Burnley are plotting a summer move for a Premier League player who was “on fire” last season, according to a fresh transfer update.
Burnley sign Weiss but Trafford exit close
The Clarets are still looking to bring in ideal new signings ahead of next season, with Scott Parker well aware that improvements will be needed in his squad to avoid the fate of recent promoted sides.
On Thursday, Burnley officially completed the signing of young goalkeeper Max Weiss from Karlsruher SC, with the German speaking of his happiness at moving to Turf Moor.
“I’m really excited to be here. It’s an amazing Club with a big ambition and all the conversations I have had with people from here have been so good and very positive. The training ground facility looks amazing, the pitches are so nice and I can’t wait to get in for pre-season and meet the rest of the team.”
That said, it looks as though James Trafford’s time as a Burnley player is close to its conclusion, with journalist Fabrizio Romano claiming the goalkeeper has “fully agreed personal terms” with Newcastle United.
Burnley plotting move for Premier League ace
Now, according to a new report from Football Insider, Burnley are “interested” in signing West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek this summer, with the Czech out of contract with the Hammers in 2026.
It is stated that the 30-year-old is not seen as a part of Graham Potter’s future plans at the London Stadium, but the Clarets “could find it hard to afford a deal” for the £90,000-a-week star, perhaps due to his wages.
West Ham's Tomas Soucek
Soucek could be an astute signing for Burnley this summer, with the West Ham man now a proven Premier League player who has scored 36 goals in 194 appearances in the competition.
He is also an 81-cap and 15-goal Czech Republic international, while Joe Cole hailed his performances for the Hammers last season.
At 30, Soucek isn’t getting any younger, but he isn’t a player who relies on pace, and his physicality and eye for goal in the middle of the park can be a great asset for Burnley for several years, should they be able to afford him.
With all eyes on their Premier League return, Leeds United are reportedly looking to get their summer business underway by securing a double swoop for two Ligue 1 talents.
49ers aiming to back Leeds in transfer market
Whilst the 49ers group have been busy completing their takeover of Scottish giants Rangers, they’ll still be focused on ensuring that Leeds have a side capable of avoiding the drop at the first time of asking. In doing so, the Whites would become the first promoted side to keep hold of their Premier League status in the last six attempts. That’s the extent of the task at hand for the 49ers and Daniel Farke’s side.
Chairman Paraag Marathe is ready to back Leeds in the transfer market this summer, however, having told reporters last month when asked about potential business: “I’m not really ready to go into that, but yes, your speculation is probably right.
Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe.
“It’s going to be a mix of seeing if there are inbounds along with outbounds. And that’s probably, that’s probably accurate, but really not ready to go into more detail than that. But we are looking at maximizing what we can do, and so that involves the whole bag, ins and outs.”
Just who arrives is the big question. The transfer window is now open and those at Elland Road will be desperate to see the 49ers get their business underway as soon as possible.
To that end, Dara O’Shea could be one to watch. Recent reports revealed that Leeds are interested in signing the Ipswich Town star and granting him an instant return to the Premier League following relegation.
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Back in the top flight, the impressive defender would be an impressive first pick. He ticks the box for experience both in the Premier League and now a relegation battle. On a personal note, O’Shea himself will be desperate to avoid the drop for a second season on the bounce.
He’s not the only target on Leeds’ radar, however. The 49ers are also reportedly targeting a double swoop to land a Ligue 1 duo this summer.
Leeds chasing double swoop for Fofana and Abdelli
As reported by Ouest France, the 49ers and Leeds are now chasing a double swoop to sign Yahia Fofana and Himad Abdelli from Angers this summer. The former would be an instant upgrade on Illan Meslier at just £8m, whilst the latter would offer plenty of leadership from midfield following his captaincy of the French side in recent years.
Clean Sheets
7
21
Saves per 90
4.09
1.62
Save Percentage
74.2%
72.7%
Having been dropped by Farke at the back end of last season as Leeds secured promotion, Meslier’s place remains in question and the arrival of Fofana could see the Frenchman exiled altogether at Elland Road.
Alongside Fofana, Abdelli would make an impact in his own right. The midfielder completed the same amount of progressive passes as £100m+ Liverpool target Florian Wirtz last season and two more than Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers. He was a standout in Europe’s top seven leagues on that metric and could now be on his way to Elland Road.
