The four week long period between this international break and the next, containing seven fixtures, could be season-defining for Celtic.

Having yielded just a solitary point from their first two Europa League outings, Brendan Rodgers’ team really need to get some points on the board against Sturm Graz at home and then Midtjylland in Herning, because the fixtures only get tougher after that.

Meantime, on the domestic front, the Hoops will visit current Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts the Sunday after next, an eagerly anticipated clash at Tynecastle, before the small matter of an Old Firm League Cup semi-final at Hampden a week later.

Given their underwhelming form so far, supporters are hoping to see players come to the fore and put their best foot forward, but which summer signing is showing early signs of a certain Tom Rogic?

Tom Rogic's Celtic career in numbers

Few players in modern Celtic history remain as beloved as Rogic.

After arriving from Central Coast Mariners in January 2013, the Australian made 272 appearances in hoops, scoring 46 goals and providing 51 assists.

He netted six times against Rangers, while also scoring, arguably, the most famous goal of the club’s recent history, firing home a stoppage-time winner in the 2017 Scottish Cup Final against Aberdeen to secure the invincible treble that bookended Rodgers’ first season in charge.

Affectionately known as the Wizard of Oz, this nickname encapsulates Rogic’s style of play, possessing the clichéd ‘wand of a left foot’, while Rodgers similarly labelled him a “magician”.

Meantime, then teammate Josip Juranović asserted that the Australian “is little Messi”, adding “he’s one of the best players I have played with”.

When he departed at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, Rogic received an emotional standing ovation from the Celtic faithful as genuine and heartfelt recognition for all the magical moments he had provided.

He cited wanting the move closer to home as the reason for his departure and, technically, he did that by about 280 of the 10,550 miles, joining West Bromwich Albion as a free agent, albeit he made only 23 appearances for the Baggies before retiring at the age of 30.

When Rogic arrived as a 20-year-old from an A-League club very few in Glasgow would ever have heard of, surely no one could’ve foreseen just how impactful he would be at the club, so is a current squad member set for a similar trajectory?

Celtic's next Tom Rogic

Supporters remain generally furious with the board’s inactivity this summer, believing that transfer deals were completed too late, costing Celtic a place in the Champions League.

Well, considering Marcelo Saracchi, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Sebastian Tounekti and Kelechi Iheanacho all arrived after the play-off defeat to Kairat, they may have a point.

One new recruit who did join all the way back in June, instantaneously establishing himself as a first-choice starter, is Benjamin Nygren, and what an absolute bargain he could prove to be.

Into the final few months of his contract with Nordsjælland, the Hoops managed to sign the Sweden international for a reported fee of £1.7m, while Football Transfers believe his current value to be around £6m, having already increased just 13 appearances into his Celtic career.

The table below emphasises his importance to the team so far this season.

As the table documents, Nygren ranks first for a wide variety of attacking metrics this season, thereby very much part of Rodgers’ first-choice midfield trio, despite the fact many forecast he was joining to replace Nicolas Kühn on the right-wing.

The Swede, who was an unused substitute for both of the Blågult’s World Cup qualifying defeats this week, scored his fourth goal for Celtic against Motherwell last time out, having opened his account for the club against Aberdeen in August.

Following that victory at Pittodrie, Rodgers praised Nygren’s “excellent” performance, noting that “his intuition is to get in the box and score goals”, as Rogic often did, connecting with Kieran Tierney’s low cross to fire past Dimitar Mitov.

Meantime, following a 5-1 dismantling of Northern Ireland in March, international teammate Alexander Isak described Nygren as “fearless”, concluding that “playing with a winger like that who is able to provide good crosses can only be beneficial for someone like me”.

That is high praise from the most-expensive player in British football history, so the £1.7m Celtic paid to secure the 24-year-old’s signature looks like a genuine bargain.

Thus, supporters will hope he remains in Glasgow’s East End for nigh on a decade too, as Rogic did, the last player at the club who could boast possessing an equally majestic left foot.

Cost £0, now worth more than Tounekti: Celtic hit gold on "phenomenal" star

Sebastian Tounekti has made an impressive start to life at Celtic, but a “prolific” attacker who arrived for free has a higher estimated market value.

By
Ben Gray

Oct 10, 2025

MLB’s hot stove is about to get cranked up this week, as the 2025 winter meetings begin Monday in Orlando, Fla., where executives from all 30 teams will gather. And with executives, managers and player agents in the same room, the proverbial engines of the free agent and trade markets are being revved up. Some of the offseason’s biggest deals often go down at the winter meetings. This year could be no different. 

The best available position player on the market, Kyle Tucker, met with the reigning American League champion Blue Jays, perhaps a precursor to his market picking up speed this week. Arguably the next best free agent hitter, National League home run king Kyle Schwarber, is a candidate to be the first free agent domino to fall in Orlando. And then there’s the trade market. Will back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal be dealt by the Tigers? All these questions—and more—will be answered in the coming days, making for an exciting time for baseball fans. That said, here are the biggest questions in MLB heading into the winter meetings.

