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India, Pakistan will look to put off-field issues aside in Super Fours clash

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Pakistan could take a few encouraging signs from India’s match against Oman on Friday

Karthik Krishnaswamy20-Sep-20252:35

How can Afridi deal with Abhishek?

Big picture

Remember the 1986 Asia Cup? The one without India, because they did not want to travel to Sri Lanka? Or the 1990-91 Asia Cup? The one without Pakistan, because they did not want anything to do with India?This Asia Cup could have been one of those Asia Cups, but given the two sides of this particular coin, and given how much that coin is worth, we have instead an Asia Cup where India are about to play Pakistan for the second time in a week, with the possibility of a third meeting in another week’s time. But just so we know things aren’t normal, handshakes are off-limits for one team, and the other doesn’t like the match referee.If it’s somehow possible to put all that aside, Sunday’s Super Fours meeting could be quite interesting from a cricket point of view. India will be back on the field less than 48 hours after playing Oman, and if Pakistan watched that game, they may have seen a few encouraging signs:Related

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  • Axar hurts his head while fielding, could be in doubt for Pakistan clash

  • A left-arm swing bowler, Shah Faisal, bowled Shubman Gill with his third ball and kept beating Sanju Samson’s bat thereafter. Pakistan have a left-arm swing bowler with a Shah in his name.
  • At various points, India’s batters struggled for fluency on a pitch without a lot of pace in it.
  • India only picked up four Oman wickets.

All this, of course, happened when Suryakumar Yadav didn’t bat even though his team lost eight wickets, and when India rested Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy and got five overs out of their sixth, seventh and eighth bowlers combined. India were in full-on experimental mode against Oman, and they won comfortably anyway.Pakistan know all this, and they know India start as overwhelming favourites. But this is the Super Fours, effectively a new tournament with the slate wiped clean for both teams. And while this is an India line-up of frightening strength and depth, the gap between it and less formidable line-ups shrinks in conditions that typically yield smaller totals, such as those in the UAE. There is even an argument to be made that Pakistan made things harder for themselves in last Sunday’s clash by deciding to bat first in conditions that have tended to favour chasing.Given all that, this could still be an India-Pakistan match that we’ll remember years down the line, for cricketing reasons, even if recent history has given us little reason to believe it.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Pakistan WLWWW2:33

Chopra: Pakistan were timid against India’s spin

In the spotlight: Jasprit Bumrah and Saim Ayub

Three wickets in two games at 15.66, an economy rate of 6.71. Those are excellent numbers in most contexts, but they’re a little… ordinary given that they belong to Jasprit Bumrah and that they make him India’s fourth-best performer with the ball in this Asia Cup. But those numbers don’t really mean anything given the sample sizes involved, and the fact that he has been asked to do unusual things like bowling three overs in the powerplay. And anyway, this is the start of the tournament proper. As in any other game Bumrah plays, he starts it as one of the likeliest figures on either side to win it all by himself.Zero, 0, 0. Saim Ayub has been a valuable performer with the ball during this Asia Cup, but he has literally contributed nothing with his primary skill. That said, he has been dismissed three times playing ambitious shots right at the start of his innings. That sort of intent is exactly what Pakistan have brought Ayub into their line-up for, and this sort of run of low scores is the flip side of that intent. It can happen to anyone; how he and Pakistan react could be the barometer of how fully they have embraced this new way.

Team news

Axar Patel went off the field during Oman’s innings on Friday, after his head struck the ground while he stumbled in the course of a missed catch, and did not return thereafter. There has been no indication from the team management that he won’t be fit to play Sunday’s clash, but if he isn’t available, India may have to depart from the three-spinner strategy they have employed in all their Dubai games, and live with less batting depth than they are accustomed to.Will they shake hands on Sunday at the toss?•Associated Press

India (possible): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel/Harshit Rana/Arshdeep Singh, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.After losing to India last Sunday, Pakistan made two changes against UAE, bringing in Haris Rauf and Khushdil Shah, a frontline quick and a specialist batter, for Sufiyan Muqeem and Faheem Ashraf, a wristspinner and a seam-bowling allrounder. All four bring different things to the table, and it remains to be seen which combination Pakistan go for.Pakistan (possible): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Hasan Nawaz, 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Mohammad Haris (wk), 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed.

Pitch and conditions

Spin is king all over the UAE, but more so in Dubai than in Abu Dhabi. Expect India to go back to three spinners if Axar is fit. Chasing teams tend to get a significant advantage in Dubai – they won 15 straight Full-Member-vs-Full-Member T20Is here at one point – but recent results have been more even – the last five such contests have brought the chasing team three wins and two defeats. Dew, according to Suryakumar, has been less evident than it was during the 2021 T20 World Cup, when India were severely disadvantaged by losing tosses.

Stats and trivia

  • India have an 11-3 (10-3 plus the tie they won via bowl-out at the 2007 T20 World Cup) head-to-head record against Pakistan in T20Is.
  • Sanju Samson needs 83 runs to become the 12th India batter to 1000 in T20Is.
  • Hardik Pandya is four wickets short of 100 in T20Is, while Faheem Ashraf is two short of 50.

