With higher honours seemingly around the corner, Glenn Phillips’ brother is adding to his set of skills and trying to live up to the potential he has always had

Deivarayan Muthu22-Aug-2025Glenn Phillips can do incredible things in the field and with the bat. His younger brother Dale Phillips isn’t too bad either. Just look at this. And like Glenn, Dale can also play some trick shots, including the scoop, which he was honing during his stint at the Chennai Super Kings Academy in June.Leaving the fear of failure behind and expanding his range have put Dale on the radar of his national team. After training in Chennai during the New Zealand winter, Dale is now set to travel with the New Zealand A team to South Africa, his country of birth, to play three one-dayers and two four-day games.”I think my role was different earlier. I was conservative and getting out of the box opened up a lot more options,” Dale told ESPNcricinfo during his stint in Chennai. “People may see the scoop as a high-risk option, but for me if I get out scooping and I’ve got the right theory behind it [that’s okay], and I’m not going to get a slap on the wrist. I think being fearless and not being worried about getting out helps when you’re playing aggressively. As soon as you start to worry about [getting out], that’s when the poor things start to creep in.”Related

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Dale credits his former coach at Otago, Ash Noffke, for helping him realise his white-ball potential in the previous domestic season. In the Ford Trophy, he was the second-highest scorer with 457 runs in ten innings at an average of 45.70 and strike rate of 86.38. Dale also fared well in the Super Smash, coming away as Otago’s second-highest scorer, with 210 runs in ten innings at a strike rate of nearly 155.”With me being a bit of a shorter player, I found scooping a good option,” Dale said. “I think last year with my coach [Noffke], we really worked on it as an attacking option to be able to score especially in the powerplay. If you scoop, then it puts the bowler off and opens up a bit more access to the rest of the ground.”Dale has always been strong on the front foot, and in his quest to become a better-rounded batter, he was looking to find ways to score risk-free runs on the back foot on a variety of pitches, including black and red, against a variety of spinners in Chennai.”I think the main one was I wanted to really nail my strike-rotation options,” Dale said. “I’m relatively good at playing down the ground off the front foot but being able to do it off the back foot and being able to get a good reach to rotate the good-length balls through the covers and midwicket and straight as opposed to just defending them – that was the learning.”

“You have to adapt your game to be successful in different areas. Over here in Chennai and Bangladesh, it’s more spin-friendly and you have to develop your spin game more. South Africa [conditions] will be different. So, I think it’s a great experience to be able to play cricket around the world”Dale Phillips

Earlier, Dale used to bowl seam-ups but recently he has switched to offspin. He is eager to improve his secondary skill with help from Glenn, who had refashioned himself into an offspin-bowling allrounder from being a wicketkeeper-batter.”Back in the day I was bowling seam-ups, and I think it got to a point where I didn’t grow taller and at the pace that I was bowling if I wasn’t as accurate it was a lot easier for the batters to hit,” Dale said. “So I decided to change it up to bowl spin, which was maybe more suited to the kind of bowler I could be.”He [Glenn] has always been a pretty good mentor to me. We’re constantly chatting before and after games both technically and tactically. I think we’re slightly different bowlers. He’s obviously a little bit taller than me, but the general skillset is still the same, so he’s definitely a good help.”While Dale has emerged as a “player of interest” for New Zealand in white-ball cricket, his red-ball game has taken a back seat. After scoring a chart-topping 686 runs in 15 innings in the 2023-24 Plunket Shield, his numbers dipped to 427 runs in 15 innings in the following season. Dale hopes to remedy that and re-establish himself as an all-format player.”I think my white-ball game kicked off in the Ford Trophy and T20s in the last season, so potentially because of that development my Plunket Shield took a bit of a hit,” he said. “Now it’s about how I can adapt and make all three [formats] have a good season for me.”Dale Phillips is a “player of interest” for New Zealand in white-ball cricket•Getty ImagesAfter the Chennai camp, Dale returned to New Zealand and completed his move from Otago to Auckland, where his family lives. He is looking forward to working with coach Rob Nicol in the upcoming domestic season.”I enjoyed my time playing for Otago but for my family, with the kids, it’s the right decision to move to Auckland,” Dale said. “It was a good time to move, and I have a good relationship with Rob, and he’ll be able to keep me on the right track as I look to grow my game.”Having travelled to Bangladesh with the New Zealand A team and Chennai with Adi Ashok, Rhys Mariu and Tim Pringle during the New Zealand winter, Dale was looking forward to playing in South Africa.”Being able to play in different areas is cool,” he said. “You have to adapt your game to be successful in different areas. Over here in Chennai and Bangladesh, it’s more spin-friendly and you have to develop your spin game more. South Africa [conditions] will be different. So, I think it’s a great experience to be able to play cricket around the world. That’s the kind of stuff you want to be doing.”

