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Rohit struggled, Kohli paced himself, Suryakumar flew – and all three scored contrasting fifties against the Netherlands

Sidharth Monga27-Oct-2022A story in three acts.The set-up
Rohit Sharma is not happy with his knock. Presumably he means the execution, and not the intent or the result. He scored 53 off 39 balls at a strike-rate of 135.89. In a 73-run partnership off 56 balls with Virat Kohli, Rohit scored 52 off 35.Not counting sweet shots hit straight to a fielder in the ring, Rohit tried to hit seven boundaries in the 16 balls he faced in the powerplay. Yet he managed just 16 runs in that period. That is why he was unhappy. However, thanks to an earlier drop, Rohit stayed long enough for his risks to come off. The next 23 balls brought him 37 runs, including five boundaries and three unsuccessful attempts.During the course of his innings, Rohit improved his execution, was happy to take the ugly runs, and provided some momentum after a slow start.The confrontation
At the other end, Kohli was happy to drop anchor. Till the time Rohit got out, Kohli’s strike-rate was under a run a ball without a single boundary in 21 deliveries. He had made one boundary attempt till then, in the 12th over. In our match report, Karthik Krishnaswamy made use of Kohli’s control figures to represent the lack of risk-taking: 81% in his first 21 balls and 75% overall. And this was a different innings to the one against Pakistan at the MCG, where his hand was forced because of the early fall of four wickets.Now there is nothing to suggest Kohli was not mindful, especially after he had shown in recent times that he was prepared to take more risks and put lesser value on his wicket. So there could be two reasons for going back to playing the anchor’s role. One is perhaps that India have assessed the conditions and have decided to score the bulk of their runs in the last 10 overs, when the pitch has settled down a little and when the ball older.Suryakumar Yadav was asked if that was the case, but he neither confirmed nor denied it. Which is fair enough. “Obviously, everyone must be having their own plan, and they are trying to execute it. Hopefully, we will come out again and do the same,” Suryakumar said with a smile that may as well have been a wink.Virat Kohli started slowly but finished strong, like he usually does•Getty ImagesThe other reason could be that Kohli is feeling in great form; he now has some of the luck that had deserted him completely, and he knows he is among the best at the death. So if he is set, if others around him take charge, and even if he is going at only a little over a run a ball going into the death overs, Kohli can finish with a good strike-rate. That gets reinforced possibly because India are not playing in conditions where 200 is par. Also Kohli’s numbers are not the best when he is slogging, which might back the way he played at the SCG.However, it does tend to leave all the eggs in one basket: that Kohli will stay until the end and accelerate like he did on this night, and also recognise a 200-pitch early on and make the adjustment. There is nothing to suggest Kohli won’t do that last bit.As it turned out against Netherlands, Kohli ended up with a higher strike-rate than Rohit, scoring 43 off the last 23 balls he played. But is it worth the risk – especially when batting first – of getting out at a run a ball and perhaps leaving India 80 for 2 or 3 in 12 overs?The resolution
On the night, India were 84 for 2 in 12 overs when Suryakumar walked out. In no time, he began to take the game away from Netherlands. Suryakumar dragged his third ball from well outside off for a four to square leg. Then he went through his whole repertoire and saw India to an above-par total.Suryakumar says he trains just for these situations, where he has to get going from ball one. “I feel what I have done [the work] during my practice sessions back home,” Suryakumar said when asked how he manages to score so quickly with high consistency. “When I go back to Mumbai and do it, I try and put a lot of pressure on myself whenever I’m going for a few practice sessions or playing a match scenario.Suryakumar Yadav was aggressive from the start of his innings•Getty Images”So, for example, if I am targeting a few balls, and I have to get N number of runs, if I get out, I just come out. That day I don’t go to bat again. The same thing I’ve been reflecting when I go into the games, and my plans have been very clear. What shots I have in my kitty, I just go out and express that. I won’t do anything out of the box. It has been helping me, and hopefully try and do the same thing in the coming games.”It can be similarly argued that Kohli is also doing the same: play shots that are in his kitty. And till such time that we find enough efficient out-and-out hitters, it can be argued Kohli’s is the right way in these conditions.Netherlands bowler Paul van Meekeren would much rather bowl to Kohli, though. “I think we know how good SKY [Suryakumar’s nickname] is,” van Meekeren said. “Over the last 12 months, if not longer, I’ve personally felt he was the biggest threat to bowl to. Just with his open stance, I just felt that the margin of error was a lot smaller compared to Kohli and maybe a bit more traditional batters.”They’re very good players in their right, and Rohit played some unbelievable shots. When I was bowling, I felt the biggest pressure came when I was bowling to SKY. Obviously, if you miss a little bit, he punishes you. Same with other guys, but he did just a little bit more today.”In the end, it made for a near-perfect game for India, but against other oppositions and in different conditions, they might have to improvise when batting first. Not every story is a straightforward three-act story.

