Everton are reportedly pushing hard to complete the signing of Sevilla right-back Juanlu Sanchez, but there is more Premier League interest in him, too.
The 22-year-old is an exciting young talent who has already won an Olympic gold medal with Spain, winning a total of four caps for his country and hoping to be a part of their 2026 World Cup squad.
Juanlu emerged as a target for Wolves during the summer transfer window, with talks opening at one point and a move to Molineux potentially looking on the cards.
In the end, he rejected their advances, however, and decided to remain at Sevilla for the time being, continuing to be an influential player for the Spanish giants this season.
Juanlu has made 10 La Liga appearances in 2025/26 to date, assisting once in the competition, but it looks as though his long-term future may lie away from the club, with Everton seemingly in the mix to acquire his signature.
Everton applying "strong pressure" to sign Juanlu
According to Diario de Sevilla [via Sport Witness], Everton are putting “strong pressure” on to sign Juanlu from Sevilla, with Crystal Palace also in the same boat.
Sevilla’s financial issues could see them forced into selling the wide man, with as much as £17.6m possibly needed to prise him away from Spain.
Juanlu looks like such a shrewd target for Everton, with the Spain international possessing the versatility to add so much depth to David Moyes’ squad, being able to thrive on the wing and even in midfield alongside his natural right-back role.
Still only 22, his best years are ahead of him, with former manager Xavier Garcia Pimienta heaping praise on his qualities as a player in the past.
“He has played as an inside midfielder [before], we were short on space in midfield due to Saul’s [Niguez] suspension and [Albert Sambi] Lokonga’s injury. I spoke to him, I knew he could do well in that position. Juanlu has an incredible present and a better future.”
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The lure of Palace may be big, given their status as reigning FA Cup holders, but Everton are enjoying life in their sparkly new stadium, with Jack Grealish a big-name loan signing, and Juanlu will hopefully see them as the more exciting proposition.
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Matt Roller07-Oct-2024It was not a mirage in Multan, but an overdue end to a four-year drought. Shan Masood has talked a good game in his first year as Pakistan captain but after five defeats out of five – in which his career average remained below 30 – he came into this series knowing that, unless he delivered with the bat, his position would be seen as untenable.This was as compelling a response as Masood could have wished for. When he hit 156 in Manchester in August 2020, he looked to have finally cracked Test cricket: it was his third successive hundred, albeit spread across an eight-month period. But in his 27 innings since then, he had not managed a single score above 60.Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Masood’s 151 was that he paid as much attention to ‘how’ as ‘how many’. Once a dour, shotless player who would crawl along at a strike rate of 40, Masood showed his team exactly how he wants them to bat by putting England’s seamers under pressure and targeting the young offspinner Shoaib Bashir.It would have been very different but for a review. Masood looked rushed by the extra pace during Brydon Carse’s first spell on Test debut, and had just edged him for four to reach 16 when he was given out lbw. But he was right to question Kumar Dharmasena’s on-field decision, with Hawk-Eye confirming the ball had pitched outside leg stump.The Pakistan captaincy is a role about more than just leading a cricket team. Its incumbents are also expected to act as spokesmen, musing at length about the state of the game – and the country. Masood’s views have been cited so many times that he should be charging royalties, and last week he gave a press conference previewing this series that lasted the best part of an hour.By his own admission, Masood had his eyes opened when England toured Pakistan two years ago and has taken inspiration from their attacking approach. He played in the third Test of that series after running the drinks in the first two, and describing England on Sunday as “pioneers” whose style “has had an effect on the world”.It has certainly had an effect on Masood, as he demonstrated with his calculated takedown of Bashir. Masood picked the ball after a convincing lbw shout as his opportunity to attack in Bashir’s second over, charging down to hack him through midwicket before using his feet again to the subsequent delivery, and launching him back over his head.A couple of skips down the pitch were enough to throw Bashir off his length, and Masood pulled his drag-down for four in the following over, then launched him over extra cover. It posed a problem for Ollie Pope, who could not rely on spin at both ends and found himself chasing the game while Masood and Abdullah Shafique piled on 253 for the second wicket.Related
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Masood explained that he saw Bashir’s introduction as an opportunity after Pakistan had seen off Chris Woakes’ threat with the new ball, on a pitch which offered very little for bowlers after some early movement. “If you can get the spinners away, you change the way they bowl,” he said. “On a first-day wicket, when you’ve had a good start, that’s when you have to cash in.”He expressly targeted a “mammoth partnership” early in his stand with Shafique. “The way we played, the way we put some scoreboard pressure on them, the way we kept running hard and made sure that we scored at 4.5-5 [per over] – that’s an important thing. If we would have just set up shop and tried to defend our way through the day, I don’t think we would have had 328 on the board.”Masood survived occasional sketchy moments off Gus Atkinson, including a top-edged pull that went just over the long-leg fielder and a gloved short ball that dropped short of Jamie Smith. But he was otherwise assured on his way to three figures, cruising along at a rapid rate: his hundred, reached off 102 balls, was Pakistan’s fastest in a decade.”From 30, still to 100, I was trying not to give anything away,” Masood said. “I’ve been very guilty of getting to those 30s, 40s and 50s and not carrying on. Today, I had that responsibility. When I played that pull shot off Atkinson, I had my heart in my mouth: I said, ‘Nothing [else] before 100.'”He flagged in the sapping heat of the afternoon, offering a half-chance to Pope at point on 133 and seizing up with cramp on 146 after reverse-sweeping Jack Leach for four. His dismissal – chipping a low chance back to Leach – was a tame end to a fine innings which spanned four-and-a-half hours, and was the second-highest of Masood’s Test career.It is not difficult to imagine the world in which Masood played no part in this Test. Five consecutive defeats at the start of his tenure could easily have led to him losing his job, or an overhaul in selection. But with a short turnaround from Bangladesh’s recent tour, the PCB defied their reputation for instability with a policy of continuity.The first day of a Test tour is unlike any other, in that it presents the opportunity to set the tone for what follows. Masood reflected as much with his positivity, which took the pressure off himself and put it on England’s bowlers. It couldn’t quite match England’s 506 for 4 in Rawalpindi two years ago, but Pakistan’s 328 for 4 laid the foundation for the series.
