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Eddie Howe didn’t rip things up ahead of Newcastle United’s crunch Premier League clash against Manchester City, but instead opted for smaller tweaks to arrest the slide in form that had cast an air of frustration across Tyneside.

Hope reigned across the November international break that the Toon would undergo a systematic reset, with three defeats from four leaving the club down in the bottom half. But Howe got it right, and Pep Guardiola was sent packing with none of the spoils.

With Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga, ostensibly the Magpies’ two most talented wide forwards, out of sorts, it was crucial that Howe saw some other attacking stars step up.

Newcastle's evolving frontline

When Newcastle sold Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British record fee, it was a poignant moment. But Newcastle have evolved, and Nick Woltemade has proved by this stage his potential to be a star in the Premier League.

Theoretically, the 23-year-old German’s technical quality on the ball and his willingness to roam, dropping deep and aiding the pacy wingers either side of him, should give rise to Gordon and Elanga’s qualities, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Harvey Barnes is thriving, though. The prolific left winger scored twice to sink City, and that’s three in two Premier League matches for him.

Then, of course, Jacob Murphy continues to add flair and industriousness down the right flank. This is important, given Elanga’s own woes. Murphy, 30, worked so hard against his tide of the opposition, and he still managed to showcase his creativity, creating three chances and completing four of six attempted crosses, as per Sofascore.

We haven’t even mentioned Yoane Wissa, who was involved in Saturday’s celebrations but remains sidelined after joining from Brentford this summer. The DR Congo striker will add a new dimension to Howe’s frontline and offer a more traditional take than Woltemade, an interesting counterpoint.

These are all influential forwards, but it might be that Newcastle are developing another more influential member of their squad. This player offers shades of Erling Haaland, and yet he’s anything but a striker.

Newcastle's own version of Haaland

Haaland is one of the best players in the world, and, at Manchester City, his influence is unmatched.

Newcastle might not have anyone in their side who comes close to the Norwegian in terms of attacking output, but Malick Thiaw is beginning to single-handedly define his side’s defensive strength, and in this, he could curiously become United’s own version of the free-scoring machine.

Newcastle completed a £35m move for Thiaw in August, reinforcing a backline that was crying out for some extra depth last season.

Hailed as an “absolute steal” of a signing by one United content creator, who lauded Thiaw’s “Saliba-esque” presence in central defence, this is a defender who has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, and this was underscored and then some upon keeping Haaland at bay on Saturday.

Haaland failed to score, but his physicality and the scare factor that comes into play when he’s involved were both negated by the Germany international, whose willingness to go one-on-one and engage with crisp and combative challenges emphasise the level of player Newcastle have reeled in. One podcast host actually marvelled at the display and said, “he might be the Premier League’s next elite centre-back.”

Mentality is just as important as technical mastery, and luckily, the £75k-per-week Thiaw offers both elements in bucketloads.

Sofascore record that he made seven clearances and six ball recoveries against City, timing a last-man challenge just right.

Moreover, Thiaw is already sitting pretty across some intriguing statistical metrics. In the Premier League this season, for example, the 24-year-old ranks among the top 15% of centre-backs for interceptions, the top 13% for blocks, the top 9% for ball recoveries, the top 15% for progressive passes and the top 9% for progressive carries per 90 (data provided by FBref).

Couple that with his remarkable success rate in the duel, both in the Premier League and out on the continent this season, and you begin to see why so many Newcastle supporters are boarding the hype train at this early stage of his English career.

Matches (starts)

9 (8)

4 (3)

Goals

0

0

Assists

0

0

Touches*

52.7

57.0

Accurate passes*

35.1 (86%)

43.8 (91%)

Recoveries*

4.1

4.8

Tackles + interceptions*

2.4

1.8

Clearances*

5.0

3.3

Ground duels*

1.4 (68%)

1.5 (55%)

Aerial duels*

3.1 (72%)

3.3 (76%)

Errors made

0

0

Error-free, confident on the ball and commanding in defensive phases, Thiaw is a “monster” of a centre-half, in the words of journalist Martino Puccio, and he’s only going to keep getting better as he settles into his role on Tyneside.