The India quick says the bowlers had to be smart to prevent “the wind to come into play” in St Lucia
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-20241:20
Arshdeep: We are now used to windy conditions
If Rohit Sharma, the Player of the Match for his 41-ball 92 in India’s 24-run win over Australia in T20 World Cup 2024, had to “open up all sides of the field” to counter the breeze in Gros Islet, Arshdeep Singh said the bowlers had to prevent “the wind to come into play” to not let the Australia batters take advantage of it. Arshdeep finished with 3 for 37, removing David Warner in the first over and then getting the wickets of big-hitters Tim David and Matthew Wade in the death overs.”As a player and as a team, our motto is to adapt as well as we can to the conditions,” Arshdeep said after the match. “As for the wind factor, when we bowled from the end opposite to the pavilion, we got a lot of swing. From the other end, bowling against the wind… the batters were going to use the wind since the ball was travelling. So we had to look for defensive options there and not allow the wind to come into play.”Josh Hazlewood, the most economical bowler of the day with 1 for 14 from four overs, said that 180 or thereabouts would have been a par score in those conditions; India ended with 25 more than that. Rohit was the main reason for that, but Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 16 balls) and later Hardik Pandya (27* off 17) contributed to the cause too.Related
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“From one end, it was very hard for the bowlers to even pitch the ball, and the ball was flying to the boundary,” Arshdeep said. “So having the cushion of extra 15-20 runs always helps, gives you the extra freedom of going for wickets.”With his three wickets, Arshdeep reached the top of the pile for the tournament, joint with Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi. But he was quick to accept that a lot of his success was down to Jasprit Bumrah being Jasprit Bumrah at the other end, who dismissed Head in the 17th over to put India ahead.”I guess a lot of credit goes to Jassi because he puts a lot of pressure on the batters – he gives, what, three or four runs in an over – so batters are coming hard against me, and I just have to try and bowl my best ball and there are a lot of chances of getting wickets there,” Arshdeep said. “On the other end they see the runs are not coming and the asking rate is going high, so they take more risks against me. [There’s a] chance always of getting a wicket there. So a lot of credit for my wickets goes to Jassi .”Head took the lead in Australia’a chase by slamming 76 in 43 balls, with a spot in the semi-finals at stake. At the start of the 14th over, when Australia were 128 for 2, Kuldeep Yadav got rid of Glenn Maxwell, and Axar Patel removed Marcus Stoinis in the next over, and Australia were suddenly 135 for 4 with 71 to get in just under six overs.”The thought [process] was clear. Our batters also batted on the same wicket, and early on it was easy to score runs, the ball was coming on nicely. But afterwards, it became tough to hit boundaries,” Arshdeep said. “We knew if we took a couple of wickets, it will be tough for the new batters coming in to hit boundaries at will. That was the plan. A couple of nice overs from the spinners in the middle overs helped us.”
Glasgow Rangers had little to play for but pride and bragging rights when they faced Celtic in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Their city rivals had already wrapped up the league title last weekend, resigning the Gers to another second-placed finish, but Barry Ferguson’s men restored some pride with a 1-1 draw in front of their home fans.
Cyriel Dessers scored the only goal of the opening 45 with a tidy finish just before the half-time break, slotting into the bottom corner with his left foot after Liam Scales failed to complete a tackle on him, before Adam Idah’s second-half equaliser.
The Nigerian forward held the corner flag aloft and basked in the joy of the home support, able to celebrate in view of away supporters, finally, in an Old Firm clash.
It was his 17th goal of the season in the Premiership and the Europa League combined, which is a respectable return but does not tell the full story of his campaign.
Why Rangers could sell Cyriel Dessers
With the summer transfer window on the horizon, Rangers will have some big decisions to make on the players currently in the squad, as they have now failed to win the title in each of the last four seasons.
The Light Blues have to find a way to improve and close the gap to Celtic in the league in order to compete for the title in the 2025/26 campaign, and Dessers is one star who could be a candidate to move on from Ibrox.
During the Sky Sports commentary of the 1-1 draw with Celtic, former Gers midfielder Scott Arfield noted that Dessers is “on his heels” too often when the ball comes forward, which limits how effective the team can be in transition when passes are played down the sides of the defenders.
Appearances
35
32
Goals
16
14
Assists
4
2
Pass accuracy
70%
73%
Duels won per game
2.3
1.9
Ground duel success rate
29%
33%
Aerial duel success rate
40%
32%
As you can see in the table above, the Rangers striker struggles with the physical side of the game, losing the majority of his duels without winning many per game, and is not particularly reliable as a passer.
