Jamie Smith sets tone with 44 off 18 as Spirit keep season alive – for now

ECB Media23-Aug-2025

Liam Dawson celebrates Jason Roy’s dismissal with Kane Williamson•Philip Brown/Getty Images

London Spirit are just about still alive in the Hundred after an emphatic win over Southern Brave took them level with their opponents on 12 points and meant that both are still within reach of the third qualifying spot as the men’s competition heads into its defining week.Spirit’s win meant that Oval Invincibles and Northern Superchargers have now qualified for the knockout stages, while Trent Rockets can lock in the third and final qualification spot with a win over Welsh Fire in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon. Spirit and Brave both need Rockets to lose their final two games, to win their own last fixtures, and even then would be reliant on Net Run-Rates.Under the lights at Lord’s, Spirit turned in arguably their most complete performance of the tournament to date. Jamie Smith was immense in the Powerplay, pumping seven of his 18 deliveries either to or over the fence to dominate an opening stand of 66 in 36 balls with David Warner.The Australian’s departure for 25, top-edging a reverse sweep, gave Michael Bracewell his first wicket, and the Kiwi offspinner then induced the mishit from Smith, who picked out Hilton Cartwright on the midwicket fence to go for a brilliant 44.Kane Williamson has simmered so far this summer but here, he unfurled his full repertoire, hooking Jofra Archer for six and then driving him behind square for another maximum. His three sixes here, propelling him to a maiden half-century in the tournament, took his season tally up to five.Jamie Smith struck 44 off 18•Getty Images

Brave’s attack struggled to contain, though their young left-arm spinner James Coles showed his nous, going for just 22 from his 15 deliveries and picking up the wicket of the dangerous Ashton Turner, caught in the deep.In reply, much hinged on the Brave’s two white-ball icons, James Vince and Jason Roy. But when Vince plinked a pull shot off Luke Wood to mid-on, and Roy – after a sprightly cameo, including a monstrous 102-metre six off Richard Gleeson – played all round a straight one from Liam Dawson, the Brave’s assault ran aground.For a brief moment, as Laurie Evans climbed into the spinners Jafer Chohan and Turner, hitting four sixes in five balls to leave the Brave needing 90 from 43, the most unlikely of heists seemed possible. But as wickets fell at the other end, Evans ran out of partners, momentum and belief, eventually succumbing on the long-on boundary to give Gleeson his second wicket.Dawson took care of business at the death, picking up his third clean-bowled of the evening, with Jamie Overton then castling his brother, Craig, to clinch the match and help improve the Spirit’s run-rate.The consolation for the Brave is that they remain in the shake-up, ahead of their final match on Thursday against Welsh Fire, while the Spirit face their capital rivals on Monday at the Kia Oval.

If the Tampa Bay Rays were disoriented by their forced exile from their Tropicana Field home this offseason, they haven't shown it.

The Rays are 50–47 and 1.5 games out of the American League's final wild-card spot at the All-Star break, despite currently occupying George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa—the New York Yankees' 11,000-seat spring-training home. That's because Hurricane Milton destroyed large parts of Tropicana Field's roof in October.

On Tuesday, commissioner Rob Manfred was asked a question that has suddenly become very pertinent: where will Tampa Bay play home games if it makes the playoffs this year? According to Manfred, the Rays have the green light to host them at Steinbrenner Field.

"Our rule has always been that people play in their home stadiums during the World Series. And I’m not of a mind to change that rule," Manfred told reporters via , presumably ignoring the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. "I understand it’s a unique situation. It’s different, but that’s where they’re playing. That’s where they’re going to play their games."

Tampa Bay is seeking its sixth postseason berth in the past seven seasons, and its seventh winning season in the past eight years.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl lost for the second time in as many matches in charge of the club in the Europa League against Roma on Thursday night.

The Italian giants came to Ibrox and won 2-0 under the lights, thanks to two first-half strikes, to make it three defeats in five matches for the new Light Blues boss.

It is hard to blame the former Sheffield Wednesday tactician for that dismal start to his career at the club, though, as he has had a tough run of fixtures, including this clash with Roma and a League Cup semi-final against Celtic.

Rohl has inherited a team that struggled badly under former manager Russell Martin, who only won five matches in all competitions during his time in Glasgow.