Quotes

“Toss hasn’t made much of a difference. The wicket doesn’t change that much. There hasn’t been that much dew either.”
“Our batting has been a little up and down. The conditions are slightly tough for batters, and a lot of the boys have been discussing how best to tackle them. Hopefully our top three can bat longer – if they do, we’ll be in a position to set a good total. And in these conditions, chasing won’t be easy.”

The World Test Champions begin their toughest test in India

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

South Africa have lost six of their previous seven Tests in India

Sidharth Monga13-Nov-20252:04

Bangar: South Africa’s spin-bowling allrounders will be critical

Big picture: World Test Champions’ toughest testThe variety of conditions Test cricket offers is evident from how the format’s world champions, South Africa, have not been able to even compete in their previous seven Tests in India, the country of their next challenge. They lost six of those Tests comprehensively, and were on their way in the seventh but for the rain.Even within India, South Africa have struggled in a variety of conditions. In 2015-16, they were outdone by a young side for whom the team management considered raging turners a necessity. Then, in 2019-20, against an established home team, South Africa were blanked by huge margins on good batting surfaces that had nothing for the home spinners, who averaged 27.18 compared to their fast bowlers’ 17.50.The world champions make this trip in 2025-26 not with any significant new faces in their attack but with more experience, and thus more equipped to compete during what has to be South Africa’s toughest tour. Keshav Maharaj was their lead spinner on the previous tour too. Simon Harmer toured in 2015-16. Senuran Muthusamy played two Tests in 2019-20. Kagiso Rabada remains the banker fast bowler.Related

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Dhruv Jurel: too good to keep out, too good to just keep

South Africa will also hope that India, who suffered a shock loss against New Zealand last year and are still a team in transition, still haven’t nailed the method to win home Tests. They blanked West Indies earlier this season, but they weren’t entirely invulnerable.Still, South Africa will need nearly everything to go their way to win a Test on this tour, just like it did for New Zealand last year. While India are currently third on the WTC points table, having drawn 2-2 in England and beaten West Indies 2-0, South Africa have only just begun their title defence with a 1-1 draw in Pakistan last month.Form guideIndia: WWWDL
South Africa: WLWWWShubman Gill has been hopping formats frequently since September•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Keshav Maharaj and Shubman GillKeshav Maharaj comes to India with experience of 60 Tests; he’s second only to Ravindra Jadeja among left-arm spinners in Test cricket. With India unlikely to offer square turners or assistance for traditional seam bowling, Maharaj will have to bear a heavy workload, and provide wickets and control.Starting September, India’s newest all-format star Shubman Gill has had no break. He got three days, including the travel day, between the T20 Asia Cup in the UAE and the first Test against West Indies in India. Then just four days to travel to Australia and switch to ODIs before going back to playing T20Is in three days. After that, a five-day break, which included travel from eastern Australia to eastern India to captain the team in an important series. Gill is young and fit, and must be itching to play as much as he can, but keep an eye on how well he readjusts to the longest format.Team news: Jurel and Pant both set to playAgainst West Indies, India got away with playing practically a ten-man side. Given India’s need for a seam-bowling allrounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy was understandably given games to develop his skills, but he hardly had a role to play in the series. Now, with their No. 1 Test wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant fit again, India have decided to keep Dhruv Jurel in the XI as a specialist batter and release Reddy to the India A side. The rest of the team should remain unchanged.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudharsan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed SirajTemba Bavuma should replace Dewald Brevis in South Africa’s XI•Associated Press

South Africa should look to replicate the combination that won their previous Test, against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. The batting ability of their first-choice attack gives them depth without compromising the bowling. Marco Jansen should pip Wiaan Mulder to the XI because there’s unlikely to be assistance for traditional seam bowling. The returning captain Temba Bavuma should take Dewald Brevis’ spot.South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Ryan Rickelton, 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Tony de Zorzi, 5 Temba Bavuma (capt), 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Senuran Muthusamy, 8 Simon Harmer, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Kagiso RabadaPitch and conditionsEarly indications suggest a good batting track at Eden Gardens, which could possibly bring reverse swing into the picture. There will be little grass on the pitch but it is not expected to be excessively dry or cracked either. A potentially tough task awaits the side that loses the toss.Stats and trivia Gill has won only one toss in seven Tests as captain. South Africa have not won the toss in their previous seven Tests in India. One of these unlucky runs will end on Friday. Kyle Verreynne is five short of becoming only the fifth South Africa wicketkeeper to reach 100 Test dismissals. Jadeja is just ten runs short of becoming only the fourth player in the world to achieve the double of 300 wickets and 4000 runs in Tests.