خاض فريق ليفربول، بقيادة المدرب آرني سلوت، مباراته في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز مساء السبت، وذلك ضد نظيره ليدز يونايتد على ملعب الأخير.
واستضاف ملعب “إيلاند رود” مباراة ليفربول وليدز يونايتد، في الجولة الخامسة عشر من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي موسم 2025/26، حيث تعادلا بنتيجة 3/3.
ودخل ليفربول المباراة مع تواجد النجم المصري محمد صلاح على دكة البدلاء، للمرة الثالثة على التوالي، ولم يشارك في أي من دقائقها.
وشهدت دقائق الشوط الأول من عمر المباراة فرص مختلفة لصالح ليفربول من أجل تسجيل هدف التقدم، ولكن الحظ لم يحالف اللاعبين في أي منها، ليسيطر التعادل السلبي على الدقائق الـ45 الأولى.
وتغير الوضع في الشوط الثاني، بعدما تمكن هوجو إيكتيكي من تسجيل هدفين لصالح ليفربول، في الدقيقة 49 بعدما استغل خطأ دفاعي لصالح الخصم، وتوغل بالكرة وسددها من داخل المنطقة، وفي الدقيقة 51، بعد تمريرة عرضية من كونور برادلي واستغل الفرنسي الفرصة وسجل الثاني.
ولكن ليدز يونايتد لم يستسلم وتمكن من تسجيل هدفين في دقيقتين، الأول في الدقيقة 73 من ضربة جزاء نفذها كالفيرت لوين، والثاني في الدقيقة 75 عن طريق أنطون ستاش بعدما سدد كرة قوية من داخل المنطقة.
وفي الدقيقة 80، تمكن دومينيك سوبوسلاي من تسجيل الهدف الثالث لكتيبة آرني سلوت، بعد تمريرة عرضية من ريان جرافنبيرخ، ووصلت الكرة إلى المجري الذي سددها من داخل المنطقة، ليهز شباك أصحاب الأرض.
واستقبل ليفربول هدفًا قاتلًا، في الدقيقة 95 من عمر المباراة، عن طريق اللاعب أو تاناكا، بعد ركلة ركنية، حيث وصلت الكرة إلى منطقة جزاء الريدز، ليتمكن لاعب الخصم من تسجيلها في الشباك.
بتلك النتيجة، حصل كل فريق على نقطة، حيث أصبح رصيد ليفربول 23 نقطة في المركز الثامن، بينما أصبح رصيد ليدز يونايتد 15 نقطة في المركز السادس عشر.
England's centre-back room looks almost unrecognisable this month to how it has for the majority of Sarina Wiegman's tenure. With Millie Bright having recently retired, Leah Williamson still injured, Alex Greenwood ruled out for a few weeks and Jess Carter granted a period of rest, Wiegman is set to name a starting defence without any of that quartet for just the second, and third, time in her four years in charge of the Lionesses when her side take on China and Ghana over the course of the next week.
It's no wonder Wiegman has described this camp as "an opportunity" for other centre-back options to "step up" then, and for no one does it feel like a greater opportunity than Maya Le Tissier. Fresh off the back of making her first England start in a central position last month, having won all nine of her previous caps for her country as a full-back, the 23-year-old feels well-placed to benefit from what is certainly an unfamiliar situation for the Lionesses.
The timing feels important, too. These are England's final friendly matches before qualifying for the 2027 Women's World Cup begins in the New Year and, with only the group winner to automatically book a spot at the tournament, and the Lionesses having been pooled with Spain, obtaining results is going to be the priority. As such, it's one of the last windows for a while in which Wiegman is going to experiment and hand out chances. Le Tissier will be out to take hers and show that she should be considered as a valuable option at centre-back, not just right-back, moving forward.
