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Also: what is the highest percentage of team runs contributed by two batters in a Test?

Steven Lynch29-Jul-2025I know Charles Bannerman still holds the record for the highest percentage of a completed Test innings. But what’s the record for the highest percentage by two batters? Did Harry Brook and Jamie Smith get close at Birmingham? asked Kunal from India
Harry Brook scored 158 and Jamie Smith an unbeaten 184 in England’s 407 in the second Test against India at Edgbaston earlier this month. That’s 84.03%, which comes in fourth on the list for a pair of batters in a completed Test innings. Leading the way are Mushfiqur Rahim (175 not out) and Liton Das (141), who made 86.58% of the runs in Bangladesh’s 365 against Sri Lanka in Mirpur in 2022.Next come Kepler Wessels (74) and Peter Kirsten (52) with 85.14% of South Africa’s 148 in their comeback Test against West Indies in Bridgetown, in 1992, and Rohan Kanhai (84) and Seymour Nurse (70) with 85.08% of West Indies’ 181 against Australia in Melbourne in 1960. Nurse features in fifth place too: in his final Test, against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1969, he scored 258 and Joey Carew 91 – 83.69% of the total of 417.It’s probably worth repeating that Charles Bannerman does still hold the record for one batter in a completed Test innings, set in the very first Test of all, in Melbourne in March 1877. His 165 (retired hurt) in Australia’s first innings represented 67.34% of the total of 245.Shubman Gill’s batting average improved by 6.15 after the second Test. Was this the highest jump for anyone who had played 50 or more innings? asked Sagar Iyer from India
Shubman Gill’s Test batting average climbed from 36.57 to 42.72 after that stunning double of 269 and 161 in the second Test against England at Edgbaston earlier this month. It was his 34th Test, and his 62nd and 63rd innings.This is indeed the biggest improvement in a player’s Test batting average, given a minimum of 50 innings: Gill just squeezed past England’s Wally Hammond, whose 336 not out against New Zealand in Christchurch early in 1933 – his 64th innings – improved his average by exactly 6.00, from 60.63 to 66.33. The 311 (and 4 not out) of Australia’s Bob Simpson at Old Trafford in 1964 raised his average by 5.94 to 41.87, while Zaheer Abbas’s 235 and 34 – both not out – against India in Lahore in 1978 improved his by 5.60 to 44.25. Another Pakistani, Younis Khan, boosted his average by 5.38 by scoring 267 and 84 not out against India in Bangalore in 2005.Leicestershire’s total of 398 the other day included three centuries, one of them over 150 – surely a record? asked Ben Preedy from England
That remarkable innings in Leicestershire’s Championship match in Derby last week included 115 from Rehan Ahmed, 151 from Lewis Hill and 101 from skipper Peter Handscomb. The other eight batters contributed just 15 runs between them – there were four ducks (and a 0 not out).Almost as remarkably, this is not the lowest all-out total to include three centuries: in a Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Bangalore in 2014, three batters – Robin Uthappa, Karun Nair and Chidhambaram Gautam – all made exactly 100 as Karnataka scored 349 against Uttar Pradesh. There were four ducks too. Leicestershire’s innings, though, is the lowest to include three centuries of which one was above 150.Mohammad Siraj is one of three bowlers to take five-fors inside 16 balls•Associated PressI noticed that in a one-day international in 2017 the Pakistan fast bowler Usman Shinwari took his fifth wicket with his 21st delivery. Was this the fastest five-wicket haul by balls? asked Zaheer Ahmed from Pakistan
That feat by left-armer Usman Shinwari came against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in October 2017. It is the quickest-known five-wicket haul for Pakistan in ODIs (we don’t have ball-by-ball details for all games), but there are a few faster ones overall.Three bowlers have taken their fifth wicket of an ODI innings with their 16th ball. Chaminda Vaas did so for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh during the 2003 World Cup, in Pietermaritzburg, where he took a hat-trick with the first three balls of the match and added another wicket in the first over. Mohammed Siraj followed suit for India against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2023. And you could be forgiven for having overlooked the United States seamer Ali Khan, who did it against Jersey in Windhoek (Namibia) in 2023.Shinwari was playing in his second ODI. Scotland’s Charlie Cassell started his international career against Oman in Dundee last July by taking five wickets in his first 19 balls, on the way to debut figures of 7 for 21. Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe) and Aryan Dutt (Netherlands) have picked up five wickets with their first 18 balls in a one-day international, while Timm van der Gugten of the Netherlands has done it in 20.Further to my recent query about players who scored centuries in the second and third innings of a Test, has anyone done it in the first and fourth innings? asked Nirmal Mendis from Sri Lanka
There were only two answers to your original question – and only one to this one! It requires someone to score a century in the first innings of a match, then watch the opposition follow-on but score enough runs to allow him to reach three figures in the final innings of the match. And that’s what happened to South Africa’s captain Alan Melville, in the first Test against England at Trent Bridge in 1947. He scored 189 as his side ran up 533, then England managed only 208. Denis Compton made 163 in the follow-on as England reached 551, which left South Africa a target of 227 in the four-day match. They made 166 for 1, with Melville reaching his second hundred of the match shortly before the draw was agreed.It gave Melville three centuries in successive Test innings, the first having come more than eight years before, in the famous Timeless Test in Durban in March 1939, and he added a fourth in the first innings of the next Test, at Lord’s.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

