The PBKS seam attack made good use of a pitch that offered just enough help to pace-off deliveries aimed into the pitch
ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-20252:12
Did Virat Kohli’s innings in the IPL final lack intent?
Innings Coming into this final, Punjab Kings had batted second six times in IPL 2025 and chased successfully on five of those occasions. They will back themselves to make it six out of seven now, after their bowlers executed cleverly set plans on an Ahmedabad pitch with tennis-ball bounce to restrict Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 190 for 9.This wasn’t a slow pitch that made shot-making difficult on the whole, but the ball dug into the surface on the shorter lengths – especially when bowled pace-off – misbehaved just often enough to keep the batters under control. And the PBKS seamers used this type of ball persistently and with great skill.Virat Kohli struggled for timing with his pull shot – which he played often – and eventually fell to one while scoring 43 off 35 balls. Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar and Liam Livingstone, meanwhile, began promisingly but fell just when they were looking threatening – all three to Kyle Jamieson, who used the slower legcutter with great success.2:30
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Only Jitesh Sharma, who scored 24 off 10 balls, found a method to attack PBKS’ hard lengths successfully, making room, using his feet, and exploring the V behind the wicket.Jitesh’s fifth-wicket stand of 36 off 12 balls with Liam Livingstone threatened to give RCB the finish that would take them past 200, but their ambitions were nipped in the bud by Vijaykumar Vyshak, who dismissed Jitesh while conceding just five runs in the 18th over, and Arshdeep Singh, who found the reverse-swing that allowed him to go full and attack the stumps in a three-wicket final over that cost PBKS just five runs.
Seamers Gerald Coetzee and Nandre Burger will make their return to international cricket after eight and 11 months respectively in South Africa’s T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe next month. Coetzee was sidelined by a hamstring and then a groin injury over the home summer while Burger has been out with a lower-back stress fracture. Both are currently in action at the Major League Cricket tournament in the USA.South Africa are without regular captain Aiden Markram, batters Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and David Miller, allrounder Marco Jansen, pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (who will lead the Test side in Zimbabwe). Anrich Nortje has a stress-related injury of the back and was unavailable for selection. Tabraiz Shamsi, who like Nortje is no longer contracted to CSA, has also not been included. Head coach Shukri Conrad revealed that he will have a conversation with wristspinner in the next week or so to determine his plans with the national side going forward. Heinrich Klaasen has retired from international cricket.”The all-format guys have been rested. If you go back to what their last couple of months have looked like, they played Test Series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan back home, then they had SA20, then they went straight from there into an IPL, and the IPL went on for a bit longer.Then we had the World Test Championship Final. Their last couple of months have been chock-a-block. If you cast your eye on what the next few months look like for us, starting with this series and then a couple of days after we go to Australia and England, we felt it was the best thing for them to freshen up,” Conrad said from Zimbabwe. “That was the big thing for me, for them to get a really good break away from cricket and freshen up. Then also use this opportunity to look at guys that potentially could stake a claim to make that T20 World Cup squad. Our sights are firmly now on what that T20 World Cup squad could look like.”Related
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In Markram’s absence, Rassie van der Dussen will captain the side, having also done so on South Africa’s tour to West Indies before last year’s T20 World Cup. There is experience in the form of Reeza Hendricks and Lungi Ngidi and four uncapped players. Exciting left-handed batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who is also in the Test squad, is in line for a T20I debut alongside Rubin Hermann, left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy and allrounder Corbin Bosch.On Pretorius, Conrad said: “He’s a special breed. He’s come up, played in the U19 World Cup, did really well there, debuted in the SA20 and was phenomenal there. Then he played first-class cricket for the Titans, scored a hundred on debut, and a hundred in the final, so that says that there’s something special about him. We’re obviously excited to have him and some of the other younger bucks in the set-up and to see what his journey is going to look like going forward.”The series is the first white-ball assignment for Conrad, who has already been in charge of the Test side since 2023 and will take on the extra workload until 2027. On appointment in May, Conrad stressed that he expected to field squads that are as close to full strength as possible outside of major tournaments but his first rodeo as white-ball coach has not panned out that way.Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who topped the run-charts in the SA20, has been handed a call up•SA20