Getty Images SportPlenty of debate
Le Tissier has been a lightning rod for debate when it comes to the Lionesses in recent months. "I was expecting that," Wiegman laughed when asked about the Manchester United captain following her start as a centre-back against Australia in the last camp, having been bombarded with questions about her since re-emphasising that she saw Le Tissier as more of a right-back than a centre-back just a couple of weeks prior.
That stance sparked a frenzy on social media, particularly after United, somewhat incredibly, got involved. "Maya Le Tissier has started 104 games for United," a post on the club's official X account read. "103 of them have been at centre-back." Ian Wright, meanwhile, took to Instagram to state that he simply didn't "understand" Wiegman's point of view, calling Le Tissier "the most consistent" English centre-back in the Women's Super League.
"I think it's hard not to see it. It's everywhere," Le Tissier said of the public questioning of her role when talking to . "Obviously I play centre-half at club level every single week and every single day in training. So for me, I love playing centre-back, and full-back is a different challenge. I enjoy that as well, but I don't feel as kind of confident.
"It's hard when you go play a different position that you don't play at all. I just try and do whatever Sarina asks of me, just to get on the pitch, no matter if it's at full-back or centre-half or anywhere else where Sarina thinks I could play!"
AdvertisementGetty ImagesSoftening stance
How Wiegman used Le Tissier during the October camp suggested something of a softening on what had, at times, previously felt like a very strong position. The defender started as a right-back in the first game of that international break, a defeat to Brazil, but ended it at centre-back. Then, three days later, she started at the heart of the defence as England bounced back with a victory over Australia.
"I think in both positions, she has done really well," Wiegman said after the latter outing. "I'll have a review on that. We'll discuss it over the next couple days, because I want to see this game back. But I think she did really well."
Those comments were the cherry on top of what felt like an incredibly positive camp for Le Tissier, in which she went about her business at full-back without any sense of complaint before showing what she could do when deployed in the position she knows best.
Getty ImagesUnfamiliar situation
This week is now a real opportunity to build on that. It's hard to overstate just how different Wiegman's centre-back options are this month when compared to what she has been used to during her four years in charge. In that time, Bright, Williamson, Greenwood and Carter have been mainstays, with at least one of them starting in the defensive line in all of her first 71 games as England manager. That run only came to an end in England's most recent outing, when Wiegman started Le Tissier alongside Esme Morgan for the visit of Australia, in her 72nd game in charge.
Indeed, that became only the 11th time in those 72 matches that the centre-back pairing or the back three – taking into account the period which saw the Lionesses regularly set-up in a 3-5-2 shape – was not exclusively made up of a combination of Bright, Williamson, Greenwood and Carter. However, none are available for this upcoming window, with Wiegman instead to have to pick from Le Tissier, Morgan, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Grace Fisk.
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Getty ImagesChanging pecking order
Previously, it would've felt like an opportunity for Wubben-Moy, who was granted a start in four of those first seven occasions when Wiegman turned to a centre-back outside of her trusted quartet. It could well be this week, too, as after finding game time extremely hard to come by for most of the year, the Arsenal defender is starting regularly again, owing to a devastating ACL injury for rising star Katie Reid that saw the teenager join Williamson on the sidelines for the Gunners.
But it is still the case that Wubben-Moy has fallen down Wiegman's pecking order in recent times. In fact, she was not actually in England's final squad before the Euro 2025 announcement, not until Bright decided to take an extended period of rest that would eventually progress into her missing the tournament and, more recently, retiring.
Instead, Morgan's status in this team has increased steadily in the last couple of years and she has got the nod for those moments of change in the defence, as evidenced by her start in the Euros semi-final clash with Italy. With Fisk uncapped, and rarely called up under Wiegman, Morgan and Le Tissier do feel like the first-choice starting centre-back partnership for this week, with variations dependent on how much Wiegman wants to rotate a spine that is already missing starting goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.
A taint on Liverpool’s season has become turmoil. One loss became two became three. Now, Arne Slot’s champions are in dire straits, having lost five of their past six games in the Premier League.
This is a crisis, of course, with the Reds such a far cry from last season’s quality that not even an echo of that thrilling form can be found in this current crop. But then the season is still young, and there is a good chance that Slot, hailed as a “genius” and a “football scientist” by journalist Marcel van der Kraan last year, will find a solution.
But that solution needs to come quickly, with the expensive new signings all flattering to deceive, bar Hugo Ekitike and perhaps goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, solid if unspectacular in recent weeks as Alisson recovers from injury.
There was always going to be a period of integration, but this has gone beyond that. And, sadly, it feels like the Anfield side are missing Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Why Liverpool miss Alexander-Arnold
Not for a long time have Liverpool seen a star depart in such bitter circumstances. Alexander-Arnold was the hometown poster boy, instrumental in so much success under Jurgen Klopp’s wing.
