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Ultra-aggressive approach helps lay ODI World Cup final ghosts, with Adelaide exorcism next on the list

Matt Roller24-Jun-20241:14

Manjrekar: ‘Rohit’s selflessness the most appealing thing about him’

Rohit Sharma has transformed his approach to T20 batting in the last two years but this humid Monday morning in St Lucia was a high-stakes test of his commitment to a new, ultra-attacking mindset.India’s progress to the T20 World Cup semi-finals relied on avoiding a heavy defeat to Australia, a scenario which would lead many players to adopt a safety-first approach even before they slipped to 6 for 1 after two overs. And it was only seven months ago that Rohit’s own dismissal after a fast start changed the course of a World Cup final – albeit in a different format.But Rohit’s response demonstrated his clarity of thought. Rather than obsessing over the cross-wind which howled across the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, he launched the first two balls of Mitchell Starc’s second over for sixes over cover. It led to an overcorrection and a loss of control, with Starc then hammered for four down the ground, six over wide mid-on and six more off an edge which flew over Matthew Wade.Related

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It was the personification of attacking intent, and the third six merits closer examination. Starc attempted to angle the ball across Rohit, daring him to take on the infield in the covers again, and overpitched slightly. It was a slot ball, but delivered at 90mph/144kph – and Rohit went down on one knee, slog-sweeping him all of 96 metres. It was an outrageous shot.And this was not just any bowler: this was three-format world champion, serial winner Mitchell Starc, bowling with the benefit of a cross-breeze which – in theory – should have helped him to shape the ball back late to the right-handers. “He was trying to get it up and get it swinging,” Josh Hazlewood explained. “We’ve seen that for 10 years: it’s pretty devastating when it’s on.”Instead, Starc’s over cost 29 runs – his most expensive set of six in an Australia career that has spanned more than 4000 overs. He had never previously conceded more than two sixes in a single over, in any format of international cricket: Rohit cracked him for four.Rohit’s plan, he revealed, was to open up both sides of the ground rather than relying on the cross-wind and hitting across the line. “You need to be smart,” he said. “You’ve got to understand, bowlers are smart as well… I was thinking to hit the ball everywhere possible. When you keep an open mind and not think about just playing one shot, you can open [up] and access all sides of the field.”It worked perfectly. As soon as Australia’s strategy of defending the windy side was thrown off, they started to veer between different plans and regularly missed their lengths: Pat Cummins’ slower ball soared 100 metres onto the roof of the Johnson Charles stand at midwicket, with the wind, and his attempted wide yorker was squeezed through backward point.Rohit Sharma raised fifty off just 19 balls•AFP/Getty ImagesRohit was particularly punishing when Mitchell Marsh turned to Marcus Stoinis in the hope of some cheap overs, hitting half of the balls he faced from him to the rope, or over it. He repeatedly used his feet, shimmying down as if to highlight Stoinis’ lack of pace and the time he had to choose a shot, commit to it and nail it: Rohit’s strike rate against Stoinis was 270.He repeatedly felt comfortable hitting him into the breeze, knowing that even a mishit had a good chance of clearing a 66-metre square boundary. “He targeted the boundary with the wind for a while,” Hazlewood said. “Then we reacted, and then he hit a few [towards] the other side as well. He’s a class act, and you expect him to do that a couple of times through a tournament.”Rohit fell in the 12th over for 92 off 41, bowled by Starc’s yorker from around the wicket. It was a credit to him that he continued to swing, knowing that India would need 200-plus on a good batting pitch. “Fifties and hundreds don’t matter,” he said. “I wanted to bat with the same tempo, and carry on playing shots wherever it is necessary; try and put the bowlers under pressure.”Last year’s 50-over World Cup felt like a brush with destiny for Rohit. After missing India’s 2011 triumph, the chance to captain his country to their first major title in a decade on home soil was tantalising. He played selflessly throughout the tournament, striking at 125.94, but his dismissal in Ahmedabad – caught by Travis Head off Glenn Maxwell – prompted his team-mates to freeze.This was not quite retribution: Australia are still mathematically alive, and India are two games away from a trophy. But when Head’s miscue landed in Rohit’s hands at mid-off to effectively seal India’s win, it felt like a small step towards it. “It is quite satisfying [to beat Australia] especially when you play like that,” Rohit said. “We can take a lot of confidence from a game like this.”It has been a remarkable transformation at a late stage of Rohit’s career. In both ODIs and T20Is, his average and strike rate are higher as captain than in the ranks. That demonstrates both the security of a player who knows his legacy is already confirmed and the desire of a captain who wants to set an example to his team-mates, and prove that playing high-risk cricket will not bring repercussions.Rohit’s biggest challenge lies ahead. Two years ago, he made 27 off 28 balls in a T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Adelaide then blamed his bowlers for the 10-wicket thrashing that ensued. In Guyana on Thursday, he will have the chance to make amends by showing that he has changed for good.

