Ashes spots in sight as spinners prepare for T20I series with South Africa

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Sep-2025As Shoaib Bashir bowled to Jeetan Patel – while Adil Rashid (leg slip), Rehan Ahmed (first) and Liam Dawson (padded up ahead of his turn to bat in the nets) watched close by – the centre-but-one pitch at Sophia Gardens was a picture of the past, present and future of English spin.The ‘past’ being Patel, with the Anglo twist being that New Zealand’s former offie now oversees England’s tweakers. His focus for a chunk of Tuesday morning’s session was on the return of Bashir, as England’s primary Test spinner reboots from a broken finger sustained during the Lord’s Test against India.Patel’s work with Bashir a day before the start of the T20I leg of South Africa’s tour was as much a nod to the importance of this winter’s Ashes as the Kiwi’s all-encompassing role. He has also worked with Rehan and Dawson across both red- and white-ball codes, the latter coming in for the fourth India Test as a replacement for Bashir, ending an eight-year absence from the format. Both will be keen to make these next five days count in front of Brendon McCullum to secure their own Ashes spots.Related

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The odd one out is Rashid. All his work with Patel has been in limited-overs cricket. Tests are now a thing of the past, the last of his 19 appearances – January 2019, against West Indies in Barbados – a matter of months after Patel had called time on his own first-class career. And not even the carrot of an Ashes entices legspinner in the way it did his good mate and Beard Before Wicket co-host, Moeen Ali.”What would my answer be?” Rashid replied, bemused, when asked if an ‘Ashes?’ text might work on him two years on from reeling Moeen out of retirement.”It would be a no. I’m quite comfortable and confident of what I have been doing the past seven years or when I finished red-ball cricket. I’m confident in that and my own game.”But I’m sure it wouldn’t come to that because the spinners coming through now are very good and when they go there, they’ll put good performances in as well. So, I’m confident they’ve got it sorted.”They do, to a point. Bashir has been backed to the hilt, but England are reluctant to put their spin responsibilities in the hands of 21-year-olds across the board. Rehan’s omission from the opening XI in Cardiff is no slight on him in the midst of a generational purple patch across formats this season.”I’m confident that if he does get a chance for a longer period, he will flourish,” beamed Rashid, who spent training working alongside Rehan, and the trio of Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks and Dawson, who will share the spin loads on Wednesday, offering orthodox turn both ways.”When we’re bowling in the nets, we’re all together bowling to the batters so it’s just a bit of a conversation of how we go about things. Feeding off each other, certain batsmen, where we should look to bowl, where are their strengths and weaknesses, what we should look to do.”I’ve been around a few years, Rehan’s coming through, lots of spinners are coming through – so it’s just having discussions back and forth about certain things, tactically, and mindset wise as well. That’s going both ways – it’s not just myself going to them, but it’s them speaking to me, in that sense.”There will be understandable frustration that Rehan must wait a little longer for a first limited-overs cap in 2025, particularly with the hot hand coming into this series following an impressive Hundred campaign for Trent Rockets (189 runs and 12 wickets).English cricket loves looking too far ahead, and there is understandable desire to have Rehan plugged into the XI ahead of next year’s subcontinental T20 World Cup. He will likely get a go either in Manchester or Nottingham, where the straight boundaries are more forgiving. At the same time – why rush to crown the prince when the king still thrives?The white-ball dynasty might have crumbled, but Rashid remains a stoic presence. Since 2024’s semi-final defeat to India, England have played 14 completed T20Is, winning eight and losing six. The schedule has meant a full-strength squad has not been brought together in this period, but Rashid has played all but two. It is a streak he is likely to keep up for the rest of the year, including next week’s brief tour of Ireland, then October’s tour of New Zealand.Establishing the right balance adds extra credence to persisting with Rashid at every available opportunity, his brilliance notwithstanding, which was reinforced during the recent the ODI series loss to South Africa bears out. A veteran of 301 international caps is trending towards what would be his sixth T20 World Cup appearance just as vital and as hungry as ever.”I’m going alright. I’m 37… for my personal stuff, I like to take it a game at a time, a day at a time. I don’t look too far ahead in terms of World Cups, this and that. It’s making sure that whatever’s ahead – tomorrow’s game, for example – and then day by day, I let things just unfold as it is and let nature take its course. Ultimately if I’m there trying my best, giving my best, performing and hopefully I can carry that on.”Personally, I’d like to play cricket for as long as possible as long as the body can hold it and as long as you’re performing to a certain level. And that’s what it is. So hopefully at 37 I’m not looking at age, as long as I’m moving well, I’ll try my best.”

Can West Bromwich Albion morph into genuine promotion contenders under Ryan Mason?

At the moment, Mason’s Baggies are wildly inconsistent in the Championship, with a middle-of-the-road finish looking likely if they can’t string together a consistent run of victories sooner rather than later.

