Leg-spinner leads new generation of women prioritising franchise cricket
ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2025Leg-spinner leading a new generation of women prioritising franchise cricket tells Valkerie Baynes and Firdose Moonda why she has chosen that path over trying to break back into the Australian team.
Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl is currently enjoying his first international break since taking charge of the club, after a busy start to life at Ibrox.
The Light Blues boss was thrown straight in at the deep end with a Europa League clash with Brann days after his arrival, and he has already reached six competitive games in the dugout in all competitions.
Rohl came in after the Gers had only won one of their first eight matches in the Scottish Premiership, under Stevie Smith and Russell Martin, and has won three out of three in the division.
The Scottish giants beat Dundee 3-0 away from home in the last match before the international break, which was their second away win and clean sheet in succession.
Djeidi Gassama scored the third goal of the game for the Gers, as shown in the highlights above, with a terrific finish into the far corner from the edge of the box.
Despite a lot of signs of promise in his first couple of months at the club after a move from Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, that was his first goal in the Premiership for Rangers.
Why Rangers need more from Djeidi Gassama
The Light Blues signed the French forward from the Owls for £2.2m and he made a lightning-fast start to life at Ibrox, with four goals in six matches in the club’s Champions League qualifying campaign.
After that burst of goals in Europe, you could not blame any supporters for getting excited about what the winger could produce on a weekly basis in the Premiership under Martin at the time.
Unfortunately, the former Paris Saint-Germain youngster has been unable to carry that European form into his domestic performances, as evidenced by that strike against Kilmarnock being his first in the league this season.
The 22-year-old winger, who worked with Rohl at Sheffield Wednesday in the 2024/25 campaign, has delivered one goal and one assist in 11 appearances in the Premiership.
25/26 Premiership
Djeidi Gassama (Per 90)
Percentile rank vs wingers
xG
0.16
Bottom 32%
Goals
0.10
Bottom 44%
xA
0.13
Top 45%
Assists
0.10
Top 45%
Chances created
1.02
Bottom 32%
Successful crosses
0.23
Bottom 23%
Successful dribbles
2.04
Top 26%
Touches in the opposition’s box
6.12
Top 14%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, Gassama ranks poorly among wingers in the Premiership for scoring goals, creating chances and completing crosses, whilst only ranking just above the average for assisting goals.
However, the Frenchman ranks very highly for dribbles and touches in the opposition’s box. This shows that he is able to get himself into good positions by beating defenders with the ball, but he needs to improve his end product.
This is why Rohl needs to get more out of the Rangers winger, because his return of goals and assists does not back up the good build-up play that he does on the flank.
First Impressions
What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.
Whilst Gassama, 22, clearly has potential and could develop into a top player for Rangers, there is another summer signing who could be unearthed as an even bigger talent, despite being labelled a flop so far.
At the start of this month, Heart and Hand podcast creator David Edgar claimed that Thelo Aasgard has “been rotten” since his move from Luton Town in the summer, but the central midfielder has the potential to be a bigger star than Gassama.
Why Thelo Aasgaard can be a bigger talent than Djeidi Gassama for Rangers
Whilst the French winger is an exciting prospect who could add more goals and assists to his name, the £3.5m Norway international has the potential to be an excellent two-way player in the middle of the park.
Gassama does work hard defensively as a winger, ranking in the top 28% of wingers for tackles made (ten) in the Premiership, per FotMob, but his impact mainly comes from his offensive work.
Aasgaard, however, is an intriguing profile of player because he has clear technical quality and excellent physical attributes, which means that he can impact games in and out of possession.
Unfortunately, as recently evidenced by his red card against Celtic, the former Luton and Wigan star has had a difficult start to life at Ibrox, and is yet to show the very best of his potential.
Whilst Edgar feels he has been “rotten”, and over 2,000 likes on the post suggest others agree, there have been some encouraging signs from his domestic performances for the Gers.
