Australia Under-19 run-machine made 66 off 73 on first-class debut for Victoria
AAP09-Feb-2025First-class debutant Harry Dixon has blasted three huge sixes on his way to a brisk half-century that helped Victoria to a narrow first-innings lead over Tasmania in their Sheffield Shield clash.Dixon was the star with the bat on day two in Hobart, belting 66 from 73 deliveries in an impressive knock that included seven fours.The 19-year-old arrived at the crease with Victoria in some trouble at 80 for 4, but put on 88 for the fifth wicket with Tom Rogers (33).Victoria seamer Sam Elliott (30 not out) stepped up to lift Victoria past the hosts’ first innings tally as they were bowled out for 258, with a lead of 22 runs.Right-arm quicks Kieran Elliott (4-55) and Gabe Bell (3-33) were Tasmania’s main wicket-takers, with Elliott taking career best figures .In reply, Tasmania erased the deficit for the loss of just one wicket as they reached 43 for 1 by stumps, with a lead of 21.Jake Weatherald (26 not out) and Tim Ward (13 not out) will resume at the crease on day three at Bellerive Oval.Peter Siddle struck an early blow for Victoria when he trapped Nivethan Radhakrishnan lbw for one. It completed a disappointing match with the bat for the inexperienced opener, who was brilliantly run out by Campbell Kellaway for 14 in Tasmania’s first innings.Dixon was the second debutant to post a half-century in the match after fellow teenager Aidan O’Connor top-scored with 53 in Tasmania’s first dig.The match is important to Victoria’s chances of reaching next month’s Shield final and crucial to Tasmania’s chances of keeping their season alive.Victoria sit second on the table with 28.06 points, behind leaders South Australia (36.93), while Tasmania (18.65) are last with just one win from six matches.
There’s been a newfound sense of excitement building at Leeds United in recent months, undoubtedly aided by their return to the Premier League for the 2025/26 season.
The opening day victory over Everton at Elland Road has certainly heightened the mood amongst the fanbase, with the hierarchy conducting excellent business in the market during the off-season.
Lukas Nmecha, who arrived on a free transfer from Wolfsburg, scored the winner against the Toffees, already making an immediate impact and catching the eye of the fanbase.
Other additions, such as Anton Stach and Gabriel Gudmundsson, have already cemented their place in the side, potentially playing a key role in Daniel Farke’s quest for survival come the end of May.
However, despite the previous work done by the hierarchy in recent months, other potential signings continue to be lined up before the transfer deadline on September 1st.
Leeds United manager DanielFarkebefore the match
Leeds targeting move for further attacking options
In an effort to bolster the options in the forward line, Leeds have previously made a move for Inter Milan star Mehdi Taremi during the summer transfer window.
However, in the last few weeks, a move has gone quiet for the Iranian international, which has potentially seen the hierarchy move onto other targets as a result.
In recent days, the Whites have been conducting work to land Stuttgart talisman Ermedin Demirovic, according to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.
His latest update claims that Farke’s side have made an approach to the Bundesliga outfit over a deal to land the 27-year-old, who scored 17 goals in all competitions last campaign.
VfB Stuttgart's Jeff Chabot, VfB Stuttgart's ErmedinDemirovicand VfB Stuttgart's Pascal Stenzel celebrate after winning the DFB Cup Final
Plettenberg also stated that Nottingham Forest are also in the race for the Bosnian’s signature, potentially leading to a £35m deal taking place before the summer deadline.
Why Leeds’ latest target would be a better signing than Okafor
Despite the efforts elsewhere, Leeds have already completed the £18m signing of Noah Okafor from Italian side AC Milan – handing needed depth to the side within the final third.
The Swiss international can operate in a central striker role, or even off the left-hand side, providing needed versatility in the club’s quest for top-flight survival.
Whilst he only registered one goal in the 2024/25 season, the 25-year-old has previously showcased his quality, notching 34 goals in his 110 appearances for RB Salzburg – but injuries have certainly halted his progress in recent seasons.
However, the deal has still brought about added excitement to the fanbase, understandably so given his experience in top divisions across Europe – plying his trade in Italy, Switzerland and Austria.
He’s not the only player the fans should be eager to see, with Demirovic also able to offer further quality, that’s if the hierarchy can complete a deal for the forward before the summer window slams shut.
Such a move would see the Whites land the big-money centre forward they’ve been craving, with the Bosnian able to massively transform the club’s fortunes in the final third.
When delving into his stats from the Bundesliga last campaign, the striker produced numerous impressive figures that rank him highly among other attackers in Europe.
Games played
34
Goals & assists
16
Goals per 90
0.73
Shots on target
1.3
Goals per shot on target
0.56
Aerials won
1.7
Touches in opposition box
6.1
Fouls won
1.3
Demirovic, who’s been labelled “incredible” by one analyst, ranked in the 90th percentile for goals per 90 (0.73) whilst also placing in the 86th percentile for goals per shot on target (0.56) – highlighting the clinical edge he possesses in front of goal.