With next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in mind, South Africa have included three spinners in Muthusamy, George Linde and Nqabayomzi Peter. Linde was among the top 10 wicket-takers at the SA20 while Peter played for South Africa in tours towards the latter end of last year. “Having three quality spin options gives us a great deal of variety, especially in conditions like Harare,” Conrad said in a statement.The batting line-up is headlined by the return of Dewald Brevis, who played two T20Is for South Africa against Australia in 2023 and scored five runs collectively. Then, Brevis was being fast-tracked onto the international scene after topping the run-charts at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup. He has since had two full domestic seasons and impressed across formats, including finishing as the sixth-highest run-scorer at the SA20 last summer. Brevis also had an eye-catching stint as a replacement player for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025.”Dewald has matured nicely,” Conrad said. ” From the last I worked with him at the Under-19 World Cup, there’s a certain level of maturity. He’s got experience under his belt now with regards to first-class cricket. He’s obviously played a lot of T20 cricket around the world – IPL and he had a stint with Hampshire, so I think in terms of that, the level of experience is a lot bigger. We certainly don’t want guys to come here now and start changing things because they feel it’s international level. Whatever they’ve got, we want to enhance that and we want them to showcase that.So exciting times for him.”Hermann was the fifth-leading run-scorer at the SA20 and Pretorius topped the charts. All three have been called up on the back of those performances.South Africa’s pace department includes left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka, who is also in the Test squad, and allrounder Andile Simelane, who has played five T20Is. “Kwena has spent time at the IPL, he’s been involved with the SA20, he’s played one or two games for South Africa so he’s only going to get better for that,” Conrad said. “He’s definitely one that we’ve got our eye on in terms of not only now but the future as well. I think it’s a bright future. He needs to play as much first-class cricket as he possibly can, just so that he continually understands and his body gets used to the rigours of playing first-class cricket.”The tri-series, which starts on July 14, also includes New Zealand, who will be coached by South Africa’s former white-ball coach, Rob Walter. All seven matches will be played in Harare.
After becoming synonymous with Brentford, Thomas Frank would have been forgiven somewhat if he had teething problems adjusting to the Tottenham Hotspur hot-seat.
Indeed, the much-loved Dane was a mainstay for the Bees for seven years. Yet, he has instantly hit the ground running as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement in North London.
So far, only one defeat has come his way from 11 games at the Spurs helm, leading to Frank guiding his new team all the way up to third spot in the early league standings, before the international break came into play.
One of Frank’s men so far has, of course, been Mohammed Kudus, who has spearheaded plenty of points so far, including the victory over Leeds prior to the break.
Why Kudus looks like one of Spurs' best players
Amazingly, Frank wasn’t the only coup Spurs managed to pull off this summer when directly stealing from some of their London neighbours.
Much to the anger of West Ham supporters, the tricky forward excited the London Stadium at West Ham for Tottenham, moving across the capital in a deal worth £55m, a price tag that made him the club’s fourth-highest transfer of all time.
While West Ham loiter towards the bottom of the division, Kudus has become an instant hit donning Spurs white near the top of the competitive league, with one goal and five assists already falling into his lap from ten contests.
Already, that £55m looks to be money well spent, with Wayne Rooney even hailing the purchase as a “real top signing” after the Ghanaian’s match-winning effort at Elland Road.
There could be bold comparisons forming, too, between Kudus and one of Frank’s favourites at Brentford in Bryan Mbeumo.
Indeed, the Scandinavian boss has now potentially unearthed another blistering output machine he can rely on as his main marksman, with the 25-year-old also capable of playing all across the forward positions, like his Manchester United counterpart.
Yet, there is be a different member of Frank’s camp slipping under the radar as his next Mbeumo-style figure.
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Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
An Mbeumo-like figure for Frank to rely on
Mbeumo and Frank would be seen as two key elements to Brentford’s unbelievable Premier League success story when the pair were still together at the GTech Community Stadium.