Dessers has also missed a whopping 59 ‘big chances’ in the Premiership and European competitions combined since the start of last season, which shows that the striker is very wasteful in front of goal to go along with his struggles out of possession.
The 30-year-old forward could, therefore, be sold if the new Rangers manager does not want him to be his first-choice striker, and that could be the case if the latest report is to be believed.
The latest on the Rangers manager search
According to Football Insider, Steven Gerrard has emerged as the leading candidate to take the permanent Rangers job as manager this summer.
The report claims that the English head coach is now the ‘favourite’ to land the role for the second time in his career, having left the club back in 2021.
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It states that the former Aston Villa boss, who is currently out of work, is the favourite to be appointed as the next Rangers manager ahead of Marco Rose, the former RB Leipzig tactician.
Football Insider reveals that the 49ers are expected to play a key role in the appointment and that the 4-3-3 favoured boss is currently at the top of their list of targets for the job.
Steven Gerrard
If the iconic Liverpool midfielder does become the Gers manager for the second time, this could be bad news for Dessers and his future at Ibrox beyond this season.
Why Gerrard's appointment would be bad news for Dessers
The English boss returning for a second go at Ibrox would be bad news for the Nigeria international because of the kind of striker he liked in his first spell at the club.
Only Connor Goldson (182) and James Tavernier (178) made more appearances for Rangers as outfield players under his management than Alfredo Morelos (158), which illustrates how important the Colombian star was for him in Glasgow.
Gerrard, whose reputation was described as “amazing” by former England defender Glen Johnson, won the league title for the Gers in the 2020/21 campaign with the Colombia international as his main man up front.
Morelos, once described as a “real battering-ram” by ex-coach Scot Page, scored 12 goals and provided four assists in his 29 Premiership outings, but it was also the physicality in his performances that made him so influential for the Scottish giants.
Appearances
29
26
Goals
12
11
Assists
4
7
Pass accuracy
80%
80%
Duels won per game
3.7
4.1
Ground duel success rate
42%
41%
Aerial duel success rate
36%
48%
As you can see in the table above, the powerful forward provided a physical presence in the number nine role for Gerrard, winning more duels and winning a higher percentage of his duels than Dessers has in his two seasons at Ibrox.
The current Rangers striker does not have the pace, the raw strength, or the mobility that Morelos consistently displayed under the English boss during that successful period in the club’s history, as evidenced by his struggles in the Premiership this season.
Dessers’ wasteful finishing in all competitions is another reason why Gerrard may not want the Nigerian number nine to lead the line for his team next season, should he be appointed as Ferguson’s successor this summer.
Therefore, the ex-Serie A marksman may not want the legendary former midfielder to get the job because it could spell the end of his career at Ibrox if he wants a forward who is similar to Morelos at Ibrox.
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It is now down to the 49ers and Kevin Thelwell to convince Gerrard to take the job, if he is their favoured candidate, to bring glory back to the club next season and beyond.
Just when you thought Manchester City were back, they went and did what?
On Saturday, despite having 26 shots and accumulating an xG figure of 2.4, Pep Guardiola’s team were held to an ignominious goalless draw by the Premier League’s bottom club Southampton at St Mary’s.
This means the Citizens are still not guaranteed Champions League qualification, while this could be a confidence-denting result, ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace at Wembley.
What is clear is that the Sky Blues require a major squad overhaul, so are they in the market for one of the Premier League’s hottest properties?
Manchester City seeking to sign a new right-back
According to a report by Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento is one of the options “under consideration” as Man City seek to sign a new right-back, adding that he is part of a “four-man shortlist”.
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Livramento joined Newcastle from Southampton just two years ago for a whopping £40m, viewing this as a long-term investment, considering the Magpies believed he would go on to become England’s first-choice full-back, as noted by Chris Waugh and Conor O’Neill of the Athletic.
Well, fair to say, the 22-year-old has impressed on Tyneside, with Jacob Whitehead of the Athletic labelling him “outstanding” while, speaking on Match of the Day, Newcastle’s all-time record goalscorer Alan Shearer described him as “sensational”.
Tino Livramento in action against Arsenal
So, he certainly won’t come cheap, but all the indications are that Livramento would be a fantastic signing for Man City, should they be able to get the deal over the line.
