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The hours leading up to his retirement announcement were filled with much intrigue and speculation

Alagappan Muthu18-Dec-20240:33

Cummins: Ashwin ‘one of the all-time greats’

A stop-start game which still had plenty of action – there were almost as many wickets (7) as rain breaks (8) on Tuesday, not to mention two high-quality centuries and one all-time great fast bowler carrying his team on his shoulders – faded into the background. Something of a murder-mystery feel took hold. An India player was about to retire. We know how the story ended now but it is worth recounting how it unfolded.There were three suspects. Each of them has carried their team to incredible heights. Each of them will be deeply missed. And as the tour has gone on, one of them especially has come under a fair bit of scrutiny. It actually started as a bit of a joke.Jasprit Bumrah, both before and after leading India to victory in Perth, was asked if he might take Rohit Sharma aside and explore the idea of taking over from him as captain. Bumrah saw where the question was headed and began to smile. “, I won’t tell Rohit. I won’t tell him I will do it,” he said pre-match and reiterated it post-match.Related

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When he fell for 10 in Brisbane, his highest score of the series including the practice game in Canberra, he dropped his gloves by the boundary and disappeared down the tunnel. A day later, Sunil Gavaskar went on record to suggest that Rohit would step down as captain if his form does not improve.Just before 2pm, Rohit took his time leaving the field when Australia declared their second innings. Some of his team-mates seemed to wait on him even though that kind of thing is usually reserved for people who had done well or if they knew something the rest of the world didn’t.More drama arrived via social media. Both the rain radar and Rohit took a back seat as a screengrab of some live pictures showed the other two suspects in embrace. One of them was Virat Kohli, who after scoring his century in Perth made a point to mention that he wasn’t the sort to just carry on in a team if he felt he wasn’t contributing. His last three innings were 7, 11 and 3.The other was R Ashwin, and in one of the frames, he seemed to be rubbing his eyes. Retirement limbo is a confusing place to be. Every little moment seems like it might carry meaning. That still of Ashwin rubbing his eyes could just have been dust.R Ashwin’s story has had many highs and lows, but it also has a happy ending•Getty ImagesIt was nice that he was with Kohli in the dressing room and with Rohit at the press conference where he pulled the veil off an evening of high intrigue. Kohli and Ashwin go all out against each other in the nets. It gets so good that people stop what they’re doing and just stare. They have a prosperous relationship as fielder and bowler as well. Kohli has forever been at midwicket for Ashwin against right-hand batters, denying them the chance to get off strike by playing the low-risk, with-the-turn flick and forcing them to be pulled apart by one of the most capable spin bowlers of all time. Like he’s never been short of ideas. The dead ends he hits usually end up with an Ashwin-shaped hole because he kept finding ways through them. He made it to a T20 World Cup years after India had ditched him for the unpredictability of wristspin.Rohit sat beside Ashwin, looking down, lost to the world, until Ashwin started cracking jokes. “We are the last bunch of OGs.” Chuckle. “Thanks for being the journalists that you have been, writing good things and of course, writing nasty things on occasions.” Chuckle.”I have played cricket with Ash since under 17,” Rohit said. “He was an opener batsman then. And then a few years later, we all disappeared. And then suddenly I am hearing news about Tamil Nadu, R Ashwin taking 5 wickets, 7 wickets. And I was wondering who this guy is. Because I played him as a batsman. And then suddenly he has turned out to be a bowler who is taking five wickets.””And then obviously at international cricket we met again. And then we had a long journey together since 2010. So it has been a long time playing together. We all know what he has done for this team. So I don’t need to repeat it again and again. But a true match-winner that India has ever seen.”India have been in transition for a while. Ishant Sharma was the leader of their attack not that long ago. His loss is no longer felt. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were key members of the team’s success both at home and away. Their loss has not been felt all that often. Ashwin’s Test career began in 2011 and ended in 2024. It was the time India became the most dominant home team in the world. Better than the West Indies. Better than Australia.”When you’ve played so much together and shared so many memories, and you see one by one these guys are not in the team you do feel their presence somewhere. But what can you do?” Rohit was answering a question about the players who were no longer there – like Rahane and Pujara – and this Ashwin news had been so heavy that it took Rohit a little bit of time to realise Rahane and Pujara are still active cricketers. “You’ll get me killed (laughs). I’m talking as if all three of them have retired.”Ashwin had been thinking about this for a while, it seems. “Never took you seriously even when you shared this thought a few months back,” Aravind, one of his childhood friends posted on Instagram. Ashwin leaves for Chennai on Thursday. He will have a stand named after him at the ground he went to – and still goes to – as a fan. He will return to it as a Chennai Super King in April. He’s spoken recently about how he put too much of his time and energy into competing for his place in the team, about proving his critics wrong, about essentially letting his life be run by other people and how that experience made him realise that the only thing that mattered was his peace of mind. It is cool that he found it. His story has had highs and lows. But it is nice that it also has a happy ending.

