Over-reliance on Sciver-Brunt, and continued fielding concerns, hamper preparations for main event in India

Valkerie Baynes23-Jul-2025

Reliance on Sciver-Brunt leaves England exposed

After England were thumped by 97 runs in the opening match of India’s visit, the first T20I at Trent Bridge, Sciver-Brunt wearily set out the truth after her innings of 66 limited a damaging scoreline: “One person can’t win a game, so it is all about partnerships with the bat and showing our physicality as well, making sure that we’re coming back for twos and keeping that energy high.”Her words rang true once more when she and Emma Lamb staged a third-wicket partnership of 162 to briefly give England hope of staging a record run-chase to win the final ODI and that series. Their next-best stand, between sixth-wicket pair Alice Davidson-Richards and Charlie Dean, was only worth 36, which was telling as India won by 13 runs, a margin which flattered the hosts. Even Sciver-Brunt and Lamb struggled to get going, chewing up 41 dot-balls in a powerplay of 22 for 2.When Sophia Dunkley and Davidson-Richards combined for a fifth-wicket century stand in the first ODI in Southampton followed by 71 between Sciver-Brunt and Lamb and 55 between Dunkley and Sophie Ecclestone, it still wasn’t enough to win, although their performance pushed India harder in their four-wicket win than their latest outing in Durham. If former captain Heather Knight recovers from injury in time for the World Cup, she promises to add reliability to the batting lineup.”The positives have been around our batting,” Edwards said. “I think how we’ve performed with the bat over this series has followed on from the West Indies series and India have been exceptional.”They’ve been really disciplined with the ball and it’s something we can really, really learn from. They’ve outfielded us, hence why they’re probably lifting the trophy today. We’ve certainly learned a lot about our squad over the last two, three weeks.”Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb produced a century stand that raised hopes of a record chase at Chester-le-Street•Getty Images

Fielding remains a worry

India had amassed 318 for 5 in Durham amid some sloppy fielding and, with the exception of Sophie Ecclestone, an expensive bowling attack. England clearly missed Sciver-Brunt’s ability to provide an option while she recovers from a long-standing foot injury. She is still hoping to bowl at the World Cup, even if fulfilling a ten-overs-per-game allocation looks unrealistic.Sciver-Brunt also took a superb catch to remove centurion Harmanpreet Kaur, further highlighting her all-round importance. And while England only dropped one catch – Lauren Filer putting down a sharp chance off Richa Ghosh – their ground fielding cost valuable runs.Related

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Any errors in the field are bound to come under the spotlight after that abject showing at the T20 World Cup, and the marked gap between England and reigning World Cup champions Australia during the Ashes. Both captain and coach admit it remains the biggest area for improvement.Sciver-Brunt told the BBC: “We do work very hard on it. The engagement that we have and the effort in training is excellent, so translating that into a game is where we are missing a little bit. Some people maybe seem surprised that the ball is coming to them.”Edwards said fielding ability would come into consideration when picking her World Cup squad.”It is going to be a selection point, isn’t it?” she said. “That will certainly be an element, the athleticism piece and how people field, it’s not just going to be who’s the best batter. It will be, who’s the best fielder?”We are certainly doing a lot of work getting round to the counties, providing them with support around fitness and fielding. I think they come hand-in-hand in many ways. There is definitely talent ID being done as well.”England’s fielding has been under scrutiny since their dreadful display at the T20 World Cup in Dubai•ICC/Getty Images

Time is tight

With ten weeks to go until the World Cup, England have played the last of their scheduled ODIs in preparation and it is still only July. With a training camp in Abu Dhabi and possible warm-up games to come, England’s lead-up closely mirrors that of the T20 World Cup a year ago, in which they didn’t make the knockouts. But Edwards believes she has time to make her side contenders.”We’re going there to win it, clearly,” Edwards said. “Getting to the final would be a real success for us. That’s a long way off but we are certainly going there to really compete and we believe we’ve got a team that can really compete.”We know up in our dressing room what we are doing and how we are progressing, and that’s the most important thing to me, if I’m honest, that we are really progressing, we’re really improving.”I think there is enough time. We’ll take a lot of the learnings from this series… we’ve got to keep learning really quickly. At times, I don’t think we’ve learned and done things as quickly as I’d like throughout this series. But the more we keep getting in these situations, the greater the learning is.”I feel really fortunate that we’ve had this series leading into a World Cup, where clearly India are going to be one of the favourites, because they’re playing some absolutely amazing cricket at the moment. We know we are not far off, which gives us a lot of confidence.”

Two batters who have had their fair share of squaring up against the Indian fast bowler talk about what it takes to survive the test

Interviews by Nagraj Gollapudi20-Nov-2025A top batter facing Jasprit Bumrah is among the most absorbing contests there is in cricket these days. As Osman Samiuddin wrote on this site a while ago, Bumrah is a one-person species. Everything about his bowling is unique and no amount of high-end tech has helped batters solve the Bumrah riddle so far. In an attempt to dissect the powers of one of the greatest bowlers of the modern era, we asked Kane Williamson and Dean Elgar, two accomplished batters, among the rare breed to average over 40 against Bumrah across all international cricket, to help us understand the challenge.What is the unique challenge Bumrah presents?Kane Williamson: Whenever you face Bumrah it feels like Test cricket. Because he is that good even in white-ball cricket. I recall that semi-final in Mumbai in the 2023 World Cup where he had it swinging late both ways. Gosh, it was about survival for about 40 minutes.He obviously has the ability to move the ball both ways with incredible accuracy, and deception of pace – because he sort of quite gently arrives at the crease and then shoots these balls out with good pace. He is such a level-headed competitor as well, so you know you are always in a real fight. He’s quite composed and he’s going to be disciplined as well. He very rarely misses. And as a batter, that presents a huge challenge.Related