Staggeringly, 242 of Mbeumo’s 297 career appearances to date fell under the Dane’s long reign at the Bees, with 70 goals and 51 assists picked up along the way, winning him the label of being Frank’s “main man” as the now Spurs manager stated in April of this year.
While Kudus has gained a lot of plaudits at Spurs to date to now be seen as Frank’s main spark, there is another glue holding the North Londoners together that could be viewed as the 52-year-old’s most reliable asset: Joao Palhinha.
Kudus does offer up a similar exciting, hard-to-contain attacking presence as Mbeumo, but in Palhinha, Frank might well have uncovered another talent that allows his side to tick, with the loan-to-buy deal of £27m that’s on the table continuing to stand out as a masterstroke in this regard.
Palhinha’s PL numbers (25/26)
Stat (* = per game)
Palhinha
Games played
7
Goals scored
2
Assists
0
Touches*
49.4
Accurate passes*
30.3 (82%)
Tackles*
3.6
Ball recoveries*
2.0
Total duels won*
6.7
Stats by Sofascore
Football London’s Alasdair Gold has even hailed the deal to bring him in as “one of the bargains of the summer”, and it’s not the wildest shout when you assess the ex-Fulham man’s standout numbers to date back in the Premier League.
Away from hammering home two goals for his new employers already, Palhinha has also more than lived up to this previous billing as a “defensive monster” which was once handed to him by analyst Marcus Bring, winning a mighty 6.7 duels per game across his seven top-flight outings.
Already, it appears that Frank has stumbled across another vital commander he can rely on in a similar vein to Mbeumo, with Palhinha hopeful of many more happy seasons under his new boss, if his excellent start to life at Spurs is anything to go by.
After all, his former manager in Marco Silva, would go as far as to herald him as a “leader” at Craven Cottage and despite not donning the armband at Brentford under Frank, that’s exactly what Mbeumo was too.
Not every star man needs to bundle in the goals like the new Man Utd signing to make themselves a hero under Frank and Palhinha has certainly found that out already. Forget Kudus, the Portuguese has been their most important player to date this term.
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When it comes to the top academies in the Premier League today, it’s hard to look past Arsenal’s Hale End.
The most obvious success for the North Londoners is undoubtedly Bukayo Saka, but the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly look set for bright futures in the game.
On top of that, Max Dowman is arguably the most exciting prospect in the country at the moment, as at just 15 years old, he is already “humiliating Premier League players,” in the words of analyst Ben Mattinson.
As if that wasn’t enough, there is now another crop of exciting prospects who could make their debuts in the coming years, including one who could be another Declan Rice.
Arsenal's next breakout star after Dowman
Everyone and their dog is now aware of how unbelievably talented Dowman is, but there are several other academy gems who could be future stars for Arsenal, like Andre Harriman-Annous.
The 17-year-old will be a familiar name to those who follow the developments at Hale End, as he’s been a real star in the Junior sides over the last few years.
For example, in 35 appearances last season, totalling 2559 minutes, he scored 15 goals and provided three assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.94 games, or every 142.16 minutes.
Appearances
35
Minute
2559′
Goals
15
Assists
3
Goal Involvements per Match
0.51
Minutes per Goal Involvement
142.16′
Moreover, he already has three goals to his name in seven games for the U21 side this season.
Another 17-year-old who looks destined to make it into the first team at some point is Alex Marciniak.
Described as having “an eye for goal” and being an all-around “insane” talent by Hale End expert Will Balsam, the Cardiff-born maestro can play on both sides of the pitch and in the middle of the park.
Moreover, he’s already racked up an impressive tally of one goal and three assists in five appearances this season and has rapidly ascended the Welsh youth sides, currently playing in the U18s, with a goal to his name in two caps.
With all that said, there is another youngster making waves in the academy at the moment, someone who could be unreal alongside Dowman and a homegrown Rice.
Arsenal's homegrown Rice
With Rice being an undeniably world-class midfielder, any youngster compared to him has to be pretty special, and that is certainly the case with Ife Ibrahim.