Given the current struggles of Sven Botman – who started from the bench at St. James’ Park at the weekend – and the ageing legs of Dan Burn and Fabian Schar – Newcastle’s new central defender may well far outstrip his positional competition and enter a league of his own.

In this way, he could emulate Haaland’s own matchless presence at the Etihad Stadium and establish himself as a one-of-a-kind talent on Tyneside, becoming not just one of the best players in Newcastle’s first team but a figure to be feared across the entire continent, just as Haaland is right now.

PIF can fund Anderson move by selling Newcastle star who's a "nightmare"

Newcastle are proving themselves to be a team in transition this season.

1 ByAngus Sinclair Nov 25, 2025

AC Milan have been linked with a move for a Manchester United ace who Ruben Amorim rates and now a new update has dropped regarding their pursuit.

Joshua Zirkzee has struggled to fully ignite in a Red Devils shirt to date, with Fabrizio Romano recently talking up his potential exit, even though Amorim values him as a player.

“Yeah, we have to follow the situation closely in the next weeks because the calls have started. First was West Ham, now also Roma have made some calls to understand the situation of Joshua Zirkzee. So the market is moving around the Dutch striker again. Let’s see what happens with Sesko because now with the Sesko injury, again, it’s not a super serious one probably.

“Let’s wait for Manchester United statement. But obviously when you have a player like Sesko injured, there is still the opportunity to have a player like Zirkzee who can cover cover several positions as number nine, as number 10. Ruben Amorim according to my sources never wanted to let Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee leave because he believes that also Zirkzee can cover several positions and can be very important.”

Now, a fresh update has appeared over Zirkzee’s next step in his career, with a move away from United in 2026 still potentially looking on the cards.

AC Milan make contact over Zirkzee signing

According to a report from Corriere dello Sport [via Caught Offside], Milan have held talks with Zirzkee’s representatives over a move from Manchester United.

The January transfer window will be a chance to get a deal over the line, with the Red Devils striker in need of more regular playing time, in order to boost his 2026 World Cup chances with the Netherlands.

It has been a tough spell for Zirzkee at United, scoring just seven goals in 54 appearances, so it is only natural that a move away could be best for all parties.

The 24-year-old remains a popular figure among United supporters, always giving his all, but the summer arrival of Benjamin Sesko has pushed him further down the pecking order.

As mentioned, the World Cup is only around the corner, so warming the substitutes’ bench most weeks is going to do little to aid his chances of being a fixture in the Netherlands’ team, as he battles former Red Devils striker Memphis Depay to lead the line for his country.

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United could get one over on the Gunners.

ByTom Cunningham Nov 15, 2025

If Zirkzee does leave permanently, it will be yet another attacking signing that hasn’t worked out for United, but equally, if a move doesn’t materialise, Amorim will surely be content to have him around until at least the end of this season.

Amorim's "modern-day Berbatov" is now already on borrowed time at Man Utd

With less than two months to go before the January transfer window opens for business, there is already speculation about what Leeds United are going to do to their squad.

The Whites have picked up 11 points in 11 Premier League matches and sit one point above the relegation zone as a newly-promoted team, which is a respectable, but not ideal, position to be in.

Daniel Farke may want to bolster his squad with more quality in the offensive areas, because the team has only scored 11 goals in their 11 top-flight matches so far this season.

The lack of goals for the Championship champions has not been because of a lack of creativity, though, as they have missed too many high-quality opportunities in the final third.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

2.89

1

-1.89

Jayden Bogle

0.88

0

-0.88

Brenden Aaronson

1.79

1

-0.79

Joel Piroe

0.73

0

-0.73

Pascal Struijk

0.65

0

-0.65

Dan James

0.47

0

-0.47

Jack Harrison

0.41

0

-0.41

As you can see in the table above, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been particularly wasteful with the chances that have been created for him in the Premier League.

Former Leeds striker Patrick Bamford signed for Sheffield United earlier this week, and the Whites need to be looking for their next version of the English forward.

Why Leeds need to find their next Patrick Bamford

The experienced marksman left Elland Road on a free transfer in the summer after he failed to score a single goal in 18 appearances in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore.