However, the German boss does have a chance to make it three wins out of three in the Scottish Premiership when his side travel to play Dundee away from home on Sunday.

With that match in mind, the Ibrox head coach must ruthlessly ditch centre-forward Youssef Chermiti from the starting line-up after an underwhelming performance on Thursday night.

Why Youssef Chermiti should be dropped by Rangers

The £8m summer signing from Everton has now produced one goal and one assist in 12 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues in the 2025/26 campaign.

His goal, as shown in the clip above, was aided by some fairly questionable goalkeeping, and his assist was a simple pass to Danilo, who took a brilliant touch and scored from the edge of the box.

The Portugal U21 international has not provided enough quality in the final third to justify his price tag, yet, and his performance against Roma did little to convince supporters that he has been a good addition to the squad.

Roma had Artem Dovbyk leading the line for them at Ibrox and the gulf in class between the Ukraine international and Chermiti in their respective displays was staggering.

Whilst the Serie A marksman, who scored 17 goals for Roma last season (Sofascore), provided the perfect foil for his team to build attacks from, Rangers could not rely on Chermiti to bring others into play.

Minutes

73

86

Big chances missed

1

0

Passes completed

8

19

Pass accuracy

67%

100%

Key passes

0

4

Assists

0

1

Possession lost

8x

5x

As you can see in the table above, Dovbyk was almost perfect in possession and created four chances for his team on the night, including one for the second goal, whilst the Gers striker did not create any chances for his side and was a bit loose with his passes.

The former Everton forward also struggled in the 3-1 loss to Celtic at Hampden Park on Sunday. Pundit Michael Stewart bemoaned his “poor” finishing after the attacker spurned two huge opportunities to find the back of the net in the first half.

Therefore, Rohl should drop him from the starting line-up to take on Dundee in the Premiership on Sunday and unleash Danilo, who has scored in each of his last two appearances in the Premiership under the German head coach.

Chermiti is not the only underperforming Rangers player who should lose his place in the starting XI for that trip to Dundee before the international break, though.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The former Bayern Munich and Southampton assistant manager should also ruthlessly ditch left-sided defender Jayden Meghoma from the side, after another disappointing showing.

Why Danny Rohl should drop Jayden Meghoma for Rangers

Rohl should drop the defender from the team after he decided to withdraw him from the game at half-time in order to change formation and move Max Aarons to left-back.

The Rangers head coach opted to move away from a 3-4-2-1 formation to chase the game with a 4-3-3, which meant that Aarons moved from right wing-back to left-back and James Tavernier moved from right centre-back to right-back.

Rohl deciding to move Aarons, who is a right-footed right-back, over to left-back instead of moving Meghoma back into a left-back position in a back four suggests that he was less-than-pleased with the Brentford loanee’s contributions in the first half.

Minutes

45

Pass accuracy

79%

Key passes

0

Successful dribbles

0/1

Tackles won

0

Interceptions

0

Ground duels won

0/2

Aerial duels won

0/0

As you can see in the table above, it is easy to understand why the manager may not have been too impressed by the wing-back’s first-half showing, as the 19-year-old flop failed to win a single duel.

Meghoma offered very little to the team in or out of possession in the opening 45 minutes, with no key passes, dribbles, tackles, interceptions, or duels won for the Scottish giants.

The Scotsman handed the youngster a player rating of 4/10 for his performance against Roma and wrote that he looked ‘out of his depth’ as an ‘untested’ youngster, which is hard to disagree with, given Rohl’s decision to withdraw him at half-time and his dismal statistics.

After the 3-1 loss to Celtic in the League Cup last weekend, Football FanCast suggested that the left-back may be on borrowed time in the starting XI because he was caught out defensively for the opening goal from Johnny Kenny, as shown in the clip below.

Meghoma was also caught out aerially from a set-piece in the 3-0 defeat to Brann in Rohl’s first match in charge, when he allowed Jacob Lungi Sorensen to get the run on him to score from a free-kick.

The teenage defender, who has won 25% of his aerial duels in the Premiership (Sofascore), has not proven that he can be a reliable option for the Light Blues at this moment in time, and the change at half-time on Thursday suggests that the manager trusts Aarons ahead of him in a back four.