Manchester City's right-back issue
In that aforementioned Romano report, he notes that Kyle Walker “will 100% leave” Manchester City this summer, even if AC Milan do not make his current loan move permanent, which is certainly in doubt, given that I Rossoneri have failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Nevertheless, Man City are very much in the market for a new right-back, given that Matheus Nunes has primarily been filling in there throughout the season.
Michael Cox of the Athletic described Nunes as an “uncomfortable… makeshift right-back”, while Graham Ruthven of Forbes agrees, adding that the Portuguese international “doesn’t have the defensive instincts of a natural full-back”.
Guardiola meantime, stated that Nunes “can become a good right-back” but the reason that he’s not been deployed in midfield is because “he’s not clever enough”, adding that he has “physicality”, but lacks “composure”.
That does not suggest Guardiola believes the 26-year-old will become a Man City stalwart long-term, even though he continues to be used regularly in the starting lineup.
So, let’s assess how Livramento and Nunes compare this season.
Appearances
37
43
Minutes
2,500
3,279
Goals
4
0
Assists
9
1
Expected assists
6.3
2.5
Progressive carries
90
74
Progressive passes
107
150
Attempted take-ons
54
50
Take-on success %
50%
44%
Pass completion %
87.2%
85.2%
Shot-creating actions
61
41
Tackles won
38
42
Interceptions
21
25
Clearances
40
103
Blocks
19
35
Duels contested
166
255
% of ground duels won
47%
55%
Touches per 90
62
49
As the table outlines, Nunes is more of an attacking goal-threat, scoring more goals, providing more assists, attempting more dribbles, completing a higher proportion of his passes and registering a greater number of touches per 90.
Livramento, on the other hand, is a significantly more solid defender, underlined by the fact he boasts better statistics when it comes to tackles, blocks, interceptions, clearances and duels.
Nevertheless, the England international’s in-possession statistics are comparable to Nunes’ across the board, actually accumulating more progressive passes, for example, suggesting he would not be a downgrade in that regard.
Thus, all available evidence suggests Livramento would be an excellent signing for Man City; the biggest challenge will be persuading Newcastle to sell.
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Manchester United would have been fearing the final outcome of their clash on the South Coast whilst the clock ticked down as ten-man AFC Bournemouth held onto their precarious 1-0 lead.
An embarrassing 16th loss of the Premier League for Ruben Amorim’s topsy-turvy Red Devils was on the cards but for Rasmus Hojlund.
The Dane has had many a vocal critic this season about his anonymous attacking displays but he managed to pop up with a last-gasp equaliser to hand the away side a dramatic share of the points.
With the Cherries seeing Evanilson sent off for a dangerous tackle in the second half, a point against a side that ended up playing with ten men for 20 minutes will still feel like somewhat of a poor result, with the likes of Andre Onana enduring another shaky afternoon.
Onana's performance in numbers
Ultimately, another game ended up passing Onana by without a Premier League clean sheet, with the often nervy goalkeeper only managing to amass a weak nine clean sheets from 33 total games.
The Cameroon goalkeeper would fail to make a single save across another choppy 90 minutes, with Antoine Semenyo’s first-half effort proving too fierce for the ex-Ajax shot-stopper to thwart.
Moreover, his ability with the ball at his feet left a lot to be desired too, leading to the United number one only registering 23 accurate passes from 32 attempted, on top of only three accurate long balls being accumulated from 12.
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A new ‘keeper must be high up Amorim’s shopping list this summer but he will have to do better than he did in January.
After all, his only signing at Old Trafford hasn’t exactly set the world alight…
4/10 Man United dud must be axed after Bournemouth
Minus Bruno Fernandes showing his obvious class again with seven key passes tallied up, alongside Hojlund’s redemption arc being on show, there were a number of underperformers once more that would have irked Amorim watching on.
Indeed, Patrick Dorgu falls into this underperforming category, with his lackadaisical approach on the ball gifting Semenyo a chance to fire Andoni Iraola’s men into the lead.
Minutes played
89
Touches
61
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
61
Accurate passes
25/30 (83%)
Accurate crosses
0/4
Possession lost
15x
Total duels won
9/14
Amazingly, this isn’t the first time Dorgu has fallen victim to a lapse in concentration this season, with one kamikaze back-pass versus Ipswich Town back in February gifting Jaden Philogene a fortuitous effort.