He doesn’t turn the ball big, doesn’t have mystery deliveries, but whatever little he has is ideal for T20 and he keeps winning big moments

Sidharth Monga04-Jun-20251:27

Moody: Krunal Pandya screams character to me

Don’t look at numbers. Just close your eyes and say if you think Krunal Pandya is among the ten best bowlers in the IPL. You will, of course, say yes on the day that he became the first to win multiple Player-of-the-Match awards in IPL finals, but answer seriously: does he have any business being in the list of top-ten bowlers in the best, most competitive T20 league in the world?Now look at the numbers. He is among the top ten on every major metric in IPL 2025. He is No. 10 on most wickets, No. 7 on economy (among those who have bowled at least 25 overs), and No. 6 on ESPNcricinfo’s list of most impactful bowlers. Add to all that his 73 not out against Delhi Capitals (DC), and you have ESPNcricinfo’s second-most impactful performer of this IPL.This match was the perfect example of why Krunal sneaks into these lists, why he is valued by champion sides – this was his fourth title, after all – despite not looking like he should be. He doesn’t turn the ball big, he doesn’t have the classic action to get him alarming dip or drift, he doesn’t have mystery deliveries. But whatever he has is ideal for T20s: the right pace, the ability to pitch the ball where he wants to, the knowledge of where he should be pitching the ball, and a competitive streak.Related

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Krunal’s combination of high pace and lengths almost provides him immunity from the shot that spinners hate the most: the sweep. All through this IPL, he has conceded just 65 runs to all the varieties of the sweep shot put together. Nine spinners have gone for more. In the final, they tried sweeping him twice but couldn’t score a run. The option then for the batters is to either get a bad ball or try to manipulate the length by going deep into the crease or skipping down the track.This is where Krunal shows his smarts. When a subdued Prabhsimran Singh finally decided to step out against him, Krunal watched till the end and bowled his slowest delivery till then and also went wide because Prabhsimran looks to make room when he charges a spinner. Bowled at 81.49kph, this also turned the most till then and went out of Prabhsimran’s reach.When Josh Inglis, Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) best batter of the night, charged him, Krunal went the other route: bowling only his second 100kph-plus delivery and looking to cramp Inglis for room because he advances straight down. Both those balls created wickets, but it was as much the work around those deliveries that won Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) their first IPL final.Krunal Pandya has now won four IPL titles•Getty ImagesKrunal bowled unchanged for an analysis of 4-0-17-2 after RCB had been kept to 190, the lowest first-innings score all season in Ahmedabad. In his four overs, Krunal overpitched only once. And that was a yorker. There was nothing in the 2-4m zone that you can hit without stepping out. Only one delivery out of the 20 that he bowled to right-hand batters pitched more than a set of stumps wide.Because Krunal relies on bowling into the pitch and tries to put work on the ball with his hand more than his action, he can tend to err on the shorter side. In T20 cricket, if you must err, it is better you do so on the shorter side. Still, only five balls went shorter than 7m, only one shorter than 8m.The only boundary Krunal conceded was when he pitched shorter than 7m and also went really slow, probably his attempt to turn the ball big gone wrong. His pace ranged from 79.88 to 108.33. Krunal said it takes guts to slow the ball down in T20 even though it did seem to him going slow was the thing to do.Coach Andy Flower said that RCB wanted Krunal precisely for his temperament, his experience of having been part of big matches. He repaid them immediately with his first match in the RCB red. He was only beginning as he meant to end. Now he is one of only eight players to have won four IPL finals. Another top ten you wouldn’t have bet on him making.

The fast bowler conceded his first return from injury was rushed and he has sought outside advice to help his latest comeback

Alex Malcolm02-Oct-2025As Australia allrounder Cameron Green takes his first tentative steps back to competitive bowling this week in the opening Sheffield Shield round ahead of the Ashes, a word of warning has been sounded from across the Tasman.When Green, and team-mate Lance Morris more recently, were discussing the possibility of back surgery with the medical staff at Cricket Australia, the staggering success rate of New Zealand-based surgeons Grahame Inglis and Rowan Schouten was a huge part of why both went down the path of having screws and titanium wire reinforced into their spine.But at the time of Green’s surgery a year ago, one of the very rare examples of a player suffering a setback out of 20-plus success stories globally was another two-metre quick in Kyle Jamieson.Related