On every major metric they outperformed the New Zealand and India attacks, including the short-ball strategy

Osman Samiuddin07-Jul-2022This has been the summer of England’s batting. It’s impossible to not come to that conclusion. Not only have they performed record-breaking feats, they have done so in an ultra-aggressive, impossible-to-ignore style. But this is Test cricket and as much as England have tried to bring one-day clarity to the batting side of things, one truism hasn’t changed: you don’t win Tests without taking 20 wickets. Across four Tests this summer, England have taken all 80 wickets.It was a point not lost on Ben Stokes or Joe Root after Edgbaston. “We’ve taken 80 wickets in the last four weeks and that’s not something we’ve always been able to do,” Root said, wondering perhaps why, when he was captain, they were struggling to do precisely this.Related

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“A lot of credit has to go to the bowling group, four back-to-back games. Seeing Jimmy Anderson bowling bouncers at 7 o’clock at night the other day was pretty impressive, and it shows the total commitment and belief in what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to go about bowling sides out. That’s a big improvement for us as a group, to be able to do that and set up the opportunity for us to go and chase these totals down.”The first bit of surprise is perhaps that England have outperformed with the ball two sides who made the WTC final last year, two sides currently in possession of the greatest attacks their countries have ever had (though New Zealand were ultimately hampered by the injury to Kyle Jamieson and arguably got the Neil Wagner non-selection wrong). On paper, England’s bowling attack was widely thought to be the weakest of the three, not least because of the extensive pace bowling injury list they were having to work around. As many as eight fast bowlers who might have been picked ahead of Matthew Potts are out with injuries.Yet on every major metric, they have been better than their opponents.ESPNcricinfo LtdJames Anderson is, remarkably still, pure and unadulterated James Anderson, Potts has been the season’s breakout star, Stuart Broad has had… moments, Jack Leach will always have Headingley and Stokes has mopped up behind them, hovering somewhere between and under-utilised swing bowler and an enforcer. Had it not been for Leach’s concussion at Lord’s or Anderson’s ankle niggle after Trent Bridge, England would’ve played the same attack all four Tests. No rotation, no rest, no messing around. The best attack plays, every game.Where England’s attack has really made a difference is when the ball has become older and softer. With the new ball, England’s figures are more or less identical to New Zealand’s: 16 wickets for both sides, average around 27. England have been nearly a run more economical, which in a summer about run rates, has been important. But performances with an older ball became even more significant, given that the Dukes ball has been a problem all summer, losing shape or going soft so often as to require regular change. The final day’s play at Edgbaston lasted 90 minutes, but within it the ball was changed twice.ESPNcricinfo LtdThat probably affects this data in ways that are not clear. But the gulf in averages and economy rate from overs 30-80 between England and their opponents is so vast that it is clear England did something much more right than the others. Being able to call upon Potts, Stokes and Leach (and Broad when needed) has highlighted a depth that New Zealand, for example, couldn’t match. Not bowling to their own batters has helped that economy rate – strike rates are similarly poor (83.1 for England and 85.6 for New Zealand and India combined). But for all the problems Stokes has had with no-balls, he has the best strike rate and average (44.72 and 33 respectively) during that phase of the innings.The plan with that older, softer ball has been simple: go short. Overall, England’s fast bowlers have bowled a short ball, on average, every 12 balls this series; New Zealand one every 19 balls and India one every 18.ESPNcricinfo LtdBut the majority of the short-pitched bowling has come when the ball has become old. Maybe it’s because the ball hasn’t reversed or that the pitches, like a bouncier Trent Bridge, have encouraged it. England have not been reckless with it either, specifically targeting the lower order with it. The top-of-mind Jasprit Bumrah assault on Broad (and memories of the hour of bouncers at Lord’s last summer) mean the strategy might be recalled as a dud. Why not just bowl a good length and hit the top of off?Except that bumping the lower order has proved very successful. England have picked up 15 wickets off short-pitched deliveries this summer (of which Broad, the one-time enforcer, has nearly half); 12 of the 15 have been batters at No. 8 or below and 12 of 15 have come post the 50th over.That includes the swift wrapping up of New Zealand lower order (5 for 57) in the first innings at Trent Bridge (when they looked on course to get 600-plus); more crucially, it includes the three wickets in the second innings when New Zealand were hustled out on a blameless surface to leave an imposing, rather than impossible, target. Even in what now feels like the only normal Test of the summer, the first at Lord’s, Anderson was bouncing out Jamieson and Tim Southee in the first innings.At Edgbaston, that Bumrah over apart, it worked beautifully. Three wickets in the first innings and four in the second, hurrying out India in a collapse of 7 for 92. That was the difference between a target of 450-plus and 378. The batting has still literally had to operate at an all-time level to get to those targets, but it wouldn’t have been possible in the first place without the bowling.England averaged just under 15 with the short ball, New Zealand nearly 49 and India 61. New Zealand’s strike rate with the short ball was nearly double that of England; India’s was double. Broad, Stokes and Potts were England’s main men for this plan, their short balls not only likelier to get a wicket, but as the run rate suggests, more difficult to score off.ESPNcricinfo LtdAs much as the batting had that ODI feel to it, there’s been times when England were switching to this plan that it appeared as if they were bowling the grunt overs of an ODI, just more attacking with the fields. It wasn’t the kind of late-innings Test match bowling you necessarily expect in England – as Root said, even Anderson. It didn’t look especially attractive or even – at times – well-thought out. Make no mistake though: It was. It got the job done and how.

