Hosts effectively secure top-flight status after latest spirited display
ECB Reporters Network12-Sep-2024Will Rhodes struck his third century of the season to steer Warwickshire to safety in their hard-fought Vitality County Championship draw with local rivals Worcestershire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.The result leaves Worcestershire and Warwickshire 40 and 36 points respectively ahead of second-from-bottom Lancashire and both are strongly placed to ensure another campaign of top-flight cricket.Former Warwickshire captain Rhodes is ending a seven-season association with the Bears at the end of the campaign to join Durham on a three-year contract.He showed his quality in defying the home side’s push for victory after Warwickshire had followed on and were still eight runs in arrears with three second wickets down at the start of the final day.Rhodes cover drove Logan van Beek for his 15th four to reach three figures off 198 balls.When a heavy downpour post lunch ended play, the 29-year-old was unbeaten on 121 and needing just 46 more runs to complete 1,000 in a first-class season for the first time.Rhodes was given excellent support by 18-year-old Hamza Shaikh (33 not out) in only his second Championship match.Shaikh clearly enjoys batting at New Road as last month he scored 91 for England Lions against Sri Lanka in the tourists’ only warm-up match before the Test series against England.He helped Rhodes add an unbroken 83 as Warwickshire went through the play possible on the fourth day without losing a wicket.But Worcestershire can reflect on plenty of positives after defying their lengthiest injury list in living memory in virtually guaranteeing another season of Division One cricket after last summer’s promotion.Away triumphs over Durham and Essex, after being firmly behind the eight-ball in both games, were evidence of their fighting spirit and belief.Warwickshire resumed on 171 for 3 after being asked to follow on, still eight runs in arrears, with Will Rhodes unbeaten on 72.Tom Taylor, who yesterday had achieved career best figures of 6 for 28, and Matthew Waite settled into a steady rhythm and beat the bat on several occasions.Rhodes leg glanced Taylor for four to steer Warwickshire into the lead and then on drove Waite to the boundary.There was no nervous 90s for Rhodes who straight drove and cut Waite to the ropes and brought up three figures off 198 balls with a cover drive for his 15th four off Logan van Beek.The fourth-wicket pair were relatively untroubled although the second new ball brought a moral victory for Taylor when Rhodes on 119 edged just short of Brookes at second slip.But Rhodes and Shaikh safely negotiated the morning session without being parted and added 75 runs in 31.4 overs.There was only time for six more runs to be added at the start of the afternoon session before the heavens opened and play was abandoned at 2.20pm.
Tom Abell made it back-to-back centuries at Taunton as Somerset ran up 395 for 6 on the opening day of their County Championship match against Durham.Having hit a career-best unbeaten 152 in the previous home game against Warwickshire, Abell scored 124 off 181 balls, with 18 fours, sharing a stand of 185 with Tom Banton (73), which was a record for Somerset’s fourth wicket against Durham. James Rew was unbeaten on 89 at the close, while there were two wickets each for Daniel Hogg and Callum Parkinson.Somerset gave a first-class debut to allrounder Archie Vaughan, the 18-year-old son of former England captain Michael Vaughan, following his impressive appearances in this season’s Metro Bank One Day Cup.Their captain Lewis Gregory returned after injury and won what looked an important toss, electing to bat first on a pitch expected to take spin. He then saw his team make the worst possible start as Andy Umeed edged the first ball of the match from Ben Raine straight to Ashton Turner at second slip.It was 25 for 2 when Tom Lammonby was hurried by a steeply rising ball from Hogg and could only fend a simple catch to Ben McKinney at midwicket. But Lewis Goldsworthy, promoted to open with Umeed, soon looked at ease and Abell appeared in excellent touch from the start of his innings.That was demonstrated by two sweetly-struck back-foot boundaries through the covers off the same Bas de Leede over as the pair took the score to 68 in the 16th over before Goldsworthy was caught behind for 38, edging a delivery from Brydon Carse, back after serving three months of a suspension for historical betting violations.Spin was introduced at 72 for 3 when Parkinson began operating from the River End. When George Drissell took over, Banton greeted him with a towering six over long-on and soon he and Abell had added 50 off 86 balls, taking the total to 120 for 3 at lunch.The partnership flourished in warm afternoon sunshine at Taunton, Abell going to a 92-ball half-century and Banton following to the same landmark off 73 deliveries, surviving one scare when a miscued pull shot off Carse landed between two converging fielders.Brydon Carse struck on his return from a three-month ban•Getty Images