But, away from another costly error allowing Semenyo to score, the table above shows how his overall game was equally as shoddy, with the 20-year-old failing to register a single accurate cross down the left channel.
Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst would dish out his lowest match rating of the day to the ex-Lecce man subsequently, with Luckhurst stating that his 4/10 judgement was due to Dorgu looking “unsettled” by Bournemouth’s high press.
Thankfully, his blushes were spared by Hojlund being in the right place at the right time to fire home a late equaliser, leading to the 22-year-old presumably feeling that he deserves to start this coming Thursday when Amorim’s camp travel to Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League.
After all, United’s season rests on a potential success in this competition now, culminating in Dorgu perhaps being axed for the Red Devils’ upcoming Basque adventure. It’s a big game, but Harry Amass or even Luke Shaw are surely more deserving of a place over the final weeks of the season.
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Having played in the shadow of Shakib Al Hasan for a long time, he has now surpassed his hero’s wickets tally
Mohammad Isam22-Nov-2025To grasp Taijul Islam’s big moment, you have to get as close to the pitch as possible. You can’t sit in a cushy, soundproof press box to get a feeling of the height he has scaled. As a Bangladesh fan, the best you can do is witness the moment at the Shere Bangla National Stadium’s grandstand. A seat in the lower part of the grandstand could be useful, given how close it is to the action. It is a side view, though, so you might miss the nuances of Taijul’s bowling, but it is about moment.Bangladesh declared their second innings shortly after the lunch break on the fourth day in the Dhaka Test. Taijul broke Shakib Al Hasan’s record of most Test wickets for Bangladesh in the sixth over of Ireland’s chase. The Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie, trying to work the ball away towards square leg, was undone by a slightly quicker delivery. The huge appeal was followed by the raised finger, before Balbirnie called for the review.The small crowd cheered. Taijul ran a little bit with his clenched fist. Mushfiqur Rahim, the man of the moment in Dhaka, tried to pick him up to take the celebration to the next level. Taijul would have none of it, as he politely asked to be let down. After the TV umpire confirmed the three reds, Taijul calmly walked back to his mark. If you blinked, you would have missed his smile.Related
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In terms of Test wickets, Taijul has now surpassed the man who has practically built Bangladesh cricket. Shakib is someone he looked up to before he made his Test debut, and in whose shadow he became a top-class operator. If you peel back another layer, Taijul now rightfully wears the crown of the best Bangladesh bowler – the one that has come down from Mohammad Rafique, the first bowler to take 100 Test wickets for the country, and, of course, Shakib, the first to 200 Test wickets.According to Taijul, though, he never really targeted records but wanted to play for Bangladesh for a long time. He said that he understands what he needs to do at the highest level, although he doesn’t enjoy the “underrated” tag. “I always wanted to have a long career,” he said. “I never really thought that I would be on top of the wicket-takers’ list. You just don’t plan that way, especially when you are starting a Test career.”I think around the time [I got to 200 wickets], I probably had the consistency and experience to convince myself that I can serve Bangladesh cricket for a longer time. I think it was around this time that I considered that I might get a few more wickets. It is not about proving myself to anyone. I think performance is the most important aspect at the highest level. I am always tagged as an underrated bowler, but I think it’s only the media that considers me as underrated.”Seven of Taijul’s 17 five-fors have come in wins•Associated PressTaijul was Shakib’s understudy and played second fiddle to him for a long time. He wasn’t always an automatic choice outside the subcontinent. And if you consider his celebration on Saturday, he is an unassuming person who doesn’t have glamour or a glitzy social-media following.But he is reliable, and bowls tirelessly. He has made contributions, big and small and mostly impactful, in his 11 years at the highest level. Seven of his 17 five-wicket hauls and one of his two ten-wicket hauls have come in Bangladesh’s wins.His 10 for 184 in Bangladesh’s 150-run win against New Zealand in Sylhet in 2023 is probably his greatest moment. He took Kane Williamson’s wicket in both innings. When the chips were down, as was the case in Bangladesh’s first day-night Test in Kolkata in 2019, Taijul was the 12th man who had to step up as a batter as Nayeem Hasan’s concussion substitute. He took Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket and took a splendid catch of Virat Kohli. He batted bravely too.There were numerous times when Taijul stepped up when Bangladesh ran into trouble. Still, he is the one who has to prove his worth to the selectors often.Taijul took on the mantle of being the lead spinner in the attack in 2017, since Shakib became irregular in Tests. Ten of his 17 five-fors have come in the last five years, a period in which Bangladesh have increasingly played more Tests, and mostly without Shakib.”The national team is where you have to keep performing,” he said. “Look at Shakib – he was No. 1 in the world for a reason. He was always performing. That was his quality. We remember his suggestions. He would always share his experience with us.”Even in private conversations, Taijul doesn’t really stick out for his big proclamations. He will enjoy a quiet dinner with friends. His dry sense of humour will stick out from time to time. He will make his point, smile and enjoy the conversation. But at the same time, he is serving as a good example of hard work for the next generation. The good news is that finally, many are not only noticing him but also following him.