The fast bowler was to spearhead Bangladesh’s pace revolution before injury hobbled him. Are the stars aligning for his comeback?

Mohammad Isam24-Jun-2020Around this time five years ago, Mashrafe Mortaza took one of his most significant decisions as Bangladesh captain. A day before their first ODI against India in 2015, he took a look at the pitch while walking to the dressing room to join his team-mates. The grassy top and rough texture underneath meant he wanted to play four front-line pace bowlers, an unfamiliar formation in Bangladesh cricket. Specifically, Mortaza wanted Mustafizur Rahman to make his ODI debut.”I told [coach Chandika] Hathurusingha that Mustafiz’s cutter is unique and it has an impact,” Mortaza says. “It will trouble India. Shakib [Al Hasan] and Tamim [Iqbal] told me it’s the right decision.”Mortaza had seen how Rahman, a skinny left-arm bowler, had troubled Bangladesh’s best batsmen in the nets. He had debuted in a T20I against Pakistan earlier that year and Mortaza felt confident enough about him to give up the safety of the slow left-arm of Arafat Sunny – who had played in the 3-0 series win against Pakistan – to accommodate a bowler with a little more mystery.”I told him [Hathurusingha] that Arafat Sunny bowled well against Pakistan, so if he ended up with 2 for 45 against India, while Mustafiz had a bad day and gave away 60 runs, would the 15 runs make a lot of difference?” Hathurusingha agreed.ALSO READ: Mustafizur and the art of the cutterWithin the week, Rahman’s 13 wickets had helped Bangladesh clinch their maiden ODI series win over India, and catapulted him to stardom.He followed it up with pivotal roles in ODI series wins over South Africa and Zimbabwe. He became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to feature in the ICC’s ODI team of the year for 2015. Early the next year, he had a hand in a win in the Asia Cup T20 and a five-wicket haul in the World T20. He then bagged an IPL contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad worth almost US$200,000.Rahman played a key role in the Sunrisers’ maiden IPL trophy win and also finished with the tournament’s Emerging Player award. He developed a couple of fine yorkers during the tournament, in addition to his trusty offcutter.In an early interview he said that he understood a slower ball could be delivered like a spinner’s stock delivery, with the wrist and fingers putting action on the ball, so he copied the basic left-arm spinner’s delivery that spun the ball out, but delivered it with a bit more pace. It was simple enough thinking, but it confounded many batsmen in those first 12 months. In the only Test he played in that period, against South Africa, he took a four-wicket haul, three of those wickets coming in the space of four balls.

Rahman is now struggling to produce his slower ball or offcutter out of the back of the wrist, which once made him a different bowler altogether

Then came a bump in the road: a shoulder injury in 2016 cut his time at England’s T20 Blast short and eventually kept him out of action for five months. There was talk within the Bangladesh set-up that he had taken on too much cricket, and in hindsight the injury now marks a clear dividing line in his career so far.In 22 white-ball internationals before the injury, he took 48 wickets at an average of 13.08 and a strike rate of 15.8; in the first games after his return, in December 2016, he took 32 wickets at double that average and strike rate. In the IPL, he took 17 wickets at 24.76 with an economy of 6.90 in his first season but for Mumbai Indians in the 2018 campaign, he managed only seven wickets at 32.85 and conceded nearly 1.5 runs more per over.Clearly something wasn’t right. Those who worked with Rahman closely could see it. He was struggling to bring out his slower ball, or the offcutter, out of the back of the wrist, the weapon that had once made him a different bowler altogether. He is far from finished, as evidenced in the 2019 World Cup, where he was among only four bowlers to take 20 wickets. But his franchise T20 career has stalled after the BCB accused him of hiding the seriousness of an injury, and he hasn’t been able to crack Test cricket.ALSO READ: All fizz, no fuss, the charming simplicity of Mustafizur RahmanMortaza still believes in Rahman, but not everyone sees him, or his unique cutter, in the same light these days.