Abell looked in total control, timing the ball well on both sides of the wicket. A pulled single off de Leede took him to three figures off 148 deliveries, with 16 fours, before a cut for two off Parkinson took the stand with Banton to 172, beating the previous Somerset record fourth-wicket partnership against Durham, the 170 put together by current club chief executive Jamie Cox and James Hildreth at Taunton in 2004.Just when it seemed the pair would bat through the afternoon session, Parkinson took a hand, dismissing both with turning deliveries, now bowling from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End. First Abell edged to Scott Borthwick at second slip and the left-arm spinner struck again in his next over, with Banton falling in identical fashion, having faced 129 balls and hit seven fours and a six.Somerset were 260 for 5 at tea. Vaughan scored his first Championship runs off the second ball of the final session with a leg glance off Parkinson and was soon sharing another profitable stand with Rew, who cleared the ropes over long-on off the same bowler.By the time the second new ball was taken after 80 overs, Rew, the senior partner at the age of 20, was on 42 and Vaughan 28, having added 66 together in rapid time. The teenager fell for 30 with the total on 328, lbw to a full delivery from Hogg, but could reflect on a more than handy debut knock.Rew tucked Raine off his legs for a boundary to reach a fluent fifty off 71 balls. It was the consistent left-hander’s third half century in his last six Championship innings, which also included two scores of 49.Soon he was striking Carse majestically through the off side for three boundaries in an over as Somerset finished the day on a high, Kasey Aldridge contributing 12 to an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 67.
Birmingham City’s summer transfer activity looks as if it’s finally going to whir into hectic motion.
The runaway League One title winners have dominated so much of the EFL conversation this off-season regarding an ever-extending list of high-profile names being linked to St. Andrew’s, yet Phil Neumann is their only addition to date.
This will change very shortly, however, with Demarai Gray set to rejoin his hometown club imminently, as per an exclusive report by GIVEMESPORT.
Gray’s wealth of Premier League experience means this will be seen as a statement deal when it’s officially announced, but Chris Davies and Co. might not be done there when adding in midfield talents used to the luxuries of the top-flight, as another deal allegedly nears completion.
Birmingham close in on midfield signing
As per a report by Football League World, Birmingham could soon make it a duo of standout additions with Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Tommy Doyle joining the building.
The report states that both Sunderland and Wrexham were in the mix to land the former Manchester City man, but Birmingham have beaten all the competition to land the 23-year-old’s services initially on loan, with the proposed move on the table also giving the Blues an option to buy.
This potential future permanent deal could well mean Birmingham are about to land their next Jay Stansfield, with the Blues’ promotion hero once just a loanee himself at St. Andrew’s, before joining for good at around the £15m mark.
Moreover, much like the ex-Fulham attacker, Doyle has been viewed as a promising young talent for some time now, with Birmingham perhaps the best possible next location that can get even more out of him, having previously starred in the EFL’s top division before.
Why Doyle can be Birmingham's next Stansfield
After all, both Doyle and Stansfield have had to exercise plenty of patience across their unwinding careers to date, with the pair having to grow used to multiple different loan spells when on the books of Premier League sides.
Before the 22-year-old had the luxury of calling St Andrew’s his fixed address, he had to cut his teeth out on loan with League One outfit Exeter City, with Doyle also chucked out on loan to Hamburg, Cardiff City, and Sheffield United in quickfire fashion as a City youngster before settling at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Stat – per 90 minutes*
Doyle
Games played
33
Goals scored
3
Assists
4
Touches*
43.3
Accurate passes*
24.5 (78%)
Big chances created
6
The season before Stansfield would begin to endear himself to the Birmingham masses with 12 goals in the Championship, Doyle was already beginning to strut his stuff in the EFL’s top league with the Blades, as can be seen glancing at the table above.
Indeed, whilst he has gone on to tally up 51 Premier League appearances since this glowing stint in South Yorkshire, the Manchester-born midfielder’s encouraging numbers from this spell will have surely grabbed the attention of Davies’ men even more as they embark on a Championship adventure, with Doyle’s three goals and four assists from the centre of the park helping United progress to the elite league that same campaign.