Trent Alexander-Arnold for Liverpool
But the whispers of his departure had started long before he left for Real Madrid at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, his contract about to expire and Real Madrid paying an £8m premium to free him early and add him to the Club World Cup squad over the pond.
Booed by segments at Anfield after the confirmation of his switch to Spain, Alexander-Arnold is no longer considered Merseyside’s Gerrard-esque superstar, even if he leaves a glittering legacy at his boyhood club.
But away from the emotion, Liverpool have missed their one-of-a-kind defender’s creativity. Jamie Carragher once said Trent’s range of passing was like “having Kevin De Bruyne playing at right-back”, with vision and accuracy on the ball that most could only dream of.
Indeed, no defender in the Premier League has racked up more assists than the 26-year-old, and with him having played fewer matches than all just below him.
1
Trent Alexander-Arnold
64
2
Andy Robertson
60
3
Leighton Baines
53
4
Graeme Le Saux
44
5
Kieran Trippier
38
As the English top flight undergoes something of a cultural and tactical shift, with long throws and low blocks and direct play all the rage once more, Slot’s Liverpool have toiled away and fallen by the wayside.
Trent’s passing would be quite the tonic right now. As per FBref, the Three Lions man ranks among the top 1% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted and progressive passes, the top 5% for shot-creating actions and the top 8% for assists made per 90.
But there’s no use crying over spilt milk – or sold starboys, for that matter. Slot needs to find a solution, and he might just have one in another city-born talent.
Liverpool's new version of Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool have signed a new creative superstar in Florian Wirtz. The German hasn’t clicked yet, but his generational quality suggests there is a propitious future awaiting the attacking midfielder.
However, Wirtz isn’t the player in question here. Instead, Curtis Jones is quietly producing progressive playmaking performances under Slot’s management and must now be utilised in a more important role to help turn the tide that has swept the club’s title ambitions away over the past few months.
Jones is Liverpool’s leading academy graduate now that Alexander-Arnold has up and left. The versatile centre-midfielder has racked up 193 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring 19 goals and providing 23 assists.
He never quite nailed down a role of significance in Klopp’s team, and while he played his part for Slot last year, Jones has been somewhat on the backbench since the summer, certainly in the Premier League.
In any case, Jones spoke at the start of the Dutch coach’s tenure of his admiration and excitement, feeling his ball-playing skill lends itself to success in Slot’s system.
With Liverpool struggling for control and focused creativity, might Jones be the answer? From limited match action this term, he has proven himself an interesting solution and must be handed a string of starts, especially with Alexis Mac Allister having drifted so far from his usual level.
There’s no question that Jones has become more progressive with his passing since Slot replaced Klopp. In fact, DataMB revealed earlier this week that the England international’s 17.82 progressive passes per game this season trumps every other Premier League midfielder, and that having recorded the highest pass completion rate (91.01%) besides.
He’s only started two league matches this season, featuring nine times in total, but the 24-year-old has also won 65% of his ground duels, as per Sofascore.
It’s no wonder that one Premier League analyst hailed him as “one of the most underrated players in England”, not necessarily the flashiest, but an industrious and dynamic player who is now adding layers.
This has always been Jones’ skillset, but now, he is starting to evolve into a forward-thinking player, shaking off that ‘conservative’ tag. Sideways passes and a play-it-safe attitude have been, unfairly, regular criticisms of his game.
Liverpool need to see positive change over the coming weeks. Eighth in the Premier League and struggling for any semblance of fluency and confidence, Jones could provide a shrewd answer, combining with those around him, shoring up the defence and rethreading the attacking patterns that have frayed and split this year.