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His fracture had reopened at one of the screws in February 2024. “They hadn’t really seen that before or at all, so they were pretty stumped,” Jamieson told ESPNcricinfo.Jamieson, 30, has fought his way back again without going back under the knife and is playing against Australia in Mount Maunganui this week in a T20I series that Green has been rested from to prioritise his bowling return in red-ball cricket.But it’s been a long process to get back to this point after having surgery in February 2023. “What I’ve learned is that just because you get a couple of screws and some wire and stuff in your back doesn’t make you bulletproof,” Jamieson said.”You’ve still got to respect the loading process. You’ve got to work through what the actual issues were and still address them. For me, it was none of that. It was just [a case of] have the surgery, sit and wait and then just go and never really adjust the stuff that was putting you at risk. Then you sort of start chucking loading and red-ball cricket and all these different dynamics into the mix, and it just ended up not being able to hold.”So whilst it gives you a better chance, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee you. So that would be probably be my advice, make sure you sort of dive deep and work out what are the things that are causing it, and what are the things you need to fix. If surgery helps with that process, then great, but it doesn’t give you the right to neglect the stuff that’s causing the issue in the first place.”Cameron Green is set to return to competitive bowling this weekend•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesJamieson’s second journey back has been slow and deliberate. He is still yet to play any red-ball cricket, having rushed back into international cricket only seven months post-surgery in August 2023 and into first-class and Test cricket only two months later. Following the recurrence in February 2024, he did a 10-month rehabilitation before playing again. Green, in comparison, will have gone more than 12 months without bowling a competitive delivery.”We just stripped back my whole body, the way I moved, and really took a deep dive into what are the things that were actually causing it and actually found a whole lot of stuff,” Jamieson said. “Obviously I had the surgery and had some time off, but never really addressed any of the issues around the way my body was sort of stacked up, how I was using it, how I actually activate the right things.”And then mechanically as well, just a couple of shifts to make sure I can actually make the most of my body and use it in the right way, rather than finding ways to compensate to execute the skills that you need.”I kind of got into a really bad pattern of finding a way to try and be effective. But that kind of led to my body not being able to hold up as well. So [it was] a long process, but I’m in a pretty good spot now.”

There was a point last year when the injury happened that I wasn’t playing cricket again. So to be able to, not just get back to playing, but also playing the highest form of the game would be just an achievement in itselfKyle Jamieson on his difficult time

The search for answers also took him away from New Zealand Cricket for advice. He found Auckland-based couple Chelsea Lane and Matt Dallow. Lane, an Australian, was the head performance therapist for the Golden State Warriors during their NBA Championship winning seasons of 2015 and 2017, working with some of highest profile athletes on the planet including Stephen Curry. Dallow, Lane’s husband, competed for New Zealand in two winter Olympics in the bobsled before transitioning into being a performance coach in track and field.”They’ve done a huge amount of work in rebuilding athletes and biomechanics and just how to stack up your body properly,” Jamieson said. “They advise on everything, right from how my body’s moving, what my gym program looks like, what the [bowling] load numbers look like.”I have reflection and review processes with them after pretty much every day that I bowl, my sort of weekly, monthly calendar is mapped out with them, my total load tracking is done through them. So I’m pretty much fully through them at the moment, and then apply it into the different cricket environments that I end up in.”It has worked so far. Jamieson got through the Super Smash and a domestic 50-over return last summer before four Champions Trophy matches and two T20Is in Pakistan. He also played two PSL matches and four IPL matches without any issue.Kyle Jamieson is still some way off a potential return to red-ball cricket•AFP/Getty ImagesThe beginning of the home white-ball summer against Australia and England are the next challenges to tick off but a red-ball return is still some time away.”I’m building up my loads towards red-ball cricket,” Jamieson said. “But we’re in a daily discussion around how are you pulling up, where are you at. With my history and where I’m at on the comeback trail, we probably just want to be a bit more respectful of that, and always analysing where I’m at.”A rare winter at home while fully fit, due to the birth of his first child Archie, has put him in a different head space about what his future may look like.”I’ve sort of been wrestling with that little bit of late over this winter now that I’ve moved from a returning athlete to now just a performing one,” Jamieson said. “And probably in the past I have looked far ahead with long-term goals but it’s something now that I feel like is quite hard for me to do.”If I get too far ahead of myself, I probably neglect the things that I need to do that make sure that tomorrow I’m safe and able to do my job. So at the moment, I’m very much only looking to the rest of this year with a little bit of an eye on that T20 World Cup.”Red-ball cricket would be nice. There was a point last year when the injury happened that I wasn’t playing cricket again. So to be able to, not just get back to playing, but also playing the highest form of the game would be just an achievement in itself. But I just want to play cricket really. That’s probably the biggest part. I’m not really too fazed on where it is or what form it is. I just want to be playing cricket and doing what I love.”

Tottenham have set a mammoth price tag for star defender Micky van de Ven amid serious interest from Real Madrid and Liverpool, according to a new report.

Micky van de Ven continues to shine at Tottenham

Van de Ven has been an outstanding presence for Spurs in the opening months of 2025/2026, quickly establishing himself as a key figure under Thomas Frank.

The young defender has combined defensive solidity with a remarkable goal-scoring touch, already finding the net five times across all competitions – a striking return for a player primarily tasked with keeping things tight at the back.

Van de Ven has also scored twice as many goals as any other Premier League defender so far this term, including Arsenal’s highly-praised set piece weapon Gabriel, with the Dutchman involved in all but one of Tottenham’s seven clean sheets this season too.

The 24-year-old’s combination of pace, power and goal threat has made him an indispensable member of Frank’s starting eleven, and his ability to contribute at both ends of the pitch gives Spurs a unique edge.

Van de Ven’s importance to the Lilywhites is nothing new, as he bailed Ange Postecoglou’s high line out time and time again when he was fit and available to take part.