It is not last season’s Bamford that Leeds need to find a new version of, though. Instead, the 49ers need to find Farke’s own version of Bamford from the 2020/21 campaign under Marcelo Bielsa.

After Leeds were last promoted to the Premier League, in the summer of 2020, the former Chelsea and Middlesbrough attacker played a pivotal role in the club’s survival and eventual top-half finish in their first season back in the big time.

The left-footed centre-forward scored 17 goals, including a hat-trick against Aston Villa in the highlights above, and provided seven assists in 38 appearances in the division in that term.

Since that impressive season from the former England international, no Leeds player has scored more than 13 goals in a single Premier League campaign.

25/26

Noah Okafor

Joe Rodon

Lukas Nmecha

2

22/23

Rodrigo

13

21/22

Raphinha

11

20/21

Patrick Bamford

17

As you can see in the table above, the club’s top three scorers in the current term have all managed just two goals, which speaks to the lack of outstanding goalscorers within the squad.

This illustrates how badly the Whites need to find their next version of 2020/21 Bamford, due to their lack of goalscorers, and they are reportedly interested in a star who could be exactly that.

Leeds chasing move for Eredivisie star

According to LeedsUnitedNews, the Premier League new boys are eyeing up a swoop for AZ Alkmaar centre-forward Troy Parrott in the upcoming January transfer window.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The report claims that the Whites are now looking at signing the Ireland international to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch, as they chase a winter deal for the marksman.

It adds that Leeds had scouts in attendance to watch his performance for the Republic of Ireland against Portugal earlier this week, when he netted twice against Roberto Martinez’s side.

The same outlet has posted an update on Farke’s future at Elland Road, explaining that the 49ers are not ready to pull the plug on him yet, but that they could be forced to make a decision if results do not improve.

With this in mind, Leeds could save themselves from having to remove the German head coach from his role by signing Parrott to save his job in January.

Why Leeds should sign Troy Parrott

The Whites should swoop for the Irish centre-forward because his performances in the Netherlands this season suggest that he has the quality to be Bamford 2.0, which would help to push the club up the table.

Per FotMob, Leeds are 10th in the Premier League for xPTS (15) and have underperformed their xG of 13.2 by 2.2, as they have only scored 11 goals. This suggests that Farke and his coaching staff have not been rewarded for the performances that they have coached, due to poor finishing.

These statistics indicate that it is not the German boss who should be under fire for where the team are in the division, and that signing a clinical striker could change the perception of the job that he is doing in the dugout.

Parrott, as shown in the graphic above, enjoyed an incredibly prolific first season with AZ Alkmaar in the 2024/25 campaign, netting 20 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions.

The former Tottenham Hotspur youngster, once dubbed “phenomenal” by former boss Ryan Lowe, has proven that his form last term was not a flash in the pan, as he has carried his exceptional goalscoring exploits into the current season.

Appearances

7

7

xG

5.56

N/A

Goals

6

7

Minutes per goal

87

59

Conversion rate

25%

N/A

Big chances created

2

3

Assists

0

1

As you can see in the table above, Parrott has scored 13 goals in 14 appearances in all competitions for AZ Alkmaar, on top of the two goals that he scored for Ireland against Portugal.

This means that the striker has already scored an eye-catching 15 goals for club and country in the 2025/26 campaign, whilst no Leeds player has scored more than twice in all competitions.

Parrott, per Sofascore, has scored 37 goals from 30.67 xG in the Eredivisie since the start of the 2023/24 season, which suggests that he is the clinical striker that Leeds are crying out for at the moment.

Therefore, the Ireland international could be the next Bamford to fire the Whites to safety with his prolific goalscoring, whilst saving Farke’s job in the process by making the most of his coaching to improve the results picked up by the team.

Leeds have "standout" teen who could end Aaronson's career & it's not Gray

Leeds United have a promising young attacking midfielder who could end Brenden Aaronson’s career at the club.

