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England took on Boland two years ago on home soil and could look to take a similar approach this year

AAP12-Oct-20257:05

Advantage England if Cummins misses first Ashes Test?

Australia coach Andrew McDonald has warned England that Scott Boland will be a different prospect at home, and any belief they have figured the Victorian out is based on a false economy.Boland’s role for this summer’s Ashes is now appearing increasingly important, with concerns over how many Tests Pat Cummins will be able to play throughout the series.The 36-year-old Boland debuted against England four years ago on Boxing Day, with his 6 for 7 in the second innings catapulting him into cult-hero status.Related

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The one blip in Boland’s Test career remains the 2023 Ashes, where England went after him and messed with his lengths at Edgbaston and Headingley.Boland’s career average of 16.53 also remains the best of any bowler in the past 100 years, while his economy-rate of 2.75 makes him the most miserly of any regular seamer since his debut.But he took just two wickets at an average of 115.5 in the 2023 Ashes, as England’s batters walked at Boland and took him for 4.91 runs an over in his two Tests.That alone prompted former England captain Michael Atherton to state this week Cummins’s back injury was a massive boost for the tourists given they had no fear for Boland. Not that Australia’s coach is buying into the suggestion.”Scotty was challenged with some lack of bounce in the benign conditions in England,” McDonald said. “I think conditions sort of conspired a little bit against him. I know there’s been some press around that England have worked Scott Boland out.  But when he comes back into the Australian conditions, he gets bounce, hits the deck, he’s a handful.Will it be a big Ashes for Scott Boland?•Getty Images”And as we saw last year against India, I think Rohit Sharma rated him the best of that series. That’s a huge compliment from an opposing captain.”McDonald pointed to two overs Boland sent down under heavy cloud at Edgbaston during the 2023 Ashes as proof the situation may have been conditions-dependent.”We did get the overheads there for that short snippet at the end of day three,” McDonald said. “And when he bowled a few overs under the cloudy skies, he looked like he was going to get a wicket every ball.”So we’re confident and comfortable that Baz can get the job done in Australia, which he’s done over a long period of time. And bounce will be his friend.”McDonald also insisted there was enough depth in Australia’s pace-bowling stocks to cover if injuries struck. He has not had to call upon a frontline quick other than Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Boland since December 2022.Cummins will have a clearer picture later this week on whether he is a chance to play in the first Test, with the captain needing at least four-and-a-half weeks of bowling in the lead up.Tight turnarounds between the final three Tests could also cause workload-management headaches, particularly if the third Test in Adelaide was to go the distance.”It’d be nice if we sat back at the end of the summer and said there were only four fast bowlers used,” McDonald said.  “But we’ve got some good options in [Brendan] Doggett, [Sean] Abbott, [Michael] Neser.  Jhye Richardson is potentially coming back around that midpoint of the series.”So I feel like we’ve got some good options if we do get stretched, which is one of the great things of domestic cricket.”

New York Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz wants to pitch in the World Baseball Classic again. Diaz pitched for Puerto Rico in 2023, but his first appearance in the WBC came to an abrupt end when he tore his patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating Puerto Rico's victory over the Dominican Republic.

One could understand, then, if Diaz was feeling a bit leery about pitching in the event in 2026. But that's not the case at all.

"As of now I would play if I had the chance," Diaz said last week according to the . “I didn’t get hurt pitching. That’s something that could happen at my house or wherever. If I was pitching maybe I’d be a little bit scared—but I just want to go and represent my country and have fun."

While it's true that Diaz's injury did not occur while he was pitching, it's likely that the Mets aren't too keen about seeing their closer taking part in the WBC again, if Diaz picks up his contract option and returns to New York in '26.

Diaz, a three-time All-Star, has pitched to a 1.55 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings piched for New York in 2025. The Puerto Rican team is headlined by Diaz's Mets teammate Francisco Lindor, who is the club's captain. The WBC begins on March 5 next year.

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas says Luis Suarez alone will decide whether he continues with the club after helping Lionel Messi and the Herons secure MLS Cup glory. With the 38-year-old’s contract expiring after the final, Inter Miami insist the door remains open for the striker, whose remarkable season has prompted internal hope he chooses to stay.

Suarez's Inter Miami future up in the air

Inter Miami lifted the MLS Cup after a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, marking a historic moment for the club and capping off a campaign in which Suarez played a crucial role. The Uruguayan contributed throughout the regular season and playoffs before facing an uncertain future as his contract is set to expire at the end of this month. His situation has drawn widespread attention because, unlike Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, Suarez has not publicly committed to either retirement or an extension.