Italy captain says when he is asked about the plan for the 2026 World Cup, his reply is, they’re planning to “win every game”

Matt Roller12-Jul-2025At least one will play at a next year. Italian football is in chaos: their men’s national team have a proud World Cup history but have failed to reach the last two, and sacked their manager after losing the opening match of their qualifying group for the 2026 edition. But in a small Dutch town on Friday, their cricketers created their own legacy.Italy lost by nine wickets to Netherlands in Voorburg, but Jersey’s win over Scotland earlier in the day – and their own results over the previous week – meant that it did not matter. Instead, Italy wrapped up one of the two spots available at the European Qualifiers for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, the first time that Italy have reached a major ICC event.”It’s still very surreal,” Joe Burns, Italy’s captain, told ESPNcricinfo on Saturday morning. “We’ll probably take a few weeks to get home and decompress a bit to fully realise the impact that the occasion will have on so many people. It was an emotional moment that we’re going to try and reflect on as a group as much as we can over the next few months.”The crucial result for Italy was their 12-run win over Scotland on Wednesday. It was launched by Emilio Gay, the Durham opener, who cracked 50 off 21 balls; set up by Grant Stewart, the Kent allrounder, who hit 44 not out off 27; and sealed by Harry Manenti, who has played a couple of BBL games for Adelaide Strikers, and took 5 for 31 with his medium pace.Those names are reflective of a disparate group of players who are based all over the world, but their heritage provides a common thread. Burns’ own story is typical: his roots are in Calabria, in southern Italy, but his grandfather was a prisoner-of-war in North Africa during the second world war and the family relocated to Australia. He has always felt a connection with Italy, and made his debut for them last year.

“I think we had six Australian-born players in our team yesterday… If we do play Australia and I’m on the field, it’ll obviously be a very special occasion”Joe Burns

It was a long way removed from his first international career, which saw him hit four hundreds in his 23 Tests for Australia. “When you play for Australia, there’s such a history to the baggy green that you’re honouring the past and representing the people that have gone before,” Burns said. “When you’re playing for Italy, it’s very much a blank canvas, trying to shape the future.”Burns first reached out to Cricket Italia in 2009, when qualification rules were stricter, and had to undergo a three-year cooling-off period from his final Australia appearance, in 2020, before he became eligible. But he has thrown himself into his new challenge, taking over the captaincy this summer, and has worn the number 85 shirt in tribute to his late brother, Dominic.”A lot of our grandparents left Italy after World War II, so it’s very much a shared story to come together and to represent past generations,” he said. “I know my grandparents would be very proud, and I know mum and dad have been following the games really closely. There are Italians dispersed all over the world, and I hope this team is a beacon for Italians everywhere.”Burns admires his medal•International Cricket CouncilItaly ramped up preparations for the qualifiers last month with a training camp in Rome, and Burns has demanded the full focus of his team-mates: “I told the guys that I don’t care if we’re playing Luxembourg in the sub-regional qualifiers or India in a T20 World Cup final: I want our team to be the most prepared team in world cricket for every game that we play.”This has all come together on the back of a lot of planning. People ask me what the goal for the World Cup is and I say, ‘Look, we’re planning and preparing to win every game – so we’re planning to win the World Cup.’ I want the guys to enjoy the experience and play with freedom – but you have to earn the right to play with freedom on the back of really solid preparation.”Cricket is a niche sport in Italy, but World Cup qualification will unlock new sources of funding. “It will go a long way for us,” Burns said. “We don’t have any turf facilities, and very little facilities in general, but this gives us an opportunity to develop the game. We’ve had a lot of support from CONI (the Italian Olympic Committee) which keeps building in the background.Time to celebrate after Italy qualified for the T20 World Cup for the first time•International Cricket Council”Associate cricket is very much the grassroots of international cricket, so for us, it’s about trying to unlock funding and build facilities to create opportunities for future generations to come. It’s very rewarding. At different stages in your career, you have different motivations, and I think this came at a really good time for me. It really reinvigorated my love for the game.”Italy will welcome back Wayne Madsen – a man with more than 20,000 runs in county cricket to his name – for the World Cup after he missed the qualifiers due to his Derbyshire commitments, but Burns hinted that he himself may step aside before the main event. “This [qualification] was such a big goal for me,” he said. “It’s probably going to take me a few months to think about it.”But if Burns, 35, does play on, there is one team he would relish the chance to face next year. “We’ve said briefly as a group that we want the big stage. We want to be drawn against the best in the world, and we want to take it on. I think we had six Australian-born players in our team yesterday… If we do play Australia and I’m on the field, it’ll obviously be a very special occasion.”