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.

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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.

In the span of five madcap hours at Perth Stadium, England went from a position of strength to crashing to a calamitous eight-wicket defeat as the first Ashes Test remarkably finished inside two days.Somehow topping a 19-wicket opening day, Australia turned the series-opener on its head with quicks Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc, who finished with 10 wickets for the match, tearing through a ham-fisted England batting effort in the middle session.Needing 205 runs for victory, makeshift opener Travis Head plundered 123 off 83 balls as Australia chased down the total in just 28.2 overs. They scored at more than seven runs an over, with recalled No. 3 Marnus Labuschagne finishing unbeaten on 51 from 49 balls.Skipper Steven Smith hit the winning run to trigger scenes of jubilation for an Australian team that was staring down the barrel earlier in the day.Related

• Khawaja's back issues to be examined as Australia float flexible batting order

• McCullum backs Crawley; calls on England to show greater 'conviction'

• A generational flaying takes its place in England's Ashes lore

• Head adds to career catalogue of mind-blowing knocks on the biggest stage

• Smith stalls talk on Head's permanent role as Ashes opener

Head’s cavalier batting gave England a taste of their own medicine, as he reached his ton off 69 balls – the equal third fastest by an Australian in Tests. England’s all-out pace attack, so ferocious just 24 hours earlier, appeared shell-shocked as Head continually flayed wayward bowling through the off-side much to the delight of many in the 49,983 crowd.Head opened the batting after Usman Khawaja had been continually off the ground in England’s innings due to back spasms. He had previously opened the innings for Australia eight times, but all had been in South Asia.Head clearly enjoyed his promotion and helped ease the pressure on debutant Jake Weatherald, who fell for a second-ball duck in the first innings. Weatherald was able to play himself in and unfurled several attractive strokes of his own before falling on 23 to a short ball from Brydon Carse.Head was unstoppable and fearless, taking on the short-pitched bowling from Mark Wood, while he also bludgeoned Ben Stokes for four boundaries off an over. Head’s century was met with mighty applause from the Australian fans, but his own celebration was fairly low-key although punctuated by several steely fistbumps.He finally holed out with Australia needing just 13 runs to win, but the result had long been a formality.Scott Boland picked up three wickets in the space of 11 balls•Getty Images

It was an astonishing turn of events after England were 65 for 1 in their second innings, with a lead of 105, before Boland triggered a collapse with the tourists losing 4-11 in 19 balls.England lost 9-99 during the second session that may ultimately haunt them in their quest to regain the Ashes. Four of England’s top six nicked off, while Joe Root completed a double failure after inside edging Starc, having attempted an extravagant drive.The pressure had been on Boland after he was collared in England’s first innings, finishing with 0-62 from 10 overs. He pulled back his length in the second innings and had Ben Duckett caught at second slip to end his 65-run stand with Ollie Pope – the biggest partnership to that point of the match.Boland then had Pope and Harry Brook edging behind the wicket in his next over as he displayed the type of inimitable rhythm that has propelled him to scythe through numerous batting line-ups over the years.Starc had been unable to consistently summon his top speed, backing up so quickly after recording his career best figures of 7-58 in England’s first innings. Sensing the shift in momentum, Smith wisely brought Starc back on and he responded by knocking over Root before continuing his domination of Stokes.Starc decked a menacing delivery away from Stokes, whose outside edge flew to second slip as he fell to his nemesis for the 11th time in Tests. Jamie Smith, who had been dropped by Khawaja at slip early in his innings, fell caught behind off a short ball from Brendan Doggett after an interminable review overturned the original not out decision.Mitchell Starc roars after claiming Ben Stokes for his 10th wicket of the match•Getty Images