During the regular season, Suarez produced 10 goals and 10 assists in MLS play and added another assist in the postseason, reaffirming the quality he still possesses at age 38. However, late in the season, he lost his place in the starting lineup to 19-year-old Mateo Silvetti, first due to suspension and then due to tactical decisions made by head coach Javier Mascherano. Even as he adapted to a reduced on-field role, Suárez remained influential within the squad and integral to the club’s title run.

Inter Miami’s leadership addressed the issue of his future in the buildup to the final, confirming that the forward’s next step is entirely in his own hands. Mascherano and David Beckham both acknowledged the squad depth that allowed others to step in during Suarez’s suspension, but the respect for his legendary career remains unconditional. The MLS Cup final, therefore, became both a celebration of a championship and a turning point in the debate surrounding Suarez’s next chapter.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportInter Miami chief leaves final decision to Suarez

Speaking ahead of the MLS Cup final, Inter Miami chief Mas said: “Luis Suarez is a legend of football, he is one of the best nines not only of this generation but of all time. Luis will have to make a decision when the season is over, so tomorrow.

“In terms of the club, I want to say this because I have read a lot about Luis, I'll say it in this context: If in the beginning of the year, they gave us a paper about a center forward that played more than 4000 minutes and scored more than 15/16 goals and 16/17 assists, everyone here would sign that paper to have a forward like that.

“Luis deserves to be able to make that decision to be able to leave through the front door and be celebrated like he should be by the club. And if he decides to stay at the club for another year, it would be great. I would like to see Suárez stay. Obviously, then the conversations would be how Luis Suárez would stay, but obviously we would include Mascherano and Luis, but the decision is up to him.”

Suarez's reduced minutes in the MLS Playoffs

Suarez’s contract – extended through the 2025 MLS season – officially expires hours after the MLS Cup final, leaving the striker at a crossroads as he weighs one more year or a potential farewell. His overall 2025 output across all competitions was exceptional, totalling 17 goals and 17 assists in 50 matches when factoring in Leagues Cup, Club World Cup, and Champions Cup fixtures.

Mascherano’s decision to start Silvetti in the final weeks of the season reflects an evolving long-term strategy centred around integrating younger attackers. Suarez’s suspension created the initial opening for the teenager, but strong performances kept him in the starting XI even after the veteran was available again. While the change slightly reduced Suarez’s minutes, it also demonstrated the competitive balance Miami is aiming to achieve as they move into 2026.

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(C)Getty ImagesInter Miami have options if Suarez leaves

Inter Miami now await Suarez’s decision, which could arrive within days as he considers whether to extend his playing career or step aside after winning a major title. If he opts to stay, Miami will negotiate the structure of a reduced-role contract, integrating Suarez into Mascherano’s evolving tactical plans. Should he choose to depart or retire, the Herons are said to be preparing a move for former Chelsea striker Timo Werner.

Opener produces vital half-century to help revive England from another wobbly start

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2025After their combined tally of eight runs in four innings at Perth, it proved to be a day of revived fortunes at the Gabba for two of the most scrutinised batters in England’s ranks. While Joe Root secured the plaudits for his magnificent maiden century on Australian soil, Zak Crawley’s bounce-back from a first-Test pair proved a similarly cathartic display.Though he fell when well set, gloving a pull off Michael Neser shortly after the first interval, his 76 from 93 balls was nonetheless a crucial contribution, coming as it did after his first-Test nemesis Mitchell Starc had again struck hard with the new ball, dismissing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for ducks in his first two overs.Crawley, by then, had already driven Starc through the covers for four, to bring up his first runs of the series, and he carried on in a similar vein, picking off a total of 11 boundaries, the majority coming when Australia’s bowlers strayed into his arc.”I did feel good, to be honest,” Crawley told TNT Sports at the close of the first day’s play. “I felt much better than Perth. I was just trying to keep it simple, just trying to score straight on the leg side, and then if it was really full, maybe on the off side. Yeah, I was happy with my knock.”Crawley’s relative watchfulness outside off was the key feature of his innings, and a tribute to the hours in the nets that England have put in (in between some notable moments of downtime) since their two-day defeat in the series opener.”I think it’d have felt a long break if I’d have got two hundreds, to be honest,” he said. “It was big old gap after a two-day game. But yeah, it’s a good chance to get some practice in. And I felt comfortable. I felt calm today, and managed to settle the nerves. So I was pleased with how I played.”I had a clear plan and I stuck to it. There were still a couple of loose shots in there, as I tend to do, but got away with them, and I played nicely down the ground as well. By trying to score on the leg side, that made me leave a bit better outside off with the extra bounce today, and then when I got in, the ball started doing a bit less.”England’s close-of-play score of 325 for 9 looked significantly more healthy thanks to an unbeaten tenth-wicket stand of 61 between Root, who finished unbeaten on 135, and Jofra Archer, whose 32 not out was his highest Test score, in just his second innings at No.11.Until Australia have batted, it will be hard to tell how good that score actually is, but after the groundstaff had given the pitch a final trim to 3mm of grass before the match, Crawley knew it had been a good toss for England to win, notwithstanding their early collapse to 5 for 2.Related

