which provides a potential reference point.

Palace are said to be looking to bolster their squad with young talent, meaning the Monaco forward would be an ideal addition, and his displays in Ligue 1 this season suggest he could make a real impact at Selhurst Park…

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By
Dominic Lund

Oct 12, 2025

"Extraordinary" Fati fulfilling his potential at Monaco

Once widely regarded to be the next big thing, the former Barcelona man flattered to deceive at the Camp Nou, but he has since gone on to prove he still has the potential to become one of the best wingers in the world since signing for AS Monaco.

Indeed, the Spaniard has made a flying start to the 2025-26 campaign, scoring six goals in five matches in all competitions, including his side’s only goal in a 4-1 defeat against Club Brugge in the Champions League.

The left-winger has also received high praise from Xavi in the past, with the ex-Barca manager once lauding him as “extraordinary”, which suggests he has the ability to be a real difference-maker for Palace.

With it being widely reported that Parish has held talks with Glasner about a contract extension, making a statement signing in January could play a major role in convincing the Austrian to stay, and Fati could be an excellent addition to the squad.