There was little resistance from England, evoking many such collapses on Australian soil over the years, until Carse and Gus Atkinson counterattacked for a 47-run partnership. They took advantage of Australia resorting to a short-ball tactic in the only bright spot for England in a miserable session.But the short-ball strategy finally paid off as Doggett wrapped up the innings and finished with five wickets in his Test debut.In what felt like an eternity ago, England had started the second day in the ascendency. Under overcast skies, Australia resumed on 123 for 9 and were still reeling from England’s sustained pressure that blew them away on day one. But Doggett and Nathan Lyon did manage to hang around for 26 minutes, whittling the deficit by nine runs.Wood bowled too short and was unable to muster the same hostility he produced on day one marked by a ferocious delivery that battered the helmet of Cameron Green.Stokes turned to Carse who claimed his third wicket by dismissing Lyon in the gully as England claimed a 40-run advantage on the first innings even though Australia batted 12.3 overs longer.After tearing through England’s tail in the first innings, Starc entered on a hat-trick and charged into Zak Crawley who he dismissed for a duck on the sixth ball of the match.Crawley could only last five balls after spooning an attempted drive to Starc, who showcased extraordinary athleticism to stick out his left-hand and pluck a return catch.Sharfuddoula, the third umpire, had a long look but Starc’s fingers were underneath the ball as Crawley walked off having made a pair. There will be much focus on Crawley’s haste in driving on the up, a risky proposition against the new ball in Perth.Crawley’s wicket meant that for the first time in Test cricket the opening partnership did not score a run in each of the first three innings.Starc was on a roll and conjuring menacing swing with the new ball, but Duckett and Pope survived the onslaught, frustrating Australia with proactive running between the wickets. Much like England’s first innings, Starc was playing a lone hand with Boland continuing to be expensive with 15 runs off his first three overs.Boland started to get his tail up in his second spell and beat the bat of Pope on numerous occasions as England ended the session well placed. But Boland’s luck soon changed as the series-opener dramatically turned on its head.

They have made more than their fair share of poor signings over the last few years, but Chelsea have also got their hands on some incredible players.

One of those who falls into the latter category has to be Moises Caicedo, who has gone from up-and-coming gem to arguably the best six in the Premier League.

The Ecuadorian monster is almost unmatched when it comes to breaking up play, and with every passing game, seems to get better and better in attacking phases of play.

Therefore, Chelsea fans should be delighted about their most recent signing, as the youngster could well be their next Caicedo.

The exciting youngsters set to join up with Chelsea

Chelsea already have a squad full of exciting talents, and they are set to add even more talented youngsters in the summer.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

For example, Brazilian left-back Denner put pen to paper on a contract with the club back in March, but due to rules regarding under-18s, he must wait until the summer to join the senior squad.

He looks like a player worth waiting for, though, as, on top of being more than capable at the defensive side of the game, he is also a “marauding LB with so much quality in the final third,” per respected analyst Ben Mattinson.

Further up the pitch, someone who could cause havoc on the opposite flank for the Blues is Portuguese wonderkid Geovany Quenda.

The Sporting CP gem cost around £44m in March, and while that is an enormous sum of money, it looks like he will be more than worth it.

For example, despite still being just 18 years old, the Bissau-born dynamo has scored four goals and provided six assists, with two of those goal involvements coming against Kaira Almaty in the Champions League.

Speaking of the Kazakh side, their most exciting prospect, Dastan Satpayev, will make his way to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.

Described as “a future Ballon d’Or winner” and “a future rival to Lamine Yamal” by one analyst, to say there is some hype around the 17-year-old would be an understatement.

It’s easy to see why, though, as in 29 first-team appearances last season, totalling 2081 minutes, he scored 15 goals and provided seven assists.

Appearances

29

Starts

21

Minutes

2081

Goals

15

Assists

7

Goal Involvements per Match

0.75

Minutes per Goal Involvement

94.59′

On top of that, he also became the youngest player to score a senior goal for the Kazakh national team last week, scoring the side’s only goal in their 1-1 draw with Belgium.

With all that said, potentially the most exciting prospect of them all isn’t going to join Chelsea next year, but could still be their next Caicedo.