1. Where will Kyle Tucker land? 

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية حقيقة بيع نادي برشلونة لولي العهد السعودي الأمير محمد بن سلمان، بعد ما تردد من تكهنات خلال الساعات الماضية.

وذكرت قناة “الشيرينجويتو” التلفزيونية، أن ولي العهد السعودي الأمير محمد بن سلمان يستعد لتقديم عرض بقيمة 10 مليارات يورو لشراء نادي برشلونة.

وتردد بأن ولي العهد السعودي يعتقد بأن برشلونة يثقل بديون تبلغ 2.5 مليار يورو، وقد يكون هناك اتجاه لبيعه مقابل الحصول على سيولة نقدية.

اقرأ أيضاً.. أزمة أراوخو تكشف عن رد فعل مميز من لاعبي برشلونة تحت قيادة فليك

وأكدت مصادر متعددة أن برشلونة لن يباع للعائلة المالكة السعودية، حتى مع العرض الفلكي الذي قد يصل لـ10 مليارات يورو، لأن النادي مملوك لأعضاء جمعيات وليس لفرد واحد.

وتعد أندية مثل برشلونة وريال مدريد مملوكة لأعضاء جمعياتها، الذين لن يسمحوا أبداً باستحواذ أي جهة أجنبية عليها، لذا من غير المرجح أن يمتلك السعوديون برشلونة في أي وقت على الرغم من السماح لهم بالاستثمار فيه.

MatériaMais Notícias

Esta será a primeira vez na história do Vasco em que o clube terá no comando um técnico estrangeiro na estreia do Brasileirão. O argentino Ramón Díaz é quem estará na beira do campo na partida contra o Grêmio.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasVascoGaldames revela que Mocca torce para o Vasco: ‘Ganhou uma camisa’Vasco12/04/2024VascoGaldames abre o jogo e revela motivo da escolha pelo Vasco: ‘Passo perfeito a carreira’Vasco12/04/2024Mercado do EsporteBrasileirão 2024 inicia com sete SAFs; veja valores e detalhesMercado do Esporte12/04/2024

➡️ Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Vasco

➡️A boa do Lance! Betting: vamos dobrar seu primeiro depósito, até R$200! Basta abrir sua conta e tá na mão!

Ramón Díaz chegou ao Vasco no ano passado para fazer com que o clube escapasse de mais um rebaixamento. O desempenho do técnico foi positivo: dez vitórias, seis empates e oito derrotas em 24 jogos.

Já em 2024, Ramón Díaz acumula seis vitórias, cinco empates e duas derrotas em 13 partidas disputadas.

Apesar do fato inédito, o técnico estrangeiro a comandar o Vasco. Além de Ramón Díaz, o Cruz-Maltino já foi treinado por outros nove treinadores gringos.

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🗒️ CONFIRA OUTROS TÉCNICOS ESTRANGEIROS DO VASCO:
– Henry Welfare (Inglaterra): novembro de 1926 a junho de 1937;
– Carlos Scarone (Uruguai): abril de 1938 a maio de 1939;
– Ramón Platero (Uruguai): maio de 1939 a abril de 1940;
– Ondino Vieira (Uruguai): março de 1943 a julho de 1946;
– Ernesto Santos (Portugal): julho a outubro de 1946;
– Roque Calocero (Argentina): outubro de 1946 até janeiro de 1947;
– Filpo Núñez (Argentina): abril a agosto de 1960;
– Abel Picabéa (Argentina): outubro de 1960 a fevereiro de 1961;
– Ricardo Sá Pinto (Portugal): outubro a dezembro de 2020.

O Vasco enfrenta o Grêmio após um hiato de mais de um mês sem partidas. No entanto, o Cruz-Maltino fez três jogos-treino neste período. A bola rola às 16h, em São Januário.

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Tudo sobre

Futebol NacionalRamón DíazVasco

The 2025 MLB season has come to a close, and it was capped off by a wild weekend.

While most of the playoff spots had been earned before the weekend, a lot happened over the season's final three days to get us to the final playoff picture. What follows is a chronological look at all the biggest moments from the weekend, starting on Friday.

Tatis Sinks the Snakes

The Diamondbacks somehow stayed in the NL wild-card race over the season's final two months after selling at the deadline. It was a valiant effort from Arizona that ended with a bang on Friday evening.

The Dbacks led the Padres 2–1 in the fourth inning with rotation stalwart Zac Gallen on the hill. The veteran righty loaded the bases, then tried to slip a 95 mph fastball past Fernando Tatis Jr. on a 3–2 count. He immediately regretted it. The ball left Tatis’s bat at 111.7 mph and landed in the second deck at Petco Park for a grand slam.

The Padres took a 5–2 lead en route to an eventual 7–4 win. The loss eliminated Arizona from playoff contention.

Red Sox Walk Off Into the Playoffs

Boston entered the bottom of the ninth of Friday's game against the Tigers locked in a 3–3 tie with their magic number down to one. A two-out single by Romy Gonzalez gave Ceddanne Rafaela the chance to be a hero. He delivered.