Opportunities have been scarce, but the stonewalling to prevent an outright defeat against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final was a big tick mark for North East Zone

Himanshu Agrawal01-Sep-2025Jehu Anderson is 25. He made his first-class debut for Mizoram in 2022, but this is the first time he has faced genuine swing and pace in his fledgling career.Deepak Chahar was making the ball hoop around, as he does, and Khaleel Ahmed was banging them in short and into the body. One such delivery hit Anderson in the ribs. The angry red mark, Anderson joked, is like a “badge of honour” for having fought his way through a tough passage to make 64 in the second innings of that Duleep Trophy quarter-final.The innings ensured North East Zone didn’t lose outright; though a massive first-innings lead meant Central Zone were through to the semi-finals.Anderson hit 11 fours and a six in his innings, while his captain, Rongsen Jonathan, hit 60. The two put on 110 for the fourth wicket, denying a potent attack of Chahar, Khaleel, Kuldeep Yadav and Harsh Dubey on the final day. “Getting blows like that from Khaleel is part of the mental challenge,” Anderson said after the match.Related

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Anderson was playing in rural England just two weeks ago – for Wellingborough Town Cricket Club. It’s a stint that enriched him as a cricketer. Apart from playing matches on weekends, part of his responsibilities as an overseas professional involved helping the age-group players with their training and conducting one-on-one sessions for kids.If the Duleep Trophy hadn’t reverted to a zonal format, chances are Anderson, like many from the northeastern part of India, would have been starved of the opportunity to prove themselves on the big stage. So, when his opportunity came, Anderson had to return.He faced eight balls from Khaleel in the first innings, but couldn’t score a run. He hit two fours off him in the second innings. Off Kuldeep, he seemed tentative and edgy in the first innings, managing just one run off 16 deliveries. In the second, Anderson scored 27 off Kuldeep alone, including four fours and his only six.”I told myself to play the ball and not the bowler,” Anderson said of his experience of facing Kuldeep. “I take back lots of confidence. It was quite the challenge to face him and to play fearless cricket against them, which was quite nice.”

“In [Ranji Trophy] Plate matches, we don’t get this quality bowling. Nor in practice do we get this kind of speed from bowlers in the nets. We play at home at around 120kph [from pace bowlers], but suddenly we have to come and face 135kph-plus”Rongsen Jonathan

Unlike Anderson, whose best years are perhaps ahead of him, Jonathan is at the sunset of his career. Having grown up in Bengaluru, he came through the ranks in junior cricket alongside the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey and KL Rahul. Then in 2017, Jonathan, now close to 39, returned to his roots in Nagaland after the northeastern states earned BCCI affiliation.Jonathan is a journeyman, having played in Karnataka and for Railways before moving to Nagaland. For many in the set-up, he is captain-coach-mentor, and as several players vouch, an elder brother. Prior to the match, Jonathan’s words to his players centred on showing fight, showing guts.He asked them to feel the “privilege” of playing a quality team, like Central Zone.”You have been watching them on TV, and [now] you are going to face them. So a lot of things played in our mind,” Jonathan said. “Like, you have been a fan of [some of the players], and now you are getting to face them in a match.”In [Ranji Trophy] Plate matches, we don’t get this quality bowling. Nor in practice do we get this kind of speed from bowlers in the nets. We play at home at around 120kph [from pace bowlers], but suddenly we have to come and face 135kph-plus.”With the match reduced to a mere formality the moment Central Zone decided to bat again despite taking a 347-run first-innings lead, Jonathan was more interested in soaking up lessons from the middle.If the Duleep Trophy hadn’t reverted to a zonal format, chances are players from the northeastern part of India would have been starved of the opportunity to prove themselves on the big stage•Jehu Anderson”I spoke to Shubham Sharma when he was past his hundred in the second innings,” Jonathan said. “I asked him, ‘how do you go about your innings?’ A very valuable point he gave me was ‘when you let bowlers bowl more balls to you, there are more chances of getting out’. So he said ‘try and go to the non-striker’s end as quickly as possible’, and concentrate more on singles and doubles.”For those from the northeast, every little opportunity is possibly the biggest. Ask Ankur Malik, the Sikkim legspinner, who may replay his wicket of Rajat Patidar over and over in his mind. Or Manipur seamer Bishworjit Konthoujam, who dismissed double-centurion Danish Malewar.Konthoujam’s first love was boxing – he was a gold medallist at a junior boxing championship in Arunachal Pradesh in 2014. But when a shoulder injury prevented him from continuing as a boxer, his interests wavered and he eventually chose cricket. Like Anderson, Konthoujam came back from a club cricket stint in the UK, with Tynemouth Cricket Club, to play in the Duleep Trophy.”More than even my own development, my priority is to use this opportunity to create pathways for young cricketers in Manipur and throughout India,” he said. “I want to support and mentor a new generation of cricketers, to get to my level, and to go beyond my level.”Over time, the bruise on Anderson’s ribs will fade, Malik and Konthoujam’s wickets may end up being mere footnotes on scorecards, but they will hope their performances spur belief and hope for cricketers from the northeast aspiring to make a career out of the game. All of them, Jonathan and the others, will be around to help with that process.