When the Australia captain picked a third straight five-for, a quick end to Pakistan’s innings was on the cards, but No. 9 Jamal had other ideas
Andrew McGlashan03-Jan-20242:50
Is Aamer Jamal the find of the tour for Pakistan?
New year, same Pat Cummins. When Australia’s captain removed Hasan Ali to complete his third consecutive five-wicket haul, it looked like being a job well done for the home side on the opening day in Sydney. They had, through Cummins of course, halted Pakistan’s jaunty recovery between Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman, and needed just one wicket to finish things off.However, that wicket took a long time to come. One-hundred-and-thirty-three balls to be precise as Aamer Jamal stood in their way on the ground where, in 2016-17, he sat in the stands watching Pakistan while living and working near Sydney, plying his trade in grade cricket as he looked for a way to develop and prove himself.By the time he lofted Nathan Lyon to long-on, he and Mir Hamza had added 86 runs for the final wicket. Jamal farmed the strike, took on the short ball and attacked Lyon at nearly a run-a-ball to lift Pakistan’s total to 313. It wasn’t quite unimaginable riches, but a far sight better than it appeared at 47 for 4 and 96 for 5. The odds on Marnus Labuschagne having a bowl earlier in the day had looked slim. Jamal, who had gone for an extra net session at the lunch break, walked back to an ovation from the SCG crowd and the admiration of his team-mates.Related
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“It was very emotional,” he said. “But you have to control your emotions and feelings. I can’t be happier than this. When I was first named in the Test squad, I had said that whether I score a single run or ten runs, it should contribute to the Pakistan team’s success. And I’m just glad that that has happened today.”Cricket is my passion. When passion becomes your profession you start enjoying it. You don’t get stressed by it. You want to live in the moment, whether I’m batting or bowling. I have struggled a lot. I’ve got nothing easily or quickly. I never gave up. Now every stage means a lot to me. It means the world to me.”Australia may well bat far past Pakistan’s total, but for the fifth day in a row in the Test series, the visitors have ensured there is a contest. When both Pakistan openers, Abdullah Shafique and debutant Saim Ayub departed for ducks in the first two overs and Babar Azam was again worked over by Cummins, that had looked unlikely.The Australia captain is about as close as you can get to the perfect fast bowler. On , Michael Vaughan made a big call about where Cummins would eventually sit among Australian cricketers, when asked who he would pick between him and Dennis Lillee.”I saw a bit of DK on screen but I think Pat Cummins in time, don’t think he’s ever going to surpass Sir Don [Bradman], [but] I think Cummins is going to end up being Australia’s greatest cricketer after Sir Don,” Vaughan said.Four days after completing his ten-wicket haul in Melbourne, Cummins was quickly into his work when he unfurled a wicked inswinger to pin Babar lbw after the former Pakistan captain had hinted at a return to form with a handful of exquisite drives. But he has attracted some terrific deliveries in this series, and today was another.Aamer Jamal celebrates his maiden Test fifty•Getty ImagesThen there was a working over for Saud Shakeel, whose first experience of the pace and bounce in Australia has been a difficult one, and after a blow on the shoulder, he edged from around the wicket. It looked like Pakistan could be rolled, particularly when captain Shan Masood prodded Mitchell Marsh to slip shortly after a no-ball reprieve off the same dismissal.Rizwan and Salman forged a fightback with the sort of positive batting that would have delighted Masood. So who returned to the attack to break the stand? Of course, it was Cummins. As he did often at the MCG. A short ball to Rizwan, the type that had previously been hooked into the stands, was top-edged to fine leg. Cummins celebrated with arms aloft.With the final-wicket stand growing, Cummins brought himself back again but this time his Midas touch wasn’t there. In a three-over spell with a softening old ball, No. 11 Hamza managed to see out 12 of his 18 deliveries. With Jamal moving into the 80s by taking consecutive boundaries off Lyon, thoughts of an extraordinary century loomed into view.That was not to be, but even the timing of Jamal’s dismissal brought an element of the dramatic to the end of the day. It left time for one over at Australia. Lyon sprinted off and was seen padded up. Was there going to be an opening nightwatcher? Then, for certainly the penultimate, and maybe the last time, David Warner and Usman Khawaja strode out together. They hugged before crossing the rope. Pakistan formed a guard of honour.There was no Shaheen Shah Afridi to take the first over, and it turned out to not even be a fast bowler. Offspinner Sajid Khan marked out his run. Warner carved the first ball away through the off side. Four deliveries later he defends and the ball bounces agonisingly over the stumps. “Heart-in-mouth stuff there, that last over,” Ricky Ponting said.So the stage was set. Warner will walk out again on Thursday morning. Given his storied career, it would be no surprise if he puts on a show. But Pakistan will have their own ideas about that, and if the last few days of the series are any guide, they will not allow him to have it his own way.