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Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
The “excellent” 17-year-old prospect, as dubbed by Balsam, joined Arsenal in 2016 and has worked his way up to the U21s, but what makes him a potential Rice-type player?
Well, first and foremost, while he started out as a striker, he is now a colossal defensive midfielder, but one who can move more into central midfield when needed.
He appears to have many of the same qualities the former West Ham United captain has, with respected U23 scout Antonio Mango describing him as “composed, technically talented in possession and calculated out of possession.”
Moreover, Balsam points out that the young prospect “eats up space, recovers the ball, and glides past players with ease”, which sounds a lot like a certain England international.
It’s not just the defensive side of the game, though, with Balsam also highlighting the fact that he “continues to show his bravery in his passing, without hesitance on either foot.”
In other words, the Hale Ender is someone who can, and does, win the ball deep, drive past opposing players and deliver the ball to his attacking teammates through accurate passes.
It’s these similarities to the Gunners’ £105m man that could make him such an incredible future teammate for Dowman as well.
His boundless energy and ability to collect and recycle the ball would allow the 15-year-old to focus all his attention on happenings at the sharp end of the pitch.
Ultimately, it’s still very early, but Ibrahim looks like one of the most exciting players in Arsenal’s academy and someone who could be a future star.
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Enzo Maresca is an imperfect head coach, but there’s no denying the progress he has made at Chelsea since replacing Mauricio Pochettino at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
Last season, Chelsea finished fifth in the Premier League and recovered their place in the Champions League, having gone two years without a taste of top-drawer European action.
The Blues are rebuilding, and their sights are set on the biggest prizes out there, aforementioned. The transfer strategy has been polished in the windows since those turbulent early BlueCo days, but there is work still to be done, even with exciting additions across the summer.
It’s not just ensuring Chelsea get bang for their buck with incomings, but getting it right when selling a first-teamer too. There have been a few to frustratingly slip through the Stamford Bridge turnstiles over the years.
Chelsea's worst modern sales
Chelsea typically sell well. While the Londoners catch their rivals’ frustrations with big-money transfer windows, this is enabled through the calculated and extensive impetus on the exit front, raking in hundreds of millions each year.
Co-owner and Chelsea chairman ToddBoehlyin the stands before the match
But it doesn’t always go to plan, and more historical cases would reveal the rueful sales of Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne, both of whom left Chelsea in the early stages of their careers and built themselves up in Europe before returning and cementing their legacies.
It would not be outrageous to claim that both would get into the Premier League all-time 11. Not outrageous, only contestable.
Romelu Lukaku also falls into that bracket, having left the young for Everton when young and since becoming one of the most prolific strikers of his generation. The fact that the Blues re-signed him for £97.5m and then he flopped emphasises the bungled club-player relationship.
Salah might be the most egregious of the lot, though, leaving for Roma in a £15m deal before returning to England two years later and going on to achieve greatness on Merseyside. Now he’s 33, still starring for an indomitable Liverpool team.
All-time PL Top Scorers
Player
Apps
Goals
Alan Shearer
441
260
Harry Kane
320
213
Wayne Rooney
491
208
Mohamed Salah
306
188
Andy Cole
414
187
Stats via Premier League
And there may be fears in the Chelsea offices that they have repeated that former mistake.
Why Chelsea sold Noni Madueke
Madueke arrived at Chelsea as an untested and unknown prospect. He had found regional acclaim in Holland with PSV Eindhoven and made the leap back to his homeland to form part of a new world order at Stamford Bridge.
It was a testing period for the club, and Madueke, at times, toiled, but that was to be expected; the winger was 20 years old at the time, after all.
Described as a “mentality monster” by personal coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst during his younger days, the 23-year-old struggled to maintain a consistent clinical level across his two-and-a-half years at Chelsea, but his attitude was right and the talent was there for all to see.
Arsenal certainly saw it, snapping him up this summer for £55m. A healthy sum, and one Maresca’s side can be forgiven for accepting, especially when considering the wave of attacking signings welcomed to the Bridge.
It was only last season, of course, that the England international scored a hat-trick in his favourite place, underscoring his potential in the Premier League.