25/26 Premiership
Djeidi Gassama
Thelo Aasgaard
Appearances
11
9
Goals
1
1
Assists
1
1
Dribbles completed per game
1.8
1.8
Dribble success rate
47%
67%
Ground duel success rate
57%
59%
Aerial duel success rate
36%
42%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Aasgaard has as many goal contributions as Gassama, in fewer games, and has been more efficient with his dribbles, his ground duels, and his aerial duels.
His goal, of course, was also a stunning individual goal against Dundee United in Stevie Smith’s interim game in charge, and it won the Rangers Journal Goal of the Month award.
Like Gassama, if Rohl can help him to add more consistency to his end product in the final third, the Norwegian midfielder could be an exciting talent for the Gers supporters to enjoy, particularly when you consider that he scored four goals in one game against Moldova for his country in September.
On top of his attacking potential, Aasgaard ranks within the top 5% of his positional peers in the Premiership for duel success rate (55%), the top 21% for aerial duels won (eight), and the top 17% for duels won (47), per FotMob, which shows the value that he can offer out of possession.
It is now down to the manager and Aasgaard to work together on the training pitch to unearth his full potential, because he could be a physically and technically dominant star in Scottish football if it all comes together.
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The Gers know all about his quality.
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That is why Rohl could unearth a bigger talent than Gassama with the Norway international, because he can be dominant in and out of possession, rather than just on the ball.
The U.S. men's national team has learned their World Cup group as Mauricio Pochettino's side was paired with Paraguay, Australia and a yet-to-be-determined European foe to start next summer's tournament. The USMNT's fourth opponent will be either Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo, who will face off in March's playoff.
Celtic are keen to appoint a permanent successor to Martin O’Neill and now look to be well down the road in that regard, as fresh details over Wilfried Nancy’s arrival and potential backroom team emerge.
The Bhoys enjoyed a productive weekend of Scottish Premiership action, even if it was a little fortuitous, claiming a dramatic last-gasp victory over St Mirren before Heart of Midlothian lost out at Aberdeen to narrow the gap at the top of the table.
Four points separate the top two heading into a busy schedule, with Celtic holding the advantage of a crucial game in hand against Dundee United days after they collide with the Edinburgh side in a blockbuster clash at Parkhead in a couple of weeks.
From a position of real uncertainty, the Bhoys have edged their way back into title contention and will hope to capitalise as Hearts continue to falter, albeit O’Neill made it clear after their win in Paisley that he isn’t sure how much longer he will be in interim charge alongside Shaun Maloney.
He said: “There’s relief as much as anything else, but you enjoy winning football matches – that’s what it’s about. It keeps confidence alive as much as anything else and keeps momentum going.
“At this minute, I haven’t heard anything more. I would reckon I would probably be on the plane for Rotterdam and maybe not much longer. If the board announce a new manager in the couple of days, I will walk into the sunset.”
O’Neill looks likely to be in charge for Celtic’s trip to face Feyenoord on Thursday in the Europa League and could be in situ for their match against Hibernian on Sunday. However, it doesn’t look like he will be sticking around for long after that.
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ByDan Emery Nov 22, 2025 Wilfried Nancy set to add four new faces to Celtic backroom staff
Previously, it became clear that Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy is set to take over at Celtic after his side bowed out of the MLS Cup playoffs, though there has since been quiet over the details of his arrival.
Now, PLZ Soccer report that Nancy is set to begin his journey at Parkhead from the start of December, if not before then, with the Bhoys’ home clash against Dundee on the third day of the month likely to be his first game in charge.
Four of Nancy’s own staff are set to take on new roles in Glasgow over the next week, should their contracts be signed off, with Dermot Desmond sparing no expense making the new boss feel at home in the face of recent fan pressure. Kwame Ampadu is likely to be one of the new faces following his work alongside the 48-year-old in the United States.