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“The last few days, it’s been really green here. So we all thought it’s going to be a green nipper again. And they obviously shaved it this morning, so it looked like a great wicket to bat on, with the overheads as well.”I was gutted to get out when I did, the pitch was just getting a bit flatter there,” he added. “But obviously we finished the day well with Rooty and Jof at the end there. So it’s good day.”At 264 for 9 with approximately half an hour of the day remaining, there had been some speculation that England might declare to insert Australia under the lights, much as they had done in their previous pink-ball Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui two years ago. But with Root going strong, and with memories of England’s infamous declaration at Edgbaston in 2023, Crawley said a repeat scenario had not been on the cards.”No talk of declaring,” he said. “We were talking about boys going really hard, and if they got out, then it was kind of a win-win situation. So they went hard, and they came off, and there’s a valuable 50 runs there for us.”Root will be on strike when day two gets underway, and will have the chance to extend England’s innings into the morning session, with six overs to come until the new ball is due. For now, though, he will have a chance to savour a significant landmark in his career, and one that may just confirm his credentials as England’s greatest Test batter.”I’m chuffed for him,” Crawley said, after Root’s 40th Test hundred and his first in Australia. “He hasn’t been speaking about it at all to us, that’s just the outside noise. He’s just very focused on just getting whatever score is needed on the day, and proved to be a hundred today.”But he’s the best player I’ve ever played with, or probably against as well. And he’s a champion bloke. I’m chuffed to bits for him.”

The South Africa quick last played competitive cricket during the IPL in May

Firdose Moonda28-Oct-2025South African quick Anrich Nortje, who has not played any cricket since the IPL in May, will return to action in the CSA T20 Challenge this weekend. Nortje, who is no longer on a national contract, has been signed by the Durban-based team, the Dolphins, for this season’s T20 competition and is expected to play in their opener against the Tuskers at Kingsmead on Saturday.Nortje has now fully recovered from his latest injury setback, a stress reaction which made him unavailable for South Africa’s winter fixtures. Nortje was not named in the squad to play a T20 series in Zimbabwe or on white-ball tours to Australia and England. He last played for South Africa at the T20 World Cup final in June 2024.Since then, Nortje has come into consideration, and was even on the verge of a Test comeback last summer, but a fractured toe and then a back injury put paid to those thoughts. He missed out on the SA20, came back briefly at the IPL, where he played two matches for Kolkata Knight Riders, but did not play the MLC or any international cricket as he embarked on an extensive rehabilitation program.”From a personal perspective and a group perspective it’s going to be great to get back out on the park,” Nortje said in a statement issued by the Dolphins on Tuesday. “I’m always positive, always motivated, and excited but when you get towards the end of rehab, you want to get going because you know what is around the corner. So the last week or two have probably been more frustrating than the other months”The T20 Challenge runs from October 29 to November 30 and sees all eight Division 1 teams play each other once before an IPL-style Eliminator and two Qualifiers ahead of the final. That means Nortje could have a maximum of 10 matches over the next month albeit not for his home union, Eastern Province. Although Nortje has not indicated he is aiming for a national comeback, he could push for one if he stays fit and also has a good SA20, where he will play for Sunrisers Eastern Cape.”It’s always been about trying to see the positives and working towards a new goal of being better than I was before so I’m really happy where I am now and it’s all about getting out there and getting some games under my belt,” he said.The Dolphins reached the final of last year’s CSA T20 Challenge, where they lost to the Johannesburg-based Lions.