Chelsea's next Caicedo

What makes Caicedo such an incredible player? Most would agree that it is a combination of his excellent reading of the game, anticipation and technique.

These three things make him exceptional at shielding the back four and brilliant at kick-starting attacking moves.

Fortunately, based on the sentiment of those in the know, those appear to be traits shared by Deinner Ordonez, who just signed a pre-agreement with the Blues.

For example, Como scout Felix Johnstone has described the youngster as “an absolute alien of a talent” who is “physically top, so good in the air” and capable of producing “excellent carries.”

Likewise, Mattinson has described him as a “pacy aggressive defender off the ball who’s able to defend big spaces with a level of dominance rare for his age.”

He’s not just a defensive powerhouse, though, as Mattinson also points out his “outstanding range of passing” and the fact that he is “completely both-footed.”

With all that, it’s not hard to see why Johnston has dubbed the teenager a future “world-beater,” nor is it hard to see the technical traits he shares with Caicedo.

In addition to these physical and technical similarities, the youngster is also Ecuadorian, becoming the youngest player to represent the side at the South American U-20 Championship earlier this year.

Moreover, while he is yet to make a first-team appearance, he is also at the midfielder’s old club, Independiente del Valle.

Ultimately, he might play in a different position, but Ordonez shares plenty of traits with Caicedo and is certainly looked at as someone who could become as important for Chelsea in the future.

Chelsea ready club-record £133m bid for "monster", Enzo Fernandez may be key

The Blues are readying an offer for a new forward.

ByDominic Lund Nov 16, 2025

He is the only addition to their squad from their last series, which they lost 1-0 in Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2025

Top-order batter Mahmudul Hasan Joy has returned to the Bangladesh squad that will face Ireland over two Test matches in Sylhet and Dhaka later this month.Joy has played 18 Tests and was seen as a highly promising addition to the team after scoring the first-ever Test match century by a Bangladesh batter in South Africa, in 2022. He lost his place in the side after averaging 14.92 in seven Tests since the start of 2024 but good form in the new season of the National Cricket League, during which he scored 127 and 51 for Chattogram Division against Rajshahi Division, has helped him mount a comeback.Najmul Hossain Shanto leads the 15-member team. He had quit as captain at the end of Bangladesh’s last Test series in June, which they lost 1-0 to Sri Lanka, but the BCB has reinstated him and said he will remain in charge until the end of this World Test Championship cycle in 2027. Anamul Haque, Mahidul Islam Ankon and Nayeem Hasan, who were part of that Sri Lanka tour, have been left out.Related

Ashraful named Bangladesh's batting coach

Ireland name five uncapped players in Test squad for Bangladesh

Shanto reinstated as Bangladesh Test captain until end of WTC cycle

Mushfiqur Rahim, should he play both matches against Ireland, will become the first Bangladesh cricketer to play 100 Tests. The 38-year-old made his debut back in 2005 and is already their most capped player and their highest scorer in the format. He is also in form having made 115 for Sylhet Division at the same ground where the first Test against Ireland will take place.Bangladesh have picked four fast bowlers in Ebadot Hossain, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud and Khaled Ahmed to complement their three spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and Hasan Murad, who is still awaiting his Test debut. Murad picked up a match haul of 9 for 135 for Chattogram in the NCL in October. Taijul, meanwhile, is 10 short of going past Shakib Al Hasan and becoming Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker in Tests.The two matches against Ireland are scheduled for November 11-15 in Sylhet and November 19-23 in Dhaka. They are not part of the WTC.Bangladesh Test squad for Ireland seriesNajmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Hasan Murad.

Sadio Mane says he rejected a move to Manchester United a year before signing for Liverpool. When the forward was impressing at Southampton, the Red Devils were keen on signing the Senegal international. But Mane has revealed he was "not convinced" by then-manager Louis van Gaal's assertion that he would be a first-team regular.

• Mane wanted by Premier League giants

  Mane joined Southampton from Red Bull Salzburg in 2014 for just under £12 million ($15.5m), which was a club record fee at the time, and went on to score 25 goals in 75 appearances. But before he headed to Anfield for a fee worth up to £36m ($47m) in June 2016, Mane had the chance to move to Van Gaal's United the year prior. However, he seemingly had doubts that he would play ahead of the likes of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, and Angel Di Maria at Old Trafford. The decision to bide his time proved to be a good one as he went on to become one of Liverpool's all-time greats, guiding them to Premier League and Champions League glory in a six-year spell.