He also won 1.7 aerials per 90 in the Bundesliga last campaign, offering a focal point and outlet for the Whites to play long ball football if they’re under pressure at the back.
The Stuttgart star also notched 6.1 touches in the opposition box per 90, ranking him in the 81st percentile – a skillset that would provide Farke’s side with a needed poacher in the final third.
Whilst his £35m asking price may seem a tad steep, it would hand the side an immediate top-level talisman in their attempts to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
Should he replicate his numbers from 2024/25 at Elland Road, he would undoubtedly be a more exciting addition than Okafor, with the supporters having the opportunity to adore a new talisman this season.
Their new Raphinha: Leeds could hijack late move to sign £32m "magician"
Chelsea are set for a short pre-season after winning the Club World Cup final, with just five weeks separating their 3-0 win over PSG in New Jersey and their first Premier League game of 2025/2026 against Crystal Palace.
Chelsea hold talks with £100k-per-week England star this week
Enzo Maresca is prioritising one key area.
By
Emilio Galantini
Jul 17, 2025
They have scheduled just two pre-season matches as a result of their CWC triumph, needing to fit a holiday in for both players and staff after what was a successful but very long campaign.
Chelsea’s best performers in the Premier League last season
Average match rating
Cole Palmer
7.33
Moises Caicedo
7.02
Enzo Fernández
6.95
Nicolas Jackson
6.88
Noni Madueke
6.82
via WhoScored
Chelsea will take on both Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan on August 8 and August 10 respectively, but as things stand, these are the only friendlies they’ll play before facing Palace in the top flight a week later.
It remains to be seen how Enzo Maresca’s side will fare given their minimal preparation, but the Italian did get a chance to try out new tactics during their CWC campaign in the US.
He also managed to give some of his major summer signings a run-out. Joao Pedro seriously impressed at the tournament in particular, scoring three goals in three CWC games, including a brace in their semi-final against Fluminense and a goal in the final against PSG.
Despite Chelsea’s need to sell players and balance out the squad due to a pact with UEFA (Kaveh Solhekol), Maresca could still add more fresh faces before their new season kicks off against Palace.
This will be dependent on departures (Simon Phillips), but perhaps Djordje Petrovic’s £25 million move to Bournemouth has freed up space for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan to come in.
The France number one was a serious target for Chelsea earlier in the window, and they tried to complete a deal for him before competing in the CWC. However, Milan and Chelsea failed to find an agreement, despite Maignan’s eagerness to join.
Despite reports to the contrary, Chelsea could go back in for Maignan before deadline day on September 1, with Robert Sanchez also told he’s free to find a new club away from Stamford Bridge (Graeme Bailey).
Mike Maignan very keen to join Chelsea, he's a top target
TEAMtalk have another update on the situation this week, claiming Maignan remains a top target for Chelsea.
AC Milan's MikeMaignanreacts
The 30-year-old is also “enthusiastic” about joining Maresca’s side this summer, even if negotiations previously failed, with the main roadblock being Milan’s £22 million asking price – a figure deemed too high by Chelsea considering both his age and his contract situation.
However, given Maignan’s pedigree as one of world football’s most commanding shot-stoppers, £22 million is surely a price worth paying – especially if they sell Sanchez.
Every title-winning side in history have one thing in common – the presence of a world-class keeper. Maignan, who’s been lavished with praise by his fellow top-level players, arguably stands out as the best option by far this summer.
“He is physical, quick, he has clean technique. He is very strong. He is one of the best in the world,” said Liverpool keeper Alisson about Maignan’s quality.
“The quality of goalkeepers has really increased – Mike Maignan is within this elite.”
With Alexander Isak pushing for a move away from Tyneside, Newcastle United are faced with the difficult task of replacing one of the Premier League’s most technically gifted forwards.
The Swede’s blend of elegance, close control, and clinical finishing has made him a central figure in Eddie Howe’s system. Now, with Liverpool preparing a formal bid, Newcastle are already planning for life without their star striker.
In searching for a successor, Newcastle are looking for someone who shares Isak’s key qualities and possesses the potential to develop into one of the league’s leading strikers.
The forward they’ve identified ticks those boxes…
Latest on Newcastle's search to replace Isak
The bombshell news broke on Thursday that the Magpies’ main man is intent on leaving the club, having thus far failed to commit to a new deal at St James’ Park.
With that in mind, Newcastle are preparing to present their long-term project to Benjamin Šeško, the 21-year-old Slovenian striker currently at RB Leipzig, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
After monitoring his progress since his RB Salzburg days, and previously attempting to sign him in 2022, the club are once again pushing to secure his signature.
With Leipzig finishing seventh in the Bundesliga and tumbling out of the Champions League early, the timing aligns perfectly.