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Elgar: He is extremely intense. You can see he hits the wicket with a different intensity and that’s what separates him at the moment: his intensity of play. So it’s almost like every ball is an event. There’s no soft deliveries that a batter can score off.Has there been a spell in Test cricket that illustrates the challenge?Williamson: The one that certainly comes to mind is the World Test Championship final in 2021, precisely in the first session of the second day [day five; the first and fourth days were washed out and rain affected the second and third days too], where I was engaged in one of the most intense and fierce duels of my career, with Bumrah giving no respite. I scored seven runs in the whole session, including a boundary late in that period. I still find it unbelievable.He probably went at one-and-a-half runs an over or something like that. And that was through asking questions all day and getting some assistance out of the surface. I would’ve loved to have scored quicker, but it didn’t feel like that was an option! I played and missed, played and missed, sort of managed to keep a few out and then it was trusting that we’d get something somewhere at some stage (), and Bumrah and Co. didn’t give us much.You see him with the Dukes in his hand and that is an added challenge because he is going to get so much more assistance with that, versus facing him in New Zealand against the Kookaburra. And so yeah, that session in particular, and that whole game, where it did provide some assistance to fast bowlers. If there’s absolutely anything, whether it’s swing or even some sort of seam movement off the surface, someone like Jasprit’s going to exploit that.Elgar: The Johannesburg Test in 2018, which was his debut series. The pitch at Wanderers was not at all easy for batters. Jass hit me everywhere, including on the helmet after the ball kicked up suddenly from short of a good length and caused some trouble for me.The pitch was very favourable to bowlers – very quick, uneven bounce, a lot of balls were rising off lengths, which was quite unusual. The Test was very close to potentially being called off. Jass, who we had never seen before, managed to get a lot out of that pitch with his unique action and fierce pace. It was among the best spells of fast bowling I had ever faced. And I can tell you, having faced him over two more series – in 2021-22 and 2023-24 – in South Africa, the challenge only became more severe.Kane, in that WTC final, the conditions were clearly seam-bowler friendly, but how did Bumrah attack while also managing to keep you quiet, as he did?Williamson: His mode of attack is no different to any good fast bowler: attacking the top of the stumps and then trying to move the ball and either bringing in the edge or lbw or bowled. As a batter, I’m telling myself: you know you are going to get some good balls. So you are trying to limit the damage with a strong defensive position and then taking any opportunity you can to get off strike or put away a ball where he might have missed. But having said that, you are not really relying on [him missing] because it doesn’t happen all that often, but you still need to be in that frame of mind [to capitalise when the chance comes].That’s what the best [bowlers] in the world are able to do: they are so relentless in how they operate that you are always trying to hold firm with your plan as long as you can.How confident were you defending against Bumrah?Elgar: I have always had this theory about facing quality, really, really high-end seam bowlers or fast bowlers: if you defend them well and if you leave them well, that’s quite a high percentage of the battle done. And then they’ll give you some scoring options because they get frustrated [at] not penetrating your defence, and then you can maybe have a few more options of scoring. But leading up to that, you really need to have your defence on point [and] leave very well against high-quality fast bowlers – despite knowing that they don’t really leave your stumps.That was my theory of playing Jass: defend like your life depends on it, leave well, and obviously, if he bowls in your areas to potentially just get a single, do it. But [he was] accurate, so accurate at high intensity, high pace. So you need to be so locked in, you need to focus on what you need to do irrespective of what the ball does off the surface.He’s also very accurate. I can’t remember him bowling, like, a cut-shot ball. A lot of the times that would be my scoring option. If the ball’s swinging back in, that’s something that I’ll always look to play, [mixed in] with a lot of defence or even leaving it well, but you need to be really on point with that. Yeah, he caused a lot of headaches.Williamson: I certainly worked hard at trusting my defence, but in this game you know that you can get good deliveries where you might be in your best position and it’s still not quite good enough. And Bumrah probably bowls more of those balls than anybody else. So you are still trusting it [defence] but you are also accepting the fact that if you are in your best position and it’s not good enough, then you have to walk off and so be it.Elgar copped a fair few body blows from Bumrah in the latter’s debut series in 2018•BCCIWhat makes Bumrah as good as he is, and what role do his variations play there, along with his discipline and deception?Williamson: Across formats he’s hands down the best bowler in the world. Certainly in the white-ball format, with his slower ball, which is one of the best in the world, and his ability to bowl yorkers, which has proven to be such a difficult thing [to counter]. He’s amazing at that, not to mention, when he gets a new ball in his hand, which we see in Test cricket all the time. So the way he can operate in all facets. He is so versatile and there’s that deception: he’s still bowling 140-plus and he basically jogs to the crease. There’s so many elements to what he does that makes it quite special, unique and world-class.Elgar: Jass is two different bowlers [depending on whether he is] bowling from over or round the wicket. I always felt it was a lot easier when he is bowling over the wicket because all you are looking to do is play the ball that’s swinging back at you, and if the ball is going away from you, you look to leave that or defend it as best as possible. And when he switches to around the wicket, he’s got that natural ability to bring the ball back in to you but also the away-swinging ball for the left-hander, so you feel like you need to play at a lot of balls that you shouldn’t be really playing at.How much do you read cues out of his hand?Elgar: Reading the seam from the bowler’s hand is a traditional way to understand what he is up to, but with Jass the difference is, he has these very, very subtle wrist positions. And also, his arm speed is so quick as well. That’s how he generates his intensity [when he delivers] the ball. So you really have to focus so much harder on his hand, but you can see the seam when it’s coming down.He has such amazing wrists. So you need to really watch the ball quite hard [in addition to him having an] unusual action. You need to really focus hard on or how the seam is coming out: if the seam’s pointing towards the slips, I know the ball’s going to swing away and I have got to really leave it well and defend well and not over-attack. If the seam is pointed towards the stumps, then I know I need to be even more compact and play that ball down the ground.Williamson: It is not easy to read Bumrah’s hand. You watch as closely as you can, but really you are trying to identify the biggest threats [deliveries] so you are playing for the ones that bring in the most modes of dismissal. But it is very, very difficult with the slower ball to read his hand, because his arm speed stays the same and he gets a lot of drop.The way he lets the ball go in front of himself, and his action as well, it kind of means it’s probably a little bit closer to the batter [than with other bowlers], therefore you have probably got a little bit less time, and he can slightly adjust his wrist and get it swinging both ways. It sort of really speeds up the process. So with less time, with the ball that’s moving sideways, that’s a really good recipe and a great asset to have in your artillery [as a bowler].Wristy business: Bumrah can introduce several variations with just subtle adjustments to his wrist position•Getty ImagesThe way he gets shape and swing from letting the ball go in front of himself, it does mean that the ball moves late. In some ways it’s like when you face a [mystery] spinner and you struggle to pick the [variations]. So you are sort of trying to create a game plan that allows for that versus seeing the big inswinger or seeing the big outswinger and being able to adjust because you pick up all those cues. So I do think that’s a massive strength of his that separates what he can do from other bowlers.Bumrah is not among the tallest bowlers, and his point of release is lower than for most others too. Do you face him as a skiddy bowler or a hit-the-deck bowler?Williamson: I always have seen him as more of a skiddy bowler. It has to skid, doesn’t it, when it’s coming from that height, at that pace? But it’s heavy. When someone bowls a heavy ball, they are getting something out of the surface and it’s bouncing on you, which is different to when they are fast through the air but it may not feel heavy. You might play a defensive shot, but if the ball is heavy and it’s bouncing in terms of coming at you off the pitch, then you can get defensive nicks where if a player has any laziness in his position – then those are the margins these top bowlers will expose.Elgar: I played Jass like a hit-the-deck-bowler. But generally a hit-the-deck bowler is not a swing bowler, he is more a nip bowler. Jass is hit-the-deck with swing. With the newer ball, I found he would be a touch fuller, allow the ball to do more in the air, and then when the ball got older, he would pull his length back and really hit the deck harder and try and see if there’s any lateral movement in the wicket.Does Bumrah get into your head in a way many other bowlers do not?Elgar: A lot of times you play the name, which is one of the battles a batter has to fight: don’t play the name, play the ball. So in that sense, you always know that he is a massive risk. He is a wicket-taker. He’s a big threat in the bowling attack. So you almost have to fight that before you go out. When you get through that and you’re able to put the player aside and just focus on what he has to deliver and you play the ball, that’s already quite a big victory. That battle was a constant first hurdle.But I’ll never deny it and say, no, he didn’t get in my head. That would be a lie. But in saying that, I would think that I also got into his head. [When] you can fight the demons that are in your mind, that’s also really another battle that can work in your favour. In that 2023-24 series we both had some good duels, and that is a period where I batted at my most fluent. I was telling myself: everything’s coming to an end [Elgar retired at the end of that series], so it’s almost like the shackles were released and I was actually able to show people that I’m actually quite a fluent player when my mind is totally, totally clear. And that’s probably the one time that I thought I had the upper hand against Jass. But yeah, he’s just a massive challenge. There’s just no release from him, let’s put it that way. There’s no easy way out.