Before falling down the pecking order at Molineux, too, ex-Old Gold boss Gary O’Neil would also go out of his way to wax lyrical about the 5-foot-8 star, with the now-unemployed manager once labelling him as “unbelievable”.
Unfortunately, Doyle does now find himself at a crossroads, with the 23-year-old clearly capable at a top-flight level.
Stansfield must have felt he was in the same boat when returning to Fulham after his sparkling loan spell at St. Andrew’s.
Yet, with 24 goals under his belt on the way to promotion being sealed, it was very much the right decision for him to move back for good. Doyle will just pray he’s seen in the same eventual glowing light if his expected switch is completed.
After Kyogo: Birmingham want to sign new ST who's better than Stansfield
Birmingham are interested in signing a forward who would be even better than Jay Stansfield.
Newcastle United have now joined the race to sign a “very quick” defender who’s among the “world’s best”, according to a report.
Newcastle's summer transfer plans taking shape
Should Newcastle manage to secure Champions League qualification by finishing in the Premier League’s top five, the 2024-25 campaign is likely to go down as a resounding success, having also ended their 70-year trophy drought by lifting the EFL Cup.
However, the PIF have grand plans for the Magpies, and having enjoyed their first taste of success, they are likely to be even more inspired to compete for more major honours, which means some new additions to the squad could be required this summer.
Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo could be a key target in attack, with the right-winger recently being identified as the ideal option to bolster Eddie Howe’s frontline, while the PIF are now racing to sign Girona’s Yangel Herrera to reinforce the midfield.
In-demand player would rather join Newcastle despite offer from Barcelona
The Magpies could land his signature…
1 BySean Markus Clifford May 4, 2025
A new centre-back has also been of interest for quite some time, with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi a long-standing target, and there has now been a new update on the Tynesiders’ pursuit of a defender.
According to a report from The Sun, Newcastle have now joined the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah, who is set to be available on a free transfer this summer, having announced his intention to leave the German club when his contract expires.
Jonathan Tah for Germany.
Guehi remains the Magpies’ top target, with the Palace captain set to leave Selhurst Park this summer, but Tah has now been identified as an alternative option, with Howe desperate to bring in a new defender this summer.
There could be stiff competition for the 29-year-old’s signature, however, with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich also keen, in light of his impressive performances for Bayer Leverkusen…
"Very quick" Tah among "world's best" defenders
Leverkusen were unable to retain the Bundesliga title this season, but they did an incredible job to pip Bayern to top spot in the 2023-24 campaign, going the entire season undefeated, and it would be fair to say the German defender impressed Xabi Alonso.
Alonso said: “Jonha is performing at the highest level and I am really happy for him because he deserves all the praise and all the good moments he’s living – that he keeps playing for us and happily for the national team as well. I think he is one of the world’s best defenders.”
Former Germany boss Joachim Low once described the 29-year-old as “very quick”, while he is also very impressive in possession of the ball.
Tah’s availability on a free transfer makes signing him an even more attractive proposition for potential suitors this summer, and it is promising news that Newcastle have now joined the race.
Arne Slot revealed in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning that he will finally enforce some rotation across Liverpool’s final four Premier League matches of the season.
It’s taken him long enough, but then who can blame the Dutch manager for sticking to his guns, now crowned the division’s champion in his maiden year on English soil?
Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool
The business end of the 2024/25 league campaign has been navigated with a confident swagger for those of a Liverpool persuasion, with their team strutting far out ahead of second-place Arsenal, who themselves have held a healthy advantage over the rest of the Champions League hopefuls.
For those looking at the Anfield side from an outside perspective, it might seem like there’s a lot of work that needs to be done: Andy Robertson has faced criticism for his performances, Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to join Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer and Slot’s frontline hasn’t always fired across every cylinder.
While Mohamed Salah has been a true talisman, posting 33 goals and 23 assists across all competitions, his attacking partners have flattered to deceive at times, with none more culpable than Darwin Nunez.
No road back for Darwin Nunez
Tough season for Nunez. In fact, the 25-year-old has looked so far away from the vision that Slot wants from his striker that his exit is all but confirmed this season, with Liverpool actively planning to cash in while already searching for potential heirs.