Batting form is a major concern, yet his importance as a captain and bowler shines through on critical day four

Vithushan Ehantharajah13-Jul-20252:16

Trescothick: It’s going to be an amazing final day

Nebulous sporting magic – or , if you will – is not unlike energy. Not created or destroyed, merely changed from one form to another.The quantity of such magic remains constant in an athlete’s lifetime. But the areas it influences shift, and given the nature of some pursuits – such as, say, being an allrounder who just happens to also be Test captain – often irrevocably.”Who else but Ben Stokes?” That clichéd sentiment passed through the minds and perhaps even the lips of the 26,569 spectators here at Lord’s, to cheer or bemoan his last-over dismissal of nightwatcher Akash Deep. The manner of it added fuel to the notion that games of cricket bend to Stokes’ whim. Even if this was merely a case of getting one to go down the slope to a bloke with a batting average of 8.09.Related

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With that final ball of day four, Stokes has put England on a level footing going into Monday, in front of a sold-out Lord’s. It was a statement clonk that took him to nine wickets in the series at 32.33.It is the most he has taken in 11 previous series, the result of a new left knee and a more robust recovery after a second tear of his right hamstring. The last time he took more wickets was his ten against South Africa in 2022, his second series as captain, in the early stages of his emergence as one of the most astute leaders England have ever had.Beyond his ability to lift those around him as a talisman, however, is Stokes’ acumen in the field that can, at times, feel like throwing leg slips at the wall and seeing what sticks. And yet, at moments such as the final throes of Sunday’s play, his feel for the game deserves praise, eclipsing those of previous England captains of the modern era.Granted, he might have been better served opening with Brydon Carse instead of Chris Woakes. But the decision, in the day’s final half-an-hour, to bring Carse and himself on to replace Woakes and Jofra Archer, came with an extra tick when Stokes chose to put Carse on from the Pavilion End.It was from the Nursery End that Jasprit Bumrah had unearthed a patch of uneven bounce. Yet, the three wickets that England claimed with this double-change – two to Carse in a stirring spell of 4-1-11-2 – highlighted Stokes’ sharp reading of the contest. The slope – left to right from the Pavilion End – suited Carse’s methods better, rather than the vague promise of some variations up-and-down. Let’s not forget, Bumrah took more of Crawley’s fingers than wickets.Ben Stokes was knocked over by Washington Sundar•Getty ImagesWith Stokes’ bowling trending back towards his previous heights circa 2019, and his captaincy remaining steadily impressive, perhaps it is no surprise his batting seems to have lost that spark. There is only so much juju to go around.What was confronting about Stokes’ innings today was that the situation seemed primed for the latest volume in his “who writes his scripts?” anthology. He was England’s last hope – and their last recognised batter – in a quest for an iron-clad winning score, yet he was bowled by a broadly innocuous offspinning delivery from Washington Sundar. An attempt at a visceral slog-sweep ended in an apologetic whimper.The slog-sweep is a familiar club in Stokes’ bag. Not quite a calling card, more of an easter egg amid his epics. Here in 2019, for instance, batting at the same end from which he was dismissed on Sunday, he dumped Trent Boult over midwicket at the critical juncture – 15 needed off four balls – of the World Cup final. That same side was peppered four years later in a hellacious 155 against Australia. Now, the shot is an appropriate sherpa down through Stokes’ batting decline. He boasted a scoreline of 111 for 2 from 32 attempts at the shot in Test cricket between the start of the 2019 up to the 2022 summer. Ever since the start of Bazball, however, he has tried it 26 further times, scoring just 59 for the loss of six.Ben Stokes struck on the last ball of the day•Getty ImagesThe nature of this most recent dismissal also gave a new twist on the Stokes meme machine. His knack for making good balls look great – wide-eyed and open mouthed, stunned at a delivery that probably just seamed a bit – is rich online fodder. Now, however, the decent balls are being played badly.As it was in 2022, when he charged out of the blocks in his first series to show his teammates that flying close to the sun was cool, Stokes’ third second-innings 33 of the series – this one the slowest, from 96 balls – felt like an extension of England’s second-innings approach. Stunted, a lot of huff and a little confused.Their run rate across the whole match – 3.31 – is now England’s slowest in a home Test in the Bazball era, knocking the very first match of the McCullum-Stokes axis – also at Lord’s, against New Zealand – off top spot. Being an inspiring figure works both ways.It is important, however, not to simply attribute Stokes’ average of 24.57 from four Tests this summer – including one against Zimbabwe – as a loss of magic. To do so simplifies the issue, which is that he has just not batted enough.1:20