Ireland will welcome the experience of Josh Little and Mark Adair and search for a change in fortunes after losing the Test series

Mohammad Isam26-Nov-2025

Bangladesh’s busiest year in T20Is

When Bangladesh enter the field on Thursday, they will play their 28th T20I in 2025, making this their busiest year in the format. They go into this series without their main fast bowler, Taskin Ahmed, with the BCB having given him an NOC to play the Abu Dhabi T10 till November 30.Bangladesh’s fast bowling stocks have reached a level of quality that the team management is comfortable enough to give someone like Taskin a break. The current squad includes Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam and Mohammad Saifuddin in the fast-bowling department. They also have their best spinners in the format – Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Nasum Ahmed – all available for selection.Related

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Ireland look for sub-continent comfort

Ireland have played just six T20Is this year, which leaves them with a bit of a gap in form and experience. Chattogram has Bangladesh’s best batting conditions, which is good news for Ireland, who couldn’t quite get enough runs in the Dhaka and Sylhet Tests.Captain Paul Stirling will have to lead from the front, as he often does in Ireland colours. The likes of Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker and Curtis Campher provide the middle-order punch. Ireland will also hope to see runs from allrounders George Dockrell and Gareth Delany, while newcomers Ben Calitz and Tim Tector will no doubt look to soak in as much experience as possible.

Consistency eludes Bangladesh

Bangladesh captain Litton Das has to step up in the run-making as the batters look for consistency in T20Is. They haven’t had the best of times in 2025, particularly against West Indies last month, when they couldn’t chase modest targets in Chattogram.Saif Hassan is the man in form, as he fights for a position in the top order with Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon. Bangladesh’s top order is exciting but they don’t often click together. The likes of Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali will mind the middle order, while Nurul Hasan has attempted plenty of shots in his return to the T20I side recently. The selectors have picked Mahidul Islam Ankon ahead of Shamim Hossain, in an attempt to rejig the No. 4 or 5 positions.Josh Little is back for Ireland in the T20I setup•ACB

Ireland bowlers know better

Having played a role in the Test series, the likes of Matthew Humphreys, Barry McCarthy and Craig Young would have gained good knowledge and understanding of Bangladesh conditions. Seamers McCarthy and Young didn’t play the Dhaka Test but left-arm spinner Humphreys has looked far better as the tour has progressed.They will also welcome the addition of experienced bowlers like Mark Adair and Josh Little, who have past experience of playing in these conditions. Legspinner Ben White, too, has played in Bangladesh before, so Ireland can feel confident of possessing a handy bowling attack.

Batting first more viable in Chattogram

West Indies found out last month that the Chattogram pitches have better bounce and movement in the second half of night games, despite the onset of dew after 8.00pm. They defended middling totals like 165 and 149, and later chased down 151 in the third game. Teams batting first will look to beat the average total of 155 from the October series. Bangladesh will also feel that they must end the year well, particularly this being their last T20I series ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

And what’s the ODI record for most caught-and-bowleds by one bowler?