Rafaela blasted a 1–0 pitch from Tommy Kahnle off the center field wall. It kicked around in the outfield, and Gonzalez raced home with plenty of time to spare to send Boston to the postseason.

The Red Sox will travel to Yankee Stadium to face their bitter rivals in what should be a blockbuster wild-card series.

Busch Goes Deep Twice as Cubs Clinch

Michael Busch homered twice in the first five innings on Saturday against the Cardinals; the second gave the Cubs a 3–1 lead they never relinquished.

Busch hit a home run, double, and another home run to rack up 10 total bases in his first three at-bats. He ended the game 4-for-4, with two home runs, a double, and a triple, leaving him a single short of the cycle. More importantly, he launched the Cubs to a 7–3 win, which clinched the top wild-card spot and a home series against the Padres in the opening round of the playoffs.

Jahmai Jones Clutch Single Lifts Tigers to Playoffs

After a horrible September that saw them lose their massive lead in the AL Central, the Tigers were able to salvage a playoff spot thanks to a 2–1 win over the Red Sox on Saturday night.

Jahmi Jones had the big hit with a two-out, fifth-inning single that scored two runs and put Detroit in the lead for good.

They closed out the game to finally earn some good news by clinching a playoff spot.

Guardians Unconventional Walk-Off Clinches Spot

The Guardians joined the Tigers in the playoffs in one of the weirdest ways possible Saturday night. Cleveland's remarkable march back into the AL Central race overcame the longest of odds, and what happened in the ninth inning against the Rangers Saturday night only added to the surreal nature of their September surge.

After Rangers reliever Robert Garcia got the first two outs in a 2–2 game, Johnathan Rodriguez walked and Kyle Manzardo singled, sending pinch runner Petey Halpin to third. Texas intentionally walked Gabriel Arias, putting CJ Kayfus at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.

After getting strike one, Garcia hit Kayfus, forcing in a run and sending the Guardians to the playoffs.

Incredible.

Red Sox Win Central for Cleveland

On Sunday, the Tigers entered Fenway Park on Sunday with a chance to win the AL Central. All they needed to do was beat the Red Sox and hope Cleveland lost. Neither of those things happened.

The Tigers took an early 3–1 lead, but in the bottom of the fourth, Chris Paddack gave up a two-run home run to light-hitting infielder David Hamilton, then back-to-back doubles to Nick Sogard and Jarren Duran.

That gave Boston a 4–3 lead, leaving Detroit with five innings to get another run. The Tigers couldn't do it. They put two on base in the top of the ninth but couldn't bring anyone across and surrendered the division to the Guardians with the loss.

Cleveland's players found out it had won the AL Central during their game with Texas and celebrated.

To top it off, Brayan Rocchio launched a walk-off, three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th against the Rangers to enter the playoffs in style.

Alejandro Kirk Leads Blue Jays Blowout For AL East Crown

Toronto's task was simple on Sunday: beat the Rays and clinch the American League East and the top seed in the AL. The Blue Jays did that. Emphatically.

Alejandro Kirk stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first inning with the game tied 1–1. It didn't stay that way for long. On a 2–2 pitch from Ian Seymour, Kirk sat on a changeup and annihilated it. He sent the ball 387 feet into the left-center field stands at the Rogers Centre, and sent Blue Jays fans into a frenzy.

The rout was on after that, and Toronto wound up taking a 13–4 win. That relegated the Yankees to the AL’s top wild-card slot, setting up a series against the Red Sox.

Mets Complete Collapse, Exit Postseason Picture

The Mets needed to win and get help on Sunday. One of those things happened, the other didn't. The Reds owned the head-to-head tiebreaker with New York, and the two teams entered the day deadlocked with identical 83–78 records. Cincinnati lost to the Brewers 4–2, which meant all New York had to do was beat the Miami Marlins. You can guess what happened.

Miami and its $67 million payroll team bested the franchise with a $323 million payroll by the score of 4–0, as the Mets went out with a whimper. They only mustered five hits off of Edward Cabrera and four relievers. The game and the team's season ended when Francisco Lindor grounded into a double play in the top of the ninth. New York's broadcasters lamented the team's epic collapse.

The Mets had MLB's best record on June 12 at 45–24. They went 38–55 after that. A deserved, depressing ending to the season.

The 2025 MLB season has reached its final month and there are still questions that need to be answered, division races to shake out and award races to be decided. Which division leader’s lead is safest? And with a month of games remaining, is the playoff field already set? 

In terms of individual player milestones, will Aaron Judge, who surpassed Yogi Berra on the Yankees’ all-time home run list, one day pass the legendary Babe Ruth as well? And could Justin Verlander, after notching his 265th career win, become just the 25th pitcher to record 300 career victories? 

We’ll answer each of these questions and more in the latest edition of Fact or Fiction. 

The playoff field in MLB is already set

I know I’m being a bit of a party pooper with this answer, but it’s hard to argue with the current playoff landscape in MLB. 

For a brief moment to begin August, the Mets and Yankees, both mired in dreadful slumps, had their fan bases longing for the return of New York football. However, both clubs have emerged from the danger zone and stand on firmer ground as the calendar flips to September. 