Manjrekar: Lord’s Test 70-30 in England’s favour

Sunday’s knock was his seventh of the year. He could have had more, either for Durham in the County Championship, or for England Lions in the lead-up to the series, when he had fully recovered from the hamstring tear sustained at the end of the New Zealand tour in December.Of course, there are only so many hours in the day, and so much a body can take, even after such tailored reinforcement. Stokes maintains, at the age of the 34, that recovery is his biggest focus around Test matches.Thus, it seems batting is now third on his list of priorities. Even though Stokes has vociferously hit back at the suggestion, his numbers against spin bowling – which requires the most work behind the scenes to improve – paint a clear picture. Since the start of 2024, his average of 19.11 is the second lowest, after R Ashwin’s 16.50, for batters who have faced more than 300 deliveries of spin.Whether that eventually means a slide down the order remains to be seen. It likely won’t, given the England management are impressed with how comfortable Jamie Smith has been at No.7.Even though Stokes’ lack of runs might have cost England a shot at resting easier overnight, they will arrive on day five with a 2-1 lead in their grasp, thanks in no small part to his bowling and captaincy. And that is how it is likely to be for what remains of his career.

All the records that the South Africa batter broke on his Test debut against Zimbabwe

Sampath Bandarupalli28-Jun-202519 years, 93 days Lhuan-dre Pretorius’ age on Saturday, when he scored 153 in the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. He became the youngest batter to score 150 in Test cricket, bettering Javed Miandad, who was 19 years and 119 days old when he notched up 163 against New Zealand on the opening day of the Lahore Test in 1976.4 Number of players younger than Pretorius with a hundred on their Test debut. Three of those four have done it in the second innings on debut.1 Pretorius is also the youngest among seven South African men to score a hundred on their Test debut. In fact, no man younger than Pretorius had scored a fifty in any format for South Africa in International cricket. His hundred off 112 balls is also the fastest for South Africa on debut.157 Balls that Pretorius needed for his 150 against Zimbabwe. It is the fastest 150 for South Africa in Tests, a record previously held by AB de Villiers, who had achieved it off 162 balls against Australia in 2012 (where data is available).
His effort is also the second fastest by a debutant in Tests, only behind Shikhar Dhawan, who got to his 150 in only 131 balls against Australia in 2013.4 Batters to have scored a century on their Test debut as well as their first-class debut. Pretorius had scored 120 on his first-class debut in December last year against the Warriors. Gundappa Viswanath, Dirk Wellham and Prithvi Shaw are the other players to have achieved this feat.38 Balls that Dewald Brevis needed for his half-century on Saturday, the fastest by a debutant for South Africa in Tests. The previous quickest was by Dave Nourse, who scored a fifty off 40 balls on his debut against Australia in 1902. Brevis’ 38-ball effort is also the joint-fourth fastest on debut in men’s Tests.95 Partnership runs between Pretorius and Brevis for the fifth wicket. It is the highest partnership between two debutants for South Africa in men’s Tests. The previous highest was 92 between Andrew Hudson and Adrian Kuiper, also for the fifth wicket against West Indies in 1992.

The India captain has been in the spotlight off the field, but his returns on it are dwindling

Shashank Kishore27-Sep-20252:05

Is captaincy affecting SKY’s form?

Suryakumar Yadav’s last act on the field against Sri Lanka on Friday was a punch through the covers to seal India’s victory in the Super Over. But before that moment of assurance at the finish, he had seemed like a man just beginning to be affected by his poor form.During India’s first innings, Suryakumar had chosen to review an lbw decision against him despite knowing that it was almost certainly out. One of T20 cricket’s most feared batters had scores of only 0, 5 and 12 in his last three innings at the Asia Cup.His performance in this tournament is in keeping with a pool of scores that is hard-hitting. In ten innings this year, India’s T20I captain has managed just 99 runs with three ducks, while striking at 110. Go back further, from just after India’s T20 World Cup win in June 2024 to now, his numbers get only marginally better: 329 runs in 19 innings with two half-centuries.Related