Nunez has only returned seven goals this year, and it’s a bleak indictment of his performances that 37 of those 43 matches he has featured in have returned blanks. That is not the form of a club-record Liverpool striker, one whose total payment could reach £85m.
While Slot was quick to dismiss claims that Nunez is being repeatedly benched due to a clause that means his 50th Premier League start would impel Liverpool to pay Benfica an additional £5m sum, the fact remains that the Uruguay international has been used sparingly this season.
In fact, he’s only started once in the top flight since Boxing Day.
Darwin Nunez for Liverpool
Frankly, it’s hard to envisage a world where Nunez lines up as Anfield’s chief centre-forward next season, not after falling heavily by the wayside under Slot’s wing.
Liverpool, for sure, are ready to sign a new forward.
Liverpool ready to sign new forward
Liverpool have identified a new attacking star, and while he might not be an out-and-out frontman, Daizen Maeda has all the qualities to become a valued part of Slot’s frontline.
That’s according to transfer insider Graeme Bailey, making the claim that the 27-year-old, who can play across the frontline, is attracting interest from both Arsenal and Slot’s Reds ahead of the summer transfer window.
Daizen Maeda
Valued at £25m, Maeda has been scouted by Liverpool across the campaign and would certainly be curious at a transfer to Anfield, having been quizzed on a potential transfer away from Scotland in March and responding that it was a “difficult question.”
Daizen Maeda would be perfect for Slot
Discovered by Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou, who signed Maeda from Yokohama F Marinos on an initial loan in December 2021 before the deal was made permanent the following summer, it’s been a profitable few years in Scotland for the Japan international.
Daizen Maeda
Described as an “absolute nuisance” of a forward by pundit Rio Ferdinand, Maeda’s ability to provide danger from every angle is something that differentiates him from most other forwards, having also been noted as a “physical beast” by his former coach John Hutchinson.
This season alone, he’s posted 33 goals and 11 assists across 47 appearances for the Hoops, which curiously means he has outscored Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak, who has posted 26 goals this term and is on Liverpool’s list as a potential Nunez replacement, albeit an unlikely signing given he is valued at £150m.
His ability to step up in the Champions League, scoring four times in the competition this season, including against Bayern Munich in the first knockout round, makes a firm comment on his capacity for success at Liverpool, with the physicality to serve as Slot’s next version of Nunez, one who might provide a more clinical output.
While he hasn’t always been the most consistent in front of goal, Maeda is a tireless performer and possesses fleet feet besides.
Matches (starts)
31 (27)
Goals
16
Assists
9
Shots (on targets)*
1.8 (0.6)
Big chances missed
16
Pass completion
83%
Big chances created
10
Key passes*
1.3
Dribbles*
0.7
Tackles + interceptions*
1.7
Duels won*
3.1
Some would point toward Maeda playing in a division of objectively inferior quality, but the fact that he has converted 16 goals and missed as many chances bespeaks his natural goalscoring ability, something that has been hardened under Brendan Rodgers’ wing to be sure.
Nunez, for reference, has scored 25 goals across his three years in the Premier League, rather shockingly missing 53 big chances.
Darwin Nunez for Liverpool
Though Maeda isn’t the natural central striker that Liverpool fans hope to walk through the door this summer, he has clinched 14 goals and four assists from just ten matches as Celtic’s striker.
Slot has already demonstrated his willingness to use such a dynamic profile across different attacking roles through the deployment of Luis Diaz across the campaign, with the Colombian having featured routinely in a central berth to accommodate Cody Gakpo and create an electric sense of fluency.
Transfer Focus
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Maeda would merely strengthen this exciting thread of attacking players, with the confidence and completeness to effectively step into Nunez’s boots and take Liverpool’s project to the next level.
Slot's own Xabi Alonso: Liverpool learn conditions to sign £80m "machine"
Liverpool would take their midfield to the next level by sealing this ambitious signing.