And his start to life over in north London has shown Chelsea the error of their ways, with Madueke already making startling headway in Mikel Arteta’s system, even hailed by ex-Manchester United defender Paul Parker as being “better than Bukayo Saka.”
Some might take offence to that one, but it does underscore the player within, now coming into his own.
Madueke’s potential was always a lofty thing, and it’s telling that he has played six times for Arsenal and has yet to register a goal contribution. Even so, the consensus is unanimous: he’s been great.
According to data-led platform FBref, Madueke ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries per 90, highlighting an incredible well of athleticism and pace from which he draws on each match.
Might Chelsea have a Salah repeat on their hands? Let’s hope not. It’s worth remembering that the Egyptian only left Italy and signed for Liverpool after he had turned 25, and eyebrows were raised in a similar fashion to Madueke’s cross-London switch.
Now, he’s an all-timer in the English game. Like Madueke, Salah is a right-sided forward, and he’s one of the greatest goalscorers to do it.
His is a tale which hammers home the fact that development in football is not linear. He came into his own at a later age, but, as with Madueke, both were talented enough as youngsters as to warrant Chelsea’s attention.
Chelsea have more than enough quality in the locker to ensure this does not detrimentally hamper them in their ambitions, but there’s no question that, if Madueke makes considerable progress over the next few years, this might become another sale to join the rueful departures of Salah, De Bruyne and the like.
Roman Abramovich, at least, didn’t sell Salah to a direct rival, and instead shipped him out to Italy, where he developed and grew the fundamentals that allowed him to return to the Premier League and become a superstar.
But Madueke already looks like a more polished and incisive player over at the Emirates, and while Arsenal have swept up so much of Chelsea’s rubbish over the years, it’s beginning to look like Madueke will buck that trend.
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West Ham United and manager Nuno Espírito Santo are being handed the chance to solve their Niclas Füllkrug problem, as an agent pushes one of his attacking clients towards the London Stadium.
West Ham dealt Fullkrug injury blow as striker problems worsen
Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann confirmed that Fullkrug has suffered a thigh injury when asked why the striker wasn’t called up to face Luxembourg and Wales.
Kicker have since reported that the 32-year-old faces “several weeks” on the sidelines as a result, dealing a major blow to Nuno, who now has just Callum Wilson and youngster Callum Marshall to call upon over the next few games.
Brentford (home)
October 20
Leeds United (away)
October 24
Newcastle United (home)
November 2
Burnley (home)
November 8
West Ham will now have to rely on the inexperience of Marshall or pray that Wilson maintains his own fitness, with the latter also very prone to injury himself.
Fullkrug’s latest injury heaps pressure on West Ham’s creative players, like Lucas Paqueta, Crysencio Summerville and Jarrod Bowen, to compensate for the absence of a focal point up front.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund man was forced to sit out 28 games for West Ham and Germany combined last season as a result of achilles tendon problems and a hamstring injury.
Questions have understandably been asked about the club’s decision to fork out £27 million for an injury-prone striker past his prime, with Nuno and West Ham’s recruitment team now tasked to pick up the pieces.
West Ham’s main objective for the winter window is to sign a striker, according to reports, and this will come as music to the ears of Hammers supporters as their side are tipped to battle against relegation.
January could be vital when it comes to rescuing Nuno from his centre-forward conundrum. Man United striker Josh Zirkzee is already being linked with a move to West Ham, as the East Londoners scramble to assess realistic moves for available number nines mid-season.
There is also the free agent market to consider as an emergency solution, with ex-Watford and Nottingham Forest striker Emmanuel Dennis apparently emerging as an option.
Agent pushing Emmanuel Dennis towards West Ham
The 27-year-old terminated his Forest deal by mutual consent in August and has been readily available for hire ever since, with The Athletic reporting all the way back in 2022 that West Ham held talks over signing Dennis for ex-boss David Moyes.
Now, as per Hammers News, the Nigerian is being offered out to West Ham again.
It is believed that an agent is actively pushing Dennis towards West Ham, but as things stand, the club aren’t really biting.