Steven Lynch11-Nov-2025In one of South Africa’s recent ODIs, four Pakistan batters were caught and bowled, three of them by Nqaba Peter. Were either of these records? asked Mendel Bacher from South Africa
You’re talking about the second ODI in Faisalabad last week, when four men were caught and bowled during Pakistan’s innings. That equalled the ODI record: there were also four in England’s innings against Australia in Adelaide in January 1999, two each by Brendon Julian and Shane Warne.Three of last week’s quartet were held by the South African legspinner Nqaba Peter, which is a first for one-day internationals. There are 11 other instances of three caught-and-bowleds in an ODI innings, but none of them was taken by the same bowler.Jasprit Bumrah has taken 99 wickets in T20Is. How many bowlers have 100 or more in each of the three formats? asked Paritosh Gupta from Canada
You’re right that Jasprit Bumrah currently has 99 wickets in T20ls, to go with 226 in Tests and 149 in ODIs. He needs one more T20I scalp to become only the fifth man to reach three figures in all three formats, following Tim Southee (391 in Tests, 221 in ODIs and 164 in T20Is), Shakib Al Hasan (246, 317, 149), Shaheen Shah Afridi (121, 132, 122) and Lasith Malinga (101, 338, 107).Another current player, Jason Holder, is close to completing the set: going in to the final match of West Indies’ T20 series in New Zealand later this week, he has 97 wickets to go with 162 in Tests and 159 in OIDIs. Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe also has 99 wickets in T20 internationals, but he’s taken only 40 in Tests and 94 in ODIs.Who are the batters and bowlers with the best averages in their last 25 Tests? asked Rammohan Roy from India
The leading batter in his last 25 Tests will come as little surprise: Don Bradman averaged 105.09 in his last 25 matches, with 3468 runs, including 15 centuries. Next as I write is New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who averages 66.67 in his last 25 Tests: if that should fall, second place would revert to Kumar Sangakkara (64.05). Among those who played 50 or more Tests, Andy Flower averaged 63.83 over his last 25, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 60.91, and Clive Lloyd 60.14.The leading bowler is another current player: Jasprit Bumrah has taken 120 wickets in his last 25 Tests at an average of just 17.63. Among regular bowlers, Alec Bedser (18.68) and Curtly Ambrose (18.78) also averaged under 20, while Josh Hazlewood – who is about to play in the Ashes – has taken exactly 100 wickets in his last 25 Tests at an average of 20.35.Bermuda appeared only in the 2007 ODI World Cup, and is best remembered for Dwayne Leverock’s blinder to dismiss Robin Uthappa•Getty ImagesIn the climax of the 1968 Oval Test, John Inverarity was the last Australian to get out, having opened the innings. How often has an opener been the tenth wicket to fall? asked Robert Watts from England
When John Inverarity was the last man out in that famous match at The Oval in August 1968, it was only the fifth time an opener had been the last wicket to fall in any Test innings. The first was a more famous Aussie, Victor Trumper, against England in Melbourne in January 1904, and then it didn’t happen for more than 44 years, until Len Hutton was the last to go against Australia at The Oval in August 1948 as England were all out for 52.It’s become slightly more common in recent years, but there have still been only 29 instances all told. Three of them involved West Indies’ Desmond Haynes, who uniquely was last out in both innings against New Zealand in Dunedin in February 1980. Haynes also managed it against India in Delhi in November 1987; no one else has done it more than once.In the Lord’s Test in June 2021, the debutant Devon Conway did this for New Zealand, and Rory Burns followed suit for England.Are there any teams who have appeared at just one World Cup? asked Harrison Miller from England
Three teams have appeared at a single men’s 50-over World Cup. A side representing East Africa appeared in the first one, in 1975 (when the matches were of 60 overs each); Namibia made their sole appearance in 2003, and Bermuda in 2007.Three different countries have played at just one T20 World Cup: Kenya played for the only time in the inaugural edition, in 2007, while the most recent tournament in 2024 featured Canada and Uganda for the first time. Bermuda and Uganda (and East Africa) have featured in just the one World Cup over the two formats.In the women’s game, Scotland and Thailand have appeared in one T20 World Cup (and never in the 50-over version), while Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Young England all participated for the only time in the inaugural ODI World Cup in 1973.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Three World Cup semifinals, breaking a streak, a famous farewell and more

Omkar Mankame31-Oct-2025

India won the semi-final after completing the highest chase in Women’s ODI history•Getty Images

India beat New Zealand by 40 runs

2nd semi-final, Potchefstroom, World Cup 2005India stormed into their maiden World Cup final with a convincing 40-run win, knocking out defending champions New Zealand. Asked to bat first, India were rocked by two early wickets before Anjum Chopra and captain Mithali Raj steadied the innings through a 66-run stand. After Chopra’s fall, Raj continued undaunted and led India to 204 for 6 with an unbeaten 91.Mithali Raj’s knock took India into their maiden World Cup final•Getty ImagesNew Zealand’s chase unravelled swiftly. They lost two wickets for just 13 runs before Nooshin Al Khader struck twice in her very first over to deepen the crisis. Despite Maria Fahey’s fighting 73, India’s bowlers kept their discipline to script a historic entry into the final.

India beat Australia by 36 runs

2nd semi-final, Derby, World Cup 2017A rain-reduced semi-final. A Harmanpreet Kaur hurricane. A performance that transformed women’s cricket in India. In a 42-over contest, Harmanpreet’s unbeaten 171 off 115 balls was pure theatre – measured at first, monstrous later. She walked in at 35 for 2 and walked out with Australia shell-shocked. Her first fifty took 64 balls, the next two came in just 43 combined. India ended at 281 for 4; Harmanpreet had single-handedly redrawn the boundaries of what was possible.Harmanpreet’s epic 171 not out was studded with 20 four and seven sixes•Getty ImagesAustralia’s response was spirited. Elyse Villani’s fluent 75 gave them hope before a collapse saw them lose 6 for 43. Alex Blackwell’s late charge threatened a miracle, but Deepti Sharma bowled her for 90 off 56. The win sent India into the final at Lord’s and inspired a generation back home.