With Cristian Romero out injured and steadily working his way back to match fitness, van de Ven and Kevin Danso have helped to fill the Argentine’s shoes to great effect as Spurs now sit third in the Premier League table.

Dejan Kulusevski

Knee

22/11/2025

James Maddison

ACL

01/06/2026

Radu Dragusin

Knee

22/11/2025

Ben Davies

Thigh

23/11/2025

Yves Bissouma

Ankle/Foot

08/11/2025

Cristian Romero

Groin

01/11/2025

Destiny Udogie

Knee

08/11/2025

Dominic Solanke

Ankle

08/11/2025

via Premier Injuries

Van de Ven’s brace against Everton, with both goals coming from set plays, sealed a crucial three points for Spurs last Sunday as they became the first away team to claim victory at the brand-new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Ever since van de Ven’s arrival in north London over two years ago, the Netherlands international has been linked with a high-profile move elsewhere.

Real Madrid have specifically been mentioned as suitors amid their reported search for new centre-backs, so much so that reports suggest Tottenham are prepared to double van de Ven’s salary to keep him away from the Bernabeu.

Spurs are in no immediate danger of losing the centre-half, considering he’s contracted until 2029, and Frank is convinced that he is happy in N17.

That being said, there is always a danger that Real could turn a player’s head, and if they manage to tempt van de Ven, Spurs are apparently clear in their demands.

Tottenham set 'historic' Micky van de Ven price tag as Real Madrid and Liverpool circle

According to reports from Spain, Tottenham have set an ‘historic’ price tag for van de Ven as Real, Liverpool and even Bayern Munich circle for his signature.

It is believed that Spurs want a minimum £88 million for van de Ven, which is described as an ‘historic’ sum and would make him the most expensive defender in football history — eclipsing the £80 million that Man United paid for Harry Maguire in 2019.

Frank’s side are determined to keep hold of him and only a “massive offer” would see him leave, highlighting his growing importance both on and off the pitch.

This valuation could be part of a broader strategy reflecting Tottenham’s ambition and financial muscle, especially following a significant £100 million capital injection by the club’s owners, the Lewis family.

The investment underscores their long-term commitment to strengthening the squad and competing at the highest level, and stopping key stars like van de Ven from leaving will be pivotal as the north Londoners look to kick on from their Europa League triumph in May.

Top-order collapses before Hughes, Ibrahim come together in fourth-wicket stand

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay31-Jul-2025Sussex 222 (Lamb 48, Coles 47, White 3-25) and 115 for 3 (Hughes 56*, Ibrahim 50*) trail Yorkshire 545 for 9 dec (Revis 152*, Lyth 115, Wharton 85) by 208 runsAll-rounder Matthew Revis continued his sparkling run-scoring form in the Rothesay County Championship, posting his third hundred in as many matches to help Yorkshire press for a crucial victory over Sussex at Scarborough.Dating back to late June, in Yorkshire’s last four Division One fixtures, Revis – 23-years-old – has posted scores of 93 not out, 150, 110 not out and a career best 152 not out.He hit the 150 in a victory over Essex at York, 110 not out in last week’s draw here against champions Surrey and now this 188-ball effort with 14 fours and two pulled sixes against spin.Yorkshire declared on 545 for nine midway through the afternoon, leading by 323 with 44 overs remaining in the day, and then restricted Sussex to 115 for three at close. Opener Daniel Hughes gave the visitors something to cheer with an impressive rearguard 56 not out from 131 balls.It would now be a significant surprise if Revis is not selected to tour Australia with the England Lions this winter. Another man who could be on that tour is George Hill, with whom Revis shared an entertaining seventh-wicket partnership of 140 either side of lunch.Fellow all-rounder Hill contributed a season’s best 75 off 93 balls. He has already had Lions exposure this summer, courtesy of his near 40-wicket campaign with the ball.For Sussex, off-spinner Jack Carson plugged away with three for 150 from 43 overs. But he was swimming against the tide.Revis, who started the day on 22, drove handsomely down the ground before pulling a couple of sixes off Carson just before Yorkshire declared minutes before 3pm.Before lunch, Hill lofted Carson over long-on for six and out of the ground at the Trafalgar Square End.Revis reached his fifty off 77 balls and his fifth career first-class century off 137, the latter on the stroke of lunch. Sandwiched in between, Hill’s fifty came up in 65 balls.Sussex started the day nicely by removing Harry Duke and Will Sutherland, leaving Yorkshire 320 for six in the 97th over, the day’s seventh.Duke was caught behind for 21 against an out-swinger from Fynn Hudson-Prentice – Sussex having taken the new ball immediately at the start of play – before Sutherland was bowled by his fellow Australian Gurinder Sandhu for two.Sutherland is playing his last match of the season for Yorkshire this week and had been surfing in the North Sea at the end of day two.Revis and Hill advanced Yorkshire’s cause in entertaining fashion. The aforementioned Hill six off Carson even landed in the back yard of the Air BnB which the county’s live streaming team are using this week.Revis became the first Yorkshire player to score three hundreds in successive first-class matches since Gary Ballance did it back in 2019 and the first non-capped White Rose player to achieve that same feat in 80 years.Unfortunately for Sussex, further trouble was around the corner at the start of their second innings.They faced 12 overs before tea, where they reached at 29 for three.New-ball pair Jack White and Matt Milnes struck once apiece added to the run out of Tom Alsop courtesy of a direct hit from Imam-Ul-Haq at the striker’s end from cover.White had Tom Haines caught and bowled off a lead edge and Milnes got James Coles caught at fourth slip for a golden duck the ball after Alsop had fallen in the sixth over.But just when all seemed lost, left-handed Australian Hughes stood firm with the help of fourth-wicket partner Danial Ibrahim.Hughes was understandably watchful but drove, cut, pulled and deflected 10 boundaries en-route to a 114-ball fifty. The pair have shared an unbroken 95, with Ibrahim 50 not out.Ibrahim reached 50 off 111 balls with the day’s final delivery. But the pair have plenty more work to do on a pitch which is showing increasing signs of turn.