The WA offspinner will make his Australia A and MCG debut against India A with a Sri Lanka tour looming on his horizon

Alex Malcolm06-Nov-2024You needed your wits about you as the white balls pinged out of the MCG nets on Saturday during Australia’s training session. But in between the big swings and the flying white orbs there was an intriguing battle going on.A tall offspinner with lengthy blonde hair, who was not part of the ODI squad, was bowling with a red ball to Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. He had Australia’s bowling coach and New Zealand’s greatest ever Test spinner, Daniel Vettori, alongside him talking tactics and technique.Even if he’s not yet a recognisable face, Corey Rocchiccioli stands out in a crowd. His rapid rise up the ranks from being a grade cricketer who had never been in the pathway system, to a Sheffield Shield star, to an Australia A spinner has turned a lot of heads in Australian cricket.Related

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The 27-year-old is firmly on the radar to tour Sri Lanka with the Test team in the new year. It is for that reason he was flown to Melbourne for a chance to work with Vettori, and bowl to Smith and Labuschagne.”Hearing from a Test great about how to bowl offspin, particularly in Australia and in Asia, that’s something that I got really excited about,” Rocchiccioli said on Wednesday.”I had the opportunity to bowl to Smith and Marnus whilst he was standing next to me. To sort of really pick his brain on how to bowl to world-class batters was something that I took under my wing and wrote in my journal, making sure that I’ve got that for the back of my mind. Hopefully it’s not the last time we catch up. It was an awesome couple of days.”You couldn’t wipe the smile off Rocchiccioli’s face as he stood on the MCG ahead of his Australia A debut against India A on Thursday. Despite playing 27 Shield matches in the past four seasons and being contracted to both Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, Rocchiccioli has never played a game on the MCG.”I’m really excited,” Rocchiccioli said. “I have had the opportunity to run drinks here that many times, but to not play here yet, it’s a bucket list item. I have a little photo on my phone of when I took my old man out here after a Big Bash game. I’m looking forward to being able to step out and bowl on the MCG.”He also gets to bowl to India Test batter KL Rahul, who has been flown out at short notice ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to get a red-ball game under his belt in Australia before joining the main India squad in Perth. Rocchiccioli was asked if he had seen any weaknesses in the 53-Test veteran.”Nah,” Rocchiccioli said. “Probably just bowl your best ball for as long as you can. But he’s like any batter, on his day he’s going to score a hundred and then some days he makes a mistake.”I think he flew in yesterday, and that’s a pretty long-haul flight. So maybe he’s a little bit jaded and fatigued. But I think it’s really exciting that I get to go up another level and bowl to these type of batters. It’s on my path to mastery. I’ve been able to bowl to some really good batters in first-class cricket. Now I get this challenge to do it to Indian players.”Although Australia’s selectors have been keen to downplay the selection of the Australia A teams for these two games, particularly given the intrigue around the batting order, Rocchiccioli’s inclusion in the second game alongside an attack featuring Test back-up quicks Scott Boland and Michael Neser is instructive.When Nathan Lyon blew out his calf in the Ashes in 2023, it was Todd Murphy who was the like-for-like replacement. It was Murphy too, who was the second spinner picked in India.If Lyon blew out his calf at training next week ahead of the Perth Test, Murphy might not be the automatic selection despite being Australia A’s spinner in Mackay last week.Corey Rocchiccioli has taken the most wickets of any spinner in Shield cricket in the last four years•Getty ImagesNo spinner has even come close to Rocchiccioli’s 83 wickets in the last four Shield seasons. The next best is Mitchell Swepson with 50. Rocchiccioli has claimed 56 of those at the WACA ground 25.28 and a strike-rate of 53.6, a place where Murphy has one wicket in three innings at a cost of 189 from 45 overs.Bounce and overspin is Rocchiccioli’s biggest weapon. At 6 foot 3 inches, he is made to bowl in Perth where Lyon has an extraordinary record. He may enjoy bowling on the revamped MCG drop-in too, where former WACA curator Matt Page has brought the surface to life with pace and bounce. Although Murphy, with his flatter trajectory and ability to bowl with a square seam has averaged 17.50 in his two games there.”I actually think I have [square seam] in my armoury already,” Rocchiccioli said. “It’s just that I just don’t bowl it that often. I do bowl it a lot on day one at the WACA.”It’s something that I’m always going to have to develop. I don’t use it as often as what Murph does when he’s bowling out here and bowling at the Junction [Oval]. So it’s actually a really good chance. I’ve got this game. I’ve got a Junction game. I’ve got the SCG in a couple of games time. So I’ve got the opportunity to develop my square seam.”And he will need it if he is called on for the tour of Sri Lanka. He has done two tours to the MRF academy in Chennai in the last two year’s with a CA squad but unlike Murphy, Swepson, Matthew Kuhnemann, and Ashton Agar he has not played in Asia.He doesn’t view his one-off appearance for Australia A as a bowl-off against Murphy or any of the others for a spot on that Sri Lanka tour.”I hope they just take every offie available, to be honest,” Rocchiccioli said. “But no I don’t see it as that. I think it’s probably more the opposite. It’s really exciting the fact that Australian cricket has so many up and coming offspinners. I think you’ve got me, Murph, you’ve got Kuhney who took five, Ash is back playing Shield cricket. So yeah, I think it’s really exciting that we’ve got so many spin bowlers playing together, playing against each other, and we’re all lifting our own competition.”