As for the other current wild-card holders, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where the likes of either the Red Sox or Padres, two of baseball’s best teams since the All-Star break, fall out of the playoff race. Likewise for the Cubs, who, even after a middling month of August, still have a firm grasp on the third National League wild card. 

If there’s going to be a shakeup in the postseason landscape, it will happen in the American League, where the Royals, Rangers and even Guardians all could conceivably catch the Mariners for the third wild card. But all three of those clubs have a noticeable Achilles heel—offensive woes for the Royals and Guardians, injuries for the Rangers—that make it tough to envision these teams taking the field come October. 

Of the six division races, one is seemingly decided—the AL Central—and two are trending toward that territory—the NL East and Central. The division-leading Blue Jays, Astros and Dodgers all sport leads of fewer than five games. 

All of this to say, there could be some musical chairs going on in the season’s final month as clubs jockey for positioning. The seeding and playoff bracket could look a bit different come season’s end. But get used to the teams that currently represent the playoff field. 

Of the 12 teams in pole position entering September, 10 of them boast 90 percent or better postseason odds on FanGraphs and nine of them have similar figures in Baseball Reference’s playoff odds. Hopefully, the good folks at FanGraphs and Baseball Reference are wrong and there’s a September surprise or two in store. Just don’t be too crestfallen if that doesn’t happen. 

Verdict: Fact

Aaron Judge will one day top Yankees’ all-time home run list 

A look at how players did in the last 10% of their careers compared to the first 90%