Wilfried Nancy’s record at Columbus Crew
Matches
136
Wins
71
Draws
32
Losses
33
Trophies
MLS Cup (2024)
It remains to be seen whether Maloney will form part of the Frenchman’s backroom team after his sterling efforts during his period as interim assistant.
Celtic fans have had to wait nearly a month to find out the identity of their new permanent manager, though they will be relieved to see that the hunt for a new boss is finally nearing an end.
Newcastle United just cannot string together a consistent run of wins at the moment.
Indeed, Eddie Howe would have been hopeful that his side had turned over a new leaf when getting the better of Manchester City in Premier League action 2-1 last time out, but – again – home comforts clearly were in play, as the Toon have since succumbed to a 2-1 away defeat at Marseille in the Champions League.
On another night, however, Newcastle might well have walked away from the Orange Velodrome with another three points secured in Europe, with Harvey Barnes’ early opener suggesting that the Magpies would be successful on their travels.
Unfortunately for the away side, though, ex-Premier League goal machine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would have other ideas, as his quickfire second-half brace sealed the win for the Ligue 1 hosts.
While the former Arsenal striker was his instinctive self throughout, he was undoubtedly helped by Nick Pope dropping even more clangers in between the sticks.
It’s now three away games on the spin where the ex-Burnley goalkeeper has looked ropey and unconvincing.
He gifted Marseille a route back into the even contest on Tuesday night when rushing out of his net, only for Aubameyang to utilise his pace to comfortably place an effort past Pope, who was stuck in no man’s land after the “inexplicable” error, as it was branded by the Athletic’s Chris Waugh.
The immediate inquest now centres on whether Howe should get rid of the 33-year-old or not, with Aaron Ramsdale certainly a capable replacement, having previously kept 32 clean sheets on the books of Arsenal.
Still, despite all the rampant criticism coming his ‘keeper’s way, Howe would publicly defend Pope at the full-time whistle, stating that he “certainly” backs him, having saved his side “many times” in the past.
Yet, even with this very public vote of confidence, Howe must be aware that his usually trusted number one is declining, with another well-established defensive presence for the Toon, who lined up against Marseille, now also fearful of his starting spot moving forward.
At this point in time, the 47-year-old could well find he’s on the chopping block sooner rather than later, if he doesn’t drop the likes of Pope, even if they have been regular fixtures of his reign so far.
Fabian Schar also falls into the category of a long-standing servant who likely isn’t the required standard of the first team anymore, even with 241 games under his belt at St James’ Park, and the label of being a “total one off” handed to him by his manager for what he provides for the club at his very best.
|
Schar’s performance in numbers |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Schar |
|
Minutes played |
61 |
|
Goals scored |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Touches |
30 |
|
Accurate passes |
13/16 (81%) |
|
Possession lost |
5x |
|
Tackles won |
0/0 |
|
Interceptions |
1 |
|
Clearances |
7 |
|
Blocked shots |
0 |
|
Recoveries |
1 |
|
Total duels won |
0/3 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
Based on the table above, though, he is experiencing a swift decline akin to the Toon number one right now, with the Swiss international winning zero of his attempted duels, during his 61 minutes on the pitch.
On top of that, the ageing centre-back would only manage to complete 13 accurate passes all night long, with Aubameyang no doubt feeling even more confident in front of goal, knowing he had the shoddy duo of Schar and Pope to get the better of.
With only five Premier League starts next to his name this season, too, it’s clear that Schar is no longer a guaranteed first-teamer under his manager, with talk also centring on the ex-Deportivo defender being resigned to walking away from Tyneside when his contract expires next year.
As the new breed of Newcastle stars coming through in Malick Thiaw continue to shine, with the German completing 36 passes and winning four duels in France, it’s now very clear that the old guard at St James’ Park are rusty, and cannot be kept in the side long-term.
The obvious alteration to make is to drop Pope, after another “moment of madness” cost his side dear, as his rush out of the goal was branded by journalist Mark Douglas.