Head coach Jon Lewis talks about Sophie Ecclestone, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley and more
Sruthi Ravindranath16-Dec-2023Some of the best bowlers in the world – specifically spinners – not only stick to their strengths but are also constantly upgrading their skillsets to stay relevant. Left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, the top-ranked bowler in ODIs and T20Is is no different. As someone who bowls a lot quicker than most spinners, she has been working on dropping her pace, England Women’s head coach Jon Lewis has revealed.Since her debut in 2016, Ecclestone has been on top of the wicket-takers list in T20Is and is the second-best spinner in the list in ODIs. She capped off an incredible year in T20Is as the top wicket-taker among players from Full Member teams in 2023.She’s also worked on bowling against left-handers, her much-improved average of 10.80 since 2022 as compared to 31.50 until 2021 in T20Is a testament to it. In the one-off Test against India, she got the opposition’s two left-handers out in back-to-back overs, first having Smriti Mandhana caught at short leg with a short ball turning in from outside off and then getting a length ball to turn in sharply to make Yastika Bhatia chip it to short leg again.Related
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“I know that over the last couple of years she’s worked incredibly hard at bowling at left-handers,” Lewis told ESPNcricinfo. “She can bowl faster than most girls and spin the ball at a higher pace than most girls. So that’s one of the unique things she does better than other people.”We’ve talked a lot to her about how to use her drop-down in pace rather than change up in pace. So those are probably the two things that we’ve worked on with Sophie. She’s worked out some really good stuff about bowling to left-handers. She understands what makes her a good bowler to left-handers and I thought during the summer in the [Women’s] Ashes series she bowled very well to Beth Mooney and also to Jess Jonassen.”While match figures of five wickets for 167 runs in a thumping 347-run defeat at the hands of India might suggest that the work is still in progress, her seven wickets at an average of 10.14 and economy rate of 6.26 made her the leading wicket-taker in the three-match T20I series preceding the Test and included 3 for 15 in her first match back after a three-month injury layoff.Her accuracy, pace, subtle changes of trajectory and seam positions have troubled batters for years, but she keeps working.Sophie Ecclestone picked up wickets of three Indian left-handed batters in the one-off Test•BCCI”Sophie doesn’t really enjoy training much – she loves playing games. She loves going out on the pitch and competing, so we have to try and find ways to stimulate her in training. She’s worked for a long time with Gareth Breese, her spin bowling coach. They have a really strong relationship.”England have also been boosted by the presence of offspinner Charlie Dean, who has risen quickly through the ranks since her debut in 2022 to become one of their go-to wicket-taking options.England captain Heather Knight also trusts her with the new ball. A consistent performer, Dean reaps the benefits of bowling classic offspin and also relies on drift and attacking lines. She was instrumental in bowling India out for 80 in the second T20I and provided a much-needed highlight for England during India’s second innings of the Test in Mumbai, claiming four crucial wickets as the hosts built a mammoth lead, her accuracy on display as she had Deepti Sharma lbw and Sneh Rana bowled off consecutive deliveries.Lewis praised Dean for her consistency, calling her the best “on the planet”, and wants her to continue sticking to her strengths.”We keep challenging her around the consistency of her best ball and bowling her best ball as often as possible,” Lewis said. “Her best ball is the best. There’s no offspinner that matches her on the planet. No one gets the drift she gets, no one gets the turn she gets. Her best ball is absolutely fantastic. She’s a young spinner and there are lots of young spinners that don’t bowl consistently.”One thing I would say is during the T20 series, in terms of her output and her numbers and where she was landing the ball, it’s gone through the roof in comparison to what she was through the summer and previously. We’ve got an excellent spin bowling coach in Gareth Breese, who works closely with those girls and helps them hone their skills. She’s going to be an excellent bowler.”Among one of the most prolific performers for England for a long period has been Nat Sciver-Brunt, who played an important role with the bat in helping England seal the T20I series in India and was their only batter to pass 21 in the Test with a first-innings 59.She’s England’s top run-getter in T20Is and ODIs this year, her best coming in the Ashes ODI series where she