RB Leipzig's BenjaminSeskocelebrates their second goal scored by Lukas Klostermann
His contract runs until 2029, but a £60m bid, down from the £85m figure previously quoted, could now be enough to secure his services.
Why Šeško is the perfect Isak replacement
With Isak’s departure appearing increasingly likely, Šeško is seen as the ideal successor. Standing at 194cm, he matches Isak’s physical presence but adds an impressive mix of speed, agility, and strength.
Benjamin Sesko 2024-25 stats (timeless)
Despite operating in a Leipzig side that underperformed last season, his displays in the Bundesliga only strengthened his reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting young centre-forwards.
Owing to his blend of pace and a towering frame, football talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him the “new Erling Haaland” – though Šeško’s style is notably more measured and refined.
While his overall numbers may fall short of Isak’s, they paint the picture of a striker not just keeping pace with the Premier League star, but exceeding expectations in less favourable circumstances.
The comparisons between the two are striking.
As per Transfermarkt, Šeško scored 21 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions last season, including 13 in the Bundesliga. Though he registered fewer total goal involvements than Isak (18 vs. 29), his efficiency in front of goal was impressive.
RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko in action against Bayern Munich.
He scored 11 non-penalty goals from 8.4 expected, a sharp overperformance that suggests a striker with strong finishing instincts.
That ability to convert is reflected in his other shooting metrics.
According to data from FBref, Šeško averaged 2.5 shots per 90, compared to Isak’s 3.1, and put 43.9% of them on target, a touch higher than Isak’s 43.2%. Though he operates with slightly lower volume, the Slovenian is equally efficient, a valuable trait for a forward potentially operating in a Newcastle team that created fewer clear chances than some of their top-six rivals last season.
Šeško’s pace also adds a key dimension. At Salzburg, he was clocked at 36.11 km/h — one of the fastest top-level strikers in Europe.
In terms of buildup and link play, he’s still developing.
The same data showed that he averaged 15.7 completed passes per 90 with a 67.6% completion rate, lower than Isak’s 17 passes at 75.3%. But he’s competent at holding the ball up and offers glimpses of becoming a more rounded playmaker, something reflected in his 1.74 progressive passes per 90 and 1.93 shot-creating actions.
How Arsenal's striker targets compare in 2024/25.
Perhaps most importantly, he appears ready to take the next step. Though he hasn’t agitated for a move, reports in Germany suggest Šeško views a switch to the Premier League as a logical progression.
Arsenal had previously shown strong interest, preferring him to Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres due to his age. However, they stepped back, paving the way for Newcastle to step in and pitch themselves as the perfect platform.
RB Leipzig's BenjaminSeskocelebrates
There’s also a stylistic harmony between Šeško and Howe’s approach. Like Isak, he offers vertical threat and mobility, capable of drifting into wide channels to stretch defences and creating space for others.
His pressing numbers are low (just 0.11 tackles in the attacking third per 90, compared to Isak’s 0.23), but his energy and willingness to learn could suit the high-intensity demands at St James’ Park.
With Chelsea target Xavi Simons already edging toward the Leipzig exit and interest in Loïs Openda growing, it feels like the Bundesliga club are bracing for change.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are ready to capitalise — seeing Šeško not just as a replacement for Isak, but a long-term centrepiece for their next phase.
Newcastle's most expensive sales of all time
A look at Newcastle’s 20 most expensive departures.
Afghanistan vs India Bridgetown, 10.30am local, 8.00pm IST, 2.30pm GMT
Big picture – India vs Rashid Khan
This January, these two teams produced one of the greatest T20Is ever – one that needed two Super Overs to produce a result – and that was when they were playing less-than-full-strength teams after the series had been decided. The stakes are a lot higher now. So perhaps Afghanistan and India’s meeting in the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup 2024 will be a little less spectacle and a little more surgical.Afghanistan possess a bowling attack capable of asking questions every over, which works out well because they have to find a way past the experience of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early to level the playing field. With those two out of the picture, anything can happen. That’ll be Fazalhaq Farooqi’s job. His left-arm angle coupled with the ability to swing the new ball are threats to batters of even the highest quality.Related
Trott: Day games suit Afghanistan better
Hayden expects short-of-runs Kohli to 'work out what to do' in WI
Six-hitter Dube awaits his moment to unleash
Farooqi: 'Whatever I am doing with the new ball, that is my skill'
If that happens – and it’s a big if – India will come under scoreboard pressure, which is best friends with Rashid Khan. The Afghanistan captain has walked into plenty of situations where the opposition has just started to wobble, and he finishes them off.It takes a genius to beat a genius, and India are lucky to have Suryakumar Yadav, who has dominated Rashid in T20s, scoring 86 runs in 58 balls at a strike rate of 148 without being dismissed. Shivam Dube goes at a higher strike rate (155) over a smaller sample size (18 balls), but that brings into picture the other advantage that India have: left-hand batters. Rashid has not done as well against them in T20s lately. He kept them down to a strike rate of 109 in 2022 and 2023. This year, it’s up at 141.Afghanistan’s bowling is their best strength, but India have them covered. So that means one of Afghanistan’s batters will have to have a field day.