But, Schar isn’t above criticism, either, with both well-established Toon servants in very grave danger of dropping out of their manager’s XI for the upcoming away trip to Everton.
As bad as Pope: Howe must drop 4/10 Newcastle dud who made just 14 passes
Newcastle were defeated at Marseille in the Champions League.
By
Angus Sinclair
Nov 26, 2025
أعلن الجهاز الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، عن قائمة الأبيض التي ستسافر إلى جنوب إفريقيا لخوض مباراة كايزر تشيفز المقبلة في بطولة كأس الكونفيدرالية الإفريقية.
ويحل الزمالك ضيفًا على كايزر تشيفز الجنوب إفريقي في الجولة الثانية لدور المجموعات في الثالثة عصر السبت 29 نوفمبر الجاري باستاد بيتر موكابا بمدينة بولوكواني.
وتغادر بعثة الزمالك من القاهرة في الحادية عشرة مساء اليوم الثلاثاء متجهة إلى جنوب أفريقيا، استعدادًا لخوض مباراة كايزر تشيفز الجنوب أفريقي، في بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية الإفريقية.
طالع.. خاص | لاعب الزمالك يفسخ عقده بعد انتهاء مهلة المستحقات
ويترأس البعثة أحمد خالد حسانين عضو مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك.
جدير بالذكر أن الفلسطيني عدي الدباغ سيلحق بالبعثة غدٍ الأربعاء، في جنوب إفريقيا، بعد عودته من منتخب فلسطين بسبب مشاركته في مباراة ليبيا المؤهلة إلى كأس العرب. قائمة الزمالك لمباراة كايزر تشيفز في الكونفدرالية
حراسة المرمى: محمد عواد – محمد صبحي – محمود الشناوي.
خط الدفاع: عمر جابر – بارون أوشينج – محمود حمدي “الونش” – حسام عبد المجيد – محمد إسماعيل – أحمد فتوح – محمود بنتايج.
خط الوسط: محمد شحاتة – محمود جهاد – سيف جعفر – ناصر ماهر – عبد الحميد معالي – أحمد شريف – آدم كايد – شيكو بانزا – خوان بيزيرا.
خط الهجوم: عدي الدباغ – سيف الجزيري – عمرو ناصر.
Wood will continue to train as planned ahead of Perth Test, but whether England select him or not remains to be seen
Tristan Lavalette15-Nov-2025Mark Wood has been cleared of a hamstring injury in a relief for England ahead of the Ashes, but he will not take the field on the final day of England’s sole warm-up game at Lilac Hill in Perth against England Lions.In what came as a scare for England, Wood experienced stiffness in his left hamstring on Friday after bowling two four-over spells to start the three-day match. He left the field after his second spell midway through the second session before being sent for scans.Related
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“Following precautionary scans on Friday, England fast bowler Mark Wood has been cleared of any concerns regarding his left hamstring,” the ECB said in a statement.The ECB also said that Wood would continue to train as planned ahead of the first Test, starting on November 21 in Perth, but whether England are going to select him or not remains to be seen.Brydon Carse, who overcame illness on the first day of the warm-up to claim three wickets in England’s second innings, welcomed the prospect of England’s fastest bowler being part of the mix at Perth.”That’s great news,” Carse said. “Woody found out last night that it’s nothing serious, he’s going to have a couple of days off and then have a good bit of training up leading up to that first Test.”For any player, when you’re waiting on a result of a scan, it can be a little bit niggly, but he was fairly confident. So, he’s all up and about and full of energy at the moment.”England have taken a cautious approach with Wood’s rehabilitation from the knee injury that he sustained at the Champions Trophy in February. He had initially hoped to feature in the final Test of their summer series against India, but a setback in training ended up ruling him out of the entire home season.”He’s got a huge amount of resilience,” Carse added. “You look back at some of the setbacks that he’s had over his career, to keep going through the processes to get back out on the field, it’s very exciting, and it shows the sort of character that he has.”Wood, on the first day, had bowled several lively deliveries on a relatively sedate surface at Lilac Hill, a suburban ground in the fringes of Perth.The conditions at the Optus Stadium are expected to be more conducive to fast bowling and, in addition to Wood and Carse, the squad also has Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Matt Potts, Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes as quick-bowling options.”This week was all about bowlers getting miles in their legs,” Carse added. “It’s exciting. I think we’ve got a group of six bowlers who, whatever dynamic we go with, will relish those conditions.”Later on Saturday, Australia suffered a major blow when Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the opening Test with a hamstring injury after initially being cleared during the Sheffield Shield game against Victoria last week.