India beat England by 1 wicket

1st ODI, Nagpur, 2018The first meeting between India and England since their thrilling 2017 World Cup final ended in another nail-biter. England, batting first, slipped from 71 for 0 to 124 for 6 before Fran Wilson (45) and Danielle Hazell (33) took them to 207. Smriti Mandhana’s 86 set up India’s chase beautifully at 166 for 3, but a middle-order collapse left them teetering at 190 for 9.It took an unbroken last-wicket stand of 18 between Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav to steer India home with five balls to spare, sealing a thrilling win for the World Cup runners-up over the reigning champions.Jhulan Goswami celebrates the winning hit•Getty Images

India beat Australia by 2 wickets

3rd ODI, MacKay, 2021Big runs, baffling drops, bold catches, missed run-outs, a collapse, a front-foot no-ball ruling out a wicket, and… a record chase. India had come agonisingly close to snapping Australia’s record winning streak in the previous match, but faltered at the finish. This time, they held their nerve.Batting first, Australia rode on half-centuries from Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney, plus a rapid 32-ball 47 from Tahlia McGrath, to post 264 for 9. In reply, Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia’s century stand powered India to 160 for 1 inside 30 overs. A fightback from Australia reduced India to 208 for 6, and the tension deepened when the equation came down to four runs off the final over with two wickets in hand. Jhulan Goswami’s lofted drive off Nicola Carey finally broke Australia’s 26-match streak – a moment to savour for the veteran.Deepti Sharma runs out Charlie Dean backing up at the non-striker’s end•Getty Images

India beat England by 16 runs

3rd ODI, Lord’s, 2022India’s first ODI series win in England since 1999 led to tears on both sides – the Indians over the end of Goswami’s exemplary two-decade career and Charlie Dean at the thought of taking her side so close only to be undone in this way. The anticlimactic finish occurred in the 44th over, when running in to bowl the fourth ball, Deepti noticed Dean backing up too far at the non-strikers’ end and ran her out to claim the final wicket.Earlier, fifties from Mandhana and Deepti had taken India to 169 after being reduced to 29 for 4 inside the first hour. In reply, England were four down inside 12 overs and writing was on the wall at 65 for 7. Dean stitched partnerships of 38, 15, and 35 with the remaining batters but she was caught short with England 16 adrift.Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur take a moment off during their big stand•BCCI

India beat South Africa by 4 runs

2nd ODI, Bengaluru, 2024Four centuries – a first in a women’s ODI – and 646 runs in total. The game had everything, and it ended with a last-ball finish that went India’s way. Asked to bat first, India piled up their third-highest ODI total – 325 for 3 – with Mandhana and Harmanpreet smashing 136 and 103 not out respectively. South Africa, reduced to 67 for 3, seemed out of the contest until Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp’s 184-run partnership took the game deep.It was down to ten required off the final over. Pooja Vastrakar conceded five off her first two balls and then struck twice in the next two. With five needed off the last delivery, Wolvaardt, finally back on strike, was deceived by a back-of-the-hand slower one.Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues kept India going•ICC/Getty Images

India beat Australia by 5 wickets

2nd semi-final, DY Patil, World Cup 2025India ended Australia’s latest World Cup juggernaut by producing the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history. Opting to bat, Australia were cruising towards 350, thanks to Phoebe Litchfield’s exuberant maiden World Cup hundred, and half-centuries from Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner. But India’s bowlers struck late, taking 8 for 118 to restrict them to 338.India were 60 for 2 after the powerplay when Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet began a yin-yang partnership that saw the team finding the fence regularly. Once the captain fell, Rodrigues carried on to an epic unbeaten 127, supported by quickfire cameos from Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, and Amanjot Kaur, to help India book their place in another World Cup final.

Manchester United supporters have for so long been used to countless levels of success and trophies – often having the bragging rights over the supporters of their rivals.

However, over recent years, the Red Devils faithful have often been disappointed, with only a handful of FA Cups and Carabao Cups to show for their efforts.

The club have also gone an unthinkable 12 years without a Premier League triumph, with no manager able to win the title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

Ruben Amorim is the latest manager to try his luck at Old Trafford, with the hierarchy already handing the 40-year-old over £200m worth of additions since his arrival 12 months ago.

However, despite his spending spree in the summer transfer window, he could be about to be handed another significant backing from the board to aid his quest for success in the role.

United’s hunt for a new midfielder in the January window

The recent additions may have massively improved the options in the final third, but neglected the central midfield department, which desperately needs addressing in the winter.

Jobe Bellingham has been one name mentioned with a potential move to Old Trafford in recent weeks, after failing to nail down his side in Borussia Dortmund’s starting eleven.

The 20-year-old has started just two Bundesliga games in 2025/26, which could see the Englishman being tempted to return to his homeland to reignite his once-promising career.

However, he’s not the only player currently in their sights, with Nottingham Forest sensation Elliot Anderson another midfielder the Red Devils hierarchy are targeting.

According to one Spanish outlet, Amorim’s side are currently preparing a bid in the region of £100m for the England international – a deal that would be a club-record, surpassing the fee paid for Paul Pogba.

The report also states that the hierarchy have been closely monitoring the 23-year-old in recent months and are preparing a move before his value soars further amid his recent international success.

Why United’s latest target would be perfect for Bruno

Bruno Fernandes has for so long been a shining light within the United ranks, but he’s had to take on a new responsibility within the first-team side in recent weeks.

As a result of the big-money additions in the final third, he’s had to drop into a slightly deeper number eight role – a position which is a slightly unfamiliar one to him.

Given his previous attacking midfield role, the 31-year-old still likes to get forward and impress – as seen by his tally of four chances created against Forest – the most of any player on the pitch.

However, if Bruno is to continue to do so during Amorim’s spell, he desperately needs a deep-lying option alongside him to regain possession and allow him to reach the heights he achieved last season.

Casemiro has recently partnered the Portuguese international, but at 33, he’s coming to the back end of his career – with a long-term replacement needed in January.

Anderson could provide Amorim with just that, with the 23-year-old having the talents to be an immediate fan-favourite whilst having the potential to improve further in the years ahead.

He’s developed into an elite-level number six in 2025/26, with the Englishman ranking at the top of 13 different categories for all midfielders in the Premier League this season.

Numbers such as 2.6 tackles won and 7.7 duels won per 90 showcase his ball-winning capabilities, which have led to one commentator labelling him as “world-class.”

Such numbers would allow Bruno to operate in his slightly more advanced role, taking the defensive responsibility away from him and reach his peak levels – as seen in 2024/25.

Games played

10

Goals & assists

1

Pass accuracy

87%

Progressive passes

8.9

Passes into final third

8.8

Take-ons completed

2.5

Ball recoveries

8.5

Tackles made

2.6

Duels won

7.7

Anderson has also thrived with the ball at his feet, subsequently registering 8.9 progressive passes and 8.8 passes into the final third per 90 – figures which would hand Bruno the ammunition he needs to create chances in attacking areas.