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The left-arm quick was part of the Australia side that won the 2021 T20 World Cup
Andrew McGlashan02-Sep-20251:57
‘Not a huge surprise’ to see Starc retire from T20Is – Alex Malcolm
Mitchell Starc has announced his retirement from T20Is in order to prioritise Australia’s heavy Test schedule from late next year and the 2027 ODI World Cup.Starc, 35, played 65 T20Is after making his debut in 2012 and was part of the Australia side that won the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. He last featured in the format at the 2024 World Cup in the Caribbean and has retired six months before the next edition in India and Sri Lanka. His 79 T20I wickets currently puts him second for Australia with his best of 4 for 20 coming against West Indies in 2022.”Test cricket is and has always been my highest priority,” Starc said. “I have loved every minute of every T20 game I have played for Australia, particularly the 2021 World Cup, not just because we won but the incredible group and the fun along the way.Related
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From mid-2026 Australia face a hectic run in Test cricket including a home series against Bangladesh, a tour of South Africa, a four-match series against New Zealand, five Tests away in India in January 2027, the one-off 150th anniversary match against England at the MCG and then an away Ashes in mid-2027.The ODI World Cup, which will be staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, will be held in October and November 2027 with Australia the defending champions.”Looking ahead to an away Indian Test tour, the Ashes and an ODI World Cup in 2027, I feel this is my best way forward to remain fresh, fit and at my best for those campaigns,” Starc said. “It also gives the bowling group time to prepare for the T20 World Cup in the matches leading into that tournament.”At his best in T20Is, Starc was able to find new-ball swing and execute his yorker at various stages of an innings. His pace may be the toughest aspect to replace as Australia build towards next year’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, although the team have won 14 out of 17 matches since Starc last featured.”I’m not sure we’re going to find someone swinging the new ball at 145kph an hour,” chair of selectors George Bailey said. “So it might not necessarily be a like-for-like replacement. Traditionally he’s taken the new ball and been able to bowl some clutch overs at the death at the right time.”So have we exposed the type of players who might be able to fill that. I think Nathan Ellis become a really integral member of that T20 side. I’m seeing some really good stuff from Ben Dwarshuis in particular. Sean Abbott and Xavier Bartlett have also had opportunities there as well. I’m not sure we’re going to replace Starcy, but it might just be some slight shifting of roles.”I think his record does speak for itself. The thing that I am probably most excited about is that he will continue to play Test cricket and one-day cricket, hopefully for a longer period of time.”Starc’s announcement came as Australia named their latest T20I squad for the three-match series against New Zealand in early October. Cameron Green will miss the trip across the Tasman so he can play the opening round of the Sheffield Shield for Western Australia which could see him return to bowling.Nathan Ellis will also be absent for the birth of his and wife Connie’s first child. Matt Short, who missed both recent series against West Indies and South Africa due to a side injury, returns as does Mitchell Owen who suffered a concussion in Darwin last month. Marcus Stoinis, who came to an agreement with the selectors over his availability, is back in the squad after not being selected for the last two series and playing in the Hundred.Australia T20I squad vs New ZealandMitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Johnson suffered a stress fracture in the IPL but it wasn’t formally diagnosed until the lead-up to Australia’s tour of the Caribbean
Alex Malcolm10-Oct-2025While Australia have been sweating on Pat Cummins’ scan results, another of the country’s fast bowlers, Spencer Johnson, faces an equally nervous wait this week to see if a stress fracture he suffered in the IPL has heeled enough for him to play in the upcoming BBL and push for a T20 World Cup berth.There had been a little bit of mystery around Johnson’s absence from Australia’s T20I side across the last three series, especially following the retirement of Mitchell Starc from the format.He was ruled out of the Caribbean T20I tour with a back injury and also wasn’t selected for the T20I and ODI series against South Africa in August but the extent of injury was not specified until September when Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey revealed Johnson was unlikely to play until the new year.Related
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Johnson, who has played five ODIs and eight T20Is, is hopeful he might be able to return sooner but he cut a frustrated figure at a BBL kit launch event in Melbourne on Thursday.”The back, to be honest, feels fine,” Johnson said. “Stressies are one of those things where they feel good, but it’s just just a waiting game. I’ve got a scan in over the next couple of days, and pending that result, we’ll be able to find out hopefully a return to play there. I think it should be around the Big Bash in some capacity, whether it’s at the start or manage through that. It’s frustrating, but it is what it is.”Part of Johnson’s frustration had come from not identifying the injury earlier, mainly because he had never had a stress fracture in his back previously. Johnson has been a late bloomer into professional cricket after a lot of injury other injury concerns.He initially wrote off his back pain in the IPL as a disc issue, something he had dealt with previously, and did not get in scanned because it settled quickly.”I started to get a bit of back discomfort, and sort of wasn’t too bad, because I was only really training at that stage,” Johnson said. “And when I got back to Australia, I was trying to build-up for the T20 series in the West Indies. I think just the increased load stirred it up a little bit a little bit more. And we got a scan, and unfortunately, there was a stress [fracture] there. A little bit uncommon for a 29-year-old.”It’s a bit of a strange one, because initially they thought it was an old fracture that had just sort of scarred and then I think more recently the more scans we’ve done, they’ve thought it’s probably a fresher one.”Spencer Johnson suffered a stress fracture during the IPL•PTI
The injury could not have come at a worse time for the left-arm quick. Having missed the 2024 limited-overs tour of England due to injury, he bounced back with a superb T20I series at home against Pakistan including a maiden international five-wicket haul in Sydney. Injuries to Australia’s big three opened the door for Johnson to play in the Champions Trophy and he took 2 for 49 from 10 in the rained out clash with Afghanistan.But missing the last four white-ball series, including the ODIs against South Africa, and the upcoming one-dayers and T20Is against India leave him with a tough climb back to be part of the T20 World Cup, particularly with fellow left-armer Ben Dwarshuis performing so well for Australia in recent times.”It’s never a great time being injured,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, especially this calendar year, there’s plenty of white-ball cricket. Regardless of the back I was planning on staying here in the winter and making sure this summer was a big one, hopefully for Australia. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. But there’s still plenty of cricket to play post Christmas and a T20 World Cup and something I’d love to be a part of.”For now he will continue rehabbing his back in Adelaide, diligently doing pilates and swimming to keep up his shoulder mobility and strengthen his core. He has been leaning on Australia and Brisbane Heat team-mate Xavier Bartlett for recovery advice, as Bartlett has come back from multiple stress fractures.He will also need to do a bit of remedial work on his action when he returns to bowling and will liaise with national pace bowling coach Adam Griffith, Heat bowling coach Andy Bichel and South Australia coach Ryan Harris on what is required.”The beauty of being a part of the Brisbane Heat set up, the SACA, and then even Cricket Australia that I’ll be sort of leaning on all three Rhino, Andy Bichel and Griff and everyone’s sort of on the same page,” Johnson said. “I’ve got plenty of ideas of what I want to do and keeping everyone on the same page and doing a lot of the work at the SACA is what I’ll do. It’s been nice to be at home at the minute.”