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There doesn’t seem to be an apparent weakness or loophole in his game, though his propensity to premeditate – like that pick-up flick he plays nonchalantly – has caused his downfall a few times in this Asia Cup alone. Away from the glare of the game, there seems to be no issue with Suryakumar’s batting. He’s striking the ball sweetly at training, but that fluency has been missing on match days. This lean run has come at a time when the spotlight is on him for different reasons – for his gestures, expressions, comments, press conference quips, and the biggest of them all, handshake-gate. There have been disciplinary hearings off the field and drastic batting-order shuffles on it.On Friday, Suryakumar had an opportunity to find his rhythm in a dead rubber, but he flickered before fizzling out for 12 off 13 balls. An on-the-up cover drive for four off Maheesh Theekshana was as good as it got. He kept getting beaten while playing down the wrong line. A nip backer from Dushmantha Chameera beat his inside edge, and he got a leading edge over point off a slower one.Suryakumar Yadav fell for another low score against Sri Lanka•AFP/Getty ImagesSuryakumar’s first attempt at a sweep also resulted in a leading edge on to the grille of his helmet as he misread the length. He was lbw in the same over, premeditating a sweep against Wanindu Hasaraga, getting caught in a tangle and hit flush on the pad by a full delivery. He walked off tossing his bat, with a rueful look up to the sky.His only significant innings in this tournament was in the group game against Pakistan, when he struck an unbeaten 47, finishing the chase with a six and walking off with his usual gum-chewing swagger. That knock barely registered because the discourse was dominated by handshake-gate.Through all this, his commitment to his team’s needs has not wavered. He’s been the loudest advocate for flexibility in batting roles, that everyone below the openers must be ready to move up or down. Against Oman, Suryakumar chose to push himself down to No. 11, giving the likes of Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav time in the middle instead.Thirteen T20I innings without a fifty is uncharted territory. Suryakumar endured barren series in South Africa and at home against England, but had a blazing IPL before this Asia Cup. He amassed 717 runs at a strike rate of 167.91 for Mumbai Indians, scoring 25-plus in 16 consecutive innings, which is why the continued downturn in international cricket is a surprise.After the Super Four game against Pakistan, Suryakumar made headlines for his proclamation that India vs Pakistan is no longer a rivalry. For all his chatter and quips, nothing will speak louder than runs in Sunday’s Asia Cup final against Pakistan.

With India’s next WTC fixture slated for August 2026, here are five ways they can bounce back after the bruising at the hands of SA, and earlier, NZ

Karthik Krishnaswamy28-Nov-20251:38

What are the remedial steps for team India?

Bin the rank turnerWhat is the ideal home pitch for India? What is the best type of surface to heighten their relative strengths over their opposition? This debate has made India go back and forth between square turners and true batting surfaces multiple times over the last decade, and the two pitches against South Africa, in Kolkata and Guwahati, only showed that neither kind can neutralise the threat of a strong opposition.Two things must be noted, though. South Africa’s victory came on the back of all-timer performances by a visiting fast bowler (Marco Jansen) and a visiting spinner (Simon Harmer) in India. Not too many touring teams can call on attacks that good; most times, India are likely to have the better attack for Indian conditions. It remains in their interests, notwithstanding what happened in Guwahati, to broaden rather than narrow that gap in skill and depth between their attack and the visiting attack. This, as this in-depth study from the analyst Himanish Ganjoo shows, is best achieved on pitches with balance between bat and ball.Related

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There will be losses to good teams, and times when losing the toss hurt India. But those things can happen on sharp turners too.More importantly, good batting pitches with true bounce are better for India’s long-term development. They incentivise the team to pick batters who have the all-round game to score hundreds against good bowling, and fast bowlers and spinners who aren’t just putting the ball on a spot and expecting the pitch to do the rest.On these pitches, players can believe that good processes will beget good outcomes in the long run. This is particularly important for batters; it becomes extremely difficult to trust your processes if you are doing everything right and averaging 20 over a season because the pitches are treacherous. Selection also tends to become more reactionary in these situations.6:22

‘Gambhir took the blame because he felt curators should not be blamed’

For a team in transition, selection will need to be anything but reactionary. India need to pick their best players and give them time to prove themselves. This is definitely a more straightforward process when pitches allow you to judge players properly.Ensure allrounders tick the primary-skill boxAxar Patel’s selection in Kolkata made a lot of sense in theory. A fast, accurate left-arm spinner on a turning pitch against a team full of right-hand batters. An excellent lower-order batter with multiple gears, particularly against spin.India starting day three of the match with Axar and Ravindra Jadeja in tandem also made sense in theory.But watching Corbin Bosch play out Axar comfortably, and watching Axar struggle to test the right-handers’ outside edge right through that spell, showed that theory can only go so far. This was clearly a bowler who had played his last Test match in February 2024, and his only first-class match since then in September 2024. This was clearly a bowler who hadn’t taken more than two wickets in a first-class innings since December 2022.