Anantha Narayanan12-Sep-2020A few years ago I analysed the careers of players in two different ways. In the first, I split a career into thirds and looked at how players started, consolidated and finished, focusing on how careers progressed but not so much how they ended. In the second, I also analysed how players finished. But because I took a fixed length of ten Tests as the last stage, it was not very conclusive: ten Tests represent 37% of Sydney Barnes’ career, 27% of Clarrie Grimmett’s, and 5% of Sachin Tendulkar’s. In earlier eras, a player might have taken four years to play ten Tests, but now that could happen in six months – albeit in a Covid-free world. I also used the batting average, with all its shortcomings, in those analyses, which resulted in distortions because the not-out patterns vary drastically across career stages. And finally, the analyses included all players who were active back then.I look to address these problems in this definitive analysis. I have used the weighted batting average (WBA) instead of the conventional batting average to appraise long careers fairly. To ensure that active players are not part of this study, I have excluded any player who has played a Test since the start of 2019. I have worked out a flexible end-stage determination based on the number of Tests played by the player, so that players across all cricket eras are treated fairly and equally.What is the end stage? I have analysed the careers of many players, whose careers range from 30 to 200 Tests. For one player, ten Tests are too many and for another too few. Maybe for the middle lot, ten is fine, but the method should be fair to Barnes and Tendulkar and everyone in between.Anything above 10% seemed to be too long a winding-down period for recent players. Anything below 10% seemed to be too short a period for the earlier players. So I decided on 10% as the end stage for a player, subject to a minimum of five Tests. This tweak will take care of bowlers like Barnes and Grimmett. I also want to set the bar high so that we only have players who have played in a significant number of Tests. So I have set 6000 runs as the minimum cut-off, with one exception – Jack Hobbs, who had 5471 runs. I have also set 189 wickets as the cut-off for bowlers, so I can get Barnes in. There are very good reasons why these two all-time greats should be included. In a near-symmetry, I have 61 batsmen and 65 bowlers who qualify.The batsman end-stage ratio is computed by comparing the end-stage WBA to the WBA at the 90% stage. The 90% stage bowling average for the bowlers is compared to the end-stage bowling average. I have an additional set of graphs for the WpT (Wickets per Test) metric. For this, I divide the end-stage WpT by the 90% stage WpT.I have decided that any end-stage ratio below 75% represents a poor finish, between 75 and 100% a good finish, and above 100% a very good finish. I feel these are fair values since it is expected that players tend to slow down as they approach the end of their careers and performing at, say, 80% is fine and par.Let us now move on to the graphs. I will cover only the key players and readers should peruse the graphs carefully to derive their insights. The graphs contain all required information.Anantha NarayananOne of the all-time great cricketers, an opening batsman par excellence, has had the worst end of all batting careers. Len Hutton’s last eight Tests were a nightmare and he had a WBA of 22, bringing down an excellent 55-plus WBA to 52. His sequence of scores was 0, 14, 5, 4, 13, 30, 28, 12, 42, 80, 5, 6, 11, 3 and 53. Sanath Jayasuriya, Matthew Hayden, Hobbs and Virender Sehwag all had very poor endings, hovering at WBA values around 50%. The shrewd reader might have noticed that these are all openers. Dilip Vengsarkar scored four fifties in his last 25 innings. Jayasuriya scored two fifties in his last 28 innings – one of which was in his final innings, 78.What follows is a who’s who of top batsmen – Gundappa Viswanath, Garry Sobers, Tendulkar, Don Bradman, Viv Richards, Wally Hammond, Ricky Ponting, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen. The mind boggles. All these players had end-stage ratios of around 60-70%. Tendulkar’s WBA dropped from 51.4 to 49.5; he scored seven fifties in 33 innings. Bradman’s WBA fell from 93 to 89.6; he scored two hundreds in his last five Tests. His penultimate innings was 173 not out, one of the greatest chasing innings ever. But his stratospheric WBA value puts him, somewhat unfairly, in this group. Richards moved from 49.3 to 47.5.But let me give credit to Bradman, who had an end-stage WBA of 60.7 and Hammond, who ended with 38.5. These are excellent values for anyone else, but fall sort when compared to these players’ own high performance figures.Anantha NarayananGeoff Boycott, Younis Khan, Rahul Dravid and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are in the 75-85% group. Their WBAs dropped by around 1. Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene, VVS Laxman, Allan Border and Jacques Kallis are the leading batsmen in the next segment – those who performed at around 85-95%. Their WBA values did not drop a lot – maybe by fractions of a run. They ended their careers in a reasonable manner. Lara scored a double-hundred and a century in his last three Tests.Lara, Jayawardene, Kallis, Clive Lloyd and Greg Chappell had very good WBA values of 42-plus.Anantha NarayananNow we come to those who ended their careers in varying levels of glory – all of them outperforming their 90%-stage values; Sunil Gavaskar and David Gower, just about. Everyone knows what a good ending Gavaskar had. His end period included two hundreds and two nineties. Aravinda de Silva, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Kumar Sangakkara outperformed their 90%-stage values by around 110-120%. Readers might remember that in my article on ODI streaks, I talked about how Sangakkara ended his ODI career with four hundreds in five innings. In the Test arena, Sangakkara’s last few Tests had a triple, two doubles and two hundreds. Some ending in both formats!Stephen Fleming ended in a blaze – 139%, and Gary Kirsten with 144%. Fleming was helped by his 262 against South Africa while Kirsten had three hundreds in his last ten Tests (but finished with scores of 1, 1 and 1).Anantha NarayananThree bowlers – Graham McKenzie, Ian Botham and Erapalli Prasanna – ended their careers with end-stage bowling averages that were twice those of the ones at the 90% stage. That is some fall. McKenzie’s average was an unbelievable 85. Graeme Swann, Wes Hall, Waqar Younis, Bishan Bedi, Allan Donald, Ray Lindwall, all them finished with averages well over 150% of their 90% stage values. Muttiah Muralitharan also did not end that well, although one must say that his end-stage average of 31 is not too bad.This drastic drop in form does not seem to have any pattern. It affects spinners and fast bowlers alike. However, one country seems disproportionately affected – India. All the Indian bowlers who meet the qualification, barring one, have finished poorly. Maybe Indian bowlers do not quit when they are still doing well.Anantha NarayananIn the middle group, the prominent names are Imran Khan (only from the average point of view), Fred Trueman, Michael Holding, Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne. All these bowlers were at the 75% to 90% level. Reasonable but still below par. Impressively, the values for Trueman and Holding are below 80% despite their end-stage averages being under 30.Richard Hadlee, Andy Roberts, John Snow, Jim Laker and Malcolm Marshall are in the second half of this group, all performing at nearly their 90% stage values. Their ratios are well in excess of 90%. Of these, look at Marshall, ending with an average of 21.3 and Hadlee with 24.5.Anantha NarayananThe bowlers in the graphic above ended very well, outperforming their 90% stage values. Grimmett’s finish, at the age of 44, is mind-boggling – nearly nine wickets per Test at 14.6. Barnes was even better – just under 11 wickets per Test at 10.8. He finished with 49 wickets in his last four Tests (a still-standing series record) and would have continued but for World War I.Morne Morkel finished his career with an outstanding 150% performance level. It is a tragedy that his services were lost to South Africa when he was still doing so well. Curtly Ambrose and Joel Garner finished very well. The surprise is Kapil Dev, who everyone tend to think finished very poorly. Kapil found it hard to get wickets (as the next analysis will show) but he managed to keep his economy rate low. And his end-stage average is better than his 90%-stage average.Kallis and Sobers had end-stage averages above 30 but find themselves in this group because of their relatively poor overall averages.Now we move on to the next group of graphs for the bowlers – this time taking the Wickets per Test (WpT) as the base.Anantha NarayananImran Khan ended his career with poor bowling returns. He averaged less than a wicket per Test. However, we know that he played as a batsman in four of these nine Tests and bowled very little. McKenzie, Abdul Qadir, Prasanna and Botham averaged fewer than two wickets per Test and were performing at sub-50% levels. Kapil, in this analysis, has moved into this classification, averaging a mere two wickets per Test. This time, without a single exception, all the Indian bowlers are in the “poor” category.Anantha NarayananMurali moves into the middle category on the WpT parameter, indicating that while he was good in terms of getting wickets, they cost him more runs toward the end. Murali’s overall performance is so good that the WpT of 5 only keeps him in the middle group. Bob Willis, Richie Benaud, Laker, McGrath and Murali are in the 75% to 85% range. Ambrose, Hadlee and Marshall are in the 85% to 100% range. It can be seen that most of these bowlers took well in excess of three wickets per Test.Anantha NarayananThe most important bowler in the top category is Shane Warne, who took nearly five wickets per Test – ironically, below Murali’s WpT value, but Warne is in the top category because of a lower rate of taking wickets in the first 90% of his Tests. Courtney Walsh, Jeff Thomson and Garner have all taken well over 100% of their 90%-stage values. Finally, Morkel, Barnes and Grimmett. We have already seen how these bowlers ended their careers. Barnes’ last eight spells were 7 for 88, 7 for 56, 5 for 102, 3 for 26, 9 for 103, 8 for 56, 5 for 48 and 5 for 57. Grimmett finished with 6 for 73, 7 for 100, 7 for 40, 3 for 70, 5 for 56, 5 for 32, 3 for 11 and 3 for 29.