Gimme more: how Sai Sudharsan's insatiable appetite for cricket paid off

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

From watching videos of Kohli, the Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Titans batter has come a long way and is on the verge of stepping into his idol’s boots

Deivarayan Muthu07-Jun-2025″ [Very proud]. To play for the country in Test cricket…”B Sai Sudharsan’s mother, Usha Bharadwaj, says she is very proud, and then trails away, lost for words, when asked about the prospect of her son making his Test debut in England.”We Face-timed him as a family after he got picked in India’s Test squad,” she says. “Me and my husband are here in Chennai, [our] elder son is working in Australia, and Sai Sudharsan was in Ahmedabad.” Sai Sudharsan piled up a chart-topping 759 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 156.17 for Gujarat Titans this IPL season.Related

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  • Sai Sudharsan: Feels 'surreal' to be part of India's Test squad

“We are in different parts of the world now, but that call took us back to 2020, when we trained together as a family,” she says.In December 2019, Sai Sudharsan was in tears after he was dropped from Tamil Nadu’s Under-19 team. He was not in great physical shape, and acknowledging it, channelled his hurt into working towards becoming a fitter, stronger player. Early the following year, he began training with his mother, a strength and conditioning coach, who used to be a volleyball player for Tamil Nadu. His father, R Bharadwaj, a former track athlete who represented India at the South Asian Games in Dhaka in 1993, also played a key role.”During the [pandemic] period, we started training together,” Usha says. “I took care of his strength and conditioning, while my husband took care of Sai Sudharsan’s running and ground training. We wanted to make sure he had strength and endurance – the foundation for fitness. If you have both, you can push to play any sport. Flexibility is also important.”Because of Covid, all of us had to be indoors, and fitness became a family activity for us. Sai Sudharsan got addicted to it, and I also showed him videos of Virat Kohli, which motivated him and encouraged to become fitter and stronger. His brother also chucked a lot of balls to him at the nets. He used to do push-ups and then challenge Sai Sudharsan to do it.”It takes a village: Sai Sudharsan with his brother, B Sairam (second from right) and his parents, who have all had played a part in his cricket success•B SairamFrom there on, Sai Sudharsan became obsessed with improving himself and evolving. Having grown up playing on extreme turners in Chennai, he was always good against spin, but his batting against pace needed some fine-tuning. He exposed himself to side-arm throwdowns at speeds upwards of 140kph, and picked up the ramp shot from Gujarat Titans team-mate Matthew Wade.Most batters would have been satisfied with the kind of returns he got in this year’s IPL, but Sai Sudharsan is not most batters. He signed off from the tournament saying he has “a lot of things to improve” as a T20 batter.His coaches and seniors have marvelled at his hunger to train harder and bat longer than anyone else. He has had to be dragged out of the nets by his coaches on occasion. Even when he travelled to Ahmedabad to collect a number of awards after the IPL, he managed to squeeze in some net sessions.”Sai Su is someone who is religious about his nets and practice,” R Sai Kishore, Sai Sudharsan’s captain at Tamil Nadu and long-time IPL team-mate at GT, says. “How do I put it? He’s mad about practice and there is no room for complacency at all – something that we spoke about even after the IPL ended.Sai Sudharsan receives his Surrey cap from Alec Stewart in 2023. He averages 35 in his five innings in the County Championship, including a hundred against Nottinghamshire last year•Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for Surrey CCC”From 2021 to 2022, there was a massive difference in Sai Su’s game, 2022-23, there was again a massive difference, and so on every year.”That drive to keep getting better is the most amusing thing about him. To do this at 23, the sky is the limit for him.” Sai Kishore considers Sai Sudharsan an inspiration. “I might be a senior to him in terms of age and all, but I’ve learnt a lot from him.”Sai Sudharsan’s first-class average of 39.93 after 49 innings isn’t flash, but India’s selectors see potential and a high ceiling. He also has experience of playing in England, having turned out for a handful of games for Surrey across the 2023 and 2024 seasons.When the club first picked Sai Sudharsan, he had played fewer than ten first-class games and had not made his ODI debut. He made up for the lack of experience with his meticulous preparation. Alec Stewart, the former England wicketkeeper-batter, who was Surrey’s director of cricket at the time, was impressed.Before playing his first game for Surrey, against Northamptonshire in September 2023, Sai Sudharsan turned up for the county 2nd XI in Guildford, trying to acclimatise to the English conditions and the Dukes ball.With Gujarat Titans team-mate Sai Kishore, who says Sai Sudharsan has been an inspiration to him•BCCI”Sai came as an unknown and his experience of the English game was very limited,” Stewart says. “Vikram Solanki [the former England batter and current GT director of cricket] was massive in recommending him to me, and I have so much respect for Vikram. From his first training session, you could see that he was a special talent, and he hasn’t looked back. He loves to bat – whether in the nets or in the middle – and just fitted into our set-up perfectly.”Stewart reckons Sai Sudharsan’s soft hands and his range of shots will serve him well in English conditions.”He plays the ball late, and that’s the most important thing here. If you go too hard and get too far out in front of yourself, when the ball seams, you’re not in control, then your bat can get outside of your eyeline, whereas he plays it under his eyeline, plays it under his eyes, and plays it late. And even if he does nick it a little bit, like Kane Williamson, for example – you can nick it, but it still falls short of slip and that again is a real attribute of Sai’s.”The pitches are quicker here, certainly at The Oval, and to succeed, you have to be able to play off the back foot. You’ve got to be selective to pull, hook, cut or let go. He gets out of the [line of the] short ball well but can also play the uppercut over the slips. He’s got a full array of shots, and he gets them in right order.”The Dukes ball has a tendency to swing more than the Kookaburra and the SG ones, but Sai Sudharsan has had enough practice with it.You shall know him by the colour of his cap: Sai Sudharsan with his harvest of trophies for topping the run table and other feats in this year’s IPL•BCCI”When he’s gone back home, he’s taken some of our Dukes cricket balls back with him,” Stewart says. “I didn’t charge him for them and just let him have them,” he laughs. “But, no… he had that forward-thinking [mindset] and trained with those balls, so that when he comes back to us, or hopefully [is] picked for India on tour, he’ll have had nice practice against the Dukes cricket ball as well.”Some of those will probably be worn out by now because I gave them to him last year, but he’s a quick learner and he practises with a purpose. Yes, he likes volume, but he also likes to improve.”From watching videos of Kohli shown him by his mother, Sai Sudharsan is now a frontrunner to slot into India’s top four in the post-Kohli Test era. Stewart, a veteran of over 130 Tests, has some advice for the young batter.”Obviously big shoes to fill, with Mr Kohli standing down,” Stewart says. “But no one can do what Virat has done. If he can go in and almost not think of ‘I’m Virat’ because he’s not replacing him… Virat has retired. And therefore, can he not be the next Virat but can he be the best version of Sai Sudharsan? Then India have got yet another high-quality cricketer.”Sai Kishore believes Sai Sudharsan won’t be weighed down by the pressure of expectations and backs him to make the step up to Test cricket successfully. “Sai Su has no stage fright,” he says. “He made his IPL debut before he made his first-class debut. Be it TNPL [Tamil Nadu Premier League], TN, county, IPL or India, he was never taken aback by the situation or by the atmosphere. You come across a lot of skilful players, but they may not have the right mindset. Sai Su is supremely skilled and mentally strong, which is quite a rare combination.”India will enter a new era in England without the old firm of Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Sai Sudharsan could be one of the new faces who defines that new era.