If Axar is too valuable a white-ball asset to give him time to develop his red-ball game, India should perhaps not pick him for Tests

Axar is a fine cricketer, but he hasn’t been a genuine Test bowler for a while. He gets into India’s home squads because he’s never expected to be the lead spinner, because he usually only plays as a third spinner — in Kolkata he was one of four — and is picked as much, or more, for his batting than his bowling.Being able to call on three spin-bowling allrounders in Jadeja, Axar and Washington Sundar at home can be a luxury. The batting depth provided by R Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar proved to be a cheat code for India during their 2023 home series against Australia, rescuing them from a number of hairy situations.Axar barely bowled during that series, though, even though the pitches were extremely spin-friendly. Even on those pitches, the gaps in his bowling were clear when you watched what Ashwin and Jadeja did from their ends.Axar only played four first-class matches between that series and this one against South Africa. It’s not his fault, because he’s a white-ball regular, but India will have to figure out what to do about this situation. If he’s too valuable a white-ball asset to give him time to develop his red-ball game, India should perhaps not pick him for Tests.1:07

What’s the verdict on Washington Sundar at No. 3?

Washington presents a different case. He has had an extremely unusual early-career trajectory — batter at junior level, new-ball spinner when he broke through in the IPL, white-ball specialist who hadn’t played a first-class match in three-and-a-half years when he made his accidental Test debut at the Gabba in January 2021 — which is now mirrored by his shifting role from Test match to Test match. He batted only once in the two Tests against West Indies, and batted at No. 3 in his very next Test match, in Kolkata. He bowled just the one over in that game, followed by 48 in Guwahati.The thing about Washington is that he is capable of doing everything he’s asked to do, and do it competently. He is a cricketer of frightening ability. Whether it’s the match-saving century at Old Trafford, the crucial wickets in England or the long hours of high-control batting in Kolkata, the things he’s done are impressive but never surprising.But sometimes he can look like an offspinner who’s only taken 99 wickets in 46 first-class matches. He goes through a fair share of tidy but unthreatening spells, and spends long hours out of the attack when two right-handers are at the crease — imagine that ever happening to Ashwin. He often looks like the third spinner in a three-spinner attack, and in Kolkata like the fourth spinner in a four-spinner attack.3:45

Did India pick one spinner too many at Eden Gardens?

What do India do about a player like him? Perhaps the obvious answer is what they did in Kolkata. Washington has the game to bat in the top order, so India may be best served picking him as a batter, and using his bowling regularly but not counting him among their bowlers when they pick their XIs. This would ensure they don’t look short of wicket-taking options in conditions that don’t suit him, but always have his offspin around should they need it.The third young — or youngish; Axar is in his early 30s now — allrounder in India’s squad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, presents the most straightforward case. After two series of batting behind the other allrounders and barely bowling at all, it must be clear to India that he does not merit selection in home Tests — not yet anyway. And while he certainly has the potential to be a Test allrounder in the future, are India really developing that potential by playing him in home Tests, and not using him, when he could be getting innings and overs under the belt in domestic cricket?Develop genuine spinnersAnyone bowling in the same match as Harmer in Kolkata and Guwahati was at a disadvantage. Even spinners as good as Jadeja and Keshav Maharaj looked inadequate in comparison.For India, though, Harmer was a reminder of a bowler who had been an ever-present in home Tests until this season, Ashwin, a fingerspinner who could take wickets in a variety of ways across a variety of conditions, with old ball and new, by bowling quick and attacking the stumps on turning pitches, by beating batters with drift and dip on flatter tracks.The predominant trend of square turners in Ashwin’s final years possibly led to India losing sight of the difference between him and Jadeja on the one hand and Washington and Axar on the other. Ashwin and Jadeja, as good as they were with the bat, were automatic picks in India’s home XIs even purely as bowlers.2:55

‘Harmer in India better than Lyon, Swann’

This is not the case with Axar and Washington, and it becomes clearer when they bowl on flatter tracks.Who are India’s best genuine red-ball spinners after Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav?Running through the list of spinners who have played for India A in recent years presents a slightly concerning picture, with all three non-Test spinners selected this year — Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian and Manav Suthar — falling under the allrounder category.These may well be the best domestic spinners India have, but if not, Harmer’s displays should make the selectors ask themselves whether they are prioritising utility or all-conditions wicket-taking skills.Identify the best middle-order candidates, and stick with themIt was no accident that Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma took over India’s middle order from Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Even two or three years before the old guard began to exit the Test stage, these were the younger names tipped to take over by most seasoned watchers of Indian cricket.Now, with all of Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Rohit (who finished as an opener) done with Test cricket, there is no obvious next generation of specialist middle-order batters, barring Shubman Gill at No. 4. Shreyas Iyer, whose back issues have put his red-ball career at an impasse for the moment, was perhaps the last batter other than Gill who was widely tipped to have a long stint in India’s middle order.Since Iyer’s debut in 2021-22, India’s middle-order debutants have been Suryakumar Yadav, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal and B Sai Sudharsan. Sarfaraz is the only one of the five to average above 50 in first-class cricket.4:14

Are India selecting Test players based on their white-ball performances?