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ByDominic Lund Nov 5, 2025

Therefore, Rohl should ruthlessly ditch Meghoma and Chermiti in order to unleash Aarons at left-back in a back four and Danilo up front against Dundee on Sunday.

تحدث هيثم فاروق نجم الزمالك ومنتخب مصر السابق، عن تعادل الزمالك مع فريق كايزر تشيفز، في دور المجموعات من بطولة الكونفدرالية.

وتعادل فريق الزمالك مع نظيره فريق كايزر تشيفز بهدف لكل فريق، في المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين في الثالثة عصر اليوم، في الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات من بطولة الكونفدرالية الإفريقية.

طالع.. فيديو | التعادل الإيجابي يحسم مواجهة الزمالك وكايزر تشيفز في الكونفدرالية

وقال هيثم فاروق في تصريحات على قناة بي إن سبورتس: “الأخطاء واردة في كرة القدم، محمد صبحي أدى مباراة جيدة لكن للأسف خطأ أضاع نقطتين، دائما 1-0 نتيجة غير مُطمئنة، التعادل جاء في الدقيقة 96 ولم يتوقع أحد، لكن أعجبني حسام عبد المجيد والونش وتعاملهما مع صبحي”.

وأضاف: “أرى أن مواجهة الزمالك والمصري ستكون قوية جدًا للمنافسة على صدارة المجموعة، الأندية الجنوب إفريقية تفوقت في الفترة الأخيرة على المصرية، الموسم الماضي صن داونز أخرج الأهلي وستيلينبوش أخرج الزمالك”.

وتابع: “الزمالك قدم مباراة قوية جدًا، والحكم أخطأ مرتين، سواء ركلة جزاء شيكو بانزا أو هدف الجزيري الملغي، الزمالك كان عليه أن يؤمن بأكثر من هدف، حظ سيء لـ محمد صبحي، أتمنى يتجاوز هذا الأمر سريعًا، لكن عبد الرؤوف أدار اللقاء بشكل جيد، الأطراف كانت مميزة رغم أنني حزين من بيزيرا لأنه كان ممكن يقدم أفضل من ذلك”.

وأردف: “الفريق تأثر بخروج سيف الجزيري، لكن التغييرات كانت في محلها، كان هدفها ضخ دماء جديدة في الفريق، وهدف الجزيري الملغي الحكم جامل فيه كايزر تشيفز، وبانزا كان يستحق ركلة جزاء مليون بالمئة، وشيكو بانزا وبيزيرا محتاجين “صنفرا” وعبد الرؤوف يحتاج أن يُظهر لهما شخصيته، وأن يلعبا لصالح الفريق وليس لصالح أنفسهما”.

واختتم هيثم فاروق تصريحاته قائلا: “قدر الله وما شاء فعل، الزمالك أمامه فترة توقف إفريقي، وعليه أن يجرب أكثر ويكون هناك مزيد من الانسجام، وعبد الرؤوف أثبت كفاءة كبيرة بلا شك، لكن لو الظروف تسمح بأن يضم الزمالك مدير فني أجنبي فهذا أفضل، ويكون معه عبد الرؤوف، لكن يجب أن يكون المدير الفني الجديد عارف هو بيعمل إيه، ولكن لو كل الطرق تؤدي إلى عبد الرؤوف سأدعم ذلك”.

It has not been the start to the season that many Chelsea fans were hoping for in the summer.

Enzo Maresca’s side are not necessarily playing poorly, but as things stand, they are ninth in the Premier League and have lost three of their last five in the competition.

The good news is that they have progressed to the next round of the League Cup, and Jamie Gittens finally put in a sensational performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

His three goal involvements in that game should take some of the heat off him, although with him starting to perform, another summer signing is looking even more perplexing, a signing who could be the new Jadon Sancho.

Sancho's record at Chelsea

Contrary to what many non-Chelsea fans believe, the Blues did, at one point, intend to sign Sancho upon the completion of his loan last season.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The deal they agreed with Manchester United the previous summer included an obligation to buy for £25m or a fee of £5m to send him back, and so initially, the club looked to keep him on a permanent basis.