ByDan Emery Nov 15, 2025

The home side were bundled out for 128 at the SCG to put Victoria course to make it four wins from four

Andrew McGlashan11-Nov-2025Steven Smith played a lone hand for New South Wales as the home side endured a forgettable day against Victoria at the SCG.Smith batted on a different level to his team-mates as NSW were bundled out for 128 with Sam Elliott, who represented Australia A during the winter, taking a career-best 5 for 26 in his first Sheffield Shield game of the season after Scott Boland had removed Sam Konstas for the sixth time.”It’s a bit surreal, to be honest,” Elliott said of bowling to Smith for the first time in first-class cricket. “The cricket nuffy in me sort of pinched myself a little bit…you watch him play for Australia growing up and see all those innings that he plays. I mean, today, his bat looked like it was five times wider than everyone else.”Related

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Starc fires up after search for rhythm but Handscomb hits 'special' hundred

NSW’s collapse meant that Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood had only 50 overs of rest with Victoria opting to build on their 254-run lead rather than enforce the follow-on. After his opening-day century Peter Handscomb had noted there were signs of cracks that could open and there were occasional indications of some variable bounce during Tuesday’s play.Victoria had extended their first innings to 382, where Nathan Lyon finished with 4 for 82, and the NSW openers made it through to lunch unscathed but it all went badly wrong from there as all ten wickets fell for 102 and the last seven for 57.Offspinner Todd Murphy started the slide when he had Ryan Hicks, who was subbed into the game yesterday in place of the injured Will Salzmann, taken at slip from a leading edge.Konstas, meanwhile, had battled through 58 balls for 12 runs when Boland produced a beauty which nipped back between bat and pad. It was a familiar manner of dismissal for Konstas but an excellent ball that would have removed plenty of batters.Murphy claimed his second when he found the edge of Kurtis Patterson. The left-hander had advanced down the pitch but was beaten in the air. Ollie Davies looked far from pleased with his lbw decision when an inswinger from Fergus O’Neill took him on the back leg.Steven Smith drives through the off side•Getty ImagesAll the while Smith, who was warmly applauded to the crease, batted serenely having opened his account with a strong clip off the legs. He started his season with 118 against Queensland and again looked in excellent touch.”Smithy is Smithy, isn’t he?” Lyon said. “He trusted his defence and allowed himself time to get in the game. He would have faced close to 100 balls. In my eyes, if you allow yourself to get in and face as many balls as you can, that’s when you give yourself the opportunity to score runs. That’s what Pete [Handscomb] and Smithy have done.”Smith and Josh Philippe tried to stabilise the innings but shortly before tea Elliott started to have his impact when Philippe and then Jack Edwards were taken in the slips. The end came swiftly after the break. Sean Abbott spooned to point, giving the pitch a stare as he made his way off, and Starc was taken in the gully off Boland.Next ball, Smith decided it was time to cut loose but could only spoon to mid-on and Elliott completed his five-wicket haul when he bowled Hazlewood.Faced with a huge deficit, Starc removed Harry Dixon for the second time in the game, and appeared to offer a few words to the batter, then Campbell Kellaway was brilliantly caught by Josh Philippe, diving low to his left but Victoria were handsomely placed to make it four wins from four.

Early next year the selectors will need to decide if there’s a spot in a 15-player squad for a reserve keeper

Andrew McGlashan13-Aug-2025

Alex Carey completed an unusual stumping on his T20I return•AFP/Getty Images

The second T20I in Darwin was lit up by Dewald Brevis’ century, but it also highlighted a question Australia have to answer before the T20 World Cup: do they need to have wicketkeeping cover in their 15-player squad?With Josh Inglis suffering from flu which he had played through in the opening game, Alex Carey was flown in ahead of schedule and earned his first T20I since 2021. He pulled off one of the more unusual stumpings to remove Lhuan-dre Pretorius and was Australia’s second-highest scorer with 26 off 18 balls.Related