The day-long elections, which included physical votes and e-ballots, was held in a hotel in Dhaka on Monday
Mohammad Isam06-Oct-2025Aminul Islam has been re-elected as the BCB president at the board election on Monday. He will serve a four-year term, after having been in the same role for the last four months. Faruque Ahmed, the former president who Aminul had replaced in May, and Shakhawat Hossain, will be the vice-presidents.The day-long election, which included physical votes and e-ballots, was held in a hotel in Dhaka. A total of 23 directors were elected and two government representatives were announced later to form the 25-member body. The election commission said 115 votes were cast out of the 156 eligible voters.The election process is two-fold. The voters, called councillors, elect 23 board directors in three separate categories. Aminul was one of ten directors elected from the first category, which includes only the divisions and districts of the country. The second category is the all-powerful Dhaka clubs who elect the majority of 12 directors. The third category includes representatives from different institutions, former cricketers, captains, and several other organisations.The election commission announced the names of the board directors at 6.30pm, before the new 25-member body held an election among themselves to choose the president and two vice-presidents. Aminul, Faruque and Shakhawat were elected unopposed in these posts.Three former captains are now in the board of directors, including Aminul, Faruque and Khaled Mashud. Former Bangladesh cricketer Abdur Razzak was nominated from the Khulna sub-category unopposed, becoming a board director. He had left his job as a senior men’s selector recently.While the voting was held without major incident on Monday, the election commission representatives made allegations of “intimidations”. The build-up to the election, too, had several controversies. Tamim Iqbal, the former Bangladesh captain, had withdrawn from the race after complaining of interference, when BCB chief Aminul issued a letter asking for fresh nominations for the elections’ first category. The letter was cleared by the country’s courts the day before the elections.After he was confirmed as the new president, Aminul said he wanted to continue in this role after “falling in love with Bangladesh cricket’s development”. When he was elected on May 30, Aminul had said that his short-term role would be like a “quick T20 innings”.Aminul played 13 Tests and 39 ODIs, and led the side during their maiden World Cup appearance in 1999.Category 1 directors: Aminul Islam, Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, Ahsan Iqbal Chowdhury, Asif Akbar, Abdur Razzak, Julfiker Ali Khan, Mukhlesur Rahman, Hasanuzzaman, Rahat Shams, Shakhawat HossainCategory 2 directors: Ishtiaque Sadeque, Adnan Rahman, Fayazur Rahman, Abul Bashar, Amzad Hossain, Shanian Taneem, Mukhsedul Kamal, Nazmul Islam, Faruque Ahmed, Manjur Alam, Mehrab Alam Chowdhury, Iftekhar RahmanCategory 3 director: Khaled MashudGovernment representative directors: M Ishfaq Ahsan, Yasir Mohammad Faisal Ashique
With the 13th season of the CPL set to kick off on August 14, here’s a primer to bring you up to speed
Deivarayan Muthu13-Aug-2025So, the biggest party in cricket is back?Yep, the six-team league will start on August 14 and will run until September 21, with six venues set to host 34 games. The top four sides in the league phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be held at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. Just like the IPL, the top two teams will get two tilts at the final.Okay, how many countries are hosting the tournament?CPL 2025 will be played in six countries: St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana.Related