On an unusual day-one pitch in Kolkata, he bowled with ‘patience’, with a wicket ball coming along with an extra bit of something

Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Nov-20254:12

Bankable Player of the Day – Jasprit Bumrah

Is cricket a sport of percentages, or is it one of moments?Ask Jasprit Bumrah this question, and he’ll probably give you a one-word answer. Yes.There is no bowler in the world more conscious than him of the importance of percentages, no one more trusting in the process of hammering away in the good-length band, staying patient, and not going looking for wicket balls.And ten overs into the first India-South Africa Test at Eden Gardens, Bumrah’s trust in the percentages was keeping the scorecard looking sane. At the other end, Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel had gone for 40 in five overs. At his end, Bumrah had figures of 5-2-9-0.Related

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And yet, and yet.When Bumrah finally broke South Africa’s opening partnership, did he do it with a percentages ball or a moments ball?Yes.Here again was the ball that Test-match fast bowlers bowl again and again to Test-match openers with a mix of hope and belief. Angling into the left-handed Ryan Rickelton from round the wicket, pitched on the fuller side of a good length, looking to make the batter defend, and hoping for something to happen. A bit of seam movement. A bit of unusual bounce. Percentages.Jasprit Bumrah picked up his 16th Test five-for•BCCIIn isolation, though, come on. Straightening past the outside edge, hitting the top of off stump, causing one of the largest weekday crowds that an India home Test has drawn in recent years – the official count, at the end of the day, was 36,513 – to vent the pent-up anxiety of the preceding 45 or so minutes in one cathartic roar. This was a capital M Moment.And what about the even more unplayable ball Bumrah bowled in his next over, rearing at Aiden Markram, lifting him off his feet, causing him to try, at the same time, to protect himself with his bat pull it away from the ball, with the net effect of gloving it to the keeper?This was still in that good-length band, closer to its shorter edge this time, and still delivered in informed hope, speared into the pitch in the knowledge that uneven bounce was a possibility. This was still a percentages ball.But how many fast bowlers have the tools to weaponise the percentages like Bumrah does again and again? How many can hit the pitch like he does, with more backspin than pretty much anyone else, but also, thanks to his wrist-snap, far more vertical velocity than you would assume from someone of his height?Bumrah is a percentages bowler because it’s always a good idea, but the percentages also give him so much more than they give most fast bowlers. He gets more seam movement than most, and more bounce. If there’s uneven bounce to exploit, he’s likelier than most bowlers of his height to get unusually high bounce, so when he gets one to keep low, it’s that much harder for the batter to adjust.All this meant Bumrah was an irresistible force on this unusual day-one pitch at Eden Gardens, where the fast bowlers from both sides took 8 for 61 in 32 overs from one end, and 0 for 40 in eight overs from the other. There was uneven bounce and a little bit of movement from one end, and so little of either from the other that the fast bowlers only bowled from there when they absolutely had to. Bumrah, of course, bowled all his overs from the favourable end. He has earned this right.3:22

How is Bumrah still unplayable on a dry surface?

This was, however, still Eden Gardens, so there was, in his mind, a bigger-than-usual downside to straying away from percentages.”Patience is the first lesson of Test cricket,” Bumrah said at the end of the day’s play. “You need patience if you want success in Test cricket. This is a ground where the outfield is very quick, and the wicket is hard. If you get too desperate or try to bowl magic balls, runs flow very quickly.”You have to control that temptation, build pressure, and see what the tough run-scoring options are. Every ball won’t [seam or bounce unusually]. Some balls will, and if you bowl in good areas continuously, there is a chance you will get wickets.”One boundary Bumrah conceded perfectly illustrated this point. It came off a defensive push from Tristan Stubbs that simply refused to slow down after entering the gap between the bowler and Mohammed Siraj at mid-off.It said something about Bumrah’s percentages mindset, and his control, that this was the only non-edged boundary he conceded all day.And every now and then, a wicket ball came along with an extra bit of something. A bit of seam to Rickelton. Unplayable bounce to Markram. Low-ish bounce and post-bounce reverse-swing to Tony de Zorzi. Low bounce to Simon Harmer.The uneven bounce, from the favourable end, was clear right from the first over of the day, when one ball from Bumrah shot through at shin height and ran away for four byes, and two climbed awkwardly – one hitting the splice of Markram’s bat and the other collected head-high by Rishabh Pant.Jasprit Bumrah is congratulated by his team-mates after completing his five-for•Getty ImagesEven with this early knowledge, though, Bumrah still had to work out the right lengths to hit, to make sure the ball ended up in consistently testing areas.”Basically, it is a harder-ball game,” he said. “So when the ball is nice and hard, maybe the deviation would be a little quicker. As in, when the ball became softer, the deviation lessens. And then your accuracy comes into play.”So when I bowled the first over, everything happened. The ball swung, it stayed low, it went high. It is a little difficult to understand what is the right length. So you keep bowling and keep figuring things out, [that] it is shaping [up] in this manner […] As in when the ball became softer, it did settle down. It was not happening a lot and the deviation was not consistent.”So then we realised, yes, when the ball is nice and hard, the seam is pronounced, it will do a little more and then, when the ball becomes softer, it will become slightly easier [for the batters].”It wasn’t easier in the least against Bumrah. Not when he was bossing the percentages like that.And then, inevitably, came a pure moment to complete the five-for and end South Africa’s innings. If Bumrah’s career has been one of rigorous percentages, it’s also been a highlights reel of jaw-dropping moments. If this one-two punch, to Keshav Maharaj, won’t make that reel, it’s only because it contains far too many moments that are far more ingenious, and have come against far better batters.It was still glorious in isolation, especially for how brutally unsubtle it was. Pinpoint, head-high bouncer to greet the No. 11 – well done for getting out of the way – and then the searing yorker, its angle so wicked and its landing point so awkward that Maharaj was lbw stepping on the ball.No bowler in history with 200-plus Test wickets, as is widely known now, has a better average than Bumrah’s (presently 19.52). His five-for on Friday was his 16th in Tests. Only Kapil Dev among India’s fast bowlers has taken more.Bumrah went past Mohammed Shami’s Test-wickets tally of 229 on Friday. He’s now on 231, five behind Javagal Srinath, who is currently fourth on India’s all-time fast-bowling Test wicket-takers’ list.Why this sudden glut of numbers? Well, one argument has, from time to time, been held up against Bumrah’s claim for all-time greatness: longevity. Look at those numbers again; if you haven’t already retired that argument, you might want to now.