Form guide
Afghanistan: LWWWW India: WWWWWAxar Patel’s batting gives India the confidence to hit out from ball one•ICC/Getty Images
In the spotlight – Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Axar Patel
Scoring quickly against high-quality bowling requires both skill and bravery, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz has both in abundance. He scored 80 off 56 balls in a match where only two of his team-mates reached double-digits and the opposition – New Zealand – were bowled out for 75. Gurbaz hits pace at a strike rate of 150 and spin at 145 in T20 cricket, and that may very well be a function of how he doesn’t mind taking risks. Batters like that are hard to stop when it’s their day.So much of the focus in this game will be on mystery spin. But underneath all that, happily flying under the radar, giving both tangible and intangible results is Axar Patel. His left-arm spin is all about containment, but he does that by attacking the stumps, while his batting at No. 8 gives India the confidence to hit out from ball one. Axar should also enjoy the fact that Afghanistan should have only two left-hand batters in their top eight.
Team news
India don’t have any need to tinker with their XI. And despite the loss to West Indies, Afghanistan might not either.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Gulbadin Naib, 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Karim Janat, 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiIndia (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Arshdeep Singh1:34
Bishop: Hard to name someone with Farooqi’s skillset
Pitch and conditions
Bridgetown has offered decent batting conditions, having hosted one of the three 200-plus scores seen in this tournament. The weather shouldn’t be a problem.
Stats and trivia
Afghanistan have played India in 13 games across formats, but are yet to win one
Gurbaz (167) and Farooqi (12) are currently the highest scorer and the highest wicket-taker, respectively, in the T20 World Cup 2024
India have not faced Rashid a lot in T20Is, but in two games, they have scored 69 runs in eight overs without losing a single wicket to him
Rohit and Kohli are tied on 4042 T20I runs, with only Babar Azam (4145) ahead of them
Quotes
“I always thought that during the most difficult phase of T20, like between [overs] 7 to 14, 7 to 16 – I had thought about that a lot before making my debut for India – if I do well here, if I bat with a good strike rate, then I can be a game-changer on that day. And when I kept doing it repeatedly, I felt that this is my game plan going forward.”
Liverpool have received a boost in their pursuit of a £84m striker, as he is now keen on a summer move to Anfield, according to a report.
Reds set sights on new striker
While Mohamed Salah may have received most of the plaudits, Jamie Carragher has asserted that the Reds having lots of different goalscorers is the reason they won the Premier League title, considering Arsenal have been more defensively solid.
However, the lack of a dependable centre-forward is a real concern for former Red Danny Murphy, who has claimed Arne Slot is no great admirer of Darwin Nunez, saying: “Slot obviously doesn’t fancy him.
“Slot has played a winger, Luis Diaz, ahead of him as a striker at times. That tells you everything you need to know.”
Murphy also states he would be “amazed” if Nunez remains at Anfield beyond the summer, and work has started on bringing in a potential replacement for the Uruguayan, with DaveOCKOP recently dropping a new update on Liverpool’s pursuit of Benjamin Sesko.
Sky Sports: Liverpool may sell "amazing" £50m player after transfer twist
He played in the 3-2 defeat away to Brighton on Monday night.
ByHenry Jackson May 20, 2025
The report states that Sesko is now interested in a move to Anfield this summer, with the Reds holding a serious interest, but a concrete offer may have to wait until after Nunez is offloaded, with Napoli and clubs from Saudi Arabia keen on the 25-year-old.
The Slovenian striker is attracting interest from across Europe, but a deal will not be cheap, with RB Leipzig looking to hold out for a fee of €100m (£84m), although there may be some leeway to negotiate a lower fee.
"Incredible" Sesko admired by Jürgen Klopp
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is known to be a big admirer of the 21-year-old, stating he has “incredible potential” earlier this year, while also detailing that he is happy to have him at a Red Bull Group-owned club.
The forward certainly isn’t short of admirers, with former Leipzig technical director Christopher Vivell also adding: “Benjamin is a real goalscorer, who despite his 1.95m (6’4″) is mobile and technically strong. His abilities make him a special player with a special profile.”
The Reds are known to have a good business relationship with Leipzig, which they will be hoping they can use to their advantage in negotiations, as it is evident that Slot will need to bring in an upgrade on Nunez this summer.
Liverpool's DarwinNunezcelebrates after winning the Premier League
The former Benfica man has just five Premier League goals to his name this season, so it is exciting news that Sesko is now a serious target to replace the striker, alongside a number of other top forwards.