Australia quick feared his Test career was over after injuring his hamstring last year, but worked his way back to take his team closer to a 2-0 Ashes lead

Andrew McGlashan06-Dec-20251:21

Neser: Starc ‘the greatest leftie of all time’

Michael Neser admitted he feared his Test career was over after badly injuring his hamstring last season, but can now say he produced the spell that sparked Australia’s push towards what will be, barring an England miracle, a 2-0 Ashes lead and the urn being nearly retained.England had motored to 90 for 1 in their second innings, making significant inroads into Australia’s lead of 177, when Neser bagged two return catches in the space of four overs to remove Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley. From there, Australia sensed their moment and their pressure was rewarded with a collapse of 3 for 7 which, briefly, threatened a three-day finish before the visitors limped to the close.Neser, who played his previous Test three years ago, was a last-minute and controversial selection for this match when he was preferred over Nathan Lyon on the morning of the game. He was not part of the original squad for the opening Test in Perth, only drafted in after injuries to Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott, but has fully justified the selectors’ call on his home ground.Related

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He was in the frame as back-up for last summer’s series against India, but badly damaged his hamstring playing for Australia A against India A at the MCG which kept him out for 12 months. He was only back to peak fitness for the start of this summer having opted to stay home rather than return to county cricket earlier this year.”To be honest, after last season when I thought I was bowling superbly…and I did my hammy really badly, I thought that could have been my chance [gone],” Neser said. “I’ve always dreamed about playing for Australia. It’s something that I live and breathe, is cricket. So to be given another chance, I’m very honoured.Michael Neser ripped out two caught-and-bowleds to dent England•AFP/Getty Images”It was a long recovery, think it was 12 weeks out of it, and I may have come back a week or two quicker than I should have. I probably wasn’t 100% [fit] at the back end [of last summer]. I chose not to go to county cricket and focus on getting my body right for the start of the season and really focus on Australian summer. A big pre-season did me wonders. I feel strong again and I feel like my hammy is back to where it was.”In the first innings at the Gabba, Neser broke a 117-run stand between Crawley and Joe Root when the former was caught behind, but a brace of return catches is a somewhat more unconventional route to claim back-to-back wickets for a new-ball pace bowler. However, Australia’s quicks have been on alert given how England go hard at the ball and drive on the up.Mitchell Starc held a stunner in Perth to remove Crawley in the second innings and other chances have flown past face and hands, including one to Neser offered by Ben Duckett before the two which stuck.”They obviously try to put you under the pump the way they bat,” Neser said. “They’ve given us a couple of opportunities with caught and bowleds. Most of them we’ve dropped because they’ve been hit so hard, but thankfully those two seemed to stick.”One of the notable features of this Test has been how much time Alex Carey has spent stood up to the stumps to Neser, as he was for Crawley’s wicket on Saturday, and as he had done during Neser’s previous Test against West Indies in 2022. Carey’s glovework has been outstanding and Neser said it helped build pressure on batters, but conceded it had been a tactic that did not initially come naturally to him.”I know the role I play is very different to the other quicks,” Neser said. “Being a shorter bowler, maybe not as quick, it’s a way for me to keep the batters on the crease and bring the stumps into play. I’ve done it a lot in the past.Zak Crawley rues his shot selection after falling to Michael Neser•AFP/Getty Images”The first time I did it, I definitely didn’t want to do it as a fast bowler, but Uzzy [Usman Khawaja] taught me to just put the ego aside because it’s beneficial for you. We’ve seen Vernon [Philander] do it a lot in his Test career, successfully, so it’s something I’ve brought in later on in my career.”At the other end of the pace scale to Neser in the Australia attack has been Starc, who followed his 77, the top score in Australia’s innings, with two more wickets including that of Root which was the biggest blow to England’s hopes. Starc is putting together one of the great all-round performances.”He’s a special player,” Neser said. “He doesn’t like to admit it, but he is the GOAT, the greatest leftie of all time. He does it with the ball [and] with the bat and to be next to him witnessing what he does is just amazing.”The longevity of his career, it is something you’ve got to admire. Someone who can bowl 140-plus; I think that last spell today was probably his quickest spell the whole game which just shows what sort of athlete he is and what a competitor he is. He’s amazing.”Starc and Neser are virtually the same age: the former is playing his 102nd Test, the latter his third. Neser’s trio of outings have all come with the pink ball but, even with the prospect of Pat Cummins returning in Adelaide, he hopes he can be more than a day-night specialist.”I do love the red ball as well,” he said with a smile. “I’m very fortunate and privileged that I’ve been given the chance with the pink-ball Tests. Obviously, it’s a dream to play more Tests and red ball, pink ball, I love it all.”