scored 271 runs at an average of 135.50 to go to No. 1 on the batting charts in the format.Jon Lewis on Charlie Dean: “No one gets the drift she gets, no one gets the turn she gets”•BCCIIn T20s this year, she has scored 1315 runs in 40 games at an average of 45.34, making the most runs for champions Mumbai Indians in the inaugural WPL. Lewis is “very fortunate” to have her in the England side, revealing how she plays a key role in the leadership group.”When she was playing for Mumbai [Indians, in WPL] I was a bit jealous,” said Lewis, who coaches UP Warriorz in the competition. “She’s a great cricketer. She’s incredibly calm and clear about what she wants to do and how she goes about her game.”She’s still learning and she still wants growth in her game. She wants to improve but the understanding she has of what she does when she plays well is the thing that stands out to me. And the other thing that she brings to our side is the way that she’s able to communicate with all our players on the field. She’s a real asset. She helps Heather [Knight, captain] a tremendous amount. She’s incredibly calm and communicates clearly, especially with our young players. They work as a team.”[Knight] and Nat and Amy Jones and Sophie Ecclestone work as a senior player group that takes responsibility to make sure the team is running well on the field and off the field. But Nat in particular is a good person who cares a lot about English cricket and playing cricket for England. She cares a lot about the team-mates around her and is a great support for all of them.”Team-mate Sophia Dunkley, however, has been going through a lean patch. She’s made just one half-century across formats since the beginning of the year for England, averaging just 17.00 in 11 T20Is. She took a break for the latter part of the home international summer and found some late form in the WBBL in November, but she couldn’t keep the momentum going in India. After scores of 1, 9 and 11 in the three T20Is respectively, she departed for 11 and 15 in the Test.But one of Lewis’s key takeaways from his time working in the England Men’s Test set-up early in the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes era was removing fear of failure and backing players.This was clear when England picked Dunkley to open alongside Tammy Beaumont in the Test after Emma Lamb, who opened in the Ashes Test in June, returned home from India with a back injury.Sophia Dunkley has had a tough run with the bat in 2023•BCCI”She is frustrated that she’s not getting the runs that she would like,” Lewis said of Dunkley. “She’s made some little technical changes to how she approaches her batting, which has given her access to different parts of the ground. If you saw her wagon wheel for a couple of games in the Big Bash, she accessed areas of the ground that she hasn’t previously been able to do.”The difficulty for these girls is they’re trying to bring all these changes into their games whilst playing international cricket and being the player that everyone looks to in their franchise to score the runs. It’s very different to men’s cricket where other people are brought in to give [regular] players a break.”I’ve got a real strong belief around Sophia’s talent, she’s got an amazing ability to strike a cricket ball. She’s talismanic in the way she approaches the start of the game. It wasn’t long ago that she had a pretty good World Cup and was really good against West Indies [in 2022].”You mustn’t get lost in the fact that she hasn’t scored runs for a short period of time. If you compared her to some of our older players at the same age, I think she’d be well ahead of the curve. We’re building a team for the future, and we’re building a team that has a style of play we’re confident can help us win games. Right now, Sophia is a big part of that.”England suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Sri Lanka at home which exposed their weaknesses against slower bowlers. With the T20 World Cup set to be played in Bangladesh next year and the ODI World Cup in 2025 in India to follow, Lewis organised a camp with select players in Mumbai following the series to help them improve their game against spin.”[It was] just to expose them to different conditions, what shots they can play and how they need to adapt their game in different conditions,” he said. “We’ve got two subcontinental World Cups coming up in the next two years. It’s important to understand the conditions and how to play them smartly.”What does aggression or high strike-rate look like in India compared to what it would look like in the UK? Or what would that look like in Bangladesh? We are a developing side and all we were try and develop some skills.”The girls took lots of takeaways from it. Do I expect those things to become straight into their game after a five-day camp? Absolutely not. But do I expect them to think about how to improve, one hundred percent I do.”
