England and Crystal Palace have been handed a hammer blow after midfielder Adam Wharton was forced off due to an injury against Aston Villa on Sunday.
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Liverpool’s pursuit of Marc Guehi has hit a snag after Crystal Palace missed out on their top target to replace him. Brighton defender Igor Julio, who had been lined up by the Eagles, is now closing in on a move to West Ham instead. With Guehi wanted at Anfield in a £35 million ($47m) deal, the Eagles’ failure to land a replacement leaves Liverpool’s move hanging in the balance.
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Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has been unexpectedly pulled into a high-profile legal battle in Sweden. His football agent, Hasan Cetinkaya, has launched a defamation suit against two Swedish news outlets, Fotboll Sthlm and Expressen, over allegations published last year.
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England are missing a lot of key names for their final international camp of 2025. Captain Leah Williamson remains sidelined, making the absences of both Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter all the more notable in a depleted centre-back unit, while Lauren James remains out of the squad having only just returned from injury at Chelsea. Perhaps the most significant bit of team news, though, concerns Hannah Hampton, who could miss the rest of the year with a quad issue.
Arguably England's best performer in their 2025 European Championship triumph, Hampton is not just important to the Lionesses because of her world-class quality. She was also, until just last month, the only capped goalkeeper in the squad. That changed when she was absent from the defeat to Brazil, allowing Khiara Keating to earn a debut and take the number of total caps in the rest of England's goalkeeping unit up to a grand total of one.
That Sophie Baggaley, who Wiegman called up last month to cover for Hampton's knock and has recalled this time around due to her latest injury, is also uncapped says a lot about the situation England are in when it comes to the player pool in the goalkeeping position right now. So, while Hampton's absence this week is certainly unwanted and far from ideal, it does actually act as a blessing as well, giving Wiegman no choice but to take steps towards improving circumstances in this position ahead of the 2027 Women's World Cup.
Spanish giants Real Madrid are set to rival Atletico for Cristian Romero's signature this season as Los Blancos looks to rebuild their backline.
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He will go in at the top for the first time in his career against West Indies in Adelaide
Andrew McGlashan13-Jan-2024Steven Smith has laid out his rationale behind pushing for a move to open in Test cricket, and it’s pretty simple: he doesn’t want to wait.Smith had been the only incumbent player to publicly state he wanted to shift up the order to replace David Warner and the selectors ended up taking the option, which has also allowed them to bring Cameron Green back in at No. 4.The new-look batting order will have its first outing in the opening Test against West Indies, in Adelaide, which starts on January 17.Related
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Smith has never opened in Test or first-class before in a career spanning 16 years, but is no stranger to facing an almost new ball, particularly when he was batting at No. 3. However, he cited the 2019 Ashes, where he was No. 4, as an example of when he was frequently been tested early in an innings – in those four Tests (he missed one with concussion) the highest total, and longest wait, he entered at was 60 for 2 in the 23rd over at Lord’s.”Since I guess Marnus [Labuschagne] has been playing at No. 3, I’ve been waiting to bat for quite a long period of time and I don’t really like waiting to bat,” he told while playing for Sydney Sixers on Friday night. “So I thought, why don’t I put my hand up and have a crack up top and that way you can get Cameron Green in and you’re playing your six best batters so hopefully it works out.”I am [excited]. I like facing the newer ball. I think if you look back to the 2019 Ashes I was in pretty early most of the time there where I was facing the new ball. I batted No. 3 for a number of years as well and was in early and did pretty well against the new ball so it’s nothing new or foreign to me. You know I enjoy getting in there and getting amongst it and yeah, I’m looking forward to that challenge.”Steven Smith has faced a lot of short bowling in recent times•Getty Images
Warner, who retired from Test cricket after facing Pakistan in Sydney, believes one of the advantages for Smith is that he will likely face more conventional bowling and tactics early in his innings which may allow him to score more freely.In recent years, oppositions have come up with a variety of plans to Smith – including bouncers from round the wicket and stacked leg-side fields – which, while not often dismissing him quickly, have stemmed his scoring rate.”He likes to walk cross and get onto the legside and get it away there,” Warner said. “People have been bowling short to him when he first gets in. But he finds a way. Early on, they’re going to try and swing the ball and pitch the ball up. And he’s going to be allowed to get into his game and his game plan. Get into the rhythm of how he wants to bat and he can dictate. So I’m actually looking forward to seeing how he goes.”Warner added that he thought Smith and Usman Khawaja both had “another year or two” in them in Test cricket, which could take them up to the 2025-26 Ashes in Australia after next season’s series against India. Matt Renshaw has now been earmarked as the next batter in line, but Warner backed the move to get Green back in the side.”It’s a good taste for Greeny…24 years of age,” he said. “They’re going to have to look for two new guys up the top [of] the order. But to get that No. 4 replacement as well, that’s your foundation at three and four. So if they can knuckle that down, they’ve got a base in the middle. Then they just have a look for some more openers.”