His tendency to play most lengths from spinners off the back foot has brought him high control percentages but it can also get him into trouble

Karthik Krishnaswamy10-Oct-20251:35

Aakash Chopra: Sai Sudharsan would be ‘kicking himself’ for missing a hundred

It would come as no surprise to anyone that Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, who ended the recent tour of England with averages of 75.40 and 53.20, also had the best control percentages of all of India’s batters on the trip.Guess which India batter had the next-best control percentage? You’ve seen the headline of this piece, so no prizes for guessing, but would you, otherwise, have imagined it might have been B Sai Sudharsan, who scored all of 140 runs across six innings, at an average of 23.33? That too on a tour that brought so many other India batters so many runs?Depending on your philosophical leanings, you might conclude either that this fact shows us how unreliable averages are, or how unreliable control percentages are.If you followed that tour closely enough, you would have watched Sai Sudharsan play innings after innings of promising beginnings and puzzling endings. You would have watched him defend and leave good-length balls in the business area around the top of off stump with great assurance, playing close to his body at most times, and almost always having time for late adjustments. You would have watched him get out to the most unthreatening deliveries, with half-volleys angling down leg proving particularly hazardous.At the end of it all, you might have wondered what to make of it all.Selectors and coaches often place great emphasis on the eye test. Sai Sudharsan had clearly passed this when India called him up to their Test squad. He averaged less than 40 in first-class cricket, and the last frontline batter to make a Test debut for India without having passed that benchmark was another Tamil Nadu left-hander, WV Raman, all the way back in 1988. And Raman’s first-class average was partly a function of his having begun his career as a left-arm spinner who batted down the order.At the end of that England tour, the enigma of Sai Sudharsan confronted the world all over again: eye test passed, average of 23.33.He had, of course, only played three Tests, so you couldn’t read too much into that average. But then came Ahmedabad last week, and a score of 7 when the rest of India’s top six made 36, 100, 50, 125 and 104*. One of those scores came from a promising wicketkeeper-batter who was playing because India’s regular keeper-batter was injured; many viewers began having visions of both playing together, one of them as a specialist batter.And how would India possibly accommodate both in their XI? Well, there’s this guy at No. 3 with an average of 21.00 after four Test matches…It was against this backdrop that Sai Sudharsan batted against West Indies in Delhi. On the one hand: day one on a flat Indian pitch, a modest attack, and so much to gain. On the other: refer to last week’s scorecard for evidence of how little all those ingredients can still amount to.As Sai Sudharsan settled into his innings, he showed no sign of being in any way conscious of this backdrop. He had faced a certain degree of criticism in Ahmedabad for his tendency of playing most lengths from spinners off the back foot, and had been out doing so, lbw while looking to pull Roston Chase off a ball that didn’t seem short enough to merit that response. He continued, here in Delhi, to play most lengths off the back foot against West Indies’ spin trio, but showed he had ways of forcing them for runs without adopting the horizontal bat.By the time he had scored 26, he had hit four back-foot fours off the spinners with a straight or straight-ish bat, three of them down the ground. Two of them were contenders for shot of the day: both times, he rocked back to Jomel Warrican’s left-arm spin and punched him against the turn into the narrow gap between mid-off and short extra-cover.Both times, the ball was only marginally short of a good length, and turning into his stumps and theoretically cramping Sai Sudharsan for room. But he manufactured just enough room by using the full depth of his crease and opening up his hip, with his front leg skipping nimbly to the leg side, and manufactured a remarkable amount of power through his strong, whippy wrists.Sai Sudharsan showed complete faith in this back-foot-dominant game against spin right through a second-wicket stand of 193 with Yashasvi Jaiswal, whether while playing attacking shots or while defending good-length balls attacking his stumps.Every now and again, this technique contributed to moments that jolted viewers out of the reverie that big first-day partnerships on flat Indian pitches can induce. One ball would turn a little more, or skid through a little quicker, or keep ever so slightly low, and yank Sai Sudharsan out of his bubble of self-possession. On 52, he jammed his bat down just in time to save himself from what looked like a certain lbw against one such ball from Khary Pierre.B Sai Sudharsan is back-foot oriented against spin•AFP/Getty ImagesBut this was still a batter in full control. Almost literally. Until he was dropped on 58 – he closed his bat face too early against the medium-pace of Justin Greaves and popped a leading edge towards Warrican at short midwicket – off the 107th ball he faced, Sai Sudharsan hadn’t played a single false shot all innings.And his eventual dismissal on 87 came off the only false shot he played in 125 balls against spin.Inevitably, it was a good-length