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  Mane unconvinced by Van Gaal's pitch

  In addition to Rooney, Van Persie, and Di Maria, United also had attackers such as Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial – which planted more seeds of doubts in Mane's mind.

  The Al-Nassr star said, via ESPN: "Manchester United called me that time, I was talking to Van Gaal. I was talking to Van Gaal that time. Rooney was there. And Di María was there. And … and [Memphis] Depay was there. When they failed to get me, they bought [Anthony] Martial. Van Gaal called me and he said, 'Mané, how are you? What are you doing?' He said, "I want you to come to Manchester United. I said, 'Really?' He said, 'Yeah.' I said, 'OK. Now I'm talking to my agent. [Van Gaal said] 'We'll see what is the best, because I know you're a good player and you can help the team, and we can help you also to become better players'.

  "And then I said, 'OK, so my question: you have Depay, you have Rooney, you have Di María, you have Van Persie, I think the same. 'So where am I going to play?' That was my question, because me, I want to play. He said, 'I know your talent, you're good. But if you do good training, good impression, you will play. But we have another player which is also good'.

  "I was not convinced about his explanation. I talked to the coach, but he told me that I will play if I'm good; if not. But at the time, me, I was not ready, I can say. I was young. I still needed someone to help me more. And one or two more years to become what I want to be. Because I was still in Southampton; I was not consistent. And then we said, 'OK, we'll see'."

• Mane could have joined Liverpool's rivals

  Mane also revealed he spoke to Tottenham the same summer that United tried to sign him. In fact, the pitch that Spurs put to the Senegalese was more tempting. 

  He said: "I have a meeting with Tottenham. At the same time, Mauricio Pochettino called him [my agent] and he said, 'I want to have Sadio to come to Tottenham training ground. And then I go to Tottenham training ground one week after. I see the facility, I meet the coach, I talk to him, and I was more convinced than the Man United project. Because Man United was too many… the problem was too many big players."

  What might have been for Mane…

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  What comes next for Mane?

  Since leaving Liverpool, where he scored 120 goals in 269 matches, Mane has played for Bayern Munich, before joining current club Al-Nassr in 2023. Now, he is targeting winning trophies for Cristiano Ronaldo's team. 

  He added: "It’s normal to dream big because Al Nassr is one of the best teams in the league. The title, we know [that it’s a target], so we don’t need to talk about it. And, of course, having new players like Kingsley [Coman] and Joao [Felix], which is a dream for us to get them because we need them and we are really happy to have them. For sure, the fans and the club expect a lot, but I have no doubt about it that they will deliver for us. It’s going to be a really exciting season for all of us. We can’t wait to achieve the best things that we want."

The last time MLB staged a Players' Weekend in 2019, it was monochromatic. It's back in 2024 and will be a stark contrast with a flood of color.

Players' Weekend makes its return this season, and it'll bring character and personality to the basepaths in new ways.

Players' Weekend Theme Days

Each day of Players' Weekend is themed differently. Friday is deemed fun day, Saturday is deemed cause day, and Sunday is apprecation day.

Here's how the MLB laid out the importance of each day:

Hesson plans to rebuild Pakistan’s white-ball team with flexible roles, sharp fielding, and team-first mindset

Danyal Rasool06-Jun-2025

Pakistan’s new white-ball coach Mike Hesson said he believes that the concept of specialist batters in T20 cricket is “outdated.” In a wide-ranging in-house interview with the PCB, Hesson suggested the building blocks laid during Pakistan’s commanding 3-0 T20I win against Bangladesh were indicative of the brand of cricket he will challenge his side to play in future.”You have to be multi-skilled,” Hesson said. “The idea of just specialist batters is very much outdated. Not everyone can read a pitch to a point where you know that these five bowlers are going to be perfect. If you’ve got 6, 7, 8 options that the captain can turn to, then, say, you’ve got two right-handers at the crease, you can bring on your left-arm spinner. You’ve got offspinners, who, if you get particular matchups, can do a job.”They might only be one or two overs, but that gives the captain the flexibility then at the back end to pick his best bowlers on that day. And that’s why I look at it both ways. You’ve got to cover both areas. You’ve got to be above par with the bat and you’ve got to be below par with the ball and that’s the way we’ll be trying to operate.”Related