Shohei Ohtani is on a heater. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar homered in his fourth consecutive game on Tuesday night, blasting an opposite-field job in the ninth inning that proved purely cosmetic as the home team fell to the Minnesota Twins, 10-7.

It was Ohtani's 36th homer of the season and tied him with Eugenio Suarez for the National League lead. And it was one of the more impressive as he simply reached out and poked a 100-mph Jhoan Duran fastball the other way with remarkable ease.

This is the first time in his already-storied career that Ohtani has homered in four straight games, which puts him halfway to tying the Major League Baseball record of eight—a mark shared by three players.

Because baseball happens and Ohtani is immensely popular, his dinger was secured expertly in the air by a Dodgers fan wearing a No. 17 jersey. And that fan was extremely fired up. Perhaps a bit shocked too.

That's awesome. One minute you're sitting there coming to grips with your beloved Dodgers dropping another game due to shaky bullpen work, thinking about the traffic there will be to navigate after the game and the next you're in a highlight with one of your favorite players.

People will tell you not to bring your baseball glove to a game once you get to a certain age but this is a perfect example of the upside of such a decision. No way that Ohtani homer was being caught with just bare hands.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot says it was wrong to rule out Virgil Van Dijk’s equaliser against Manchester City in their 3-0 loss on Sunday. The Reds’ captain thought he had found the back of the net after beating Gianluigi Donnarumma with a powerful header. But the celebrations were cut short quickly, with Andy Robertson judged to have interfered with play from an offside position.

Van Dijk's header ruled out by VAR

Liverpool fell behind to an Erling Haaland opener after the Norwegian had earlier had his penalty saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili. The striker’s looped header lofted over the Georgian in the Reds’ net and handed the hosts a deserved lead.

Liverpool did respond to going behind, with Van Dijk appearing to level proceedings in the 38th minute. Mohamed Salah drilled across a corner towards the back of the City box and the ball was met by a thunderous header by the centre-half, which flew into the bottom right corner. The Liverpool captain wheeled away in celebration to the corner flag, believing he had equalised.

VAR would soon intervene and spoil the Liverpool fans' cheers, though. Andy Robertson, standing three yards offside, ducked under the flight of the ball, but the officials judged him to be interfering with play. It was a contentious decision, given Donnarumma had seen the direction the ball was travelling in, and Robertson was not obscuring his vision.

The Liverpool fans and Slot were justifiably a little miffed.

AdvertisementAFPSlot slams the decision

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Slot said: “I think it's obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made, at least in my opinion. Because he [Robertson] didn't interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do.

“Immediately after the game someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed City against Wolves last season [John Stones’ last minute winner]. So, it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it's offside. So, there was clearly communication.

“That could have influenced the game in a positive way for us because in the first half we were so poor.

“We would have been lucky going 1-0 down at half-time, let alone if it was 1-1 or 2-1 down. So it has been an influential decision, which is not to say that we then would have had a result over here because you cannot predict how the second half would have gone.”

City run out deserved winners

Regardless of the decision, Liverpool were not good enough and clearly deserved to lose the clash against their title rivals. Jeremy Doku was the standout performer for the hosts and the Reds struggled to contain the lively Belgian who put the game beyond doubt when he scored City’s third.

Earlier, Haaland and Nico Gonzalez had made it 2-0 to the hosts and prompted furious criticism of the Reds by Sky Sports’ pundits. Gary Neville claimed that Liverpool had been “asking to be beaten” by Pep Guardiola’s team and Roy Keane had labelled the Reds’ performance a “disgrace”.

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City were the standout side, and their performance demonstrated why they are still one of Europe’s best sides. With Haaland in some of the best form of his career so far, it would be daft to write off City for any of the major honours.

Speaking after the game, Ruben Dias sent a warning shot towards league leaders Arsenal and claimed that his team were performing at the highest level. The defender added that “there are new faces because of the ones that left, but that quality stays the same, and we keep on pushing,” in a potential sly dig at the Reds.

Guardiola’s team have now moved within just four points of Arsenal, after the Gunners dropped two costly points late against Sunderland on Saturday. The victory also confined Liverpool to eighth spot in the Premier League, behind rivals Manchester United and eight points behind the Gunners at the top of the table.

There is a long way to go in the Premier League campaign, but Liverpool must start turning their fortunes around sooner rather than later.