Why Head hopes Ashes pitches continue to help the bowlers

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

While most batters have struggled in Australia over the last four summers, Head has thrived saying he enjoys the greener pitches more than flatter ones

Alex Malcolm24-Oct-2025Travis Head is hoping for seam-friendly pitches in the Ashes and says he enjoys batting on such surfaces more so than flatter ones believing that it presents more opportunities to score.The pitches that will be presented in the Ashes is a major talking point with the Test surfaces in Australia over the past four summers trending heavily in favour of the seam bowlers compared to decades past.Head was the player of the series in the 2021-22 Ashes following stunning centuries on challenging pitches in Brisbane and Hobart. He is hoping for more of the same this summer.Related

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“I probably enjoy batting on those sort of wickets,” Head told ESPNcricinfo. “The flatter wickets, with the grind, that more so challenge technique, I think, over longer periods of time [trying] to eke out runs has never probably come as natural to me with being a stroke player and wanting to get on with it. And the slower, flat wickets probably don’t tend to that. But fast-paced pitches that nip, you can maybe get away with a few things.”And then obviously the way I want to play is if they present opportunities to score, you score. So when they’re greener, they pitch up a little bit more and a bit fuller, and the style that I play, if they miss a little bit, I’m able to hopefully score and get busy.”It’s a run based game. You see some of the great players, like Steve Smith, Joe Root, you blink and they’re on 30 or 40. And that’s something that I’ve always appreciated, and definitely [on] these wickets, you know that you potentially have got one with your name on it. You can still play well. You can still get runs. Sometimes you’ve got that go about it in different ways. But ultimately, it’s a game where you go try and score as many as you can.”Since the start of the 2021-22 Ashes, top seven batters have averaged just 30.22 per dismissal in Test matches in Australia and combined for 24 centuries across 20 Test matches. In the four summers before that, from the start of 2017-18 Ashes to the end of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar series, top seven batters averaged 38.14 across 20 Tests with 34 centuries scored.

By contrast, Test pitches in England have trended the other way in the same four year periods with batters averaging 30.90 in Tests in England between 2018-2021 and 38.94 since the Bazball era began in 2022.But while run-scoring has trended down in Australia, Head has thrived averaging 54.64 in home conditions with six centuries striking at 88.90. No other player has averaged more than 45.29 in Australia in the same period.While Head has thrived, other Australian batters have been neutralised in home conditions in recent times. Steven Smith has averaged 45.26 across the last four home summers with four centuries, having averaged 63.20 in Australia across the first 10 years of his career.He believes England’s batters will face a challenge if Australia’s pitches remain spicy for the upcoming Ashes.”England play pretty well on the flatter wickets, the way they play,” Smith said. “So, if there’s a bit in it like there has been the last three or four years, with our bowling attack, it certainly makes things a lot more difficult for their batters.”

Amit Mishra retires from cricket

by csb10.top Uncategorized

India legspinner Amit Mishra has announced his retirement from cricket at the age of 42. He played all forms of international cricket from 2003 to 2017 and finishes with 22 Tests, 36 ODIs and 10 T20Is. His last competitive fixture came for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2024.”I’ve played cricket for 25 years across three decades with legends like Sachin Tendulkar, under leaders like MS Dhoni, and with current stars like Rohit Sharma,” Mishra told PTI. “Now that I’m slowly stepping away, it’s emotional, of course. Cricket gave me everything – respect, identity, and purpose.”Not everyone gets a grand farewell or big press conference, and that’s okay. What matters to me is that I gave everything I had. I played with heart. I performed whenever I got the opportunity.”