• Inglis out of T20 tour of New Zealand with a calf strain, Carey called up

• Australia in unfamiliar territory in T20I series decider against South Africa

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In a home bilateral series it was easy enough for the selectors to make a quick phone call to Carey and have him fly up to Darwin at short notice. But things are trickier in global tournaments where squad sizes are restricted, replacement players need approval and once a player is removed from the squad they can’t return.Inglis is locked in as Australia’s white-ball keeper but there would be a risk of entering a World Cup without another option on hand to take the gloves, particularly with Inglis managing ongoing back problems. None of the other batters in the current T20I squad, which seems likely to form the core of the World Cup group, are viable alternatives behind the stumps.Australia nearly found themselves in such a situation at the 2022 T20 World Cup when Matthew Wade came down with Covid prior to the game against England. Inglis, who was in the original squad, had suffered a hand injury playing golf prior to the tournament and been replaced by Cameron Green. As it was, the match was washed out although Wade would likely have pushed through and played. Australia’s contingencies on that day were potentially David Warner, who once took the gloves in a Test match, and captain Aaron Finch.In Darwin, Alex Carey batted as low as No. 7 in a T20 only for the seventh time, and the first since 2018•Getty ImagesAt the most recent T20 World Cup in the Caribbean last year, Wade and Inglis were both in the 15-player squad, as they were for the 2021 edition in the UAE that Australia won. At the 2023 ODI World Cup, Inglis was in the squad and replaced Carey after one game. Now the duo feature together in the one-day side, with Carey playing as a batter in the Champions Trophy earlier this year.In the 50-over format they can both carry themselves as frontline batters, but that is not so clear cut for the T20I team. Tuesday was only the seventh time Carey had batted as low as No. 7 in a T20 and the first since 2018, with everyone else moved up a place in Inglis’ absence. His two BBL hundreds have come as an opener while he also has a solid record at No. 4. Overall in T20, Carey’s strike-rate is 129.04 compared to Inglis’ 150.98. However, in limited BBL appearances over the last three seasons, Carey has lifted his strike-rate to 146.52, which is higher than Inglis’ 138.57 over the same period.The issue the selectors will need to ponder early next year is whether there’s a spot in a 15-player squad for Carey, where the choice could come down to between him and another frontline batter, to cover for the eventuality where Inglis is unavailable for a game but hasn’t suffered a tournament-ending injury.On the recent tour of West Indies, a key reason Jake Fraser-McGurk was called in as a replacement when Spencer Johnson was ruled out was because the selectors are looking to build on the wicketkeeping side of his game and they wanted cover for Inglis in a condensed series.There is a chance he will have the gloves at some point for Australia A in the one-day series against India A in late September with him and Lachlan Shaw the two keeping options in that squad. But currently Fraser-McGurk doesn’t warrant a place as a batter in the national side – he made 2 in his one innings in West Indies to continue a lean year in T20s where he is averaging 19.41 albeit with a strike-rate of 150.22.

Coach Daniel Vettori doesn’t think so but there are some interesting statistics to consider

S Sudarshanan16-Apr-20251:54

Jaffer: Abhishek has given SRH a new lease of life

A few bowlers awaiting their turn at the Mumbai Indians (MI) nets on Wednesday peered over to their right. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were into their training and two key batters were doing their thing. A mellow version of Travis Head went through several of his shots, just not with the free-flowing bat swing. In the adjacent net, Abhishek Sharma had a longish bowling stint with plenty of laughs – at one point he was adamant Abhinav Manohar was caught by one of the imaginary boundary riders.No team has been as reliant on their opening pair as SRH lately. Travishek has batted together 21 times since the start of last IPL, and in 11 matches that SRH have won, they have scored almost one-third of the team’s runs at an average of 80.1 and a run rate of 14.65. In the 10 matches that SRH have lost, those numbers dip to 14.5 and 8.78 respectively.In SRH’s first game of IPL 2025, against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Head and Abhishek added 45 in 19 balls, with Head scoring a 31-ball 67. That, followed by Ishan Kishan’s century meant SRH posted 286 for 6. But in the four games after that, SRH’s opening partnerships read 15, 11, 4 and 9 before the mammoth 171 stand that helped them achieve the second-highest successful chase in the IPL. While head coach Daniel Vettori agreed SRH’s success depended on the opening pair coming good, he dismissed talks that their batting has been “reckless”.Related