This is a complete breakaway from the history of selection in Indian cricket. While there has always been the odd exception, an eye-catching first-class record over a decent sample size has generally been a prerequisite for Test selection.There are reasons for the departure from this long-established norm. With the increase of teams in the Ranji Trophy and a possible dilution of talent in consequence, and with pitches often tailored to home teams’ needs at a given point in a season, the selectors have come to view runs and wickets in this tournament as a less reliable barometer for selection than performances for India A.And with the IPL and even state-run T20 leagues pulling the best raw talent in the country towards honing their white-ball rather than red-ball skills, the selectors perhaps also feel the batters best equipped to handle pace and spin bowling at Test level — the ones with the best judgment of length, above all, who give the illusion of having more time — may not have particularly good first-class records or even play that much first-class cricket.Because of this, though, and because India have multi-skilled players such as Jadeja, Washington and Dhruv Jurel who are good enough to bat in the top six, the selectors have ended up having to answer some uncomfortable questions.4:37

Karim: ‘You need specialists to do well in Test cricket’

As good as Washington is, would he be batting at No. 3 ahead of a specialist in a previous era? As good as Jurel is, and as irresistible as his form may be, would he be playing ahead of the specialist middle-order reserve in an India squad from a previous era? And how good is that specialist middle-order reserve if he is getting left out for a lower-order batter simply because he bats left-handed?Having gone through these questions, if the selectors still feel Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal are the best middle-order batters in India other than Gill, this is the time to stick with them. That might, in itself, be the hardest call to make.But beyond the next Test selection, there are broader questions to address. If the selectors and team management feel the Ranji Trophy isn’t a good-enough indicator of player quality, it might be time for the BCCI to turn it into the best tournament it could be. This could mean changing the tournament format, or setting stringent standards for pitches, or – here’s a radical thought – increasing match fees to a point where the best talent in the country is clamouring to be part of it.Don’t take the eye off the red ballBetween now and their next WTC Test in August, India have a T20 World Cup to prepare for and defend. They have ODIs to play, involving Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. There is an IPL season too.White-ball cricket will dominate the domestic scene for a while too, with the Ranji Trophy taking a mid-season break until mid-January.India next play a Test in Sri Lanka and that’s a while away•BCCIIndia have the same coaching staff and the same selectors for white-ball and red-ball cricket, and all of them will have a lot of white-ball cricket to keep their minds on in this period. But they will have reviewed the defeats to South Africa, and identified areas of concern they will want to address by the time India play their next Test. The addressing will have to begin as soon as possible.It could mean finding ways for the best red-ball players in the country to keep playing matches even outside the Ranji Trophy windows. It could mean arranging A tours after the Ranji final in late February, and between the IPL and the Sri Lanka tour.Whatever India do, they will not want to be caught off-guard by a better-prepared and better-equipped Sri Lanka – who might well have brighter prospects of making the WTC final at that stage – when they begin that tour.

Darwin is in the box seat to host its first Test in 22 years with Cricket Australia keen to split next year’s Bangladesh tour between the Territory and North Queensland.Players are understood to have been impressed with international cricket’s return to Darwin this month, as part of the white-ball series against South Africa.More winter internationals are scheduled for next year with Australia set to host a two-Test series against Bangladesh which is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) in the Top End. Mackay, Cairns, Townsville and Darwin all loom as options to host, which would double as the first winter Tests in Australia since 2004.But Darwin is the most likely to secure one of those Tests with Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg keen to spread the series across more than one state.”Ideally [we will],” Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg said. “We want to make sure we continue to play cricket in lots of different locations, so the next generation of kids can see their stars.”I spent some time with the Chief Minister there and they’ve got a strong appetite for more cricket, as have we, to play more cricket there. The conditions up there are amazing when you take out the biggest variable we have in cricket, which is weather, and you have nothing to worry about.”The Bangladesh Tests had originally been scheduled for March 2027 but the 150th anniversary contest between Australia and England at the MCG has meant the series needed to be moved. Afghanistan had been due to tour Australia next July and August for a one-off Test and three T20Is, but CA has suspended bilateral cricket with them.Darwin last hosted Tests against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2003 and 2004 respectively, before largely falling off the cricket calendar for the past two decades.Australia A played out two draws in unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A in the city in July, before this month’s T20Is against South Africa at TIO Stadium.Mackay looms as the more modern regional venue in Queensland with the Great Barrier Reef Arena upgraded in 2023 and having hosted regular WBBL matches.Players were also buoyed by the wickets in the T20I and ODI against South Africa there this month, which doubled as Australia’s first men’s internationals there.A Test would be the first in Mackay’s history with Cairns having previously hosted two in the early 2000s before last week’s ODIs in the northernmost city. Townsville is the other option after hosting ODIs in 2022, but issues such as lighting have seen it drop behind Cairns and Mackay as an option in recent years.A match at any Queensland venue would also count as the state’s Test for the 2026-27 summer, given the Gabba has missed out on a red-ball match with the touring New Zealand.CA is open to the idea of more winter internationals in the Top End, as a way of extending the season and easing the load on the main part of the summer.”We had such good support [in the white-ball games], we were sold out in almost every stadium we played in,” Greenberg said. “Playing on each of the shoulder parts of the season [works].  Our Australian women’s team will play a Test match in mid-March in Perth this year. International cricket is played 12 months of the year.”