Mishra played for four teams in the IPL: Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and LSG. Apart from IPL 2022, he played all the other seasons of the tournament from 2008 to 2024. He finishes with 174 IPL wickets from 162 matches, which is eighth on the overall list. He also had the most hat-tricks (three) in the IPL – in 2008, 2011 and 2013.”I’d say the defining moment [in my IPL career] was the hat-trick I took in the 2008 IPL, where I also took five wickets in the match,” Mishra said. “From there, I made a comeback to the Indian team. Before that, I was consistently performing well in domestic cricket, taking 35-45 wickets every season, but I couldn’t get back into the national team.”That IPL hat-trick changed things for me. I had also performed well in Syed Mushtaq Ali the preceding year taking 25 wickets, which helped me get an IPL contract (with Delhi Daredevils).”After that hat-trick, I was back in the Indian team continuously and my career in T20 also started.”Mishra started his career with Haryana on the domestic circuit and made his first-class debut in 2000-01. He impressed with his classical legbreaks and he had an effective googly too. He made his international debut in 2003, in an ODI against South Africa in Dhaka. With Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble taking the spinners’ spots in Tests around that time, Mishra’s Test debut only came in October 2008 against Australia in Mohali, when Kumble was ruled out with an injury. He took a five-wicket haul on debut but he was rarely among India’s premier spinners and did not get a long run in any of the formats.”It was a big thing to fill the shoes of Anil Kumble, there was pressure” Mishra said.Mishra continued to excel in domestic cricket for Haryana and in the IPL, which resulted in comebacks to the India side, including for the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2014 T20 World Cup.”It was a very disappointing thing,” Mishra said about being in and out of the team over the years. “Sometimes you’re in the team, sometimes you’re out. Sometimes you get a chance in the playing eleven, sometimes you don’t. Of course, it’s frustrating, and I was frustrated many times, no doubt.”But then you remember that your dream is to play cricket for India. You are with the national team, and millions of people are working so hard just to be there. You are one of the 15 players on the Indian team. So, I tried to stay positive.”Whenever I was frustrated, I thought about what I could improve on. Whether it was my fitness, batting, or bowling, I always focused on getting better. Whenever I got a chance to play for the Indian team, I performed well, and I’m very happy about that. I never shied away from hard work.”Mishra finishes with 535 wickets in 152 first-class matches, 252 wickets in 152 List A games, and 285 wickets in 259 T20s. He also scored a double-century in first-class cricket – an unbeaten 202 against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy in December 2012.

Sears set for club cricket stint in Melbourne

by csb10.top Uncategorized

New Zealand fast bowler Ben Sears will have a stint in Victoria Premier cricket in Melbourne as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.He will play six games – five T20s and a 50-over one-dayer – for Melbourne University Cricket Club with the hope he will then be available for the start of the Super Smash competition with Wellington in late December. Should Sears be fit he will be in New Zealand’s plans for the T20 World Cup in February.Related

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Sears, 27, has been sidelined since the T20I series against Australia in early October having had a previous hamstring injury which ruled him out of the Champions Trophy in February. The decision has been made to send him to Melbourne due to a lack of short-form cricket currently being played in New Zealand with the Plunket Shield taking place.”Ben has missed a large portion of cricket in two out of the last three summers, so it was important for him to get as much cricket as possible on grass wickets leading into his Super Smash return,” New Zealand coach Rob Walter said.”He’s a big part of our future plans and with an important period of T20 cricket ahead of us, we want to ensure Ben has the safest and most appropriate return to play plan in place. He’s been progressing well and we’re looking forward to seeing how he gets on in Melbourne.”Sears, who has played one Test, four ODIs and 22 T20Is, is one of a number of New Zealand’s quicks who have recently been sidelined. Will O’Rourke is continuing his recovery from a back stress fracture, Lockie Ferguson has had a hamstring problem and Adam Milne an ankle injury. Kyle Jamieson, meanwhile, is having his comeback from a back injury carefully managed.Their has depth has been on show in recent white-ball series against West Indies and England with Jacon Duffy, Zak Foulkes and Blair Tickner all impressing.

Khettarama bites back as Bangladesh unravel in magnificent fashion

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The pitch was meant to be more batting-friendly than usual, and seemed so for a while, but then changed character and one team bore the brunt more than the other

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Jul-2025At least two captains of Sri Lanka’s men’s white-ball team have said in recent years that they would really prefer it if this piece-of-work Khettarama pitch learned how to behave.The theory goes something like this. Where other top white-ball countries have rolled out flatter and flatter white-ball surfaces, sending totals into the stratosphere and bowling economy rates into neighbouring galaxies, the pitch Sri Lanka play most of their home matches on is stuck naughtily in the nineties. It is devious. It lets the ball dance evil little dances on it. And so often, it rises up mid-innings and chokes a chase. As per the theory, this means that Sri Lanka’s batters and bowlers do not develop the skills required to compete on the kinds of surfaces most modern white-ball cricket is played on.Ahead of this match, Charith Asalanka had said he felt “this pitch [at Khettarama] will be a bit more batting-friendly than usual”. He had said it with the conviction of a man who was aware of directions being passed on from the team to the curator, on what kind of surface that curator should prepare.Related

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Rebuild, resurrect, recalibrate – Mehidy has an unenviable task

Taskin on Bangladesh's 7 for 5 collapse: 'We panicked a bit'