“Our execution was nowhere near as good as we would like,” Eoin Morgan admits
Matt Roller24-Jan-2022Two months after England lost an unlosable game against New Zealand in their T20 World Cup semi-final, they almost lost another. As the wheels came off in the final stages of their eventual one-run win against West Indies in the second T20I in Barbados on Sunday evening, there was a simple conclusion to be drawn: England have a death-bowling problem.Back in November, New Zealand needed 57 to win off the final four overs in Abu Dhabi, an equation that no batting team had solved in T20 international history. They hauled it down with an over to spare, with Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes put to the sword by Jimmy Neesham and Daryl Mitchell.Related
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In Bridgetown, West Indies left themselves 61 off 18 balls with two wickets in hand after a mid-innings collapse, a tally which has been achieved only once in the final three overs of a T20 international and never in a run chase. They fell two runs short and could justifiably feel aggrieved by an umpiring decision: Akeal Hosein – who struck 44 not out off 16 balls, a record for a No. 10 batter – was aghast to see a full, wide ball from Saqib Mahmood deemed to have passed him inside the tramlines.The 59 runs that came from the final three overs were the joint-most that England have conceded in that phase, made by India – and primarily Yuvraj Singh – in Durban nearly 15 years ago. Mahmood seemed to suffer the same stage fright that afflicted Stuart Broad on that night as he missed yorker after yorker and was slugged over the short leg-side boundary.Jordan’s over, the 18th, was eerily reminiscent of the 17th in the semi-final – not least because it cost the same number of runs, 23. With one boundary significantly shorter than the other, he planned accordingly and banged the ball into the pitch on a good length; Hosein (over cover) and Romario Shepherd (twice, over midwicket) responded by carting him for sixes over the bigger boundary.For Mahmood, the discrepancy in boundary sizes again informed his plan to bowl full and wide outside Hosein’s off stump. But after his first ball was given as a wide and his second narrowly escaped the same fate, he lost his nerve: Hosein hit consecutive boundaries either side of long-on, failed to reach another wide, then slammed three sixes to leave West Indies two runs short of their target.”Every team in the world is trying to get better at it,” Eoin Morgan, England’s captain said. “It is the hardest job in T20 cricket, death-bowling. Conditions did get a little bit better towards the end – the ball did skid on as opposed to our innings in the first innings – but ultimately, we need to find better ways of going about it. Our execution was nowhere near as good as we would like.”The inevitable question was asked: why aren’t England trying to bowl yorkers? “We are, we’re just getting it wrong,” Morgan conceded. “The majority of our plan today was to bowl yorkers, use the long side, and we missed. That’s being brutally honest. The guys are always honest with executing in order to try and move on [and to] identify areas that we can get better – this is definitely one of them.”They’re games that you want to play in. Looking back at the build into the [2021] World Cup, we didn’t play in many tight games to work on our death hitting and our death bowling, so today is a good example of that. The more experience, hopefully, the better we’ll get at executing.”
“It is the hardest job in T20 cricket, death bowling.”Eoin Morgan
The one bowler to escape with both figures and dignity intact was Reece Topley – ironically, playing his first T20 international since he was hammered at the death by JP Duminy in the 2016 World Cup. He too used the dimensions in his plans, hanging the ball wide outside Shepherd’s hitting arc with a short leg-side boundary and angling the ball into the left-handed Hosein’s pads. Crucially, his execution was significantly better, in keeping with a fine return to the side: he took 1 for 18 in his four overs, had Nicholas Pooran dropped, and pulled off an athletic run-out off his own bowling.One of the men tasked with post-match analysis in BT Sport’s studio, Tom Curran, was better-placed than most to talk about England’s travails, having himself slipped down the pecking order after some rough nights at the death – though he would have played in this series but for a stress fracture suffered in the Big Bash League.”It was interesting to hear Morgs say that they were all going for the yorkers,” he said. “I think a lot of the time what we’ve spoken about over the last year is actually the value of hard, heavy-length balls at the death.”Yorkers are a funny one. You can be nailing them in practice but when you get out there in the middle, it’s hard to describe – it really is a ‘feel’ thing for a bowler. You can find one early on in your spell and get your radar; on other days, you’ll be struggling.”In the long term, the Hundred should help England’s death-bowling depth by exposing young seamers to tough situations at the end of an innings. But in its first season, three of the five best regular death bowlers were overseas recruits (Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson and Marchant de Lange) and the two domestic players (Jordan and Tymal Mills) are already in the England set-up.It should serve as consolation for England that their first-choice death bowlers, Mills and Jofra Archer, were only onlookers in Barbados due to rotation and injury respectively, and as Mitchell Starc and Shaheen Shah Afridi showed in the other World Cup semi-final, even the best can have off-nights.But this was a chastening night for Jordan and Mahmood all the same. Morgan often says that he wants England to be ruthless in white-ball cricket; across the last 12 months, their death bowlers have been anything but.
The Polar Bear is reportedly headed to a warmer climate.