Newcastle United will be looking to win their fourth game in succession across all competitions, with the Magpies set to travel down to London to face West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

Eddie Howe’s men go into the game in excellent form, having beaten Fulham, Benfica and, most recently, Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup.

There is not really a better time to be playing the Hammers than this week. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are in abysmal form, not winning since the 31st of August. They’ve lost six on the bounce, with little sign of their form improving.

Anthony Gordon, who was rested in midweek, could pose a huge threat to the Hammers.

How Newcastle can hurt West Ham

It seems almost guaranteed that Gordon will come straight back into the Newcastle starting lineup for their game against the East Londoners. He has been in strong form this season, dominating in the Champions League and could reall pose a big threat to the Irons.

Amongst Europe’s elite, the former Everton star has four goals and one assist in just three games. One of those strikes came against Barcelona, attacking the ball at the back post to fire home a cross from Jacob Murphy.

Incredibly, Gordon is yet to score or assist in the Premier League. He’s played six games and accumulated an expected goal involvement tally of 0.42 xGI. However, he has yet to chip in with a goal or assist.

The game against the Hammers could be the ideal opportunity for the England international to break his Premier League duck this season. His pace and direct nature could prove to be a huge threat against Nuno’s side, which has looked incohesive at the back this season, to say the least.

However, it is not only the final third threat of Gordon that could trouble West Ham. Howe has some dangerous options in midfield, too.

Howe's midfield star could terrify West Ham

Against Spurs in midweek, the Magpies rotated their midfield. Sandro Tonali was the only first-choice player who started, with Jacob Ramsey and Joe Willock operating either side of the Italian.

Bruno Guimaraes was on the bench, as was a man who could be hugely important against West Ham; Joelinton.

The Brazilian has played an important role in the middle of the park alongside Tonali and Guimaraes, and he could well slot back into the side against the Hammers.

The Brazil international is not enjoying his finest campaign, with Toon blogger Thomas Hammond even suggesting it’s the “start of the end” for the 29-year-old, who has been “honking” for some time.

That said, the number of minutes he has played shows just how important he is to Howe’s side. He’s featured 12 times across all competitions, with seven of those appearances coming in the Premier League.

One of the key reasons why the former Hoffenheim star could be pivotal against West Ham is his physicality. One described as a “dominant” midfielder by Statman Dave, Joelinton is notorious for his crunching tackles and his aerial prowess.

An excellent example of this strength came against Manchester United in the top flight last season. The Brazilian got himself on the scoresheet, outjumping and physically dominating Lisandro Martinez at the back post to head home a cross from Gordon.

This is particularly important against Nuno’s side. After their 2-0 defeat at home to Brentford a couple of weeks ago, Jamie Carragher said he can’t remember a “less athletic team I’ve seen for a very, very long time in the Premier League.”

It is easy to see why someone with the physicality of Joelinton can bully the Hammers side. However, he also offers quality on the ball. This term, the midfielder averages 0.9 chances created per game, and played an average of 11.1 forward passes per 90 minutes last season.

Chances created

0.8

0.9

Opposition half passes completed

19.3

17

Forward passes

11.1

7.8

Duels won

6.3

5.9

Ball recoveries

5.6

4.6

Joelinton could quite easily slot into the Magpies’ side as a replacement for Ramsey. His physicality will be important against what is a weak Hammers side, according to Carragher. However, you don’t lose the creative influence of Ramsey, given what the Brazilian can offer in the final third.

If this is a decision Howe makes at the London Stadium weekend, it could be crucial to helping his side secure their fourth win in a row.

He'd surpass Tonali: Newcastle rivalling Real Madrid for £120m "powerhouse"

Newcastle are in the process of succession planning in the middle of the park.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 31, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

Os torcedores do Fluminense foram a loucura com o golaço marcado por Marquinhos, contra o Colo-Colo, pela segunda rodada da fase de grupos da Libertadores. Para alguns tricolores, o ponta direita tem que ser titular. Confira as reações abaixo.