However, according to reports, the reason they eventually paid to send him back to Old Trafford was because the Englishman refused to accept a pay cut to his massive weekly wage of up to £300k-per-week.

Such an astronomical salary would have been a ludicrous waste of money, as while the former Borussia Dortmund star had his moments here and there, he never blew anyone away during his time at Stamford Bridge.

For example, in 41 appearances across all competitions, the 25-year-old was only able to score five goals and provide ten assists.

That comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.73 games, which is hardly the output of someone who can demand the wages he did.

Moreover, those numbers start to look even worse when you dig a little deeper.

Sancho’s Chelsea record
Games	41
Goals	5
Assists	10
Goal Involvements per Match	0.36
All Stats via Transfermarkt

For example, two of his goals and five of his assists came in the Conference League, and while it was great that the club won the competition, the opposition they faced to do so were subpar at best.

In all, while it seemed like a good idea at the time, signing Sancho on loan last season was probably not worth it for Chelsea, and it looks like they made a similar mistake this summer.

Chelsea's Sancho repeat

While they haven’t all settled in just yet, it would be fair to say that Chelsea made several quite exciting signings this summer.

However, one signing that baffled fans and pundits alike at the time, and remains even more confusing, is that of Facundo Buonanotte.

The Blues signed the Argentine ace from Brighton & Hove Albion on a season-long loan with no option or obligation to buy, and while it’s not a terrible signing, there are a few reasons which make it a poor one.

For example, and this is a crucial one, he didn’t exactly light the world alight last season.

In his 35 appearances for Leicester City, the supposedly “magnificent” youngster, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored six goals and provided three assists, with seven of those goal involvements coming in the league.

Such a middling return just makes the Blues’ decision to bring him to the club on a short-term basis all the more baffling, as it’s not like he was an output machine last year.

This leads to the second problem with the move, which is that, if he’s only meant to play the less important games, why couldn’t the club give their own academy products that chance?

Surely it makes more sense to build up the experience of your own prospects over that of Brighton’s.

Finally, when he has actually played for Maresca, he’s not impressed.

In his five appearances thus far, the Pérez-born gem has scored a single goal, and that came against the mighty Lincoln City in the League Cup.

Ultimately, Buonanotte’s lack of impact last season, his underwhelming displays so far this season, and the fact that he could be blocking the pathway for a Cobham graduate just make his loan move more baffling with every passing gameweek.

Maresca can soon unleash "phenomenal" Delap upgrade at Chelsea in 2026

Delap’s place in the Chelsea side could soon be under threat.

1

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Oct 31, 2025

Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen lashed out at being constantly asked about his fitness as the Denmark international claimed that he has been fit all season. After spending the majority of the 2024-25 campaign on the sidelines due to serious concerns, Christensen has managed to accumulate just 342 minutes on the in the 10 matches he has played for the Catalan giants this season.

Christensen's injury crisis

Until the 2024-25 season, Christensen was a key member of the Barcelona starting lineup, however, an Achilles tendon injury and muscle issues forced him to remain sidelined for the majority of the last campaign.  In the current campaign, the Danish defender has fallen down the pecking order behind Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi and Ronald Araujo under Hansi Flick. He was ruled out for four games due to gastroenteritis but has otherwise been available for the Spanish champions.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportChristensen frustrated with fitness queries

Speaking to reporters, the 29-year-old said: "Before last season, there were hardly any questions about my fitness. But since then, there have been many. Now I'm back in competition, without getting injured. In fact, apart from illnesses I've been fit all season. So it's annoying, but I have to accept it. I'll keep my head held high and play, as I always have, except when I've been sick."

He further claimed that he constantly keeps track of whatever is said about him in the media, as the centre-back added: "I think it's more difficult if you're a player and you follow a lot of news. But since I don't use social media and I almost never read the news in Denmark, luckily I don't see them. So for me it's not that difficult. But I imagine it must be incredibly stimulating and at the same time totally exhausting. Luckily, I don't mind staying out of it."