Having perhaps been assured that this was not going to be yet another spin-friendly track, Asalanka even picked three seamers in his XI, choosing to give Milan Rathnayake a debut, over choosing left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Dunith Wellalage, who is already bit of a Khettarama favourite, averaging 16.60 with the ball at this venue.For 66.2 overs of this match, it felt like Asalanka was right. This a “more-batting-friendly-than-usual Khettarama deck”. Batters were hitting through the line. Errors of length were brutally punished. Asalanka himself scored a fighting 106 off 123 for Sri Lanka, which was no real surprise – he been quietly making himself one of the best ODI middle-order batters in the world. But Sri Lanka had lost 3 for 29 to start with, lost seven of their wickets to seam bowling, never really had a big partnership, and eventually their 244 all out seemed 30 runs light, especially when Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto were bounding through those early overs.But old habits die hard, we can never truly deny our deepest selves, there is comfort in the familiar, and joy in good stories retold.Maybe the pitch suddenly reclaimed some of its viciousness. Maybe Sri Lanka reclaimed a little of its old spin-bowling mayhem. Maybe Bangladesh dived deep and found one of their old collapses against Sri Lanka. It’s possible all three happened. What we know for sure is that seven wickets were lost for five runs. And that never before in ODI history have wickets No. 2 down to No. 8 fallen for fewer runs than this.On the frontlines of the spin-bowling mayhem argument, we have Kamindu Mendis. Kamindu is mainly a batter, so his taking 3 for 19 in an innings is unusual enough. But of course we are talking Sri Lankan spin bowling divorced from batting here, and even on that front, this is a mad cricketer. His first two wickets were with left-arm spin, which, as a left-handed batter, is his better finger-spin arm. But his third wicket – the lbw-ing of left-hand batter Taskin Ahmed – was a right-arm offspin dismissal.Kamindu Mendis is an utterly unique collaborator for Wanindu Hasaranga•AFP/Getty Images”Bowlers who can bowl with either arm are really valuable,” Wanindu Hasaranga, who took 4 for 10 – the best figures in the game – said. Hasaranga getting wickets at this venue is not altogether surprising. But Kamindu is an utterly unique collaborator at the other end. “When there’s a left-hand right-hand combination batting, he can spin the ball away from both of them. That’s really valuable. The spell he bowled made it easier for me too. Players like that are really valuable.”If dual-arm bowling becomes more common, Sri Lanka feels like the natural birthplace for such a cricketing evolution. In the last week, a dual-arm Test bowler – Tharindu Rathnayake – had taken wickets with both arms in a single innings too. Already this is normal behaviour in Sri Lanka, just as the carrom ball had found a home here, long before it became popular.And it has to be noted that Bangladesh’s batters were channeling the easy-beat Bangladesh sides of the 1990s too, with some awful batting. They were 99 for 1 at one point. Soon they were 105 for 7. No serious innings recovers from such a slide. It was history-making ineptitude.Bangladesh’s batting has showed resilience and strength against Sri Lanka in the past. Sri Lanka has showed a willingness to move on from spin-friendly tracks. But sometimes we get caught up in old behaviours. And suddenly, almost by accident, seven wickets have fallen for five runs.

Arsenal less than 150 points behind Man Utd in all-time Premier League table

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

Whilst long throws, set pieces and teams centred around physicality are back in fashion, a lot has changed in the Premier League since 1992. It’s now the richest league in the world, featuring some of the best players and managers in world football. It is the ultimate destination. But, how much has the table changed in that time?

FootballBlog has released a full ranking of the Premier League table from its very first season in 1992 up until the beginning of the recent November international break. The table includes deductions issued by the Premier League and has tallied the wins, draws and losses by teams over the last 33 years. A total of 51 teams have featured in the top flight over the last three decades, but only 20 can make the all-time standings.

Premier League table by transfer spend per point 2025/26

The top flight would look very different.

ByCharlie Smith Nov 14, 2025 20 West Bromwich Albion: 490 points

They may be languishing outside the top six in the Championship these days, but there was a time when an away trip to face West Bromwich Albion was a day of frustration for any top side. They sit 20th thanks to the fact that they haven’t returned to the top tier since 2021, but it’s hard to forget just how impressive they were at their best – finishing as high as eighth in the 2012/13 season. And who could forget the form of Romelu Lukaku during his time at the Hawthorns?

19 Bolton Wanderers: 575 points

Ever seen a player so good they named him twice? That was Jay-Jay Okocha. The former Bolton Wanderers star formed the most unlikely partnership with Sam Allardyce during the club’s impressive 11-year stay in the Premier League. Their best finish saw them reach as high as sixth in the 2004/05 season and there still exists the famous video of Allardyce attempting his best dance moves with his star midfielder in 2003.

18 Sunderland: 637 points

Sunderland have been back to where they belong this season and are even on course for their highest-ever Premier League finish. The Black Cats have fought their way back from the depths of League One and may yet get the chance to move up the all-time Premier League table by the time that May arrives. A club built on the memories of stunning Jermain Defoe volleys and Kevin Phillips’ goalscoring heroics could now be about to form their most historic campaign yet.

17 Middlesbrough: 661 points

This time next year, we could be welcoming Middlesbrough back to the Premier League for the first time since 2017. It was then that they welcomed the likes of Alvaro Negredo, only to struggle in front of goal when it wasn’t the forward finding the back of the net. It was the third time that they suffered relegation from the Premier League in their history and everyone around Riverside will be desperate to earn redemption almost a decade later.