Draca, who took 11 wickets in the 2024 Global T20 Canada and is on MI Emirates’ roster, is in the longlist for the IPL mega auction
Deivarayan Muthu06-Nov-2024.Who is Draca and what does he do?A tall, nippy, right-arm fast bowler, Draca has the ability to hit the splice of the bat, and can also get the ball to skid off the pitch. These skills were on display during the 2024 Global T20 Canada, where he emerged as the highest wicket-taker for Brampton Wolves, with 11 strikes in six games at an economy rate of 6.88. Only West Indies’ Romario Shepherd (14) and UAE’s Junaid Siddique (14) picked up more wickets than Draca in the tournament.Related
ILT20 2025: Are MI Emirates favourites again? Who are the players to watch out for?
IPL 2025 retentions: Pant, Rahul head to auction; Russell retained by KKR
IPL 2025 mega auction to be held on November 24, 25
Just a month before his breakout performance in Canada, Draca had made his T20I debut for Italy, in June earlier this year against Luxembourg in the Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Europe Qualifier, where he bowled with the new ball and claimed figures of 4-0-15-2.Where does Draca figure in the auction pool?Draca has been listed at No. 325 and has set his base price at INR 30 lakh. This longlist of 1574 players will be trimmed further before the auction, so it’s uncertain whether he will make the final cut.How about a little more about his GT20 Canada stint?Draca had hit the ground running in Canada, taking 3 for 18 in his first game against Surrey Jaguars. His victims included allrounders Sunil Narine and Terrance Hinds, who was recently called up to West Indies’ T20I squad in Sri Lanka.
wickets from just games!
Italian Fast Bowler Thomas Draca has announced himself in style at the GT20 Canada powering the Brampton Wolves into the qualifiers. #GT20onFanCode pic.twitter.com/ObGWlVAPXh
— FanCode (@FanCode) August 9, 2024
Then, against Bangla Tigers Mississauga, he cut through their middle order with figures of 3 for 10 in two overs. His first-ball wicket of David Wiese, bounced out by a sharp lifter, highlighted his ability to hustle batters with both pace and bounce. His 11 wickets helped Wolves get into the playoffs, where they lost to eventual champions Toronto Nationals in Qualifier 2.Has Draca been in any other leagues?He has. MI Emirates, the affiliate of Mumbai Indians in the IPL, have picked Draca for the upcoming season of the UAE’s ILT20. He was among their new signings along with Shepherd.Draca was also part of the Caribbean Tigers squad, led by Chris Lynn, during the inaugural MAX60 Caribbean in the Cayman Islands earlier this year.Has anyone from Italy ever been picked in the IPL before?Nope. Draca will be the first if he gets a bid.The Durban-born Wayne Madsen is the most-high profile player from Italy on the T20 circuit, having featured in the PSL (Multan Sultans), Joburg Super Kings (SA20) and Manchester Originals (Hundred). Madsen, who will turn 41 next January, will also turn out for Rangpur Riders in the upcoming Global Super League in Guyana.
Patterns in his celebrappeals show he is actually a fine judge of when a leg-before shout is out
Charles Reynolds15-Jun-2023It is testament to how good Stuart Broad has been with the ball throughout his career that he is still thought of primarily as a bowler. In reality he should be considered one of the greatest allrounders the game has ever seen.No, not in the gaudy sense of combining both bowling and batting skill – any Jacques, Dick or Garry can do that. Broad is at the apex of his sport in the twin disciplines of bowling and comedy.That last owes much to his reputation for being overzealous with DRS – an aspect this article wishes to address: the widely held belief that Broad is a liability when it comes to third-umpire referrals, his insatiable lust for wickets leading him to have absolutely no sense of judgement when involved in any sort of DRS situation.Yes, there may well be countless examples of his over-eagerness leading to highly questionable referrals – at this point there’s probably even a YouTube montage dedicated to them somewhere – but I have long maintained that, in fact, subconsciously, Broad is one of the finest instant judges of lbw in the game.The key to Broad’s DRS judgement is in his celebrappeal My theory is that far from being the hapless, trigger-happy, review-eater of public perception, Broad, in fact, has a highly sophisticated, subliminal, inbuilt Hawk-Eye. Nighthawkeye, if you will.Fittingly, the key to unlocking this revolves around another key pillar of the church of Stuart Broad, the “celebrappeal”. For the uninitiated, this is a term coined by Dave Tickner for the manner in which Broad usually appeals lbw or caught-behind decisions to the umpires: celebrating the wicket first and then only very belatedly turning round to appeal, if even bothering to do so at all.It has long been my theory that Broad’s subconscious DRS wizardry can be unleashed simply by analysing at which point during his celebrappeal he instinctively turns around to the umpire. The earlier he turns, the less out it is, the later he turns, the more out it is.How does this theory hold up in the face of data?The method: analysing every Broad lbw appeal since 2019 Thankfully in the modern age of cricket analysis, practically every ball bowled is filmed, tagged and logged in a database somewhere. So using video generously provided to me by an organisation that wishes to remain anonymous – the cricket establishment is clearly not quite ready yet to be seen supporting such controversial research – I looked at every Broad