Ex-Chelsea defender wants new Barcelona deal

Speaking to earlier this month, Christensen admitted that Barcelona had not yet approached him about an extension, as he said: "No, not really. I don't think so. I think we're in a good situation, and there's not really anything that can change anything I do in my everyday life. Of course, you want to have it in place and know what's happening. But it's not something that changes our mood during the days, or something we talk about 

"Of course, we have desires, we all do, but it's not something I think about in my everyday life. I try to do what I can do on the pitch, and hopefully that's enough for me to stay there." Christensen also admitted that his agent will remain involved over future decisions. If there is something that needs to be done, he will, of course, do it. Of course, I would like to know what is happening, but I would rather focus on what I can do, and that is to do what I can do."

He added: "Oh, no, I have no idea. Not yet. I'm just choosing to focus on being part of the team and playing as much as I possibly can. Hopefully that's how it ends up, but I'll have to take it as it comes, right now. Not at all. No plan B."

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Getty Images SportWill Barcelona offer a new deal to Christensen?

As of now, there has been no indication that the Spanish champions would offer Christensen a new contract and with his limited role in the current campaign, it is possible that Barcelona could let him leave for free at the end of the season. Last month, Barca sporting director Deco had told : "We’re taking Andreas step by step. He had a spectacular first year. Then injuries have affected him quite a bit. We’ll see how he does this season and we’ll talk. He’s a great player. We don’t have to renew all the players in October either."

Flick's men will be back in action after the international break on November 22 when they take on Athletic Club in a La Liga fixture at home. 

We’ve heard it said that the ICC has been reduced to an event management firm, but is it even that now?

Osman Samiuddin20-Dec-2024First of all, a round of applause for cricket for finally ending what seemed at first to be the saga with no end but which quickly became the saga that if nobody cared much about it, might just go away. Second of all, everyone involved can claim a win. The PCB has its equitable and just agreement, the sense that it is being treated as an equal with the biggest board in the game. The BCCI is not going to play in Pakistan, which is what it has wanted from the off. The ICC has a tournament, and all members their ensuing revenues from it. We all get our tournament and perhaps, somewhere down the line, a triangular or quadrangular series involving both India and Pakistan.Third – and realest – of all, though, better make that a really slow handclap for cricket. If anyone thinks the outcome of this entire sorry drama is a win – least of all for cricket – then it is not the game’s interests they have at heart, no matter how much they tell us otherwise.Consider the ICC. Their perfunctory statement on the resolution is, by one count, six paragraphs long. By another, less generous, count, it is actually six sentences long, two of which spell out the decision and two being space fillers about a schedule that will come soon and about how many teams will take part. That’s it. Six sentences, with no explanation or context as to why there is a statement in the first place. Why do we need a hybrid model, ICC, when the tournament was awarded three years ago to Pakistan as the sole hosts? And how come this arrangement will last until at least 2027?Related

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Remarkably, it is the only statement the ICC has made since November 9, when the BCCI first informed the ICC that India were not going to travel to Pakistan. Not a single statement about the uncertainty around one of their premier events, a tournament essentially held hostage by two of their biggest members who together form their events’ biggest rivalry. There’s Stockholm Syndrome and then there’s this.It used to be said, a little disparagingly in the years after Malcolm Speed was forced out as CEO, that the ICC had become a mere event management company and was no longer a global governing body. What, then, might it be left as these days, given its lack of management of the 2023 World Cup and then the fallout from the T20 World Cup this year? An event management company that is no longer managing events at all, or at least not managing them very well?If you conclude that this is down to a complete absence of leadership, or the total subjugation of the ICC to the game’s strongest constituents, then you would not be entirely wrong. But I think a more illuminating insight can be drawn from Greg Barclay’s recent interview with the , in which the outgoing chair deploys a curiously detached gaze on the game, as if he were a fond – but mere – observer, with no real skin in it. The game’s a mess, isn’t it? Lost a bit of perspective, hasn’t it? Sure hope Jay Shah uses India to grow the game and not put it under the yoke of India. Gee, somebody should really do something about all this. Er, who’s going to tell him, guys?And so, in this reflection, the ICC has stood aside and shrugged, watching the game not grow but grow more unruly, pulled here, pushed there, stretched out so that it loses all shape and meaning. Yep, it’s a mess, fellas. Yep, there’s challenges. If only somebody would do something about it.