The men’s international season starts with a one-day series against Pakistan and Champions Trophy spots are up for grabs

Alex Malcolm02-Nov-2024Who will be Head’s opening partner?With Head and Marsh absent, Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk get a golden chance to open in three straight ODIs and push their case to be the permanent replacement for David Warner in the 50-over format. Short currently has the inside running, opening in three of the last four ODIs in England and making a match-winning 30-ball 58 in the series-decider in Bristol where he and Head added 78 in seven overs to get Australia well ahead of DLS.The pair have found a nice groove at the top in T20I cricket, too, with Fraser-McGurk relegated to No. 3 in his last T20I. Fraser-McGurk did not get a chance to play in the ODIs with Marsh opening in three of the games, including alongside Short when Head was absent in Durham. There is a chance that Marsh could take the spot for the Champions Trophy in order to slide Steven Smith up to No. 3 and split up him and Marnus Labuschagne with Josh Inglis potentially moving to No. 4. But a strong showing from one or both of Short and Fraser-McGurk could seal the spot and Sean Abbott was expecting both men to put on a show.”Fireworks,” Abbott said at the MCG on Saturday. “And I’m not hoping to see it. I can almost guarantee it. Obviously their plan A, and it’s no secret, is to put the bowlers under immense pressure. And we saw that a little bit with Rooster [Fraser-McGurk] last year. He was facing Alzarri Joseph bowling well over 150kph and he was just trying to park him over the deep square leg boundary.”Marcus Stoinis hasn’t played an ODI since the 2023 World Cup•Associated PressHow many allrounders are needed now Green is injured?Green wasn’t in the XI that won the ODI World Cup in 2023 and nor was Marcus Stoinis. Stoinis was squeezed out of the side for the semi-final and the final, with Labuschagne picked as a specialist batter at No. 5. Australia only had Glenn Maxwell, Marsh and the part-time offerings of Head and Labuschagne in the line-up to make up the fifth bowling option.Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald has long talked about playing an allrounder heavy line-up with only three specialist bowlers and batting all the way to No. 8. It was something they trialled with mixed success in the UK, in part forced by the spate of injuries to their fast bowlers. Aaron Hardie was one of the shining lights of the UK tour with bat and ball. Hardie, Stoinis and Cooper Connolly will all get a chance to push their case in this series although Connolly will miss the first game due to his involvement in the Australia A match against India A. Connolly’s ability to bowl left-arm orthodox, something Australia does not have among it’s front-line batters, is a huge part of his selection.The opening debate could also impact the allrounder conversation. Short’s presence adds bowling options to the line-up. If he is usurped by Fraser-McGurk, or Marsh opens for the Champions Trophy, there will be a need for allrounders further down the order. It could also impact both Smith and Labuschagne. The pair are the perfect firewalls in case of early trouble or to manage run-a-ball chases, as Labuschagne showed in both the World Cup final and the first game of the series against England. But on Pakistan pitches, were 350-plus might be needed, Australia could call on more power in the middle order. Hardie and Stoinis’ ability to bowl with the new ball also gives Australia options to bat one of them at No. 8 if needed.Sean Abbott struggled with the ball in England•Getty ImagesWho are the spare fast bowlers?The big three of captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have been ever-present in Australia’s recent white-ball triumphs. But the Champions Trophy represents one of their biggest challenges. They will be coming off a stretch of seven Test matches in the two-and-a-half months. It is unlikely they will play all seven, particularly as the last two will be in Galle where Australia could play only one fast bowler. Cummins also has a baby due in late January-early February, which could compromise his availability in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy. Depth will be important. It was tested severely in England recently. Abbott was the fourth-choice in the World Cup but, by his own admission, felt he did not contribute to the level he should have in England.”My last three ODIs I didn’t take a wicket over in the UK,” Abbott said. “I was a little bit expensive, and on a couple of wickets where I thought I probably should have contributed more.”Australia are flying some pace bowlers around the country for this three-game series as cover after being caught well short in England. The big three will only play two games each. Lance Morris was training in Melbourne and has been added to the squad while Hazlewood is playing Sheffield Shield. Xavier Bartlett and Will Sutherland will join the squad in Adelaide. Nathan Ellis is another who won’t play in this series, but will return in the T20Is against Pakistan. All of those quicks have the chance to put themselves in the mix for the Champions Trophy if cover is needed.

The ICC match referee is believed to have said to Pakistan that he was merely the messenger of India’s decision not to shake hands on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Sep-2025Andy Pycroft, the ICC match referee at the centre of the controversy that nearly derailed the 2025 Asia Cup, was told only minutes before the toss of the India-Pakistan match on September 14 that the two captains were not to shake hands.At that moment, he believed he was conveying the message rather than issuing instructions. Pycroft was subsequently the subject of a complaint made by the PCB, which accused him of breaching ICC codes as well as the spirit of cricket, and demanded his removal from the tournament.Details have begun to emerge of the frenzied nature of events between the two Pakistan games on September 14 and 17. The controversy was sparked, according to an official, “four minutes before the toss” in Sunday’s game between India and Pakistan. As Pycroft walked on to the field, he was told by the ACC venue manager that the BCCI had communicated – with the Indian government’s approval – that there would be no handshake between the captains Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha.Related