international lbw appeal from the start of 2019 up to, but not including, the recent Test against Ireland.The starting year of 2019 was chosen simply because it was the furthest point in the past from which deliveries were tagged in the database with “lbw appeal”, but it nevertheless gave me a healthy sample of 83 deliveries to analyse.I took an imaginary top-down view of a cricket pitch and from popping crease to popping crease, divided it into ten equal horizontal segments, starting with No. 1 at the bottom, the non-striker’s end, going up to No. 10 at the top, the striker’s end, noting down at roughly what point in each appeal Broad turned around to the umpire, and correlating it with the result of the appeal.From this I was able to calculate the out percentage for each of the ten sections of the pitch – that is, the percentage of times a batter was actually out (from dismissals given on the field that were not overturned by DRS, and those given out after successful reviews). This would allow me to see whether there was, in fact, any correlation between the point at which Broad turned to appeal and whether the delivery was actually out.A disclaimer here: while cricket has made great strides in analytics in recent years, one area where it still lags behind other sports is player positional tracking – i.e. recording player movements for exact positioning data, much like Hawk-Eye does for the movement of the ball. (It is largely because of this lack that effective metrics for judging players’ fielding ability still don’t exist and too much subjective human input is required.)Sadly, that does mean that an element of subjectivity – in this case, the point I judged Broad to have turned around for each of these 83 deliveries – had to be inserted into this otherwise highly rigorous scientific study. However, I strove to maintain the highest levels of consistency throughout the result-recording process.Stuart Broad: lbw expert A thorough analysis of the data revealed fairly overwhelmingly that Broad is, in fact, a highly sophisticated lbw-judging machine.Firstly if we look at the heat map of the points in his celebrappeals at which he turned round to appeal, we can see that, rather surprisingly, 43.4% of the time, he appeals before he gets to the halfway mark on the pitch – a little earlier than you might expect from the game’s premier celebrappealist – although there a still a solid amount of those late turnarounds that have established his standing in the field.Compare this however with the out-percentage heat map above and we can instantly see the huge correlation between the point at which Broad instinctively turns round to appeal and whether the batter is out or not. Quite definitively, as you can also see from the graph of the compiled data below, there is a clear link between the point at which Broad subconsciously decides to turn and appeal to the umpire and how unequivocally out the delivery actually is.
In conclusion, I think we can safely say that, on a subconscious level at least, Broad has been proven to be a superb judge of lbw appeals.Not only is he a man who has sent down 32,592 balls over the course of his Test career and taken 582 wickets, he is also a highly sophisticated judge of leg-befores (of which he has taken 97), capable of processing information in the split seconds between ball cannoning into pads and appeal being launched.Admittedly some DRS problems do seem to arise when more time is taken and he engages the conscious part of his mind, but ultimately I think we can add another accomplishment to his ongoing legacy.Stuart Broad – fifth-highest wicket taker in Test history, international centurion, meme king subconscious DRS master.
In our first batch of report cards for the year: England, Ireland, Bangladesh, West Indies, New Zealand and women’s cricket
ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2020Englandby Andrew Miller It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part that counts. Who knew that Covid’s onset would bring such crusty old Corinthian values surging to the fore? Such was the impact of a season like no other.Judged purely by that outdated old yardstick of “results”, England actually fared pretty damned well in every on-field facet in 2020. They lost just one of their ten series across three formats, and just one of their nine Tests against three opponents – a series-opening cliffhanger against West Indies that confirmed the sport’s intensity could survive the absence of crowds.And if the planning for England’s next World Cup campaign – the T20 version in India next year – has been back-of-the-fag-packet stuff compared to the glories of 2019, the confidence and ferocity of Eoin Morgan’s men translated with ominous poise across the white-ball formats. In particular, Dawid Malan’s surge to the top of the ICC batting rankings proved that pressure need not always be a downward force.But nothing that happened in 2020 mattered more than the fact that it happened at all. When the Test squad abandoned their warm-up in Colombo in March to rush back to England before the world’s borders slammed shut, the doomsday scenarios were writ large across the sport.The county season went into abeyance for the first time since the Second World War, and the ECB warned of a catastrophic £380 million bill if the summer in its entirety was canned.But then, out of adversity, rose something quite magnificent. A patched-together itinerary, masterminded by the ECB’s Steve Elworthy – the year’s true MVP – enabled England to play all 18 of their scheduled men’s home fixtures in the space of nine weeks, across