It used to be said the ICC had become a mere event management company. What, then, might it be left as these days, given its lack of management of the 2023 World Cup and the fallout from the T20 World Cup this year? An event management company that is no longer managing events at all, or at least not managing them very well?

If there’s a smidgen of sympathy here, it’s because the ICC has been wedged in between in this anti-romance between the BCCI and PCB. Nothing brings out the worst in either board than having to deal with the other. And this time the charade that the wrangling is anything other than a proxy for their governments to point-score has been especially risible.Mohsin Naqvi has repeatedly argued that politics and sport should not be mixed. At the best of times this is a reductive line. For Naqvi, concurrently, the incumbent PCB chair and Pakistan’s interior minister (and an especially influential one) it’s a supremely disingenuous line to push. To the extent that it feels like it’s pure trolling.In India, meanwhile, cricket is to politics as smoke is to mirrors, which, given the BCCI secretary had a direct line to the sitting home minister, was something. The BCCI said it was the government not allowing the team to travel. The government didn’t say anything. Until one day, in response to a question, the ministry of external affairs referred to a BCCI statement on the decision. The BCCI, said the spokesperson, had cited security concerns in Pakistan and so was unlikely to send the team there.Umm, what now?The BCCI had made no statement at all, then or now; had, in fact, made clear the decision was in their hands: Rajiv Shukla, the forever BCCI grandee, once said to the media the decision was not the board’s. That was half the problem, that the PCB wanted to know from the BCCI (and not the ICC) why it wasn’t going to send its team, and what the Indian government had said. And security concerns? A security plan had been presented and no objections raised at an ICC meeting in October. None of the eight Full Members who have travelled to Pakistan since 2019 have raised any issues, nor the teams who are actually in the Champions Trophy.And in the middle of this impasse, Jay Shah ascended (or should that be was demoted?) to the ICC chair. One day he was fighting for the BCCI’s interests. The next, a switch was flicked and he was meant to be fighting for the ICC’s interests. It’s quite the to-do list to have left on the last day of your old job to pick up on the first day of your new job. It was entirely fitting. This is, after all, a members’ body in which members routinely do things that undermine the members’ body, and then, as members of said members’ body, bemoan those undermining actions.Still, at least everyone won. Only, if this is what cricket winning feels like, may we never find out how cricket losing feels.

The all-format coach was full of praise for Pretorius and Brevis despite South Africa losing “a game of millimetres” in the final

Firdose Moonda26-Jul-2025South Africa’s all-format coach Shukri Conrad will make “no excuses” for losing “a game of millimetres” to New Zealand in the tri-series final in Harare and is “thrilled” with the way his new-look team played.Though South Africa lost all three matches they played against New Zealand in the competition, they came close to claiming the trophy and pulling off their highest successful chase against them. That they did that with a squad that includes only two players – Reeza Hendricks and Gerald Coetzee – who were part of their last T20 World Cup squad suggests to Conrad that the depth in South African cricket is strong as he builds towards the next World Cup in February-March next year.”There’s so many good things that we can take forward from here,” Conrad said at the post-match press conference. “The result is disappointing but there were so many good things that happened there today that we can be really proud of and that I am really proud of. With such a young and inexperienced side, to put up the type of performance today, that is also pleasing to see. It’s no excuse for losing and we’re still bitterly disappointed. But there were some really good things.”

Pretorius and Brevis repay the faith

Chief among them was the form shown by the two young batters Conrad has also included in next month’s white-ball squads for a tour to Australia: Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis. Pretorius, who scored 31 runs in his first three innings as a T20I opener, was moved down to No. 5 for South Africa’s last league game, where he made 1. He was brought back up to the top of the order for the final and set South Africa on their way with a 35-ball 51.Related