Other numbers, such as 2.5 take-ons attempted and 8.5 ball recoveries made, further highlight his phenomenal all-round quality – with the younger certainly one of the country’s hottest properties.

A deal for his signature would certainly cost the hierarchy a pretty penny, but it would allow the club to land the deep-lying option they have been craving for many months.

The prospect of Anderson partnering with Bruno at the heart of the side is one for the fanbase to get excited about, with such a duo potentially leading Amorim to new heights during his tenure at Old Trafford.

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Manchester United have already unearthed a new world-class under Ruben Amorim.

1 ByEthan Lamb Nov 7, 2025

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs for the second straight time Tuesday night to increase their lead in the NL Central standings to two games.

First baseman Andrew Vaughn broke open the game in the sixth inning when he crushed a grand slam to left-center that gave Milwaukee a commanding 9-2 lead.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell was seen having a priceless reaction to the blast as he immediately jumped on the phone in the dugout to get a new pitcher going in the bullpen.

He barely waited for Vaughn to get out of the batter's box before dialing up some help for his team:

Too funny.

The Cubs will look to avoid being swept by the Brewers when they square off in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.

The doom and gloom currently engulfing Leeds United is strong.

At Elland Road this season, the Whites have looked like a competent Premier League outfit, in all fairness, as was showcased in their 2-1 win over West Ham United to close out October.

But, Daniel Farke and Co cannot rely on their home form all season long to keep them away from the dreaded relegation spaces, with their away record an abysmal read at the moment.

Only three of Leeds’ 11 points so far this season have been picked up on their disappointing travels, with all of their defeats on the road also seeing the top-flight newcomers offer up very little in an attacking capacity.

The 3-0 loss last time out at Brighton and Hove Albion was an alarming reminder of the gulf in quality between Leeds and the likes of Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls, with Leeds reduced to a relegation-fodder state at the Amex.

Strangely, though, Leeds have pulled off some memorable bits of business this summer that have stuck out amid all the hopelessness, with Noah Okafor already up to two goals at his new employers, as the Whites are usually prone to a transfer clanger or two.

Ranking Leeds' transfer business in recent history

Switzerland international, Okafor, has already been described as a “class difference-maker” by Leeds content creator Oscar Marrio for his goal-laden displays in West Yorkshire.

Successfully completing five dribbles against the rampant Seagulls, too, it will be interesting to see if the Whites can avoid the drop, courtesy of the risky £18m acquisition bombing down the flanks.

The likes of Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach have also stood out in midfield, after joining from Newcastle United and Hoffenheim respectively, with the energy that Okafor offers in spades also visible in this new duo.

Two Premier League strikes have also already been put away by the ex-Magpies star, and his Croat counterpart, with Longstaff even being labelled as “one of the best signings in the Premier League” this summer by journalist Daniel Storey.

Often, comments about Leeds’ recent purchases haven’t always been so complimentary, with the Whites’ summer business heading into 2022/23 – which ended in a pitiful Premier League relegation – sticking out as being full of blunders.

Luis Sinisterra certainly stands out as being a transfer deal gone wrong, with the £21m winger billed as an “animal” by ex-teammate Juan Cuadrado on this entry to England, only for the Colombian to score a weak five goals in the Premier League donning Leeds white, during what was an injury-ravaged stint.

The likes of Rasmus Kristensen, Tyler Adams, and many more around this same time period aren’t remembered fondly, either, as they all left the Leeds train at the earliest possible opportunity, after relegation was confirmed.

Another name that springs to mind is Helder Costa. Costing £12m to obtain under the great Marcelo Bielsa, he then only made an unmemorable 23 Premier League appearances in West Yorkshire.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be praying that he’s not recounted in the same dismissive manner down the line, as the ex-Everton marksman continues to struggle to find his goalscoring groove at Elland Road.

The former England international does have the bonus that he was acquired on a free transfer, so he doesn’t have a weighty Sinisterra-like price tag hanging above his head.

Still, with only one goal coming his way so far this season, he isn’t immune to pelters, with ex-Premier League scout Bryan King even stating recently that he isn’t the “right striker fit” for Leeds if they desperately crave goals to stave off the drop.

It’s too early to judge whether he’s an outright flop, though, but the early signs are concerning. He isn’t alone in being deemed a shaky summer signing, however.

Leeds flop could be seen as one of their worst signings

Heading into top-flight action this season, it was clear Leeds needed to successfully find a long-term replacement for Illan Meslier.

The Frenchman was so error-prone last campaign that £400k recruit Karl Darlow had to be thrown in for the latter matches of the campaign, so their promotion charge wasn’t sabotaged.

Unfortunately, Lucas Perri’s £13.9m arrival this summer from Lyon hasn’t instantly eased the goalkeeping nerves that plagued their Championship promotion story.

The Brazilian stopper joined the building having been branded as an “outstanding” shot-stopper by South American football expert Nathan Joyes, having collected a promising ten clean sheets last season in Ligue 1 action.

He started life in England with two clean sheets collected from his first three Premier League clashes, too, but he has looked worryingly ropey when Leeds have been under the cosh.

In particular, his showing away at Brighton would see journalist Adam Pope criticise the 27-year-old for the amount of “unnecessary” decisions he was making with the ball at his feet that just ramped up more pressure on the all-at-sea defenders on the South Coast.

Perri’s PL numbers for Leeds

Stat (* = per 90 mins)

Perri

Games played

5

Goals conceded overall

9

Goals conceded*

1.8

Saves

9

Goals prevented

-0.48

Accurate passes*

18.8 (53%)

Stats by Sofascore

The table above doesn’t lie, either, when looking at Pope’s comments, with Perri only managing to accurately complete 53% of his passes so far this season, as the likes of Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson were then put under far more strain than necessary at the Amex.

Moreover, Perri has the worst save percentage among the 21 goalkeepers to have played five or more games so far this season in the Premier League, with nine efforts being hammered past the new Leeds number one, despite only facing 18 total shots.