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Back in 2015, Mortaza and Hathurusingha had begun to think about tailoring home pitches to suit fast bowling, which would have represented a cultural shift in Bangladesh’s thinking. Mortaza believed the likes of Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain were long-term pace prospects after they impressed at the 2015 World Cup in Australia. For a while, and after the addition of Rahman, Mortaza was right. But ultimately problems with the fitness and form of personnel scuppered the plan, and just over a year later Mushfiqur Rahim and Hathurusingha rolled it back: to beat teams like England and Australia at home, in Tests, relying on spin seemed the best bet again.Since October 2016, Bangladesh’s fast bowlers have bowled only 15.5% of the total 1871 overs the team has bowled in Tests on home soil, and taken just 19 of 220 wickets. The combined home bowling average for fast bowlers is nearly twice that of the spinners – 46.84 to the spinners’ 24.04. The need for pace is greater in away Tests, but since Bangladesh play more at home than abroad, the quick bowlers’ lack of volume at home restricts their progress.Getty ImagesThat has had an impact on Rahman, especially as his debut Test hinted at red-ball potential. In that match he removed Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock in the space of four deliveries with a ball that was 59 overs old. All three deliveries were in the mid-130kph range; Amla poked at one that was angling away, Duminy was lbw to a cutter, and de Kock was bowled by one that kept low. There was clear potential for Rahman to be more than just a white-ball specialist.After his shoulder injury, he was initially rested for three Tests so that he could build up to bowling large volumes. Eight wickets in the 2017 series against Sri Lanka was an encouraging sign, but in the years since, a combination of lack of bowling in home Tests, minor niggles, and what was perceived as Rahman’s excessive eagerness to play in the IPL in 2018, left his red-ball future unclear, so much so that, ahead of Bangladesh’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe in February this year, coach Russell Domingo had to clarify why Rahman, who had not played Tests for nearly a year – his last Test appearance was against New Zealand in 2019 – was in the squad.ALSO READ: ‘Seeing Mustafizur against India on debut was a special surprise’“I don’t think he is ready for Tests until he does some technical work so that it allows him to swing the ball back into the right-hander,” Domingo said at that press conference in Dhaka. “Getting him back into the squad is the start of that process where he can spend some time with our new bowling coach [Ottis Gibson]. He was put back into the squad not to play but to train and get some shape back. He is going to be bowling every day, and I have told him that, to make sure that he gets into the shape that’s required, as that benefits him in Tests and white-ball cricket.”
It turned out Gibson had asked Domingo to bring Rahman back, and he worked hard with him at every interval during the Test.”He started to swing the ball back in,” Gibson says. “I remember the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Sylhet, he had a really good lbw shout in the first over. The ball swung back in but he didn’t appeal with any real conviction and umpire Kumar Dharmasena said not out. But when you look back at the footage, it was out. The ball had clearly come back in, so that’s the start of it.

“Any team would love to have a left-arm fast bowler of his quality. He has the potential to learn and evolve to become a better bowler “Ottis Gibson, Bangladesh bowling coach

“I think he knows from experience what he needs to do in Test cricket. Of course, he has to do more than just get the ball across the right-handed batsman and bowl cutters. It won’t be as effective. Russell rightly suggested that he needs to swing the ball.”After becoming the Bangladesh coach last August and linking up with new Test captain, Mominul Haque, Domingo has had to focus on building Abu Jayed and Ebadot Hossain as pace options for Tests, and wondering about newer options in T20Is, just in case.But Gibson and he cannot afford to give up on Rahman, not with the current crop of fast bowlers Bangladesh have. Jayed and Rahman are the only fast bowlers to have a sub-50 average among those who have bowled in at least five innings. And Domingo has publicly said he wants to do away with Bangladesh’s spin strategy at home and move to pace.

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The impact of Rahman’s shoulder injury is difficult to downplay, especially as it was likely a result of too much cricket. What if he had been less enthusiastic about franchise T20 leagues at the start of his career? What if he had skipped the T20 Blast soon after his IPL stint in 2016, when his body was already showing signs of strain?ALSO READ: The neglected asset that is a Bangladesh fast bowlerThat cutter, so lethal, was partly what brought on the shoulder trouble in the first place, given the pressure it exerted on one particular part as he wound his delivery arm around, with the wrist cocking at the last moment before delivery. His awareness of that, according to some, is what has made him hesitant about bowling that delivery since his return.”That shoulder injury really did play a big role,” said Heath Streak, Bangladesh’s bowling coach between 2014 and 2016. “I think the mobility in his shoulder for his real big cutter has been affected. It is a huge weapon for him. I think this is the catalyst for him not going as well as he did in his initial stages. I think, also, people investigate ways to play [a bowler]. Batsmen have worked out better ways to play him, and maybe play him a bit more defensively.”The second point was first made as far back as that 2015 India series by R Ashwin, who had said then that the challenge for Rahman was only beginning, as batsmen began to decipher him.Five years after Mortaza first threw his weight behind Rahman, Bangladesh is pivoting towards pace again•AFPAjantha Mendis, the mystery bowler who left some of the world’s best batsmen dumbfounded in 2008, is a valid reference point. Mendis was seen as the next big thing to come out of Sri Lanka, especially at a time when Muttiah Muralitharan’s career was winding down.But his brand of spin required stronger fingers and drier cricket balls, and as soon as batting line-ups figured out how to deal with him, Mendis’ days were numbered. Despite a glorious start in 2008, he played his last international match in December 2015. His is the cautionary tale that should most worry Rahman.For now, Rahman has time. But coming up on five years in international cricket should serve as a reminder of the ever-growing need to reinvent and develop himself.”Fizz has had success in the shorter format but he also has to understand that having success in Test cricket requires a slightly different mindset,” Gibson said. “You need to be a lot more patient, to be able to bowl the same ball over after over.”Can you build enough pressure first and attack later? Do you have wicket-taking options with the new ball, in the middle of the game, and maybe when the ball is reversing? Those are the things that Fizz has to work out.”I still think he has a part to play for Bangladesh. Any team would love to have a left-arm fast bowler of his quality. He has the potential to learn and evolve to become a better bowler than he is right now.”Rahman will need to prove when he trains with Gibson next that he is willing and able to make that effort. And he will know well that unlike with contemporaries like Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah, who made their debuts around the same time and have the advantage of a cricket culture conducive – or increasingly so – to fast bowling, his circumstances are the opposite. He is seen as a quick bowler in a country where, at every level, pace bowling is only a filler.Five years ago, Mortaza made room for him and Rahman didn’t disappoint. Now, with Mortaza on the periphery and a head coach leaning towards pace again, it is the perfect time for Rahman 2.0.