16 Crystal Palace: 728 points

Whilst there is a running joke that Crystal Palace always end the season sat in 13th, the all-time table has them 16th and their form over the last year suggests that they could be destined for better things. From mid-table mediocrity, the Eagles have soared to become FA Cup winners, Community Shield winners and a side competing in European football. This is without doubt one of, if not the best Crystal Palace side in the club’s history.

15 Fulham: 804 points

Like Palace, Fulham have often been accused of ending their seasons sat in mid-table, but they won’t mind that. The Cottagers have become an established Premier League side once again under Marco Silva and have caused plenty of upsets on their way. Alas, it’s their time under Roy Hodgson that stands out the most, with the veteran manager taking the West London side all the way to the Europa League final in 2010. 15 years later, no one’s forgotten the stunning comeback victory against Juventus at Craven Cottage.

14 Leeds United: 831 points

Like Sunderland, Leeds United are back where they belong in the Premier League. The Whites are full of top flight history and still have their place on the all-time table after the success that they had in the early Premier League years. Their most successful campaign remains a third-place finish under David O’Leary in 2000 to bring Champions League football to Elland Road, as Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Alan Smith all starred.

13 Leicester City: 846 points

It’s still absurd, isn’t it? Leicester City: Premier League champions. It remains the most impressive achievement in English football history, as the Foxes took the fight to the big six and somehow came out on top in the 2015/16 campaign. We’re unlikely to see a repeat anytime soon, if ever. Even after they suffered relegation last season, it’s tough to think about the Premier League without picturing Claudio Ranieri’s title winners.

12 Blackburn Rovers: 970 points

It’s been over a decade since Blackburn Rovers were relegated from the Premier League and they remain one of the biggest sides yet to earn promotion back to the top flight. From winning the title in the 1994/95 campaign, Blackburn were relegated in the 1998/99 season and then once more in 2012. History, however, will tell the story of how Sir Kenny Dalglish, with Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, took his side to glory in 95.

11 Southampton: 1,100 points

For a while, Southampton couldn’t get much wrong in the Premier League. They thrived under Mauricio Pochettino then hired Ronald Koeman to pick up where he left off. The Saints also quickly became Liverpool’s favourite club, with Sadio Mane, Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Virgil van Dijk all heading to Anfield for impressive fees. Although some will be quick to remember last season’s disaster, Southampton were once one of the best ball-playing teams outside the top six.

Johnson upgrade: Paratici working on Spurs deal to sign £48m "world-beater"

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

Tottenham Hotspur are a club who are looking to reach the next level under the guidance of Thomas Frank, with the first-team making huge strides since his appointment.

The Dane has largely worked with the players already at his disposal in North London, but he has also delved into the transfer market to bolster his chances of success in the role.

He spent over £100m on new additions during his first window, with Mohammed Kudus already having a huge impact during his first handful of Premier League outings.

The Ghanaian may have cost £55m in the summer, but he’s been worth every penny, as seen by his tally of one goal and four assists – with the latter the joint-highest of any player in the division.

With the January transfer window rapidly approaching on the horizon, the board and manager will be hoping that any new additions could follow in the same vein in North London.

Spurs’ hunt for added signings in the January window

Over the last couple of weeks, a new striker has been firmly in Spurs’ sights, which has led to numerous names being linked with a winter move to join the Lilywhites.

Dušan Vlahović is just one name on their shortlist, with returning Sporting Director Fabio Paratici no doubt playing a key role given his previous stint at Juventus.

He’s not alone in their sights for a new talisman, as Porto star Samu Aghehowa is also another option, but he could be slightly realistic given the £87m release clause within his current contract.

Other areas of the pitch are also being subject to potential investment, with the winger department also one of interest – leading to Brentford star Kevin Schade being named as one target.

According to CaughtOffside, Paratici is already working on a potential deal for the German, who joined the Bees back in 2023 under Frank’s tenure at the helm.

Another report states that Keith Andrews’ side are reluctant to offload the 23-year-old in the coming months, but could listen to offers in the region of €55m (£48m) for his signature.

Why Spurs’ £48m target could end Johnson’s Spurs career

Brennan Johnson’s time at Spurs has been a rollercoaster to say the least, with the winger often a hugely inconsistent figure within the Spurs first-team.

He joined in a £47.5m deal from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2023, but came under huge fire from the fanbase for his lack of impact in the first 12 months in North London.

However, his Europa League-winning goal and total of 18 efforts last year subsequently papered over the cracks of his career with the Lilywhites – as seen during the early stages of 2025/26.

The Welsh international has since dropped down the pecking order after Kudus’ arrival, often showing he can’t be relied upon to provide the goods by Frank.

His latest showing showcased his struggles, as Johnson scored the opener against FC Copenhagen, but was subsequently sent off for a rash tackle in the second half.

The manager will no doubt be disappointed with the winger after his actions in the Champions League, which in turn could only fuel rumours over a winter move to land Schade.

When comparing the German’s stats with those of Johnson from the ongoing campaign, he’s managed to outperform him in key areas, which could push the Welshman further down the pecking order.

Schade, who’s been labelled a “world-beater” by Dietmar Hamann, has already achieved a higher tally of combined goals and assists in the Premier League this season.