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“When you look at what we’ve been successful at in the powerplay, I feel like that Abhi and Travis have just been able to play their shots and deal with any ball,” Vettori said. “Because it’s a reputation of aggressive play and all-out attack, when the dismissals do come, people surmise that it could be slightly reckless, but that’s not the way I view it. It’s like bowlers bowl well and you can’t succeed all the time.”I know how much thought Abhi and Trav put into their batting and how much they assess conditions, how much they assess bowlers. They know that when the ball’s there, they obviously want to hit it, but at no stage do I feel like they’re being reckless or anything like that, I think they’re just very good players who have all the shots.”This season, Travishek has scored over 40% of SRH’s runs in wins (at 13.93 rpo) and only 6.2% in defeats (at 9 rpo). No team in the last two IPLs has a higher variance in the average of its opening pair in wins (77.80) and losses (19.54) than SRH. The style of play Head and Abhishek adopt has a lot to do with it.Since IPL 2024, no team has been as reliant on their opening pair as SRH have been on Travishek•BCCITake Head’s dismissal against Gujarat Titans as an example. In a bid to score a boundary off a full ball on his pads, he flicked it aerially to midwicket. Or even in Abhishek’s case against Lucknow Super Giants in Hyderabad. He pulled a short ball from Shardul Thakur in the air, fully knowing there was a fielder at deep backward square leg. A safer option would have been to play it along the ground, but Travishek wouldn’t have had the success it did over the last year thinking like that.”People have done some good research around the amount of false shots they’ve had leading to wickets and it’s a very high rate,” Vettori said. “Normally batsmen get away with those sorts of things. I think there’s an element of luck. I mean Abhishek got run-out early on. There’s an element of teams scouting very well. There’s an element of understanding of how those two are going to go about it.”All that combines to a couple of performances where we didn’t get the runs that we used to get from them. And our opening partnership has been critical to our success and the two games that we won so far, they’ve been big contributors. So I think there’s two sides to it, obviously we want them to do well, but if they don’t, then there’s responsibilities on others to step up.”

The visitors have a cushion of 522 runs to pick up the eight wickets they need on the final day of the Guwahati Test

Sidharth Monga25-Nov-20252:10

Philander: ‘South Africa playing mind games with India’

South Africa ensured their first series win in India in 25 years by building on their lead for nearly five hours. While the declaration, setting India more than they have ever been set at home, seemed a touch conservative, the visitors went to stumps needing eight wickets on the final day to take away all 12 WTC points from this Test and consign India to their second whitewash at home in 12 months after 12 years of spotless series record.As it often happens in such match situations, the same pitch that South Africa batted on, looking untroubled for 70.3 overs, began to look unplayable in the 15.5 India got to play. Marco Jansen didn’t even bother with swing and seam, and began to bounce Yashasvi Jaiswal before getting him out on the cut shot. Simon Harmer, who has out-bowled the home spinners, continued his dream series with a dream offbreak to bowl KL Rahul through the gate, and came desperately close to getting B Sai Sudharsan out lbw.The day began with curiosity around how much South Africa valued the 12 full points from this match vis-a-vis ensuring they give India no chance to threaten their series lead. Turns out they were in no mood for adventure. Especially as the ball started to turn more consistently in the first session of the fourth day than it had done at any point before. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar got long spells in. Jadeja got Ryan Rickelton caught at extra cover, but then India did what they have struggled to do all Test: get wickets on defensive shots. Jadeja beat Aiden Markram’s outside edge and hit the off stump, Washington got one to bite at Temba Bavuma’s glove and settle in the hands of backward short leg.As three wickets fell for 18 runs, South Africa remained slightly cautious. Tristan Stubbs and Tony de Zorzi, though, managed to keep the threat of spin out with their sweeps and reverse sweeps. After Rishabh Pant missed a stumping off Stubbs, the No. 3 batter limited his options to just the sweeps whenever he wanted to force the pace.3:49

Can India’s youngsters grind out a draw?