The Philadelphia Phillies know how to have a good time.

During Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels, the Phillies gave their home fans at Citizens Bank Park a show with a hilarious parody of the viral kiss cam moment that happened at a Coldplay concert earlier this week.

During the standard kiss cam segment of the game, and with Coldplay's "Clocks" playing in the background, the jumbotron showed none other than Phillie Phanatic cozying up to a female mascot in the stands. Phillie Phanatic looked startled as ever to be caught on camera and dove to the ground in the same panicked manner as the Astronomer CEO, eliciting lots of laughter from the crowd.

The stadium played an audio clip of Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin during the parody: "Uh-oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy."

Just too good.

On top of that, the stadium's cameras panned to another couple right after and showed the man holding a sign that read, "This IS My Wife"—a very necessary clarification during these chaotic times.

Captain Bavuma and head coach Conrad are happy for curators to prepare the pitches as they would like

Firdose Moonda25-Nov-2024It’s a stereotype as common as they come: go to the subcontinent and expect to be spun out, come to South Africa and watch your head (and all your other belongings – but that’s a different conversation). Except this time.South Africa will not prepare green tops for their four must-win Test matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan this summer.Despite what gut instincts may say about the best way for them to maximise home advantage and even though they are playing Sri Lanka at venues where they lost five years ago, South Africa will leave it to individual ground staff to and hope for fair surfaces for their matches.Related

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“We’re not at liberty to instruct the groundsmen to prepare what we’d like. We just try to play on whatever has been prepared,” Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s captain said in Pretoria, where the team held their preparation camp before traveling to Durban for the first Test. “And there’s not a lot of concern from my side where we are playing Sri Lanka. Obviously Sri Lanka will be confident in those two venues because they were successful but we’re not going to ask for specific conditions”Sri Lanka beat South Africa in Durban and Gqeberha in 2019 but lost the next series in 2020-21, when they were beset by a spate of injuries. But that 2019 series was the first time a subcontinent side had beaten South Africa in a home series, which some say makes the decision to go back to those venues curious. Durban, in particular, has been a difficult place for South Africa in the last 15 years. Since March 2009, South Africa have played 10 Tests at Kingsmead and lost seven, including two each to Sri Lanka (their first Test win in the country came in 2011), Australia and England and one to India. Their last outing was in March 2022, when they beat Bangladesh by 220 runs, at the end of the Covid-19 restrictions, with a side that was depleted by the absence of IPL-bound players, which made up most of the first-choice attack.But Test coach Shukri Conrad is not buying into the talk that the coastal venues are more suited to subcontinent teams and wants to reclaim them as places South Africa consider their own. “You can’t play all your cricket at Centurion and the Wanderers,” he said earlier this month, referring to the Highveld venues which do give pace bowlers the edge. “We’ve got a fan base in Durban. We’ve got a fan base in Gqeberha and we’re looking forward to playing Test matches there.”Like Bavuma, he does not expect the groundstaff to prepare anything other than what is usually expected of them. “We just want good cricketing wickets,” he said. “That’s all I can ask for.”Keshav Maharaj is expected to play an important role in South Africa’s upcoming home Tests•AFP/Getty ImagesSo what might that be?First up, at Kingsmead, Durban’s long-serving groundsman Wilson Ngobese will retire at the end of this year and has been handing over the reins to his successor Wonderboy Khanyile. Along with former Newlands and Wanderers groundsman Evan Flint, a prodigy of Ngobese’s, who has been working in Kwa-Zulu Natal as a consultant, they have prepared the Test pitch together. It should be livelier than it is for domestic matches, where the local team, the Dolphins tend to prefer it slower and lower.”I was in conversation with Evan and it’ll be one of the new wickets and Evan guarantees me there’ll be some good pace,” Conrad said. “Domestically, they prepare it to spin because of the strength of their bowlers so I think the Dolphins go out deliberately preparing spinning wickets.”That is in stark contrast to the messaging of five years ago when, under Ottis Gibson, South Africa’s groundstaff were instructed to prepare green-tops, particularly for a 2017-18 series against India. The Wanderers got it so badly wrong that the pitch was rated poor and they were handed three demerit points, which have since expired. Gibson wanted to maximise the advantage an attack of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi could give South Africa, at the expense of their batters. South Africa’s ability to score big runs diminished to the point that between January 2018 and December 2021, only West Indies (among teams in the World Test Championship) had fewer centurions.The second Test at St George’s Park could see plenty of movement off the seam and perhaps even reverse swing come into play. “If you look at the records domestically, [Warriors allrounder] Beyers Swanepoel, for example, takes a host of wickets there,” Conrad said. Swanepoel has 52 first-class wickets from nine matches at the venue at an average of 14.44. “It can be very favourable for seamers as well.”It is also known to take turn later on, and South Africa back their first-choice left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj, to take centre stage. “You want spin later on in the game and why we play arguably one of the best spinners in the world in Keshav in our side,” Conrad said.South Africa have also included spin-bowling allrounder Senuran Muthusamy, who took a career-best 4 for 45 in Bangladesh last month, in the squad but have no room for offspinner Dane Piedt or wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, which suggests that even if there is turn, they’re not expecting it to be that big.All the discussion over home advantage is pressing because of what is at stake for the hosts. South Africa need to win all four of their remaining matches to guarantee a place in the World Test Championship final. They could still get there with three wins but would be dependent on other results. Either way, their fate lies in their own hands and they don’t plan on putting it in conditions.