The jam-packed December fixture schedule to come will be a big test as to whether West Brom can push up the league, or whether they will have to make do with Championship action for yet another season, having now been outside the Premier League since the close of the 2020/21 campaign.

Whatever does happen, West Brom still have several first-team players out of contract come next June, with West Brom veterans such as Jed Wallace and Josh Maja both at risk of walking away for nothing.

This isn’t new ground for the second-tier outfit, though, with Grady Diangana bringing his up-and-down Baggies career to a close this summer, when his deal expired.

Why Diangana was allowed to leave West Brom

Once upon a time, Diangana would cost West Brom a startling £18m to get through the door from West Ham United.

He demanded such a lavish fee back in the summer of 2020, too, having instantly stood out in the Championship for his new West Midlands employers, with his gung-ho performances in attack.

In total, the Congolese forward would chip in with a sturdy 26 goals and 22 assists from 202 appearances, with Carlos Corberan regularly relying on the magic of his former number 11 when his past Baggies sides were challenging for promotion.

Yet, after mustering up a standout 15 goal contributions under Corberan during West Brom’s promotion near-miss season of 2023/24 , it all began to become a bit pear-shaped for the ex-Hammers winger at the Hawthorns.

Indeed, last season saw Diangana bow out from West Brom as a bit-part figure, with only 14 starts coming his way across a campaign that saw the Baggies fall drastically short of the top six.

With the 27-year-old also reluctant to pen a fresh deal, it was, therefore, agreed that Diangana would walk away from his long-established home, bringing his extensive association with the club to a sad end.

In the here and now, with more contract situations up in the air at the Championship outfit, Mason could have a new Diangana situation unfolding.

West Brom star could be another Diangana

In a summer that saw some of the old guard, such as Diangana leave the building, Mason was also given the appropriate tools to instil some fresh blood into his ranks, with Aune Heggebo already up to six Championship goals for the season, after making the move to England from Brann.

While Mason will be impressed with the current goalscoring exploits of his Nordic recruit, he also has many relics from Corberan’s West Brom past still in his starting XI, with Karlan Grant managing to get minutes here and there under the new regime.

Much like Diangana before him, Grant was once seen as an eye-catching capture when the West Midlands outfit were regularly flirting between the Championship and the Premier League, with £15m dropped on his services in 2020.

In a similar fashion to his former attacking teammate, too, Grant became known as an explosive attacking talent in the EFL’s elite league during the early years of his Baggies career, with pundit Carlton Palmer also praising him for his versatile” edge, even when things weren’t always going his way under Corberan.

Games played

12

Games started

6

Average minutes

54 mins

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Yet, even with 31 goals and ten assists under his belt from 158 total contests, it does look as if the plug will be pulled soon on the number ten’s bumper Hawthorns stay, when you consider he has zero goals or assists from 12 outings under Mason.

With his contract also set to expire this approaching June, it does feel as if it’s a move that suits all parties for his deal to run out without a renewal coming his way, as his past best looks to be far beyond him.

He could, of course, still manage to chip in with a goal or assist this season, having collected seven goals across all of last campaign from inconsistent starting opportunities.

But, with Mason now infrequently starting him this campaign amid poor performances, he is unlikely to want to keep him around, whatever division West Brom end up in when contract renewals pop back up.

Mason must now bin West Brom star who earns more than Heggebo & Johnston

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ByKelan Sarson Nov 26, 2025

It was a typical Bruno Fernandes display on Sunday afternoon, with the Manchester United skipper shaking off a stodgy first-half display to ultimately prove the difference-maker yet again for Ruben Amorim’s side.

In that opening 45 at Selhurst Park, both Fernandes and his ageing midfield partner Casemiro were given the run around by Crystal Palace’s boy wonder, Adam Wharton, with United heading in at the break having once again seen their midfield unit woefully exposed.

Fast forward to just past the hour mark, however, and the visitors had completed a creditable comeback, with the captain first teeing up Joshua Zirkzee – à la Anthony Martial in the March 2020 Manchester Derby – before then reacting swiftly to lay the ball for Mason Mount to dispatch what proved to be the winner.

Now fourth on the all-time list for Premier League assists for the Old Trafford side with 56, ahead of Paul Scholes, the 31-year-old remains United’s beloved maverick.

But for how much longer will he be the main man still?

Latest on Man Utd's search for a midfielder

Having been refreshingly open about his discussions with Saudi side Al Hilal over the summer, Fernandes suggested that no further talks would take place over his future until after next summer’s World Cup, with his existing deal set to expire in 2027.

Amorim has already suggested that the Portuguese playmaker may have to adjust to more “rotation” next season, should the club return to European competition, while reports this season have even suggested that INEOS could look to cash in on the club’s number eight to fund a midfield rebuild.