Stubbs and de Zorzi added 101 for the fourth wicket, 41 of those in sweeps and reverse sweeps. Like Stubbs in the first innings, de Zorzi fell one short of a fifty, beaten on the sweep for a change. It was mid-afternoon and South Africa led by 466, but they still continued to bat at normal pace.Related

• Harmer flips Test cricket in India upside down

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Only after the lunch break did Stubbs get a move-on to try to complete a Test hundred, but even this charge was not frenetic. The team management gave him all the time as he scored 32 from the last 19 balls he faced, taking the lead past the 542 that Australia attained in Nagpur in 2004. He slog-swept Jadeja to go from 88 to 94, but Jadeja slowed the ball down to beat a repeat attempt. Stubbs still was the highest run-getter in the series (163), and would need a big effort from someone in the final innings to be eclipsed.That effort wasn’t coming from the openers. India have done this to many a visiting side – just when everybody thought they had been too conservative with the declaration, the pitch would magically change its nature and wickets would start falling.Something similar happened when Jansen ran in and started bowling short. In the first over itself, he had Jaiswal fending uncomfortably. One didn’t pop up, the other landed just short of second slip. While Jaiswal managed to ramp him once, he fell to his favourite cut shot again. Since Jaiswal’s debut, nobody has scored more Test runs with the cut off fast bowlers than his 291, but no one has got out as often as his seven times. Nobody has played as many false shots as he has on the cut to the fast bowler: 68. He averages 41.57 on the cut against fast bowlers, but has fallen to this shot four times in his last eight innings.3:19

Saba Karim: Spinners need long spell to set up batters

Rahul was more traditional in the route he took to fight for a draw. He scored just 6 off 30 balls, but the 30th was a bewitching dipping, drifting delivery, which had him playing well away from where he thought it would originally pitch. In panic, he turned his drive into a flick, but it wasn’t enough to plug the gap created between his body and his bat. Harmer was again level with Jansen for most wickets in the series: 12.Harmer came extremely close to taking the lead when he appealed for lbw against Sai Sudharsan. In all likelihood, the on-field call for not-out was down to an inside edge, but the replay showed the ball had hit the pad first. However, the ball tracking returned an umpire’s call on impact, saving Sudharsan to fight another day.India somehow survived the rest of the day but it looked like a wicket could fall anytime. South Africa now have six hours to take eight wickets because the light has consistently dipped by 4pm, not allowing any extra play.

Manchester City have been fined £3 million by the Premier League over the last two seasons for delaying kick-offs to 30 matches after half-time. The club were forced to pay £2m at the end of the 2023-24 campaign and £1m last term for taking too long to emerge after the break following Pep Guardiola's lengthy team talks. The coach has also been warned about holding press conferences too late in the day.

City late for 30 matches after half-time

has reported that 22 of City's 38 Premier League games in 2023-24 were delayed City, with eight of their matches in 2024-25 falling foul of the league's guidelines on half-time breaks. The league states that kicking off on time helps "ensure the organisation of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard" as well as assisting broadcasters. 

Guardiola, however, was unapologetic about the delays and said that musicians performing at matches such as the Champions League should be fined when causing a delay to kick off, as happened when Burna Boy appeared before City met Inter in the 2023 final in Istanbul. He also said that the Premier League's rules on press conferences led to him holding his latest briefing ahead of the next match against Newcastle on Friday at 9am.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesGuardiola: We paid a lot of money!

Guardiola told a press conference: "We paid a lot of money as I’m late at half-time, but when we played in the Champions League final they had a show before the game and they are always late. They have to fine the singers! That is why I decided 9am and the journalists have had their breakfast and will need to take a coffee. I arrive one minute later but the rules are the rules. We are training later and if we train at 12 until 1.30, I cannot be here [at the press conference] in time. The Premier League don’t allow me at 2pm. The club said if I don’t start by 2pm they will fine me or fine the club."

Guardiola congratulates Haaland on World Cup qualification

Guardiola extended his congratulations to Erling Haaland after Norway secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup, their first time reaching the tournament since 1998. "He’s incredible this season, he’s breaking all the records, personal and individual records, Premier League records, for Norway," Guardiola said. "Happy for him, his national team, many of the squad for Norway weren’t even born the last time Norway were in the World Cup. For the country it’s incredible, an incredible qualification scoring a lot of goals. As a football player, world-class player, he deserves to play a World Cup and live the experience. I’m so happy for him."