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Are you excited about the reunion of the Bravo brothers?Dwayne Bravo, who has been one of the faces of the CPL for a number of years, had retired from competitive cricket after an injury had cut short his CPL season in 2024. He has since coached the Knight Riders’ franchises around the world, and this will be his first stint in the CPL as head coach. He will take over the role at Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) from Phil Simmons, who is now in charge of Bangladesh.Can the most decorated player in the CPL – he has won five titles – add another to his kitty, this time as TKR’s head coach?Dwayne Bravo was appointed TKR head coach earlier this year•CPL T20 via Getty ImagesUnder Dwayne, his brother Darren Bravo, who has won four titles, will return to the CPL, having last featured in the league in 2022. Darren has not played any competitive game in senior cricket since 2023, but after taking a break from cricket, the 36-year-old is ready to return to action.The league of ageless wondersImran Tahir, who turned 46 this March, showed that he still has it in T20 cricket, taking 14 wickets in five games at an outstanding average of 9.28 and economy rate of 6.61 in Guyana Amazon Warriors’ run to the Global Super League title. He remains the only overseas player with 100 or more wickets in the CPL and hopes to bring home a second CPL title for Amazon Warriors.Faf du Plessis, who had led St Lucia Kings to CPL glory in 2024, will miss the tournament this year. The 41-year-old had originally prioritised the Hundred over the CPL, but has now withdrawn from that competition too for groin surgery. David Wiese, who turned 40 earlier this May, has been appointed as the new captain of Kings. He brings a wealth of T20 experience, having played 400 T20s around the world, including 39 in the CPL.Then, there’s Moeen Ali, 38, who has opted to skip the Hundred for the CPL, where he will team up with Tahir.After winning the MLC with MI New York, 38-year-old Kieron Pollard is back in the Caribbean with TKR. Colin Munro, also 38, and Alex Hales, 36, lend more experience to TKR. Hales is 41 runs away from surpassing Pollard as the second-highest run-getter in the history of T20 cricket.Shakib Al Hasan, 38, was Falcons’ second-round pick at the draft and is now just two strikes away from 500 T20 wickets. He is set to become the fifth player to the landmark.ESPNcricinfo LtdNew captains in the spotlightFour of the six franchises have new captains*. Nicholas Pooran will take over as TKR captain from Kieron Pollard. Apart from Tahir, Imad Wasim (Falcons) and Wiese (Kings) are the overseas captains in the league. Meanwhile, Jason Holder, who had exited Royals after 13 years, has been appointed as the captain of Patriots. Holder will work with head coach Simon Helmot, who had replaced Malolan Rangarajan. Helmot had coached Patriots and the Trinidad & Tobago franchises to CPL titles in the past.Who are the defending champions?Kings are the reigning CPL champions, having won their maiden title in 2024, when they toppled Tahir’s Amazon Warriors in Guyana. USA international Aaron Jones, who cracked an unbeaten 48 off 31 balls in the final last year, has been retained by Kings for the upcoming season. Jones qualifies as a local player in the CPL through his Barbados passport.Which are the strong teams?It’s hard to look past TKR, who have a number of T20 stalwarts such as Andre Russell, Pooran, Sunil Narine in addition to Pollard, Hales and Munro. They’ve added more variety to their attack by recruiting the Pakistani pair of Mohammad Amir and Usman Tariq.Under Tahir, Amazon Warriors won the title in 2023 and came close to successfully defending it last season. They have lost a key signing, Glenn Phillips, to injury, but the depth in their spin attack makes them one of the favourites.The absence of left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad, who has opted for the Hundred over the CPL, and injury to allrounder Matthew Forde has depleted Kings, but count Daren Sammy’s team out at your own peril.Jediah Blades is one of the players to watch out for•Randy BrooksHow many overseas players can be part of the XIs?In CPL 2025, each franchise must play at least one player from the breakout league, a new tournament that was held earlier this year to identify emerging talent from the region, in every game. This gives the franchise the option of picking five overseas players in their XI to go with their ‘breakout’ player.Any unknown local players to keep an eye on?The depth below the first-choice West Indies T20I XI isn’t particularly encouraging, but do watch out for Amazon Warriors’ Jediah Blades who swings the new ball and is also capable of operating with the older one. Barbados Royals’ Kofi James, who goes hard in the powerplay with the bat and can also pitch in with offspin, might emerge on West Indies’ radar, especially if he has a good CPL season.Does the CPL clash with any other franchise tournament?Of course. What’s a franchise league without a schedule clash these days? It overlaps with the Hundred.How can fans outside the Caribbean follow the action?Every match of CPL 2025 will have ball-by-ball commentary right here on ESPNcricinfo. Fans in India can watch the CPL on JioStar (linear TV) or Fancode (digital). USA and UK viewers can watch it on Willow and TNT Sports respectively. Sky NZ will be broadcasting in New Zealand and SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa.*GMT 2pm, August 14: The story was updated following TKR’s announcement of a captaincy change