And who is the youngest batter to make a first-class double-hundred?
Steven Lynch29-Mar-2022Kraigg Brathwaite now has 25 Test wickets, with each one being a different batter. Who has the most Test wickets without dismissing the same man twice? asked Lachlan McBeath from Australia That’s a nice easy one, as those 25 different wickets by Kraigg Brathwaite is the Test record. Next comes Mohammad Ashraful, whose 21 wickets for Bangladesh were all different people. The Sri Lankan left-arm seamer Sajeewa de Silva follows him with 16, one more than the Surrey and England pair of Gareth Batty and Mark Butcher.In all international cricket, Ashraful took 47 wickets, again without ever dismissing the same batter twice. He’s well clear of a trio on 28 – Dillon Heyliger of Canada, Oman’s Fayyaz Butt, and Mark Jonkman of the Netherlands.When was the first-ever first-class match? asked Simon Duke from England The match that the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians considers to be the inaugural first-class fixture was played 250 years ago this year: on Broadhalfpenny Down in Hambledon, Hampshire beat “England” by 53 runs in a two-day game that started on June 24, 1772. John Small, one of the game’s first notable batters, made 78 for Hampshire; the might of England managed only one run more between them in their second innings. Three years later, also at Hambledon, Small made what is now recognised as the maiden first-class century – 138 for Hampshire against Surrey.Both captains scored 150s in the Bridgetown Test – how rare is this? asked Ahson Atif from India That double by Joe Root (153) and Kraigg Brathwaite (160) in the second Test in Bridgetown was the eighth time both captains had made a score of 150 or more in the same Test. The first such double was at Old Trafford in 1964, when Bob Simpson amassed 311 for Australia and Ted Dexter responded with 174 for England. The most recent instance before last week came in Abu Dhabi in March 2021, when Asghar Afghan made 164 for Afghanistan and Sean Williams 151 not out for Zimbabwe.Kumar Kushagra is the sixth youngest batter to score a first-class double-hundred•PTI Has there been an ODI innings in which all 11 players made it into double figures? asked Mahesh Siddique from India Unlike in Tests (15 instances so far), there hasn’t yet been a one-day international innings in which everyone reached double figures. There are four cases of ten getting there. When West Indies made 246 against Australia in Bridgetown in 1990-91, everyone reached double figures except last man Courtney Walsh, who was out for 4. Pakistan’s 259 for 9 against West Indies in Dhaka in 1998-99 included ten double-figure scores, plus 4 from Shahid Afridi, who opened. When Zimbabwe scored 262 against India in Rajkot in 2000-01, last man Brian Murphy was out for 1. And Robin Uthappa also made 1 as India totalled 275 against Pakistan in Jaipur in 2007-08.There have also been two innings in men’s ODIs that included no double-figure scores at all. When Zimbabwe slipped to 35 all out against Sri Lanka in Harare in April 2004, the highest score was 7, by Dion Ebrahim and Mr Extras. (That was a record low for ODIs at the time, since equalled by the USA against Nepal in Kirtipur in February 2020; Xavier Marshall made 16 of those.) And when Canada slumped to 36 all out – the lowest World Cup total – against Sri Lanka in Paarl in 2003, the highest contributions were a pair of 9s, by opener Desmond Chumney and skipper Joe Harris.A couple more thoughts about that Ranji Trophy runfest between Jharkhand and Nagaland, that was mentioned in last week’s column. Kumar Kushagra, who is only 17, scored 266. And Sushant Mishra bagged a pair despite his team amassing more than a thousand runs. Were either of these records? asked Shreyal Bose and Divyanand Valsan from India Both of these things were records, depending on how you define them. At 17, Kumar Kushagra was the sixth youngest to score a first-class double-century – Hasan Raza, whose age is disputed, was reportedly only 15 when he scored 204 not out for Karachi Whites against