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Getty Haaland can hit 100 PL goals on Shearer's turf

Haaland scored his 99th Premier League goal in City's last game against Liverpool and he can hit his century of goals in England's top flight against Newcastle on Saturday at St James' Park. Haaland is being tipped to go on and beat Magpies' legend Alan Shearer as the league's all-time top scorer if he sees out his 10-year contract with City. Guardiola – who declared his admiration for Shearer's goal tally for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle – believes he has a good chance of toppling the former England striker.

He said: "His [Shearer’s] quality to score goals in big teams. He won the Premier League, but not in the teams that everybody knows. The guys who have been making numbers for a long time, not just one or two seasons, I always admire them because it means resilience and being there every season.

"They don’t score goals for one season. They do it over a lot of seasons and that means being incredibly focused, professional and you have to love the game. For Erling to be there with Alan Shearer is really good for both of them. You don’t have to know mathematics to realise that if he [Haaland] stays a long, long time and continues this average, he will be close to Harry Kane and close to Alan Shearer."

تحدثت شبكة إنجليزية عن تواجد النجم المصري محمد صلاح على دكة بدلاء فريق ليفربول، في مباراة يوم الأحد ضد نظيره وست هام، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

واستضاف ملعب “لندن الأولمبي” مباراة ليفربول ووست هام، في إطار منافسات الجولة الثالثة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي، موسم 2025/26.

وعاد ليفربول إلى سكة الانتصارات، بعدما حقق فوزًا ثمينًا على وست هام بهدفين دون رد، في ظل غياب محمد صلاح الذي تواجد على دكة بدلاء الريدز طوال دقائق اللقاء.

وقالت شبكة “thisisanfield” الإنجليزية: “ربما حاول سلوت التقليل من أهمية إبقاء محمد صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء في مقابلته قبل المباراة، لكن لا شك أن هذا قرار حاسم”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. جماهير ليفربول تختار أفضل لاعب في مباراة وست هام بـ الدوري الإنجليزي

وأضافت: “لم تشعر في أي وقت خلال المواسم التسعة الماضية أن ليفربول سيكون فريقًا أفضل بدون اللاعب المصري، ولكن من الواضح أن هذا ما رآه المدرب في هذا الموسم”.

وواصلت: “من الصعب الجدال في هذا المنطق حيث إن المساهمات الدفاعية الضئيلة لـ صلاح لم تعد تُخفى بالأهداف والتمريرات الحاسمة التي يقدمها”.

وأردفت: “لن يُعزز موقف المهاجم من العودة السريعة كون ليفربول أظهر توازنًا وصلابةً أكبر مما كان عليه طوال الموسم، في الفوز هنا، وفي غيابه”.

واختتمت متسائلة: “مع اقتراب كأس أمم إفريقيا، هل من الممكن أن ينتهي الأمر بـ محمد صلاح بإيجاد صعوبة في العودة إلى الفريق خلال النصف الثاني من الموسم؟”.

The Red Sox bolstered their starting pitching rotation on Thursday, having agreed to acquire right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo in a trade with the Pirates.

The deal reportedly includes five players in total, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The highlight of the package Boston is sending to Pittsburgh is the Red Sox’s No. 3 prospect and top outfield prospect, Jhostynxon Garcia.

Oviedo, 27, made nine starts for the Pirates in 2025. He registered an ERA of 3.57 and had 42 strikeouts across 40 1/3 innings. Oviedo missed the entire ‘24 campaign and part of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. His last full season of work came in 2023, when he made 32 starts and had a 4.31 ERA.

In addition to Oviedo, the Red Sox will also receive left-handed pitcher Tyler Samaniego and catching prospect, 2025 fifth-round pick Adonys Guzman. The Pirates will also acquire another player alongside Garcia.

Garcia, 22, saw his first taste of MLB action in 2025, when he appeared in five games for the Red Sox. He struck out five times in a total of seven at-bats. Across 114 games in the minor leagues last season, he had a .810 OPS with 21 home runs and 75 RBIs.

Oviedo is now the second starting pitcher the Red Sox acquired this offseason. The team traded for Sonny Gray in late November, and now will add Oviedo to the mix, too.