In any case, depth and competition is certainly needed in the centre of park heading into 2026, with the likes of Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Elliot Anderson all deemed to be leading targets.

Transfer Focus

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Equally, however, reports in Spain are even suggesting that United have lodged a bid of around €80m (£70m) for Real Madrid sensation, Federico Valverde, with the Red Devils said to have taken the ‘first step’ toward trying to seal that marquee move.

As to be expected, the LaLiga giants won’t allow their Uruguayan star to depart on the cheap, with the report outlining that Xavi Alonso’s side are likely to demand in excess of €100m (£88m) if they are to even consider sanctioning a sale.

United will then have to up their bid if a deal is to be struck, with Valverde’s existing deal set to run until 2029, although this is certainly a pursuit worth continuing.

How Valverde compares to Bruno Fernandes

If Amorim – and INEOS – is to persist with this much-discussed 3-4-2-1 set-up, then acquiring a figure like Valverde might just be the perfect solution, with the 27-year-old lauded as the “most complete player in football” not too long ago by manager Carlo Ancelotti.

That assessment is certainly warranted considering the versatility that the Montevideo-born talent has showcased in recent times, having frequently flitted between operating in central midfield or at right-back for Los Blancos.

Like Fernandes – who has missed just three games through injury or illness since joining United, as per Transfermarkt – one of Valverde’s key strengths is that he’s “always available”, in the words of Ancelotti, while willing to perform to his best no matter the position he is deployed.

While not a natural creator or playmaker like Fernandes, the one-time Penarol man does still boast four assists in LaLiga this term, only just behind the United skipper’s return of five in the Premier League.

As indicated below, Valverde’s all-round quality can be evidenced in his superior record with regard to pass completion and duels won, in particular, while he is also far less erratic in possession, losing the ball less than half as many times per game as Fernandes.

Valverde (LaLiga) vs Fernandes (PL)

Stat (*per game)

Valverde

Fernandes

Games (starts)

14 (12)

13 (13)

Goals

0

2

Assists

2

5

Big chances missed

1

4

Big chances created

2

3

Pass accuracy*

90%

84%

Total duels won*

58%

50%

Dribbled past*

0.4

1.6

Possession lost*

7.4

15.8

Stats via Sofascore

Equally too, the Madrid man’s physical superiority can be seen in how little he is dribbled past per game in LaLiga, whereas Fernandes – seemingly unsuited to a deep-lying role – is regularly outpaced or outmuscled by his opposite number.

What also sets him apart from Fernandes is his proven, consistent quality at Champions League level, winning the competition on two occasions to date, alongside his three Spanish titles and various other domestic or continental honours.

He may not rank as the outright best midfielder in the world right now, but he seemingly warrants his status as among the top ten – arguably even above Fernandes.

Now approaching almost 350 games for his current side, the 71-cap international is about as proven as they come, while at 27, he would still be an asset for the long-term, were he to arrive in Manchester.

Of course, Fernandes – as was evident at the weekend – is still a majestic, creative genius, but for this system and for this current iteration of the Premier League, Valverde would surely represent the perfect midfield upgrade.

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Posts 1 ByEthan Lamb Dec 2, 2025

Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph miss out due to injuries

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2025

Kemar Roach will be playing his first Test since January•AFP/Getty Images

Kemar Roach has been recalled to the West Indies Test squad for their tour of New Zealand in December this year. Roach was part of a 15-member squad for the three matches, but Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph are still missing, due to injuries.Roach last played a Test in January, in Multan during their tour of Pakistan, and his 85-Test record will balance out a relatively inexperienced pace attack, which also includes 29-year-old Ojay Shields, who has received his maiden call-up.Allrounder Kavem Hodge, who also made his last Test appearance during the Multan match, has been recalled to the side. However, Khary Pierre finds himself and his left-arm orthodox spin bowling out of favour – he has been dropped from the squad.Cricket West Indies’ Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, said, “New Zealand has traditionally been one of the toughest places for any touring side… The recent high-performance camp here in Antigua was designed to replicate, as closely as possible, the conditions we expect to face, particularly the pace-friendly surfaces.”Khary Pierre finds himself out of the Test squad•AFP/Getty Images

Shields and Roach, among other players named in the squad, have completed a two-week high-performance camp in the region. They will also be joining the rest of the squad – already in New Zealand for the ongoing ODI series – on November 20, to be part of a two-day warm-up match against a New Zealand XI in Christchurch.The series will be a part of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. West Indies sit at the bottom of the table among the teams who have played at least one Test in the cycle – they have lost all five of the matches they have appeared in so far. New Zealand, on the other hand, are yet to play a match in the cycle, and this series against West Indies will get their WTC campaign belatedly off the mark.West Indies squad for tour of New ZealandRoston Chase (Captain), Jomel Warrican (Vice- Captain), Alick Athanaze, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Ojay Shields

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