Australia hold nerve and find new plans on the fly as England’s campaign ends as it began
Vithushan Ehantharajah29-Sep-2024Well, that’s one way of coming back down to earth. Flawless at Lord’s, floored in Bristol.Just two days after England put together a near-perfect performance with bat and ball to bring them back into the contest, Australia flexed their muscle and nous to take it, eventually, with ease.What experience they used to crush a brilliant start in the first innings was channelled to launch a series-clinching one of their own in the second. If the rain saved anyone this time around, it was England. Australia were breezing this long before the winds picked up to give this summer an appropriately wet finish.There’s a reason Australia are world champions in this format. Adjustments were made on the fly and executed precisely after Phil Salt, then Ben Duckett and Harry Brook had blitzed their way to 202 for 2 with a ball to go in the 25th over.England picked up where they left off from Lord’s against Adam Zampa, targeting the legspinner – his first two overs went for 30 – with Brook nailing him for sixes at will. Nevertheless, pace off was clearly the way to go to starve England’s swing-happy batters of scoring opportunities. Aaron Hardie bowled the 21st over, Mitchell Starc the 45th – and everything in between was made up primarily of wily offies. Hazlewood and Starc ended up bowling just 12 overs between them. Not since Princes William and Harry played Stormtroopers in Star Wars: The Last Jedi has such royalty disappeared into the background.Travis Head’s removal of Duckett, who had assumed the responsibility of giving the innings a late kick, was not just the first of four wickets to the part-timer but also began a boundary drought that lasted 52 deliveries. All in all, “spinners” – and with all due respect, that definition does require inverted commas – sent down 194 deliveries, a new Australian record in ODIs. Some going on an overcast day at the end of September.Did England get ahead of themselves? Well, yes. Both Brook and Duckett fell attempting to land multiple blows – the former after striking Zampa for back-to-back sixes at the start of the over, the latter right after sending Head over the fence down the ground. No surprise that the two grooved on “Test Cricket According to Baz” decided to mark one attacking stroke with another.Jamie Smith was bowled by Glenn Maxwell•PA Photos/Getty ImagesGone are the days of knocking a single after a boundary. But Brook had half the innings to go, and Duckett was the only adult left for the hosts. Not to mention the two are England’s best players of spin, and the form batters, finishing as their team’s top scorers in the series.Responsibility was not shirked, , but it certainly wasn’t seized when the game was there to be taken well out of Australia’s reach. Brendon McCullum has promised to bring the joy back to England’s white-ball teams – and this has been a promising month on that front – but much as has been the case with his Test team, there will no doubt be conversations about adopting a more cut-throat attitude.”We’ve been bowled out again today as we didn’t adapt to the pitch quickly enough,” answered interim head coach Marcus Trescothick when asked about areas of improvement. It was in keeping with the opening two defeats; England were dismissed for 315 at Trent Bridge – having been well set on 213 for 2 – and 202 in Leeds, flunking a chase of 270.”If we look at all the games we’ve lost in the series, there were periods in all those games where we could have made an impact and won the game, and the story of the series could’ve been very different. I just mentioned to the boys in the dressing room about keeping the pressure on, like we’ve done in this game