The Reds' late playoff push hit a snare on Tuesday in their rivalry matchup against the Pirates, as Pittsburgh trounced Cincinnati starter Brady Singer for four runs in the second inning.

Needing a win to ensure they don't fall behind the Mets in the NL wild card race, the Reds were desperate to respond with some early offense of their own. Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz delivered the magic they were seeking, blasting a two-run homer to chop the Pirates' lead in half in the bottom of the second inning.

Entering last week, De La Cruz hadn't hit a home run since July 31, but he snapped his drought on Friday with a round-tripper against the Cubs. When his team needed him to deliver again, he came up with a clutch two-run shot to keep the game against the Pirates competitive in the early frames.

De La Cruz is now up to 21 homers on the year, including two over the few days, and he's picked a great time to rediscover his power stroke at the plate. The Reds and Mets remain in a deadlock at 80–76 with six games left to play in the regular season, so every moment counts as the two teams try to secure their spot in the postseason.

The Atlanta Braves have placed outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. on the10-day injured list after he was removed from Tuesday night's loss vs. Kansas City with tightness in his Achilles tendon, the team said Wednesday.

Speaking after the game, Acuna didn't sound optimistic about the discomfort he was experiencing.

"It's an injury; I'm worried," he said, per a write-up from . "It's more pain, but it feels kind of, I feel it a lot when I try to put pressure on it."

The outfielder noted that he first felt the pain when running the bases on Monday night.

"It happened when I scored from first to home on that play," he added, via an interpreter. "They are going to examine me tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes."

In their post on Wednesday, the Braves diagnosed Acuna's ailment as "right Achilles tendon inflammation." Though that's better than a tear, any missed time is surely a blow for the 2023 NL MVP, who missed the majority of his 2024 season with a torn ACL.

"It's an Achilles thing, it's going to take a while," team manager Brian Snitker added Tuesday. "He'll go on the IL, and hopefully in 10 days or so it'll clear up."

Elche head coach Eder Sarabia has still not gotten over the 2-2 draw against Real Madrid at the weekend, which saw Xabi Alonso's men come back twice from behind. Los Blancos equalised just three minutes from the end of normal time thanks to Jude Bellingham, but controversy erupted during and after the game as the Elche players and manager blasted the officials for what they believed to be an incorrect decision.

• Madrid held to a draw by Elche after controversial Bellingham goal

  Real Madrid endured yet another frustrating evening at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero on Sunday, as they were held to a 2-2 draw by the newly-promoted but daring Elche. The result stretched their winless run across competitions to three games. 

  After a goalless first half, former Real Madrid youth player and Elche captain Aleix Febas fired the hosts into the lead just eight minutes after the restart, capping off a brilliant team move that cut Madrid open. Dean Huijsen then pulled things back, scoring his first goal for Los Blancos in the 78th minute. However, Sarabia's troops didn't budge. Substitute Alvaro Rodriguez, a La Fabrica product who has featured in several games for Madrid, scored a great individual goal just six minutes later to restore Elche's lead.

  That wasn't the end of the drama. In the 87th minute, Madrid came back from behind for the second time in the game, courtesy of a Bellingham equaliser. Controversy, however, ensued, as the Elche players religiously protested Vinicius Junior's challenge on goalkeeper Inaki Pena, which left the latter bleeding from his nose. 

  The pleas from Elche players could only go in vain. The goal stood, and the match finished all-square, leaving the home team's head coach furious after the game.

  "It's a clear foul. Not a normal part of the game. That's what VAR is for. It's a very clear foul; it hits the goalkeeper and even draws blood. It's crystal clear," ranted Sarabia. "It's to Inaki's credit that he said it was a normal part of the game, but it really wasn't. It's a clear foul.