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PCB officials argued that Pycroft should have alerted the ICC about this unusual request; Pycroft is believed to have said he did not have time to do so. With enough time, he would have consulted the ICC. Instead, moments before the toss, he told Agha of the situation in the belief he was avoiding a potentially embarrassing public moment if Agha went to shake hands with Suryakumar only to be snubbed.Pycroft’s decision has not been seen by the ICC at any point as a breach of any code of conduct but as an action he was authorised to take in his remit as a match official deputed to manage the game.The issue came to a head on Wednesday with uncertainty swirling around Pakistan’s must-win game against UAE and the PCB threatening to pull out of the tournament if Pycroft, who was rostered for the game, wasn’t reassigned. The match eventually went ahead after an hour’s delay following a hastily arranged, clear-the-air meeting between Pycroft and the Pakistan team hierarchy.The PCB subsequently claimed in a statement that Pycroft had “apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team”, though sources familiar with the situation maintain it was not an apology, but an “expression of regret over the misunderstanding and miscommunication” around the incident.PCB vs ICCThe PCB had sent an official complaint to the ICC’s general manager of cricket Wasim Khan between Sunday night and Monday morning after Pakistan’s defeat to India. In it, the board spelt out the sequence of events before the toss and accused Pycroft of misconduct, saying it was alarmed “to note that an ICC-appointed and supposedly neutral match referee opted to indulge in conduct which clearly violates the spirit of cricket and MCC laws”.The PCB said Pycroft “failed to discharge his responsibility to ensure that respect was extended and maintained amongst the captains as well as between the two competing sides, and to create a positive atmosphere by his conduct and encourage the captains and participating teams to do likewise”. It called for his immediate withdrawal from the Asia Cup.In its first response on September 15, the ICC told the PCB it had “carefully investigated” the complaint, but “concluded” there was “no case to answer on the part of Mr Pycroft” and he was “not at fault” in any way. In its review, the ICC had spoken to Pycroft, the other match and tournament officials, and the tournament director Andrew Russell.Pakistan captain Salman Agha and team manager Naved Akram Cheema had met with Andy Pycroft before the game against UAE•AFP/Getty ImagesThe ICC explained that Pycroft’s communication to Agha not to shake hands was “following clear direction” from the ACC venue manager. Having received the message at such “short notice”, Pycroft, the ICC said, had dealt with the situation professionally. “In acting as he did, the match referee was committed to preserving the sanctity of the toss and avoiding any potential embarrassment that might have arisen.”The ICC said the match referee’s role was not to “regulate any team- or tournament-specific protocol that has been agreed outside of the area of play” and that the “real issue” was the handshake not taking place, which was a “matter” to be addressed and resolved by the tournament organiser and “those who took the actual decision”.The ICC’s email to the PCB also stated that changing match officials at the “request or insistence” of a participating country would set an “extremely dangerous and unfortunate precedent”.The PCB then expressed “disappointment” at the ICC’s decision to absolve Pycroft, pointing to “glaring discrepancies”. The board said the ICC had failed to seek out “complete evidence/version of events” from witnesses that had “actually seen” what it described as Pycroft’s “offensive conduct”. The PCB said the ICC had not spoken to Agha or the team management during its probe, which it called a “one-sided process”.The PCB questioned how a match referee could be only a “messenger” and convey directives that violated the spirit of cricket. Pycroft, the PCB said, should have offered an “unequivocal refusal” when he was asked to tell Agha not to shake hands with Suryakumar. In a separate email on Wednesday, the ICC said the PCB had every opportunity to “provide any supporting documentation or evidence” to back their case against Pycroft, but none had been received.The events before the delayed startDuring this back and forth with the ICC, the PCB raised the prospect of withdrawing from the Asia Cup, saying the Pakistan government had advised it to do so if Pycroft was not removed.The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is the country’s interior minister, a senior figure in the government.A tense stalemate ensued, with the Pakistan team training on Tuesday evening ahead of their game against UAE but cancelling the pre-match press conference. On Wednesday, after a flurry of emails in the morning, a video call was arranged early afternoon Dubai time between senior ICC officials, their counterparts from the PCB and the Emirates Cricket Board. The ICC offered the PCB an opportunity to talk through its case and arguments but both sides stood their ground: the PCB continued to call for Pycroft’s removal, the ICC insisted he hadn’t breached any rules.PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi gave the Pakistan team clearance to continue their Asia Cup campaign•Associated PressAround 4pm Dubai time, two hours before the scheduled toss, another video call was arranged between the same people. It again began with both sides unrelenting. Around this time, the Pakistan players were told to remain at the hotel and not go to the ground, having originally been scheduled to leave at 4.30pm. This was the first time the world outside discovered how serious the situation was. With time running out, it was on this call that Wasim Khan and ICC chief executive Sanjog Gupta are believed to have suggested a meeting between Pycroft and the Pakistan team. PCB officials, keen on the idea, took it to Naqvi, who was consulting with former board heads Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja on the matter. He agreed, the ICC was told, and the Pakistan team left for the stadium at 5.40pm Dubai time.Miscommunication and misunderstandingThe players arrived at Dubai International Stadium half an hour before the rescheduled toss at 7pm local time, and Pycroft immediately met with Agha, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson and team manager Naved Akram Cheema in a room with Wasim Khan also present. Pycroft is believed to have begun the conversation by asking the Pakistan participants about their precise grievances. In response, he explained to them why he acted the way he did, that he was merely the messenger rather than the man responsible for the no-handshake directive.He expressed regret for the “miscommunication and misunderstanding” around the situation and, in particular, for Agha to find himself in such a situation moments before a big game. It was here that Pycroft explained his worry that not telling Agha and letting him go to shake hands with Suryakumar would have been more problematic.Soon after the meeting, the PCB released a statement claiming Pycroft had apologised. The ICC is believed to have been unhappy about it and the idea of a response “clarifying” the situation was discussed, though it isn’t certain whether one will be made. The PCB also released a short video of the meeting despite concerns raised during the meeting about such a video being recorded. It was eventually allowed on the condition that no audio be recorded.The PCB also said the ICC had “expressed its willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation that occurred during the September 14 match”. The prospects of that remain slim, not least because it isn’t clear what the inquiry would focus on, given the ICC has repeatedly asserted to the PCB that there was no misconduct on Pycroft’s part.