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Anfield erupted. It really did. That was the performance Arne Slot’s Liverpool have been searching for this season, with Alexis Mac Allister’s second-half header putting Real Madrid to the sword in the Champions League.

Real Madrid were overwhelmed, enervated, reduced to mincemeat in a similar fashion to last season’s win over the La Liga giants, and it could have been a wider, more sobering margin for Europe’s biggest hitters, but for a strong performance from Thiabaut Courtois between the posts.

The win over Aston Villa in the Premier League at the weekend stopped the rot, ended the four-game losing run, but this was a display of a different nature, the Reds going from strength to strength and reminding Europe of their prowess.

There have been many issues and imbalances within Slot’s squad this season, but this was an emphatic performance, outstanding from every department, both in possession and against the ball.

Epitomising this mini-revival on Merseyside, of course, was Conor Bradley.

Bradley proves too much for Real (again)

Not for the first time over the past year, Bradley came up trumps against Real Madrid’s devastating frontline, this time focusing his sights on Vinicius Junior, who was ineffective all evening against the Northern Irish star.

Content creator George Scaife remarked that he had “the game of his life” against Los Blancos, winning all three of his tackles, winning eight duels and recovering so many balls.

With Jeremie Frimpong sidelined with an injury, the 22-year-old has a real chance to kick on now and nail down a starting berth after a shaky start to the campaign which has presented him as unsure and somewhat unfit at times.

There have been times when Bradley’s place in the Liverpool side has been called into question, but he has the ability to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, who made an unsuccessful return to Anfield on Tuesday, in the long run.

However, there’s another star who has become their main man, having looked endangered in the starting line-up after the summer spending spree.

Liverpool star is becoming one of world's best

There’s no question that Liverpool have been woefully out of sorts this season, but Dominik Szoboszlai has been a pillar of strength throughout the opening months.

Effortlessly good as an all-action midfielder and tenacious and industrious in a makeshift right-back berth, Szoboszlai’s energy and enterprise on the ball have been second to none, and he has been hailed as “our most important player” by one prominent Reds fan, also admitting that he “would be one of the ones to drop out of the XI” after a summer of spending that saw Florian Wirtz signed for a record-breaking £116m fee.

But the Hungary skipper has been nothing short of sensational, and he was once again the star of the show, peppering the Real Madrid goal and assisting the winner with a delightful set-piece delivery.

The Liverpool Echo saw it fit to hand the 24-year-old a 9/10 match rating, ahead, even, of the goalscoring Mac Allister, producing a masterful creative display and working overtime to overwhelm the Spanish midfield.

While the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk continue to stand proud as the leaders in Slot’s squad, there’s little question that Szoboszlai is outplaying the lot this term, and as the Reds click into gear, raising their collective level, Szoboszlai could hit staggering individual heights.

Another Chiesa: Slot's treatment of Liverpool star is a "sackable offence"

Liverpool have a shrewd solution to one of their biggest problems this season.

By
Angus Sinclair

Oct 30, 2025

Oval Invincibles launch bid for ‘three-peat’ with convincing win over rivals at Lord’s

ECB Media05-Aug-2025Oval Invincibles brushed London Spirit aside with ease in the opening game of the men’s Hundred as they began their bid to win the title for the third year in a row.Sam Billings’ side, who lifted the trophy in 2023 and 2024, are backing themselves for a ‘three-peat’ and the manner of their victory in the competition opener bodes well, a comfortable six-wicket stroll past a London Spirit side who never seemed at the races.Spirit batted first and were soon in trouble – Keaton Jennings, Kane Williamson and David Warner all back in the pavilion with the score on only 26. It wasn’t to get any better for Justin Langer’s side, who could only limp to 80 all out, undone by the combined guile of Sam Curran (3 for 16) and Rashid Khan (3 for 11), Rashid impressing on debut for the Invincibles.”It was nice to get that start, with the win most importantly and then to perform for the team was amazing,” Rashid said. “It’s been a good start for me. I’ve been out of the game for the last two months but it’s nice to get back and get back with a win.Will Jacks steered the Invincibles chase•Getty Images

“The break [since the IPL] has really helped. Physically but also mentally, to get ready for the next competition. The IPL is three months, it’s a long competition, and I needed a break mentally as well and that’s really helped. I’m quite happy with today.”Needing just 81 under the lights, Oval used the chase as a chance for more batting practice – Billings and Donovan Ferreira unbeaten and unfussed at the end, with Ferreira ending proceedings with a mighty six – the only one of the match – into the Tavern Stand.Rashid defended the quality of the pitch, and said: “It was a good surface. Spin was there but the length you bowled was really important today. When I bowled it was just in my mind to hit the right areas consistently, to bowl a good line and length, and it went really well.”