India and Pakistan are in Group A with Oman and UAE; Group B has Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong

Danyal Rasool26-Jul-2025 • Updated on 02-Aug-2025India and Pakistan are pitted against each other in Group A at the 2025 men’s Asia Cup, set to be held in the UAE from September 9 to September 28. Their group-stage meeting will be on September 14 in Dubai*, with two more potential games between them should both reach the final. Dubai, where the final will also be played, will host 11 games while Abu Dhabi will host eight fixtures.Last week, the dates for the 17th edition of the tournament were announced by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Keeping in mind the T20 World Cup, the tournament will be played in the T20I format and, for the very first time, will feature eight teams, a bump of two from the previous edition.Key group-stage matches

Ban v SL, Sept 13, Abu Dhabi
Ind v Pak, Sept 14, Dubai
Ban v Afg, Sept 16, Abu Dhabi
SL vs Afg, Sept 18, Abu Dhabi

Apart from India and Pakistan, Group A includes Oman and hosts UAE. Group B has Afghanistan and Hong Kong, who kickstart the tournament in Abu Dhabi on September 9, alongside Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.The top two teams from each group will move on to another four-team group for the second stage, with the top two teams of that group proceeding to the final on September 28.The venue and dates for the tournament were finalised at the ACC’s annual general meeting in Dhaka last Thursday, where the Asia Cup was one of the key points on the members’ agenda. The fate of the tournament had briefly been thrown into uncertainty following the India-Pakistan military skirmish in May. After the AGM in Dhaka, Naqvi had addressed a press conference about the imminent notification of the Asia Cup dates, though he had stopped short of confirming specific details at the time.The India-Pakistan fixture is, by far, the most financially lucrative fixture in the Asia Cup. The format of the tournament and the placement in the same group make at least two India-Pakistan matches likely, the second on September 21 – also in Dubai – if it happens. It also leaves open the possibility of a third meeting in the final in Dubai on September 28. There has, however, never been an India-Pakistan final in the Asia Cup.India are the official hosts of the tournament, but, after an agreement between the BCCI and the PCB earlier this year, tournaments held in India or Pakistan will see a neutral venue provided for the other side for a three-year period. The agreement came about ahead of the Champions Trophy held in Pakistan earlier this year. India played all their games, including the one against hosts Pakistan, in Dubai. The final, which India qualified for and won, was also held in Dubai.India are the defending champions, having beaten Sri Lanka in the final of the previous edition in 2023. Sri Lanka won the previous T20I edition, beating Pakistan in the final in 2022.*1700 GMT, Aug 2: The news story was updated after the ACC released the detailed schedule

Ahead of Danny Rohl’s first Old Firm derby in charge, Rangers have been handed a fresh injury concern courtesy of Derek Cornelius, according to ex-Scotland striker James McFadden.

The Gers officially have lift off under their new manager, who’s won two of the three games that he’s had in charge. Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Hibernian was the German’s best result yet, as Danilo continued his recent form by scoring what proved to be the winning goal in the fifth minute.

It was an evening to savour for the goalscorer, but also for Jack Butland. The shot-stopper summed up Rangers’ recent change in fortune by saving Jamie McGrath’s late penalty.

The Gers will be hoping for similar luck this weekend when they square off against Celtic in Rohl’s first Old Firm derby. With a place in the Scottish League Cup final up for grabs, it’s set to be as intense as it gets in Glasgow.