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“Lhuan-dre is one of the bright prospects for South Africa. We saw what he has in him with the innings he played today,” Conrad said. “He had a lean period throughout this tournament, but he’s a classy young cricketer and exciting times lie ahead for him. Young players go through tough times and very often don’t know how to deal with it. But for him to come back in the final and play the way he did gave us a really good foundation.”Brevis had played international cricket before, in 2023, when he scored five runs from two T20Is. He has enjoyed a breakthrough last six months with strong performances in the SA20 and call-ups to both Test and T20I squads in Zimbabwe and the ODI squad to Australia. After establishing himself as a finisher for MI Cape Town earlier in the year, he came within two shots of winning South Africa the final and Conrad is keen to develop his ability to close out games.”Dewald is a special talent,” Conrad said. “He’s hugely disappointed that he didn’t take us home but on another day, he would have hit that out of Harare. He’s a special talent. He’s probably one of the sweetest strikers of a cricket ball in world cricket at the moment. You’re never out of a game when you’ve still got Dewald Brevis in the shed or he’s at the wicket, and he’ll be better for this experience this week. He got us close on a few occasions and it’s a case of when he gets us over the line rather than if he will. This is all part of a journey for Dewald and part of his development. There’s certainly no doubting his ability.”

Bowling options at the death

The other improvement Conrad pointed out was South Africa’s bowling in the last five overs. Though they conceded 45 runs in that period, they only gave away three boundaries and took two wickets. Nandre Burger bowled two of the four overs, conceded 18 runs, and took a wicket, while Kwena Maphaka bowled the last over and gave away 11 runs. “Today, an area that we paid particular attention to was our bowling at the death. It’s been a bugbear for us for a long time,” Conrad said. “I think we’ve made huge strides insofar as that is concerned. Guys are clearer with their plans. In the last five overs, New Zealand only hit three boundaries, which is brilliant for us.”Gerald Coetzee was making a comeback during the tri-series•Zimbabwe Cricket

In South Africa’s first match in this series against New Zealand, they conceded 63 in the last five overs, which demonstrates the improvement Conrad spoke of. In that match, Coetzee bowled two of the five overs and gave away 32 runs. Coetzee did not play the final and has not been included in the squads for the Australia series, with Conrad saying he has moved down the pecking order.Coetzee remains very much part of South Africa’s core group, which Conrad will work with over the next WTC cycle (which will start with a two-Test tour to Pakistan in October) and in the lead-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup and 2027 ODI World Cup. Despite losing his first white-ball series in charge, Conrad is optimistic about what South Africa’s players can offer.”The bulk of them would have laid down a marker at some stage during this tournament that they belong at this level and that they want to be a part of this team,” he said. “It’s always great when you can grow your strength or your depth in certain areas, and I think we’ve managed to do that. Ideally, we want to play our best team and our strongest team whenever we can. And that’s going to be the case going forward now. But our experienced guys needed a break. So it’s going to be great integrating some of these young guys.”And, as always, Conrad would not leave without a parting shot about South Africa’s ambitions, especially as he looks to the next global event. “If today is going to be a yardstick, then it comes to the T20 World Cup, whoever wants to win the tournament is going to have to beat us,” he said. “I’m very confident going forward. I think we’ve got the makings of a really great side in every format.”

Kate Cross has revealed that she is “struggling to get [her] head around” her “savage” omission from England’s squad for the 50-over World Cup in India.Cross, 33, has been a regular in England’s ODI side since the last World Cup and took her 100th career wicket in the format earlier this summer. But she was dropped during their series against India last month and was left out of the squad altogether on Thursday as a result of England’s decision to pick an extra spinner for subcontinent conditions.”It’s hard to take, because I don’t feel like I’ve done enough to deserve not being on that plane,” Cross said on , her podcast with Alex Hartley. “Everyone that is a current player who doesn’t get selected is going to disagree with selections and going to think that they should be there.Related

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“But what I’m really struggling to get my head around is it all feels like it’s happened so quickly that I’ve just clearly fallen out of favour with Lot [England coach Charlotte Edwards]. That’s a hard bit to get my head [around]. If I’d had 14-18 months of being pretty average at cricket and not performing in an England shirt, then I think I’d understand it a bit more.”I guess to an extent I have, because I didn’t have the best summer in an England shirt and I had a really tough winter and missed out a lot through the back injury. But I think leading into that, I definitely didn’t feel like I wouldn’t be on the plane. Being in the best XI [is] a different conversation, but [not even] being on the plane… It feels savage.”Cross was first left out by Edwards for a rain-reduced game against India at Lord’s – she is not involved in England’s T20I set-up – and did not regain her place for the series finale in Durham. “There’s so much for me to get my head around, and I haven’t processed it,” she said. “It’s still really raw.”England have only picked three frontline seamers for the World Cup in Em Arlott, Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer, with captain Nat Sciver-Brunt on track to recover from injury in time to offer another option.”It’s what you sign up for,” Cross said. “You don’t get to have those amazing highs without having these real lows, but it doesn’t make the lows any easier knowing that they’re going to be there. I probably had a good indication that I wasn’t going to be in this, or it would be tough to come back from being dropped in that last game… But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

Leeds United have to win their next Premier League clash away at Nottingham Forest otherwise the Whites will be plunged even deeper into relegation trouble.