Despite a stellar 21/22 at Watford, where he bagged 10 goals and six assists in 33 Premier League appearances, the Nigerian really hasn’t done much since then.
He actually plied his trade at Forest and during Nuno’s tenure, but scored just two league goals in his debut season before being shipped out on loan to Istanbul Basaksehir, Watford and Blackburn Rovers until he was released.
Once called a “beast” by members of the media, Dennis hasn’t made a significant impact for quite some time, and signing the attacker hardly seems like an adept solution to West Ham’s striker crisis, even if it would be at zero cost.
He did enjoy a brief purple during his second spell at Watford, with former interim boss Tom Cleverley hailing Dennis’ “explosive” style after he scored three times in five starts back at Vicarage Road in 2024, but he managed just one goal thereafter.
Chelsea didn’t exactly quell any growing concerns with their League Cup game against Lincoln City on Tuesday night.
However, they got the all-important win, and while most starters flattered to deceive, there was one who did what he needed to do: Tyrique George.
The Cobham graduate scored the equaliser just after half-time and then provided the assist for the winner a few minutes later.
The young Englishman certainly deserves more chances in the first team off the back of that performance, but there is another academy gem coming through who could be an even bigger talent.
Chelsea's promising prospects
Chelsea have long been a powerhouse when it comes to producing exciting young talents, and George is just another example of that.
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Throughout his time with the various youth sides, the versatile attacker has amassed an impressive tally of 21 goals and 19 assists in 69 appearances.
On top of that, he has also scored four goals and provided six assists in 30 first-team games, including the one on Tuesday.
An even younger, yet nonetheless exciting prospect, currently plying his trade in Cobham, is Chizaram Ezenwata.
The 17-year-old has already scored four goals and provided one assist in just four appearances this season, and looks like one to watch.
However, there is another up-and-coming Cobham gem who might just be the most exciting of them all.
Chelsea's most exciting talent
So while there are plenty of potential future stars in Cobham, we reckon Shumaira Mheuka is the one who could be a real game-changer.
The 17-year-old prospect started his footballing journey with Brighton & Hove Albion’s academy, but made the move to West London in 2022.
Since then, he has been tearing apart opposition teams for fun and turning heads at both the club and international levels.
Appearances
55
Goals
28
Assists
6
Goal Involvements per Match
0.61
For example, in 55 appearances across U18s, U21s, and the UEFA Youth League squads, the Birmingham-born gem has scored 28 goals and provided six assists.
In other words, despite often playing with players far older than himself, the young prospect has managed to average a goal involvement every 1.61 over the last couple of years.
Moreover, he has really stepped it up this year, scoring seven goals in six youth games and making an appearance for the first team on Tuesday night.
His exploits aren’t limited to club football, either, as in 16 appearances for the England U19s, he has scored eight goals and provided three assists.
Numbers like this at such a young age go a long way in justifying talent scout Jacek Kulig’s claim that he is “the future of Chelsea and English football.”
Ultimately, there is still a long way to go before he’s starting and scoring for the first team, but in Mheuka, Chelsea look to have a potential world-beater on their hands.