Amazingly, Leeds might well have just been better sticking it out with their trusty second-in-command from last season in Darlow, with the experienced Welshman managing to make 13 saves across his own span of five Premier League encounters.

At £13.9m, Perri is yet to live up to his high transfer fee, with the highly praised Longstaff even coming into the building for a lower fee himself, at the £12m range.

Even Meslier would come away from his 2022/23 efforts in the top-flight with a higher accurate pass percentage average next to his name, with a worry now that Leeds have forked out significant wads of cash on a ‘keeper who isn’t a noticeable upgrade on what they already had.

The same could be said about Calvert-Lewin, arguably, – if you remove talk of transfer fees – with golden-boot winning Joel Piroe up top now frozen out completely, despite collecting a blistering 19 strikes on the way to promotion being clinched.

Thankfully, Calvert-Lewin’s woes in front of goal have been regularly bailed out already by the likes of Okafor stepping up to the mark as a far more impactful new addition.

In between the sticks, though, it’s harder to go under the radar for your mistakes and errors, with a worry that more unconvincing performances from the £13.9m ‘keeper to come could result in Leeds hurtling straight back down to the second tier.

This would be a gigantic disappointment, with Perri once judged as a clean slate in goal, who could break away from the shoddy days of Meslier.

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Posts ByKelan Sarson Nov 5, 2025

Florian Wirtz's £100 million ($130m) move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool didn't just upset Bayern Munich. It also hit hard at Koln. After all, Wirtz had come through their academy only to leave for Leverkusen in the summer of 2020 – and for a paltry €300,000 (£265,000/$350,000). Koln were furious. They felt Leverkusen had broken a 'gentleman's agreement' by signing one of the most exciting young players they'd ever produced – but there was nothing they could do about it. Wirtz's contract was expiring and he wanted to leave.

However, while Koln may have missed out on a massive transfer fee with Wirtz, it looks like they're going to make a colossal profit on the €350,000 (£310,000/$405,000) they invested in another potential superstar. Indeed, Said El Mala has just received his first Germany call-up after taking the Bundesliga by storm this season, and has already attracted the attention of both Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, as well as a string of top clubs across the continent.

So, who is Koln's new teenage sensation? And how long might it be before one of Europe's elite pays big money to sign him? GOAL breaks it all down below…

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Where it all began

  El Mala was born and raised in Krefeld in western Germany. Both he and his brother Malek – who is one year older than Said and also on Koln's books – got their love of the game from their Lebanese father Mohammed, who played as a centre-back for local side Linner SV. El Mala briefly followed in his father's footsteps before joining Malek at Borussia Monchengladbach in 2017. However, he was released three years later.

  "Said was still very small back then, making him extremely inferior athletically to his opponents and not competitive at that level," El Mala's former coach at the Gladbach Under-15s, Sven Schuchardt, told . "Some boys simply need a little more time to develop."

  El Mala was nonetheless devastated by the rejection. "It wasn't easy to process," he later admitted in an interview with . "Everything turning around, just like that. As a 14-year-old, you ask yourself: What did I do wrong?"

  He even considered quitting the game and was only convinced to continue by Malek. The two brothers would ultimately reunite at TSV Meerbusch and then again at Viktoria Koln, where they excelled in the same Under-19s team. 

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  The big break

  El Mala's impressive performances at youth level led to him making his senior debut in a third-tier clash with FC Saarbrucken on February 21, 2004 – just two days after signing his first professional contract with Viktoria. However, just four months later, he was snapped up by Viktoria's city rivals Koln. Crucially, Koln were unable to register new players at the time, so in order to get a deal done for the in-demand youngster as quickly as possible, they agreed to immediately loan El Mala back to Viktoria for the 2024-25 campaign.

  It proved a pivotal moment in his development, as the winger benefited enormously from regular game time at a lower level. He scored 13 times in 32 appearances across his first full season in the professional ranks, resulting in him being awarded the 3. Liga's Newcomer of the Season award, and then shone for Germany's U19s during their summer run to the semi-finals of the European Championship, with four goals and three assists.

  Consequently, El Mala belatedly arrived at Koln brimming with belief. 

• How it's going

  Despite El Mala marking himself out as one of Germany's most promising prospects over the previous year, Koln coach Lukas Kwasniok was reluctant to place too much pressure upon the teenager's shoulders and decided to carefully manage his game time. Consequently, El Mala has been employed primarily as an impact sub in 2025-26 – but to devastating effect. The attacker has already racked up four goals and two assists in this season's Bundesliga, even though he's only started three times. 

  Julian Nagelsmann also felt that he'd seen enough of El Mala to warrant inclusion in his squad for this week's crucial World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Slovakia.

  "Said should get the chance to show his carefree and easy-going style of play," the Germany boss told reporters. "We keep an eye on our U21 players and always want to give them the chance to feature for the senior national team."

  As for El Mala, he was taken aback by his rapid promotion to Germany's senior squad and revealed that he had initially ignored Nagelsmann's call.

  "I was at home when it arrived but I don't like answering unknown numbers," the teenager revealed to . "Then, he sent me a message saying, 'Hi, this is Julian Nagelsmann, please call me back!' I immediately showed the message to my brother and that's when I realised, 'I guess I'm in!' But you can't take it all in during one week. It takes a bit longer. But I'm incredibly excited for the game [against Luxembourg on Friday], and I can enjoy whatever comes after that."

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• Biggest strengths

  In Germany, El Mala is considered something of a throwback, the kind of old-school street-footballer that one rarely sees anymore.

  He's a refreshingly direct dribbler. His first thought always seems to be to take on his man – which makes sense, as he's blessed with wonderful close control and a blistering turn of pace, meaning he's a nightmare for full-backs in one-v-one situations.

  He's also got one hell of a strike on him. Time and time again this season, we've seen him come off the left flank and cut in onto his favoured right foot before unleashing fearsome shots on goal.