He’s also placed more of his shots on target so far in 2025/26, arguably making him a more efficient and effective option within in the final third for Frank in North London.

How Schade & Johnson compare in 2025/26

Statistics (per 90)

Schade

Johnson

Games played

10

10

Goals & assists

3

2

Shot on target accuracy

46%

40%

Key passes

1.2

0.7

Shot-creating actions

1.6

1.4

Take-on success

32%

25%

Carries into final third

1.1

0.7

Aerials won

2.8

0.4

Stats via FBref

The German’s talents are further reflected in his higher take-on success rate and tally of key passes completed per 90 – subsequently offering the Lilywhites a phenomenal creative outlet.

His creativity, coupled with his goalscoring prowes,s could make Schade an excellent addition, potentially putting an end to Johnson’s spell at the club as a result.

Frank’s previous stint working with the youngster could also hand the manager another reason to prioritise him over Johnson, with the Dane having the keys to unlocking Schade’s success.

At just 23, he has bags of time to improve in the years ahead, potentially replacing Johnson and playing a key role in any success during the Frank reign at Spurs.

Spurs star is now "very similar to Saka" and he's better than Johnson

Tottenham Hotspur already have a star who could reach the levels achieved by Bukayo Saka.

ByEthan Lamb Nov 6, 2025

The Rondo, Inter Miami champions edition: Did Lionel Messi need this win to secure his MLS legacy – and what comes next for Thomas Muller's Vancouver Whitecaps?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Inter Miami claimed MLS Cup, but will face an offseason of uncertainty with a number of key players surely on the way out in the coming months.

You can finally breathe now. MLS playoffs is over. It's done. And the game was a fitting climax to what has been a gripping playoffs. Inter Miami came out on top, winning 3-1 in a game that was really far closer than the scoreline suggests. A bit of luck, a bounce here and there, and the Vancouver Whitecaps could have easily lifted the trophy. Then again, Miami have this little guy named Lionel Messi who can turn games in an instant – and that's more or less what happened. 

But what happens now? The season is over, and such is the chaos of MLS that Miami, who won the whole thing, will likely undergo a significant rebuild this offseason. Half of their starting XI could be gone within a few weeks. There is room for another Designated Player, is the Neymar rumor legit?

Vancouver, the runner-ups, won’t splash like Miami and still have issues to solve, but they’re close – one signing away from being champions themselves. And if they stumble, others are ready. LAFC have Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga. San Diego FC reached a conference final in their debut season. And there is competition in the East, too. Everything looks as tasty as ever, and GOAL U.S. writers break it down in another edition of… .

GettyHow important was it for Lionel Messi to win MLS Cup?

Tom Hindle: Once he got there, very important. If Messi had left MLS with zero MLS Cups, it would leave room for the haters to continue to hate. Failing to win without making it to the final would be a bad look. But getting there and falling short in the last game of the season? Yikes. Good thing he was the sole difference maker then! 

Ryan Tolmich: Extremely important. Everything is gravy now that the big ole trophy isn't hanging over his head. He has the individual accolades, obviously, but now has the big domestic team ones, too – outside of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. There is no denying that his tenure has been an overwhelming success now that there's no big "but" hanging over him or Inter Miami. Now, the focus turns to seeing how much further he can push boundaries before he inevitably calls it a day.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWere Miami deserved winners on the day?

TH: Honestly? Not quite. Vancouver dominated for the best part of an hour – something Mascherano admitted in his post-match presser. The Herons were on the back foot for most of the game and won it, in effect, thanks to three moments of magic from the best to ever do it. 

RT: Absolutely. They did exactly what they had to do early on the attacking end, withstood the Whitecaps' push and, ultimately, put the game to bed with a late goal. That's what champions do, and that's why Messi and co. lifted the trophy this weekend.

Getty ImagesCan Messi and Miami repeat?

TH: Is it possible? Certainly. But there are plenty of other good teams out there who will surely strengthen this offseason. LAFC are a player away, while Vancouver aren't far behind. FC Cincinnati will also be in the mix. If Miami get their offseason right, they will certainly be favorites. But nothing is guaranteed. 

RT: Let's see what their offseason looks like first. If these playoffs taught them anything, it's that the recipe for getting the most out of Messi is surrounding him with young, hungry stars that can do the running he can't anymore. Is that as fun as playing with your best friends? Not quite, but it is infinitely more successful. Let's see if they stick with that vibe in the interest of winning.

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(C)Getty ImagesHow much of a rebuild do Miami need this offseason?

TH: Half of their team could be gone within a couple of weeks. Alba and Busquets are already out. Suarez likely is, too. Meanwhile, Baltasar Rodriguez, Tadeo Allende, and Rocco Rios Novo are in on loan. one or two of those get made permanent, but that still leaves some gaping holes. Honestly, it depends on the Messi effect.

RT: A significant one. They're going to lose at least two key pieces in Busquets and Alba, while Suarez appears to be on the way out, too. Players like Baltasar Rodriguez, Tadeo Allende, and Rocco Rios Novo are all on loan, as is Rodrigo De Paul, although he seems almost certain to stay. Either way, the club has plenty of spots to fill and, of course, they have the best draw in the world to fill them: Messi.

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