ball that Sai Sudharsan looked to defend off the back foot, except this ball from Warrican turned prodigiously and skidded onto his back pad before he could bring his bat down fully. Like the rest of his innings had done, like his dismissal in Ahmedabad had done, it fuelled debate over his method.Ball-by-ball data from Test matches in India since 2022 tells us that, on average, batters only negotiate around 14% of balls that spinners land in the 4-5m length band (the fuller side of the spinners’ good length) off the back foot. Sai Sudharsan, in this series, has gone back to just under 38% of balls pitching in that band.Is that… good or bad?Well, first of all, our reactions to technique tend to be informed by what we’re used to seeing. We’re used to watching batters defend balls off the front foot when spinners land on the fuller side of a good length. Any other response looks unusual, and to many viewers, suspect. And if you believe this, that belief is only strengthened when that unusual method contributes to a dismissal.Sai Sudharsan was out playing back to a ball most batters would have gone forward to. But he had employed the same technique until that point while achieving a 100% control rate over 124 balls against spin.B Sai Sudharsan seemingly misjudged the length and fell lbw to Roston Chase in Ahmedabad•Associated PressWhat do we conclude, then? We might want to listen to India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who provided a superbly nuanced take in his press conference at the end of the day’s play.”See, Sai, obviously, coming from Tamil Nadu, they play a lot on turning wickets. He’s pretty good against spin,” Kotak said. “I think his back-foot game, and some shots he plays on the back foot, not many players play, because a lot of balls which he negotiates on the back foot, most of the players would negotiate it on the front foot.”The only thing we talk about is, some of the very full balls also, sometimes he plays on the back foot, so we’re trying to cut [down] on that. He very much knows that, and he tries. And obviously the line [matters]; if the line is outside off stump, the same length he could easily go [onto the] front foot and play, then impact [on the pad] would be outside off stump.”So all that we discuss. But his overall game against spin is a lot more on the back foot than front foot. And with his bat-swing, the way he bats, the amount of power he generates on the back foot is also amazing. Some of the shots through mid-off, extra-cover, through midwicket and all, that is his strength.”To boil that down: Sai Sudharsan is unusually back-foot oriented against spin, and he plays shots off the back foot – like the two mentioned above against Warrican – that not too many others can play. This method can, however, get him in trouble against certain lines and lengths, and judicious use of front-foot play can help him round out his game.Kotak’s observation about going on the front foot when the ball pitches outside off stump, to take lbw out of the equation, illuminates one advantage of front-foot play: it can keep the percentages in batters’ favour even when they aren’t in control. Defending off the back foot, however, tends to be more binary: you are usually either able to adjust to vagaries of turn, pace and bounce and defend with the middle of your bat, or the ball behaves so unusually that you are left without any protection against dismissal.Kotak spoke about Sai’s mental strength too, and the self-belief that allowed him to bat the way he did on Friday, seemingly impervious to all the noise swirling around him.India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak rates B Sai Sudharsan highly•PTI “Sai, we all know how talented he is. [We don’t always just] look at the [batter’s] score; [we] look at the batsman, how he’s batting, how he’s pacing his innings, what kind of shots he plays,” Kotak said. “Sometimes, one or two innings, anybody can fail. But he batted brilliantly today.”He is someone who is mentally very tough, you’ll never see him change his style of playing. He always plays on the merit [of the ball]. So the same way he batted today. [You might have thought] he might be thinking, [what happens] if I get out early again? But if you see his innings, [did] you ever feel from ball one that he’s thinking that? Obviously not. So that’s why we know [what a] quality [player] he is.”Sai Sudharsan’s innings reflected all the strengths Kotak enumerated, but also the security he feels in a team that believes fully in his ability, ignoring his first-class record, his early Test numbers, and the knee-jerk reactions of the outside world to success and failure. It was the innings of a hugely talented player but also the innings of the system that produced him and nurtures him.It felt sobering that this innings came against the West Indies team of 2025. Is Sai Sudharsan, in raw-material terms, a better batter than Tagenarine Chanderpaul or Alick Athanaze? Who can say. Do they have the infrastructure, technical expertise and support system that gets the most out of Sai Sudharsan’s talent? Most definitely not, and for no fault of theirs. If you think cricket is at its healthiest if it offers its young talent the best possible opportunities to flourish, you can’t be happy with the way it currently works.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have now registered their interest in signing Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Garcia on loan in the January transfer window, alongside a whole host of rival Premier League clubs.