Bahawalpur in Karachi in 1997-98. The others were Ijaz Ahmed (16 in 1984-85), and 17-year-olds Reetinder Sodhi (1997-98), Ambati Rayudu (2002-03) and Johann Myburgh (1997-98). But none of those younger than Kushagra made it to 250, so he is the youngest to reach that particular milestone.The unfortunate Sushant Mishra collected a four-ball pair in the match in Kolkata, despite his side piling up 1297 runs in all. The only other man to bag a pair of ducks in a match in which his side scored more than 1000 runs did it in a Test: the Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria, while his side amassed 1078 runs against India in Faisalabad in 2005-06.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
Dhoni, Pollard, Bravo, Rayudu and Malinga have starred in these matches in the past – here’s a lookback
Omkar Mankame22-Mar-2025
Chennai, 2008 – CSK won by six runs
The first meeting between these sides in the IPL produced a high-scoring nail-biter. Brisk fifties from Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina powered CSK to 208, before MI, despite losing wickets regularly, kept the chase going. Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh combined to bring the equation down to nine from the last four deliveries, but Joginder Sharma kept his nerve to take CSK over the line.
Mumbai, 2012 – MI won by two wickets
After a few years of lopsided contests came the real humdinger. MI’s pursuit of 174 had been led by half-centuries from Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma. But a dramatic collapse – 134 for 1 became 159 for 8 – left them needing 16 from the final over and then 14 from three balls. No fear! Dwayne Smith, playing his first game of the season, hit Ben Hilfenhaus for 6, 4, 4 to set off celebrations in the MI camp.Dwayne Smith has been among those who have played starring roles for both MI as well as CSK•BCCI
Mumbai, 2014 – CSK won by four wickets
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Smith – now in the other camp – had anchored CSK’s chase of 158 with a fifty. But Lasith Malinga’s death overs wizardry meant CSK still needed 11 from the final over. CSK, however, had their own master of the death overs in the middle: MS Dhoni smashed a six and a four off Kieron Pollard to finish it off with three balls to spare.
Mumbai, 2018 – CSK won by one wicket
CSK’s first game back from a two-year ban pitted them against the defending champions. Hardik Pandya and debutant Mayank Markande took three-fors and CSK, chasing 166, looked buried at 118 for 8 in the 17th over. With 47 needed off the last three, Dwayne Bravo scored 19 and 20 off the next two overs, and a heavily hamstrung Kedar Jadhav, batting on one leg, finished the job in the last over.
Hyderabad 2019 – MI won by one run
A fourth IPL title was up for grabs for either side. The contest ebbed and flowed and left CSK needing nine off the last over. Shane Watson, with a bloody knee, was run-out for 80 on the fourth ball. With two needed off the final ball, Malinga – with figures of 0 for 42 in his first three overs – bowled the perfect yorker to trap Shardul Thakur in front and deliver MI the trophy.MI edged out CSK to win the IPL 2019 by one run•Mahesh Kumar A/Associated Press
Delhi, 2021 – MI won by four wickets
Ambati Rayudu was rampant against his former team, and powered CSK to 218. That seemed more than enough when MI found themselves at 94 for 3 after 12 overs. But with 125 needed from the last eight overs – and 48 from the last three – Kieron Pollard smashed six fours and eight sixes and took MI home by scampering through for a double off the last ball of the game.
Navi Mumbai, 2022 – CSK won by three wickets
Both MI and CSK struggled after the mega auction before IPL 2022, so this was a bottom-of-the-table contest. Tilak Varma’s 43-ball 51 not out took MI to 155 after Mukesh Choudhary had wrecked their top order. Then Daniel Sams did the same to CSK. It came down to CSK needing 16 off the last four balls with Dhoni facing Jaydev Unadkat. In a display of vintage brilliance, Dhoni sealed the deal with a sequence of 6, 4, 2 and 4.