two venues and two “bubbles”.None of it could have been possible without some above-and-beyond buy-in from England’s visitors – Pakistan, Ireland, Australia and, most especially, West Indies, who not only braved the bubble at the pandemic’s height in June, but also agreed to send a women’s squad in September, for a short but compelling campaign at a time when Heather Knight’s squad were resigned to their international season being a write-off.More’s the pity, therefore, that England themselves were unable to find quite the same tolerance for the invidious circumstances come their year-end return to South Africa. By that stage of an arduous year, however, the thrill of winning and the thrill of taking part were insignificant compared to the thrill of just getting the hell out of the bubble lifestyle and getting back home for Christmas.Results Tests: P9 W6 L1 D2 ODIs: P9 W4 L4 NR1 T20Is: P12 W8 L3 NR1West Indies led the way in taking a stand on the Black Lives Matter movement and in bringing cricket back after the Covid-19 hiatus•Getty ImagesWest Indiesby Nagraj Gollapudi On July 8, an emotional Jason Holder, along with the rest of the West Indies Test squad, knelt in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. By the end of the day, Holder had career-best bowling figures of 6 for 42. Three days later, thanks also to the batting heroics of Jermaine Blackwood, West Indies created history by taking the lead in the series against England. Holder would go on to sit on a talk show with prime ministers of three Caribbean countries, who told him how proud they were of his leadership and his men.Sadly that would be the only bold statement the Test team would make in 2020. They lost their remaining four Tests – two in England and a two-match series in New Zealand in December. Embarrassed by repeated batting failures, Holder, after the innings defeat in Hamilton, put it bluntly: West Indies were “throwing in the towel too easily”.It was much the same in white-ball cricket, including T20Is, in which West Indies are defending world champions. Both captain Kieron Pollard and head coach Phil Simmons agreed the white-ball teams were works in progress, and said they wanted players who were willing to “die for” the team and play selflessly. A defeat against Ireland in a T20I at home was proved to be not an aberration as West Indies went on to lose to New Zealand 2-0.On-field struggles aside, they showed courage and spirit in travelling to different parts of the world and competing despite the suffocating and demanding conditions of life in biosecure bubbles. Fittingly, the MCC awarded Cricket West Indies with the Christopher Martin-Jenkins award for the Spirit of Cricket, for salvaging cricket by sending both men’s and women’s teams to England at the peak of the pandemic in the English summer.Results Tests: P5 W1 L4 ODIs: P6 W3 L3 T20s: P8 W3 L3 NR2New Zealand were unbeaten in Tests at home this year•Getty ImagesNew Zealandby Andrew McGlashan New Zealand’s year started with the disappointment of having failed to compete in Australia, where a patched-up side was hammered in Sydney, but finished with them a few percentage points off being the No. 1 Test side.At home they remained almost unstoppable as they secured 2-0 victories against India and West Indies. A dynamic pace attack was further bolstered by the emergence of Kyle Jamieson, the tall pace bowler and powerful lower-order hitter, who formed a formidable quartet with Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner. Quite what the future for a front-line spinner is on home soil remains to be seen.Kane Williamson produced a masterful unbeaten 251 against West Indies and even his absence on paternity leave barely caused a ripple against an outclassed opposition. Despite the problems in Australia, the line-up remained very stable (Will Young made a belated Test debut) and a debate around Henry Nicholls’ form was halted by his 174 against West Indies.In the limited-overs arena, New Zealand could not escape the spectre of the Super Over. Consecutive T20Is against India went to the tiebreaker, and New Zealand lost both. That series was a 5-0 whitewash, but late in the year the form of Tim Seifert and Devon Conway offered promise as they built towards the T20 World Cup and led to the dropping of Ross Taylor.In the one-day format they earned a 3-0 victory over India before becoming the first team to play behind closed doors at the SCG days before the sporting world shut down.Results Tests: P6, W4, L1 ODIs: P4, W3, L1 T20Is: P11, W4, L6, NR1Women’s cricket peaked with the T20 World Cup, then screeched to an abrupt halt as the pandemic hit•ICC via GettyWomenby Annesha Ghosh The best of women’s cricket and the worst of its administration were on view in 2020, and Australia played a starring role in throwing both into stark relief.For Australia, a tri-series win against India and England, and an atypical topsy-turvy league-stage campaign preceded a historic T20 World Cup triumph at home. A record 86,174-strong crowd watched first-time finalists India stumble against Australia in the final. Player-of-the-tournament Beth Mooney’s stocks continued to rise, and pop star Katy Perry brought the house down in a fitting finale.Then the curtains came down on the women’s game altogether.Top-flight women’s cricket remained off the radar for an additional 75 days after men’s bilateral series resumed after a 117-day pandemic-induced hiatus. Germany women’s record-breaking tour of Austria marked the official return of women’s international cricket. Among Full Members, Australia and England showed the way; the