India await in second assignment of women’s summer, but new head coach likes what she’s seen so far
Valkerie Baynes08-Jun-2025England Women can expect a tougher test of their new set-up when India arrive later this month, after West Indies’ tour ended in 3-0 sweeps of both T20I and ODI series.Such results don’t appear to be optimal preparation for the world’s No.2 ODI side to take on third-ranked rivals and World Cup hosts India. However, they provided a confidence boost after the nadir of six months ago, and allowed the hosts to experiment, gleaning some valuable insights in the process.It turns out the solution to their top-order conundrum in the 50-over format had been staring them in the face all along. England’s depth of talent has so often been boasted about as a welcome product of the professionalisation of the domestic women’s game, but by bringing that to the fore rather than leaving it in the background amid a reluctance to tinker, they have strengthened their batting and bowling options.”We are under no illusions that we are going to have tougher times ahead,” Charlotte Edwards, England’s new head coach, said on Saturday. “But equally, what we are seeing already is that appetite for people to want to keep getting better too – they can’t stand still because there’s someone probably in county cricket now scoring runs who’s winning games of cricket.”Reuniting Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont as openers after five years was hugely successful, with both scoring back-to-back centuries in twin partnerships worth more than 200 each across the first two games. So too was the introduction of Linsey Smith and Em Arlott to the ODI bowling ranks.So much so that, in the third and final ODI in Taunton on Saturday, Jones dropped back to the middle order (where she wasn’t required) and Beaumont was rested along with Smith, coincidentally just as it was announced that fellow left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone would take a wellbeing break with a view to feeling ready to take on India.Charlotte Edwards wants to be able to pick from a pool of 25 players for every England match•Getty ImagesArlott, who made her international debut during the T20I leg of the tour and was rested for the second ODI, returned with devastating effect on Saturday, taking two wickets for one run in the space of six balls as West Indies lurched to 3 for 4 inside four overs.Meanwhile, Sarah Glenn made her first appearance of the series in Taunton and took 3 for 21 after a five-hour rain delay to help contain West Indies to 106 for 8 from 21 overs. She was subsequently named player of the match as England cruised to a nine-wicket victory with Nat Sciver-Brunt scoring an unbeaten 57 opening alongside Sophia Dunkley.Emma Lamb, who like Arlott and Smith had been called up after dominating the start of the domestic 50-over competition, scored a quick-fire 55 in the second ODI before making way for Alice Capsey to move up to No. 3 and score 20 not out.Of course England had the luxury to try just about anything against an already under-strength West Indies who travelled without injured big hitters Chinelle Henry and Deandra Dottin and were further depleted when star allrounder and captain Hayley Matthews succumbed to a shoulder problem. Matthews had been player of the T20I series, despite her side failing to win a match but was ruled out of the second and third ODIs after aggravating the injury while fielding in the first in Derby.Related
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But the fact that the third ODI amounted to batting practice for England’s regular middle-order, who had up to that point been under-used, and that a re-jigged bowling line-up got their job done illustrated that their desired competition for places has arrived – something not present for the failed T20 World Cup and Ashes campaigns.”It is going to be difficult to pick teams moving forward,” Edwards added, “but that’s the place we wanted to be and we don’t want to be picking from 15 or 16 players. We want to be picking from a pool of 25 players, which I genuinely think we are now. We’ve probably got there quicker than I thought we would.”A significant factor has been Edwards’ insistence on England-contracted players playing domestic cricket in the lead-up to the West Indies series.While some will rest ahead of India’s arrival, others were set to leave the ODI squad and rejoin their domestic teams for the Vitality Blast as early as Sunday.”There’s a group of fast bowlers now really vying for a few spots,” Edwards added. “I don’t think we’ve had that, probably in the last five years, in terms of about five or six bowlers who could all open the bowling for England. And a really good group of batters who are really pushing each other to get better and better, which I think is a really healthy place to be in as a team. It makes it harder for us now to select teams, but equally more exciting for us moving forward.”England play five T20Is against India starting at Trent Bridge on June 28, followed by three ODIs. And while Edwards admitted that, with this year’s World Cup in mind, she would have preferred to have played more ODIs, England will host the T20 World Cup in a year’s time.”That’s why we played around with the team a little bit today,” she said. “But equally, we understand that the T20 format is a format that, for next summer is really important as well, so we’ll manage that.Linsey Smith took her chances after a long period out of the selectors’ thoughts•ECB via Getty Images”We absolutely know that, in a couple of weeks’ time at Trent Bridge, that’s going to be tough. They’re one of the best teams in the world, they’ve got some of the best players, so we’re going to have to be right on it when we get to the 28th of