The two matches which begin in late January are shaping as a potential decider in the race for the World Test Championship final

Alex Malcolm29-Oct-2024With Todd Murphy and Corey Rocchiccioli about to audition with Australia A for a berth on the Sri Lanka Test tour in January, former Test spinner Steve O’Keefe is urging Cricket Australia to pull spin candidates out of the BBL as early as possible to prepare for the series while the window for the Test players’ involvement in the league could narrow even further if the series dates are earlier than expected.While the immediate focus is on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the associated tussle for a top-order batting slot, Australia’s selectors already have Sri Lanka in mind. The two-Test series could be vital to their World Test Championship final hopes, particularly after India’s defeat at home to New Zealand.Murphy and Rocchiccioli are getting an early chance to book a spot with the two Australia A matches against India A in Mackay and Melbourne. The pair will play one game each and when each offspinner doesn’t feature they will each spend time with Australia’s ODI squad to work one-on-one with bowling coach and former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori.Related

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• Indore to Hobart: Kuhnemann's journey to revive his red-ball career

• Ruturaj Gaikwad to lead India A on tour of Australia

Australia had thought the first Sri Lanka Test might begin on January 29 but there is a possibility it could start as early as January 26 with the dates still being finalised between the two boards. It is understood the hierarchy wants a 10-day preparation period for overseas Test tours and could fly to the UAE or Oman for a pre-series camp. If the first Test were to start on January 26, it would mean the Australia tourists could be pulled out of the BBL by January 15.Murphy plays for Sydney Sixers and another contender, Matt Kuhnemann, is a key part of Brisbane Heat’s attack. Rocchiccioli does not currently have a BBL deal but was with Melbourne Stars last season and could yet be picked up.Regardless of exact tour dates and who is selected, O’Keefe believes early red-ball preparation is vital. He cited his own experience in India in February 2017 as an example of how important it was to have a long red-ball lead-in. O’Keefe opted not to play in the BBL at all after playing the Sydney Test. His decision to spend six straight weeks bowling with a red ball before the first Test in India paid huge dividends as he bagged 12 for 70 in Pune.”I pulled out of the last six games of the Big Bash that season because I just said, no, this is not the way that I’m going to be bowling over there,” O’Keefe told ESPNcricinfo. “And I copped a bit of criticism. I remember a couple of coaches coming out saying, well, you’re going to get slogged in India you may as well practice in the Big Bash.”I deliberately took that time off, went and played grade cricket, played a Second XI game just to get used to bowling with the red ball. I think if we’re really going to be serious about the young spinners going over there, whoever is going to accompany Nathan [Lyon], is the Big Bash the best preparation?”I’d be encouraging the selectors to let these spinners be going earlier and then I’d be encouraging those spinners to practice with a red ball in between Big Bash games.”It’s two completely different ways of bowling. In essence, sometimes in Big Bash cricket you’re bowling your six worst deliveries to a batter, and then you’re going to be seven to ten days later asked to be landing it on a tea towel for 40 overs straight.”It’s a change for batters as well. The way that you mitigate that is muscle memory, and you need to practice it.”The BBL planned for a clear window for Australia’s Test players to feature between the end of the five-Test India series, which finishes on January 7, and the start of the Sri Lanka series. However, there were already concerns within CA’s high-performance unit about the Test players involvement given their workloads coming out of what is expected to be a gruelling series. There is also concern about the physical and technical preparation for Sri Lanka, with both Tests likely to be played on sharp-turning pitches in Galle.Matthew Kuhnemann is one of the few left-arm options for Australia•Getty ImagesAustralia have recent experience of how difficult it can be for a spinner to prepare for a subcontinent tour while playing in the BBL. In 2023, Ashton Agar played the New Year’s Test against South Africa before returning to play five games for Perth Scorchers. He then had just 19 days, including a camp in Sydney and another in Bengaluru, to prepare for a Test series in India and was unable to find the consistency required to be selected before being flown home. Australia brought Kuhnemann over at short notice, but he had at least bowled 44 overs in a Sheffield Shield game after the BBL before making his Test debut.”It’s tough, because you’re coming out of Big Bash which is bowling cross-seam, cut shots and yorkers, and leg stump [line] into I need to land the ball on a similar spot consistently and allow the wicket to do the work for me,” O’Keefe said.”In Australia, we’re looking for overspin, because it’s a different game. Over there you need to be able to bowl that square spinner, which if doesn’t spin it hits a shiny side, slides on and you get an lbw. But that same ball can hit the same spot and then spin past the outside edge of a right-hand batter [for a left-arm orthodox]. Is that easy to do? I think it takes a bit of practice. But knowing what Matt bowls, and watching him bowl, I think he’s already got it in his armoury. I think Todd Murphy’s got it in his armoury.”I’ve watched Corey bowl. I think he’s got it as well. But you need to go and bowl a lot of it over there. So the preparation that these guys will have hopefully is a month, but I reckon you need a couple of weeks of going over and consistently bowling it. In Australia, you might bowl it once every two overs, over there you’ve got be bowling it 10 times out of 12 balls.”The selectors are investing in Cooper Connolly for his bowling as well as his batting•Getty ImagesThe selectors haven’t picked a specialist left-arm orthodox against India A although Cooper Connolly will play as an allrounder. The value of a left-armer in those conditions has been highlighted by the success of Mitchell Santner against India last week and Prabath Jayasuriya both against New Zealand in September, and Australia in 2022 when he took 12 wickets on Test debut to square the series 1-1.Australia did not take a left-arm orthodox spinner to Sri Lanka in 2022 with legspinner Mitchell Swepson partnering Lyon alongside two quicks, with the support of Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne.Chair of selectors George Bailey spoke on Monday of his panel’s desire to find players who bowl left-arm fingerspin for future subcontinent tours.”Happy to very much publicly throw it out there that it’s an incredible skill set in the subcontinent,” he said. “We’ve seen that for many years. Realistically, there’s not a huge amount of players in domestic cricket at the moment that are doing it. It’s something that we’re looking to continue to expose. It’s certainly one of the reasons why we’re excited about Cooper Connolly and his journey.”It’s still very much a work in progress with his left-arm spin. But [beyond] Matt Kuhnemann, Ash Agar, there’s just not a great many players who can do it. We know we’re going to have plenty of subcontinent tours, plenty of Tests where that skill set would be highly desirable. So [we] encourage anyone who’s got that up their sleeve to work hard at it.”