****

And now a short aside, if you will. Most of my readers will know that I am an unabashed fan of Roger Federer. But it is now clear that by end of next year, both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will have overtaken Federer’s 20 Grand Slam titles – the single barometer of tennis greatness. Federer has many other unique records, but it seems almost certain that his haul of 20 will find itself in third position by the time the next generation takes over. But I find that I am now perfectly happy with Federer finishing with 20 Grand Slam titles, and in third place on this metric. I am also totally certain that to me Federer is the greatest tennis player who ever swung a racquet, and numbers like 23 and 22 will never ever change this conviction. It all comes down to the many hours of pleasure, happiness and euphoria that Federer has given me over the past decade and a half.I make this point because a similar situation exists in Indian cricket. For many millions of fans, no one can displace Tendulkar in the pantheon of greatness even though it is almost certain that Virat Kohli will finish with a better average in all three formats and score more hundreds. But will he replace Tendulkar in the minds of many as the best Indian cricketer ever? Almost certainly not. It is clear that both Federer and Tendulkar are one-in-a-billion sportsmen and they can never be replaced. Bradman is too far removed from our times to stir such feelings. Maybe Lionel Messi could be the next such.

England rejoice, Pakistan ponder ‘what if’ – reactions after the hosts’ stunning chase in Manchester

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2020

You absolute beauties! Outstanding win and brilliant team effort!! Great start to the series. @englandcricket #ENGvPAK

— James Taylor (@jamestaylor20) August 8, 2020

A rare rare 4 th innings chase. Well done England.#ENGvsPAK

— Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) August 8, 2020

What a win for @englandcricket. Test match cricket at its wonderful, gripping, inimitable best.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) August 8, 2020

Test Cricket, even in the bubble is still great theater. You can't undervalue the character with which England achieved that win, from 117-5. Im sure back stronger nezt week. Stay "Woakes" everyone.

— Ian bishop (@irbishi) August 8, 2020

England & Pakistan are the best 2 teams to follow in World cricket … Never ever quite know what to expect … but it makes them both very exciting to watch … #TestCricket #OnOn

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 8, 2020

What Pak missed today,England had in abundance. Self-belief, character, skill and match winners like Buttler & Woakes. Top effort to bounce back from conceding a 107-run lead in the 1st innings & being 117/5 battling last under pressure. You've got to love test cricket!#ENGvsPAK

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) August 8, 2020

How good is test cricket…Patience,Pressure and Partnerships with bat and ball wins it…..#TestCricket

— Mickey Arthur (@Mickeyarthurcr1) August 8, 2020

Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler revived England’s stumbling chase, with both scoring fifties in the win.

Absolute quality @josbuttler and @chriswoakes

— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) August 8, 2020

@chriswoakes experience of 10+ first class, showing its true value today. The foundation for every great cricketer

— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) August 8, 2020

As @ShaneWarne said, @josbuttler has ticker, bottle and character, let’s leave it at that!! What a win, test match cricket at its best!!! pic.twitter.com/vZ5ODQaFSe

— Neil Fairbrother (@Harv366) August 8, 2020

Here's my TMS scoresheet of the stand between Buttler (purple) and Woakes (light blue)… brilliant attack, followed by ruthless accumulation. One of England's finest Test partnerships, I would say. pic.twitter.com/98RGiF87ro

— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) August 8, 2020

Pakistan’s former players lamented the missed opportunity of going 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

#ENGvsPAK

— Mohammad Yousaf (@yousaf1788) August 8, 2020

Congratulations England on a memorable win! Brilliant batting by Buttler and Woakes. Pakistan had the game in the grip, unfortunate that the game slipped away. Such opportunities can not be wasted, pitch was very suitable for our bowling attack.