If the best Tests are supposed to thrill you to your core, here was one that could chill you to your extremities

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Feb-2025Roughly halfway through the morning session on day four in Galle, an offbreak was allowed to pitch on a good length and hit a wicket. There were 13 Test cricketers, two on-field umpires, and thousands more attending at the ground. For those couple of seconds, every single one of them were just watching as a 160-gram ball bounced once and clattered into a 71-centimetre stake.Ordinarily, this should not happen in a Test match. Someone is charged with thrusting a wooden bat or poking a pad-covered leg in the ball’s path.But the man who was in charge of that just watched it happen, like the rest of us. Dimuth Karunaratne , playing his 189th Test innings, often one of the best players of spin in his team, Sri Lanka’s most-prolific opener, and a batter expected to shield the less-experienced players, had a perfectly good wooden bat and pad-covered leg. He didn’t use either.Related

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What he did instead is wave this ball from Todd Murphy through to his off stump, like a zookeeper letting a lion through the enclosure gate to maul the pre-schoolers that have just arrived on their field trip. Karunaratne was the seventh batter to fall on a morning in which Sri Lanka were trying to save a Test. And still another batter would be out before lunch – Dinesh Chandimal falling for 31 to Nathan Lyon, the second time in the same session Chandimal was out to Lyon. Chandimal, by the way, was Sri Lanka’s best batter and highest run-scorer in the game.If the best Tests are supposed to thrill you to your core, here was one that could chill you to your extremities. Pulses remained unraced. Nails were left unchewed. Neck hairs stayed flaccid and pathetic against your skin. At no point could Australia ever seriously fear they might lose this match. At no point were they tested substantially. There really isn’t a session you can point to, where you might make a case that Sri Lanka won it.Josh Inglis, on debut, hit a hundred. Matthew Kuhnemann, in his first bowling innings in Sri Lanka, took a five-wicket haul. Usman Khawaja made his highest Test score, making 232 off 352 balls. “He looked at ease the entire time,” captain Steven Smith, who was in a 266-run partnership with Khawaja, said of the opener.”On debut, I thought he was outstanding,” Smith said of Inglis, who made 102 in the only Test innings he’s played.”I think a lot of credit has got to go to the surgeon,” Smith said about the doctor who fixed Kuhnemann’s busted thumb, to get him ready for this Test. This was so massive a victory for Australia, even medical personnel not on tour were getting a piece of it.It felt like at times in this Test, an Australia batter could wander over to a rock on the Galle shoreline and find a Test hundred underneath it. It felt like if an Australia spinner bumped into a coconut tree, three dismissed Sri Lanka batters would fall out and then sulk mopily back to the dressing room.Sri Lanka, by the way, are a team that could possibly have made the World Test Championship final, as recently as December. Occasionally, they have had moments of competence, and even inspiration. In their last series in Sri Lanka, they beat New Zealand 2-0 just before New Zealand went to India and won 3-0.But when you hit 654 for 6 declared in the first innings, you have plenty of options in a Test. And your captain can describe the rest of your Test with the enthusiasm with which a child describes a theme park ride.Australia recorded their biggest Test win•Robert Cianflone/Getty Images”It’s a lot of fun when you’ve got 650 on the board,” Smith said. “You can kind of set some funky fields, and try and force a batter error as much as possible. And, you know, not be worried about getting hit for any boundaries.”Exactly. In fact, Smith might be understating it. Sometimes, you get so far ahead in a Test, your entire XI could not turn up for a day, and you still win.No one blows a first-innings lead of 489, and it’s difficult to really convey how far apart these teams were. Australia went to the UAE to prepare for this series. They set the practice pitches in Dubai to “dusty” and their batters practiced the shots they were expecting to have to play in Sri Lanka, while their bowlers worked out their lengths.Sri Lanka played like they had trained to give up wickets and let runs flow. In the first session, they dropped two catches, and failed to review an lbw they’d overturned. But with the bat, Sri Lanka were especially inept.There should have been people who stopped Australia from dominating a Test at Galle, and imposing on Sri Lanka the biggest of the Test defeats they have ever suffered in their 42-year Test history.Ordinarily, this would not happen. But the people in charge were just watching, like the rest of us.