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It was a tactic visible throughout Pakistan’s recently concluded series against Bangladesh. In the second game, the hosts used eight bowlers in defence of their total, the joint-highest in their T20I history. In the other two games, they used seven bowlers, something they have done just 14 times in 261 T20I matches. A number of players, primarily in the team for their ability with the bat, most notably Salman Agha and Saim Ayub, put in bowling shifts.It is a tactic Hesson has applied in the PSL, too; in two seasons with Islamabad United, the franchise used an average of 6.25 bowlers per innings, a shade behind Lahore Qalandars at 6.29 and well ahead of the rest of the pack.It is part of a wider shift that Hesson, who was appointed head coach of the Pakistan white-ball side last month, hopes to implement during his time at the helm. During the interview, Hesson outlined an aim to overhaul the culture within Pakistan cricket in undertones of what Mickey Arthur attempted to do in his first stint as head coach between 2016 and 2019.Between 2016 and 2018, Arthur, along with fielding coach Steve Rixon, put in a concerted effort to improve Pakistan’s fitness and fielding, systematically excluding players who did not meet their benchmarks. The efforts were phenomenally successful, and Pakistan became a world-class fielding side. Following Rixon’s acrimonious departure, those standards dropped sharply, and have never since recovered.”You’ve got to understand what the team culture is and then try and [improve upon] that,” Hesson said. “There’s no doubt there are some skills that need to be developed with all of our players and that’s just part of evolution for me. Fielding is critical in white ball cricket; there’s no room in a squad for somebody that can’t. You just can’t hide people in the field these days. So that’ll be a real push for me.”Hesson said he had accepted the job in Pakistan with “eyes wide open”, given the challenges foreign coaches have recently had in Pakistan after the short-lived appointments of Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten failed spectacularly. After turning down an approach from the PCB a year earlier due to personal reasons, Hesson sought to ensure the PCB was on the same page as him, and clarified they viewed his appointment as medium-term rather than one producing immediate results.”There was a shift in terms of the PCB recognising that they needed to make change around the way that they wanted to play white ball cricket. That was important because for someone new to come in and make that shift could take time,” Hesson said. “The concept of playing aggressive cricket versus the concept of playing measured, smart cricket with intent is what makes the difference.”I thought I can add a little bit of structure there and I’m pretty good at identifying those that can be successful in white ball cricket. There’s some really good players who probably aren’t maximising their talent at the moment, that hopefully we can draw that out.”The results won’t come instantly. People must be aware that we will have some ups and downs, but if we’re aware of where the pinnacle events are and where we want to peak, there’s a process to that. I needed to understand that everyone in key roles were aware of that, whether that be the NCA, the chairman, the selectors, or senior players, we all need to be on the same page in terms of where we want to get to.”Hesson: ‘I don’t shut the door on anybody’•AFP/Getty Images

While not naming anyone, Hesson said the door “was not shut” on anyone looking to break into the Pakistan side, but any players who aspired to find a way into the team needed to be clear about what was required of them. He said he aimed to speak directly to players who were dropped or left out, citing it as a key role of being the head coach of a national side. That would appear to include Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi, the three highest profile Pakistan players who were not in Hesson’s first squad.”I don’t shut the door on anybody and I think that once you’re a good player, you’re a good player, but sometimes you need to just stretch yourself a little bit,” he said. “Those that aren’t in future squads, I’ll be having those communications. I’ll be talking with all those players that have a desire to play for Pakistan and being really clear around the expectations we have.”Part of that, for Hesson, is making clear that personal milestones only retain value in a certain context. “It becomes pretty apparent to everybody [if someone’s playing for personal milestones] that that’s what’s happening and it’s been happening for years. I think personal milestones will just happen if you’re trying to do the right thing by the team and then the team will celebrate them.”If we need 14 an over, a single down the ground is not going to make a big difference. If you’re looking to hit it somewhere for four and you can’t – no problem. But if we can tell you’re not picking the bat up and you’re just trying to bunt it for one to get your milestone, those milestones don’t really matter if you end up losing by 20. It’s all about context and doing whatever you can to help the team win the game.”