After what Rohl saw against Hibs, however, it’s a game that Rangers should be ready for. The new manager told reporters: “I must say, in the second half the tactical discipline.

“It was not always possible to press high. But we understand the game more, and understood they are a transition team and we were compact.

“What we have to improve is when we have the ball. Our own transition moments. But we need more than one part of the game.

“For me it’s about winning games and we did this.

“Today we saw a team that is running for each other to be a unit and be connected and had fighting spirit, which is fantastic to see.”

That said, the Scottish giants may be forced to go on without one of their starting defenders against Celtic following the latest concern about Cornelius’ fitness.

McFadden shares Cornelius injury concern for Rangers

Speaking on Open Goal earlier this week, former Scotland striker McFadden revealed that he’s “not sure” if Cornelius will be fit for the Celtic game after coming off with a swollen eye late on against Hibs.

It would be quite the blow for Rangers and the defender if he did miss such an important game. Since Rohl’s introduction, the 27-year-old has started every game in the Scottish Premiership and has barely put a foot wrong.

Previously described as “brilliant” by his ex-coach and current pundit Robert Earnshaw, Cornelius is quickly becoming an important player at Rangers, but they now face the prospect of playing their biggest game without him.

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In his place, Rohl could turn towards young centre-back Emmanuel Fernandez, who has made just three appearances in all competitions this season. It would be quite the game to come into against Celtic, but Rangers may be left with little choice.

The best-case scenario for the Gers will, of course, be some good news for Cornelius and another start for the impressive centre-back this weekend.

Better than Danilo: Undroppable star is becoming "Rangers' best player"

A new report from Spain has underlined the steps Real Madrid are prepared to take as they aim to recover Franco Mastantuono after he was diagnosed with pubalgia, the same injury that has plagued Lamine Yamal in recent weeks. The Argentine youngster was ruled out ahead of the clash against Liverpool last week, with no recovery timeline in sight at the moment. However, Los Blancos remain calm regarding his situation.

Mastantuono diagnosed with pubalgia after solid start at Madrid

Ever since arriving from River Plate in a blockbuster €45 million ($53m/£39m) deal, Mastantuono has made quite a place for himself amongst the Real Madrid faithful. The Argentine prodigy made his debut in the first game of the season against Osasuna, coming on as a substitute for the final 22 minutes. Since then, he played in eight La Liga games and three Champions League games, starting in nine of those games and staking his claim for the right wing position. 

Even though he scored just one goal and delivered one assist, his all-round game, ability to find spaces, his drive and hunger, and unparalleled determination made him a unique profile within head coach Xabi Alonso's setup. 

However, he suffered his first setback as a Real Madrid player ahead of the Champions League trip to Liverpool last week. The club confirmed that Mastantuono had been diagnosed with pubalgia, the same injury Lamine Yamal has been facing struggles with for the past few weeks. Subsequently, he missed the clash against Rayo Vallecano over the weekend, with no recovery timeline in sight. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMadrid's plan to recover Mastantuono

However, Spanish publication have revealed the steps Los Blancos are set to take to ensure Mastantuono's recovery is as smooth as possible. Mastantuono’s battle with pubalgia has been dragging on for several weeks, though his first official absence only came against Liverpool. No one at Real Madrid is setting a recovery date, not even the medical staff. His progress will depend entirely on how he feels each morning. For now, the Argentine teenager continues his recovery away from the pitch, with cautious optimism that he could return to light training during the international break.

His modest returns despite being the player with the 10th most minutes in the squad concern neither the player nor the club. This stage is viewed as part of his natural progression, and his reduced involvement prior to injury is considered a normal developmental phase, not a setback.

Inside Valdebebas, Real Madrid’s staff often cite the examples of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Federico Valverde, and Endrick as reminders that young stars need time to adapt. All of them arrived at a similar age and initially went through gradual integration. By comparison, Mastantuono’s first months are seen as a success, validating the club’s long-term plan for his development.

Emphasis on strengthening Mastantuono's lower body

During the recovery period, heavy emphasis will be placed on physical conditioning. When Mastantuono first broke through at River Plate, he was full of natural talent but lacked physical power. Under the club’s supervision, he followed a strict regimen designed to build muscle mass while maintaining agility. Working closely with trainers, he gained around 10 kilograms of muscle in a controlled way, ensuring his style of play remained fluid, dynamic, and explosive.

At Madrid, his physical recuperation is expected to continue with a different focus. The priority is no longer upper-body strength but lower-body power and core stability – key areas for preventing the kind of muscular issues that often affect explosive players like him. The training program aims to enhance balance, acceleration, and endurance while reinforcing the area most affected by his current groin injury.

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AFPMadrid determined to transform Mastantuono into world-beater

Pubalgia is notoriously persistent, but both player and medical staff view this pause as an opportunity for healing. The recovery process will be gradual: rebuilding strength, resuming ball work, and only then returning to full team training.

In Madrid, there’s no sense of panic. Only confidence. Mastantuono’s injury is seen not as a setback but as another step in his long-term evolution. The plan remains the same as ever: progress carefully, stay patient, and prepare one of football’s brightest young talents for the demands of the elite game. 