  "I'm not at all happy with the result, especially considering the decisive moments of the match. Vinicius's foul for the 2-2 equalizer was crystal clear. Inaki didn't see the play, but it wasn't just a normal part of the game, it was a clear foul. It makes me angry to waste time on these things, but you take the lead twice and you feel that there were factors that influenced the final result. It makes you angry."

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  Sarabia takes his anger to social media

  Sarabia took to his official account to express his contempt over the controversial refereeing over the weekend. He wrote: "My apologies to those who make decisions, but for more than 25 years now, "voluntariness/intentionality" has been removed from the regulations (except for hands). Therefore, the fact that an action is "fortuitous" is not a correct argument for deciding whether it is an infraction or not." 

• Alonso reflects on Madrid's poor form

  Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso addressed the media after the game and assured that the team is not in a crisis. "We haven't fallen apart," he told reporters. “That’s football. After a good run, we’re now getting results that aren’t what we wanted. But we still know what we want. We have to keep moving forward.

  “We're not happy because we know perfectly well that we always want to win, and when we don't, we can't be happy. There are still many games left before the end of the year, and we have to start thinking about the next one by analysing what we've done today.  

  “The team never gave up. We’re still competing. We know that the context of each game is different. Obviously, the result could be better. We're aware of that and we're self-critical, but the direction is clear, the spirit remains good and we have to respond in the face of adversity. This is Real Madrid and every unfavourable result attracts criticism, which we have to live with. We want to improve. The team never gave up.

  “The connection is improving because we have more time, we interact more and we're getting to know each other better. We're all in the same boat, everyone together in the same direction. We celebrate victories, we suffer, as we did today, and we're not happy when we don't get the desired result. The connection is good, the day-to-day is good. We need to turn this moment around a little bit and we have the opportunity to do so starting in Athens.”

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  Olympiacos and Girona up next for Madrid

  Despite their recent woes, Madrid hold a one-point lead over rivals Barcelona in La Liga and are in a strong position to secure a top-eight spot in the Champions League. They will visit Greece on Wednesday to lock horns with Greek champions Olympiacos in Europe's premier club competition, followed by another away game against Girona in the league this weekend.   

South Africa allrounder was reported for a suspect action last month in Australia and hasn’t played since

Firdose Moonda07-Sep-2025

South Africa’s offspin-allrounder Prenelan Subrayen’s bowling action has been found to be legal by an independent testing centre. Subrayen, who has one Test and one ODI cap to his name, was reported for a suspect action last month in Australia and has not played since.While Subrayen was never suspended from bowling, South Africa chose to rest him for their remaining matches in Australia and did not name him in their squad for their ongoing series in England. Subrayen was tested in Brisbane on August 26 and an ICC statement confirmed that “the amount of elbow extension for all his deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations”.This is the third time Subrayen’s action has come under scrutiny. In December 2012, his action was deemed illegal and he was placed in a Cricket South Africa rehabilitation program. He was cleared to bowl again in January 2013. A year later he was reported during a Champions League T20 tournament in India and then suspended from bowling in November 2015 when all his deliveries were found to exceed the 15-degree limit. After failing a reassessment in January 2016, he was cleared to resume bowling in March that year.Subrayen has been playing in South Africa’s domestic system since 2011 and made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in July. He remains part of South Africa’s plans as they build to the next two white-ball World Cups.

Nick Woltemade spoke with confidence after bagging both goals in Germany's 2-0 win over Luxembourg. The towering striker saved Die Mannschaft's blushes after a goalless first half against the international minnows. His manager Julian Nagelsmann praised his first choice goal scorer's work ethic, saying the 23-year-old deserved "special praise" after his tireless performance.

Woltemade saves Germany's blushes in Luxembourg

Woltemade's emergence has been a lone bright spark in a labouring World Cup qualification campaign for Die Mannschaft. A 2-0 loss to Slovakia in September has locked both sides in a fierce race for top spot in Group A. A goalless first half in Luxembourg would have given the initiative back to Slovakia after their win against Northern Ireland. 

However, the towering forward's brace nudged Germany top of the group on goal difference ahead of Slovakia's visit to Leipzig on Monday. The Newcastle striker opened the scoring when he stabbed home a Leroy Sane cross in the 49th minute, before sweeping home Ridle Baku's assist twenty minutes later. 

Despite his side's nerviness, Woltemade insisted that he remains confident in his abilities to conjure up a goal, even when he is peripheral in the game or his teammates are providing him with limited service. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWoltemade confident in his abilities

Speaking after the game, Woltemade said: "I've developed great confidence in my abilities and a really good feeling that I know: no matter how the game goes, I can still score a goal." 

He did admit that he was "served very well," for both of his goals, however. 

The 23-year-old said he was "very happy" to score vital goals for his national team. "It feels good to score goals, and these two were very important," he added. 