June. But we’ve taken a lot of confidence from this and that’s the most important thing. We can only play what’s in front of us and we’ll look to do that again when we play against India.”West Indies failed to qualify for the 50-over World Cup immediately before heading to England. That they couldn’t put up more of a fight in the T20Is, despite knocking England out of that World Cup last October, was unsurprising given their over-reliance on Matthews.There were some small highlights for West Indies, who will return home to host South Africa in the first of three ODIs starting on Wednesday, then three T20Is.At just 20 years of age, Realeanna Grimmond offered cause for optimism with her half-century on ODI debut in the second game in Leicester, as did 21-year-old Jannillea Glasgow with a 24-ball 44. But their development, along with that of teenage quick Jahzara Claxton is a long-term project.Shane Deitz, West Indies head coach, expected to have Henry back to face South Africa and said Matthews’ recovery would be managed through that series, but Dottin remained another month away from full fitness.”We had a chance to bring some players in and that’s what we’re looking for,” Deitz said. “Our season, so to speak, begins in February next year – 2026 is a massive year for us. We’ve got 15 ODIs that obviously go for the next World Cup qualification, a Test match [against Australia] and a World Cup.”What we do over the next eight months off the playing field is going to be the key thing for our performance next year. We’ve got a lot of things we can work on off the field, the team culture and then a lot of fitness and skill work. We’ve got a great opportunity now to play a few games against South Africa and then have a really good off-field programme for seven or eight months, and then come back in 2026 and take on the rest of the world.”
He’s now been caught behind the wicket in four out of five innings on this tour of Australia
Alagappan Muthu16-Dec-2024Steven Smith is a reasonable authority on batting. He understands the subject enough to conduct the odd experiment or two. “I’ve changed my set-up pretty much every game I’ve played for the last 15 years,” he said. On Sunday, Smith spent a little time talking about the importance of scoring a good 30 and he seemed earnest, so let’s ignore the fact that when he was dismissed for 101 he threw his helmet and flung his gloves like they were carrying disease.India lost three batters by the time they got to 30 on Monday. Theirs was a tortured 30. KL Rahul was hit flush on the wrist to start the second over. He expected that good length ball to arrive somewhere around his knee, maybe a bit higher. So when he went forward to meet it his hands were a little low. From that point though, with a throbbing left wrist to remind him, Rahul made an essential adjustment. He has been India’s best batter on this tour because he’s put a premium on playing with soft hands and close to the body. He took it to a whole other level in Brisbane. He was almost retracting his bat at the moment of impact with the ball to take all the sting out of it.Virat Kohli didn’t seem like he was worried about what the ball was doing. That’s served him well in the past. There have been low-bounce wickets back home which didn’t spook him from going on the back foot. There have been high-bounce wickets out here which seemed to add to the glow of every shot he pulled off. There have been seaming wickets which couldn’t sway him from driving on the up. There have been spinning wickets which made his flicks against the turn that little bit more chef’s kiss.All of that has contributed to Kohli having immense trust in his method. In Melbourne at the 2022 T20 World Cup, on a Test match pitch against Pakistan’s fast bowlers, he could still dictate terms from 31 for 4 without changing anything. He planted that front foot down and cricket bent to his will. When he tried that here on Monday, against Josh Hazelwood at the end of the fourth over, a fairly full ball came up to take the shoulder of his bat. Would Kohli incorporate this new information into the way he went about scoring runs?Related
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He did. In a way.He became Kohli-er than normal. Eager to get on that front foot. Looking for the slightest opportunity to drive. Hazlewood gave him one in the eighth over.This scene has played out several times – in four out of five innings this series. Like the part in the movie where someone gets separated from the group, stumbles upon a suspicious doorway and simply has to open it. Kohli’s cover drive has become a horror movie trope. You could almost hear the India fans at the ground saying, “no, don’t do it.” You did hear them saying “why did he do it?”Well for one, Kohli appreciated that when conditions were as tough as this, scoring runs is doubly important. Travis Head’s performance over the course of this series lends weight to that argument. He walked in with Australia in trouble both in Adelaide and in Brisbane and put the pressure right back on the opposition and that’s worked out fairly well. For another, according to ESPNcricinfo ball-by-ball data in the last two years, Kohli had been dismissed only once by a fast bowler tempting him wide outside off stump, while averaging 71 and striking at 145. And this ball was wide. It wasn’t in the corridor, which is as much a Kohli weakness as it is for every batter.It is tempting to install ODI Kohli into these situations. His success was built on being risk-averse, especially at the start of his innings, and he grew to supplant one of the greatest batters India has ever produced. It has been a bit jarring to see Test Kohli lunge headlong into the traps Australia have placed all through the series.In the first innings in