Both the ongoing season and Mastantuono's career have a long way to go. The Argentine international has given enough demonstration about his capabilities in the full whites of Los Blancos, and it goes without saying that he will become a key fixture for Alonso upon his recovery. For Mastantuono, another driving force is the chance to break into Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina squad for next year’s World Cup – a stage that could symbolize the passing of the torch from Lionel Messi to a new generation.

With India having played no ODI cricket since August, they will be looking to find a few answers in the upcoming series against England

Shashank Kishore04-Feb-20251:10

Manjrekar: ODIs the perfect format for Rohit and Kohli to get runs

Rohit and Kohli’s formThe ODI series against England is the last opportunity for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to find form ahead of the Champions Trophy.Both batters had difficult tours of Australia and did not make substantial scores in their one-off Ranji Trophy appearances since returning to India. Rohit was out for 3 and 28 against Jammu & Kashmir in Mumbai while Kohli, playing his first match for Delhi since 2012, was bowled for 6 in his only innings against Railways.The pattern of Kohli’s dismissals in Test cricket – nicking outside off frequently – was of particular concern in Australia and he was seen working with former India and RCB batting coach Sanjay Bangar at a training facility before his Ranji Trophy match.Related

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ODI cricket, though, is their best format with Rohit providing power as an opener and Kohli prolific at No. 3. Rohit made 157 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 141.44 in Sri Lanka in August, his last productive outing before his form slump. While Kohli did not fare as well in that series, he had broken records in his previous ODI appearance- 765 runs at an average of 95.62 and strike rate of 90.31 during India’s run to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup.Kohli’s also on course to score 14,000 ODI runs in the fewest innings. Sachin Tendulkar (350 innings) and Kumar Sangakkara (378) are the only ones to have achieved the landmark so far; Kohli is 94 away after only 283 innings. Can he get there against England?Pant or Rahul as wicketkeeper?With Rohit and Shubman Gill likely to open, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer at Nos. 3 and 4, and Hardik Pandya at No. 6, the wicketkeeper-batter is likely to slot in at No. 5. The choice is between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant against England and the Champions Trophy.Rahul has been India’s incumbent wicketkeeper in ODIs since August 2023, when Pant was recovering from his car accident. On the tour of Sri Lanka in August 2024, after Pant had made his comeback from injury, Rahul kept wickets in the first two matches – and scored 31 and 0 – while Pant played the third match and made 6.In terms of recent form, there’s little to separate the two. Rahul scored 276 runs in ten innings in the Test series in Australia, while Pant made 255 in nine innings. Rahul then scored 26 and 43 in Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy match against Haryana, while Pant scored 1 and 17 for Delhi against Saurashtra. Neither player was part of the T20I squad for the five matches against England.If India decide to stick with Rahul as wicketkeeper, they will not have a left-hand batter in their top six unless they promote one of their spin allrounders, while Pant at No. 5 gives them that variety if they deem it necessary. They could of course choose to play both, with Rahul as a specialist bat, but that would mean leaving Shreyas out of the XI.Does Jadeja fit into the XI?Ravindra Jadeja had not been picked in an ODI squad since the 2023 World Cup, until he was selected for the upcoming series against England and the Champions Trophy. While he was resting from the format, India invested in Axar Patel and Washington Sundar as spin allrounders.Axar was a key member of the ODI squad in Sri Lanka, where Washington also impressed with five wickets in three innings and an economy of 3.88. Axar took four with an economy of 3.86.Washington has the edge of being an offspinner, while both Jadeja and Axar are left-arm, if India are looking for a varied bowling attack. Washington, however, bowled only two overs in two T20Is against England, while Axar bowled in four out of five games and claimed six wickets in 14 overs with an economy of 7.07.Jadeja was in superb form for Saurashtra after returning from Australia, taking 12 wickets in their Ranji Trophy match against Delhi. However, he did not bowl at all in their next match against Assam, and is believed to have experienced minor back spasms.If he is fit, the team management have a tough choice to make between Jadeja, Axar and Washington.Bowlers fitness in focusThree of India’s bowlers are returning from injury layoffs. Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t played since he couldn’t bowl during Australia’s second innings in the Sydney Test. He’s been included in the squad for only the final ODI against England to see if he will be match-fit for the Champions Trophy.Kuldeep Yadav was out of action since October last year after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia. He only made his comeback last week, taking 3 for 124 for Uttar Pradesh against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. He was part of India’s previous ODI series in Sri Lanka, where he took four wickets in 30 overs with an economy of 3.40.Mohammed Shami’s previous ODI was the 2023 World Cup final, after which he had ankle surgery followed by a long period of rehabilitation. He made his comeback for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy but India picked him for only two out of five T20Is against England. Shami took 0 for 25 and 3 for 25 in those fixtures, bowling only 5.3 overs across both matches.While Arshdeep Singh, who is only eight-ODIs old, and Shami will be India’s first choice quicks in the first and second matches against England, one of them is likely to be benched if Bumrah plays the third game.