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“I’ve tried to let the outside noise do its thing and make sure my game keeps improving”
Matt Roller22-Jun-20252:23
Pope: ‘I’ve got better at trusting my game more’
Ollie Pope is determined to “kick on” and put “runs after runs after runs” on the board against India, after securing his place as England’s No. 3 with his ninth Test century at Headingley.Pope hit 196 in Hyderabad at the start of the reverse series 18 months ago but tailed off after that, failing to reach 40 in the final four Tests. He believes that a calmer mentality and technical work on his defence have helped him defy his reputation as an anxious starter, but admitted that he had found it impossible to ignore the scrutiny over his position ahead of this series.”I’ve tried not to let it affect me too much,” Pope said. “I’ve just been trying to make sure my game’s in as good a place as possible and when I get in, try to make sure I make the most of it. I’ve tried to let the outside noise do its thing and make sure my game keeps improving, and that I get my headspace in as good a place as possible too.”Related
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Ollie Pope's century buys him the summer at No. 3
Pope came into the series under pressure from Jacob Bethell, who impressed at No. 3 in England’s tour to New Zealand late last year when Pope batted down the order and deputised as wicketkeeper. He said that he believed that series – in which he scored 194 runs in five innings – was the start of his improvement early in his innings.”It’s almost just trying my game a little bit more: not feeling like I’ve got to rush to 30 to then really feel ‘in’,” Pope said. “It’s trying to enjoy the process of building an innings, rather than just, ‘I want to get to 30 to then make a big one’… It’s something I’ve been working hard on, just generally putting my game in a better place and making sure my defence is as good as it can be.”Pope did rush to 30 on the second afternoon, hitting six early boundaries to reach 31 off 25 balls after walking out at 4 for 1, but his fast-scoring was primarily the result of a fast outfield and some attacking bowling. His tempo changed as the field spread: his second fifty contained fewer boundaries than the first, but also took fewer balls as he rotated strike with ease.He has never previously scored more than one hundred in a Test series – in fact, his previous eight centuries had all come against different opponents. But after starting the summer with 171 against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, Pope has scored back-to-back hundreds and is chasing more runs.Pope is a picture of poise as he drives straight•Associated Press”It’s a long series, and there’s a lot to be done in this game still as well,” he said. “It’s definitely [an innings] that I really enjoyed. It was disappointing not to kick on this morning, but I’m really happy with how I went about it and played, and I’m happy with where my game’s at – so hopefully, I can kick on.”The first Test is in the balance after three days, with India’s top order building on a slender first-innings lead on Sunday evening. Pope said that England’s lower-order contributions were “really important”, with cameos from Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse helping them reduce the deficit to only six runs.”[A deficit of] 40 or 50, just from a mindset, might have given them a little bit more confidence, knowing that they’ve got that head-start, but playing the game from an even playing field felt quite important. We got those two wickets; they played nicely. KL Rahul batted really well. It’s important for us to get some early breakthroughs.”It obviously would’ve been nice to get maybe one or two more wickets this evening, but I think the pitch is still playing really well. It’s obviously such a quick-scoring ground, with the lightning [fast] outfield. It’s obviously an important session tomorrow morning, and the game is poised in a pretty nice position.”
There were worrying scenes in Naples after Kevin De Bruyne appeared to suffer a serious hamstring injury while scoring a penalty for Napoli in their Serie A match against Inter. De Bruyne has been impressive since linking up with Antonio Conte in Italy, but was in tears and had to be helped by a number of medical staff as he made his way around the pitch.
Getty Images SportPromising start to life in Serie A
After a decade of success at Manchester City, where he won 19 major trophies, De Bruyne moved to Naples. And he enjoyed a strong start, scoring four goals and laying on two assists in his first 11 appearances across all competitions, helping Napoli to the top of the Serie A table. The 34-year-old's arrival was widely celebrated and he was likened to club legend Diego Maradona.
However, his debut season with Napoli has also seen early drama. He was involved in a spat with manager Antonio Conte after being substituted in a game against AC Milan. And he was also named on the bench for the clash against Genoa. And now he has hobbled off with a worrying-looking injury.
AdvertisementWatch the clipDe Bruyne left devastated as Napoli go on to win
Immediately after converting the spot-kick, he pulled up clutching his right thigh and was visibly tearful as he was helped off the field by Napoli staff. De Bruyne, who joined Napoli earlier this year, has a history of hamstring problems.
It was a night of high emotion at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona which saw Napoli overcome Inter Milan 3-1 to reclaim the top spot in Serie A. The pivotal victory came after a tumultuous week for Gli Azzurri, following a humbling 6-2 Champions League defeat by PSV Eindhoven. The match's opening stages were dominated by Inter, with Alessandro Bastoni and Hakan Calhanoglu testing Napoli's defence.