Chelsea have had a bid for Kenan Yildiz rejected by Juventus as the Serie A side insist the youngster will not be sold this summer.
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Michael Slater was virtually unstoppable in the 1994-95 Ashes
03-Jan-2007
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It was my first home Ashes series and I scored really consistently in a really great team. With three hundreds in five Tests I was stoked to back up what I did in England in ’93. To start with 176 in Brisbane was phenomenal. I was so excited and nervous. The first morning was electric and I was so pumped up.I hit a four first ball off Daffy DeFreitas – it was swinging away but I saw it swinging, it was a bit short and wide enough for a good cut shot – and hit another later in the over. All my nerves went into the shot. The four later in the over went over gully and was out of control. At that point the Australian crowd went beserk and I noticed a few of the England players’ body language changed. A couple of heads – not all of them – went down and you could see they were thinking “here we go again”. At Edgbaston in 2001 it was a bit of blur when I hit Gough for 16 in the first over, but I remember the fieldsmen behind me almost giggling at what was happening.In Brisbane it was a terrific day, although I’d put on nearly 100 with Mark Taylor when I ran him out. The rate wasn’t something I was thinking of much [his strike-rate was 72 and he hit 25 fours]. It was very productive but I was still disappointed I got out. I was trying to accelerate and instead of lofting Graham Gooch I hit him to mid-off. Caught Gatting bowled Gooch hasn’t happened very often. I soaked up the crowd as I raised my bat and all but one of my team-mates was really happy with me. ‘Tubby’ Taylor was furious: “What did you do that for? You could have got through the day but you went and committed Hari Kari.”I got 103 in the second innings of the third Test at Sydney, where the end of the match was weird and we hung on. Tubby and I decided we’d bat normally [the target was 449] and we made a good start. The nature of my innings was the longer I was there the more aggressive I’d become, and Tubby was playing a lot of pull shots so we had a lot of confidence. We really enjoyed batting together and whenever I walked out with him I felt very secure. Our midwicket conferences would start off very focussed at the start and then get more light-hearted as we went on.We focussed right through this partnership and set little targets and at 0 for 200 we thought we might be able to do it. Then I got out and Tubby got out and wickets started to fall quickly [Australia went from 1 for 208 to 7 for 292]. We had to clamp down and at the end Tim May thought it was time, but because of some rain there were more overs to be bowled. We were starting to cheer the draw, but they had to go back for two more overs. That game showed how hard it is chasing big totals. There’s the pressure and things shift quickly. It was a draw but it felt like a win.I felt the gods were on my side in Perth when I was dropped three times. Dev [Malcolm] was bowling like the wind but didn’t get a wicket in the first innings. Dev had a slingy action and was so unpredictable. A couple of spells in that match were the quickest I ever faced. He forced me to fend a ball and the edge went to Gooch and he dropped it while diving.
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When I was in about my 60s I hit an easy caught and bowled but Dev dropped it. I didn’t know it at the time, but Dev was quite blind. Then I top-edged a ball and started to walk off because thought I was caught by Dev – he made a mess of it. I was assisted with my 124, but once you get going at Perth you’re hard to stop.I hadn’t thought too much about the Man-of-the-Series award until just before the presentation when one of the guys said I was a chance. With three 100s I thought I might be and there were two Toyota Ravs. The prize went to Craig McDermott [32 wickets with four five-fors] and he had been awesome throughout the series. He was a great spearhead.It was Gatting and Gooch’s last Test and we sat in the home dressing room for hours and hours. There were about eight blokes and sitting there talking with guys I had watched for years was amazing. I was 24 and my friends would never have believed what was happening. We were supposed to get inoculations for the West Indies trip that followed and I got in trouble for not being there to get the yellow fever one.Series in England always feel different, but for this home Ashes I was still riding the crest of a wave. I was going up and up rapidly and my memories are it was the time of my life. I was such a free spirit when batting – I felt the most free of my whole career. My defence was solid, my technique was good and I wasn’t yet in the phase when I became a bit looser. My batting was safe and I just loved it.