Fosun would’ve been hoping Rob Edwards could breathe new life into a Wolves side that have massively disappointed so far this season, but the manager was on the receiving end of a defeat in his first match in charge, with Crystal Palace emerging as 2-0 winners at Molineux on Saturday.

Edwards’ side actually looked better from an attacking point of view, recording an xG of 1.79, compared to 1.27 from the Eagles, but they were unable to take their chances, with both Jhon Arias and Ladislav Krejci squandering big opportunities.

Things are looking bleak for the Old Gold, who are still searching for their first win of the Premier League season, and now sit nine points from safety, given that they have the worst attacking and defensive records in the top flight, scoring seven and conceding 27.

As such, if the Wanderers are to stand any chance of avoiding the drop, they may need to make major improvements at both ends of the pitch in the upcoming transfer window, and they have now made an approach for a new centre-forward.

Wolves make approach to sign Gonzalo Garcia on loan

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, in a report for Football Insider, Wolves are one of a number of clubs in the race for Real Madrid forward Garcia this January, although it remains to be seen whether they will be willing to sanction a departure.

The Spanish side are concerned about a lack of attacking depth, which means they may not be willing to let the 21-year-old leave, despite several English sides queuing up to get a deal done, with O’Rourke saying: “If Real Madrid are willing to loan him out, I’m sure it’s more than just Leeds will be interested in him. I believe Brighton, Villa and Wolves have all registered interest.

“A lot will depend on Real Madrid. If there’s any injuries to their forwards then it might mean there’s no chance that Garcia goes out and loan.”

Hailed as a “goal machine” in the media, the youngster clearly has a lot of potential, having starred for Madrid at the Club World Cup in the summer, bagging four goals and an assist in six outings out in the USA.

Wolves are in dire need of a fresh injection of quality in attack, having failed to score in four out of their last five Premier League games, with Jorgen Strand Larsen failing to impress, finding the back of the net just once in 10 top-flight outings.

As such, a move for Garcia would make sense, but it will be strange if the Real Madrid ace is willing to move to a club in huge danger of relegation, given that there is likely to be plenty of other options on the table.

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Posts ByTom Cunningham Nov 22, 2025

Lancashire have said they are investigating the incident at Old Trafford

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2025Lancashire have said they are investigating after an incident in which a fan attending the fourth Test between England and India at Old Trafford was asked to cover up the Pakistan shirt they were wearing.The fan, named in Pakistani media as Farooq Nazar, posted a video on social media documenting the request, initially from a member of the security staff at the ground, that he cover the shirt, a replica of Pakistan’s traditional green limited-overs kit.The security guard, who identifies himself as working for Lancashire, says: “I’ve been asked by control if you can cover that shirt up, please.” Later on, a steward can be heard saying the shirt “might be considered nationalistic”.Related

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In the video, Nazar can be seen becoming increasingly agitated amid repeated requests to cover up. Eventually, he is approached by a police officer, who asks to continue the conversation away from the stands. According to reports, Nazar then opted to leave the ground rather than hide his shirt.Political relations between India and Pakistan, frosty for years, have been at their most tense this year, following a brief military skirmish between the two countries in May. Those tensions have filtered into relations between the BCCI and PCB; the two sides have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13 and no Test cricket since 2007-08. Their participation in ICC events hosted by either country has also recently become problematic, with a neutral venue added in to stage their games as part of a hybrid solution to the issue.It is unclear on which day of the Test, which ended in a draw as India batted their way through five sessions, the incident took place but Lancashire confirmed they were looking into it.”We are aware of the incident referenced and are taking steps to understand the facts and context surrounding the matter fully,” a Lancashire spokesperson said.In recent years, Lancashire have openly spoken of building their links with India. The Hundred team based at the ground, Manchester Originals, are set to become 70% owned by Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG group, which runs Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, while Lancashire’s chief executive, Daniel Gidney, has suggested giving the BCCI a stake in the 100-ball tournament.