Perth, when the danger wasn’t really seam movement as much as the pace and bounce, he worked against himself by batting a foot or so out of his crease and then pressing forward to a ball that Hazlewood aimed into the middle of the pitch. He might just have been trying to replicate the methods that he has used in the past to overcome difficult conditions and put fast bowlers on notice. But the fact that he could only play half a shot to that delivery, and was completely surprised by it, is hard to ignore. He shifted his stance back a bit during the century he made in the second innings, almost an admission the gamble hadn’t come off.The pink ball presented him with a different challenge and his first innings dismissal in Adelaide, where he was uncertain whether to play or leave was startling as well. Kohli is rarely in two minds. As much as he is hounded for the pattern of dismissal most associated with him – chasing outside his off stump – he goes at those balls heartily. He is clear they are run-scoring opportunities. Those dismissals packed in with this one in Brisbane, where he had seen evidence that hitting on the up was risky with the taller Australian bowlers getting more out of the new Kookaburra ball, and was unable to find a suitable solution to it, is troubling. He used to be able to rise above difficult conditions. Both at home and now here in Australia, he’s not quite done that.Smith modified his trigger in a way that he thought might help him combat the bounce at the Gabba. Rahul seemed so conditioned to holding his bat softly that he lost control of it while he was patting the pitch in between balls. Head loves staying beside the ball and taking every opportunity to free his arms. Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney tried to leave the ball on length as much as they could. Whether they succeeded or not, they had contingency plans for good bowling. Kohli, for once, seems to be lagging behind.
Isaac Mohammed evoked the spirit of his uncle, the England allrounder Moeen Ali, with a maiden half-century to get Worcestershire’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign off the ground with victory at Chelmsford.The 17-year-old opener, who only made his first-team debut in the Vitality Blast less than two months ago, played enterprisingly in laying the foundations for Worcestershire’s 60-run win against Essex with 28 balls to spare.Worcestershire’s 340 for 9 was built around four big-hitting half-centuries from top-order batters, who shared 11 of 12 sixes in the innings with Mohammed landing four of them. His 63 from 75 balls was the appetiser before Kashif Ali (80 from 73) and Jake Libby (70 from 63) put on 110 in 17 overs. That preceded Ethan Brookes exploding on to the scene to take the game away from the still winless hosts.Brookes was at the crease for 27 minutes while hammering four sixes and six fours in a 25-ball 56. His stand of 80 with Libby encompassed just six overs.In response, Essex opener Robin Das took his tally to 147 runs in three innings with back-to-back fifties. But while others got in, they just as quickly got out and the target was never seriously threatened. Brookes made sure of that with 3 for 52.It was not all rosy for Worcestershire, though. Rob Jones had declared himself unfit to play earlier in the morning but was named in the XI at the toss in what was later described as an ‘administrative error’. He came out at the fall of the ninth wicket, faced two balls, scored five not out and was not seen again.The visitors recovered from an underwhelming 33 without loss in the 10-over powerplay, to add 117 in 15 overs between the halfway mark and the 40th over before six wickets went down in the last half-dozen overs as they chased late runs.Worcestershire’s openers put on 60 before Nick Browne snaffled a leading-edge skier in the covers to dismiss Brett D’Oliveira.Mohammed, meanwhile, had looked in trouble early on as Shane Snater benefited from the extra grass left on the wicket to gain lift and carry that had the youngster groping outside off-stump. It did not last long as the left-hander took control and reached his maiden half-century in 67 balls. His four sixes were equally distributed between long-off and square leg.He departed when he misjudged a ball of fuller length from Tom Westley that beat his tentative forward prod and rapped him on the pad.Kashif and Libby’s second successive century stand was less thrilling than Mohammed’s innings, but with lots of nudging and nurdling they kept the scoreboard ticking along.Kashif reached his fifty by punching Luc Benkenstein through the covers. However, he had earlier been hit on his right hip, and when he reached 58, called for the aid of a runner. Re-enter Mohammed. Despite his mobility being severely restricted, Kashif still managed to launch his next ball over midwicket for six. His evident discomfort was ended, though, when he lofted Benkenstein to long leg.Brookes was a whirlwind of hyper-activity with four sixes in his 23-minute fifty, reached with a delicate leg glance for his fifth four. He departed at 297 for 4 when caught at short third. The late wickets were largely self-inflicted.Ben Allison ended his former team-mates’ opening stand of 71 when Matt Critchley stepped aside to give himself room and was bowled. Das reached fifty from 49 balls but next ball was caught just inside the midwicket boundary.Charlie Allison dug in for a 46-run stand with Westley before he was bowled off his pads by Fateh Singh and Benkenstein’s belligerent 23 from 17 balls was ended when he drove D’Oliveira to extra cover.Westley also fell stepping away from his wicket against Singh for 43; Simon Fernandes chipped to short midwicket and Noah Thain was caught-and-bowled by Brookes as Essex’s reply spluttered and died.