The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket
Steven Lynch12-Jun-2006The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket:
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Is it true that Stuart MacGill has outbowled Shane Warne in the matches they have played together? asked Aaron Thomas from Melbourne
It is true, although there isn’t an awful lot in it. The two legspinners have played together in 16 Tests – five of them at Sydney – and Stuart MacGill has taken 82 wickets at 22.11 in those matches. Shane Warne has taken 74 wickets at 29.57 in the same games. MacGill shades Warne on strike rate, too – a wicket every 41.7 balls in those matches, while Warne struck once every 56.6 balls. MacGill’s best bowling is 8 for 108 against Bangladesh at Fatullah in 2005-06, while Warne’s best return when MacGill has been on the same side is 6 for 80 against West Indies at Adelaide, also in 2005-06.Who scored two different centuries on successive days in a Test match? asked Gokul Sudhakar from Delhi
Vijay Hazare, the prolific Indian batsman, did this in the fourth Test against Australia at Adelaide in 1947-48. On the third day Hazare made 108 of his eventual 116, then, on the fourth day, moved to 108 as India followed on. He was out on the fifth day for 145. It was quite a match for Hazare – he also dismissed Don Bradman, although he had made 201 before Hazare managed to bowl him.I know that Murali holds the record for five-fors in Tests – but who holds the ODI record? asked Asela from Sri Lanka
The man with the most five-wicket hauls in one-day internationals is Pakistan’s Waqar Younis, with 13. Muttiah Muralitharan comes next with eight, ahead of Glenn McGrath (seven), Lance Klusener, Saqlain Mushtaq and Wasim Akram (all six). For a list of the leading wicket-takers in ODIs, click here. You’re right that Murali leads the way in Tests, with 53 five-wicket bags in 106 Tests – exactly one every two matches – well ahead of Richard Hadlee and Shane Warne, who have both taken five or more in an innings on 36 occasions.Who has made the highest Test score for and against Bangladesh? asked Mohammad Imran from Dhaka
The highest individual innings for Bangladesh in their 44 Tests to date is 158 not out, by Mohammad Ashraful against India at Chittagong in 2004-05. Ashraful has made three of Bangladesh’s 12 Test centuries so far, a record he shares with his captain Habibul Bashar. The highest score against them is 261 not out, by Ramnaresh Sarwan for West Indies at Kingston in June 2004.Apparently the five players who have appeared in most Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup matches have only seven Test caps between them. Who are they? asked Graham Frost from Australia
Jamie Cox of Tasmania has played in more matches in Australia’s premier domestic competition than anyone else, with 161 appearances. He went past John Inverarity’s old record of 159 Shield appearances during 2005-06. Next up at the moment come Jamie Siddons (146 matches), Stuart Law (142) and Darren Berry (139). The top five did indeed win seven Test caps between them – and Inverarity accounts for six of those. Law won the other one. Darren Lehmann has currently played 137 such matches, so is likely to move up the table during the forthcoming Australian season. For a full list, click here.Who called his autobiography Perchance to Bowl? I’m guessing it was a wicketkeeper! asked Jamie McDonald from Cardiff
You’re right, it was indeed a wicketkeeper: John Waite, the first South African to win 50 Test caps. Waite made his debut on the 1951 tour of England, and played on till 1964-65, scoring 2405 runs in addition to making 141 dismissals behind the stumps. His book was published in 1961.And there are some possible additions to last week’s item on reverse-swept sixes:
Anthony Bull writes: “I am pretty certain that Craig McMillan did it against Pakistan in New Zealand in the Test where he set the record for runs in one over. Not sure of the other details.” Gareth Kiernan, also from NZ, adds: “Craig McMillan reverse-pulled Daniel Vettori for six in the Shell Cup semi-final in 1999, having reverse-swept him for four the previous ball. He was into position so quickly for the pull shot that it went over point.” Somesh Verma from Nepal ventures: “Andy Flower, on an India tour, hit four sixes, all through reverse-sweeps, in one of the Test innings.” [These might have been fours: Flower never hit more than two sixes in a Test innings in India – SL.]Fahim Khondekhar has another Flower story: “Andy Flower was playing an ING Cup game in Australia and while in the nineties he reverse-swept the bowler for six. What was amazing was his first attempt just barely cleared the fielder at square leg, and instead of losing courage he attempted it again the very next ball. Nice way to bring up your hundred.” John van der Westhuizen writes on behalf of a fellow South African: “When West Indies toured South Africa in 1998, they lost the Test series 5-0. On his way to a second-innings century, I saw Jonty Rhodes reverse-sweep a six in the Centurion Test, the last of the series.” Shanthal Perera writes from America: “Brian McMillan reverse-swept Murali, I think for a six, in one of the group matches in the one-day tournament in Kenya in 1996-97.” Rajesh Mehta has a slightly different memory: “During the first four-nations tournament in Kenya in 1996-97, I remember Brian McMillan of South Africa reverse-sweeping Sanath Jayasuriya for a six at the Nairobi Club.” And Andrew Schwilk from Australia concludes: “I can recall Darren Gough reverse-pulling Gavin Robertson for six in a one-dayer at the MCG, which is no mean feat.”