Indeed, Daniel Farke’s men now sit precariously above the drop zone after a pitiful 3-0 loss at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, with the five-point gap between themselves and Forest shaved to just two points if Sean Dyche’s side gets the better of the West Yorkshire outfit.

To further pile on the worry, Dyche also has six career wins under his belt as a manager when facing the Whites, with Leeds also winless – and goalless – on the road since a 3-1 success against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Farke will need to see an immediate reaction from this devastating defeat on the South Coast, with several of his summer recruits potentially being dropped, despite many making positive starts, away from the loss at the Amex.

Why Leeds' summer business must be questioned

Across the ranks, not a single player could trudge off at the end of the 3-0 loss to Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls, satisfied with their efforts.

Not even their marquee signing, Noah Okafor, is immune to criticism.

The tricky number 19 did try his best to unlock a stern home side with five successful dribbles. But, former Leeds player Jon Newsome has harshly called the ex-AC Milan winger a “passenger” for how easily he can give up the ball, and that was the case, again, versus Hurzeler’s hosts when ceding possession a costly 19 times.

Moreover, Dominic Calvert-Lewin could also find himself dropped up top after another goalless showing passed him by, with just one goal still next to his name since leaving Everton behind in the summer. He arguably has to be the most questionable signing of the summer, even if he did arrive on a free transfer.

Central defender Jaka Bijol might also be made to sit out after a two-game stint in the first team, with Pascal Struijk perhaps the most logical replacement, as the £15m summer recruit failed to win a single tackle, and just one duel, as Brighton ran the hopeless away side ragged all afternoon.

Despite the hosts’ blistering nature, Bijol and the rest of the backline did make it very straightforward for Diego Gomez to kickstart his brace, when he was left in acres of room to tap home his first effort of the day for 2-0.

Farke really could ring the changes for the crunch tie at Forest, therefore, with one summer signing also at risk of being cut from the German’s starting XI.

The bold selection Farke could make

It hasn’t been exclusively doom and gloom all season long in West Yorkshire, with some positive performances potentially standing Farke and Co. in good stead to beat the drop.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The aforementioned 3-1 away win at Wolves, in particular, saw everything click as new signings Anton Stach, Calvert-Lewin, and Okafor were all amongst the goals.

Gabriel Gudmundsson also put in a sterling effort against the now managerless Old Gold after joining from Lille in July.

Indeed, Leeds-based social media account The Leeds Press hailed the Swede as an asset that “gives everything” after the Wolves win, as seen in him registering eight clearances and winning three duels to keep the Molineux hosts at bay.

With 3.5 ball recoveries also averaged across his ten Premier League games, on top of two big chances being created, it felt as if Leeds had hit the jackpot on a perfect Junior Firpo replacement on the left flank.

Journalist James Marshment even boldly stated in late September that he has been “one of the best left-backs in the Premier League this season”. At just £10m, he had certainly proved himself to be a bargain.

Unfortunately for the Sweden regular, though, he put in a horror-show performance on the South Coast, as a rapid Yankuba Minteh turned him inside out all match.

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

72

Accurate passes

35/42 (83%)

Possession lost

16x

Dribbled past

2x

Tackles won

1/2

Total duels won

7/12

The strong and resilient full-back that had bounced back from his own-goal at Fulham in style was nowhere to be seen against the Seagulls.

He was dribbled past twice as a weak member of Farke’s defence, on top of also falling victim to an Okafor-like display, with possession given up 16 times.

James Justin could well get the nod to come in for Gudmundsson at the City Ground, therefore.

It is unlikely to be the only alteration, as Farke attempts to pick a refreshed side that can halt Leeds’ shambolic offerings on the road.

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