So sure of his talents was the ex-Werder Bremen star, that he coolly rebuffed questions about his competition as Germany's main man up front. When asked if he was worried about the return of injured forward options such as Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug or Tim Kleindienst, he replied, "no honestly, not really." This success thus far has Woltemade looking forward to next summer's World Cup. He added: "This is the biggest tournament in the world, a dream for everyone to play in. "That would be number one."

Woltemade also told the assorted press, that he intended to give his match worn shirt to his sister. "My sister already wrote to me that she's really keen on the long-sleeved jersey," said the match winner. "That's probably why I'm going to Bremen."

Nagelsmann wants "special praise" for Woltemade

Nagelsmann was effusive in his praise of his young striker after the game, praising Woltemade's tireless efforts and admitting he is going to be a key player for the national team as Germany continue to prepare for the World Cup.

"Nick deserves special praise for his work ethic," said the 38-year-old. "He covered a tremendous amount of ground, he's really good and important for us." 

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Getty Images SportCan Woltemade solve Germany's goalscoring woes?

While Nagelsmann clearly does not rate his striker purely by his goal scoring efforts, it certainly helps that the 23-year-old has started scoring vital goals for Die Mannschaft. 

The German national team has failed to replace Miroslav Klose since he retired after the 2014 World Cup. A slew of striking options have tried and failed to nail down that no.9 spot, with previous managers opting to deploy an extra midfielder or a makeshift option like Havertz to lead the line. 

Having bagged three crucial goals in his last two appearances, including the winner in a laborious 1-0 win over Northern Ireland in October, Woltemade is establishing himself as the saviour of a national side that disappointed at recent tournaments. His confidence in his won abilities will only help the Newcastle star as he progresses in his international career. 

He has another chance to prove himself in Leipzig on Monday, when Germany face off against Slovakia. A draw will be enough for Die Mannschaft to secure automatic qualification to next summer's World Cup, as they lead Group A on goal difference. 

Can a season peter out in early October? Well it very much feels that way for Scottish champions Celtic, with 2025/26 already looking set to be a forgettable one for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

In many ways, this demise has been self-inflicted, with the Parkhead hierarchy selling off the family silver, with little in the way of replacement.

Kyogo. Nicolas Kuhn. Matt O’Riley. Adam Idah. All sold in recent times without a truly adequate succession plan.

Yes, the Hoops remain well poised to retain their Scottish Premiership title, but the gamble on leaving it late in the transfer window has not paid off, having been burned by not investing prior to the Champions League qualifying.

That Almaty disaster has been followed by a draw and defeat in the early knockings of the Europa League, with all the signs pointing to another continental adventure that simply doesn’t take off.

Rightly, supporters will look to the new additions as reason to blame, albeit with Rodgers hardly getting the best out of those who were already at his disposal, be it Daizen Maeda, or even the typically flawless Callum McGregor.

McGregor’s start to the season in numbers

Few teams across Europe appear to be so reliant, so influenced by one player, with the long-serving McGregor almost falling into that Rodri or Bruno Fernandes category. A midfield lynchpin through which everything runs.

A tempo setter and a standard setter in Glasgow, the 32-year-old has for so long been the central figure behind Celtic’s repeated success. 74 goals and 80 assists in 530 games, alongside countless domestic honours, says it all.

And yet, even the best can have their moments, with the Scotsman perhaps having failed to recover from his costly shoot-out miss in the Scottish Cup final back in May.

Indeed, the academy graduate has failed to score or assist in 12 games in all competitions this season, with the sight of him driving from range yet to be seen in 2025/26.

For context, the 63-cap international had begun last term by netting four times in just his first six league outings, while ending the season with ten goals in total across all fronts.

Against Braga in midweek, the midfielder was particularly disappointing, providing just one key pass and winning just a solitary duel, as per Sofascore.

As McGregor himself stated on Thursday, perhaps the Parkhead side are simply still “trying to find the best combination” – notably in midfield – with those alongside him not exactly flourishing either.

That being said, despite once looking simply undroppable and “irreplaceable” – in the words of Ange Postecoglou – the time might have come to finally see what this team looks like without the struggling skipper.

How Rodgers can replace Callum McGregor

Thankfully for Rodgers, as was evident with the return of Paulo Bernardo to the starting lineup against the Portuguese side, there is real depth in the midfield ranks.

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With Benjamin Nygren and Luke McCowan battling out for that creative, advanced midfield berth on the right, it would then leave Bernardo, Arne Engels and Reo Hatate to claim the remaining two spots, should McGregor drop to the bench.

Engels would be an option, although, as pointed out by club legend Chris Sutton, the Belgian appears better suited in a more advanced berth:

If the ex-Leicester City boss is to find a successor to his captain in that specialised, deep-lying role, perhaps turning to Hatate might be the best solution, having previously described the Japanese playmaker as a “big talent” last year.