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) August 8, 2020

Team faces questions around captaincy and fast-bowling combination ahead of IPL 2021

Sruthi Ravindranath02-Nov-20203:37

Aakash Chopra: Rajasthan Royals’ bowling attack didn’t have enough

Where did they finish?
They finished last, with six wins in 14 games and a net run rate of -0.569.What went right?
Jofra Archer’s brilliance with the ball – and at times with the bat – throughout the tournament, along with some outstanding individual performances from a few batsmen and spinners.An in-form Sanju Samson got their campaign off to a rollicking start with two big wins. Rahul Tewatia came along and produced the innings to remember from IPL 2020. They were on the top of the table one week into the tournament, and there were questions about whether they were missing Ben Stokes at all.However, their campaign derailed a bit from there, with four consecutive losses, before reviving with a superb chase led by the young Riyan Parag against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Later, there was a masterclass from Stokes against the Mumbai Indians in a tall chase. He played another match-winning innings against the Kings XI in their penultimate fixture.Royals have been a side known for promoting young Indian talent, and there was some of that time around too. Kartik Tyagi – whom they picked in the last auction – and Parag provided a glimpse of a bright futures.What went wrong?For one, they never got their batting order right. The inconsistency in their performances, to a significant degree, could be down to the constant chopping and changing. They never quite settled on an opening combination until the very end, trying five different combinations at the top.A few questionable captaincy decisions also hurt them at crucial moments in a few matches – for instance, bowling Jaydev Unadkat instead of Archer in the penultimate over against the Royal Challengers when the Royals had 35 to defend, and not giving Archer another over in the powerplay against the Delhi Capitals when he had picked up two early wickets. Steven Smith had a dull season with the bat, to boot, so having him as captain meant the other overseas options such as Tom Curran, David Miller and Oshane Thomas got few or no chances at all, especially after Stokes’ arrival.Key numbers

• Archer finished with 20 wickets in the tournament while the other seven fast bowlers in the side tallied just 21
• Tewatia finished the league stage as the only Indian player to score over 200 runs and get 10 wickets in IPL 2020

Star performersNeed early wickets? Want to rattle a set, experienced batsman? Want to keep the opposition quiet in the death overs? Call Jofra.Fast bowlers, in general, had a great tournament, but Archer was on a different level. He carried the team’s bowling load single-handedly, impressing in the powerplay and at the death alike. He bowled regularly in excess of 145kph, used the bouncer to full effect and nailed the yorkers consistently. He conceded just 4.34 runs per over in the powerplay – the best in the period this season; in fact, he has the best economy rate (5.35) for a fast bowler in this phase in the IPL overall (minimum 100 balls bowled).Tewatia was a revelation for the Royals this season. The superb comeback he staged in the match against Kings XI made oppositions wary of him in the games to follow. Still, he was the complete all-round package for the Royals – he was explosive with the bat and also had good returns with his legspin on a few occasions. He racked up 255 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 139 and finished with 10 wickets. After the Royals crashed out with a loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders, Smith conceded that there was not enough support for Archer and Tewatia, especially from the top-order batsmen.What needs immediate fixing?A change in captaincy – albeit unlikely – could possibly help them. If the mega auction does happen before the next season, they can look to rope in an Indian captain. They have one of the best overseas units in the tournament so having an Indian captain could help rotate and utilise their overseas options more effectively.They are also in need of an experienced Indian or an overseas fast bowler to bowl alongside Archer, especially at the death. Tyagi, although quite impressive at times, is a tad too inexperienced to share the load, while the likes of Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot and Varun Aaron were expensive.

The tournament has reached the halfway stage so how is each team shaping up?