subcontinental sides and South Africa faced a raft of tour postponements and cancellations, and decisions that spoke of administrative apathy.Only two ODI series, one either side of the pandemic pause, were played through the year. New Zealand, hosts of the now-postponed 2021 ODI World Cup, featured in and lost both. The second of those series was against Australia, who equalled a record 21 successive ODI victories after clinching a T20I series win, also against New Zealand. The same day, England sealed a 5-0 whitewash of West Indies in T20Is.Other highlights of the year included a first-of-its-kind documentary, on the T20 World Cup, Thailand women’s World Cup debut, and first-ever central contracts for Nepal women. Add to that record viewership figures for the WBBL and the Women’s T20 Challenge, proving that women’s domestic tournaments could hold their own and shouldn’t have to jostle for space.Even while the senior team was being handed a beating in the Rawalpindi Test, the Bangladesh Under-19 side clinched the country’s first World Cup title•ICC via GettyBangladeshby Mohammad Isam Bangladesh is one of only two Full Member nations not to have played a single international match since the country’s Covid-19 lockdown began in mid-March, in what was to have been their busiest year in Test cricket yet. In the end they played just two of their scheduled ten Tests, plus three ODIs and four T20Is between January and March.On their first tour of Pakistan in 12 years, Bangladesh were outplayed in two T20Is and the Rawalpindi Test that followed. But even as the Test team was staring at an innings defeat, the U-19 team clinched their maiden World Cup title in Potchefstroom.The senior team had better luck against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test a couple of weeks later, in which Mushfiqur Rahim made his third double-century and offspinner Nayeem Hasan took nine wickets.Bangladesh swept the ODI series against Zimbabwe likewise, with Tamim Iqbal breaking his previous national record for the highest individual score in the second ODI. Three days later Liton Das did better, with 176 in the third game, which also saw a number of other records tumble. It was also the last ODI under Mashrafe Mortaza, with Iqbal stepping into the captain’s role.The board has conducted two domestic tournaments, within a bio-bubble, to kick off the 2020-21 season, and there’s hope for more cricket in the new year.Results Tests: P2, W1, L1 ODIs: P3, W3, L0 T20Is: P5, W2, L2, NR1Mark Adair fetches a ball from the stands from one of the six times Paul Stirling hit it there in the ODI where Ireland chased 329 against England•Getty ImagesIrelandby Peter Della Penna Prior to 2020, the only times Ireland had been able to schedule a home ODI series of more than two matches were against Afghanistan in 2018, because nobody else would volunteer to play the two newest Full Members; and Zimbabwe in 2019, because neither side had qualified for the World Cup taking place at the time across the Irish Sea.So the introduction of the new ODI Super League for 2023 World Cup qualification heralded a new dawn of sorts. A pair of three-match ODI series and seven T20Is against Bangladesh and New Zealand, not to mention two more T20Is against Pakistan in Dublin, were pencilled in – a bumper crop for fixture-starved Ireland. But like for most countries, the pandemic wiped all of it out. The loss of revenue resulted in Cricket Ireland needing a €1.5 million euro government bailout.However, the fixtures that were completed either side of the shutdown provided a silver lining. Andrew Balbirnie took over from William Porterfield in Tests and ODIs and from Gary Wilson in T20Is as captain at the tail end of 2019. Though they took their fair share of lumps against West Indies and Afghanistan, Ireland also departed both away tours with a T20I victory to their name.Their habit of bounce-back wins after early defeats continued in England. Playing in the series that officially launched the ODI Super League, Ireland suffered lopsided defeats in the first two matches in Southampton before capping their 2020 fixture list with a thrilling reprisal of their 2011 World Cup heroics in Bangalore. Set a target of 329, Ireland completed the highest successful chase by a visiting team in England as Balbirnie and Paul Stirling both scored centuries, offering a hopeful glimpse of what lies ahead in 2021.Results ODIs: P6, W1, L5 T20Is: P6, W2, L3, NR1Stats current as of December 27, 2020More in our look back at 2020
The Marlins beat the Cardinals 6-2 on Wednesday night in front of a sparse 9,300 fans at LoanDepot Park. Those who did attend got to see Miami's Sandy Alcantara have one of his best outings of the season.
Alcantara gave up five hits and one earned run in seven innings while he struck out a season-high nine batters and walked just one. In the process, he earned his seventh win of the season.
The Marlins' pitcher could have had an even better night, but Agustín Ramírez failed to catch strike three as St. Louis catcher Yohel Pozo swung and missed. Pozo reached on the passed ball as Ramírez framed a pitch he never caught.
Bally Sports Florida analyst Tommy Hutton was not impressed.
"What it does, we've seen a couple of instances tonight, it makes Sandy throw more pitches," said Hutton. "See, to me, DON'T TRY TO FRAME THAT PITCH! Catch it before you try to frame it!"
He also added, "It's all you gotta do."
Three batters later, after what would have been the third out was recorded, Pozo scored on a Lars Nootbaar double.
For some reason the Marlins catchers are having a very unique season.