Lara and Richards in partnership, eight runs off one ball, youngest to a five-for, and tons against Australia
Steven Lynch24-Sep-2007The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket:Did Brian Lara and Viv Richards ever bat together in an international match? asked Amit Baishya from the United States
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That’s an interesting one, and the answer is, it happened once – not in a Test match (Viv Richards and Brian Lara never appeared together in the same side), but in a one-day international. It was against England at Lord’s in 1991 – it was the only one in which they both played – and, as the scorecard shows, they batted briefly together, adding 20 for the fourth wicket before Lara was out. I don’t suppose anyone thought it was particularly significant at the time.How many centuries have been scored against Australia in the World Cup? asked Richard Weatherill from Portsmouth
There have been a total of eight centuries against Australia in the World Cup, two of them in finals, Clive Lloyd’s memorable 102 in the first one, at Lord’s in 1975, and Aravinda de Silva’s 107 not out in Sri Lanka’s upset victory in 1995-96. The identity of the highest World Cup scorer against Australia might win you a few quiz prizes: it’s Zimbabwe’s Neil Johnson, who made 132 not out at Lord’s in 1999. The other century makers are Chris Harris (130 in 1995-96), Kevin Pietersen (104 in 2006-07), Herschelle Gibbs (101 in 1999), Martin Crowe (100 not out in 1991-92) and Ajay Jadeja (100 not out in 1999).What is the most runs off a single ball in Test cricket? I recall Kevin Pietersen giving away a seven last year, but do I remember either John Wright or Geoff Howarth managing an eight at Melbourne in 1980-81? asked Stean Hainsworth from Australia
Charlie Wat’s exhaustive book Test Cricket Lists gives three instances of eight runs being scored off one ball in a Test match. The first one was at Brisbane (the Exhibition ground, not the Gabba) in Don Bradman’s first Test match in 1928-29, when England’s Patsy Hendren collected four overthrows after an all-run four. The instance you mention happened at Melbourne in 1980-81: this time it was John Wright who benefited from four overthrows (by Rod Marsh, who collected a fielder’s return and shied at the stumps) after an all-run four. Test cricket’s third eight occurred at Port-of-Spain in 2004-05, when Brian Lara glanced a ball from South Africa’s Nicky Boje for three. The wicketkeeper, Mark Boucher, ran after the ball and threw it back in, but it hit a fielder’s helmet on the ground, so he incurred five penalty runs. These would previously have been credited to Lara, but after a recent rule change they went down as penalty extras. Lara might have cursed the law-makers – he was out later for 196.Who is the youngest bowler to get a five-wicket haul? asked Marvin Chester from Guyana
The youngest man to do this in a Test was the Pakistan left-arm spinner Nasim-ul-Ghani, who was only 16 years 303 days old at the start of a match in which he took 5 for 116 against West Indies at Georgetown in 1957-58. For a full list for Tests, click here. The youngest to achieve the feat in an ODI was another Pakistani, Wasim Akram, who was 18 years 266 days old when he took 5 for 21 against Australia at Melbourne in 1984-85. For a full list for ODIs, click here.
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Has anyone from a non-Test country taken 100 wickets in ODIs? asked Peter Carrick from Liverpool
The only one who has managed this is Kenya’s Thomas Odoyo, who has currently taken 102 wickets in ODIs (98 for Kenya and four for the Africa XI). Odoyo’s team-mate and long-time captain Steve Tikolo comes next, with 69.I was interested to read last week’s question about the Test player born at the SCG. I remember that my late father had a friend who said he was born in the pavilion at Edgbaston, and later played for Warwickshire. Who was he? asked Tom Fenwick from Coventry
This was Len Bates, whose father was the groundsman at Edgbaston: he went on to play 444 matches for Warwickshire as a right-hand batsman between 1919 and 1935, scoring nearly 20,000 runs with 21 centuries, the highest 211 at Gloucester in 1932. His highest score at his birthplace was 200, against Worcestershire at Edgbaston in 1928. Bates died in 1971 and his birthplace is confirmed in his Wisden obituary.And there’s a final thought about cricketers’ appropriate birthplaces, from Andrew Dunsford in New Zealand:
“Further to your questions last week regarding cricketers born at Test grounds, Jackie Mills, who scored a century on debut against England in New Zealand’s second-ever Test match [at Wellington in 1929-30], was born at the Carisbrook Ground, Dunedin, where his father was groundsman.”