and across the whole series. We should be maintaining it and be smarter for longer… we can elongate that while playing over 50 overs.”This collapse of 8 for 107 in 24.3 overs was felt harshly by a bowling attack still finding its feet. They had had things their way in helpful seam conditions under lights in the fourth ODI, squaring the series by dismantling Australia for 126. But they were left exposed when Bristol’s shorter dimensions were flipped against them.Head and Matt Short were always going to race out of the blocks. But their powerplay carrot was thicker and juicier with England only just crawling beyond the 300 mark, having had 450 in their sights. The impending storm, wending its way up the Bristol Channel all through the afternoon, brought extra urgency.Olly Stone and Matthew Potts found themselves in the crosshairs of an opening stand of 78 from seven overs. Steve Smith and Josh Inglis then cracked on to ensure Australia were 45 ahead of the DLS par at the magic 20-over mark. England had tried to keep that figure at bay, with sub-fielder John Turner coming on at regular intervals to eat up whatever seconds he could. Brook said he was still trying to take wickets, hence Adil Rashid was used even though his two overs would have taken longer had they been bowled by a seamer.A touch of naivety from the stand-in skipper? Ultimately, Australia were just sharper. And perhaps most humbling was they bettered the best of what England produced in this finale. The 11 sixes they struck in the first 25 overs was England’s most since 2006. Australia had nine by the 20th over.Related
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Even their achievement in coming back from 2-0 down was ultimately trumped by a group of tourists who had been blighted by illness throughout the series and were desperate to get home, but still managed to turn on the style one last time in bleak conditions. “I’d be lying if I say I wouldn’t prefer it to be in July – with a bit of heat,” Mitchell Marsh, their captain, said, and he even had the benefit of wrapping up warm, away from the elements, as Smith took on the captaincy duties in Bristol.These are two teams at different ends of the spectrum on their journey. The theme of Australia’s tour, according to Marsh, was “flexibility”, as evidenced by the way they used their spinners on the field here, including 50-over debutant Cooper Connolly, as well as the fact Head has had two different opening partners in the last three days.Brook, meanwhile, spoke of the importance of players becomingwith the “tempo” of ODI cricket, particularly for a batting group reared on T20. After an impressive series as stand-in skipper, he used his last media appearance in the role – for now – to put these last five matches into context.”They’re the best team in the world,” Brook said of their vaunted opponents. “We’re playing against some of the best bowlers to ever play the game, and some of the best batters to have ever played the game as well. The fight and desire we’ve shown to bring that [series] back has been amazing.”Travis Head was all over England’s lower order•Getty ImagesThe next stage for this team is unknown. The next white-ball series in the Caribbean is sandwiched between the Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand. As such, Brook, Duckett, Jamie Smith, Potts, Olly Stone and Brydon Carse – who leave for that first three-match series on Tuesday – are unlikely to feature despite occupying key roles this month.Factor in Jos Buttler slotting back in as captain after Brook’s impressive showing, and there is either a hint of awkwardness, or a solution, on the horizon. Similarly, the mooted returns of Joe Root and Ben Stokes ahead of February’s Champions Trophy bring bigger selection matters to decipher.And that is arguably where England wanted to be as night fell on the final day of the 2024 English summer. This month against Australia has not been about immediately righting wrongs, or knocking the world champions off their perch.It was all about discovery after a limited-overs summer that began, in June, with a T20 World Cup that showed England’s most successful limited-overs generation had reached the end of the line. The first batch of the next generation are here and have taken their first steps on a different path, but one they hope leads back to where English white-ball cricket once was.