Andrew McGlashan09-Nov-2020Melbourne Stars (4 wins, 11 points)Season so farIs this the year the most underwhelming record in the WBBL is flipped? After their first three games were abandoned at various stages due to rain they have put together four wins on the bounce – and they have all been dominant. Three came chasing, but when they batted first against the Heat it made no difference. The way they chased a not-insignificant 155 against the Strikers stood out and their Powerplay batting is very threatening.Who’s going well?It’s difficult to imagine Meg Lanning could bat any better than she is right now. Four half-centuries in five innings, guiding chases and setting the tone. There is a level of power – even a touch of brutality – to some of the strokeplay you wouldn’t always associate with Lanning. A nod, too, to Alana King who was not in the starting XI originally but has six wickets in three matches with her legspin and has conceded 5.08 an over. Spin was a question mark for the Stars, and probably remains their weakest area, but King is doing a fine job.What can improve?There are very few holes to pick at the moment although Lanning always stresses improvement and, speaking after the big win over the Heat, said she did not think there had been the “complete” game. Annabel Sutherland’s returns with the ball are a touch disappointing – one wicket in 10 overs at an economy of 7.50.Sydney Thunder (4 wins, 10 points)Season so farAfter some smart recruiting, the Thunder have looked a well-balanced team with three convincing victories following the damp start. They had a slip-up against the Renegades but responded well the next day to defend 129 (just) against the Hurricanes.Who’s going well?Heather Knight has taken her T20 game to a new level in the last 12 months and that has continued into this tournament – with bat and ball. Left-arm spinner Sam Bates (10 wickets at 6.50, economy 3.82) has also been a stand-out, showing outstanding control in pressure situations which included a five-over chase where she bowled a double-wicket maiden. A mention as well for the glovework of Tahlia Wilson.What can improve?They can’t leave the batting to Knight and Rachael Haynes (and the occasional Powerplay dash by Sammy-Jo Johnson). Tammy Beaumont has struggled at the top of the order – strike rate 81.17 – and there is still a question mark over the best place for Phoebe Litchfield who ideally needs time to get into her innings.Stella Campbell’s pace and bounce has impressed•Getty ImagesSydney Sixers (4 wins, 10 points)Season so farThree very comfortable wins and one slightly tighter affair against the Hurricanes has established the Sixers as one of the favourites after the surprise of missing the knockouts last year. However, they stumbled against the power of Sophie Devine on Sunday, a game where none of their ‘big three’ Australians – Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner – had their best dayWho’s going well?The strike-rates of Healy and Gardner (156 and 155 respectively) stand out while Perry has produced one superb all-round performance against the Heat. Stella Campbell has impressed with her bounce and pace. Marizanne Kapp’s half-century against the Scorchers, while in defeat, was also important to illustrate the batting below the top three.What can improve?Outside of Perry’s WBBL-best performance of 3 for 17, her bowling has been a little off colour at times with an economy rate of eight.Adelaide Strikers (3 wins, 7 points)Season so farAfter starting with a bang by dismissing the Hurricanes for 84, they had three defeats by hefty margins in the next four games – and they were on track to lose the other before rain arrived against the Scorchers. However, they responded impressively this weekend with two strong performances in the field to net victories over the Heat and the Renegades.Who’s going well?Laura Wolvaardt has played some of the shots of the tournament so far – an inside-out cover drive for six against the Stars being especially memorable – as her development as a T20 batter continues apace. Darcie Brown has been superb with the ball, both in terms of her pace and her accuracy with an economy rate of five an overWhat can improve?Spin bowling is shaping as a concern. Amanda-Jade Wellington is going at nearly nine an over (although has six wickets), Stafanie Taylor has only bowled six overs and appears to be carrying a few niggles and Madeline Penna has only been given three overs so far. The middle order, too, looks vulnerable with Wellington and Bridget Patterson low on runs.Sophie Devine flayed seven sixes in her century•Getty ImagesPerth Scorchers (2 wins, 6 points)Season so farThey created much of the pre-season talk after bringing in Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney, and that pairing may just have given the campaign the shot-in-the-arm it needed with their huge stand against the Sixers. Before that, two heavy defeats raised questions after their competition began with a loss to the Heat.Who’s going well?Devine struck the first century of the competition on Sunday to really get her tournament up and running. Mooney has been consistent and their pairing at the top could yet carry the Scorchers a long way.What can improve?The bowling attack looks a little thin with Devine, a key component, going at nearly nine an over and taking just two wickets so far. They will also need the middle order to deliver. Outside of the openers, the top score is currently 29 by Heather Graham and no one else except Chloe Piparo (who has faced 17 balls) is striking at over 100.Hobart Hurricanes (1 win, 4 points)Season so farTheir one victory has come against fellow strugglers the Renegades although they should have taken the scalp of the Thunder but they messed up the closing stages of the run chase. They were also very unfortunate against the Heat. The match was three balls short of being official when it was called off with the Hurricanes well on track.Who’s going well?The bowling is holding its own, with 15-year-old Amy Smith very impressive while Hayley Matthews is the leading wicket-taker and Nicola Carey’s wicket-to-wicket seamers have proved effective.What can improve?The batting. Only one player, Rachel Priest, has so far passed 100 runs – and has scored the only half-century. Even taking into account the rain-affected games that’s a poor return. They need much more from Matthews and Chloe Tryon, although there remains uncertainty about the latter’s best position.Melbourne Renegades pulled themselves up off the floor with a superb performance in the field•Getty ImagesBrisbane Heat (1 win, 4 points)Season so farIt has been a real struggle for the defending champions since they opened with an impressive victory against the Scorchers. Following two no results (the second of which was heading for a defeat against the Hurricanes) they have suffered four straight losses and by considerable margins.Who is going well?Grace Harris has made two of the team’s three half-centuries and is comfortably the leading run-scorer after her unbeaten 81 against the Stars. Captain Jess Jonassen has bowled nicely for her eight wickets.What can improve?The big unknown ahead of the season was whether they could replace Mooney’s runs and it doesn’t feel as though they have. New Zealand overseas pair Maddy Green and Amelia Kerr need to deliver more with the bat.Melbourne Renegades (1 win, 4 points)Season so farThey did some soul-searching after being bowled out for 81 by the Hurricanes and dug very deep to defend 110 against the Thunder which has prevented the season from getting away from them. But they could rue not being able to chase 128 against the Strikers. They have been badly hit by injuries with Lea Tahuhu yet to play and Maitlan Brown ruled out of the tournament.Who is going well?Georgia Wareham, enjoying more responsibility than she gets in the Australia team. She has batted well in the middle order with a strike-rate of 146 and made a maiden WBBL fifty.What can get better?They need all-round improvement if they are to mount a challenge. Amy Satterthwaite, crawling along at a strike-rate of 59.25, and Lizelle Lee have 103 runs between them in 10 innings while Sophie Molineux is only striking at 80.35 at the top of the order. Wareham and Molly Strano, two-thirds of what should be a strong spin attack, only have five wickets between them.