Of course, the 27-year-old has endured his own rocky start to the campaign himself, looking particularly off the pace after toiling away in Belgrade last week.

No longer looking like the energetic, all-action midfielder who memorably announced himself with that brace against Rangers in February 2022, Hatate might actually benefit from dropping into a deeper berth where he can control proceedings.

As Rodgers stated above, he has all the attributes needed to flourish in that role, with his penchant for a long-range stunner – like against Aberdeen back in August – ensuring he could take on the McGregor role of arriving late on the edge of the box.

A player who created 14 big chances and averaged 1.4 key passes per game in the Premiership last season, Hatate also boasts that forward-thinking, creative quality in order to fill the shoes of McGregor in that sense.

While typically deployed alongside McGregor – or even in a makeshift right-back berth on occasion under Postecoglou – the switch to something of a new role in place of the captain is certainly worth experimenting with ahead of Sunday’s clash with Motherwell.

At a time when all is not well both on and off the pitch, Rodgers arguably has nothing to lose from shaking things up a bit.

Let’s face it, the current plan simply isn’t working.

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The fans might still be basking in what ended up being a brilliant Premier League weekend, but Arsenal now have to shift their focus to the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side are currently sitting on a 100% record in the competition after wins against Athletic Club and Olympiacos, but will face their biggest challenge against Atlético Madrid.

While famous for their defensive nous in seasons past, Diego Simeone’s side are looking a far more potent threat this year, and should give the Emirates faithful a spectacle.

However, to ensure his team comes out on the right side, Arteta might need to make a few changes and keep a keen eye out for two particularly dangerous Atleti stars.

Atlético Madrid's dangermen

Unfortunately for Arteta and Arsenal, more than a handful of Atlético Madrid players could cause them some real trouble on Tuesday night, but there are two who perhaps stand out above the rest.

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The first is, of course, Julián Alvarez, who the Gunners will already be all too familiar with due to his time winning Premier League titles with Manchester City at their expense.

However, while the Argentine has ultimately had the last laugh over the North Londoners, his personal record against them isn’t great, as in the four matches he’s played against Arteta and Co, he has won two, lost two and failed to score or assist a goal.

Yet, the player fans saw leave England last summer is not the same one who’s become Atléti’s talisman, as in 57 appearances last season, totalling 3967 minutes, he scored 29 goals and provided eight assists, which works out to a goal involvement every 1.54 games, or every 107.21 minutes.

Then, so far this season, the Calchín-born monster has scored seven goals and provided three assists in ten appearances, totalling 800 minutes, which is an astounding average of a goal involvement every game, or every 80 minutes.

Appearances

57

10

Minutes

3967′

800′

Goals

29

7

Assists

8

3

Goal Involvements per Match

0.64

1.00

Minutes per Goal Involvement

107.21′

80′

There is no doubt that Alvarez is the most dangerous player for the Spanish side.

Even so, Arteta and Co cannot forget about Antoine Griezmann, as while he’s no longer as prolific as he once was, he is still more than capable of causing trouble and pulling strings from just behind the centre-forward – plus he scored his 200th goal for the club last month.

In all, the attack is what Arsenal have to worry about most from Atlético, so it’s good that the Gunners’ defence is their biggest strength, although Arteta should make at least one change to it.

The change Arteta should make

It should go without saying that for a game of this magnitude, William Saliba and Gabriel Mageheles simply have to start, and Jurrien Timber probably should as well, leaving Riccardo Calafiori as the man to come out of the side.

Now, this is no slight on the Italian international, as he has been exceptional for much of the campaign, so much so that it would be hard to disagree with one analyst’s opinion that he has been “Arsenal’s Player of the Season so far.”

However, there are a few reasons he should come out of the lineup for this game, the first of which is his fitness record.

24/25

175

30

23/24

4

2

22/23

53

15

21/22

73

18

20/21

118

33

19/20

43

5

18/19

291

75

Since joining the club last summer, the former Bologna gem has missed 30 games for club and country through injury, four of which have been problems with his knee.

So, considering he has already started nine games this season, it would make sense to let him sit this game out, as losing him to fatigue could be detrimental to the league campaign.

Second, while he is a maverick on the pitch and really helps out with attacks, it would be fair to say he has not shown himself to be quite as solid defensively, especially when compared to the player who should come in to replace him: Myles Lewis-Skelly.

The incredibly talented Hale Ender was Arteta’s starting left-back for much of last season, and while he has the ability to help out offensively, and has a wand of a left foot, he’s even better when it comes to locking down attackers.

For example, he helped keep a clean sheet at home against Real Madrid last season, and then looked brilliant at the Bernabeu as well.

The 19-year-old has a real tenacity about him, an edge that makes opposition attackers think twice before having a go, and that is why he has been hailed as a “future captain” by club insider Hand of Arsenal.

Ultimately, with Calafiori needing a rest and Lewis-Skelly being more than good enough to lock down Alvarez and Co, this change feels like a no-brainer for Arteta.

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