Longtime Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is joining the Orioles on a five-year contract worth $155 million, according to a Wednesday afternoon report from Jeff Passan of ESPN. Alonso, 31, has spent his entire seven-year career with New York.
Debuting in 2019, the first baseman immediately established himself as a superstar with a MLB-best 53 home runs. In a career that has seen him make five All-Star teams (and memorably win two Home Run Derbies), he has also led the National League in RBIs (131 in 2022) and doubles (41 in 2025).
Per Passan, Alonso's deal is the most lucrative ever for a first baseman on an average annual value basis.
Baltimore—which won 101 games as recently as 2023—is looking to put a disappointing '25 behind it. Much of the Orioles' lineup underachieved a year ago, and the team dismissed manager Brandon Hyde after 43 games.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Alonso will debut for Baltimore on March 26 against the Twins.
It was a must-win game for both India A and Oman. Only one of them could fill in the remaining semi-final slot from Group B in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament. After being asked to bat first in Doha on Tuesday, Oman started with 52 runs in the powerplay. But just 83 more in the remaining 14 overs meant India A had to chase only 136, which they did comfortably as Harsh Dubey repaid their faith after being promoted to No. 4.Dubey finished on a patient 53*, his maiden T20 fifty. He took 44 balls to score those runs, but made up after a slow start. With just eight runs off his first 14 balls, he bashed 45 in his next 30 deliveries. Dubey broke the shackles by pulling Samay Shrivastava in the ninth over for his only six, but it was the sweep shot which he kept using to maximum effect.Dubey added 66 for the fourth wicket with Nehal Wadhera, who fell with just two more runs required to win. The target, though, could have been much higher had Dubey (1 for 30), who was the Player of the Match, and Suyash Sharma (2 for 12) not slowed Oman down with the ball. Their four overs after the powerplay fetched just 19 runs on a slow pitch where the ball gripped and turned.Oman’s captain Hammad Mirza had thumped 32 runs in 16 balls out of the 37 that were scored in the first four overs. No other Oman batter found the going so smooth, though. Wasim Ali scored 54* in 45 deliveries as he held one end up, even as India A also used part-time spinner Naman Dhir, whose two overs got him 1 for 5.As a result of the win, India A finish second in their group, and will meet the topper of Group A in the semi-final.
One player still on the books at Manchester United has been told that his Old Trafford “career is over” by a former Red Devils midfielder.
Players who could leave Man Utd in 2026
2026 could be another busy year at Old Trafford in regards to incomings and outgoings, with Ruben Amorim and INEOS continuing to make their mark in Manchester.
The Red Devils have four players out of contract at the end of the season, one of which is midfielder Casemiro.
Players out of contract at Man Utd in 2026
Harry Maguire
Casemiro (option until 2027)
Tom Heaton
Tyrell Malacia
Man Utd have the option to extend that by a further 12 months, however, Amorim and INEOS seemingly clashing behind the scenes regarding the Brazilian. Amorim wants to keep Casemiro whereas INEOS want him to take a pay cut from his current £350,000-a-week wage.
There are also numerous loanees away from Man Utd who could seal permanent exits at the end of the season. Rasmus Hojlund is at Napoli, Marcus Rashford is at Barcelona, Jadon Sancho is at Aston Villa and Andre Onana is with Trabzonspor.
United could look to move the quartet out on a full-time basis, with options to buy inserted in Rashford’s move to the Nou Camp and Hojlund’s move to Napoli. Now, another one of the four has been told he has no future at the club by a pundit.
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ByTom Cunningham Nov 21, 2025 Strachan tells Onana his Man Utd “career is over”
Former Man Utd midfielder Gordon Strachan, speaking to Esports News relayed by The Manchester Evening News, feels that Andre Onana “has played his last game” for Man Utd and would be “shocked” if he played for the Red Devils again.
Onana’s Man Utd contract is worth £120,000-a-week and there is no option to buy for the Turkish side at the end of the season, with the ‘keeper’s Manchester deal not expiring until 2028.
United forked out just under £50m on Onana back in 2023, but after numerous errors at Old Trafford and Amorim now having Senne Lammens, a permanent exit could make sense for all involved next year.
Forget Anderson: Man Utd in talks to sign "world's most underrated footballer"