However, the hosts who took the lead from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute, with De Bruyne converting after Henrikh Mkhitaryan was judged to have fouled Giovanni Di Lorenzo. The celebration was short-lived following the Belgium international’s injury. Napoli rallied in the second half and in the 54th minute, Scott McTominay extended the lead with a superb half-volley from a long ball. Inter responded quickly, with Calhanoglu converting a penalty of his own just five minutes later following a handball decision by VAR. With the game on a knife-edge, Frank Anguissa sealed the victory for Napoli in the 66th minute, capping off a dynamic run with a powerful finish.
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Conte downplays public spats
Conte recently praised De Bruyne’s evolution as a player, highlighting his growing involvement in the team game. He said: "Kevin is evolving to become more involved in the team. I see him very engaged, also because he enjoys playing. He has raised our level. Kevin is now expressing his potential at a high level, not just in his usual role, but in what he is contributing with us. He is a player who helps us build, also through his personality. We are carving out a role for him, and he seems very involved and happy."
He added: "We have to manage our schedule between Serie A and the Champions League. Against Pisa, I rested Anguissa and Lobotka after several games where Kevin was a key player, I chose to start with a 4-3-3. But he’s fully integrated, we understand each other perfectly. He’s very important for us because, when we play with four midfielders, he adds a lot of quality."
Football's lawmakers will discuss giving VAR the power to review second yellow cards at a meeting in January. The International Football Association Board's (IFAB) advisory group has confirmed the proposal will be submitted, which would expand VAR's remit beyond its current limitation of only reviewing straight red cards. The move is based on the idea that second yellow cards are often match-changing decisions which should be subject to review.
Major shake-up of VAR rules
IFAB will consider proposals aimed at both speeding up the game and improving communication between players and referees, according to . One proposal involves extending the eight-second countdown currently applied to goalkeepers holding the ball to also include throw-ins and goal kicks, with the intention of reducing time wasting.
Additionally, it will be recommended that the existing policy of allowing only team captains to speak with referees about decisions be made a mandatory rule. The eight-second rule has been used twice so far this season, when Martin Dubravka delayed too long with the ball for Burnley against Tottenham and Caoimhin Kelleher for Brentford against Liverpool. Controversially, Brentford took a total of nine minutes 18 seconds to take just ten throw-ins during the game against Liverpool at the Gtech Community Stadium.
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VAR decision expected early next year
A statement from IFAB said: "In relation to the video assistant referee (VAR) protocol, it was discussed that, among others, the video match officials (VMO) should have the possibility to intervene when an incorrect second yellow card has been given. A relevant proposal will be submitted to the Ifab’s Annual Business Meeting, which is due to meet on 20 January 2026 in London. Deliberations included whether the countdown principle could be applied to throw-ins and goal kicks and how to reduce the amount of time lost owing to stoppages caused by injuries and substitutions."
VAR-reaching powers have grown in recent years
Since its 2019 introduction, VAR has been a constant source of controversy. While intended to increase decision accuracy, VAR has frustrated fans, players, and managers alike with its inconsistencies and slow execution. Critics argue it has diminished the matchday experience by sapping the emotion from goal celebrations. Former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said, "This constant erosion of referees' authority… is diminishing the authority of the referee". And Anthony Gordon bemoaned VAR’s intervention in him not being awarded a penalty in 2023, he said: "I don't mind the referee getting it wrong on the pitch, but I don't understand the point of VAR. Either get rid of it or get better. It's that simple, there are too many mistakes." Despite complaints and admitted errors, like the infamous Luis Diaz offside incident at Tottenham in 2023, the Premier League maintains VAR has increased overall correct decision-making. However, a 2024 YouGov poll revealed nearly 90 per cent of matchgoing fans want changes or for it to be scrapped completely. Most opt for reform rather than abandonment, citing delays and communication issues as primary concerns.
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No guarantees move will be given green light
There is no indication if the move to include yellow cards will definitely be taken up and there is resistance from those within the game in England. FA chief executive and IFAB board member, Mark Bullingham, told the in July: "There are regular discussions in IFAB about what VAR should be, and how it should move forward. I think our position is that we’re in a good place now. Of course if someone brings an item forward for IFAB to consider, then as a group we’ll consider it. But as a group we don’t necessarily think that VAR needs to be extended at the moment. We think there’s enough interruptions to the game in the current model."